problems with this gearing system

[Toystore]

I'm just wondering why Ruby Weapon gives a 485 weapon for 1-2 lockouts worth of work when the previous end game fight gave a 475.

This is bizarre. This is not RPG design. There's catch up mechanics and then there's whatever strange mess this is. Call me crazy, but I expect to be able to actually progress and use my gear from the previous tier on the next tier. I understand there's a hard reset between expansions, but c'mon, really? You won't even have gear persistence from one tier of the same expansion to the next?

Why is week 1 gear 480? This situation creates a form of an RPG where the gearing feedback loop for taking out the strongest content isn't even used in the very next fight. This is absurd. Gear resets like this used to only happen in MMOs between entire expansions and now we're doing it between literal content patches?

How about just handing cosmetic and vanity items as rewards for savage fights if you're gonna pull this kind of catch up system? I'm not against catch ups because I know that's going to be the straw man, but geez. This is ridiculous when there's essentially no progression between savage tiers at all. It's going way too far off the deep end when it comes to RPG mechanics to just do the previous tier gear dirty like that. Maybe if players got umbrellas or anime ears or whatever for killing savage bosses that would be more honest than the bait and switch that it's going to actually be useful RPG gear going forward to the next progress fight in the expac.

Catch up does not mean better than end game. It's catch up.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

You can, my static cleared e5s in 470 gear with 475 weapon.

[linay]

Catch up does not mean better than end game. It's catch up.

That depends. If you want people to be able to catch up to current content without having to farm the old content, then it has to give at least the same reward as previous content. And if it is catch up, you cannot be sure that all the gears are up to date, so the higher weapon can mix with lower level gears in other slots to create the required minimum item level. Without it, you'd have to gear up all the slots.

Essentially it doesn't assume that everyone will have access to fully pentamelded HQ crafted gears, and most people will have a mixture of gears, some higher and some lower than the requirement for the new content.

[VenKitsune]

I do think its a little silly that its 485, to be honest. Is completely devalues the crafted weapons in almost every way, no wonder in almost a week barely 10 of each have sold on my server - nobody needs them.

[Duskane]

I do think its a little silly that its 485, to be honest. Is completely devalues the crafted weapons in almost every way, no wonder in almost a week barely 10 of each have sold on my server - nobody needs them.

Only devalues the crafted gear if you do extreme and not much are sold because they are crazy expensive for the first month

[HyoMinPark]

I'm just wondering why Ruby Weapon gives a 485 weapon for 1-2 lockouts worth of work when the previous end game fight gave a 475.

Because Ruby Weapon is a new end-game fight. E4S is at least six months old at this point—a bit more, actually; it’s not current content anymore, it’s old content. Newer end-game content usually gives higher item level rewards (dungeons not included).

This is bizarre. This is not RPG design. There's catch up mechanics and then there's whatever strange mess this is. Call me crazy, but I expect to be able to actually progress and use my gear from the previous tier on the next tier. I understand there's a hard reset between expansions, but c'mon, really? You won't even have gear persistence from one tier of the same expansion to the next?

You can usually prog and clear the first two Savage floors with previous tier BiS. It’s the third and fourth floors that will require you to have the crafted/Ruby Weapon gear (though, you can just do crafted—the weapon from Ruby Weapon isn’t necessary to clear). E8S will require you to be in full i480 simply to survive some of the AOE damage (the first raidwide hit in there almost kills you even with mitigation—my group does Passage + Temperance + Deployed Adlo and it still takes us to ~35% HP—if we forget one of these, we drop down to sub 10% sometimes, depending on which mitigation we forgot).

Why is week 1 gear 480?

Because E8S requires it for survivability at the very least; DPS check, second.

This situation creates a form of an RPG where the gearing feedback loop for taking out the strongest content isn't even used in the very next fight. This is absurd. Gear resets like this used to only happen in MMOs between entire expansions and now we're doing it between literal content patches?

The previous tier BiS is still BiS for TEA because of the item level sync and how item level sync negates materia melds. So you can still use it for that.

This system isn’t new. It’s been around since ARR—so over 6 years, now. It’s how this game has always handled new gear when new tiers release.

How about just handing cosmetic and vanity items as rewards for savage fights if you're gonna pull this kind of catch up system? I'm not against catch ups because I know that's going to be the straw man, but geez. This is ridiculous when there's essentially no progression between savage tiers at all. It's going way too far off the deep end when it comes to RPG mechanics to just do the previous tier gear dirty like that. Maybe if players got umbrellas or anime ears or whatever for killing savage bosses that would be more honest than the bait and switch that it's going to actually be useful RPG gear going forward to the next progress fight in the expac.

There are already vanity rewards from Savage (i.e., the mount drops exclusively from the final floor). The fact that the Savage gear is usually a dyeable version of the normal mode gear has also been cited as “vanity” in the past (since people like having the ability to dye the gear for glamour reasons). Savage gear now is good for progressing in new Ultimate fights, where they are absolutely mandatory. If a new Ultimate was to release in 5.3, you would want to upgrade your gear to the i500 Verse Savage gear for both damage and survivability. Unfortunately, we won’t see one in 5.3; I’m guessing the second Ultimate this expansion will be for 5.5, meaning the final Eden Savage tier gear will be BiS for it—and Verse gear will be used for entry-level prog for that tier.

[DrWho2010]

it's like you don't know this game uses a vertical gear progression ladder system. hmmm

[KDSilver]

Call me crazy, but I expect to be able to actually progress and use my gear from the previous tier on the next tier

Actually...

It started in Heavensward. People asked that previous gear could still be used on the next tier, or at least at the beginning of the tier so there's a valuable reason to be BiS, until we gradually get new tomestone and savage gear (if you don't directly go for the nm/crafted/extreme).
It started with Alexander:Creator. So that's a while now.
That's why currently min ilvl is around 470.

[Jojoya]

I do think its a little silly that its 485, to be honest. Is completely devalues the crafted weapons in almost every way, no wonder in almost a week barely 10 of each have sold on my server - nobody needs them.

Personally I know few players who run EX to get the weapons. They're more interested in getting the mount.

On the other hand, I've made several 480 weapons on request this past week for friends who brought me the mats.

People aren't buying from the market board because they don't want to pay marketboard prices. Those who need the weapons for Savage progression are dealing direct with crafters they already know. As prices come down, those who want the crafted weapons will start buying.

[Vahlnir]

I do think its a little silly that its 485, to be honest. Is completely devalues the crafted weapons in almost every way, no wonder in almost a week barely 10 of each have sold on my server - nobody needs them.

They are selling like hot cakes on my server. Not everyone wishes to do Extremes or Savage, and a crafted weapon will tide most people over until they get their new tomestone weapon or relic.