Might as well throw my 2 gil in here. My own opinion on this is sort of tenous lately. I've seen how many hours that could have been spent enjoying RP have been instead thrust towards the various relic grinds. My time to play FFXIV has more recently been scaled back, so I've felt a bit more pressure as a result with these past two relic steps (specifically Nexus and Zodiac). I was usually pretty competative with my peers (I consider those in my more relaxed coil static group to be about on the same pace, though lately I've been the last in our group to finish). A lot of it has been finding time, and having to give a certain amount of priority towards progression with it. For me that sometimes means it comes at a cost, and I'm hesitant to forsake RP or other stuff for the sake of a grind I don't truly enjoy. In short, I want to enjoy the journey as much as the destination, and if that means I don't have my shiny new <whatever> before my friends and peers, so be it.
As others have said, I think it's more of a status thing than anything really important. I think I'd do just fine with the i110 UAT+Sands staff instead of my Thyrus, and the few stat boosts and iLevels is not - by itself - game-altering. I'm not one of thos relic-holders that totes that "omg must have to be the best". I don't have time for that.
What the relic quests do give me is something to do with my time when there's no RP or anything else going on. Combined with my own decreased time for playing the game, I've also been trying to reach out a little more and RP with different groups and broaden my horizon, which in turn narrows down my time even further for this.
I would say if you're extremely passionate about your job (and for my part I'll confess I do love White Mage) it may be worthwhile to you to undertake this process, if you're willing to sacrifice that time - and it is a timesink. If you're considering another job with Heavensward on the horizon, I'd just scrape by with whatever alternatives you're able to get your hands on (Shiva EX or Soldiery or w/e) and save your energies for what you are really passionate about. Of course if you find yourself with an abundance of free time and nothing better to do with it, I say go for it. Just realize that all of this stuff is probably going to be rendered obsolete a few months in the future.
I tend to think of the relic process as appealing more to the people who have been around and working on it all along. It's paced steps with each relic update patch which, individually, isn't terribly overwhelming. However when you look at it from the scope of a new level 50, having to get the atma, and do the books, and get the alexandrites, and farm the lights, and do the dungeons, etc... it's pretty ridiculous. I suspect - as others have also suggested - Heavensward will bring us another sort of "relic" tree which we can climb a branch at a time, or a way for some to continue the first. Final Fantasy has always been good about giving lots of variable options for this sort of thing.
As others have said, I think it's more of a status thing than anything really important. I think I'd do just fine with the i110 UAT+Sands staff instead of my Thyrus, and the few stat boosts and iLevels is not - by itself - game-altering. I'm not one of thos relic-holders that totes that "omg must have to be the best". I don't have time for that.
What the relic quests do give me is something to do with my time when there's no RP or anything else going on. Combined with my own decreased time for playing the game, I've also been trying to reach out a little more and RP with different groups and broaden my horizon, which in turn narrows down my time even further for this.
I would say if you're extremely passionate about your job (and for my part I'll confess I do love White Mage) it may be worthwhile to you to undertake this process, if you're willing to sacrifice that time - and it is a timesink. If you're considering another job with Heavensward on the horizon, I'd just scrape by with whatever alternatives you're able to get your hands on (Shiva EX or Soldiery or w/e) and save your energies for what you are really passionate about. Of course if you find yourself with an abundance of free time and nothing better to do with it, I say go for it. Just realize that all of this stuff is probably going to be rendered obsolete a few months in the future.
I tend to think of the relic process as appealing more to the people who have been around and working on it all along. It's paced steps with each relic update patch which, individually, isn't terribly overwhelming. However when you look at it from the scope of a new level 50, having to get the atma, and do the books, and get the alexandrites, and farm the lights, and do the dungeons, etc... it's pretty ridiculous. I suspect - as others have also suggested - Heavensward will bring us another sort of "relic" tree which we can climb a branch at a time, or a way for some to continue the first. Final Fantasy has always been good about giving lots of variable options for this sort of thing.
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
