Motivation past 72?

[Rones]

you asked they answered.

I asked if there was anything else. They answered by repeating the stuff I had already looked at in my first post (af2, mp, reraise3). I was asking for anything else since I didn't view those as motivation for the previously given reasons.

[Tifa]

Armor beyond 72 will be the set of AF2 armor.

Cleric's Pantaloons @ 73
AF2 body @ 74
AF2 gloves @ 75

this pieces are very very good, although difficult to obtain

i have the pants myself and they are crazy good. they add +20 resistance to my Bar- spells, which makes me finally better than rdm/whm's bar- spells.

the body piece is second only to nobles tunic IMO, its much better than errant body or vermillion cloak, since you'd be able to wear a headpiece.

af2 gloves are great also, another +15 enfeebling (add that with enfeeblin torque and your af1 body and you'll have some pretty damn high enfeebling skill). as weell as increased Banish effect (prolly useless lol)

i have no clue as to how much HNM fighting you've done at your point, but i can tell you that Max MP comes into play much much more against HNM's where you cannot sit down to med like you can in a exp party between pulls.

exp party max mp is hardly a big deal at all, but for most endgame type stuff, max mp will make you a better whm. 25-30 more mp from three more levels is the same as an astral ring, think of it that way. the MP is worth getting.

merit points are totally optional but if i were you, i'd just suck it up and get to 75.

one last thing- at 74 your sub goes up another level to 37. with a SMN subjob that'd give you even more max MP.

[Icemage]

Rones, you and I think alike on virtually everything WHM, so here's my take on WHM72 vs. WHM75:

At WHM72, you have access to every single spell but one - Reraise III.

And yes, it takes over 120K XP to get to 75 from that point.

On the whole, it doesn't seem like it's a worthwhile venture.

Here are my reasons I'm going for it (albeit slowly at my own pace). Note that none of my reasons have any relationship to exotic gear or other physical trappings - they're all social reasons.

- Peace of mind.

Once you hit 75, you are no longer a slave to the levelling treadmill if you don't want to be. If you die, Reraise III gives you the freedom to not worry about dying - the XP savings is significant. It makes going into things like Dynamis and other high-risk zones much less intimidating because you aren't depending on anyone else to save your behind when things go wrong and everyone wipes.

- Respect.

Call it however you like, but when you're talking to other players and negotiating for anything, there are a bunch of intangibles which creep into the interaction. Job level, rank, equipment, linkshell, subjob... all are subtle cues for other players. I don't really like how it's done, but it's undeniable fact that higher level players command more social ammunition, and wishing it were otherwise just doesn't make it so.

- Merit points

Not a huge issue in and of themselves, since their effect is somewhat weak considering the very large amounts of time investment required. However, the more subtle effect of merit points is that once you hit 75, if you choose to continue to rack up experience points for Merit, you get an opportunity to meet and interact with the rest of the most dedicated players who have made it to level 75.

XP parties at level 74/75 have a completely different tone and feel than at any other level. The XP lemmings who play all day to gain yet another level become the minority, the interaction is much more relaxed, the players tend to be top-notch at what they do, and there is much less pressure and much more trust, since 95% of the truly bad players are gone by this point. Also, because there are an increasing number of good players who have reached level 75, you literally can pick and choose the perfect party setup at almost any hour of the day if your communication skills are good.


Icemage

[Rones]

You're right Icemage about the thinking alike. You came up with two very good reasons I had overlooked, thank you:

Call it however you like, but when you're talking to other players and negotiating for anything, there are a bunch of intangibles which creep into the interaction. Job level, rank, equipment, linkshell, subjob... all are subtle cues for other players.

XP parties at level 74/75 have a completely different tone and feel than at any other level. The XP lemmings who play all day to gain yet another level become the minority, the interaction is much more relaxed, the players tend to be top-notch at what they do, and there is much less pressure and much more trust, since 95% of the truly bad players are gone by this point.

[cruets]

i've been slacking too and was thinking like you for awhile when i reached 72. whats left? why lvl higher? answer, to be the best whm there is, to have the best gear, to have the respect of others, and i owe it to this character that i have played for a year to take her far as she can go. to stop before the finishing line when its in sight and so close would just be disrepectful to a character you devoted so much time and energy to.


lvl 73 now, got the best gear a whm can have, hopefully i'll be 75 soon now i dont have to farm as hard anymore