Kirutaru said:
I agree with this argument, but as a WHM & SMN (with two sets of gear for each and [literally] a staff for every day of the week) leveling NIN. . . This is a tremendous burden on my inventory. If you just want to play 1 or 2 jobs and be the best you can possibly be at those jobs, you're absolutely right. You're going to have all kinds of different gear for all kinds of situations, but if you're more interested in leveling all kinds of jobs, this is nearly impossible. I mean, I understand some people "retire jobs" so they sell off all their gear, invest in a new job and just play that for a while, but not me. I can't give up the two jobs I already love, and I don't want to stop leveling either. So with the (ridiculous, but ever expanding) limitations on our inventory I can -sympathize- with (as Fire said) those who are "only gimping themselves." I still agree that in an ideal world where everyone wants to be the best they can be at the job they are playing, you are right. I also believe that gear doesn't make you great. I have done plenty of things ass-naked on White Mage just to see if I could. I challenge the odds to see if I can keep up. I don't expect to succeed, but typically I do. I'd probably try to tank Byakko ass-naked on Ninja just to see if I could (expecting full-well to die, but w/e just experience.)
As much as I agree and sympathize, I think that your way of thinking typically breeds gilbuying. Our particular community (as I have no other experience with any other) seems to pride itself on 1337 gear so much that people who want to "feel cool" (even though they're just some nerd playing a video game) go out of their way (including breaking Terms of Service) to do so. If someone sucks at their job, they will suck. If they're good at their job, I'm sure you'll be fine. Gear makes good players have an easier time playing good, and bad players look cool while they play poorly. That's all.
Sorry for the rant.
Ok I'd like to clarify a few things, cause I don't quite think what I find amusing is getting through.
1. I'm not saying everyone needs multiple sets. Not saying everyone needs to make room for every gear swap possible.
2. Not saying people need the most expensive gear. Far from it.
3, Not saying people need to dedicate huge chunks of their lives to devote to endgame to get the best gear.
I'm saying this...
Why in the hell are people pouring millions of gil in their character, throwing months of their life away getting gil to buy or gear directly, to SUCK?
For any job that you play, there is a perfectly good easy to obtain set of gear.
Even the poor BLMs get like... AF head, hands, errant legs, and you can get a NQ weskit I'm sure without buying gil.
There is a fairly low effort 75 suit.
And it blows away all those people who put twice the gil and 100 times the time in it because they are using the situational gear you're supposed to swap around with that as their only gear set and they're using the stuff you're supposed to swap in as their regular armor.
To me it just doesn't make any sense. I'm not telling everyone they suck I just don't understand what they're smoking. If you don't have the room for gear swap, why go out there and get AF2 pants? I'm sure you earned it, and you deserve it but all you're accomplishing is..
1) You do less damage because you aren't using Mahatma pants.
2) A BLM who would gear swap it doesn't get it.
I reiterate, the reason I am targeting BLM specifically, is besides myself, I don't notice any other BLM who have AF2 legs and carry around their errants.
For other jobs, it appears as if there are just a few people who do this. For BLMs, it's only a few people who DON'T do that.