the new trial is too hard

[Selli]

I think the trial is very well done. It certainly is much different from every other trial we've ever faced (heck, it almost seemed like a level 50 guildhest to me!). But it was really unique and interesting and it requires a LOT of teamwork.

It took my first clear 4 tries to get it down. We had 7 new people. It was kind of crazy at first, but once everyone understood what needed to be done and who went where, it was very easy to defeat. We did have him at 2% our third pull, so even when we understood it we still had some tightening up to do.

His feet are definitely the biggest issue. As a tank, getting stepped on was pretty meh. Since tanks normally get stepped on while getting adds, as a PLD, I always had a buff up so it just tickled. But I tried running it a 2nd time for funsies as a Monk (so I could try out the cannons) and I made the mistake of popping Blood for Blood and trying to scurry under his feet to get Dragon Kick off. It's definitely a 1-shot for anyone who isn't a tank. Tomorrow I will try healing and play with the Dragon Killer! I'm excited.

Also, did anyone notice the colors are REALLY vibrant in that trial? At first I thought it was my monitor pooping itself, but it disappeared after the trial and was very apparent while I was on my Monk (my monk is wearing bright, bright blue). I was alarmed by the sudden upping on contrast, but it looked really nice. I wonder if Heavensward is also going to see a similar lighting change? I think the color change was also present in a few parts of the 2.55 cutscenes (I definitely noticed it in the cutscene after the credits, along with a lot of cloth texture). I just don't really understand why this dramatic lighting change was added specifically to this trial.

[Natsuno]

Also, did anyone notice the colors are REALLY vibrant in that trial? At first I thought it was my monitor pooping itself, but it disappeared after the trial and was very apparent while I was on my Monk (my monk is wearing bright, bright blue). I was alarmed by the sudden upping on contrast, but it looked really nice. I wonder if Heavensward is also going to see a similar lighting change? I think the color change was also present in a few parts of the 2.55 cutscenes (I definitely noticed it in the cutscene after the credits, along with a lot of cloth texture). I just don't really understand why this dramatic lighting change was added specifically to this trial.

Yeah I noticed it. I also liked the change, so I took the oppertunity before & after the trial to take some screenshots.

[Selli]

Didn't notice any difference here.

After the maint is done I'll get some screenies of my Monk in and out of the trial. It's super noticeable with some colors than others. I barely noticed it on my t9 tank coat because I already precieve it as red and the trial just made it redder.

Yeah I noticed it. I also liked the change, so I took the oppertunity before & after the trial to take some screenshots.

Oh, thank goodness I'm not the only one who noticed it, lol. My static is all men so when I asked them about it they were like, "Gurl r u high?" I wonder if the whole game is gonna get a lighting overhaul in Heavensward then or if its hinted that the lighting and rendering of colors is going to look different in the Heavensward areas. It certainly make the ARR areas look more... gloomy and almost uninviting. Then again, I suppose that fits the ending of 2.55.

[Ooshima]

Oh, thank goodness I'm not the only one who noticed it, lol. My static is all men so when I asked them about it they were like, "Gurl r u high?" I wonder if the whole game is gonna get a lighting overhaul in Heavensward then or if its hinted that the lighting and rendering of colors is going to look different in the Heavensward areas. It certainly make the ARR areas look more... gloomy and almost uninviting. Then again, I suppose that fits the ending of 2.55.

Noticed the same thing too. Especially when the duty failed and the scene zoomed in to your character bending down and catching his/her breath, it was super obvious that the colours were much stronger and vibrant.

[BreathlessTao]

Also, did anyone notice the colors are REALLY vibrant in that trial? At first I thought it was my monitor pooping itself, but it disappeared after the trial and was very apparent while I was on my Monk (my monk is wearing bright, bright blue). I was alarmed by the sudden upping on contrast, but it looked really nice.

I actually noticed this too and I have to say I really like it. Hope they'll keep it for 3.x as well.


To the point... I'm not sure if it's difficulty, as much as it is complexity. Consider all this:

• a BLOODY HUGE things starts walking towards the party, the party having to move BACKWARDS - neither is something seen before
• the thing keeps walking, forcing the party to do the same, there's NO STOPPING WHATSOEVER (especially if the party also misses chaining it) - again, not something seen before
• if you get stomped on, you die, that's in addition to the fact that the thing keeps popping AoEs spanning across the entire width of the platform
• adds keep coming in ENDLESS WAVES, and they can't even really be cleared away as usual
• objects to INTERACT with along the whole length of the bridge, having to go FROM ONE TO THE NEXT, CONTINUOUSLY, as they keep getting destroyed, AND TARGETING moving mobs - another thing we're not really used to
• additional SPECIAL objects to INTERACT with, which aren't even easy to spot if you don't know where they are
• all these having to be TIMED over and over again, WHILE of course MANAGING all the mobs AND DODGING all the AoEs

So yeah. I think it's easy to see how and why all this would overwhelm people, especially when (nearly) everyone's new to the duty and does not even know the layout of the place itself. Even more so, when this is not what the average (casual?) player, who doesn't do current endgame raids, is used to.

It just seems like the devs had a thought and went all-out, stuffing all kinds of mechanics they could think of into this one trial, for - whatever reason. It's very far from what we had been trained for up until this point. And once again, they stuck an i90 requirement to it, with abysmal tome rewards and no loot drops at all (even though the complexity would warrant it, imo), so overzealous (hardcore?) people are free to ragequit after one wipe. Sorta baffling and unfortunate, in my opinion.