I started this series of Epic Weapon quest way back and managed to get the Gae Bolg Atma — which means, I finished the Relic quest completely and Atma is the starting point for Zodiac weapon. However, in hindsight, I wonder if it’s all worth it.
Since they’ve introduced the Anima Weapons, I looked back at the tasks I have done in getting the Atma weapon. Then I compare that on how much it needs to be done in order to get the Anima weapon. My conclusion, it was never worth it. Sure the skin of the Gae Bolg is the “best” looking skin but the things I have to go through to get it is mind numbing. Grinding FATE is never fun especially when trying to get a 10% drop rate item. However, I did it anyway last night and after several hours, I only manage to get 2 Earth crystals — like I said, mind numbing. The fact that I need to get 3 crystals of Earth, Wind, Fire, Ice, Water and Lightning makes this task a real waste of time. I mean sure, I’ll be grinding FATE anyway with my Summoner to get the job to 60, but to be honest, it’s the kind of task that gets me burnt out. In fact, when Stormblood hits, all these work is for nothing anyway. For instance, the Liberator is a good looking spear. Sure it lacks the animation that Gae Bolg has, but the animation only matters when the weapon is sheath/unsheath. Also, the Slipstream Partisan is a good looking weapon. So there’s really no motivation to complete this questline. Then there are the dungeons that I have to run to get the Anima when the dungeon queue has a minimum of 20m wait time — which mean nobody is running dungeons anymore.
Stormblood will also introduce new weapon system, for example, Paladin wielding 2-handed sword and Ninja dual wielding Katana. I was like, no way, I want to see my Dragoon use a 2-handed sword. So yeah, my Dragoon might end up using new weapons, in fact, my Dragoon might also carry a shield. Dragoon with a shield is not new to Final Fantasy so I won’t be surprised if they re-classified Dragoon as a light tank. I mean Dark Knight is classified as a tank job but it can also DPS, same with Warrior. So if they are giving Paladin 2-Handed sword, it can mean that they are allowing Paladins to be able to DPS. So in a sense, they may allow Dragoons to tank — and that would be awesome. Ninja might be interesting though since in Final Fantasy Tactics Ninja can dual-wield any weapon and with 2-Handed training, they can dual-wield 2-Handed weapons. So with all these possibilities, I don’t think the Anima weapon is ever worth it. Also the Anima weapon is only iLevel 210, which is rather low since I can purchase an iLevel 250 from the Market. Well, so far, I’m happy with my Dragoon.
In other MMOs like World of Warcraft, I’ve seen friends run the same dungeons and raids over and over to complete a set that will become obsolete come the next expansion. In my years of playing MMOs I never understood the desire to invest the time doing something that is mind numbing and an obvious waste of time to get something that will soon be obsolete. Skins will never be obsolete so sure, it’s worth running the same content to get an everlasting item, but to do it for gear set? I never get that. Someone once told me that the raid is designed to get people together and have fun, but in my experience in running any raid contents, they are filled with dramas and animosities and so many delays due to these. So in FFXIV, although I like the looks of the Alexandrian gears, especially the gauntlet and the booths, I can never get myself into any kind of raid — I just never have patience with the long wait, although most of the time, there are no dramas. This is what I like in FFXIV, there aren’t many assholes and most of my experience has been very positive.
In the end, after only getting 2 crystals after doing FATEs for hours, I decided to allocate my time somewhere else — I need to replenish my bank account also, that 500k chest piece left me broke albeit it’s well worth it. Not only that the armor piece is iLevel 250, it’s also in high quality and also looks good. They might have to rethink on the requirements in acquiring these Artifact weapons because the way they have it designed is purely a waste of time designed to keep players subscribed — which they don’t really have to do since there are already tons of things to do in game. Heck, gathering and crafting already eat up a lot of time that a questline designed to waste time is hardly necessary. However, I’m not judging if there’s a small demographic that like this kind of questline — I know that not many people like what I like. It’s one more thing I like about FFXIV, even though they cater to small demographics, they always offer something that my small demographic also enjoys. I can’t wait for Stormblood — is it June yet?
