Island Sanctuary feels intentionally slow and inefficient.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I know what relaxing is, and so far Island Sanctuary feels like the opposite. An endless mound of busywork without even a clear goal to aim for.

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Tbf, different people relax differently.
Some, such as yourself if I may presume, like a direction or goal. Whereas others such as myself can find relaxation in aimlessness.

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Originally Posted by NekoMataMata

And what would all of this be..?

https://i.imgur.com/FGj1Bwq.png

Like yeah, it's "optional" but it's not removed from the rest of the game. I was simply asking because I wondered if maybe the shop expanded as you ranked up. Shame on me though for not taking the live letter's word for it 100%.

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It's accurate to say it's removed from the rest of the game. Most of what you find here is aesthetics. The featured items are all unique and untradable. Nothing will give you any kind of advantage in the game. The materia can be gained so much faster and easier elsewhere. It's just there as something to buy once you pass the point of getting all the other items.

Picking up 1 piece of sand with your hands.

Seems viable.

Digging up sand? Here have ONE PIECE OF SAND.

Upgraded tools should allow you to gather more of an item, similar to how perception works in actual gathering.

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Originally Posted by Kaurhz

Probably removed from the game, in the sense that aside from the initial unlock requirement, the entirety of the progression of Island Sanctuary is independent. In the sense that; You do not need to be adequately geared, the progression of crafting and gathering here is independent of DoH/L outside, similarly, your currency outside of Island Sanctuary does not matter. That is probably what they meant by "Removed from the game" - and not - "Well no aesthetic rewards for you to use outside"

That being said, seemingly the only outside nuance there is, is the expert recipe for Level 90, which is potentially tied to an aesthetic inside of Island Sanctuary (Presumably)

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The island prism. They wanted something to allow for customization, but without costing more of the island currency. As you upgrade your hideaway and buildings, you'll start to see options for using these.

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Originally Posted by DixieBellOCE

Picking up 1 piece of sand with your hands.

Seems viable.

Digging up sand? Here have ONE PIECE OF SAND.

Upgraded tools should allow you to gather more of an item, similar to how perception works in actual gathering.

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You're actually wrong. When you get the shovel you dig up two different units of sand. It's the same with any other tools. You get one item you would get by hand, plus one for using the tool.

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Originally Posted by DixieBellOCE

Picking up 1 piece of sand with your hands.

Seems viable.

Digging up sand? Here have ONE PIECE OF SAND.

Upgraded tools should allow you to gather more of an item, similar to how perception works in actual gathering.

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An increased yield would be nice, even if not an increase to EXP, but seeing as I've gone through around 4000 Sand already, not entirely sure how I feel about 8,000 (Sulks). They could've also used this as a way to play into introducing other gathered items to potentially upgrade tools. e.g., Bronze > Iron > Steel, whilst granting benefits beyond just a second item from where you are gathering. Shame, really. Could have been a nice mechanic early on too

I wish more things in the game were slow and inefficient. This is an MMORPG, not Fortnite. It's purpose is to literally waste your time, without making you feel like it's a waste.

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Originally Posted by Krotoan

Day 3. Rank 8.

"OMG. ITS TOO SLOW".

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Ikr, gotta pump up those numbers. Get rank 10 within days 2 challenge.
That said, I'm ranks 7 and to stop the bleed of grind fatigue I sent all 40 minions to the cabin area. It barely fits them.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

You're actually wrong. When you get the shovel you dig up two different units of sand. It's the same with any other tools. You get one item you would get by hand, plus one for using the tool.

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Yes my only argument on that would be, would it have hurted to give you 20exp on them nodes :P

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Originally Posted by Masekase_Hurricane

Yes my only argument on that would be, would it have hurted to give you 20exp on them nodes :P

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Yes, I'm surprised they don't give less exp as you get higher

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Originally Posted by Linpel

So you don't like, stardew valley, terraria, minecraft, rune factory, etc.

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The biggest misconception about island sanctuary is a notion that it's supposed to be a sandbox farming simulator when in reality it isn't. Once your stuff is all upgraded and production scheduled there's literally nothing to do. The island is empty just like the gameplay. In stardew valley there's lots of content outside of timegated farming; while your crops are set up you can go mining, talk to villagers, explore new areas, go fishing, do quests etc. And on your island in this game once production is set up you just... log off. And no, going around a small island in circles collecting the same stuff that respawns in like minutes is not engaging gameplay. There's no skill expression or thought involved on game's part to actually be invested or interested about this reject of a mindless diadem 2.0 grind. It's just something that exists so you could log in every day to schedule your production and water crops or else you'll be missing out. Once I get my glamour out of this predatory excuse of "content" I'm dipping immediately.

Actually diadem seems to be more involved and engaging than island sanctuary now that I think about it lol.

