Does anyone like this game's RNG / focus on luck?

Social psychology shows that randomness keeps people addicted to a game. It's what casinos use with slot machines to get people to keep playing, even though they are almost guaranteed to turn out to be a loser.

But this isn't a casino. This is a Pay-to-Play MMO.

At this point in time, getting elite gear in the game has in large part been a result of randomness. Many people spend months trying to get one single item from coils 1-5 because they either didn't drop, or they got outlotted when they did. Now, the Atma system has people farming for 30+ hours with almost no results.

Personally I just watched the entire house of cards season 2 plus a few other shows (13+ hours). All I have to show or it is 1 single atma (and i farmed the entire time).

Now I'm a fan of grinding, don't get me wrong. In 1.0 I spent days if not weeks grinding gathering and crafting for luminary. Sadly in 2.0 luminarys were made essentially worthless and a joke to get.

A little randomness is okay
But when one person has to farm 200 hours vs someone else farming 12 hours, all due to a RNG and luck, there seems to be a problem.

So I'm seriously wondering. Are there people who actually prefer this system -strongly- based on luck, over one based on progression, skill, or time?

Doesn't bother me at all. Not saying it's the best option, but it's not bad enough to bother me.

The RNG here looks like cake compare to what Blizzard did to D3 and then they shoved down all their throats forcing it all to be bind to account. So I don't know if this RNG here is really that bad.

The Dev Team should just make everything luck based. Like Myth/Soldiery Tomes, You might get lucky this run and get tomes.....

It's in no way the best option, but it is the lesser of two evils.

Either RNG gods and luck or "We've beaten all the content and gotten everything we need in a week. What do we do now?"

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Originally Posted by TheUltimate3

It's in no way the best option, but it is the lesser of two evils.

Either RNG gods and luck or "We've beaten all the content and gotten everything we need in a week. What do we do now?"

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What bout grindy content with guaranteed progression. like luminary. Where you have to do something x-times but you are guaranteed your item.
For example, make atma purchasable for 30k great company seals ontop of the RNG. You get the company seals mainly from grinding the fates. And the extra option "removes" the "luck" from the equation.

Getting anything in life or in a game is more rewarding when you feel as though you worked for it, rather than just getting lucky. Players will become more attached to the game if they feel they invested time, working towards "elite" gear.

Personally it's doesn't have to be skill based:

1) If it has to have RNG make it "reasonable"
2) It can be quest based that takes time to do and doesn't have to require skill
3) Parts of the quest(s) could require skill ( Example HM's for Relic)

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Originally Posted by Foo01

The RNG here looks like cake compare to what Blizzard did to D3 and then they shoved down all their throats forcing it all to be bind to account. So I don't know if this RNG here is really that bad.

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Huh? The D3 loot system is awesome compared to this. You're at least garaunteed decent gear and the drops are weighted to your class type. An nothing of any worth is tradeable in FFXIV at all as far as gear. At least in D3 you can still trade in party so long as you don't put it on.

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Originally Posted by Azurymber

What bout grindy content with guaranteed progression. like luminary. Where you have to do something x-times but you are guaranteed your item.
For example, make atma purchasable for 30k great company seals ontop of the RNG. You get the company seals mainly from grinding the fates. And the extra option "removes" the "luck" from the equation.

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Refresh my memory, how does one get a luminary and how long does it take?

Gonna quote myself here.

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Originally Posted by L-D-Omlette

The patch has been live for three weeks, the next one won't be out for another nine or ten (not counting 2.25), and even that will probably not add progression content since it is a CT patch. The next progression patch would then be 2.4, which is presumably close to twenty four weeks out.

With RNG some people could have their upgrades already, while most will still be grinding it out. If everything were moved to a token system where everyone were guaranteed something after X amount of work, then you would have to set the payout at a point in time that keeps content relevant for a majority of a patch cycle, otherwise people will grind it out in a week and the "nothing to do" threads come back even faster.

There has to be a balance.

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If you were to completely remove RNG from the game, there would be nothing left to do after X amount of weeks. If content is going to last a dev cycle, then that X has to be large enough to cover the majority of the current dev cycle. Is that what you really want?

And saying that they can pump out content faster is not realistic. No form of digital entertainment (or non-digital for that matter) will be developed faster than it can be consumed.

Yes, I like it. RNG is what kept me doing Garuda/Titan/Ifrit for accessories. Otherwise, I would have only done them a few times and then would have been bored with nothing to do.

But what would be nice: Remove lockout for all coil turns since we have to deal with RNG there too. Lockout and RNG together makes me a sadpanda.

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Originally Posted by TheUltimate3

Refresh my memory, how does one get a luminary and how long does it take?

