Alliance based content

[Demonjustin]

I'm not denying issues with the current content. I was more or less saying it does exist. The fact some of these NMs are easier with fewer people really doesn't change the fact that had they not done the whole 6-man update we've have done it in alliances anyways and had to deal with the extra difficulty regardless. It seems stupid to me to say Delve for instance isn't alliance content when it's designed to be that way and they simply didn't adjust it for low-manning to the point it'd be worthwhile in alliances still.

I won't deny we need content which alliances can do that isn't better to do low-man.

I don't think there should be any content that's exclusively for alliances.

[detlef]

Specifically for Delve, if they couldn't implement varying difficulties and drop rates, maybe they would consider varying plasm based on group size. Perhaps running with a large group meant you got more plasm/less drops per person while a small group would yield less plasm/more drops.

I won't deny we need content which alliances can do that isn't better to do low-man.

I don't think there should be any content that's exclusively for alliances.

This captures my sentiment. I like alliance content for many reasons but mainly because of the social aspect and the allure of seeing a much more diverse job spread. I won't lie and say it's not kind of cool to be able to do alliance content and have gear that other people can't get. But I will say it's probably better for the game if things are available for many different groups, provided that the content is scaled properly.

I'd hate for ally content to go away completely. I even hold out hope that VW will make a comeback because I had a lot of fun doing pickup VW.

[Draylo]

Yeah I liked pickup VW too, it was something the whole server did and knew each other from. They need to add something, just 6 man content is stale.... Cmon SE!

[ZoMBie343]

Somebody has to play support jobs or the group won't succeed, 18man or 6man. If you don't have the time to sink into an MMO, you can't expect to be the best. You should be content with eminent gear and reforged AF, the low tier gear was created for players like you. The top end gear should be to the people who are most dedicated and are able to field the things necessary to win it.

This kind of thinking is toxic for any MMO. You should be concerned about building relationships with people instead of finding new and creative ways to exclude people. (Actually I don't think it's new or creative).

[Draylo]

It's not toxic lol, every MMO runs the same buddy. If you don't have a lot of time you aren't going to be the best, that is how it is. Find me a subscription based MMO where that isn't true. Building relationships with people isn't all that great, most of them quit all the time or they drop off the face of the game w/o a word. You can have fun without being best of buddies. It's not about excluding people its about sustaining the longevity of the game. If you notice recent Delve adjustments, all those people cleared that content super easily and now they are bored. When everything is within reach to everyone with a dev team that doesn't pump content out that fast, you end up with a crisis.

[Lithera]

-.- they could pump stuff out every other day and people would still complain about being bored and having nothing new to do. Why? Because there are people who will not only have beaten the new thing that day but also gotten everything they want from it. Also just because a person might not be able to log in as much or as often as someone else doesn't mean that they won't be able to get the "best" gear at that point in time. It'll just take them longer than those who can be logged in more/longer.

[AppropriateName5786]

Bored people quit, and people who quit don't give SE money. They did the same thing in WoW for several years, but Blizzard realized that this was a huge design flaw and fixed it somewhat with systems like LFR. FFXI has no such system, nor does it have the population/ability to make it work even if it did. Making Delve 6-man was a very wise decision; the problem with Delve now is the design (i.e. it is extremely unbalanced, gimmicky content), not the number of people who can enter.

Some people log in for 2 hours a week on LS event night and get the best gear available, just because they have the right connections. Some of these people spend zero time "enjoying the game" outside of showing up to an event once or twice a week. On the other hand, someone who spends 10 hours a day in the game might never progress past D/VD AA fights because they don't know the right people/no LS needs their jobs/they live in a different time zone etc. When it comes to end-game alliance content, the amount of time you spend in the game and how dedicated you are (and these two things are quite distinct) don't mean all that much.

Alliance content is never about "teamwork," as any activity that requires more than 1 person requires, by definition, teamwork, which means that you can experience all the teamwork you want in 2-6 person content. As Zombie343 mentioned, it's always about exclusivity, and SE should no longer cater exclusively to "princesses" in this game. Optional alliance content is fine, but content that is exclusively for alliances needs to never be seen again.

[Afania]

This kind of thinking is toxic for any MMO. You should be concerned about building relationships with people instead of finding new and creative ways to exclude people. (Actually I don't think it's new or creative).

Not sure what's so toxic about it. 6 man content is better at excluding people since the elite can play with mules/close friends and 18 man forces players to build relationships with people and find more friends.

[Lithera]

Afania I don't think he means that is toxic, but the because I have more time in the day to play the game than someone else they should just be bloody happy they have sparks gear mind set as being toxic.

[Draylo]

Bored people quit, and people who quit don't give SE money. They did the same thing in WoW for several years, but Blizzard realized that this was a huge design flaw and fixed it somewhat with systems like LFR. FFXI has no such system, nor does it have the population/ability to make it work even if it did. Making Delve 6-man was a very wise decision; the problem with Delve now is the design (i.e. it is extremely unbalanced, gimmicky content), not the number of people who can enter.

Some people log in for 2 hours a week on LS event night and get the best gear available, just because they have the right connections. Some of these people spend zero time "enjoying the game" outside of showing up to an event once or twice a week. On the other hand, someone who spends 10 hours a day in the game might never progress past D/VD AA fights because they don't know the right people/no LS needs their jobs/they live in a different time zone etc. When it comes to end-game alliance content, the amount of time you spend in the game and how dedicated you are (and these two things are quite distinct) don't mean all that much.

Alliance content is never about "teamwork," as any activity that requires more than 1 person requires, by definition, teamwork, which means that you can experience all the teamwork you want in 2-6 person content. As Zombie343 mentioned, it's always about exclusivity, and SE should no longer cater exclusively to "princesses" in this game. Optional alliance content is fine, but content that is exclusively for alliances needs to never be seen again.

Yet Delve 2.0 was a step back in the "exclusive" department. Nobody will take random jobs because the more people you add the more HP mobs have and more difficult it becomes. It ends up being people with mules and specific jobs only. The is the same for almost all the hard mode battles too. At least alliance content let you bring other jobs and still win w/o gimmicks like increased HP per person.

If someone logs on 10 hours a day and they aren't completing content it is because they are idiots. You could easily farm a large amount of gil and pay people for wins or items that you desire, or put effort into researching a linkshell within your play time. Alliance content is more about teamwork than 6 man, you are so mistaken. It requires a lot more work to get 18 people working together well than it does 6 people (oops I meant 3 people and mules).