Feedback Regarding the Relic Upgrade Quest

[Roris]

I really feel bad for you if seeing an atma drop doesn't give you at least somewhat of a rush. Regardless, think what you will. Whatever I say won't change that.

I got a rush when I bet the story, I got a rush when we beat primals up to Titan, I got a rush when we started beating Coils, I got a rush when we beat EX Primals, I got a rush when we beat Twintania. The only thing I got from Atmas is a feeling of I'm glad it's over, at least for now until my next weapon, I'll get a rush when I complete my Animus because that actually involves something else than just raw luck.

[Calyanare]

I'll get a rush when I complete my Animus because that actually involves something else than just raw luck.

This is the crux of the problem right here. Finishing the Atma grind isn't an accomplishment because it's 100% luck, your effort is not rewarded proportionally. The feeling you get when you finish it isn't accomplishment, it's relief that you're finally finished and don't have to do this thankless, endless grinding anymore. The Animus upgrades, however, your effort is rewarded proportionally, so it is an accomplishment to finish. The goal is clear-cut and you are guaranteed to make progress every time you set out to do so.

I don't get a rush of accomplishment when I see an Atma drop. It's pure relief that I can check off another zone from the list.

[SublimeIbanez]

This is the crux of the problem right here. Finishing the Atma grind isn't an accomplishment because it's 100% luck, your effort is not rewarded proportionally. The feeling you get when you finish it isn't accomplishment, it's relief that you're finally finished and don't have to do this thankless, endless grinding anymore. The Animus upgrades, however, your effort is rewarded proportionally, so it is an accomplishment to finish. The goal is clear-cut and you are guaranteed to make progress every time you set out to do so.

I don't get a rush of accomplishment when I see an Atma drop. It's pure relief that I can check off another zone from the list.

THIS! I've been grinding for about 56 hours in total now with 8/12 to show for it. All this while a ton of people from my FC already have their Atma and are a book or two into the next phase. Where does this make sense? Why do games constantly try to reintroduce hashed versions of the skinner box effect?

[darkstarpoet1]

THIS! I've been grinding for about 56 hours in total now with 8/12 to show for it. All this while a ton of people from my FC already have their Atma and are a book or two into the next phase. Where does this make sense? Why do games constantly try to reintroduce hashed versions of the skinner box effect?

took me over 100 hours to get mine, but i'm glad it's something to work towards and am enjoying the quest.

[Calyanare]

took me over 100 hours to get mine, but i'm glad it's something to work towards and am enjoying the quest.

I seriously do not understand people who claim to enjoy spamming low level FATEs on a level 50 character.

sorry, another post due to text limitations. Another issue is due to the RNG aspect, a lot of people WILL try to continually grind this because "maybe it'll be the next one" (hence the skinner-box effect). If people had a hard number to reach, it would be more casual and people would complain a bit less. Would still complain, but it would be less. This complaining would just be about how lazy of a quest design that is rather than an unfair mechanic.

There's no limit when you edit an existing post, and yeah, it's annoying. I had to purposefully avoid doing any FATEs yesterday because I dreamt about it all night the previous night and woke up feeling like I hadn't slept at all. After capping soldiery for the week, this is all anybody in my FC seems to be doing, is either grinding Atmas or working on the books.

[Vahlnir]

THIS! I've been grinding for about 56 hours in total now with 8/12 to show for it. All this while a ton of people from my FC already have their Atma and are a book or two into the next phase. Where does this make sense? Why do games constantly try to reintroduce hashed versions of the skinner box effect?

I think their intention was to give us a casual grind. However, some have taken it up in a hardcore way. That is the only problem I see, personally. I've been grinding it regularly but not till I want to bash my head against the wall. If it gets boring or tedious I go do other things or log off and take a break.

[SublimeIbanez]

I think their intention was to give us a casual grind. However, some have taken it up in a hardcore way. That is the only problem I see, personally. I've been grinding it regularly but not till I want to bash my head against the wall. If it gets boring or tedious I go do other things or log off and take a break.

As do I, which is why I'm only at 56 hours instead of what it possibly could be. I'm not here to complain about the grind, but rather the RNG element being a lazy implementation. The quest in itself is rather lazy, but it gives me something to do, all that needs to be changed is how the atmas drop, instead of rng there should be a set progression.

[Vahlnir]

As do I, which is why I'm only at 56 hours instead of what it possibly could be. I'm not here to complain about the grind, but rather the RNG element being a lazy implementation. The quest in itself is rather lazy, but it gives me something to do, all that needs to be changed is how the atmas drop, instead of rng there should be a set progression.

It may be my prior experiences with MMOs and RNG, but that part doesn't phase me at all. To me it's just another element in the MMO world. It's not the first time in this game or others before that I've had to do something repeatedly to get what I want and it won't be the last :P That said, I wouldn't mind there being some sort of set progression in the future in regards to how we upgrade our relics. The books after the Atma grind are a good start. They kind of gave us a little bit of both with our upgrading this patch, really.

[SublimeIbanez]

It may be my prior experiences with MMOs and RNG, but that part doesn't phase me at all. To me it's just another element in the MMO world. It's not the first time in this game or others before that I've had to do something repeatedly to get what I want and it won't be the last :P That said, I wouldn't mind there being some sort of set progression in the future in regards to how we upgrade our relics. The books after the Atma grind are a good start. They kind of gave us a little bit of both with our upgrading this patch, really.

RNG in and on itself isn't a terrible mechanic to use. It's just how and where you decide to use it. What if every time you tried to cast a spell, you would hit a button and it would pick a random spell? Just because it might have been used in a different game doesn't mean it belongs in all of them. Gating "content" (actual in-game quest/dungeon progression) with RNG is a terrible idea and should have been avoided.