Alright... time for another suggestion that no one will probably read. As of late, I've noticed that new gear put into the game has gotten progressively stronger in order to compete with the difficulty of the game. For example, the Forest Ranger outfits have very high defense stats. It's the same with a lot of the newer gear introduced since G19. Because of the difficulty spike, those of us that rely on lower level gear we had before G19, or those of us that don't have the money to shell out for this high level gear has pretty much made many of us completely unable to keep up. That's not to mention the reforges people put on their gear. Even rare gear from 2 years ago has pretty much become outdated and useless compared to new gear. Overall, stuff keeps getting added to the game, but so much stuff is getting left behind that when we get new gear, all our old gear becomes pretty much useless. For example, my best armor years ago, these days, is completely useless compared to things like the Alban Knights armor and the Geass armor. It's the same with weapons as well, as newer weapons are quickly outclassing the old. Even rare weapons from years ago are outdated these days (with some exceptions).

What is really needed is a massive gear, equipment and weapon rebalancing. Now... Don't get it wrong. I'm not saying I want all our gear to be massively OP. I just think that the game has grown quite a lot, and we really need to rebalance the older gear to the standards the newer gears are being put to. Of course, standards would still be put it, like starter outfits and less rare items could still be weaker, but some of the stronger equipment that has become obsolete needs improvements. I notice that many of the newer weapons have special enhancements based on their function. I think this could introduce a good system for making different gear useful in different ways rather than them all having a general defense enhancement. There should be more special stat bonuses for sets, and overall maybe having a set could help a certain skillset. For example, a ninja outfit like Anju's outfit could enhance the ninja skills. To an extent there are armors and weapons that already do this, but having more of these available means that more options would be available to the general public that doesn't have the money to shell out for ridiculous items that are completely overpriced.

The last thing I have to mention is the reforging system. I have to mention it as often as possible because I feel this issue gets completely ignored by most. The reforges have further traumatized the balance of the game, where the only way to beat the harder difficulties is to get insane reforges and spend a lot of time and money on a completely RNG system that may or may not help you. This system needs an overhaul as well. If the reforge system is not to be fixed, then adjustments should be made so that weapons and equipment that are stronger than most others should not be allowed to be reforged, while the equipment that can be reforged should be weaker than certain other equipment that cannot. Maybe even adding new enhancements to equipment that cannot be reforged to make it just as useful as higher level reforges. This is something that is the main cause of the equipment imbalance in the game, and Nexon casually throws it into the game in the form of gachas you have to pay money to only have a chance at getting said powerful equipment.


Before someone says it (Because there's always one), no... I am not saying we're "entitled" or anything should be "handed" to us. I fully expect to work for what I get. For example, I don't mind commercing for a few weeks to get enough ducats to get a high level equipment, or leveling up my tailoring skill to make higher level stuff (Currently rank 4, but haven't felt the need to level it up further), or going out for materials I need to make better equipment (but grinding for materials is a whole other issue). However, what I am saying is that the equipment in the game already needs to be adjusted in order to compensate for the difficulty shift in recent years. As of late, the balance in the game is slowly hitting a breaking point. Those of us that don't have higher level reforges and don't have the money to spend on higher level equipment are quickly getting left behind, which is why the player base has been quickly dropping in the last few years. The game is hitting a point where some people cannot get any stronger without the newer equipment and reforges that some of us don't have the money and time to pour into the game. Overall, this game has suffered because every time something new is added, nothing is ever balanced, and it has completely skewed the balance of the game. A lot of people are complaining about difficulty, but this is one of the reasons why the game has become so difficult over the last few years, because the game expects us to have this high level equipment and powerful reforges whether we have the money and time or not, which is pushing a lot of players away. If this game were rebalanced (it needs more than an equipment rebalance, but that's a topic for another time), I think it would mean a lot more people would be having fun, and it would also mean a lot less people complaining about difficulty. As of now, the difficulty cannot be fixed unless the issues that cause that problem are fixed, and this is one of those issues.