FUTURE OF FFXIV - I hope different from now

[Gucci_Charms]

OP is yet another victim of end-game community divide by the way it is currently designed.

Although it is understandable how you feel about the current end-game system, you have to be more proactive in finding other players who have similar schedules and mindsets to progress through the end-game content. It would be nice if SE decides to redesign the current end-game system since it really is just a rinse and repeat weekly lockout fiasco. But, I don't see them doing this until they introduce the cheap noob-friendly Echo buff in patch 2.4-2.5 to accommodate people who don't like or cannot clear weekly end-game lockout content.

Till that time, however, SE will keep this system to continuously generate money from sucker players like myself who like gambling every week just to see what drops will fall in SCOB

[Gormogon]

OP is yet another victim of end-game community divide by the way it is currently designed.

There's just no easy and nice way for me to put it but WoW old end-game design is pretty much not working for the rest of the community. It's not just affecting FFXIV ARR it's gonna affect every MMO. Players are realizing and questioning why the experience is no longer enjoyable.


There has to be objectives that people can do at end game that are rewarding experiences. Yet gating all meaningful rewards behind the hardest content were only a very select few can tackle it the first month is a not the answer to longevity. Nor is it making all secondary and meaningless rewards a painful grind that feels like a punishment.

Basically a combination of
When Difficult Is Fun - The Difference Between Challenging and Punishing Games + How to Teach Complicated Mechanics .
Quest Design I - Why Many MMOs Rely on Repetitive Grind Quests + Quest Design II - How to Create Interesting MMO and RPG Quests

I'm not gonna judge FFXIV ARR until the expansion comes out but they could've made better choices between 2.2 through 2.3. They could have also tackled E3 better and the current constant "silence" isn't helping.

If you want to raid and find a static, set a schedule that works around your daily life. If you can not do that then simply stop playing games or play something that doesn't require scheduling.

That mentality hasn't worked for years, yet it keeps being used.

[Gucci_Charms]

Cool info

So true :3

[Zantetsuken]

There has to be objectives that people can do at end game that are rewarding experiences. Yet gating all meaningful rewards behind the hardest content were only a very select few can tackle it the first month is a not the answer to longevity. Nor is it making all secondary and meaningless rewards a painful grind that feels like a punishment..

I'd even disagree with the idea that ARR provides players with meaningful rewards. If the game DID actually provide meaningful rewards, it would take much of the sting out of grind, RNG, or punishingly difficult content.


But gear rewards in ARR can neatly be summed up as = iLvl

To use (75capped) FFXI as an example, it was a total pain to camp, claim and defeat mobs that dropped items like Joyeuse, E-bow, Kraken club, etc.. but at the same time, those rewards were powerful, prestigious, and well worth the effort when you finally got them. They didn't have an expiration date either (at least not for many years). The time you spent would pay off in making battles easier and allowing for more creative builds.

What gear is worth the effort in ARR? Not only is it all iLvl vanilla, but every bit of endgame gear in ARR is one patch away from obsolescence. Furthermore, the even the work you put into obtaining it will be completely diminished by the subsequent nerfing of the content. Does it help in battles? Not much. In fact, depending on the fight, excessive DPS can actually make it worse.

So ARR really doesn't have any meaningful rewards... and all of it's rewards have an expiration date.



BTW, I'd add the following to your list of EC videos:

DEPTH vs COMPLEXITY, PERFECT IMBALANCE

[Gormogon]

I'd even disagree with the idea that ARR provides players with meaningful rewards. If the game DID actually provide meaningful rewards, it would take much of the sting out of grind, RNG, or punishingly difficult content.

But gear rewards in ARR can neatly be summed up as = iLvl

I was actually referring to the meaningful story portion of coil more than I was referring to the gear portion of end-game and how story depth starts being less when presented through CT, Primals, and other smaller tidbits like relic weapon and beast tribe dailies. Yet Main Scenario and Hildebrand keep that depth.

Personally I don't enjoy the way gear is being handled since all this constant upgrading of numbers which forces a very unhealthy obsession of the overall number gain.

From my perspective they should've made 6 types of gear all the same ilvl and all equally BiS as well. = Det, Crit, Speed, Balanced, hybrid (this becomes more than 1 type of set), and slotted (which would give slotted gear a lot of meaning if they made materia like FFVII). Yet that's just me.

Yet if you look at end-game just from a "gear" perspective, everything outside of coil doesn't have much meaning outside of "vanity".