The last few solo trials in the main story need a nerf... (Lahabrea, Rhitatyn...)

As a new player I really enjoyed the story and the dungeons. Everything is really fun so far. There is, however, a huge difficulty spike at Lv 46. The game has up to this point basically let you do the MSQ and that's enough XP for everything but suddenly you needed to grind 3 levels to unlock the next quest when you're at Lv46, which is pretty grindy since you have to grind a Lv41 dungeon to level.

Then I got to Rhitatyn which seems to be one of the first solo trials in the game. At first I thought it was pretty cool and the mechanics like the earthquake mechanic got me a few times but it was super cool. But the fight was literally like 3 times as long as any fight you have been in up to this point, had like 4 phases with different mechanics. The last phase was also just basically impossible. Maybe I'm not getting it but I just died so much to it because he literally just locks you and burns you and you can't do anything about it. I had to try like 5 times, go on very easy, and even buy better gear just to beat him. It's just a huge difficulty spike that kinda took the fun out and killed the tension of the game.

And then once you get to Lahabrea it became even more insane. It was just new mechanics after new mechanics the game throws at you and every time you make a mistake it takes half of your health away. That fight also took me like 3 tries.... which is kinda weird when the dungeons were not that bad.

I don't know if it's just me but the difficulty spikes are kinda insane IMO and probably need a nerf. I also hope the rest of the game isn't like this and gets harder and harder. I really don't want to play a hardcore game :/ Any advice?

Just going from personal experience just keep at it my friend. It can be difficult. I agree with you but each new battle is a new learning experience and once you get the rhythm of it you'll get it done. And yes can be frustrating and so forth but just keep at it you'll get it.

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Originally Posted by Krokov

Just going from personal experience just keep at it my friend. It can be difficult. I agree with you but each new battle is a new learning experience and once you get the rhythm of it you'll get it done. And yes can be frustrating and so forth but just keep at it you'll get it.

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Thank you. I just hope the rest of the game isn't as brutal as those two fights.

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Originally Posted by EderTheBro

Thank you. I just hope the rest of the game isn't as brutal as those two fights.

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It does get harder, but gradually, so that you have time to learn and adapt. A friend and I often laugh about how hard or intimidating certain encounters were when we were new to them, but now they seem easy. Also, most of the more challenging encounters aren't solo duties, so you don't have to pull that weight alone.

A couple things that have helped me in the past:

If you're struggling, watch a guide. Sometimes there are mechanics I don't notice or misunderstand in the heat of battle. Also, there's no shame in dropping the difficulty down to Easy or Very Easy if you need to.

If there are NPCs fighting with you, pay attention to what they say in chat. That took me much too long to learn. If they tell you "I'll handle X, you go take care of Y", DO THAT. Sometimes it makes all the difference.

I sometimes practice tough dungeon encounters with the Duty Support NPCs. I'm not embarrassed to die (sometimes repeatedly!) with them. The fights in this game are almost all choreographed, so practice can make perfect, or at least more competent. :)

Good luck out there!

The game will get harder. HW and SB probably will be a bit of a break from what you're experiencing, but ShB and EW have a lot more movement to them. It's honestly why I prefer how they've modernized the early game fights. It's prepping you for later on.

I always felt like most people get to ShB or the patch content before it and they're a bit overwhelmed because previously nothing really compared.

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Originally Posted by EderTheBro

Thank you. I just hope the rest of the game isn't as brutal as those two fights.

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Fun fact: Rhitatyn and Lahabrea used to be 8-players boss fights but they were super easy to the point they were considered joke bosses. However, in recent patches, these bosses were buffed up and moved to their own solo battle instances, turning joke bosses into proper solo bosses as they should be lore-wise.

There are going to be difficulty spikes, but the mechanics you're seeing and learning are going to show up over and over again, so it's highly recommended to learn them in order to navigate more easily through the next bosses.

Mechanically speaking, the game does get harder, however, the amount of leeway you're afforded in the later levels increases greatly. e.g., for some mind-boggling reason, these earlier solo instances have a much more stringent gear sync imposed, than compared to the latter.

Just keep trying at it and you'd nail it! Speaking from having experienced both (reran the MSQ), I can say it's much, much more engaging now than it was.

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Originally Posted by EderTheBro

suddenly you needed to grind 3 levels to unlock the next quest when you're at Lv46, which is pretty grindy since you have to grind a Lv41 dungeon to level.

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That gap is really awkward in terms of MSQ pacing, yes. However, for leveling xp there is a Lv44 dungeon (Dzemael Darkhold) and a Lv47 dungeon (Aurum Vale).

