REQUEST: Remove Aether Currents

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Originally Posted by linayar

I'm not championing real world fee. You're the one saying that invalidates the intent of the devs. The intent is for you to explore on the ground first, so do that. The user experience does not need fixing, just improved with the addition of the alternative method to add consistency with ARR.

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"Feel free to boost," again semantics. Yes that is what I said, it invalidates the initial intent (if that were so) and the current design. The user experience desperately needs fixing, as those who choose not to pay extra shouldn't be penalized in their experience with an unnecessary gate on a mechanic they've already unlocked once.

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Originally Posted by forumaccount

"Feel free to boost," again semantics. Yes that is what I said, it invalidates the initial intent (if that were so) and the current design. The user experience desperately needs fixing, as those who choose not to pay extra shouldn't be penalized in their experience with an unnecessary gate on a mechanic they've already unlocked once.

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That is your personal opinion, which you desperately present as a "fact". It's your opinion. Subjective. I never paid for a boost and never will and yet I don't feel penalised in my experience but rather believe it enhanced. In case you missed it, that is also an opinion, mine in this case and it's also subjective. Additionally, I must remind you that the ARR flying was a courtesy thing from SE to supplement the user experience. The aether currents had been in beforehand and they serve a design reason to block parts of an area that are unblocked via the MSQ progression. Similarly to how you can't enter the we west Am Araeng via Lakeland by foot as it's blocked by a gate.

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Originally Posted by forumaccount

"Feel free to boost," again semantics. Yes that is what I said, it invalidates the initial intent (if that were so) and the current design. The user experience desperately needs fixing, as those who choose not to pay extra shouldn't be penalized in their experience with an unnecessary gate on a mechanic they've already unlocked once.

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Nope, again, that's like saying having to reach a new max level is penalizing players' experience and is an unnecessary gate when players already reached (or unlocked) max level in the previous expansion.

(Note, you may say that it is, but if you do, then we'll just have to disagree.)

Again, flying is there for you to unlock per zone. Do it or not is up to you.

Read and the thoughts dispersed in some posts already but wanted to say myself that I think the system is preferable to just allowing flying from the gate, at least in a general statement. The reason being it makes you have to deal with the obstructions and scale of the zone before you get to cut everything down into tiny packages.

I say in a general sense because I could see them using different system if they so wished, like instead of currents you might get to a zone and fly right away but there is a Garlean shield blocking most of the zone. Or like the energy cloud at Nidhog's area. Or some other sort of progression of the area. Maybe in a new Eureka 3.0 your chocobo gains upgrades a bit like some classic FF games (like how color used to mean something for chocobos), so rather than aether currents it's like going from shallow, deep, mountain, etc upgrades. You might also find some value in if the game had content that utilized the 3d space more, like if there was a flying enemy that would chase you, missiles, etc. As currently flying exists in a sort of 'shift out of the plane of existence', like if we pretended to be npcs you'd vanish and repear like some magician once you reached a certain height lol. If the game experience didn't necessarily end by flight then flight earlier could make more sense.

I also would find it curious if they perhaps made flying more into gliding, for a zone, with a number of other transportation options and growths in conjunction. Say for example there are some wind tunnels you might go into for greater speed and stamina (which would consume on each flap of your flying mount), there might be cannons like Secret of Mana (fires you off to another location lol), teleporters, set gliders, peaks you could glide down from. In this way the zone might get smaller as you progress and learn about it's features but it'll never become as much of a "straight line". Like if you took Khoulsia for example you might have to leap and flap from outcropping to outcropping which would add like 15 seconds to your travel time but just by having to do that the cliff wall would feel significantly larger.

Anyway, in general I think aether currents offer a progression step that is important to the most average experience of the zone and removing it weakens each zone's personal potential impact to the player. "just make it optional" is also not always an option, because not only should I be able to say it and people get it but from personal experience the 'fastest / highest value option' is often the most picked over whatever would provide you the best experience (like if certain jobs do things faster, they're picked more, doesn't mean they're more enjoyable, if your favorite item is X but Y is way better guess what 90% of the people will be doing? ... using X lol). That said I can see it is entirely possible that someone would never value nor want to experience the world and only care about getting to X step and anything that slows X down is just annoying... I can see that.. but I still feel like in the average experience of the content that it would be important not to trivialize a zone's "conversation" (if you will) to the players and by auto allowing flight I think you cut that conversation short unnecessarily.