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Originally Posted by Theox

The biggest misconception about island sanctuary is a notion that it's supposed to be a sandbox farming simulator when in reality it isn't. Once your stuff is all upgraded and production scheduled there's literally nothing to do. The island is empty just like the gameplay. In stardew valley there's lots of content outside of timegated farming; while your crops are set up you can go mining, talk to villagers, explore new areas, go fishing, do quests etc. And on your island in this game once production is set up you just... log off. And no, going around a small island in circles collecting the same stuff that respawns in like minutes is not engaging gameplay. There's no skill expression or thought involved on game's part to actually be invested or interested about this reject of a mindless diadem 2.0 grind. It's just something that exists so you could log in every day to schedule your production and water crops or else you'll be missing out. Once I get my glamour out of this predatory excuse of "content" I'm dipping immediately.

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There is also no 'Gameplay' Progression tied to new tools.

Yeah go grab that sand with your hands, its just as efficient as using a shovel.

Higher grade tools should harvest more than 1 of a low tier item.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I know what relaxing is, and so far Island Sanctuary feels like the opposite. An endless mound of busywork without even a clear goal to aim for.

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Just gather some materials...let your workshops do the rest...come back after a week and level up like 3 or 4 levels at once and get tons of cowries. That way doesn't take more than like 2 hours of prep, lol. Ofc if you want everything the fastest way possible yes then it is a grindfest but that is your personal choice duh. It's not like you get better pve gear from it or any other advantage besides glamour and mounts.

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Originally Posted by IvyTee

I've hit rank 8 as of this morning, and I've got a few things I want to say about this new piece of content. Aside from the fact that It should be more connected to the actual game and not so isolated as a piece of content, I can't believe how slow the progression is.

I have gathered enough to reach high end material gathering and I feel like time-gating rewards and being capped at 10 exp per gathering node is something that was decided upon without consideration for the player's time. It actually feels like the game doesn't respect my time or enjoyment. If I wanted to bite down on a burger but a restaurant didn't let me finish the other half I would be very upset. This is essentially what is happening.

I just want to enjoy this game, but the game doesn't want to let me by time-gating this much. I know I am not alone as I have seen very many posts and comments on how badly designed this content is. What changes would you like to see done to improve the experience?

Personally, I think it should take nowhere near a full day for the workshop to finish, and I don't appreciate crops taking so long, either. The last thing I would like is a bigger island. It really honestly doesn't feel as big as it was advertised at all. Only 2 underwater zones and such a limited amount of animals to raise.

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I feel like you didn't pay attention to anything YoshiP kept telling players.

"Lower your expectations"
"Intended to be relaxing content done at a leisurely pace when you want a break from other content in the game"
"More features to be added in future patches"

You aren't intended to have a maxed out, optimized island in a week.

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Originally Posted by Aniya_Estlihn

I know a lot of people don't watch PLLs, but this was something Yoshida covered many times—it's removed from existing systems so it can exist on its own terms without outside influence.
It's meant to be a personal thing for you to pursue that doesn't influence or affect the game outside of it in any way.

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For something meant to be personal, the personal aspects are non-existent.

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Originally Posted by Darthgummibear

For something meant to be personal, the personal aspects are non-existent.

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Kinda wish they would've given us a grid system where we can place workshops etc. and fields and like everything manually to customize our island just a little bit. Would've been great, they could've mixed in some little decorations you could place freely around and it would feel more personal. But it is what it is, i hope there will be more customization options in the future...

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Originally Posted by BubblyBoar

ITT: People don't know what relaxing is.

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People will min-max the fun out of anything. Collecting seashells on an island beach is apparently something that must be speed run for whatever reason. lol

I like how they said over and over that they wanted to limit the rewards so you didn't feel obligated, and that you should do the content slowly. And people are still complaining "Why cant I minmax this in 2 days for optimal gains?" So they go out and gather 10,000 items and say "I cant believe Yoshida would make me do this.."

> Tries to speedrun a dripfeed type of content
> Surprised he has slow process

I swear, you people aren't even trying anymore..

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Originally Posted by Theox

The biggest misconception about island sanctuary is a notion that it's supposed to be a sandbox farming simulator when in reality it isn't. Once your stuff is all upgraded and production scheduled there's literally nothing to do. The island is empty just like the gameplay. In stardew valley there's lots of content outside of timegated farming; while your crops are set up you can go mining, talk to villagers, explore new areas, go fishing, do quests etc. And on your island in this game once production is set up you just... log off. And no, going around a small island in circles collecting the same stuff that respawns in like minutes is not engaging gameplay. There's no skill expression or thought involved on game's part to actually be invested or interested about this reject of a mindless diadem 2.0 grind. It's just something that exists so you could log in every day to schedule your production and water crops or else you'll be missing out. Once I get my glamour out of this predatory excuse of "content" I'm dipping immediately.