To unlock Dzemael Darkhold, do either the quest "Fort of Fear" in Coerthas Central
or the quest "Shadows Uncast" from your GC as a Sgt First Class.

To unlock Aurum Vale, "Going for Gold" in Horizon (Western Thanalan).

These quest icons should be easy to spot because they will be blue +Q icons (the symbol for quests that unlock features or content--pick these up whenever you see them!).

These dungeons will also give you better gear than the Lv41 dungeon, which will make the Lv49 and 50 stuff easier. Also make sure you've done your job quests because they give you IL50/55 gear at Lv45/50. All incoming and outgoing numbers are based almost entirely on gear; dps doesn't increase that much with just level alone.

They don't need a nerf. Use any self heals that you might have including potions. Did you do your last two job quests? As those should have given you enough of a left side. I see that you're posting here with bard set to your job so making sure you're keeping your dots on bosses all the time are very helpful. Always have one of your songs playing. Use focus target if you feel the need for a second place to keep track of cast bars. Anything that has a flashing cast bar can be interrupted with head graze. I did them both on my alt that's a bard that just had the ilv 90 stuff from the chest you get after completing the lv 50 job quest, a nq Crab Bow and a mishmash of accessories.

The solo fights do get tougher, but they've made it so that you'll have learned what most of the mechanics look like by the time you reach the later ones. As others have said you can always watch or read a guide. Situational awareness is a skill everyone needs to develop. So don't feel bad if you have to zoom out or pan the camera. Or if you need to error on the side of caution.

Here's how it goes. The entire rest of the content, you can be carried in, by friends or by game features.
The single player instances can not be carried past. Most of them can't be cheesed.

Most of the time they serve as gear checks, so that you have good enough gear for the next 5 to 10 levels.

A very few of them are skill checks, so that you pass either by dumb luck, or by understanding a mechanic that they view as important.

Folks above have described better gear and where to get it.
Others have given hints about guides.

So, I'd just be redundant with that.

But it's never redundant to say goodluck, and I know you can do it.

No they don't.

Sounds like a skill issue.

As someone who started playing in 6.2, and played through those parts the first time after the revamp... please don't nerf them... Rhitatyn is one of the best solo instances in the game, period, it's an absolute blast to get through them and I was an awful player back then, I actually failed both of them at least once, but I just got up and tried again, plus if all else fails, you can just lower the difficulty, either all the way at once, or one stage at a time until you get it or get the feeling it's been lowered enough for it feel doable for you, and then keep going from there.

Rhitatyn is really the only fight in the game as a solo player that lets you fight it without the proper item level. that 3rd (i think it's the 3rd phase) is just a straight up dps check, and some classes will have one or two skills max to deal with him with. If you don't have the right gear, you're done. It's not a skill issue in the sense of mechanics, it's just 'get better gear'.

If you want to cheese some accessories and a weapon with a higher ilvl, you can do PvP and get the level 50 gear with 110 ilvl. It will be synced down for the solo battles, but it should be better than you would get from quests and leveling dungeons before beating Castrum, Praetorium and Ultima Weapon.

No, the story content doesn't really get harder. Occasionally there are solo battles that are difficult when you're in minimum gear, but in fact if you spend poetic tomestones at the blue npcs at city state aetherytes, you can get the best gear for that expansion and destroy most of them. But there will be some exceptions.

It's not that they are hard either, but that sometimes it's not entirely obvious what it wants you to do at first, but after you figure it out, you know how that mechanic works for when they use it next time, because they re-use mechanics a lot through the game. Sometimes it just wants you to attack a certain enemy and you attacked a different one than the objective says.

Although these duties often have something that heals you, it is an advantage to take in a Paladin from level 58 because they have a lot of tank defense and can also heal themselves regularly with Clemency.

The story content with other players is regarded as easy by most players, but if for some reason it wasn't, they can beat the duty even while you're dead and they will resurrect you as many times as needed, so you won't have trouble with those.

The only very hard content in the game is labeled Extreme/The Minstrel's Ballad, Savage, Ultimate, criterion dungeons, the post-100 floors of Palace of the Dead or the post 30 floors of other deep dungeons. There are 2 or 3 relatively challenging Blue Mage fights in the Masked Carnivale. This is all optional (unlocked through blue sidequests), so it's easy to avoid if it's not your thing.

The duties around level 1-50 had a lot of changes recently to bring them in line with modern fight design. They used to be a lot more basic, untelegraphed and buggy-feeling, whereas the revamped ones feel a lot more polished and use mechanics they would use at level 90, and that is why you see so many new mechanics. You most likely noticed how some of the duties they didn't change feel compared to it.

