Introduction of Synergy Augments (04/28/2011)Follow

So correct me if I am reading this right.

They want us to over write the current stats, with augmented ones. They had better be hell of good stats to replace the current ones. I wanted an addition to the current stats.

It means you can overwrite prior augments in case like, say you're trying for -PDT% on one. One try you get 3% and decide to keep it, but later you get 4% or more. Anything you didn't want in between can be pushed aside.

As is, I'm more curious about the possible augments. Using the above example, I'd be more inclined to try for blood/crimson cuisses again. Genbu's with a could mod could also help it become an even better defensive piece, or offer some offensive perks, too.

Curses, I was hoping to see what kind of augments would should up for limbus gear

Maybe this will turn out to be the excuse I need to finally use that Neptunal body abj. I've had lying around for the last couple years.

Kirin's Osode
lv.75 All Jobs
Rare/Aug/Ex
STR+10
DEX+10
VIT+10
AGI+10
INT+10
MND+10
CHR+10
Thunder Resistance+3

I hope they don't wait too long to add homam to the list. I actually still use that stuff.

Maybe this can be step 1 to them actually fixing the Evolith system to make them worthwhile and make NMs being hunted through the Hunt Registries worth hunting. Maybe not having to have half a dozen variables line up would be nice (like keep element & shape, discard size), making those 2 Hour Evoliths worth something by slicing off more than 1 or 2 minutes (how about 12 or 15 minutes?), and greatly expanding the number of gear & weapons that can host Evoliths. They need to make the process easier to give people incentive to actually hunt the NMs while flagged in the registry for the evoliths.

Imagine, if Evoliths were easy to equip, a BLU could hunt a few and get those element-specific MAB stones & element-specific Acc stones or being able to get enough Vs. Family evoliths of decent potency to actually make them worth the effort to any XPer.

They can also replace some of the completely worthless Evoliths from VNMs (and give Evoliths to Gray Abyssite NMs like Dawon), because we all know Lamprey Lord's Resist Poison, Verthandi's generic HP boost, and Elemental Damage in Elemental Weather of the same type from Krabkatoa, Orcus, Feuerunke, Jyeshtha have players drooling. They can overwrite the whole lot minus the ones for Light/Dark Skillchains and no one would protest.


If they wanted to channel classic SE, they would have a coveted HNM everyone would want to fight only pop by trading like 20-50 Evoliths to a spawnpoint, like Yara Ma Yha Who & Crystal Eater or the one with the Pamamas and the Carpenters Landing NM where you have to trade a bunch of one item to pop it. Maybe make it a reskinned Golem the color of Evoliths. Dastardly Darwin? Galapagos Goliath? Evolithic Emil? If they also want to be classic SE, maybe they can add in "gold evoliths", evoliths that drop at a rate of 1:20 or so in place of regular evoliths that if added to an equip, have no difference, but which when collected and traded enmasse can spawn a higher tier HNM a la Nidhogg. The Evolith/Scylds systems seems like half a great system, they just need to make the Evoliths worthwhile and equippable and make the whole concept of doing these B-hunts of NMs worth something too. Either that or they can have some field Hunt Registries spawn new special NMs for scylds just like tabs can be used to spawn the Fields of Valor NMs.

The guys who are now working FFXIV. Go figure.

I feel for the people who programmed the system because it is quite detailed, complex, and well thought out (usually) but feel nothing for those who created the broader details of the concept (i.e. an epic wall of lame made out of discarded evoliths). There is a very orderly system behind which NMs got in the registry, which zones got how many new NMs, and with the Vs. Family Evoliths matching up to the family of NMs that prey on the family in the Vs. Evolith (except for Luminians & Empty). The people who had to plot it out and create all the new NMs, they did amazing work, but were handed such sh*t. 2-Hour Ability Delay -1?! Sorry LS! I can't join you in Dynamis/Limbus/Salvage/Assault/anything, I just have to camp that NM for that Evolith! Oh, and I'll be heading over for Brenner* afterwards too.

And it is a failure. The restrictions on Evoliths are far too onerous (too few gear/weapons being etchable, so many of those factors have to line up) and the rewards far too mediocre to make it worthwhile. All gear except for some (AF, some already strong weapons, of course gear that already has its box filled with attributes) should be etchable. That's the whole spirit of augments, isn't it? I can understand dividing things by Element with magic or by Vs. Family to avoid having things be too broad, but while that is fine, they made the list of etchable stuff pathetic and the potency of the Evoliths negligible. 2-Hour Evoliths that take 1 or 2 minutes off, several Evoliths where their effect is +1-3, when if you want to get people's attention, +5-10 would be better. And given the level cap increases made players a lot stronger, they have more leeway with Evoliths to make them truly augmenting, instead of being an ugly bauble on a weapon or piece of gear.

(For reference, http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Evoliths)
Imagine, your Magian trial is to kill 10,000 Goobbues. If the system was easy, you could seek out the X Weaponskills: effect Evolith for your weapon, X, get the Vs. Plantoids: Attack or MAB, Accuracy and maybe even Defense (they really, really need to make the Evolith/synergy system easy if they want people to actually equip Defense Evoliths). If you're a mage, you can make a build from some of the Evoliths for whatever magic you use. That would be totally awesome, but alas, while Magian Trials and Evoliths can go together like peanut butter and jelly (or chocolate), SE made the blasted peanut butter jar lid so damn hard to ***** off, we can't combine the two things.



*: I soooo wish they would do a ninja update to Diorama Purgonorgo, making it accessible by getting some warp scroll from the Brenner NPC, with the zone being open to anyone if no match is scheduled... and putting a NM with some really good drops in there. And if people want a match and people are in the zone, they have 20 minutes before some automated NPC spawns and casts Warp on everyone in the zone to clear it for Brenner use. It would be like finding your own private spot. I think having the NPC not give the message saying "Do you want to enter Diorama Purgonorgo anyway?" anytime a player speaks with them but like once every 10-20 times would give NM (or even a special XP zone that's a menagerie of rare or unusual enemies) a word of mouth kind of mystique, like Mortal Kombat secret characters like Reptile & Smoke had before the internet existed. Or in the Diorama Purgonorgo zone, create 2 copies, 1 empty with the Warp boot, 1 with the NM and maybe only 1 in 5 arriving players would arrive at the NM one. It would keep up the mystery and have players who find the empty zone say "Nah, you're full of sh*t. That pic with the NM is photoshopped!".


Edit: Oh yeah, the orderly system I was talking about...
http://forums.ffxiclopedia.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26148&sid=407ac4c4e0ec5ef99d9d282ffcaf10be#p337791
Scroll down to the Nov 2009 update entry in that post, then scroll down to notes. That explains how NMs were chosen. A few Evoliths were missing from the list they programmed, I forget which though (not Fire Enfeebling because Addle wasn't added til after then).

Edited, Apr 29th 2011 3:00am by zoogelio