One other thing that was pretty mind-boggling to me re: accessories was the ones that increase healing. I had a green one from the early game that increased potion healing by 40%. I later realized that it only applied to the “potion” item and not all potions…because I got a purple item that increased the high potion healing by 25%. So (1) that was not clear at all and further goes to show how little thought went toward game clarity and (2) if you did the math, you actually get more total healing from running the green one over the purple. The only time it’s worth it to use the higher level purple accessory is if you’re already using the other one (i.e., use both at the same time). I really don’t think anyone on the dev team did the math on this.
Also, one of the endgame legendary-tier accessories in the game literally increases all damage you deal by 5%. That’s beyond boring. It might have been nice as an early-game drop but it’s literally the best-in-slot endgame items.
Good point re: deus ex…there happens to be a note in a child’s doll that solves all your problems. I forgot about that but I think it was probably one of the single worst plot devices I’ve seen in recent years.
There are definitely ways the game could have made fun gear. For example, gear that makes a Phoenix skill do more damage after you use a Garuda skill. Stuff that helps you synergize your Eikon choices better.
As much as Stranger of Paradise gets memed, it would have been really amazing to see a similar gear/job system in FF16.