Are Seasonal Events getting a little, ur - *boring* - to anyone else?

[BlatantPyre]

I started reading a forum on the last All Saints Wake having the same issue, and though I agree with both sides of the argument (too short/too fetch-questy vs. short and sweet with high rewards), this year's Starlight Festival was a bit of a let down for me, and I'm gettin' worried...

So, here's my whine: too short, not much to do, and the rewards aren't all that mind boggling (or complete, even: Where's the rest of the uniform?)

I'm not asking for grind heavy FATEs or ginormous, Eorzea spanning fetch quests (though I'll admit I enjoy that from time to time). But I enjoyed last year's Starlight Celebration WAY more than this meager...whatever it was. I was done this go around after logging on for 10 minutes, and now there's nothing more to do.

I guess I'm askin', don't we want seasonal events to be, I don't know...ACTUAL EVENTS!?!

[BlatantPyre]

<sigh>...I'm the second post on me own thread...oh well.

Just did the new Heavensturn quest, and my fears are well founded, it seems. It was once again crazy short (talk to a guy, do a FATE, talk to a guy...10 minutes gone, yer done - again.), not much fun, and the "rewards" might be glamoured by five people per server (okay,maybe more, but still...pretty flimsy...).

It feels to me like SE is weary of providing worthwhile seasonal events, perhaps to focus more on providing other new content that's permanent to the game. While I can understand this, it begs the question - why even bother doing seasonal quests at all?

For the past year, even though there were a few less than fantastic events, every single one had something about it that made it worth doing. Starlight Celebration was actually fun, provided a shweet minion and other cool stuff, and was even repeatable, and worth repeating. You could put in as much or as little time as you wanted. Heavensturn may have been a "talk-to-a-bunch-o'-people" quest, but the minion at least was worth it for the collectors. Valentione's Day made you think, and for those who enjoy that sort of thing it was brilliant, and encouraged players to work out the puzzles together. Little Ladies Day was an interesting event, the entire server working together towards a common goal, and inviting new players to seek out veterans to accomplish it was a stroke of genius (well...it was a cool idea, at least). Again, repeatable, and you could put in a little time, or a lot, up to you. Hatching Tide had a cool story and was hella fun to do, despite the rewards being minimal, plus you could repeat the FATEs and still get rewards if you wanted to. Moonfire Faire...oh, Moonfire Faire...that sucker could last you a month if you wanted it to, weeks for most, and the rewards are pure glamour-er bliss. So many swimsuits...not to mention that the FATEs were varied, AND you could choose to craft for your rewards, and help others earn their stuff as well. Grinders paradise, and at least an amusing diversion for those who don't want to grind. The Rising was an amazing experience, total nostagia/novelty (talk to the devs in-game?! That's cool.), and you got two cool minions and a permanent mini-game just for shites. Even All Saint's Wake, the beginning of my worries (very short/not much to do), rewarded us with an awesome mount. And then...<sigh>...

I guess my point is, if we're not going to have unique experiences with worthwhile rewards doing these seasonal quests, why should we do 'em? And if SE doesn't have time to provide those experiences because they're trying to provide a better core, do we really want them to waste time making a speck of a quest that none of us care about, even if we want to?

I want better seasonal quests, but if that's impossible, I'd rather just have a festive setting and be done than expect something fun and rewarding and get punched in the gut for doing so...

[Nicobo]

...it begs the question - why even bother doing seasonal quests at all?...

TBH, for the achievement, and moreover, the unwanted item will be put on mogshop for $5 next year... ^^;

[BlatantPyre]

TBH, for the achievement, and moreover, the unwanted item will be put on mogshop for $5 next year... ^^;

Achievement's are, uh...nice...but it isn't really a reward, not on their own accord anyway. I prefer to earn my stuff as well, I'm not looking "just to own it", but to experience getting it and having it as a souvenir. That may just be me. But none of that has anything to do with my point. I'm looking for FUN. The rewards just make it sweeter.

[Tokochan]

I was a little confused when i finished this last one.. Like "That was it? O_o"
Hopefully they're putting time into something worthwhile? Would like to see more interesting events as well ;___;

[BlatantPyre]

I was a little confused when i finished this last one.. Like "That was it? O_o"
Hopefully they're putting time into something worthwhile? Would like to see more interesting events as well ;___;

Oh, I agree. I guess I'm just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. In doing a little research, apparently the last Starlight Celebration was headed by a newcomer to the team, one with little game development experience. He posted as such on one of the DEV only forums. As much as I'm glad for new blood, maybe he needs a little more mentoring before he goes hands-on, his inexperience really shows. I don't know what happened with Heavensturn...

To clarify, my "if that's not possible" comment is really to show how nonsensical it would be without being too contrary...we have enough of that on here as it is. Besides, it's technically possible that the reason behind this recent lackadaisical event development really is because they've diverted faculty to core content...but it's just speculation. Whether it's okay or not is up to the individual player. Me...I'm on the fence, but my legs are swingin' on the "not so okay" side as I stare at all the disappointment...

[BlatantPyre]

Just played Valentione's Day event...and I'm okay with it. Still short, the rewards were okay, but - it was fun, the concept was pretty cool. And that's all of what I was askin' for.

I may retire this thread soon, but if anyone wants to start up a convo, I'll keep it.

[Maero]

Well christmas and this year's events thus far i kind of find they are not as good as they have been in the past. Decorations and what not are still top notch however

[Enkidoh]

Actually I thought this Valentione's Day event was sweet - the only thing I wasn't sure about was the whole fortune-telling mechanic - exactly how did it work? I formed a party with my bf (whose character is happily married to my character), and most of the results were... either utterly wrong (the fortune stated my boyfriend's character was a frigid ice-maiden to her, which nothing could be further from the truth!), or so totally vague as to seem more like a generic 'this response would probably suit most adventurers' (namely, gaining money). And the last one seemed to be a subtle hint to me to actually follow the rest of the sheep and do the stupid anima weapon quest (which I've been holding out on doing)!

Ah well, it was still fun anyway and it was nice to see

Lisette and whatshisface actually earn their happy ending, after the last few years where it showed nothing but doomed attempts at match making.

Who says romance is dead?

[BlatantPyre]

As far as I can tell, it was based off of certain characteristics of the two characters' profiles (they kept mentioning Nameday, current class, and the like), probably cross-referencing some variable generator chart based off of those characteristics. It was a cool idea, I've attempted it with multiple characters, and haven't seen the same outcome yet. That being said...it's just random stuff, so I wouldn't expect anything coming out of it that should affect your game directly, or any potential "relationship" (or in Enkidoh's case, relationship) between the two peeps involved. It's just for kicks.

To respond to Maero...your point is well taken. I did say I enjoyed this Valentione's Day - but I did enjoy last year's far more. Like I said on another thread, there's still room for improvement. Guess I should'a said that here, too...