Lack of character "skills" customization...?

[Daragust]

Contrary to popular belief World of Warcraft didn't set the standard to all things. In most other high quality MMOs, character builds have a lot of options that are all viable in their own way...

The biggest issue I see with opening up the cross class skills is just that, they are cross class. The jobs have very specific dedicated purposes, and giving away more pieces of them homogenizes the whole. IE: Why should I play a BLM when a BRD does better damage and now I can cross class and get sleep or an aoe or... As much as specs should be about making you more unique, quite often they just make you more similar.

To hit on something from other threads, I'd rather see them put multiple armor sets and weapons in game that drive play style. Give me two armor sets for my SCH. One that increases the strength of my shields while the other increases my base healing rate.

Gear can be just as useful as specs and can often be easier to keep balanced.

[Arrukai]

....
To hit on something from other threads, I'd rather see them put multiple armor sets and weapons in game that drive play style. Give me two armor sets for my SCH. One that increases the strength of my shields while the other increases my base healing rate.

Gear can be just as useful as specs and can often be easier to keep balanced.

Very sensible arguments, Daragust, and I agree wholeheartedly. The variety in play that people think can only be achieved with multiple specs is done through switching classes/jobs in FFXIV. Each time my sister and I have changed our combination in the same dungeon, we've had a different experience and have made us better players in our preferred classes. I also like the idea with gear, and there is more longevity and balance going that route than overloading our screens with skills that will largely get discarded through player optimization.