I'm disabled, can we please stop with the solo duties.

Honestly, I'm against making concessions like this.

Firstly, if you're looking at a game, thinking "I'm disabled, I probably can't handle this, but it's fine because other players will pick up the slack", that's not cool. While I empathize with anyone who is disabled and would expect reasonable adjustments to be made to accommodate you, asking for structural changes to the game and its difficulty goes way beyond reasonable. You're essentially asking the developers to remove content from the game for everyone, to accommodate you, rather than you picking a game with a degree of challenge you can manage with the cards life dealt you, not to mention the development time and cost that could have gone into content for everyone to enjoy, instead being used to accommodate one person.

There are games out there for all skill levels, that can be played by the abled and disabled alike, you cannot pick a game you find unsuitable, then demand they change.

I'm honestly for removing msq solo duties for the sole reason that they're boring.

The MSQ needs more solo duties, and harder ones at that, as is Dawntrail was very boring, and it wasn't just for the story, it was being like a Visual Novel with even less gameplay. I do realize there's an issue with some players having difficulty with them for whatever reason, and that's fine.
And I think this is the reason why they have become increasingly easy and less frequent in every expansion. They are scared of putting challenge into the MSQ.

So maybe rather, they should not be scared of giving us a challenge, but also allow players the option to basically SKIP it. Make a solo difficulty even easier than veru easy where you can't lose or it plays itself. Let players choose the difficulty ahead of time instead of failing on default and lowering it on the retry.

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Originally Posted by Ramiren

Honestly, I'm against making concessions like this.

Firstly, if you're looking at a game, thinking "I'm disabled, I probably can't handle this, but it's fine because other players will pick up the slack", that's not cool. While I empathize with anyone who is disabled and would expect reasonable adjustments to be made to accommodate you, asking for structural changes to the game and its difficulty goes way beyond reasonable. You're essentially asking the developers to remove content from the game for everyone, to accommodate you, rather than you picking a game with a degree of challenge you can manage with the cards life dealt you, not to mention the development time and cost that could have gone into content for everyone to enjoy, instead being used to accommodate one person.

There are games out there for all skill levels, that can be played by the abled and disabled alike, you cannot pick a game you find unsuitable, then demand they change.

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Speak for yourself. As long as OP uses Peloton between pulls I don't mind doing the rest of the instance by myself if I have to. We overgear all the casual content by 50 ilevel anyway, it's no big deal to carry someone especially when they have a good reason.


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As for solo duties in general: They suck, I like my character and don't want to play another one because that character is not my character.

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Originally Posted by SalamanderIX

The MSQ needs more solo duties, and harder ones at that, as is Dawntrail was very boring, and it wasn't just for the story, it was being like a Visual Novel with even less gameplay. I do realize there's an issue with some players having difficulty with them for whatever reason, and that's fine.
And I think this is the reason why they have become increasingly easy and less frequent in every expansion. They are scared of putting challenge into the MSQ.

So maybe rather, they should not be scared of giving us a challenge, but also allow players the option to basically SKIP it. Make a solo difficulty even easier than veru easy where you can't lose or it plays itself. Let players choose the difficulty ahead of time instead of failing on default and lowering it on the retry.

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The solo duties in DT do complete themselves, which is a bigger deal than than the bad writing imo because it is a symptom of a much bigger problem. The big one toward the end you can literally walk away from your pc and it will still complete. They need to give us a bigger challange option and then stick something like achievements, special cosmetics and maybe even a bonus mount if you get all the achievements at the end of the msq. I wouldn't even mind if they made it account wide as long as you did it on at least 1 character. That would encourage ppl who just want to burn through to at least try it, add some optional challange and still let ppl do their very easy mode. If the ppl who very easy mode it want to cry they don't get the rewards. that's fine. SE needs to learn it's ok to reward ppl for putting in more effort in things like the msq.

