Will the model of content change in 4.0?

[Vhailor]

OK then. Predict 'exactly' what we will get over the next 2 years. Since you are being exact, I'd like dungeon names, boss names and which mechanics they will use as well as the same information about the raids and if it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could also tell us what's coming in the Gold Saucer too?

Oh, wait, you can't do that, because they only way of being exact is to say we'll get one or more dungeons, 8-man raid every other patch and 24-man alliance raids on the odd patches. That's not very exact.

Complaining about the format of updates in this way is rather like complaining that every day you have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you're sick of that format and can predict exactly what you'll get for the next 2 years.

You can't predict exactly what we'll get, you can predict broadly, but then you can predict that broadly with regard to just about any online game update.

This is a little bit nitpicky; you're focusing on one word when you (and most everyone, I'd wager) know exactly what the OP is talking about. The content flow in FFXIV *is* very stale and predictable, because the core aspects of each version update are known in advance.

Anyway, as others have said, including myself, the primary issue is twofold: stale content flow, and artificially limited content at the 'end-game' edges of FFXIV. It's these two factors working in conjunction that are so harmful.

For instance, Duty Roulette: Expert invariably has only two dungeons in it at any given time. An update comes out, two new dungeons are added, but at the end of the day, Expert still has only two dungeons available. That's terrible design; it's not just that two dungeons is relatively bland from a content perspective, it's that they also replace previous content completely in the Roulette.

Primals and Raids (both Alliance and otherwise) work in the same fashion. Because of the continuous iLevel creep, the problem of receiving only a small-ish chunk of content each update is compounded by the fact that it immediately renders the previous version irrelevant. So, people who are grinding for gear basically feel a 'hamster wheel' effect; the maps are different, but the grind doesn't vary in any meaningful way.

There doesn't need to be some large wholesale change in the core patch content. There needs to be a few more 'experimental' types of content than we've seen, and they need to be better thought-out than Hunts or Diadem, but by and large, the changes can be relatively incremental. The catch is, SE *must* slow down the rate of content expiration. The end-game grind right now, in this period between 3.5 and Stormblood, should involve every bit of Alexander. Farming / participating in Alliance Raids should involve each of the three available Raids (Void Ark, Mhach, Dun Scaith), rather than just the most recent one. Expert Roulettes and Level 60 Roulettes should be one and the same, so that people still have a bit of variety when grinding Tomes.

I don't care how they do it. There are options for keeping content relevant; side-grade gear, upgrade gear with required items dropping in previous dungeons or raids, probably other ideas, too. But it needs to be done. It's important to a lot of people, regardless of any individual's specific feelings. Any excuses made for the current system are tantamount to sticking your head in the sand.

[Shurrikhan]

For instance, Duty Roulette: Expert invariably has only two dungeons in it at any given time. An update comes out, two new dungeons are added, but at the end of the day, Expert still has only two dungeons available. That's terrible design; it's not just that two dungeons is relatively bland from a content perspective, it's that they also replace previous content completely in the Roulette.

This. It's like they need to ensure us that, "alright, I know we have to try to meet genre expectations for producing new content, but don't worry—it's in no way cumulative; you will never have to experience more than two dungeons per tier, and you'll never have to choose which of the two unless you've procrastinated horribly on your daily rewards."

[Jandor]

They know the ilvl jumps in advance, surely they could plan the side dungeon so that every ilvl jump it also gets a jump to keep it relevant and keep it in the expert roulette.

[Enyalios]

The current method of content worked in 2.0 because there was much more added. Just gonna say this... 2 dungeons is not a roulette it's a coin toss and a bad one at that

[ADVSS]

The current method of content worked in 2.0 because there was much more added. Just gonna say this... 2 dungeons is not a roulette it's a coin toss and a bad one at that

as much as i agree, the whole point of those dungeons id doing them 3x and capping your tomestones, to whichh no further growth is possible for 5 more days. Its ludicrous just too keep everyone player "on the same page" why would anyone login more than 2 days a week if the cap os reached with no incentive to login for 5 more days?

