Humble Request: Add Story (a.k.a. Easy) Mode

I request that since scaling up in difficulty is an option, let scaling down also be an option. I don't care if I get nothing for my troubles but finishing the quest.

I just want to see the story in its entirety, hence Story Mode. A far easier version of the dungeons that can be completed by any group of any size, from 1-8. Watching the story on YouTube is pretty impersonal, so this would be great.

This would also reduce anxiety for introverted or less-skilled players (or dirty roleplayers like me). We all pay to play this game for different reasons and I think those reasons should be respected so we can all feel comfortable and happy.

Thank you for your time.

What story can you not complete now? Honest question. If there's some story related quest you can't do, a group can likely be arranged to help you through it. That's been done many times before.

But no, the game doesn't need solo mode "story" dungeons when it's already easy to get groups to complete things like that. With how limited the budget is, spending it on retuning things for another difficulty that generally isn't needed is going to take developer time away from something else that would benefit more players. The MSQ already has numerous catch up and helper mechanics like the Echo to ensure people don't get stuck.

I don't see how RP is a factor. I'm a roleplayer and it's not a barrier in dungeons. Occasionally with the flag up you even encounter other RPers in dungeons (although that's not terribly common).

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Originally Posted by Nerdessence

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I don't think you need an easy mode....use party finder if you need help. There are plenty of understanding people out there if you need help clearing content while avoiding the random roulette.

Like it or not...the bulk of this game is Multiplayer centric.

But... our dungeons are already Easy Mode. They can easly cleared by any party composition.

For everything but Coil there is an Easy Mode - the HW and SB raid tiers got Story Modes, so you dont have to do the difficult fights to see the story.

I'd only be okay with this if clearing the dungeons in Easy Mode meant that you have to clear them again in "Normal" (aka our current state) Mode to unlock them. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I honestly dont want to have people in my later dungeons who didnt even cleared Sastash NM...

And sorry to be so blunt again, but: Considering the genre of this game you should either work on overcoming your anxiety (and "less-skilled" is no argument - work on that instead of trying to use it as an excuse not to play!) or look for a single player game.
The dungeons are easy - you can almost ignore every mechanic. We cleared one of the current endgame dungeons with a BLM who did maybe 20% of the damage they should have been doing a few days ago.

And I'm saying that as someone who spend the first 2 months with the game basically only crafting because I was to afraid of dungeons. Running from your problems isnt a solution. Its never a solution. Giving in to your anxiety is letting the anxiety win.

Btw: All dungeons up to level 60 can be done unsyched - so with any number from 1-4, while keeping your current level, making them a lot easier. So, if you really dont want to do them with DF, you can ask a higher level play to do them unsyched with you. It wont change the dungeon and its mechanics, but you can have a level 70 in Sastasha, one-shoting everything.
Re-designing all dungeons to match a super-baby-easy-mode because people dont want to improve is the wrong way to go. Specially because, again: The dungeons are already not that complicated or unforgiving when it comes to mechanics in the first place.

I personally think the normal dungeons you have to do in story mode are already very easy, especially now that they are outdated. You sometimes have to dodge stuff or target another enemy than the boss but that's usually it. There are other RPGs that are single player and have harder dungeons and bosses.
The solo duties like job quests and story instances are often even harder than the dungeons. ;D

I'm very shy and introverted and communicating with other players is a little difficult for me. While not being forced to play with others sounds nice to someone like me, I still believe that being able to solo everything in an MMO is somehow wrong. I really get where you're coming from, but the content you're forced to do with other players during the story is already easy enough even for less skilled players. It's even so extremely easy that less skilled players don't get better just by doing a normal dungeon because they don't even have to try.

The realistic solution is to use the solo duty asset the game already posess to allow players the one time completion of a story quest. The game has already proven numerous times that it can make use of an existing area, limit it with zone markers and use AI npcs to assist the player to complete them. This allows players to seamlessly go through msq without having to wait for a group, it allows cutscenes during msq to be viewed at the players leisure however they see fit and everything is scaled accordingly. Once the solo duty is completed, like all solo duties in the game for msq and class quest, it cannot be redone.

the game's story is easy mode. and leveling down is already a thing, its called Unsynced.

