Rank limits on gear

[Duelle]

Ummm...what on earth was in my comment that you quoted that could possibly be viewed as endorsing mid-combat gear swapping???

Because I said nothing of the sort.

You're right. I jumped the gun there, and for that I apologize. My reading comprehension failed because I thought you were asking for additional inventory to thus facilitate gear-swapping.

But more important to games is CHOICE. And a high level/experienced player should be able to make the CHOICE to look glowey and ritzy, or it should be viable to dress in a much more moderate manner. The current way MMOs approach gear is to make the high-end things look like the headlights of a mack truck, while the low-end gear looks like a bunch of diapers sewn together. In my opinion, an adventurer shouldn't be ritzy because their gear is good, they should be ritzy because it's characteristic of them, while those who would rather look like a vagabond should.

This is definitely something to consider. As a WoW veteran, I can tell you that some of the higher tier gear was on the silly side in terms of design. If every paladin player I knew had a choice in the matter, they would have made the tier 2 paladin set the permanent uniform for our class. By the same token, I've run into fun-looking things here and there that I could not keep because of the need for gear with stats to stay on top of things.

In the context of XIV, it would be nice to be able to keep the "ordinary" look most of the current gear has, even if its relegated to costume slots to put over our "real" gear. You can then look flashy and epic if you want to, while those of us who prefer to look a little more modest can do so as well. Adding more choices for that kind of gear would also be a plus, as we definitely need more tricornes and other nifty hats and such available to us.