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Originally Posted by Doozerpindan

This is an accessibility issue, not a "git gud" issue. All I want is to be able to invite another player to help me in these missions. It's not a massive ask, but it would help so much.

It's bad enough that they are this frustrating, but it's even worse when they are a part of the msq, so you are forced to keep struggling or never progress with the story.

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This is all the OP is asking for and its totally reasonable. It could be an "accessibility" option that is turned off by default and would in no way affect a non-disabled person's experience of the game.

Hell, I want this option and I am not disabled. I am waiting on a friend to finish up Stormblood, so we can do the Shadowbringers MSQ "together". Being able to invite each other into our solo duties would only enhance that experience.

So if any of the developers are actually reading this, please seriously look into giving this person what they need to better enjoy this amazing game.

I agree that they could consider additional adjustments to the "very easy" mode to make it less of a struggle for someone. Heck, even I struggle on solo duties in "normal" sometimes and I'm a Savage tank - these duties are intentionally added as a gameplay challenge.

But we have plenty enough content for those who enjoy bashing their head against brick walls or solving puzzles. (I say, having failed a BLU mage stage 8 times last night. ARGH!)

Put up the road block, but remove it if someone fails once. I like the auto-revive/ extra life concept in Very Easy mode.

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Originally Posted by Catwho

I like the auto-revive/ extra life concept in Very Easy mode.

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A couple trials, when done with Duty Support, start you out with a stack or two of a buff that does exactly that. The buff is even named in a story-appropriate way.

I think it'd be a fine addition to the Easy and Very Easy modes of a solo duty. (And maybe not even that difficult from a development perspective.)

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Originally Posted by AmiableApkallu

A couple trials, when done with Duty Support, start you out with a stack or two of a buff that does exactly that. The buff is even named in a story-appropriate way.

I think it'd be a fine addition to the Easy and Very Easy modes of a solo duty. (And maybe not even that difficult from a development perspective.)

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Agreed. it's sensible and simple fix to keep everyone happy.

The one area I think tough solo duties are appropriate is job/role quests. They are compelling players to develop a minimum skill level in that job. It's perfectly reasonable to job-gate people in this way to avoid DF horror stories.

But using the same technique to gate the MSQ is a terrible idea, particularly in these silly "In this battle you will play as X" duties.

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Originally Posted by Mawlzy

Agreed. it's sensible and simple fix to keep everyone happy.

The one area I think tough solo duties are appropriate is job/role quests. They are compelling players to develop a minimum skill level in that job. It's perfectly reasonable to job-gate people in this way to avoid DF horror stories.

But using the same technique to gate the MSQ is a terrible idea, particularly in these silly "In this battle you will play as X" duties.

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In the case of the Role Quest, you at least get to play on your main job, so you are comfortable with it.

I only cleared the Wuk Lamat trial on the first go round because I.... played warrior main since patch 6.4. I've personally had to do some of them 2-3 times, notably the Y'sthola one back in Stormblood. And I think it was Sapphire Weapon that I still failed twice on Easy mode.

I think asking for an option for someone to help you & do a solo duty together is a very reasonable ask. I actually end up buying story skips for alts purely because I don't want to go through doing some of the solo duties in certain expansions. Now I am disabled, I do enjoy the solo duties and I've been clearing them just fine with the occasional hiccup, but a lot of times I did pause for a moment and think "man, would be nice if I could have someone do this with me." Or at the very least give me the ability to bring my chocobo along, if nothing else.

I also like the proposal of allowing players to choose the difficulty level from the beginning, and not when you fail the duty. I think that would make it easier for those who need it, and those who don't can just not pick it and do it normally.

So I'm disabled as well. My attention span and short-term memory are compromised to the point that any mechanic focusing on memorisation and recall is 3-4x harder for me than the average player.

I was able to clear 2 Current Savage tiers, including Abyssos, by virtue of having a shot-caller for the one or two mechanics where my memory would fail me. Maybe you just need someone to call out the mechanics for you to get through the instance? No shame in accepting help, after all.