To solve your cutscene problem, you can clear the content as everyone else does, then you can go back and goof around as an undersized party for whatever reason you see fit.

you know what reduces anxiety thats not dumbing down content? playing with friends or nice strangers to help with the content.

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Originally Posted by Nerdessence

(or dirty roleplayers like me).

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this game accommodates to this^ too much as it is.

obvious troll post >.>

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Originally Posted by Vidu

But... our dungeons are already Easy Mode. They can easly cleared by any party composition.

For everything but Coil there is an Easy Mode - the HWand SB raid tiers got Story Modes, so you dont have to do the difficult fights to see the story.

I'd only be okay with this if clearing the dungeons in Easy Mode meant that you have to clear them again in "Normal" (aka our current state) Mode to unlock them. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I honestly dont want to have people in my later dungeons who didnt even cleared Sastash NM...

And sorry to be so blunt again, but: Considering the genre of this game you should either work on overcoming your anxiety (and "less-skilled" is no argument - work on that instead of trying to use it as an excuse not to play!) or look for a single player game.
The dungeons are easy - you can almost ignore every mechanic. We cleared one of the current endgame dungeons with a BLM who did maybe 20% of the damage they should have been doing a few days ago.

And I'm saying that as someone who spend the first 2 months with the game basically only crafting because I was to afraid of dungeons. Running from your problems isnt a solution. Its never a solution. Giving in to your anxiety is letting the anxiety win.

Btw: All dungeons up to level 60 can be done unsyched - so with any number from 1-4, while keeping your current level, making them a lot easier. So, if you really dont want to do them with DF, you can ask a higher level play to do them unsyched with you. It wont change the dungeon and its mechanics, but you can have a level 70 in Sastasha, one-shoting everything.
Re-designing all dungeons to match a super-baby-easy-mode because people dont want to improve is the wrong way to go. Specially because, again: The dungeons are already not that complicated or unforgiving when it comes to mechanics in the first place.

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yeah im confused, we are already on easy mode?

if this is supposed to be an April's fool joke, then you are a few days late.
but if the current MSQ is indeed to difficult for you, then: get good.

I just want to find a way to experience and explore this content intended for groups, without the rush that comes from playing content with a group. I do not want to inconvenience other people while I attempt to explore and take in the beauty/lore of the content made for this great game. I'm still new to this game and still learning all the features, so hopefully something like this exists outside of "clear the content/dungeon first then go back and experience it later or watch a cutscene from your bedroom" -_-

Let me group when I'm ready, let me explore when I'm ready.

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Originally Posted by CainCrimson

I just want to find a way to experience and explore this content intended for groups, without the rush that comes from playing content with a group. I do not want to inconvenience other people while I attempt to explore and take in the beauty/lore of the content made for this great game. I'm still new to this game and still learning all the features, so hopefully something like this exists outside of "clear the content/dungeon first then go back and experience it later or watch a cutscene from your bedroom" -_-

Let me group when I'm ready, let me explore when I'm ready.

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Totally feel your pain on this.....cutscene skipping peer pressure is a thing..and it's an utterly stupid thing.

What had Blizzard done to mmorpg.....?
It is so terrifying.....

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Originally Posted by CainCrimson

I just want to find a way to experience and explore this content intended for groups, without the rush that comes from playing content with a group. I do not want to inconvenience other people while I attempt to explore and take in the beauty/lore of the content made for this great game. I'm still new to this game and still learning all the features, so hopefully something like this exists outside of "clear the content/dungeon first then go back and experience it later or watch a cutscene from your bedroom" -_-

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You should watch the cutscenes as they happen. Aside from two specific dungeons where they're no longer skippable, they rarely tie people up for very long and you only get to do it for the first time once.

For exploration, you can actually use the Return teleport command to go back to the start of the dungeon after it's over, and everything's dead so you can explore at your leisure without making anyone wait. At high level you can just queue solo and blow everything up in most of them, too.

This is not a game where everything is meant to be done solo.

If I buy a chess board, they'd better damn well include an easy-mode where all the pieces become pawns. And I can move however many times I want in whatever direction, because I paid for it - and I feel like playing it that way.
That was me being a butt-head, but my sentiment mirrors that! I mean... Everyone plays for different reasons, can you imagine the nightmare it would be for the developers to try and accommodate everyone?

