level sync removing job actions makes old content feel worse over time

[lilmoon]

I wanted to share some feedback on level sync, since it’s been bothering me more with each expansion and I suspect I’m not the only one.

I understand the intent behind it, and I think it’s reasonable. Scaling veterans down so we can’t trivialize old duties, and so newer players can experience that content closer to how it was designed, is a fair goal. Losing stats in older content doesn’t bother me at all.

What does bother me is that sync goes further than that. It removes a large part of my job’s actions, not just my power. As a Samurai main, being scaled to level 50 or 60 means losing Ogi Namikiri, Shoha, Tsubame-gaeshi, and most of the tools that give the job its rhythm. What’s left is a thinner, earlier version of the job rather than a toned-down version of my current one.

This gets worse with every cap increase. New actions are almost always added at the top of the level range, while the lower brackets keep the same limited kits they’ve always had. When the cap was 50, syncing cost a player only a couple of actions. At 100 it can mean giving back close to half a job’s toolkit, and with Evercold raising the cap to 110, that gap only widens. Over time, more of the game becomes content people can still queue into but no longer enjoy playing.

For comparison, Guild Wars 2 has been running about as long as we have, with six expansions since 2012, and it has never raised its level cap past 80. When it scales a character down for older zones, it lowers stats but lets the player keep their full set of abilities. I’m not suggesting FFXIV copy that model wholesale, since the two games are built very differently. I bring it up only as proof that a long-running game can keep old content relevant without stripping away a player’s kit.

I also recognize the balance side of this. If synced players kept their full modern kits at full strength, old encounters would get even more trivial, and I know tuning synced content is already difficult. So I’m not asking to be stronger down there. I’d simply like to keep my actions and the flow between them, with their potency, resource generation, and cooldowns scaled down as much as the content needs.

With the job system already being revisited for 8.0 through Reborn and Evolved modes, this feels like a good time to look at how sync handles job actions too. Thanks for reading, and I’d be glad to hear whether others feel the same or see problems with the idea.

[Kaurhz]

Yeah, hopefully this will be a lot better going into 8.0 and beyond, since as what Moqi has said...

They are looking to have the core rotations by 50, with everything beyond that just amounting to trait improvements, like how some jobs have traits that transform existing button actions..

I will say I do hope older content can hold up OK... Because it is already seriously malnourished.

[Vintersol]

I'm currently farming the Demiatmas for the Dawntrail Relic and after doing hundreds of fates in the earlier zones (Urqopacha, Kozama'uka, Yak'Tel and the lower half of Shaaloani), it feels super weird when not being scaled down and blasting everything away like it's nothing.

[Eesh]

I'll go a step further. Level sync messing with damage values also makes old content feel worse over time.

Nothing better than literally missing half the fight because the stat sync makes damage both ways a joke.

Hopefully with evolved they go the route of making the balance a bit less stacked with sync but we know it's not gonna happen.

[Absurdity]

Hopefully with evolved they go the route of making the balance a bit less stacked with sync but we know it's not gonna happen.

Considering they said Evolved will deal more damage than Reborn, the powercreep will either stay exactly the same as it is now or get even worse.

Could Evolved have a complete kit by level 50 but also low potencies that get upgraded at later levels? Sure.
Is it likely that they'll make their shiny new combat mode perform worse in the overwhelming majority of content, which is lower level? Not really

[RoboYumi]

Could Evolved have a complete kit by level 50 but also low potencies that get upgraded at later levels?

That is... literally what they said it was going to do yes.
Assumption is that say, Dragonfire Dive will be unlocked at level 50, and be simply upgraded into Stardiver at level 80

now, the problem remains why are they only doing this for Evolved, and not also retrofitting or at least rebalancing Reborn mode, and why even make two modes instead of adjusting the existing one

[Absurdity]

That is... literally what they said it was going to do yes.
Assumption is that say, Dragonfire Dive will be unlocked at level 50, and be simply upgraded into Stardiver at level 80

now, the problem remains why are they only doing this for Evolved, and not also retrofitting or at least rebalancing Reborn mode, and why even make two modes instead of adjusting the existing one

And exactly there is the issue, they're not adjusting the old mode.
While they have said that the evolved mode kits will be complete by level 50, and only get upgrades from then on, that doesn't automatically mean they will have also lowered the potencies at 50 to keep old PvE content balanced.
It's rather unlikely to be the case because, as I said, they probably don't want their shiny new mode to perform worse at low level than reborn mode, which has seen massive potency creep over the years.

[Asari5]

what wording did they use when they said we would get all the buttons at lvl 50?

because having all the buttons or having the core rotation can be a very different thing. imagine viper with all their buttons but only having the first skill on any of them xD

and also: what is the core rotation anyway? you may not even need all buttons for the core rotation. so depending on someones view it can differ a LOT

[Enjuden]

That is... literally what they said it was going to do yes.
Assumption is that say, Dragonfire Dive will be unlocked at level 50, and be simply upgraded into Stardiver at level 80

now, the problem remains why are they only doing this for Evolved, and not also retrofitting or at least rebalancing Reborn mode, and why even make two modes instead of adjusting the existing one

It's pretty obvious if you think about it. Reborn mode will get deleted on the expansion after Evercold. They wouldn't bother remaking every single job if they were planning on keeping Reborn at all. They're just doing the more cautious approach compared to WoW just amputating and replacing an arm.