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Originally Posted by HappyHubris

Games can't be built around edge cases, because then they wouldn't be fun. What if someone had really, really slow reaction times? We can't have the player take damage! What if someone has PTSD? No loud noises! What if someone has extreme ADHD? Can't give the player directions! Etc etc.

Disability is unfortunate, but it's not a trump card to remake every activity into a personalized version. Especially when dealing with companies abroad.

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This person said it way nicer than I could. I. Sorry but I for one would not like a game cattered that much into what he just said. At that point we might as well put an auto button on an let the game play itself. I would honestly have to quit if yoshi-p said due to our disable players we have to remove high end difficulty, an other components that may trigger the following.... I don't think its fair to us to have to accomendate to your personal experience. Yet It would be fair for them to allow a skip option on those segments if you lose more than 3 times.

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Originally Posted by Rydio_Dax

This is all the OP is asking for and its totally reasonable. It could be an "accessibility" option that is turned off by default and would in no way affect a non-disabled person's experience of the game.

Hell, I want this option and I am not disabled. I am waiting on a friend to finish up Stormblood, so we can do the Shadowbringers MSQ "together". Being able to invite each other into our solo duties would only enhance that experience.

So if any of the developers are actually reading this, please seriously look into giving this person what they need to better enjoy this amazing game.

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Not to be a smartass but it wouldn't be a solo duty if you brought players into it lmao.

The amount of ableism in this thread is astonishing tbh.

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Originally Posted by Sol_Seppy

The amount of ableism in this thread is astonishing tbh.

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and yet none of the people who it is directed towards have posted actual examples of them suffering at the duty

Sorry for disappearing from this thread, I legit thought it had died. Came back cos, hey, guess what, yet another annoying af solo duty in Dawntrail where I need to play a class I have never played that has abilities that class doesn't have outside of the duty. It baffles me that this is fun for people. Even without disabilities, I would find this to be extremely obnoxious.

I can't even do it on very easy cos it's expecting me to play a completely different playstyle at the same level I'd play my Bard at. I'd wreck this idiot with my Bard cos I find my Bard a lot easier to play, as I levelled all the way to 100 and got to the end of Endwalker before switching to my summoner cos my Bard was at max level. I suck at playing a Summoner as well, cos I've not had nearly as much time with the class as I have my Bard.

This exercise in frustration is not fun. I don't enjoy the so-called challenge cos it's not a fun challenge; it's a tedious and obnoxious af chore.

I'll be fair, I actually have enjoyed some of the solo duties, but the vast majority are just so draining. They start off not being fun, and rapidly become infuriating.

I enjoyed the first solo duty in Dawntrail, also enjoyed the second (switched to my Bard cos he curbstomped my Summoner, but hey, at least I *could* change my class to one I was familiar with). I also enjoyed the Shadowbringer duty where I played as a Gunbreaker, did that one first time, where one of my fellow fc members almost quit the game cos she had so much trouble with it. Also, had fun doing the solo duty you do right after the final boss of Endwalker. I am just tired of being expected to keep changing my playstyle to completely different classes and being expected to be at a level comparable to my main. Imagine expecting a master chef to paint the sistine chapel on the same level as it is currently. This is literally the same thing. Sure, that chef can learn to paint, but they're also expected to paint without using any of the tools a painter actually uses anyway.

I mean, hell, you can buy an item that allows you to skip (as in auto-complete) all of a classes class quests and role quests up to level 90, why not have an item that lets you skip a quest you are on. You can even have a downside to using it, i would take 24 hours of game time not being able to earn any kind of exp as a trade for that item, I am entirely serious here.

There are any number of solutions to this nonsense that would allow people to skip the parts that are literally preventing them from enjoying the game, while not at all affecting those who do enjoy this content.