[madolyn]

as much as i agree, the whole point of those dungeons id doing them 3x and capping your tomestones, to whichh no further growth is possible for 5 more days. Its ludicrous just too keep everyone player "on the same page" why would anyone login more than 2 days a week if the cap os reached with no incentive to login for 5 more days?

pretty much my feeling as well. I get everything worth doing done by thursday. capped tomes, weekly raids, etc. After i cap tomes, i can't even bring myself to do expert roulette until reset. No real incentive to log in the rest of the week except to maybe help with a primal run for an hour or something.

[ADVSS]

pretty much my feeling as well. I get everything worth doing done by thursday. capped tomes, weekly raids, etc. After i cap tomes, i can't even bring myself to do expert roulette until reset. No real incentive to log in the rest of the week except to maybe help with a primal run for an hour or something.

I totally feel you there, I
m still going to rock SB but if the pattern persists, I wont be as consistant with my subscriptions

[Reinha]

They know the ilvl jumps in advance, surely they could plan the side dungeon so that every ilvl jump it also gets a jump to keep it relevant and keep it in the expert roulette.

They could achieve this just by adding a more strict item level sync to each dungeon so they stay relevant/difficult. And then actually make them difficult between the minimum and maximum item levels, paying special attention to the healing role. Right now the healing requirements are easier to fulfill than in some leveling dungeons.

Perhaps they could achieve variety by introducing level 70 roulette and Expert roulette at the same time and make them have the same dungeons except have the Expert roulette automatically sync to minimum item level. Then just keep adding all new dungeons to both roulette types. That way all dungeons stay relevant, Expert is for expert play and level 70 roulette remains for those who like to feel the power of their gear building up over time. People selecting specific duties would be matched with those who queue for level 70 roulette to keep the queue times in check.

As for the lack of things to do for the rest of the week, I hope the new Diadem will bring something interesting to the table. Maybe Stormblood should have some kind of world area full of "boss map" targets that are hard to kill (Odin style?) and have a low drop chance of random stat gear and higher drop chance of harder "boss maps".

[Starkbeaumont]

cause designing something new and exciting that hasn't been done before is so easy in an MMO these days...

[Bourne_Endeavor]

OK then. Predict 'exactly' what we will get over the next 2 years. Since you are being exact, I'd like dungeon names, boss names and which mechanics they will use as well as the same information about the raids and if it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could also tell us what's coming in the Gold Saucer too?

Oh, wait, you can't do that, because they only way of being exact is to say we'll get one or more dungeons, 8-man raid every other patch and 24-man alliance raids on the odd patches. That's not very exact.

Complaining about the format of updates in this way is rather like complaining that every day you have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you're sick of that format and can predict exactly what you'll get for the next 2 years.

You can't predict exactly what we'll get, you can predict broadly, but then you can predict that broadly with regard to just about any online game update.

That is a terrible analogy. I do not have the exact same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday for nearly four months. People aren't complaining about dungeons themselves but the fact nothing about them has changed. While environments are different and you get the occasional few shifts in mechanics, it all bogs down to the standard "pull trash through a linear path and aoe them all down." Even small adjustments like we've seen in PotD would be a welcomed improvement. I want targets where melee have to kill them ASAP, mobs that break the aggro table, thus requiring the tank to reestablish threat and perhaps even multiple paths. Say the dungeons were larger in size but whenever you queued certain areas were cut off at random or if you complete certain objectives (speed, kills and etc) different things happen. They don't need to be major changes, just small things to breath some life into it. I will say Baelsar's Wall and Solm Ai Hard played with things a bit; you generally won't be in Cleric Stance so much, for example. So hopefully that is a start.

And speaking of mechanics. Some are reused with far too much frequency. Look Away is a prime example. It seems nearly every patch, we have that mechanic pop up somewhere. Zurvan is equally guilty, using a mechanic we have already been dealing with since 3.4 dropped. When that starts to happen, fights feel tired even when they're brand new.