There is no reason to nerf solo duties as the player can after a fail choose to reduce the difficulty themselves.

Rhitatyn... was he the guy in Cape Westwind that used to make us sit through a like 10 minute cutscene just to die in 10 seconds?

Welcome to the gear treadmill.

You'll want to keep up on your gear to make sure it's not too outdated, and make sure you're doing your job quests every 5 levels in ARR, and then every 2 in HW and SB. You'll get better gear pieces just by doing the story, and even if you're overleveled, you'll want to be caught up on gear for at least the story level.

Generally the advice for "I cannot beat this solo trial" is "what does your gear look like?" because that's always going to be the main point, not necessarily your skill. As others have mentioned, doing your lv50 job quest rewards you with i90 left side gear and having that equipped over something from... say, Brayflox's Longstop will help you more than trying to brute force the trial with skill alone.

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Originally Posted by Pratini

No they don't.

Sounds like a skill issue.

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Sounds more like gear (and an overzealous armor check) than anything else.

Also, claiming that something is a "skill issue" is an ableist dog whistle. Be better!

Old thread, but I would agree that some of us don't want a huge curve just to play the game, which is the case with the MSQ solo duties.

I am not sure if the "go simple mode" choice that comes up after you fail once is new, but I sometimes would greatly appreciate a "go even easier" option.

Have as much hard stuff as some of you want, but don't force casuals to master it to even reach higher levels! I am a very intense casual. I play far too much, but I am not great on the twitch or timing stuff. And I don't expect I ever will be. That makes things really frustrating since I can't just leave the things aside.

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Originally Posted by BiafraRepublic

Sounds more like gear (and an overzealous armor check) than anything else.

Also, claiming that something is a "skill issue" is an ableist dog whistle. Be better!

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Being bad at videogames isn't a disability. Get better.

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Originally Posted by FlopsyPrince

Old thread, but I would agree that some of us don't want a huge curve just to play the game, which is the case with the MSQ solo duties.

I am not sure if the "go simple mode" choice that comes up after you fail once is new, but I sometimes would greatly appreciate a "go even easier" option.

Have as much hard stuff as some of you want, but don't force casuals to master it to even reach higher levels! I am a very intense casual. I play far too much, but I am not great on the twitch or timing stuff. And I don't expect I ever will be. That makes things really frustrating since I can't just leave the things aside.

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This issue surfaces every expansion with the monotonous regularity of an unloved season. The current bete noire is "Taking A Stand" in DT. This one seems particularly problematic because the "very easy" mode appears indistinguishable from "normal." It is compounded by the dislike of many to play as a different character.

Also predictable is that many solo duties trigger another round in the "git gud" vs "nerf it" wars, and all the toxicity that spins up. This even extends to YouTube with the chads dropping in on solo duty guides to explain they completed it first time with one hand tied behind their back while balancing a mashie niblick on their chin. They then insult the content creator and anyone who struggled with the duty.

The solution is very simple, yet SQEX refuses to implement it and lets this toxicity fester. In solo duties that gate the MSQ, "very easy" needs to be just that. Maybe even have an option where after three fails the fight completes via cut scene.

The only solo duties that should remain somewhat tough, IMO, are job role quests. It is definitely important to compel players to become competent in jobs they are going to play in group content with other players.

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Originally Posted by BigCheez

Being bad at videogames isn't a disability. Get better.

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You falsely assume everyone can "get guud".

Simply not happening and makes things like this incredibly frustrating.

They've done a lot of changes to those fights (which are a far cry from what they were) and if you fail, you can choose a difficulty that is more to your ability. This game can't get any dumber.

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Originally Posted by WinglessSeraphim

They've done a lot of changes to those fights (which are a far cry from what they were) and if you fail, you can choose a difficulty that is more to your ability. This game can't get any dumber.

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It could get a lot "dumber" even in that case. I am fine without the rewards or whatever flags those with great twitch skills reach, but I hate a roadblock on a key part.

I have made it through most up to about the 66 level of MSQ, but a few were extremely annoying and right on the edge. Being really hard didn't add any value to me nor did I learn to play a lot better because of them.

Some of us just don't have your twitch skills and are unlike to gain them at any point, especially since we are much older. I didn't have them when I was young, but I certainly do not now as I near retirement age!

