Last night I unlocked the achievement "A Life of Adventure" which means all DoW and DoM to 50 and I woke up this morning regretting it... (link to my Lodestone profile, it should update from last night shortly). I'm not a legacy player and started at ARR launch.
From my perspective the armory system is a trap, a poorly thought out quicksand that locks you into an inefficient gear progression path (assuming you have the time to get more than 300 myth per week). Let me explain. I realized that after leveling up a couple of synergistic jobs on one class that I should have rolled an alt that does a different role and leveled it instead of keeping on with the same character.
I got my tanks to 50, farmed some WP, AK and got Ifrit weapon (only only two pieces of DL to acquire for tanks) but then - wanting to be the best I can be - I decided to get my cross class skills before continuing, which turned into getting ALL the cross skills which turned into getting the title and crown before 2.1, which I did last night and now here I am. Yay...
So, needless to say I have a lot grind/farming ahead of me. And thinking about it, even though I did 204 dungeons and 2,451 fates to get to this point, it seems like a paltry, quick grind compared to when I think about gearing them all post-50.
As it stands, post 2.1 it will take two weeks two get 900 tomes required to complete each relic quest. That's 16 weeks - about four months - for all eight classes assuming cap every week and all tomes go to relics.
If I had ignored the armory and played FFXIV like every other MMO, basically one class per character (or even one role per character), I would be in a much better position then I am currently. If I had stopped after, say, four classes on my main and instead started an alt, it would cut the time needed to gear them in half.
e.g.
Player A - One Character with all eight classes at level 50
Player B - Two Character each with four unique classes at level 50 (8 total)
Player B will be able to finish its relics in half the amount of time, two relics every two weeks compared to Player A's one relic every two weeks. Besides being able to acquire myth tomes at twice the rate, Player B will also get a second coil lockout, a second piece of gear from CT, and another 300k gil through leveling/questing. Player B will have this advantage until Player A (who already has all 8 classes maxed) either rolls an alt or the level cap is raised.
So, in other words, barring Player A grinding yet another character/class to 50, Player B will have this advantage for the foreseeable future. All this in exchange for a few 26/34 cross class skills that Player B can grind out with fates in Quarrymill over a few hours during the time savings and the loss of the xp bonus on the alt's first 50. In fact, Player B only needs two characters each with a class at 50 and a level 15 subs to accrue 2x as many tomes as Player A who has all eight classes at 50.
Player A with eight classes at 50 on one character can only progress its characters at half the rate of Player B who only has two level 50 classes with level 15 subs, a main and an alt. Seriously, it all just seems broken and shortsighted to me.
Lots and lots of time saved between Player A and Player B and the only difference between them was that one ignored the armory gimmick and rolled an alt (like it would in any other MMO). And what does Player B get for ignoring the armory gimmick and taking a couple of extra weeks playing the game "like wow"? Rewards. Twice as many tomes per week, a second raid lockout, a second piece of gear per week from CT and 300k gil. And what does player A get for maxing all classes on one character? Pigeonholed into focusing on one of the classes and playing the game "like wow" if it expects to get anywhere at a decent clip.
I was thinking this could be countered by capping the myth per week based on the number of classes you have at 50, say if you have one class at 50 you get 450, two classes gets you 550, three gets you 600, etc. Not even a 100% increase (which is what an alt gets you), add diminishing returns like I did in the example, SOMETHING reminiscent of the xp bonus you get for lower level classes because right now the game encourages you to roll multiple classes to 50 then when you take the time to get them there you are c*ckblocked with the same myth cap as the players with one 50 and a single 15 sub. After you level classes with synergy that share gear together, e.g. pld/war, mnk/lnc, sch/whm there is little incentive to continue on that character after getting the level 26 or 34 cross skills.
So please, don't make the same mistake I did and get caught up in the armory gimmick. If you find yourself leveling another class that lacks synergy with your current role, then STOP IT AND ROLL AN ALT. Unless something changes then you'll thank me later. The armory system is supposed to be an alternative to alts but since you can double your myth cap by rolling an alt the old fashioned way it becomes counterproductive to level more than a few classes per character. You'll end up where I am, spending like the next year or so capping tomes when I could have rolled an alt and be done in half the time. The thought of doing the grind again makes me want scream as I claw the flesh off my face.
Edited, Dec 6th 2013 5:22pm by KingoGoodbomber