Server sized PVE content....could it work?

[odie]

I had a few ideas in my head about content in the world. I miss when Odin and Behemoth were relevant to me, but with no additional rewards, I usually don't bother. Hunts are also limited in rewards and can be zerged so hard that the hunt target is dead in mere seconds leaving little enjoyment. So what can be done?

First I want to point out some of the fights I found enjoyable, not based on reward, but the feeling of a large scale fight seeming more achieved than others.

Gorgimera. This fate in Northern Thanalan usually requires a large number of people to take down, and with his mechanics requiring people to pay attention to his casts, he can wipe out many of those that come to challenge him in an instant. I remember when I was first fighting him, the desperate attempts to get people back on their feet and keep him busy. I loved that feeling. The battlefield was a total mess.

Odin. His appearances are rare, and they were enjoyable still when he remained kind of mysterious to me, when the weather signaling his arrival created an eerie tone in the Black Shroud. Players shouting to each other to coordinate Limit Breaks at the end while he cast Zantetsuken in hopes they could avoid having to be completely annihilated if they failed to stop it.

The hunts, while it was their intention or not, have failed to really bring this type of dangerous feeling. The sense of accomplishment seems mostly lost after defeating them, and players quickly just move to the next target.

I started thinking that more world bosses, who are less predictable as far as their arrivals, with various mechanics to keep players attentive and busy, would be nice to have more of. Coeurlregina and Proto Ultima almost felt like this, but still didn't quite fulfill that same feeling. The rewards are still very limited.

What if there was also a map, that could only be accessed at a certain time, or weather, or other conditions coming together that it allowed access and it was some sort of server wide dungeon. Or maybe have it take place on existing maps. Players would coordinate across the map to achieve certain objectives and move in to kill the boss. No queuing, no waiting. Just put out the shouts, build parties, and get it done. It could give the feeling of amassing an army. Players in large numbers spread out across the map taking strongholds or enemy lieutenants to weaken the boss and expose him for the final fight. Keeping rewards stocked and refreshed with different items from time to time could help make it relevant. Or maybe it would be fun enough to continue to participate in. At this time we really don't have a lot of large scale server cooperative content like that. Make it less of a zerg, more of a major battle.

Would anyone be interested in something like this?

[whythehate]

This sounds very much like besieged from ffxi, that was a a lot of fun whilst also affecting the in game world

(Npcs could be captured, you would lose benefits such as the teleport npc)

The only way to get them back was to invade the enemy stronghold after to rescue them

[RiceisNice]

PS3 Limitations. Not even kidding, there were problems with bosses rendering on screen during Odin or 2.x A/S ranks when they were new. Anything that encourages a server-wide partcipating would be next to impossible for players on the low-end specs.

[whythehate]

PS3 Limitations. Not even kidding, there were problems with bosses rendering on screen during Odin or 2.x A/S ranks when they were new. Anything that encourages a server-wide partcipating would be next to impossible for players on the low-end specs.

Ps2 managed it >.>

Lel @ angry ppl.

[RiceisNice]

Ps2 managed it >.>

FFXIV isn't on PS2. I'm talking about FFXIV world content, not FFXI's besiege. We've already had things that resemble world encounters (hunts, odin and behemoth) and it's already a mess for Ps3 players. And I believe this was even the case for Diadem of all places that players couldnt render the NMs on their screen.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

Ps2 managed it >.>

Well this ain't the PS2 now, is it? As Rice said, PS3 users couldn't see Odin or Behemoth when the entire server zerged them, even after the devs try to put in some band aid solutions. Regardless of such limitations, the whole idea just sounds like an even bigger hunt system with even more drama since people can't communicate or work in massive groups as it was proven time and time again.

We will never get nice things.

[Ashkendor]

Ps2 managed it >.>

FFXI wasn't nearly as graphics intensive as FFXIV is though. I lag even on a gaming rig when there's hundreds of people at S ranks.

[dementiondrive]

PS3 Limitations. Not even kidding, there were problems with bosses rendering on screen during Odin or 2.x A/S ranks when they were new. Anything that encourages a server-wide partcipating would be next to impossible for players on the low-end specs.

that was not a PS3 issue though. me building a high end PC that had a 7950 video card at the time. i even had a issue rendering odin at the start of 2.0. Yoshida even said it was their end on priority. the boss was not priority. later on the priority changed to.

1. boss
2. party (if in one)
3. other players/NPCs

before it rendered others instead of giving Odin and Behemoth priority.
so no this one was not PS3 limitations.

[RiceisNice]

that was not a PS3 issue though. me building a high end PC that had a 7950 video card at the time. i even had a issue rendering odin at the start of 2.0. Yoshida even said it was their end on priority. the boss was not priority. later on the priority changed to.

1. boss
2. party (if in one)
3. other players/NPCs
r
before it rendered others instead of giving Odin and Behemoth priority.
so no this one was not PS3 limitations.

Even after priority changes (such as hunts and odin), players (and I can personally attest to this when playing on a low end machine) still had issues with bosses being rendered if there was a huge player clutter. There's even issues similar to this that go as late as diadem.

[Kaisha]

Ps2 managed it >.>

Did you even do Besiege during its prime? It was a lagtastic mess where you'd run around seeing zero enemies regardless of system, and then get one-shotted by something not recorded in the battle log because the server couldn't keep up with the 500+ players in a single zone.