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Originally Posted by Mawlzy

This issue surfaces every expansion with the monotonous regularity of an unloved season. The current bete noire is "Taking A Stand" in DT. This one seems particularly problematic because the "very easy" mode appears indistinguishable from "normal." It is compounded by the dislike of many to play as a different character.

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In the case of this specific duty, the cause of failure from what I have seen is players failing to soak the towers. Three towers appear in a sequence and the player has to stand in them in the order they appear, and even on Very Easy the damage will kill them if they completely ignore the mechanic. How a player can get to level 94 without knowing how to do this, I don't know.

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Originally Posted by FuturePastNow

In the case of this specific duty, the cause of failure from what I have seen is players failing to soak the towers. Three towers appear in a sequence and the player has to stand in them in the order they appear, and even on Very Easy the damage will kill them if they completely ignore the mechanic. How a player can get to level 94 without knowing how to do this, I don't know.

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I agree with you tower soaking should be trivial for anyone who has reached this point. What I've heard in my FC is people dying just from the regular boss hits. Seems to be mostly an issue with high ping and we have some Euros playing on Aether to be with NA friends.

There was also frustration with the fact there's text that tells you to use the LB as often as possible, and it only comes up three times for most. More generally, when you get the text "in this duty you will play as X," there's a fair chunk of people who immediately shudder. It's a completely pointless duty that does nothing other than irritating casuals.

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Originally Posted by Mawlzy

I agree with you tower soaking should be trivial for anyone who has reached this point. What I've heard in my FC is people dying just from the regular boss hits. Seems to be mostly an issue with high ping and we have some Euros playing on Aether to be with NA friends.

There was also frustration with the fact there's text that tells you to use the LB as often as possible, and it only comes up three times for most. More generally, when you get the text "in this duty you will play as X," there's a fair chunk of people who immediately shudder. It's a completely pointless duty that does nothing other than irritating casuals.

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This is not correct. Reviewing the video I recorded of myself doing the duty, I used the LB at least five times. I'm pretty sure it's just generated by completing the combos repeatedly. If they weren't getting it, they probably weren't pressing buttons. I also played terribly- I used the AoE combo instead of the ST one (which does more damage and heals you) because it looked cooler. And I still had no problem on normal difficulty.

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Originally Posted by FlopsyPrince

You falsely assume everyone can "get guud".

Simply not happening and makes things like this incredibly frustrating.

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Depends where you're setting the floor for "good".

Can everyone parse 90+ in ultimate? No, this requires a high degree of game/job knowledge, optimisation and practice and the overwhelming majority will not put in that much work.

Can everyone achieve a skill level that allows them to easily clear solo duties? Yes, without much effort at all. You don't need to do much beyond looking at what the game is trying to make very obvious to you, processing and reacting to that information while pressing some of your damage buttons, not necessarily in the correct order. The only real requirements are a monitor, pulse, eyes, and some kind of appendage that can be used to press buttons.

I know people with legitimate physical disabilities who are able to get through MSQ content relatively easily.

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Originally Posted by FuturePastNow

This is not correct. Reviewing the video I recorded of myself doing the duty, I used the LB at least five times. I'm pretty sure it's just generated by completing the combos repeatedly. If they weren't getting it, they probably weren't pressing buttons. I also played terribly- I used the AoE combo instead of the ST one (which does more damage and heals you) because it looked cooler. And I still had no problem on normal difficulty.

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I second this -- I also recall the LB to be back up all the time throughout the fight, certainly often enough to use its hp recovery aspect to keep my bar up.

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Originally Posted by BigCheez

Depends where you're setting the floor for "good".

Can everyone parse 90+ in ultimate? No, this requires a high degree of game/job knowledge, optimisation and practice and the overwhelming majority will not put in that much work.

Can everyone achieve a skill level that allows them to easily clear solo duties? Yes, without much effort at all. You don't need to do much beyond looking at what the game is trying to make very obvious to you, processing and reacting to that information while pressing some of your damage buttons, not necessarily in the correct order. The only real requirements are a monitor, pulse, eyes, and some kind of appendage that can be used to press buttons.

I know people with legitimate physical disabilities who are able to get through MSQ content relatively easily.

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If they cannot push through those two battles, then the ones coming in Shadowbringers and Endwalker won't be something they won't be able to succeed, either.
So yeah, it's literally a issue with the player skill in overcoming those.

Just so everyone knows, this was a troll post from 2023. The OP wouldn't have any trouble with MSQ content.

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Originally Posted by BigCheez

Being bad at videogames isn't a disability. Get better.

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Take your elitist attitude over to the Dark Souls community where it will actually be appreciated.

