[dev1007] Voidwatch: Obtaining Spoils

[Babekeke]

There are 3 options for VW and really, nothing the equivolent of a slack-jawed yokel of a DEV team comes up with is going to be as good as these 3 options.

1. "Add treasure to pool" - similar to Abyssea chests, your treasure goes into the pool for other people to lot if you do not want it. This option will only apply to items tagged "Rare" or "Rare/Ex"

2. "Point System" - similar to Assaults, Einherjar or even ISP/CP/AN. Rewards are valued at x# per Voidwatch fight. Items are valued another varied number of points. Point are traded for items, and in the case of bodies, points+trophies (similar to Dominion ops) from the specific NM for that body. Example, 20k points + 10 trophies from Voidwrought = Fazhuelo Radiant Mail.

3. "Options" - Before the fight, I select one of two options. "Personal Chest" - Everyone in the alliance gets their own personal chest or "Treasure Pool" - Any Rare-Rare/Ex item (And multiple of each can and should load not just one of each) is placed in a treasure pool to be distributed in whatever way deemed fitting.

In option 3, the PUG are protected and the LS's are protected.

Right now, Voidwatch offers zero reward for a linkshell to do the content. I can't reward any member of my linkshell with what they want because I can't use any sort of lotting system in VW.

We know that the JP like VW because it is easily done in Pick up groups, but that doesn't amend our issues with it and those issues need to be addressed.

Your job (Community Team) is to badger the DEV team until they fix this for us. They can tell you "no" 10,000 times but that is somewhat irrelevant because if your job is to represent us then that's what you need to do. Giving us a bullshit response from them as if we should accept that response is in a word, unacceptable.

Actually, the dev team DID come up with options 1 and 2, they just won't implement them to VW, and from what you say about option 3, you're limiting the rewards to just 10 items, which, unless ONLY the non-synth items go into the pool, you'll hardly get any rewards to share.

I would say in the current system, you have a chance of getting 18(+? can you ge more than 1 decent item in a chest?) non-synth items, but I sincerely doubt it. Has anyone ever gone with a group with more than 10 decent drops?

[Byrth]

You must not have understood mine. My fault there, I suppose.

Yeah, I still don't see any "screw you" in there. You can interpret it many ways... maybe they'll be reducing the amount of time you're allowed to attempt the battle, so people time out faster... maybe (like you seem to believe) they'll be reducing the HP of the mob... maybe they intend to make weakness hints easier to understand... maybe they'll increase the number of weaknesses a mob has.

There are just as many good ways to read into that as bad. You chose to read it as a bad thing because your mind was already made up by the time you hit that point in Camate's post.

You're still viewing the dev team through the rose colored glasses of Abyssea. The dev team of yore didn't make things easier. With very few exceptions, they were dedicated to making things harder.

We can wait until this is implemented and have this discussion again, but even assuming they make only beneficial changes it still doesn't address the primary problem of shit drop rates, large member requirements, and personal chests. What do I care if the fight takes 30 minutes instead of 45? It probably took an hour and a half to form the shout alliance and get everyone to camp, and half of the tards will realize they aren't in Abyssea anymore after two fights/wins and warp back to PJ due to unpredictable dog walking emergencies. One fight later we'll have lost so many people that it's time to either restart the process or just warp and log for the night. The worst part is, I'm generally thankful for it to end.

With better incentives or higher drop rates, member retention wouldn't be as much of an issue. As it is, they've followed two big event changes that make way for lowman stuff (Abyssea and Neo-Dynamis) with an event that works best with a full alliance.

[Felren]

These forums just have streamlined the player suggestion/complaints and response.

Instead of complaining about 21-24 Hour HNM/botting and getting crappy adjustments not hitting the problem after years. We now get crappy adjustments not hitting the problem of Voidwatch in months!!!

We now get our views rejected faster! Yeay!

[Rearden]

I specifically stated Rare-Rare/Ex items only for the pool in option 3.

It doesn't matter to me personally if it is limited to 10 items, because those 10 items can go to the people who want them in my linkshell - not to people who don't want them (repeatedly) or mules, whatever. I can't say hey guys we are doing Voidwatch to farm bodies again if the only bodies we've got go to the same people who don't need them or don't drop at all in tens-hundreds of fights.

I'm not worried about losing members because they don't get items, I'm worried that I can't reward members for their work properly.

[Nynja]

if you want SE to make a change...quit, otherwise youre just blowin smoke. Going "CHANGE IT CHANGE IT CHANGE IT CHANGE IT" wont make them change it.

They've already said they wont budge on an add to treasure pool option, stop saying "fk you, do it", because youre not helping your case.

[Yinnyth]

You're still viewing the dev team through the rose colored glasses of Abyssea. The dev team of yore didn't make things easier. With very few exceptions, they were dedicated to making things harder.

We can wait until this is implemented and have this discussion again, but even assuming they make only beneficial changes it still doesn't address the primary problem of shit drop rates, large member requirements, and personal chests. What do I care if the fight takes 30 minutes instead of 45? It probably took an hour and a half to form the shout alliance and get everyone to camp, and half of the tards will realize they aren't in Abyssea anymore after two fights/wins and warp back to PJ due to unpredictable dog walking emergencies. One fight later we'll have lost so many people that it's time to either restart the process or just warp and log for the night. The worst part is, I'm generally thankful for it to end.

With better incentives or higher drop rates, member retention wouldn't be as much of an issue. As it is, they've followed two big event changes that make way for lowman stuff (Abyssea and Neo-Dynamis) with an event that works best with a full alliance.

Eh, I've gotta be honest with you about that, actually. I dislike abyssea. I dislike neo-dynamis. I like VW. Note I say "like" and "dislike" though, not "love" and "hate".

Overall, yes, the loot system is a stall tactic. On one extreme end, you do it for eternity and never get anything. On the other extreme end, you find everything you want when you log in. Both extremes are equally deadly to an RPG. The location between those 2 extremes which the VW loot system currently occupies is ok with me. That's really all I can say about it. There is no proof one way or the other that the current system is good or bad, only opinions. My LS is doing ok on VW so far, and we all appear to be happy with it. If an overwhelming number of other LSs have complaints about it... eh, I suppose it really does need to be changed.

And to be perfectly honest, I do appear to be in the minority on these forums.

[scaevola]

You have a forum full of players telling you the problem is loot distribution, but the devs think there's some other problem at work. Well then, what IS the crux of the problem with Voidwatch?

The purpose of an MMORPG feedback forum is to provide for an actual dialogue between players and devs; the idea is that if the devs make a decision the players don't agree with, they have an avenue in which they can explain the thought process behind that decision. If the line of reasoning is justifiable (which it usually is!), the majority of the players will see the logic and accept it. If the FFXI devs are going to make a decision and then send the Community Reps to issue pronouncements without explaining the rationale, why even bother?

As it stands, this forum is a teaser site for the next update.

[Tamoa]

I too would really REALLY like to know what exactly the devs believe is the crux of the problem with Voidwatch.

[Asymptotic]

I dunno guys. My mannequin is really enjoying the Mekira Mekiogai that I got from Kaggen last night. Seems like everything is working as intended.

[Insaniac]

Does it blink when it's on your mannequin?