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This sums it up so perfectly. Its like you read my mind.

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Originally Posted by NekoMataMata

I don't get why you're using casuals as a defense of time gates. If anything, the fact that this game is catered to casuals should mean time gates are more harmful.

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Timmy A and Timmy B are casual and they can only play 1h per day but every 30 days they can play as long as they want.
Tedd A and Tedd B play 10h per day.

Timmy A and Tedd A live in a timeline with gatekeeping and Timmy B and Tedd B in one without.

SE introduce a new outfit that you get for actively play the game for 30h.

Timeline A:

Only 1h per day will count.

Timmy A and Tedd A will get the outfit after 30 days despite Tedd A had played for 300h and Timmy for 30h

Timeline B

Tedd B after 3 days has unlocked the outfit meanwhile Timmy B won't get it for another 27 days.


I'm sorry but no timegate clearly favor casuals.

This issue is a mostly psychological one and depends strongly on the player. If you are the type of player who enjoy grinding as an activity by itself, all is well. If you are the type who likes to optimise, then it's not very enjoyable. Island sanctuary operates on a single pace with no consideration for the speed at which the player wants to take it.

The timegating is also of a type we have rarely seen before in XIV. Usually it's "you've done all you can this week/day", come back another time, and that's it. The timegating is "hard" in content like the Doman Enclave, the Ishgard Restoration or Custom Deliveries. By comparison, Island Sanctuary has "soft" timegates where you are forced to wait for certain things to complete, but you could still keep doing the content on the side, it's just horribly inefficient to not wait. To some people, this works just fine, to others it is a nagging annoyance since they want to be as efficient as possible, especially if they otherwise enjoy the content. They'd like to keep going and feel like the game artificially holds them back.

Neither side is wrong here, cause both want different things out of this new content.

Can we get daily activities, where we have to catch certain animals. Introduce tools for fishing, so you can catch rare giant large fish. Build something for your farm, so animals are protected by the rain and their mood goes up. Certain animals you keep can accompany you in the wild, during this time they can fight other wild life. If you win, you can take it back to the farm with you or collect rare material it was holding. If you lose the mood of your animal will go down greatly and can no longer bring it along. Windmill can help with crops, making the time for them to grow faster. Some NPCs will require help in gathering rare materials but are scared to go into the wild, so you have to collect alone. Similar to nodes, these nodes will have like a little minigame attached to it. If you win, the reward will net you a lot of currency and if you lose you'll get some average materials for trying.

These are just some of the ideas I wish Island Sanctuary had. I would love more content to this Island. Especially as a daily activity. :)

I'd blame comprehension but the "marketing" of Island Sanctuary have been pretty clear and simple.

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Originally Posted by Luluna

I am really enjoying it...after so long playing it is nice to just go and escape with my minions!

I have the time to play but I am enjoying the pace. I am quite high rank but mainly because I love clicking the shiny plants and trees...it reminds me of collecting the Nothing's in Blue dragon.

Not so bothered it is slow I am liking the peace and quiet and also the underwater is so beautiful <3

I am still figuring things out but so far it does not need to be rushed. I also like it not being part of the main game.

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you say your quite high ranked? What is your rank?

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Originally Posted by Ranaku

Just gather some materials...let your workshops do the rest...come back after a week and level up like 3 or 4 levels at once and get tons of cowries. That way doesn't take more than like 2 hours of prep, lol. Ofc if you want everything the fastest way possible yes then it is a grindfest but that is your personal choice duh. It's not like you get better pve gear from it or any other advantage besides glamour and mounts.

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Did you say glamour and mounts? And two hairstyles? I have to get back on this game..

My general expectation is that people will enjoy it for a bit until the new car smell wears off and people hit the big time gate / grind walls. At that point, if it's an efficient means of gaining materia or something else people will do it out of a sense of obligation, if not then people will get the cosmetics they want and leave it. Lord knows I don't expect SE to produce any sizable content additions for it, considering they never have for other side content they have added into the game prior...

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Originally Posted by Linpel

So you don't like, stardew valley, terraria, minecraft, rune factory, etc.

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So I take it you've never played Terraria?

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Originally Posted by NekoMataMata

And what would all of this be..?

https://i.imgur.com/FGj1Bwq.png

Like yeah, it's "optional" but it's not removed from the rest of the game. I was simply asking because I wondered if maybe the shop expanded as you ranked up. Shame on me though for not taking the live letter's word for it 100%.

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I don't see this at the Island vendors yet. I suspect the rewards unlock based on your level like with beast tribes. Significant number of rewards which aren't rng based from what i can see and simply tied to grinding the content.

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Originally Posted by IvyTee

I've hit rank 8 as of this morning, and I've got a few things I want to say about this new piece of content. Aside from the fact that It should be more connected to the actual game and not so isolated as a piece of content, I can't believe how slow the progression is.

