The disapointment that is Alexander

Aesthetic wise, that's mostly just taste. I find the corridors and steam stuff very fitting for what should be a cramped place anyways as we're only traveling up the arm. A3's boss is actually an allusion to http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Liquid_Flame

Also considering the last boss, I see it being a function of Alexander itself, instead of goblin cronies or anomalies like the A3 boss. That's why it doesn't move, and killing A4's boss is basically taking a stab at Alexander itself.

Difficulty wise, normal is supposed to be really easy. Not everybody's skill level is the same, and Savage A1 is supposed to be more simple mechanic wise to get most groups started, just like how simple turn 1 coil was. So I don't know how much you were expecting from the early fights.

Story wise, it is not as epic as Coil of Bahamut, but the threat of a massive primal is pretty real, whether or not you can see it visibly to the land. Instead of sitting on our butts and waiting to see if it actually does something, we're taking an initiative on it.

As far as the raiding system as a whole goes, what exactly do you suggest? Not having story mode out before/during the difficult raid? If we put a wait on that, we'd see a thread just like this but in reverse, about how people can't see current stories and etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StrejdaTom

snip

---

Fair point. I still view it as artificial difficulty because upping the numbers is a way of making something more difficult without changing the fight too much. Someone above me listed the ways the fight is different to normal mode but once you've done the normal mode fight, those changes are minuscule & easy to get used to since core mechanics are the same. Btw I'm a healer, but I can say that my group isnt good enough to pass those checks - yet we were able to progress past coils at a steady pace - because the extent of the dps checks was lower and they were more mechanic based. My complaint isnt that dps checks exist, its that they've been made harder while mechanics (especially A1S) have been reduced.

I'm still boggling at folks kvetching about the difficulty of the *first* boss.

Difficulty generally ramps *up*. Imo, first boss should give people false hope of completion because the rest is brutal.

Alex normal is just fine with the difficulty. Not easy not too hard. It's just average and that's was the point to begin with. Alex story was somehow disappointing but I think the story with Alex is not over yet. Alex is still there and did not vanish even when we deactivate him. Goblins are still around. I think it's just not over yet. For some reason it made perfect sense to link Alex with the goblins. It matches in this game's plot. And let's remember Alex is not made by goblin nor he is of goblin origin. It just goblin who summoned him this time. I would like to see Alex in action though beaming his lasers and spread his wing to something poor and exterminate it. Be it the Garleans or something else. We just need to see him in action somehow. The interiors well they are average to me but that was the point. He is just a big robotic building I didn't expected to see anything more. They tried hard to match the size of the interiors with the actual size when you see him from outside.

If you're wiping on anything that isn't healer related in A1S, you're losing to mechanics.
The DPS check was doable without ESO weapons, and with them it's not even an issue if you're actually handling the mechanics in an intelligent way that ensures the dps can focus on their job.

(Sidenote: interesting to see how others did A2S, or even called it easy. Took my group about 4/5 raiding nights to clear it. Started with the NIN in the robot, then I had to do it as a MCH, probably because finding the bomb with a controller is difficult.)

@CosmcKirby
-Double prey does more than negligible damage.
A big hit, even separated, is not a mechanic.
-Resin bombs drop slowing poison.
This is part of the only mechanic I could think of- poison pools during jumps.
-4 lasers spawn instead of 2, and care has to be given to not lead the adds into poison.
Not a new mechanic.
-The bosses have a new tank buster move, that at low gear levels has to be properly mitigated.
I don't personally think "big attack" classifies as a mechanic.
-The damage up from them being two close is permanent.
Not a mechanic.
-During their jump, the patterns are changed and they will fire resin bombs before landing.
You just mentioned resin bombs twice. This is the one mechanic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4gotmypassword

@CosmcKirby
-Double prey does more than negligible damage.
A big hit, even separated, is not a mechanic.
-Resin bombs drop slowing poison.
This is part of the only mechanic I could think of- poison pools during jumps.
-4 lasers spawn instead of 2, and care has to be given to not lead the adds into poison.
Not a new mechanic.
-The bosses have a new tank buster move, that at low gear levels has to be properly mitigated.
I don't personally think "big attack" classifies as a mechanic.
-The damage up from them being two close is permanent.
Not a mechanic.
-During their jump, the patterns are changed and they will fire resin bombs before landing.
You just mentioned resin bombs twice. This is the one mechanic.

---

They don't drop resin bombs during their jump phase on normal, that's the new change you have to deal with. Especially with it sticking around for a length of time.

4 lasers compared to 2 is new because you have to properly coordinate adds for each one, or it's a wipe. You barely have to think about it on normal.

Double prey happens within the same moments of double raid aoe, and big tank hits. Healing in normal compared to that is massively different, and if you think otherwise, you have never healed it, or never talked to a healer who has.

Additions of tank busters is a mechanic, because the healer and tanks have to deal with it. Tanks have to prepare for it, and mitigate it, and healers have to get ready and heal it or it could lead to a wipe.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4gotmypassword

snip

---

Miguel Sicart, who has a PHD in Game studies defines "Game Mechanics" as the following:

Quote:

---

Game mechanics are constructs of rules or methods designed for interaction with the game state, thus providing gameplay.

---

Firstly, all of the above are certainly new sets of rules introduced within the fight. The rule of "There are 2 missiles." is now, "There are 4 missiles." This can be extended to the other examples I listed.
Secondly, do this rules provide interaction for the players in a different way? Yes. Players have to intelligently place the Resin bombs, they have to more carefully guide their adds, they have to mitigate the boss better, and they have to heal more intelligently through more difficult forms of damage.
Finally, this certainly accounts for gameplay.

It's not a matter of "are there new mechanics", as there certainly are. Now, are these mechanics different enough? That's a point of contention you can discuss.

I agreed that the whole raiding experience has been lost compared to coil.
Savage should of been released at same time as normal or before but due to tight dps check SE made normal mandatory. To get couple of pieces to beat enraged.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lyrinn

How similar were the hard fights to normals? A1S and A2S are nearly identical to the story mode fights and are complete excitement killers. A3, at least, has some differences and from what little I've heard of A4 it sounds like T13 levels of pain. Granted, SCoB wasn't much better but with the exception of T9, it had enough differences to be fun for a short while. I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary but at least give us something different instead of rehashing the fights with bigger numbers. Some of the EX primal fights did a better job than A1/2S.

---

Usually one, maybe two new mechanics on Mythic. Story(lfr) they *remove* mechanics present in normal and heroic. Normal and heroic are just numbers difference.