Pros and Cons of merging DRG/NIN gear with other Jobs

[Ryaz]

Was giving this some thought today and was wondering what everyone thinks about SE eventually merging DRG gear with MNK/SAM and NIN with ARC/BRD/DNC instead of having them be the only two separate jobs. There's obvious good and bad things about it:

Pros:

1) Easier to gear alts. One of the benefits to shared gear is that gearing alternate jobs of the same type is much easier. My SAM is fully decked out in Augmented Deepshadow gear. When my MNK hits 80, I'll be able to use that gear right away. Casters/Ranged/Tanks share even more gear. Gear up one job and you've got gear for 2-3 more jobs. For DRG and NIN mains, they can't share any of their gear, outside of accessories.

2) SE can vary the looks of the sets more. They could do some that are heavier armor in appearance and some that are lighter. This would allow DRG/SAM/MNK to glam themselves in different ways. Want SAM/MNK in some scalemail or a DRG running around in a Ruby Cotton Gilet Ryu-style? You could.

3) They could put the resources from making those sets into making more universal items that could be crafted for people to use as glam.


Cons:

1) More competition. A DRG or NIN only have to compete against others of the same job and not 1-3 other jobs. Accessories tend to be shared already, so it extends more to left side pieces.

2) Stats more homogenized. DRG armor tends to be better in physical defense, MNK/SAM in magical defense.

3) Gear is less "unique" for these two jobs. Though, with all the palette swaps SE has been doing lately, it may not matter as much, other than some DRG sets being palette swaps of tank gear (like the Eureka set). Plus, they don't seem too concerned with class identity when it comes to casters, healers, ranged physical dps or tanks.

Thoughts?

[Malmstrom]

Make DRG use DEX and have NIN and DRG share gear because... reasons.

[Bright-Flower]

Personally I'd be fine if they just made a new set of gear for all melee going forward in like, 60 onward or something.

Then you have Fending, Healing, Casting, Aiming and whatever the melee dps category gets called.

I don't feel like it's really...important that nin have dex as their stat. Does strength vs dex really do anything beyond increasing damage done for the relevent classes? Or just put strength and dex on this new set. Or do what WoW sets do and allow the armor to change from str to dex bsed on the job you have equipped.

[Mahrze]

Considering DRG is just a copied set of tank stuff with something or another less than the tank design and NIN is split between an alternate color of either MNK/SAM or Ranged. I'd say its near time SE reconsiders how they design and release gear for jobs.

[Tracewood]

Wait, did I miss an announcement or something?

[Ryaz]

Wait, did I miss an announcement or something?

No, I'm just speculating how changing it would affect the game if they did it.

[WrenElessedil]

2) Stats more homogenized. DRG armor tends to be better in physical defense, MNK/SAM in magical defense.

This doesn't even need to be an issue, either. They could just give DRG a trait that gives them +x%PDEF/-x%MDEF, so that's one less real con.

[deadman1204]

I think it'd help sam/mnk and dnc/brd/mch and hurt nin/drg.

The str and dex melee would get more variety in their gear. However nin/drg would both:
1: lose thier individual looks
2: have to compete for their gear against several classes

I could see the case to be made before the game was launched, but now I feel like there are clear winners and losers.

[Fawkes]

Would've made more sense to me to have SAM/DRG and MNK/NIN.

[Ultimatecalibur]

2) Stats more homogenized. DRG armor tends to be better in physical defense, MNK/SAM in magical defense.

This was changed late in 2.X. Maiming gear currently has the same MDef as Striking gear of the same ilevel.