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Originally Posted by Doozerpindan

There are any number of solutions to this nonsense that would allow people to skip the parts that are literally preventing them from enjoying the game, while not at all affecting those who do enjoy this content.

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This is the critical point. There are numerous solutions that could be implemented that have zero negative impact on players who are happy with the status quo.

I agree... being forced into something I've never done in my life, with a truncated skillset is absolutely stupid. Worse yet, there's very few tutorials on these to watch or read because they're one and done things you'll never do again. They're pointless and block the progression.

Like the other guy, you’ll have a hell of a hard time convincing anyone in the ffxiv forum community that is literally anything other than your own fault.

You could have no arms or legs and you’d still get people saying ‘you’re just making excuses for poor play, just use your tongue to press the keys. Git gud skill issue [insert other insult platitudes here]’

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Originally Posted by Kuroka

This, ik its harsh but it cant be helped, the bar is already too low and we'd actually need more "walls" that do an "be this good/understanding or you cant pass" check.

The amount of players that are lv 100 and die to lv 10 aoe or lv 50 mechanics is... scary...

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Hey sometimes you gotta spice up the d
Dungeon with a think fast moment to the party. See if the healer has rescue on or if the dos will move. *this is a joke if you get offended that's on you*

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Originally Posted by Iedarus

I'm honestly for removing msq solo duties for the sole reason that they're boring.

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Just because you find them boring doesn't mean others can't enjoy it. I enjoy the solo duties and at times new game+ to do them with other jobs incase there is hidden diakogue. In DT during an early solo if you have a certain job unlocked the boss mentions it. Of anything to me solo duties help the immersion of your character being the only one who can help. Even in StB story the solo duties you see how your Character has grown

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Originally Posted by Mercury_Grey

Just because you find them boring doesn't mean others can't enjoy it. I enjoy the solo duties and at times new game+ to do them with other jobs incase there is hidden diakogue. In DT during an early solo if you have a certain job unlocked the boss mentions it. Of anything to me solo duties help the immersion of your character being the only one who can help. Even in StB story the solo duties you see how your Character has grown

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Regular solo duties are fine. Roleplay ones aren't, just add an unskippable cutscene that explains the fight that happens. Or give us a training mini-solo duty to explain what the buttons do first, like how the G-Warrior had a tutorial before the Sapphire Weapon solo duty.

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Originally Posted by LibitIncarne

Regular solo duties are fine. Roleplay ones aren't, just add an unskippable cutscene that explains the fight that happens. Or give us a training mini-solo duty to explain what the buttons do first, like how the G-Warrior had a tutorial before the Sapphire Weapon solo duty.

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Oh I'd forgotten about the G-Warrior tutorial. That was a really good idea, added a bit of sensible narrative (the WoL doesn't instantly know how a bit of machinery works), and actually set you up for what was an okay fight. Generally preserved immersion and flow.

Contrast that with suddenly turning into Wuk Lamat for no apparent reason.

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Originally Posted by Mawlzy

Oh I'd forgotten about the G-Warrior tutorial. That was a really good idea, added a bit of sensible narrative (the WoL doesn't instantly know how a bit of machinery works), and actually set you up for what was an okay fight. Generally preserved immersion and flow.

Contrast that with suddenly turning into Wuk Lamat for no apparent reason.

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Why is "suddenly turning into Wuk Lamat for no apparent reason" any worse than the times we suddenly turned into Alphinaud, Thancred, Urianger, or anyone else? Did you story-skip to Dawntrail?

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Originally Posted by PorxiesRCute

Why is "suddenly turning into Wuk Lamat for no apparent reason" any worse than the times we suddenly turned into Alphinaud, Thancred, Urianger, or anyone else? Did you story-skip to Dawntrail?

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It's the most recent time it happened. I also disliked turning into any of the other NPCs. It wasn't a Wuk dig, I'm in the minority who quite likes the character.

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Originally Posted by Mawlzy

It's the most recent time it happened. I also disliked turning into any of the other NPCs. It wasn't a Wuk dig, I'm in the minority who quite likes the character.