The truth of the matter is that content is already easy enough as it is, and this is coming from an average player. The fact that so much content is failed (on easy instances) is due to bad players, not difficult mechanics.

They already gave us raids and savage raids, we don't need baby-tier raids on top of that.

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Originally Posted by Odstarva

If I buy a chess board, they'd better damn well include an easy-mode where all the pieces become pawns. And I can move however many times I want in whatever direction, because I paid for it - and I feel like playing it that way.
That was me being a butt-head, but my sentiment mirrors that! I mean... Everyone plays for different reasons, can you imagine the nightmare it would be for the developers to try and accommodate everyone?

The truth of the matter is that content is already easy enough as it is, and this is coming from an average player. The fact that so much content is failed (on easy instances) is due to bad players, not difficult mechanics.

They already gave us raids and savage raids, we don't need baby-tier raids on top of that.

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I'm trying to think of what exactly a baby-tier raid would be. For some reason the only thing I can think of is not having a job stone.

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Originally Posted by CainCrimson

I just want to find a way to experience and explore this content intended for groups, without the rush that comes from playing content with a group.

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Its almost as if we're playing an MMORPG.

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Originally Posted by SenorPatty

The realistic solution is to use the solo duty asset the game already posess to allow players the one time completion of a story quest.

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This may indeed be a solution for later in the game's life when player population/saturation of running dungeons required for MSQ has waned to the point where it strongly impacts a new players experience (similar to the way FFXI added trusts to the game, such that now you have a "group" any time you play and can level solo to the cap if you so choose), but right now I don't think it's something that is needed.

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Originally Posted by Tridus

For exploration, you can actually use the Return teleport command to go back to the start of the dungeon after it's over, and everything's dead so you can explore at your leisure without making anyone wait.

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This would be exactly what I need then, except for the cases (which is pretty typical) where the group blasts past large groups of enemies. I didn't realize I could teleport back to the start though, I'll be using this after work tonight :) many many thanks

And yeah I'm not against group content, this is an MMO afterall and that would just be...odd lol. However I am a gamer, and I like to enjoy the game. Equal parts going into content to burn through for experience or loot, and going into content and calmly taking it all in enjoying the experience.

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Originally Posted by CainCrimson

This would be exactly what I need then, except for the cases (which is pretty typical) where the group blasts past large groups of enemies. I didn't realize I could teleport back to the start though, I'll be using this after work tonight :) many many thanks

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The only thing to be aware of in this situation is that you only get 5-10m in the dungeon after the boss is cleared to explore. I know this because I went back to explore Kugane Castle the first time, and also my friend likes to take a lot of gpose screenshots of LB3s at the end of fights and she sometimes gets kicked out in the middle of them.

Do you mean a mode where you do everything by yourself, even dungeons? While I get that cutscenes puts our player solely in the role of the WOL, they still make 'references' to our friends in the party who help us. Plus doing group content solo defeats the purpose of it being 'group content'. If you're worried about others being mad at you or rushing you, take friends with you. That's what I did for some of the other content. Also MSQ instances aren't hard, they actually sort of practice mode areas that teach you how to do dungeon/raid mechanics.

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Originally Posted by CainCrimson

This would be exactly what I need then, except for the cases (which is pretty typical) where the group blasts past large groups of enemies. I didn't realize I could teleport back to the start though, I'll be using this after work tonight :) many many thanks

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:) That's how I read the books in places like Gubal Library. Takes a while, there is a lot of them.

I certainly don't think this is a troll post. @OP Your best bet to get through the content quickly so as to view cutscenes and such is starting an unsynced PF for the dungeons/trials you need to. However, I honestly don't think you'll have the "easy mode" experience here. Personally I don't find the story content too challenging, but to each their own. Even with doing the lower level dungeons unsynced, you'll eventually get to higher level content. Not to mention all of the solo duties you have to do that no one can help you with. And I agree with Sicarius, in that I found the MSQ content to be great practice for really getting to know your job(s) through and through. MMOs aren't really something you can put on "easy mode".

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy the rest of the story. It's pretty good, and well worth getting through the dungeons.

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Originally Posted by Nerdessence

I request that since scaling up in difficulty is an option, let scaling down also be an option. I don't care if I get nothing for my troubles but finishing the quest.

