POL News: I play Diablo, no wait I play FFXI... ummm

Ok so I will be fair, this is a lot more sophisticated than the gem system in Diablo, but it doesn't change the fact that it is still a new system that encourages you to collect gems and slot them into your equipment for additional bonuses.

As much as there was of getting your gear turned into something pretty dismal with the randomness that came with the augment system in FFXI, there was a degree of thrill that came with the unknown. Will you get something amazing like +6 INT on a Weskit, or are you going to get -3 INT on your snow ring and +3 water resist, there was an air of anticipation.

Needless to say if you suffered the loss of an item due to augmenting without the financial backing to recoop the lottery that it essentially is, it quickly becomes a very expensive risk that has deterred a lot of people from using it at all.

Enter from stage left the augments sexier, more flexible younger brother, with a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye to catch you and ensnare you with a charasmatic smile.

This of course is SE's newest "take it to the players" system they are looking to introduce in the next update. Called Evolith, it essentially breaks down into the augment system with choice. Collect the gems/crystals/evolith from various targets in Vana diel and bake them into your equipment via an oven in town.




The ability to remove these evolith stones offers a very attractive incentive to boost your gear as you can play around with different options and see how it affects your game play, plus it is nice to see that it will actually be available through a whole host of original gear as well as some new items you can beef up


Just from the snippets offered up by SE, the augments seem to be fairly interesting, although to add a pinch of salt here you could quite quickly see a bottleneck at the NM pops of some of the stones that offer the more immediate and obvious stat boosts.

This idea is most certainly following in the footsteps of the recent trend in FFXI by the development team, where they are encouraging the playerbase to take a much more hands on approach to designing their own gear. All the joys of augmentation, without the tears essentially. I can see this being one of those rare updates where SE might potentially just void one of their own systems ingame for something that is a lot more player friendly.



I have to say it is quite an interesting method to get around the continual stream of complaints I have NO doubt SE get about why this, that and the third are not done for mememe. Instead of getting grumpy about it they introduce game mechanics to feed the wolfpack.

This definately looks to have the potential to be a worthwhile system to invest time and effort in for those players dedicated to tweaking their gear to the nth degree for that fraction of more damage, along with appealing to the more casual player base with some more obvious and easy augments for instant gratification. One to keep an eye on for sure.

We're pleased to announce a new system that promises to offer adventurers unprecedented customization options for their equipment! Named the "Evolith" system for the curious stones whose powers must be harnessed to reap the benefits, it will be introduced in a version update coming as early as late November.

Introducing Evolith

Little more than nondescript rocks at first glance, the substance known as evolith has long escaped the notice of the inhabitants of Vana'diel. Closer investigation, however, has revealed that these ancient stones harbor elemental power to rival that of crystals. With advances in the emerging discipline of synergy*, the time has come that their latent potential may at long last be tapped...

*Synergy is a new form of synthesis conducted using a "synergy furnace."
This system will be introduced in detail in a future Topics article.

With each piece of evolith possessing unique properties (*see example screenshots), adventurers may mix and match them in various combinations to bolster compatible equipment with the exact combination of attributes they desire.

*Development screenshot—subject to change.

Evolith 101

Adventurers may enhance their equipment with evolith through the following procedure:

1. Acquire evolith
- Evolith can be obtained by completing new NM hunting regimes accessible from "Hunt Registries" that will be introduced to certain areas alongside the Evolith system.
- Note that each piece of evolith is defined by a unique shape, size and elemental affinity.

2. Choose the base equipment you wish to enhance
- A vast assortment of equipment will support evolith, from several hundred existing items spanning a wide range of levels to new equipment slated to be introduced alongside the Evolith system.
- You may check whether or not a particular piece of equipment supports evolith by trading it to one of the "Synergy Engineer" NPCs that will be dispatched to certain cities.

3. Prepare your equipment
- A maximum of three evolith-holding "slots" may be etched into a given piece of equipment via synergy.
Note that each slot will have its own shape, size, and elemental affinity, to correspond with the evolith itself.
- The etching process will require the use of dedicated items.
- Similar to augmented items, etching evolith slots into a piece of equipment will render it untradeable and unauctionable.

4. Confirm compatibility
- Ensure that the slot is of the same shape and elemental affinity, and is large enough to hold the piece of evolith you wish to attach.

5. Attach evolith
- Evolith may be attached to a compatible piece of equipment via synergy.
- It is possible to outfit a piece of equipment with as many pieces of evolith as slots it contains.

*Development screenshot—subject to change.

The Finished Product

Should your synergy be successful, congratulations! The help window for your newly evolith-enhanced equipment will appear like this:

*Development screenshot—subject to change.

- Evolith Replacement and Slot Removal
Should you wish to replace an attached piece of evolith with one offering different benefits, this may be done at time via synergy. It is also possible to remove evolith slots entirely—thereby returning the equipment to its original state—through synergy using a dedicated item. Note that in both cases, the previously attached piece of evolith will be lost.

With countless varieties of evolith in existence, the possibilities are endless. Seek out the combination that best suits your playing style, and the equipment of your dreams can be yours!