One of the things I'd recommend PSO2 do to help alleviate the item and data storage issues, is to remove the sweets box system, and make sweets into an affix-like system for pets. Give these "pet affixes" a success rate, and whatnot. This would remove the need for the caramel crusher, and the sweets retrieving items for one. It would also remove the strain on the client/servers for storing sweets box information and sweet compression. It would also allow stacking/higher stacking for sweets.

Another thing I'd recommend is PSO2 removing the "Sub Add" units, or converting them into "Affix Add" fodder items that can be stacked. These "Affix Add" items would work the same as a unit or weapon that has an affix. The affix however would be a single affix, and would be in the item's name. Such as "Stamina Add." These would only come in tier 1 / level 1 affixes.

The next thing I'd like to suggest is a complete overhaul of the Affix System, to be simpler and easier to approach. The system would basically end up mimicking Final Fantasy XIV's Materia system in a sense.

Removing the Complicated Unit/Weapon Fodder for Affixng would be one of my first suggestions for this. Currently, when you want to affix something new/etc. you have to open up the affix menu and select weapons/units to sacrifice. I'd recommend instead adding an "Affix Extraction" system where you can remove affixes and add them to an "Affix Add" item. By default, these would be named "Blank Affix Add," which can be bought at an NPC shop or gotten via Ex-Cubes/Photon Boosters. The Blank Affix Add item would be considered a material. When you open the extraction menu, you select a weapon/unit that has affixes on it, you can select multiple items that have the affix you want to be extracted to increase the chance of success. You can also use a support item, such as the affix success items. After obtaining the necessary "Affix Add" items of your choice, you can then slot them into affix slots for your equipment, which leads us into my next part of this overhaul...

Affix Slots should be fixed / randomized and have empty slots to add affixes to. The current "upslotting" system will be entirely removed. Instead, "Upslotting" will be handled through a new menu called "Slot Drilling." This will add a slot to a piece of equipment. The maximum amount of slots the equipment can have will be determined by the rarity of the equipment. Slot Drilling would have a a couple failure outcomes that could occur:

• Great Failure: Reduces Enhancement Value (-1 to -2) and may reduce the amount of slots by 1.
• Failure: May Reduce Slots by 1.

Adding an affix slot to a piece of equipment with no slots, would be guaranteed. A secondary support item can be designated, such as a "Blank Affix Add" to store the lost slot's affix. This would give players peace of mind when attempting to add more slots while giving them new ways to spend currency items.

Crafted Weapons/Units could have slots added to them on crafting. Adding "Blank Affix Add" as an optional crafting ingredient would allow them to have slots, albeit empty ones. The amount of Blank Affix adds required for extra slots goes up exponentially based on rarity of the crafted equipment and how many slots the crafter wants to add.

If you want to see other inventory adjustments go over to @Princesse-Jen's thread: https://forum.pso2.com/topic/5793/inventory-adjustments/

i like the pet candy system as it is, personally

wrt changing the affix system, i won't outright disagree with you, but there is something i want to be taken into consideration: the triple dose of RNG built into the current affix system (dropping a particular augment, that drop also having a particular slot count, and augment success rate limiting the amount of augments you can feasibly affix in one go) helps both to give value to drops gained from playing the game and to curb p2w. the last 5% of power you can get costs like 1000 times more than the other 95% combined. if you allow an augment on equipment of any slot count to be transferred to equipment of any slot count without fail, you may well crash the economy entirely, leaving only cosmetics as items of value

there's also a bunch of other complicated things you can do with upslotting and using identical fodder that allow players to make money by creating intermediate fodder, but i don't really want to get into that right now. the gist of it is that the complexity of the affix system is an opportunity for f2p players to actually make money once endgame equipment is no longer able to be traded

FFXIV can afford to have a simplistic materia system because it has so many other things in its economy. PSO2's affix system IS the economy (outside of fashion i mean), so it has to be treated delicately

(you may also want to look at the ability transfer system added in episode 6 if you haven't already. i don't think it will really change your suggestion, but the info is there if you're interested)

@coldreactive said in Summoner Pet Sweets Box and Affix System Overhaul:

One of the things I'd recommend PSO2 do to help alleviate the item and data storage issues, is to remove the sweets box system

Eh? Why?Pet candy box are great and doesn't need to change it.

@coldreactive said in Summoner Pet Sweets Box and Affix System Overhaul:

Give these "pet affixes" a success rate, and whatnot. This would remove the need for the caramel crusher, and the sweets retrieving items for one. It would also remove the strain on the client/servers for storing sweets box information and sweet compression. It would also allow stacking/higher stacking for sweets.

Hell no. The difference between affix on weapons and units is it more easy to get then a candy. You can't sell candy on player shop. You need to farm to get a candy. Some candy are limited time event. Why should whe have a systeme that make a success rate? That would be super unfair. Like every class can get their affix on player shop but SU can't? lol

Candy systeme is ok and balanced. You can't put everything on it and you need to learn how to do good sweet box. Affix systeme will be so much broken on pet, you don't know how. lol If we can put 8 affix that will do like a weapon affix + the candy effect... Damn SU will be just to much op.

Edit: ANd caramel crush items you juste need 8 for each pet so its not a problems.

I dont know how helpful this may be; but personally I just like to think of the current pet candy system as a sort-of pseudo-weapon-affix-system. That is to say; its just a way easier system to manipulate your affixes that you want (guaranteed). At least; if you think of your pet as a weapon.

I kinda wish they'd let weapons be slotted in the same manner tbqh

Honestly with everything that has been going on lately, I agree whole heartedly with the OP because an easier system to manage affixes without feeling like you have to literally break your bank and sell off your belongings just to get a chance to crack 1.2 mil on a summoner like i did; trust me even with the help of an alliance member on the process, the affixing system is just WAY too complicated. I mean Terraforming on EVE was alot better explained than affixing is in this game. The candy box does have its issues but honestly I am starting to grow to enjoy looking over the guide for it and making personal decisions on what works for me.

However, to the point a rehaul would be ideal for those of us who want a simpler system without having to throw out the baby with the bathwater in a matter of speaking. (Poor idiom, but it demonstrates the point)