I just want to see the story in its entirety, hence Story Mode. A far easier version of the dungeons that can be completed by any group of any size, from 1-8. Watching the story on YouTube is pretty impersonal, so this would be great.

This would also reduce anxiety for introverted or less-skilled players (or dirty roleplayers like me). We all pay to play this game for different reasons and I think those reasons should be respected so we can all feel comfortable and happy.

Thank you for your time.

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Dungeons are already easy. If targeting an enemy and pressing a few buttons until it dies is too difficult I really don't know what to tell you.

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Originally Posted by CainCrimson

This would be exactly what I need then, except for the cases (which is pretty typical) where the group blasts past large groups of enemies. I didn't realize I could teleport back to the start though, I'll be using this after work tonight :) many many thanks.

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One thing to keep in mind, I think you only have about 5 minute before you are auto-booted.

It really is a shame that we have no decent way to actually explore the dungeons at a slower pace. They pack so many cool things into those places, and we all run by without a moment to spare. I'd also love to have the option to roam dungeons for screenshots. Easy to do unsycned for lower dungeons - not so much on current ones.

Wait I thought this game was easy, with exception of savage and ultimate -.- ?

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Originally Posted by ManuelBravo

Wait I thought this game was easy, with exception of savage and ultimate -.- ?

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OP was trolling, people are actually being nice about it tho.

The dungeon stuff is too easy, though, IMO. Its possible to clear some without a healer or a tank

Soon you people are going to want a button that instantly kills the selected target >.>

I think they could do this if they allowed more of a non-combat progression through the game. Just let crafting and gathering open up the zones instead of needing combat classes to do it, and add a craft/gather progression storyline in addition to the individual quests. If you want to open up pve endgame, you need to go through the combat progression with a combat class too. You don't get the actual combat story, but you do get one tailored to being non combat support.

This would also be good as it would be much better for people with significant disabilities to still play in the game. There's actually a lot of non-combat content in this game that they can do, but the combat gates it off, and t'd be nice if you could just let certain people focus on that aspect.

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Originally Posted by RiyahArp

I think they could do this if they allowed more of a non-combat progression through the game. Just let crafting and gathering open up the zones instead of needing combat classes to do it, and add a craft/gather progression storyline in addition to the individual quests. If you want to open up pve endgame, you need to go through the combat progression with a combat class too. You don't get the actual combat story, but you do get one tailored to being non combat support.

This would also be good as it would be much better for people with significant disabilities to still play in the game. There's actually a lot of non-combat content in this game that they can do, but the combat gates it off, and t'd be nice if you could just let certain people focus on that aspect.

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FFXIV 1.0 tried this and it was generally agreed to be pretty terrible, since it inevitably influenced the encounter design in a bad way. Can't have the story rely on this big epic fight or this covert infiltration or anything cool because you have to account for Joe McCulinarian bringing his frying pan along, so instead it was a split path of "introduce combat NPCs that do the fighting for you" or "you beat this beastman in a Parley card game? I guess you convinced them to stop fighting now."

Which is unfortunate because out of context solving a beastman skirmish through card games is kinda hilarious.

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Originally Posted by Nerdessence

I request that since scaling up in difficulty is an option, let scaling down also be an option. I don't care if I get nothing for my troubles but finishing the quest.

I just want to see the story in its entirety, hence Story Mode. A far easier version of the dungeons that can be completed by any group of any size, from 1-8. Watching the story on YouTube is pretty impersonal, so this would be great.

This would also reduce anxiety for introverted or less-skilled players (or dirty roleplayers like me). We all pay to play this game for different reasons and I think those reasons should be respected so we can all feel comfortable and happy.

Thank you for your time.

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So basically "I already did the game, but missed the context of pretty much everything" right? Sounds reasonable as long as you've completed it and aren't expecting experience/items/rewards for it. (Nier:Automata let you skip the cutscenes, AND the gameplay).

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Originally Posted by Tridus

What story can you not complete now? Honest question. If there's some story related quest you can't do, a group can likely be arranged to help you through it. That's been done many times before.

But no, the game doesn't need solo mode "story" dungeons when it's already easy to get groups to complete things like that.