I enjoyed finding them, but I can understand that other people are bored with it. Subjectively for me, this was a very enjoyable and relaxing piece of content. Usually I left them for later, it was a nice addition to the story and a good compromise.

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Originally Posted by MagicAura

That is your personal opinion, which you desperately present as a "fact". It's your opinion. Subjective. I never paid for a boost and never will and yet I don't feel penalised in my experience but rather believe it enhanced. In case you missed it, that is also an opinion, mine in this case and it's also subjective. Additionally, I must remind you that the ARR flying was a courtesy thing from SE to supplement the user experience. The aether currents had been in beforehand and they serve a design reason to block parts of an area that are unblocked via the MSQ progression. Similarly to how you can't enter the we west Am Araeng via Lakeland by foot as it's blocked by a gate.

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Of course that I dislike a mechanic, and that you enjoy it, are subjective opinions. Although, the fact that the skip option contradicts user linayar's alleged intent of the mechanic is an objective logical conclusion. I'm glad you feel the mechanic enhances your experience. You've not explained why, nor have you provided any logical reasoning for the initial restriction of flight in all expansion content after it is already unlocked with the completion of ARR content. There are many simple ways to block off areas without the disabling of flight. The suggestion is made to improve the redundant game design as it stands, as it is a constantly updated service.

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Originally Posted by linayar

Nope, again, that's like saying having to reach a new max level is penalizing players' experience and is an unnecessary gate when players already reached (or unlocked) max level in the previous expansion.

(Note, you may say that it is, but if you do, then we'll just have to disagree.)

Again, flying is there for you to unlock per zone. Do it or not is up to you.

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Again, that is a different topic, and unfortunately doesn't equate this time. Leveling doesn't disable already unlocked game mechanics. You've still not contradicted anything I stated. Flying should be unlocked for all content after the player initially unlocks it for the first time in the game story. No one has provided any reasoning as to why there should restrictions per zone on flying.

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Originally Posted by Shougun

Read and the thoughts dispersed in some posts already but wanted to say myself that I think the system is preferable to just allowing flying from the gate, at least in a general statement. The reason being it makes you have to deal with the obstructions and scale of the zone before you get to cut everything down into tiny packages.

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I disagree that the aether currents mechanic makes you deal with the obstructions and scale of the zone, and that they offer a progression step that is important to the game experience. The mechanic doesn't force any appreciation for the zones or game experience, at least definitely not in all users. For many it has the opposite effect. You can appreciate the scale of a zone, arguably even more so, from flight, a feature that the player has already experienced in the linear story progression. Also, the alleged intent of the aether mechanic and restriction of flight serving to force the player to slow down and enjoy the content is directly contradicted and invalidated by the real world money skip option, as if it were truly the devs intent, this option would not be available.

So we're left with the aether currents and restriction of flight being an arbitrary slowdown for the player in an already lengthy, linear main story content. There is no reason to restrict flying with the aether currents mechanic. Zones can easily be blocked off by many other simple solutions. Invisible walls would be one solution even. The game is already chock full of them as it stands, and it doesn't serve to disrupt the player base's immersion.

No one has yet to provide any reasoning as to why the restriction of flight in expansion content is necessary, nor any logical purpose to the aether currents mechanic.

I personally like the currents and as someone who explores a zone and does every quest in it they’re something I pick up naturally. I do understand it’s not for everyone though.

Perhaps they could just unlock flying at the point they usually give you the last current. But I don’t see them letting you fly from the beginning of the zone.

Story content is paced the way it is so you don’t blast through it straight away and unsub sooner. Plus they use the lack of flying to keep you away from certain things and split the zone into both a level 60 and level 67 zone. So it’s not going away altogether.

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Story content is paced the way it is so you don’t blast through it straight away and unsub sooner.

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I disagree. If that were the intent of the design, you wouldn't have the option to pay to skip it. It needs to be updated for those who choose not to pay to skip the design.

As I've stated many times in the thread already, there are many simple ways to restrict zone access without disabling already unlocked game mechanics.