Quote Originally Posted by Carighan View Post
Also, this again implies player agency is entirely removed from the left side as one stat will be supreme and you just slot that everywhere you can.
One stat will always be the mathematically better when playing perfectly in the manner most optimal for it. So long as the gap is smaller than what's consequent to typical random variance in otherwise identical simulations, though, that's hardly relevant. And yes, stats can be balanced that tightly, if a little effort is put into that process for a change.

The only salient point here is Speed, which would require any among (though could benefit from multiple among)
  • job-by-job balancing, or better yet either among...
  • an underlying resource that makes the outcome of stats more granular (as Speed otherwise benefits only by ratio), such as using Stamina and allowing anyone to, by toggle or by queue-override, snapping-preferences, or the like, overclock their GCD by up to 20% at cost to idle time later or
  • an overlying resource being shared between multiple stats and players being able to determine exactly how much of Stat A (rather than B or C) they want to spend that shared resource towards in terms of output (e.g., which ratio of GCD reduction + whatever chosen amount of leniency).

For instance, let's say we just have... Red, Yellow, and Blue gear, and "Purple", "Orange", and "Green" stats.

Red gear carries some amount of "Essence" that you can then spend on Purple or Orange. Yellow can spend its stats on Orange and Green. Blue can spend its stats on Purple and Green. Naturally.

Purple might include...
  • Speed (+GCD speed),
  • Chain (+DoT tick speed), and
  • Alacrity (+recast speed);

Orange would include...
  • Precision (Crit Chance),
  • Break (Crit Damage), and
  • Power (General potency modifier);

Green would include...
  • Strategist (+allows abilities to be used up to X% sooner or overcharge up to X% more at proportionately increased or decreased potency),
  • Hero (+bonus LB generation from one's damage, mitigation, or healing and over time proportionate to player count), and
  • Versatility (two among bonus mitigation, healing potency to others and natural regen speed for self, or damage, avoiding that of one's own role -- better for PLD's external heals than Precision/Break).

Accessories, meanwhile, might have just one option per stat color (thereby two options per item):
  • Purple - Scout (bonus movement speed + like Strategist but for Sprint, at higher growth rate + X% leniency for positional snapping completing gap-closers/-makers safely and Y% of a yalm of lenience for snapping out of danger on non-split mechanics, etc.)
  • Orange - Tenacity (bonus Defense and Magic Defense)
  • Green - Vigor (bonus MP and HP recovery per tick)