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I'd rather there not be a "solo completion" option (where you basically are invincible, immune to all debuffs, and enrage timers are off.) You can undersize party and complete Titan, Garuda and Ifirit Extreme at level 70 now. Some people said they can solo Coil Turn 5. As there is storyline attached to Coil, there is an incentive to see the story since it leads into Stormblood, but doesn't necessarily mean that the content should be tuned down to complete it. Rather Coil, Alexander Savage (or incomplete normal), and the Extreme primals from the previous major patches should go into their own "completion roulette", where if someone who hasn't completed it selects it for a PUG, it only sets them up with 7 other players who have completed it. According to minions and mounts that players have, only 5% of the players complete this content when it's new, and 30% complete it after the next major patch (presumably due to undersized party making some of it a pushover.)

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Originally Posted by Fhaerron

Soon you people are going to want a button that instantly kills the selected target >.>

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Even that would be too difficult for some people since it involves pressing a button. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Nerdessence

We all pay to play this game for different reasons and I think those reasons should be respected so we can all feel comfortable and happy.

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No, there are reasons that are totally invalid that should not be respected. However, wanting to enjoy the story is not invalid, but you still have to play the game as it was meant to be played. When you choose to play this game you have to respect the dev's intentions. If you totally remove the requirement for a group from all content you utterly decimate the premise of this being a social game. I don't play FPSs and then demand it play more like a third person RPG.

I'm not against there being easier modes, that maybe require only 2 or 3. Understand, at least from what I've seen so far, there is a certain amount of unique story behind each difficulty level. Some of it is just "Oh noes! They've summoned Ifrit again!", but Hard dungeons seem to have different stories from their normal counterparts. I have heard, (but haven't tried it) you can play some dungeons unsynced, but I imagine to play those solo you would need to out level it and there may be some mechanics that are impossible.

Most of the people I have encountered in mmos are introverts, and playing a fictional character let's work out some issues. Role playing is primarily a social activity. Solo RPGs are great but most can't be considered legitimate role play.

Dungeons being able to be cleared by any party comp of one tank one healer and 2 dps is not "easy" it's a sign of good design. Would you like it if you were excluded from dungeon runs becuase of your class?

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Even that would be too difficult for some people since it involves pressing a button. :rolleyes:

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Most dps can't press a button. ever seen a raid roullete queue try to pop? it takes at least 3 fails to get in.

Are you kidding me? All the story stuff has already been gutting into easy mode.

I remember the days when four man dungeons actually took a little thought at release, and nowadays everything is face roll. If you can't bother with the stuff we have, you must want the game to be a movie that you just watch, cause everything is already easy enough.

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Originally Posted by Nerdessence

This would also reduce anxiety for introverted or less-skilled players (or dirty roleplayers like me).

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If someone isn't skilled enough to do story mode dungeons in their current state then there is something wrong with them, not the game. The story-mode stuff is far from being tuned for very skilled players. It's tuned for average skill levels.

Being a roleplayer doesn't automatically mean you are unable to play the pve or pvp aspects of the game. I know several people who do all three just fine.

You seem to be basically asking for a solo story mode...which makes me wonder why are you playing a mmo?

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Even that would be too difficult for some people since it involves pressing a button. :rolleyes:

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You're not wrong. I've had more than one wipe in Leviathan because no one wanted to hit that darn button.

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Originally Posted by NephthysVasudan

I don't think you need an easy mode....use party finder if you need help. There are plenty of understanding people out there if you need help clearing content while avoiding the random roulette.

Like it or not...the bulk of this game is Multiplayer centric.

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I don't know about the bulk of it. There is a lot of solo content and you can't even do solo duties with a group. I was grouped with my son and we had the same quest and had to do the same solo duty, but we had to break up the party and do them separately.That was something I loved about SWTOR, you could play most content in a group. The downside is that there was some inconsistency on how that was handled. Not that the solo content is hard, but if you have somebody you like to play with it's nice when you can stay with them.

I don't see what the harm in this is. I really don't. I would have liked that too as with a slow internet connection, dungeons are very difficult towards the end of the story line with all the AOE by the ton. And what is harming you personally? Nothing. You could still continue to play just like you always have. Options are just that, options. MMO Massive Multiplayer Online..nowhere does it say MMOMAG (Massive Multiplayer Online Must Always Group) Give people options. Don't like it? Don't do it that way. It was brought up as a request for options, not a demand to change the whole game.