The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

[Caspian]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

but YM, everyone is saying resists really aren't that bad if you use gear swaps and use ele staves.

[Armando]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

Yellow Mage: The thing is, the Slow outweighs the STR and DEX. Using Hecatomb would hurt your damage more than wearing nothing at all in that slot. To imply that they meant for it to be equipped full time is to imply that they have no understanding of the stats they put on gear.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

That was in response to Armando's equally likely conjecture of Hecatomb as an "approval" of gear-swapping.

If gear swapping were really "approved" of, TP wouldn't be reset whenever Weapons OR the recent Grips got swapped. Let me go dig up that thing about Grips for a bit . . .

EDIT: {Found it!}

A word on grips

While not designed to bring about radical improvements, grips are a new lineup of items which can be used in tandem with two-handed weapons as a means of wielding them more effectively. They accomplish this by enhancing a weapon's benefits while compensating for shortcomings. Grips will not be limited to offensive weapons, as some will be tailored to mages and their indispensable staves.
Different grips will allow players to adapt to specific situations depending on the type of two-handed weapon they are using, as well as the type of enemy they are fighting. Players should be advised, however, that changing grips mid-combat will result in a loss of TP. Therefore, no grip's benefits will be restricted to the execution of weapon skills.

Source.

It really sounds like that S-E really learned from past items like the Hecatomb set when releasing these things, and while they are, indeed, admittedly minor, I wouldn't be surprised if S-E were willing to do something like this all over again on a more major scale.

[Murphie]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

Wut?

And what does what the developers might hypothetically have been thinking have to do with anything? They aren't the ones playing the game.

You're saying that the game should be dumbed down so that people don't have to buy gear?

[Yellow Mage]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

By the way, I would like to point out that S-E must be in favor of equipment swapping, otherwise they wouldn't have made Hecatomb gear, which has probably been around for as long as Sky itself, so blatantly horrible for full-time wear.

Or, just like most other things, the developer's intentions were distorted in to ow it is used today. Imagine the following hypothetical process of thought:

"Oh, since these pieces are powerful Abjuration gear, people wouldn't mind the penalty. I mean, there's Haste bonuses players can cancel it out with, anyway, right?"

Enter the playerbase. Exeunt any possibility of the aforementioned thought process happening.
______________________________

Versatile.

How the fuck can I be versatile if I don't maximize all of my capabilities?

/facepalm

That means a MND set, an INT set, a healing set, a hMP set, even a nuking set and a tanking set. Inventory? Yeah it's almost always close to full but damn it you don't see me getting resists constantly because I gear myself as best as I can.

I had already said that resists were a problem and need to be dealt with, particularly post-51, apparently. Your post really only furthers that point.

[Murphie]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

If we geared ourselves so that we really were the jack of all trades, master of none, we'd be the master of standing around in Whitegate with no invites.

Actually, I take that back. We'd be the master of standing around in Jeuno, because we wouldn't get high enough to stand around in Whitegate.

[Aksannyi]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

. . .

Some days, I think people forget what Red Mage really was supposed to be.

Versatile.

How the fuck can I be versatile if I don't maximize all of my capabilities?

That means a MND set, an INT set, a healing set, a hMP set, even a nuking set and a tanking set. Inventory? Yeah it's almost always close to full but damn it you don't see me getting resists constantly because I gear myself as best as I can.

[Murphie]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

YM, don't be stupid. There is no "was supposed to be" in the reality of this game.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

mediocre at everything.

. . .

Some days, I think people forget what Red Mage really was supposed to be.

[Murphie]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

so a rdm shouldn't have to have an enfeebling set, a nuking set (with appropriate staff), a curing set, and a /healing set?

Melee onry! Or just one set that is mediocre at everything.

[Armando]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

By the way, I would like to point out that S-E must be in favor of equipment swapping, otherwise they wouldn't have made Hecatomb gear, which has probably been around for as long as Sky itself, so blatantly horrible for full-time wear.

[Caspian]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

so a rdm shouldn't have to have an enfeebling set, a nuking set (with appropriate staff), a curing set, and a /healing set?

[Murphie]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

Why shouldn't they? Just saying something is so isn't a reason.

I never have a problem with healing people who blink. It's called properly set up macros.

The fact is, gear swapping is a function of the game. Not taking advantage of that is willfully limiting yourself. You can claim some sort of elitism on the part of people who take advantage of it, but that doesn't make you right.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

Before we can even give any validity to your "opinion," you must first give reasons to back it up. Opinions CAN be wrong and yours doesn't even have a reason behind it.

I have plenty of reasons behind it: I didn't think it would be necessary to list a few of them. An error on my part: I forgot I was dealing with 'kitten here.

Point one, and I'm pretty sure every Red Mage, approving of Staves or not, will agree with me on this: inventory space. If you bothered carrying around a single moderate gear set instead of a dozen different accessories for every single spell, your Gobbiepack will start feeling oddly light. The only thing stop people is, as you said, twinking your gear with every macro press is obviously more effective, and people start obsessing maximizing every single action and it becomes par for the course. Solution? The Stun+Bind penalty makes sense: if you're out there on the battlefield and you decide "Ooh, I think this skirt matches my spell better," you shouldn't be able to play dress-up without at the very least some cost to time.

Point the second: blinking. All healers with me say "aye?"

Point the third, and another big one, although this is really more an indicator of fallacy than an actual point: any standards that are currently had by the gear-swapping community of Vana'diel will immediately adjust if such a thing happened. You say "gear-swapping is absolutely necessary," and I say it's just being a twinking elitest. And the sheer existence of the PvP Penalty seems to favor the latter.

Resists post-51 need some nerfing, though: Elemental Staves shouldn't seem like a miraculous godsend at any level, much less for the rest of your carrier.

EDIT: Thanking dirtyclown was because I misread his comment. Said Thanks has been removed and order restored. Happy, peoples? v_v;

[dirtyclown]

Re: The issues with FFXI that we don't often discuss

I don't understand why YM is thanking Dirtyclown for saying that YM was so off base that it didn't even need to be responded to.

That makes two of us.