Famitsu Interview: Tuning encounters for healing

[Absurdity]

- set a lower iLevel sync on content, put a limit somewhere close to the minimum iLevel
- your mentality for gear progression is to be better geared for the next content you're moving onto and not the one you're currently doing.

EG (numbers are arbitrary and for demonstration, not based on anything).
Instance 1: Min iLevel 450, iLevel sync 460. Gear drop 470
Instance 2: Min iLevel 460, iLevel sync 470, Gear drop 480
Instance 3: Min iLevel 470, iLevel sync 480, Gear drop 490

It'd mean a tighter window for balance without losing the incentive for better gear and that it'd remain based on player skill than being able to face roll it.

Maybe for EX and raid content raise the iLevel sync when it's no longer on content, as I get that some semi-casual groups will do the fights when everybody else has moved on and take advantage of the iLevel increase.

This would create so many other problems that then need addressing.

If we take your ilvls as an example then what is the point of getting 490 gear? Your gear from the previous raid tier is already BiS, your 490 gear gets synced down and is probably worse than your 480 gear so what is the point of even getting it? An expansion only has 3 raid tiers so you're not even gearing for the next one. (granted this is also an issue with the current system but with the new system your raid gear is also useless for the raid you're currently doing.)

You are BiS geared for every raid tier after the 1st one without even setting a foot into it, making the content already easier on day 1 because 10 ilvls above minimum ilvl is quite a bit.

What are we gonna do with crafted gear? Keep it the same ilvl as the previous BiS? Then what's the point of getting that BiS gear in the first place? It gets synced down for the current raid and it's at best on-par with crafted for the next one.

What do we do with ultimates? Let's say you get an ultimate after the 1st raid tier, is it gonna be ilvl 470 or ilvl 460? And what if you don't get an ultimate? That's already a problem with the current system where there is really no point in acquiring savage gear outside of log runs.

Then there is the minor issue of having to carry around 2 different sets, one for the current raid and one for the next, with our already very limited inventory space. This is just off the top of my head, I could probably find some more problems.


If we're talking about individual fights within a raid tier then we get some other issues, like having to carry 4 different sets of gear with you for each instance. A lot of the other points however still stand.

[Saefinn]

This would create so many other problems that then need addressing.

If we take your ilvls as an example then what is the point of getting 490 gear? Your gear from the previous raid tier is already BiS, your 490 gear gets synced down and is probably worse than your 480 gear so what is the point of even getting it? An expansion only has 3 raid tiers so you're not even gearing for the next one. (granted this is also an issue with the current system but with the new system your raid gear is also useless for the raid you're currently doing.)

You are BiS geared for every raid tier after the 1st one without even setting a foot into it, making the content already easier on day 1 because 10 ilvls above minimum ilvl is quite a bit.

What are we gonna do with crafted gear? Keep it the same ilvl as the previous BiS? Then what's the point of getting that BiS gear in the first place? It gets synced down for the current raid and it's at best on-par with crafted for the next one.

What do we do with ultimates? Let's say you get an ultimate after the 1st raid tier, is it gonna be ilvl 470 or ilvl 460? And what if you don't get an ultimate? That's already a problem with the current system where there is really no point in acquiring savage gear outside of log runs.

Fair points, even if my suggested solution is terrible I feel like there does need to be some kind of limiting on the iLevels to the degree of keeping content better tuned, not just for high end encounters, but in general. EG. the difference between running Cape Westwind Min iLevel and an every roulette of Cape Westwind is massive. Min iLevel and you have stuff to do, it's not hard, but you feel like you're not face rolling it and have mechanics to do. But in a typically roulette run it's so much of a face roll that we meme how quick and easy it is because the iLevel difference is so high.

Thinking of it as if I was playing the game from level 1 again as a new player. For 95% of the game's content is a face roll, even if I was still learning because the players around me would make it so, but with so much stuff that takes so little effort to overcome that you don't get the experience intended. Cape Westwind is a walkover, Castrum and Prae are complete walkovers, just cutscenes eat your time - but everything dies laughably quick to the point if feels like you're undersizing it almost and just lacks the impact of the experience people like me got back in 2.0 when everybody was still new. They have to wait until much later content to get that experience. And I'd think the gradual progress of difficulty would be better felt (which I think is better for new players, because you learn your job as progress & the game's general mechanics)

As somebody experienced and then getting stuff in my roulettes, it's not that engaging and especially as a healer it's dull as heck because I have to do next-to-no healing.

Of course, there's other ways of making stuff interesting, but if the devs answer is "encounter balance" then I feel it should be across the board so that it is more engaging across the board.