I have gathered enough to reach high end material gathering and I feel like time-gating rewards and being capped at 10 exp per gathering node is something that was decided upon without consideration for the player's time. It actually feels like the game doesn't respect my time or enjoyment. If I wanted to bite down on a burger but a restaurant didn't let me finish the other half I would be very upset. This is essentially what is happening.

I just want to enjoy this game, but the game doesn't want to let me by time-gating this much. I know I am not alone as I have seen very many posts and comments on how badly designed this content is. What changes would you like to see done to improve the experience?

Personally, I think it should take nowhere near a full day for the workshop to finish, and I don't appreciate crops taking so long, either. The last thing I would like is a bigger island. It really honestly doesn't feel as big as it was advertised at all. Only 2 underwater zones and such a limited amount of animals to raise.

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It's pointless. There's no gardening, so why should I bother? It's all instanced!

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Originally Posted by Restonance

So I take it you've never played Terraria?

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I've never played duke nuke'em but I know what good fps is and isn't.

https://memegenerator.net/img/instan...u-dont-say.jpg

Were you expecting to finish it after one day of playing? Have you ever played literally any other farming game to ever exist? Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Rune Factory, Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, etc.?

Edit: You think crops take too long? I've been growing Thavnarian Onions for years at this point, and those take ten IRL days to grow.

Add Farmville; Pixel Federation games and other browser games to the list :p Folks were too busy playing only "real games", sticking their nose up at simple idle games :p

I like the new island I just wish the gathering had more had like a skill with a hit box feeling. Not a point and click, stop and get. Like in other games where you break a rock and it splits open or a tree falls over. Maybe give the different recourses hit points. When we swing out weapon around a tree we can see it being shaken and it’s life decreases. I hope the developers continue to build upon this. It’s a fun beta.

I don’t like the point and click to gather. I want to run by and swing my axe actively and do some damage.

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Originally Posted by LalafellDown

I like the new island I just wish the gathering had more had like a skill with a hit box feeling. Not a point and click, stop and get. Like in other games where you break a rock and it splits open or a tree falls over. Maybe give the different recourses hit points. When we swing out weapon around a tree we can see it being shaken and it’s life decreases. I hope the developers continue to build upon this. It’s a fun beta.

I don’t like the point and click to gather. I want to run by and swing my axe actively and do some damage.

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Like using a bronze axe vs a good axe allows for easier gathering. Where a bronze axe would take more time to chop.

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Originally Posted by IvyTee

I don't understand why there are so many people who are okay with being inconvenienced to this extent when trying to enjoy a game. Do you feel like it's a cardinal sin to have criticism about this game or something? I just want it to be better and take into consideration that time-gating content is not enjoyable at all. Is that really so bad? Do you think that's toxic or something?

I didn't expect this to be like Animal Crossing but I expected it to at least respect a player's efforts in trying to enjoy it. I don't think I should be ashamed or excluded because I wanted this to be better than what we got.

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Its called you need to relax and just go with the pace. It sounds to me like you're playing too much and expecting too much from this content and want instant gratification. Island Sanctuary is meant to be chill content and its fine the way it is.

Island sanctuary is not without it's problems, (island coweries are next to useless, nothing can be bought with them that can't be found easier elsewhere, and seafarer coweries are rather difficult to accumulate) but overall it's a great addition to the game. it's a different style of content to what we've gotten before. it's a piece of content that keeps be occupied when i'm not doing battle content and it's something that will keep me occupied as a slowly build up my sanctuary over the next few weeks.

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Originally Posted by Ranaku

Just gather some materials...let your workshops do the rest...come back after a week and level up like 3 or 4 levels at once and get tons of cowries.

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Thus far the workshops won't do anything unless I manually gather every item they need to do things with.

I've just unlocked the granary so perhaps that will be better for acquiring materials. But up to this point there's been very little timegating and a whole lot of "this won't progress until you do it all by yourself".

Also, the mammets are obnoxious.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

Thus far the workshops won't do anything unless I manually gather every item they need to do things with.

I've just unlocked the granary so perhaps that will be better for acquiring materials. But up to this point there's been very little timegating and a whole lot of "this won't progress until you do it all by yourself".

Also, the mammets are obnoxious.

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Yes gather materials in like 1 hour then set up the workshop to produce for the rest of the week if you are lazy and you can ignore the island basically, not the optimal way cause the market will change and obviously that way you can't harvest crops or take care of animals (in the early stage). But it is totally possible to put just in an hour of work each week and then at the end of the week just get the exp and cowries from what they shipped out.

But yeah the mammets are obnoxious...i hope we can toggle them invisible someday, i really really don't want to have them running around tbh. especially them setting up a shop inside MY house...