Endgame Progression, Elitism and You

[foehnweisz]

OP took his time in attempt to create a guide and contribute to the community from his perspective. Even if you disagree with some points, you can at least try to respect that.

I'm sure everyone's been through this - you join a pug and try to complete a dungeon, yet the tank isn't pulling aggro, mobs killing the healer, or have your dps constantly die to avoidable aoes. Are you an elitist for being doubtful and frustrated that the party might not succeed even after many explained attempts?

Sadly there is no real way to check for skill level or in other words, familiarity with the game. But gear can assist your output, at least show that you put some time into end game. After attempting HM Titan I can be sure as heck that you'd be more willing to take someone that's full DL than full AF.

But extremity is never the answer. OP simply said no to a Garuda attempt as he feared might be improbable to pull off. He isn't declaring all undergeared folks to be garbage, in fact he made this post to guide them along. Nor is it okay to subject yourself to constant failure only because someone asked, simply to wipe the harsh reality that some bosses require a gear check.

If no amount of reasoning will be convincing enough for you, I'll just say what OP or anyone sharing this perspective seems to be holding back: you have no right to cry when someone geared refuses take you along for a run. They have their gauge of the difficulty and they obviously played a heck of a lot more. Don't then proceed to put yourself into the cradle of a baby and vomit on their boots. Take your pride and seek help else where. There will be geared players attempting to try the run as everyone gauges difficulty differently.

[The-Alchemist]

Where do level 55 rings, wrist and necklace drop for white mage. I have yet to see any of those items drop in AK of palace

[Zanther]

Oh, they drop there. Loot drops are random and random means you'll see the same item for 20 runs in a row and that item you want will drop once.

Because its "random"...

[CatholicFan]

Nice little guide. I can tell the OP put some thought into it.

One thing I would counter with, though, is that the game does tell you what to do at 50 if you're paying attention. If you're just FATE grinding your first job to 50 and doing the bare minimum of main-story questing, then I suppose the game doesn't really clue you in. However, if you're playing it like an RPG, you can find out pretty much everything you need to do that the OP mentions. The first time I did Dzemael Darkhold and got Tomestones of Philosophy, the pop-up Active Help told me what they were, and where to turn them in (that's right, I never turned off the help boxes). Because I try to do all the side quests, I naturally discovered Wanderer's Palace. Given that the game gave me that before Amdapor Keep, I naturally assumed that's the next dungeon to grind through. Also, given that WP was unlocked before the HM primals, it's probably safe to assume you should be gearing up with that before them, too.

It seems that playing these games like they're actually still RPG's is a bit unpopular, but it's not hard to see what to do next when you do it this way. Because I've cleared the quests in a given area, when a new one pops up because I've leveled something up or completed a task, it's really easy to see what to do next.

My suggestion would be to retitle your thread to something like... "Endgame Progression for people that don't like RPG's"

[Pwnagraphic]

You can take on Garuda in only AF.. Won't be as easy, but it's doable.


Titan on the other hand. You need to be geared for that.

[Taemek]

It is a pure shame that the elitest argument always seems to rear its ugly head in online video games.

However, there is but one simple way to explain it.

Gear is simply not every thing and is not what always determines the fate of a fight. It does however make good players great and great players perfectionists. The great players tend to not need a hand up, where the good players need all the help they can get.

Gear score, item level, what ever you want to call it these days is not the end all be all that defines us or the outcome of a battle ingame, it is merely a way to determine someones dedication and time spent playing. The rest boils down to brain power, understanding a fight, the ability to adapt to "oh ^&%$" moments and the countless amount of other variables that always seem to plague us in this industry, BSoD's, lag, loss of connection, distractions etc etc.

At the end of the day, it boils down to what you are happy with and can it be done with a monumental amount of effort, after all, what feels better for you, trivializing a fight or being the under dog and rising to victory? I tend to choose the later, as I prefer my time spent playing feel some what rewarding, even if the virtual experience of it all is some what, pointless.

One last thing, just remember, on the other end of that screen is not a player, but a person. A little common courtesy can go a long way in to grooming someone to becoming that next perfectionist.

[Zanther]

snip .

I can tell you havent read this thread at all.

Tell you what. You finish leveling to 50, and que for a Titan run with the gear you're currently wearing. Let me know how Titans heart phase and stomps go (which are timed). Also, make sure your raid is also wearing similar gear.

I'll bookmark this thread and await your reply.

[Fenwick]

I don't really understand the massive amount of negativity in this thread, he gave a pretty decent guide on what new players should roughly be doing once they hit the level cap. It isn't about "strategy vs. gear" because the need for gear is worked into the strategy. If you don't have the VIT to withstand hits, the ability to hold aggro or the heals to manage your team, you simply aren't ready for the content.

In the case of being in a FC, I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be an asset to your team. In the case of joining a pug group, you can't expect a bunch of complete strangers to be alright with carrying you, it isn't realistic and in most cases they will get angry and they will respond negatively.

If your party as a whole can get through Titan (I doubt it) with sub-par gear, that's great but the majority of people cannot, otherwise these topics wouldn't continue to exist. In any RPG there is a logical course of progression, you don't boot up your game for the first time and enter a level 20 area expecting to progress, it simply won't happen.

[XyleHarkyn]

Updated the guide with some insight on Titan as I am beginning to grind the fight. Hopefully I'll clear him soon.

[Alcyon_Densetsu]

It's a great effort, thank you Xyle Harkyn for all the good work and dedication to help players know how to progress logically (and dare I say efficiently) at level 50!

RPG FTW.