Item Level 119

Hello, even if i'm a veteran player, anyone can give me a serious explanation about the sense of item level atm?

I try to be more clear:

1. There's a very large amount of gear 119 but the range of stats involved varies widely. Delve gear is a fraction of Odyssey gear for example. If we accept that item level is a thing, Odyssey gear should be higher than Delve gear. Am i wrong?

2. SE can just remove item level and make everything just 99.

I know, i know...someone can argue about it because of trusts level but seriously atm even a fresh 99 can have a 119 set in a heartbeat so just give 119 stats to trusts for a player lvl 99 (because this is the base cap of trusts not considering quests, gear and event bonuses).


So tell me the sense of this item level system, not useful for comparing gear either.

119 is 119

It's not when it was made, it's what's on it. Unfortunately you just have to actually look at the pieces. There are no distinct identifiers, you just have to know.

More stats are more stats. It's obvious, and really shitty for square to not correct this obvious laziness but they won't.

Right. Aka it's totally useless. I'm sure they had another idea in mind when they introduced it after adoulin release but after 10 years, it's totally useless.

Just remove it or make it useful. As level modifier for things like trusts, pets etc is useless as well, just make base stats of those things 119 at 99 and that's it. I repeat, anyone even if fresh 99 can have a 119 set in a second.

Yup. They did it poorly. 2022 "119" is more like 130 or 140 but completely indistinguishable from 2016 "119"

it WAS somewhat useful in its first implementation when there was actual gear of various ilvl. But once they hit 119, they were just like "yeah, 119, we gucci here".

They wanted to embrace item level, with constant increases but players hated it. So they stopped at 119.

119 gear decides the level of your trusts, your bst pets, your automotons and your avatars. It can be seen as being a base level that takes you from 99 to 119 if you like, since it impacts xp and what monsters con as too.

Yeah it's a simple level modifier, i get it but can be fixed easily and removed (or they can put the right ilvl on new gear but as you said, it's not a thing and it's also more work i'd say).

Was a way for us to go past 99 without destroying "balance" with things like subs, also saves them having to make new JAs/traits outside of just spot updates. This was done fairly well up to end of adoulin, youll notice most 119 gear in skirmish/delve/ early high tier battlefields/unity are all about the same stat spread give or take.

But we needed to move up so enter rhapsodies and the stats start going up a bit, rinse repeat until we're here, they should have made gear above 119 but they're trying to hold to the whole no level progression thing so it just becomes a confusing mess for returning players, to the point I'd just tell anyone to ignore anything before escha, as armor wise escha/ambuscade are pretty reasonable starting points and just work up from there based on what you're able to acquire

I like that now there's a sort of horizontal and vertical progression mixed out with sortie, odyssey, omen, gea fete, dynamis d,unity(more like 75 era) instead of aggressive vertical progression like in alluvion skirmish era where a single "easy" event destroyed anything before that.

Still, i'm paranoic about round numbers and i hate to see item level 119 when we all know that odyssey gear is not 119. Joking aside, i hate that SE has with XI a very shabby behavior. People pays for a 20 years old title, profit is still there but XI is like the *** son of SE and this item level thing is all about how SE is lazy about XI.

119 is basically just to be seen as a level of gear, same as at 99 there was a difference between 99 gear.

They already said they have no intention of going above 119 since there was a lot of complaints players were feeling pressured to upgrade, if there was a number on it. As opposed to upgrading if they want to.

Current XI model is something like a vertical bump, then horizantal, then another bump and repeat, adoulin era had those listed above rhapsodies gave us all the geas fete gear, later high-tiers, omen artifact gear/individual gear, dynamis' relic gear, then we hit the next vertical bump with ody/sortie, i dont mind this system it's just poorly conveyed to players.


Comes with being a dated MMO that is only around because players refuse to let it die, you get scraps basically, still kinda amazed we got adoulin at all

Sure, it's a dated MMO but i don't like XIV progression for example(even if it's a great game). I like more XI because there's still a sense of progression and that your efforts are not destroyed every patch.

I mean, everything after escha release (2016 if i'm right) can be still relevant after all somehow. Some escha gear is still relevant, same with omen, dyna-d, unity, odyssey and sortie of course. Some gear from "new" htmb and even from old ones if we talk about accessories. Also alluvion gear can have some place (telchine comes to my mind).

This is what i call horizontal progression mixed with vertical progression. Clearly odyssey and empyrean +3 replaced a lot of gear but not all and not in all situation (and we all know how XI is situational isn't it?).

This is the model i like (75 era imho was similar enough, more horizontal maybe but similar) and i like that SE is going this way somehow but still we're the *** son of this company and we see it in small things.

They could easily leave the item level at 119 while still calling new gear 129 139 149 etc

If they weren't incompetent. And unwilling to more than the bare minimum.

119(129) It's that easy.

Sure but then they'd say that they have to rebalance trusts and pets because put a lvl 119 base cap on those is too much work.

Nope. The effect remains 119, absolutely nothing changes. It's just properly labeled.

They "rebalance" pets via the pet level+1 gear on various accessories/119 gear, so that wouldnt be much of an issue

Adding numbers creates pressure to upgrade, some players don't want a rat race. It's fine as it is.

Sure but probably they have to change too many code lines where there's written "if ilvl is x trusts attributes are y" (i semplify ofc) and add x cap is 119.

Too much for SE.

Too much effort is the reason everything is half assed. Yes.

Just for what it's worth, there were like 10 level 75 bodies for WAR at the end of era. Maybe 10 more wearable at 75, but under 75 (haubs sh etc) Only like 5 actually obtainable and desirable.

There are like two hundred 119 WAR bodies now.
(and two thousand states of augmentation on them)

It is insanity.

Yeah, i have to say that the augment system is what i hate the most of modern ffxi. Even more when augments are totally random like for reisenjima and skirmish gear. And not just for the stupid lottery system but especially (again) because gear is not easily comparable. Augments can't be listed in a database like ffxiah where i can search for "blu bodies with fast cast" for example and get a list to work on.

I understand that SE made this augment system like a gacha game and it's ok in that regard but 75 era was just better in this way and xi was still very profitable. Again, SE with xi is just very very very lazy because is an old and forgotten mmo that runs just because is profitable but they seem to hate it somehow.

Not to mention the insanity of creating a system like SR and not fix it now that is no more so relevant. I mean, give us the chance to fight a single NM with sure chance at a drop (not like now). Or the total laziness about things like Shinryu htmb and its stupid drop rate, it doesn't make sense. Shitty drop rate? ok give us a chance (with a mechanic or grinding) to make it better. Why this randomity? To keep us engaged? ok, fine...it's still a stupid and wrong method to do it.

Keeps people playing/rolling though, so can't call it wrong if its working.