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Originally Posted by BigCheez

Depends where you're setting the floor for "good".

Can everyone parse 90+ in ultimate? No, this requires a high degree of game/job knowledge, optimisation and practice and the overwhelming majority will not put in that much work.

Can everyone achieve a skill level that allows them to easily clear solo duties? Yes, without much effort at all. You don't need to do much beyond looking at what the game is trying to make very obvious to you, processing and reacting to that information while pressing some of your damage buttons, not necessarily in the correct order. The only real requirements are a monitor, pulse, eyes, and some kind of appendage that can be used to press buttons.

I know people with legitimate physical disabilities who are able to get through MSQ content relatively easily.

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It will never be "easy" for me. I may stumble through it but I simply don't twitch well. I am not "disabled" by most standards, just not as quick with the eye-hand coordination.

Too many arrogantly think that something like this means I should be hosed in the MSQ for that. I understand the view, but it will not help if it keeps people from getting and staying engaged.

It is already quite a pain that I am still far back from the end of the MSQ after several months and have a lot to do for that. Enough things are annoying. Something like this is not helpful.

And I agree that the "very easy" mode is not easy at all for some of us. Though the worst was the one where you fight on and on (in Stormblood) and have to die after doing very little damage to finish the Duty. VERY counterintuitive and annoying.

I have been taking these on with my archer. I can't imagine doing them with my Black Mage.

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Originally Posted by Arrius

If they cannot push through those two battles, then the ones coming in Shadowbringers and Endwalker won't be something they won't be able to succeed, either.
So yeah, it's literally a issue with the player skill in overcoming those.

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Why must that be a block in progress when the rest of the game does not fully require it?

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

Just so everyone knows, this was a troll post from 2023. The OP wouldn't have any trouble with MSQ content.

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Perhaps not, but it gets some of us involved because it is an issue for us!

They don't need a nerf... People just have to stop following the advice : Only do MSQ + Blue Icon Quest for ARR.
Then you'll arrive to those solo duty with the right level and decently geared.

In fact if you do everything (Side quest, combat log + optional dungeon) you can level two job past level 50 before Westwind Cap (you can get your first level 50 between Haukke Manor and Titan) and have around 700k Gils in the pocket.

Which make those solo duty : very easy with WHM and SCH, easy with PLD and WAR, a bit challenging with MNK,DRG, NIN and SMN and challenging with BLM.

They really don't need to be nerfed at all.

I smell a troll thread. :3

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Originally Posted by Lorika

They don't need a nerf... People just have to stop following the advice : Only do MSQ + Blue Icon Quest for ARR.
Then you'll arrive to those solo duty with the right level and decently geared.

In fact if you do everything (Side quest, combat log + optional dungeon) you can level two job past level 50 before Westwind Cap (you can get your first level 50 between Haukke Manor and Titan) and have around 700k Gils in the pocket.

Which make those solo duty : very easy with WHM and SCH, easy with PLD and WAR, a bit challenging with MNK,DRG, NIN and SMN and challenging with BLM.

They really don't need to be nerfed at all.

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I can't see handling these with my Black Mage. My archer barely survives most times. Not sure about the others since I haven't played them much (past 10-20). And I would get the party killed with my White Mage who I was leveling before I realized she was a healer!

And knowing which Blue Quests to do is tricky. The Extreme ones end up wiping a fair bit with same-level groups.

Make the "really easy" truly be "really easy".

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Originally Posted by TakoyakiLala

I smell a troll thread. :3

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Maybe you are sniffing the wrong thing!

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Originally Posted by FlopsyPrince

I can't see handling these with my Black Mage. My archer barely survives most times. Not sure about the others since I haven't played them much (past 10-20). And I would get the party killed with my White Mage who I was leveling before I realized she was a healer!

And knowing which Blue Quests to do is tricky. The Extreme ones end up wiping a fair bit with same-level groups.

Make the "really easy" truly be "really easy".

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Well, you know, they remade those two duty because everyone roll faced them when they was an 8 man content.
They wanted to make them challenging again.

But, for me, they didn't quite achieved hit. Those two fight are heavily scripted with telegraphed mechanic. you just have to pay attention a bit to avoid everything. Nothing fancy. Especially Westwind cape where the simple trick of luring him to an edge of the arena make things even more easy. (it also partially work for Lahabrea)
And i'm not an 'hardcore elistist" or anything. Seriously those fight aren't hard at all if you concentrate and pay attention.Iif you stumble here, you'll have a lot of difficulty on a lot of later MSQ fight deemed easy and trivial while they are more difficult than those two.