Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

[Karinya]

From the FFXI official website:



The upcoming version update will usher in the "Augments" system, a new feature that will shatter your preconceptions about equipment and breathe new life into some of your most treasured pieces of armor.


Any veteran adventurer knows the feeling:
A beloved breastplate that served you in countless epic battles...
A cherished cuirass that fended off many a vicious enemy blow...
Equipment once treasured, now auctioned off for a purseful of gil or relegated to a dank, lonely corner of your Mog House in favor of more potent apparel better suited to your burgeoning abilities.
What could be done to give these items a longer lease on life? This is the question we asked ourselves, and in the next version update, you can experience the answer—the new Augments system!

Let's examine how it will work.



*This development screenshot may not represent the final product.

As illustrated above, players will be able to customize certain pieces of equipment by adding two augments of their choice to supplement the item's base attributes. This new feature will allow for two pieces of armor bearing the same name to possess distinct capabilities, specially tailored to complement the skills of the wearer.
A wealth of heretofore unseen diversity in adventuring attire awaits you!

Needless to say, the development team is hard at work to ensure that augmented items can be enjoyed by the widest possible range of adventurers, while preserving game balance with existing items available through questing and synthesis. Furthermore, to maintain the items' exclusivity, it will not be possible to trade them to your companions, nor sell them via the auction house or bazaars. Adventurers looking to acquire augmented equipment will have to do so by their own courage and valor!

We'll be sharing even more information on this exciting new feature come release day, so be sure to check back for all the latest details!


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Apparently, customizable equipment won't be just for the new mini-expansion. This could be very interesting, depending on how you augment a piece of equipment and what kind of bonuses you can get on it.

I also wonder if you will be able to get more than one of the same piece and augment them in different ways (provided the piece isn't Rare).

[Durahansolo]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*Creamed Pants* *Waits for Fable 2 style Augments.*

[Ziero]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

Freaking. Awesome.

Though most of the old standards (SH, Haub, V Cloak and such) will still be top notch, this might actually bring in some diversety into what people wear.

[Durahansolo]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

this might actually bring in some diversety into what people wear.

<<<Waiting for

"Why do you have MP Augments in your Haubergeon....You are a SAMURAI!!!" I wonder if they'll be like augments in Fable and you can't remove them after you put them in. But then now that I think about it, maybe they'll be removable since they most likely won't revamp the AH to include gear with augments, so you'll probably get a "All signatures and augments will be removed from the item when placed on auction."

[Feba]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

Honestly, I've never liked equipment modification systems like this. Depends on the execution though, I guess. I wouldn't mind leveling up your equipment; using crafting-like systems or item combination bugs me. I also suppose it depends on whether it can fail; lots of MMOs can have your weapons asplode in some form or another when you try upgrading them. If you don't risk losing things, it's different.

[Ziero]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

My guess, is that you'll get various stat boosting items, all of which have a specific purpose (i.e. Str stone, MP stone, Acc stone etc) And trade the item and the armor to an NPC to get your new, boosted gear. There may even be a chance to un-boost the gear or something so you can play around with stat combos to see what works best.

Though, I would love to be able to get some Haste and Acc onto the Dragon harness, or maybe some racc/haste onto the SH...

But that's probably just wishful thinking

[Mhurron]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

Though most of the old standards (SH, Haub, V Cloak and such) will still be top notch, this might actually bring in some diversety into what people wear.

Most likely what will happen is most people will only alter the top notch gear, and even then there will be ideas as to what the right way to upgrade them is.

[Durahansolo]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

Though, I would love to be able to get some Haste and Acc onto the Dragon harness, or maybe some racc/haste onto the SH...

/drool Auto-Refresh on a Hauberk. *Pulls out Rune Chopper and dances.* Each piece will probably have a preset amount of augment slots. I'll bet there'll be alot of armor that can't be enhanced and there might be a level limit on augments.

[LilithAngel]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

I have a feeling that what will end up happening will be all those pieces of equipment that don't already have any stat boosts like Gambison or Steel Scale Mail will be the only Augmentable gear. Otherwise, I suspect they'd have used something like a Haubergeon for an example. It would be rather SE of them to introduce something like this and make it only applicable to the gear that doesn't already have stats on them.

However, from the example shown, the Augments just might be worth it enough to make getting said previously crap gear worth it now. In the example given, 3 STR and 5 VIT or that much HP and MP is quite a bit for level 36. A lot of gear around that level that actually has stats aren't that good naturally.

Time will tell.

[Mhurron]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

I have a feeling that what will end up happening will be all those pieces of equipment that don't already have any stat boosts like Gambison or Steel Scale Mail will be the only Augmentable gear. Otherwise, I suspect they'd have used something like a Haubergeon for an example.

It would be easier to see what they did by using a piece of gear that had no bonuses on it before. I would expect that you couldn't alter AF/Relic gear though.

[meSchnitzel]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

<<<Waiting for

"Why do you have MP Augments in your Haubergeon....You are a SAMURAI!!!" I wonder if they'll be like augments in Fable and you can't remove them after you put them in. But then now that I think about it, maybe they'll be removable since they most likely won't revamp the AH to include gear with augments, so you'll probably get a "All signatures and augments will be removed from the item when placed on auction."

It says in the announcement that the gear is not tradeable or "AH-able" so I would imagine its a permanent change. Who knows though /shrug

[Durahansolo]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

It says in the announcement that the gear is not tradeable or "AH-able" so I would imagine its a permanent change. Who knows though /shrug

Everyone should know by now that I can't read ;_;. I misread, I thought it said that the augments wouldn't be AHible but it said the augmented gear. It also said 2 Augments....Missed that too lol.

[Feba]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

I also assumed it would only be applicable to armor that doesn't have native stat boosts; or it will remove other stat boosts. I really doubt it will be for non-craftable armor. It does seem like SE is trying to increase the utility of all these pieces of armor we have. Maybe blur the line a bit between city equip and party equip, which I think could be a very good thing.

[ospeff]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

WoW had this since day 1, I am not impressed, SE is always late.

[Sekighara]

Re: Get More Malmage from Your Equipment with Augmented Items! (03/17/2009)

I could see this system giving the AH and low level crafting a kick. I am just starting out again and beginning broke is a pain so the ability to use low level gear higher then expected would be great for the grind.

the part

Needless to say, the development team is hard at work to ensure that augmented items can be enjoyed by the widest possible range of adventurers, while preserving game balance with existing items available through questing and synthesis. Furthermore, to maintain the items' exclusivity, it will not be possible to trade them to your companions, nor sell them via the auction house or bazaars. Adventurers looking to acquire augmented equipment will have to do so by their own courage and valor!

Caught my eye because some it mentioned synth and quests. But Synth armors are the ones flooding the ah so will they mean you can custom quest items that are rare ex too. Because I would love a custom parade gorget.

Also it said armor, but would that mean earring and rings would fall under that as well.