How about some actual challenge to FFXI?

[Zumi]

FFXI currently has no real challenge to it. Which leaves me pretty bored if I want to play a the game and be challenged. Not really into boring farming.

Timesinks, drop rates, farming 8 seals and +2 items to grind out a set of AF3+2 armor is not what I call a challenge. Fighting NMs for 50+50 and then 75 of a drop for the Empyrean weapons is not a challenge its really just fighting some pathetically easy nms several times. Can even be done in 2 weeks or less if your a hard core farmer. Most people won't finish this fast though due to a bunch of competition on the 15 min timed spawned NMs on the 2nd part. The game now just boils down to tedious gear farming in abyssea for end game content.

SE was good about adding some new content and the new higher level cap and new abilities and spells but what they failed to do was provide the players with any real challenge in the new content abyssea.

None of the fights in abyssea require much skill at all. Majority of fights can be summed up as melee kill the mob WHM spam their cure 5 and 6. Ok so their might be some fights that require you to remove a debuff or stun a certain move but still those are few and far between. WHMs can't run out of mana. Melee are so buffed and have so much survivability that almost everything in the game boils down to spam heals. You can get such a high amount of counter on monk 70% that you pratcually destroy most stuff in the game with 1 healer. Doesn't even have to be a monk but any geared melee.

Oh and in the case of something might be too hard such as Rani or Shinryu time to bust out the Primeval Brew for the easy win. Why does such an item even exist? Kind of reminds me of using Holy War in Final Fantasy VIII to beat the hardest bosses.

Would be nice if SE came out with some very hard bosses that required more then spaming cure 5 and 6 on a monk, and took some actual real strategy to kill or skill, and people were actually in danger of dying. Having infinite mana is so easy mode. Whatever happened to actually trying to manage your mp or you would run out. When was the last time you can think of that you were actually in danger of dying?

Rather fight some difficult hard to kill bosses for some good gear then kill something then grind easy nms over and over.

[Dubberrucky]

I agree with you I would like to see some challenge put back into the game but there is always hope that all the abyssea stuff is just preparation for what they have in store for 99. One of the jokes in my LS is that they should put in an NM that has exp-spikes or en-exp to simply drain your levels as you fight it with the extreme easy mode of leveling and lack of death to give us something to keep working on at this point

[Runespider]

None of the fights in abyssea require much skill at all. Majority of fights can be summed up as melee kill the mob WHM spam their cure 5 and 6.

With Abyssea Square basically added a "select your difficulty" option, want incredibly easy? use a brew, want easy mode? use 3 powerful atmas and curor buffs(everybody uses these even when they complain it's all too easy), want a challenge? go try kill those NMs without any Abyssea buffs, yeah you don't really want a challenge.

All you whiners that say you want a challenge are just talking nonsense, if you actively do kill these NM's without atmas you get your wish, whats the problem? OR is the real point you don't like others having an easy mode and you want those players barred from gear? I think thats the real issue here.

If you are bored because you picked easy mode then that is honestly your fault.

[Greatguardian]

I feel like at least 80% of the "It's too easy" crowd are just parroting what the "BG elite" have been saying for years. All the cool kids say ffxi is easy. Now that easily accessible content is introduced, everyone wants to be a cool kid. I wish I was a cool kid.

[katoplepa]

With Abyssea Square basically added a "select your difficulty" option, want incredibly easy? use a brew, want easy mode? use 3 powerful atmas and curor buffs(everybody uses these even when they complain it's all too easy), want a challenge? go try kill those NMs without any Abyssea buffs, yeah you don't really want a challenge.

All you whiners that say you want a challenge are just talking nonsense, if you actively do kill these NM's without atmas you get your wish, whats the problem? OR is the real point you don't like others having an easy mode and you want those players barred from gear? I think thats the real issue here.

If you are bored because you picked easy mode then that is honestly your fault.

I'm agree with you at 100%
the problems for this type of people is ONLY the fact that now (finally) everyone have access to the best gears in the game, it's not the difficult of the fights... if someone want a challenge, go fight Rani or Shinryu without a Brew and you'll have your fun... but that's not the point... the point is: damn, that noob got Epona like me! now how can I show to the others that I'm better? what can i wear in Jeuno for my pose to hold the attention of the others?

I remember in 2004 a player in full-koenig-set always in Jeuno like a statue from morning to evening and everyone examine him, now that times are gone, and I think is correct, the 90% of the players are veterans with 7/8 years of gameplay, SE can't ask people to keep on loosing social life camping an NM with 36-72 hours window (again, after 7 years!), I understand this means that "notorius hnmLS" CAN'T NO MORE monopolyzing the unique 4/5 top-pieces of gears, but I think: you had monopolyzed for years, now it's time for a game open with that people who don't want or can't spend entire life online...

[Dubberrucky]

There already is an easy mode for people who want it is it really crying that much to want a challenge in a once challenging game? or is it that if anyone wants something not so easy added they are automatically against the world because you do not want to try it?

[Maquis]

I think this just shows you cant please everyone. Something that is easy for you, might be hard for others. Some people find enjoyment in achieving something through difficulty, some find enjoyment through showing stamina and finishing the grind.

If something is too easy, why don't you impose your own handicaps?

[katoplepa]

go fight Rani and Shinryu without a brew,
go fight DL / AV / PW with 6 people,
go fight U/O with 3 people
and so on..

why you don't try ?
maybe because after you won, no-one "can notice" you because you receive the same reward...
so, the problem is "the challenge" as it is (just for the satisfaction of yourself and your friends) or something that can distinguish you from casual players?

[Runespider]

It makes no sense really, take any single payer game which has difficulty levels. If you go clear the game on easy mode and complain it was easy, well you picked easy so stfu?

Aby NMs are actually quite a bit harder if you do them without atmas and curor buffs, try it that way and enjoy your increased difficulty? Aby buffs aren't forced on you, you have to go pick your easy mode so whats the problem?

[Dubberrucky]

You could handicap yourself but where is the fun in that? On the other hand just like people cry and get things changed to be easier why is it so bad for those of us who want more of a challenge to say so as well. This topic talks of additions not taking anything away from the easy mode you are trying to save. For me at least I do not care if the end result is even different. Give me 4 stones instead of 3 as the highest droprate no one will be able to notice one bit of difference other than the enjoyment had obtaining it for those of us that don't think we should gimp ourselves in order to have more fun.