A Suggestion for future relic quests.
Before you white knights, etc come in and shoot me.. I'm not here to complain.
I've seen the reactions over at reddit, here, etc. And i know the final step is a <censored for your pleasure>.
What I'm doing here is that instead, I'm want to suggest how all future relic quests should be. Even if it gets lost, I still am going to try. I don't believe in not making any concrete actions.
First, let's try to understand why people are unhappy. Do note, this will probably be a generalisation, a sweeping statement. This I am going to be frank. This is my opinion, and you have every right to disagree. (So please, don;t take it like a word of God). When we earn a legendary weapon, we want to earn it as though it was a feat. Yes, I get it, that is what raids were there for. That's what we have the primals EX for.
However why is it the playerbase have been unhappy about the relic steps all the way until now which it became worse? likely because in the beginning (yes, the beginning.), the relic was fun. Yes, the first few steps were time gated, grindy maybe. But hey, the way it was implemented for, some parts were cool. (like say, fighting three ex primals once at a time [or was it hard mode?])
but i digress. I think the main highlight of the 2.0 relic quest wasn't the steps,but the fact we had TWO really nicely designed fights called Chimera and Hydra. Yes, the Chimera was a rip off from gorgimera, etc. But people enjoyed it slightly. Hydra by itself was a challenge. Not too hard, not too easy back then. And what was more was that you HAD to complete it with a handicap (Your newly forged weapon unawakened).
And before all the new content updates, etc came in, the fights WERE a challenge for anybody trying to get new content. It was a difficulty, that one could say easy to obtain yet not made to be too EASY to obtain through such fights.
I digress again.
What I am highlighting is or what I hope the next steps for the relics would involve are such fights. Bring new interesting fights to be pitched as the final step or final few steps like the way Hydra or Chimera were.
This will solve a few things:
1) The complaints that the relic step is grindy.
2) We have a ongoing issue of the lack of midtier content for players yes? I know it won't do much, but hey, why not let'[s start with this. I'm sure those interesting fights will be a good time sink. But then again, its about implementation.
Also, I'm not advocating the new relic step should be only about interesting fights. Do it in the 2.0 format in a sense, sure, you can put in those grindy steps say light grinding, etc. Just in a smaller scale (making it easier to complete), but yet ensuring not too many rush in and voila, obtain the new relic easily! Like how for example, one had to slog through dungeons to obtain parts of their weapon in the dungeon, etc.
I do think back that those fights really did help the community a bit. I recall FCs (nice ones, there will always be douches) trying to help members with the fights back then for 2.0 relic. Or there might be people who would help a friend in a sense they had a unneeded part (coz class specific, etc) but they know of someone who needed it and gave that part.
Or, people who came across those parts, didn't need it and sold it for profit. Nothing wrong. It helped some people get rid of it. Crafters also could cash in. without being a 5 star. At least better then having those 'zodiac item drops' which you couldn;t do anything with if you have extra.. other then for the sake of it using it for other classes. (nothing wrong with that though).
That's my thoughts.
Pardon this long wall of text.
tldr: do things more like the 2.0 way, in the sense put in interesting NEW fights like Hydra or Chimera. Additional stuff to do for that specific step that is a bit grindy can be implemented along side to GATE the entry of people like say, 'infusing the soul crystal with power of defeated creatures in battles' (aka light grinding) then facing off a great trial (The great dragon of wyrmdor [i'm making shit up. its a example]). Just my thoughts. maybe, i'm looking at things with a rose tainted glasses.