Are we as players afraid of a challenge?

[Masekase_Hurricane]

I want to think that the timers are in place to keep the "Instance" servers from being crowded with people who are afk'd there or those who are there just to be there.

I agree but with it in your face ticking down it makes people clock watch. You only need the reminder of 30mins remaining or 5 mins kicked etc

[Confidence_Trick]

I am. In videogames as in life I tend to fail challenges. Give me easy mode any day.

[Alleo]

The problem I have with this game is, that you either have easy four man dungeons where you can watch youtube while playing through it and still be able to finish it without one single death and the hard Alexander raids where you need a static and lots of time. There is truly no middle ground other than maybe the ex primae but you still have 7 other players that can make them really really hard..Palace of the death might be a nice solo challenge but it kinda frustrates me thanks to the time limit. X_X (Still on 31 as a solo summoner.)

Maybe make true HM dungeons that are not necessary for the story or any roulette that are harder than what we have now but still with only 4 people necessary. Maybe create some nice achievements about each existing dungeon like running a 50 one without any equipment or something like that. You could make it so that you need a full party before that so people who want to challenge these, might not hinder people who only want to do their dailies. I know that you can already do those things without any achievement necessary but having a nice title or something to show of would be quite the incentive to challenge oneself.

Making the world more dangerous would be also quite nice if you have the chance to choose a safer route too. With that people that like the challenge can do it the hard way and other people can still go on their way without it. (Maybe let the safer way cost some gil)

And I really hoped that the Diadem would be more of a nice challenge and maybe some exploration but sadly it was nothing like that. Maybe the overhaul or new map will get better.

[DPZ2]

Outside most recent raid content there is no challening content available to players.

Crafting
Gathering
Travel
Sightseeing
Questing

None of this extra content in the game bothers to challenge players..

I hear you saying "None of this extra content in game challenges ME". I blame Internet sites that spoon-fed you all your information, including how to perform in dungeon instances.

Try to craft three star level 60 HQ gear using NQ materials AND not resorting to prepared macros you found on YouTube. Heck, try figuring out how to get crafting blue scrips without resorting to an Internet search.

Try to figure out the ARR sightseeing requirements for all 80 sites without a search engine.

Your premise appears to be "I find this game to lack challenge, therefore the game design is wrong". It might also be coupled with a bit of "I'm nostalgic for another MMO/FPS I played. Let's make this game more like that one."

I don't buy the argument.

[Reinha]

While potentially fun at first, the novelty would quickly wear off. One aspect I hated in FFXI is being forced to group because random trash mobs would kill me in the blink of an eye. That only serves to gate players who otherwise prefer doing stuff on their own. I am fine with a world boss being made challenging, or perhaps some elite mobs (hunts come to mind), but getting destroyed by a toad isn't fun.

This. I have no interest in leveling 13 jobs among a bunch of hard hitting mobs, when the story sends us running back and forth and job quests are all over the place. That's not to say there can't be areas specifically designed to be annoying to travel through for whatever reason, but for regular leveling areas it sounds like a terrible idea. It should not be up to server communities to allow or deny an individual's progress in the most basic content there is. Begging for help in PF so I can get to a quest giver / job quest instance (possibly months after the initial rush) is not enticing game play.

I would rather have world boss fates (dropping items that can upgrade gear item level by 2), more difficult freely farmable hunts and rare named monsters (dropping materia, lore, esoterics and fun cosmetic items) scattered across Eorzea but not enough to need a clear party to be able to level among them. There could also be an alternative 60+ leveling area to fates and dungeons in 4.0: an open world place where people could fight monsters to get better and better leveling gear and find random treasures the further people get. Aquapolis meets Diadem. If the battle fest is separate but accessible I have no issue with the idea.

[Moomba33]

Afraid? I dunno. I feel like I'm just not interested honestly.
I play games to relax primarily. If there's a difficulty option I'll play on Normal. If there's a cheese strategy for beating a super boss I'll take it.
In XIV I wait for Ex Primals to hit the DF and I don't touch Savage at all.

I'm not interested in struggling and needing a group for daily activities like traveling, gathering, ect.
Lack of Midcore content is a problem for a lot of people in XIV. I can accept the developers making a few harder zones to appeal to them but I don't want it to become the design of the game as a whole. Fixing Diadem could be a good start.

[Daisy]

Challenging MMOs are a thing of the past, unfortunately. It's not where the money is at, so it's unlikely to ever happen. Maybe if you had a dev that cared more about that sort of enviroment for game than the income, but even then I really doubt that game would be able to keep itself afloat.

[Skivvy]

Ran across this article today: http://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-xi-w...ple-1785114506

While reading it, there is definitely reminiscing going on, but there is still a valid point. Challenging content does help fuse bonds and makes a community stronger - because it has to be.

One of my top 3 complaints about this game is that it feels like a pretty lobby. Most content is run with people who can barely muster a "hello" as you join a party. There is no conversation as the content doesn't require it. Just face-roll through the DF experience of your choosing and move along.

This game is set to easy-mode for most content, and that's a shame. I'm sure everyone has experienced running some new content a week or two after launch, and people are already so bored with it/have it on auto-pilot that they snap at anyone new for not knowing how to run it. The snarky people seem to outweigh the helpers from my experience.

[odintius]

I would like this but with how many different type of gamers playing now it's why we have the current system in place they need to keep it simple and non complex or players can't handle it well NA/EU players at the very least. I'd like it if it was an option though before you login chose between normal current world we have and open world option it be one big dynamis type world won't happen but dammit I can dream. /shrug

[Zaresin]

Most American players do not like challenge, grind, or time walls. Not like they used too. Go to any forums of any MMO style game out currently that is made outside the US. You will see numerous posts whining about grind, time, or things just being "too hard". It's pathetic really but I'm attributing it to the mind set of people these days. Instant gratification. The problem with instant gratification is once those players get everything they want, they jump ship till the next expansion.

When someone has difficulty or a time consuming task, players will repeat that task till it is masterede or they will do it once then avoid like the plague, then complain on the forums about the grind not being fun. American players (and EU players to some extent) are not like Korean or Japanese players who enjoy grind/difficulty. These players are trained from a young age to deal with difficult/time consuming tasks. Look at where they rank in education, this is their culture. America does not have that culture mindset. It's one reason they tend to be much friendlier to new or inexperienced players. They are used to difficult things and helping someone else out helps them out. In America we tend to be only out for ourselves. We can see this when a group fails as we start pointing fingers rathe than failing as a group.