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Valid point.

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Originally Posted by Zakuyia

This person said it way nicer than I could. I. Sorry but I for one would not like a game cattered that much into what he just said. At that point we might as well put an auto button on an let the game play itself. I would honestly have to quit if yoshi-p said due to our disable players we have to remove high end difficulty, an other components that may trigger the following....

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The OP is not asking for the removal of high end difficulty. What they are asking for would not effect your experience of the game in any way.

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Originally Posted by Zakuyia

I don't think its fair to us to have to accomendate to your personal experience. Yet It would be fair for them to allow a skip option on those segments if you lose more than 3 times.

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HOW is it not fair? It would not affect your experience of the game in any way.

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Originally Posted by Zakuyia

Not to be a smartass but it wouldn't be a solo duty if you brought players into it lmao.

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You are absolutely right... and I couldn't care less.

I'd like to have a choice. I am older and have arthritis now so some solo for me is good but not all. Give us a choice, groups or solo with or w/o Trusts. Thanks

People call this an MMO in the same breath they'll say this game is too much of an RPG.

I am also disabled, especially handwise and mental. The accommodations I really wanted for BLM were things modders were already doing, like optional signals or sounds for the enochian timer.

Accommodations to people seem to always mean "dumb things down" when it just means reviewing current systems to see how you can make something available to everyone on an equal playing field. It's insulting to keep assuming disabled people just want an easier game forced upon everyone when there are thousands of different disabilities which means thousands of ideas (not even counting non-disabled input) as to how this game can achieve a good level of universal design.

Honestly I think having a reasonably challenging solo duty for each expansion is a good thing. If you can't read your tooltips for 4 skills and/or you can't dodge mechanics that are reasonable for very casual expansion content (and especially on very easy) then it gates people that can only complete content by being hard carried by other players from forcing other players to hard carry them. Genuinely I do not know what could even be fun in this game that is gated by current MSQ that wouldn't require you to have the ability to pass the solo content in the first place. Gathering at current expansion nodes? Watching other people do equally challenging content while you're on the floor waiting for your 7th rez? Basically the only content current MSQ will give you access to is as hard or harder than the solo duty. You don't need MSQ to RP, you can get all your crafters and gatherers to 100 without even finishing ARR if you're dedicated enough, and you can PvP before finishing ARR.

I have my own stuff that makes it so I physically can't draw, and my short term memory and focus are nearly nonexistent, I wouldn't expect a game about drawing to add an auto draw feature so I don't have to draw or a memory game to add a "automatic mark" so I don't have to remember. As an MMORPG the core of the game is the battle content, so asking to skip the battle content in order to get to more battle content just doesn't make sense. You can watch all the cutscenes on Youtube, which is basically all the MSQ would be for anyone that skips fights anyway.

Would enabling the difficulty settings before you fail make it better? I wonder if it would, at the very least, feel nicer if you could select "Very Easy" WITHOUT having to die a few times first (which makes it feel like a rude consolation prize)

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Originally Posted by chapien

Would enabling the difficulty settings before you fail make it better? I wonder if it would, at the very least, feel nicer if you could select "Very Easy" WITHOUT having to die a few times first (which makes it feel like a rude consolation prize)

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Yes, that would help.

It would be even better if the three levels were called "easy," "normal," and "hard." The fact some skilled players look down their noses at less-skilled ones is semiologically endorsed and encouraged by SQEX.

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Originally Posted by Mawlzy

Yes, that would help.

It would be even better if the three levels were called "easy," "normal," and "hard." The fact some skilled players look down their noses at less-skilled ones is semiologically endorsed and encouraged by SQEX.

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Yeah its odd how you fail afterward that it gives you the option. And for that reason I almost never took the easy option, mostly because it felt patronizing. If the option was before you entered the duty and after you failed as well, that would feel more fair.