So, lot's of gear options, yet no gear swap in active mode..

[Felis]

I was going over my gear sets for DRG and WHM and I noticed that, compared to FFXI there's a helluva lot more situational gear to use in this game. For example DRG body is mainly useful for the boosted invigorate, however Explorer's Tabard or a triple melded Cobalt Hauby is still far superior for 'everyday use" or just in general unless there's a hidden benefit to using all AF I'm not aware of.

So whether you're for or against gear swapping, we're getting flooded with gear that's almost designed for it ontop of being able to meld and have 6 different versions of the same gear screams for it lol :| Hopefully when they let us upgrade AF it'll remove that need for an active gear swap, since otherwise I think there's been a disconnect between the item team and what the community reps relayed to us >.>

So aside those who hate gear swaping, those who do still utilize it, especially for mages, do you break down your sets as usual or just keep a single triple meld (x) and go to town in AF armor?

1. Attack a monster with DRG body
2. Put away your weapon during the battle
3. Switch your body gear with Explorer's Tabard
4. Go back in the active mode after the char loading time
5. gear swapping finish

[Wevlum]

And RDM, oh lord that job had it the worst gear clutter out of all of them.

*sits in the corner and rocks backwards and forwards* The eq...it's EVERYWHERE.

[Halvaard_Vidan]

Multiple gear options allows for different play styles.
Not all of these play styles are going to be effective for a given situation but they are all supported.

Pick your play style, gear for it and go.
Gear swapping is not necessary, it just causes clutter.

[Agoven]

I'm sorry but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard...gear swapping mid battle...

Once again...seriously? Your in the middle of a battle you don't strip in mid fight and change outfits...like EPIC FAIL THREAD.

[Molly_Millions]

not this again....

[Molly_Millions]

Oh come now. I think you're just dancing around the topic now, playing semantics.

The people perceiving someone to be gimped were the same people whose perceptions would result in someone being refused a spot in their HNM group or xp party or whatever. Unless you expect people to stand there and beg for reason by saying "No no no. You see, I'm not actually gimped. You just perceive me to be gimped. They're quite different, you understand".

I'm sure whatever server you played on in FFXI was the same as I was on in that, once certain playstyles, strategies and builds (including gear swapping) became the norm, it became expected of players for certain activities. It was "the right way to play the game", and it was gospel to many people.

Just as being a few points shy of an "acceptable" gear score in WoW would cost you a spot in a raid group, so not having the "required gear" or the "required subjob" or the "required" whatever would cost you a spot in parties and HNM groups in XI. Same concept.

Want another example of how head-up-their-own ass irrational some people could be in FFXI? I don't know about on your server, but on Pandemonium (pre-merge), there was a period of time where new players - brand-new players who didn't even have their first advanced job unlocked yet - were expected to have Rare/Ex gear dropped from higher level NMs (since NMs often dropped gear several levels lower than the mob itself). These are people just taking their first journey through the game, learning the ins and outs of it... and they were mocked in parties for not having freaking rare/ex gear that even more experienced players didn't have. If they didn't camp the NM, they were expected to farm the gil - millions of gil at times - to acquire it. Just so they could be accepted to a freaking party in Crawlers Nest or where ever without being thrashed about it.

I saw one newer player ripped a new one, told they were lazy and should just quit the game because they didn't have a freaking emperor hairpin. Anyone with 2 working brain-cells, and their ego in check, knew you didn't need those items, ever, to be effective - much less as a new player. But, they saw it in a wiki guide that that was the "optimal" piece to have, and so everyone, even new players, were expected to have it. Fortunately, whether through practicality or through having their heads yanked out of their rears, people finally got past that. That was one of the most absurd periods I ever witnessed in my time playing XI.

My point in bringing that up is to illustrate the kind of mentality you're contending with many times when you deal with some people in MMOs. Especially the obsessive min/maxers who think everyone else in the game is only there to improve their personal xp/hr rate.

You should never judge a book by its cover, and players should - in an ideal world - be judged on their play skill and not whether they've got all the boxes checked on "Billy Bob's Ultimate Wiki Guide To The Best Gear". I agree with you on that. However, in games like these where people are dependent on specific strategies and specific builds and specific party setups, the book is often judged 100% by its cover, and quite unforgivingly so. Not only will you be refused by these groupos, in many cases, they'll openly mock you for it.

I think you know this as well as I do, but are ignoring it because it doesn't suit your narrative.

QFT

I seeme to remember being kicked out of Valkurm Dunes group for not having that hairpin. Seriously, the f'ing dunes!

[Mortikhan]

Now people want gear swapping because there are too many options? Pack rat much? Here is a solution. Wait till 2.0 when they take a retainer. Not nearly so many "options" then eh?

Seriously though, make a decision on how YOU want to play. Either that or be prepared to craft your ass off before each party after they tell you what they want you dressed in for the day.

[Roaran]

The game is balanced so we do not need to have gear swaps.

Thus, it is not necessary to swap gear in battle.

If they changed the the rules of the game to allow gear swapping, they will have to rebalance everything to adjust. Things will just slightly become arbitrarily tougher. And, in the end, nothing will have changed except we would have a new "game mechanic" called gear swapping in battle.

However, Gear Swapping takes time, even with macros, and this time takes the place of more sensical and more viable game mechanics.

The real question is, for the future of the game, would you rather have to gear swap strategically for every ability you use? OR Would you rather leave room for more engaging and interesting mechanics?

I understand people who have a lot of different gear, and sometimes it's hard to choose between some. And the immediate thing you want to do is just switch in battle. But the not so immediate result is a regression of the battle system from more interesting and engaging mechanics to dull, old, and quite frankly rediculous mechanics.

I played FFXI and I used to gear swap all the time. I had no real opinion on it then, but, in retrospect, it was a terrible mechanic. Advocating for it is simply only possible if you are limiting your focus on such simple things like, "Oh I can't choose which gear to use," or "I have all this awesome gear I wish I could switch some in battle for my weaponskills grrr!". But what you are really doing is this, "I wish I could spend 2 seconds before and after every combo swapping out gear, that way I can get 10 more DPS!!! But with all the time I spend swapping gear, I have less time in battle doing actually fun stuff! HATE SE GRAWR".

[Tacotaru]

QFT

I seeme to remember being kicked out of Valkurm Dunes group for not having that hairpin. Seriously, the f'ing dunes!

I assume you mean Emperor/Empress Hairpin? That was level 24, the Dunes ended at level 20. Maybe you were kicked out of the party because you weren't leveling in the right spot (not that you didn't have the hairpin) or because you're blatantly lying.

[Molly_Millions]

I assume you mean Emperor/Empress Hairpin? That was level 24, the Dunes ended at level 20. Maybe you were kicked out of the party because you weren't leveling in the right spot (not that you didn't have the hairpin) or because you're blatantly lying.

dude, it was YEARS ago, I don't remember all the specifics. My point was that I was kicked from a leveling group because I lacked an item that I did not have the means to acquire. We don't need that ridiculousness in this game.