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You get luminarys as achievement rewards for crafting and gathering x-amount of items
For gathering you had to gather a certain amount per node-grade (in 1.0 it was per zone)
For crafting you had to craft a certain amount of items
In 1.0 it could take a month of farming to get just one (unless you botted)
in 2.0 you can get it if you grind for about 3 days

In 1.0 it was the best gear you could get
in 2.0 it is equal to the gear you get from the final quest in the respective craft/quest, except that it reduces durability loss (however, since theres nothing to mass-gather for profit its pretty well a vanity item now)
The new items from the last patch are better than luminary so it is now essentially worthless

So people who spent months grinding (I only did a few weeks and didn't get a full luminary) in 1.0, did it all for nothing at all.

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Originally Posted by Cap75

Huh? The D3 loot system is awesome compared to this. You're at least garaunteed decent gear and the drops are weighted to your class type. An nothing of any worth is tradeable in FFXIV at all as far as gear. At least in D3 you can still trade in party so long as you don't put it on.

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Then you should be over there playing D3.

That RNG there is complete BS. And trade with a 2 hour limit is good as no trade. At least here, you can see the market boards being active and the trading is good. The economy is plenty healthy with prices on thing fluctuating based on demand.

With all the stuff targeted to your class, you can't do jack about gearing your alt. Good luck with that. And then with such wide stat ranges that depend on the RNG gods. Good luck on any drops, it didn't take long before people complain about how they can't get any loot that are upgrades.

After being knocked down, stomped and spitted on by the RNG in Aion, I find the RNG in this game to be very kind and forgiving...

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Originally Posted by Azurymber

You get luminarys as achievement rewards for crafting and gathering x-amount of items
For gathering you had to gather a certain amount per node-grade (in 1.0 it was per zone)
For crafting you had to craft a certain amount of items
In 1.0 it could take a month of farming to get just one (unless you botted)
in 2.0 you can get it if you grind for about 3 days

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If it is a definant thing that could take a 3 days to a month, and their plan is for it to last until next patch cycle, it would have to be far longer.

By a lot. The stated goal for the Zodiac weapons was that it was to take a while. So if oen were to hate the atma grind (the only real part that takes time thanks to Brayflox speedruns) one will have to come up with a way to make it longer but with clear progression.

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Originally Posted by TheUltimate3

If it is a definant thing that could take a 3 days to a month, and their plan is for it to last until next patch cycle, it would have to be far longer.

By a lot. The stated goal for the Zodiac weapons was that it was to take a while. So if oen were to hate the atma grind (the only real part that takes time thanks to Brayflox speedruns) one will have to come up with a way to make it longer but with clear progression.

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Don't you think that making sure people have fun rather than making them feel like the game is equivalent to work is more important? I can't imagine why anyone would enjoy repeating the same thing for 100 hours. In real life companies pay people to do mindless repetition, not the other way around.

I'm all for long grinds or content, but it should keep people motivated and provide fun. Not spawn 20+ forum complaint posts, and bore people into leaving for a grind like ESO which is all questing.

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Originally Posted by Azurymber

Don't you think that making sure people have fun rather than making them feel like the game is equivalent to work is more important? I can't imagine why anyone would enjoy repeating the same thing for 100 hours. In real life companies pay people to do mindless repetition, not the other way around.

I'm all for long grinds or content, but it should keep people motivated and provide fun. Not spawn 20+ forum complaint posts, and bore people into leaving for a grind like ESO which is all questing.

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That's why it's called grinding. It is doing the same thing over and over again until the fun of it has long since died. People wanted something that took more than a week to obtain and with they got it, just not in the way they were hoping for, and they intended to last at least the next patch.

And this is coming from someone who could absolutely care less. I plan to get my Thyrus Animus but damn if I couldn't be bothered to actually go get it.

The problem is that some people perceive it to be mindless repetition, other people perceive it as fun. It is good that the game has an RNG portion for those that enjoy it, and at the same time there is progression that does NOT require it.

I don't play slots at the casino because I don't like that, but people there pay to press that same button over and over. Seriously mindless repetition, but to them they don't perceive it that way. But to each their own.

I would add that I don't gamble and don't do casinos because you are paying them to do mindless repetition. Even thing like blackjack or poker is still primarily luck and you are guaranteed to lose money over the long run based on the mathematical facts about the law of averages.

pvp is grinding as well. and fun. Its different every time but takes forever to get to max rank
FFXI was a massive grind. but it was always different. things were challenging. Every party had diff strengths and weaknesses, emergencies, etc.
Luminary in 1.0 was a massive grind but you felt good when you completed a zone and got one step closer

Grinds can be dynamic and enjoyable. To most people (at least based on all the recent topics) this doesn't seem to be one of them.
Im not saying there shouldn't be a grind. I'm saying a grind PURELY based on luck that minimal people enjoy doing is unsatisfying and unfair.

Randomness to some degree is okay. but one person spending less than 20 hours is a far difference from some of the people spending well over 100.