Savage content needs to be fixed.

[Shaolinz]

Tl; DR

Instead of giving players additional tomestones for a duty complete, give them an extra chest.

Before I start, I want to make a very clear opening stance. I grew up on a farm as the son of an accountant and fireman. Although gifted with some intellect, I would never say I'm the smartest kid on the block. However, I was also blessed with a very strong work ethic... and some pretty hardy character resilience. With all of those things together I pushed myself and worked very hard to attain my present standing as a cardiologist who makes six figures a year. Coming from a kid who started at McDonalds, I share this with you to say that I am a very hard worker.

The same work ethic (and gluttony for punishment) that is responsible for my career success also overlaps in my gaming life. I enjoy hard content. A lot. I beat civilization V on immortal with every faction (yes, even the Iroquois

[Shaolinz]

I have beaten every from software game released and have done done level 1 runs with all of them. I play all new games out of the box with the hardest difficulty setting possible. I started playing FFXIV six months ago when I heard about all the dungeons it offered, and how it would allow someone who has a busy schedule time to still raid. I was excited watching old fights and reviewing strategies, even well before I could join them. I picked paladin as a main class because I enjoyed tanking in past MMOs, and I have loved the class.

My problem with savage content is not the content itself. Moreso, it's the stuff that has to be lined up outside of the content to make work. I think this largely comes from a poor design choice I noticed in this game, and after several frustrating weeks I've finally about had it and wanted to voice my complaints.

[Shaolinz]

You see, there's a particularly nasty feature in savage content called "duty complete". Just like how the rich live in lofty castles in the sky in the current popular sci-fi Atered Carbon, those few and blessed to have gotten an early complete form an essentially invite-only clique that continues to clear the same content, leaving us peasants in the trash below. This gets confused with skill, quite quickly, and once that happens it also breeds the snub-egotistical demeanor so frequently present in Party Finder. The options people who haven't cleared have are pretty limited. One option is paying real money to a preformed static to carry you on a kill so you get that oh-so-coveted duty complete

[Shaolinz]

I think this practice alone explains why so many people even in duty-complete tuns seem to have no clue what they're doing...they just simply paid someone else to carry them. One option is to build a static, which is an endeavor in and of itself. I started my own free compny and moved it to the number six spot on our server, but was only able to find 3 like minded players who desired to kill end game content that had a similar schedule. Another option is to seek and join a new one. These have frankly an awful reputation, with folks requiring me to sit for an interview. These are often heavily malignant and are honestly more intense than some medical dispositions I've sat for.

In general, this added difficulty is not gameplay difficulty, and it isn't even difficulty that needs to happen. It is artificial difficulty added from some poor design choices.

[Shaolinz]

The solution? Quite simply, add the following. If a duty contains a member who has yet to complete a duty, a bonus chest is added on successful completion (limit 1 bonus per group). This should be used as the new duty "bonus", instead of the extremely useless present award of bonus creations. Yes, people will gear slightly faster. But it will also change new players from their current despised status to coveted. It will also virtually eliminate the shady and unethical practices of "buying" cleared content, as the clear is no longer that big of a deal. Most importantly, I think this will help open this content to a broader audience, and should ease the gross toxicity presently seen in party finder.

I hope at least some one of stature will read this and take that into consideration. Thanks for your time.

[Lilseph]

You can edit the first post to bypass the character limit, after posting.

EDIT: I disagree with the idea of being "static only" content. Even though it may be easier to do it with a fixed group of people, players pugged this tier a lot (And were succesful at it). They also did it with previous tiers a lot. The cross-server feature helped to cultivate this, and creating your own PF, looking for like-minded players (learning, prog, clear, farm, whatever) is a thing. They adapt to your schedule, as you can log, set the PF up and people would join. Even veterans that already cleared might join to give some guidance (Or friends of a friend).

I've met plenty of people and I read a lot of them on the Balance Discord that they just pug it. Either joining their PF or creating one, like I stated above.

[Penthea]

The solution? Quite simply, add the following. If a duty contains a member who has yet to complete a duty, a bonus chest is added on successful completion (limit 1 bonus per group). This should be used as the new duty "bonus", instead of the extremely useless present award of bonus creations.

An additional chest is too good. What this would do is make people look for someone who hasn't done it before, that they can carry, so they can get more loot for themselves.

I do agree that the tomestone bonus isn't great. I'd love bonus company seals on top of that. Tomestones lose value over time but there's always something decent to get with company seals.

[Vidu]

First: you can bypass the 1000-word-limit by editing your first post.

Second: I dont understand what your personal story as a person and a videogamer has anything to do with this...?

Third: Despite that story you dont seem to understand that this content is supposed to be run with a static. Those 4 instances in a game, that allows you to do anything you wish in what ever party composition you might desire, require you to form a static with 7 other people to continue on learning and clearing those fights each week. It is not supposed to be done via DF and PUGs - depending on the turn that might be possible, but its mostly designed with the idea of a static in mind.
Giving people who have already cleared it to go back and help others to clear it, but with the chest-penalty is a compromisse. Back in Coil-days you were locked out of any turn you had cleared (or rather: progressed by).

I agree that the tomestone-bonus isnt great, but you realise that that would also be a one-time-thing, right? You only get that once. So, the next week when you want to pug O5S you're left with nothing - you gave away that bonus-chest and need to look for a group regardless.

[Lord_Zlatan]

I have suggested multiple times that instead of giving more tomestones as a bonus in savage content, that EVERYONE (if there is a new player involved) will get an extra datalog. The extra chest is a little overzealous, but since u need multiple datalogs, it will allow you to then choose what piece u want for given content.

[Nedkel]

I really cant hold myself from posting a "cool story bro" meme in this thread, pls help me. xD

@edit

Before I start, I want to make a very clear opening stance. I grew up on a farm as the son of an accountant and fireman. Although gifted with some intellect, I would never say I'm the smartest kid on the block. However, I was also blessed with a very strong work ethic... and some pretty hardy character resilience. With all of those things together I pushed myself and worked very hard to attain my present standing as a cardiologist who makes six figures a year. Coming from a kid who started at McDonalds, I share this with you to say that I am a very hard worker.

The same work ethic (and gluttony for punishment) that is responsible for my career success also overlaps in my gaming life. I enjoy hard content. A lot. I beat civilization V on immortal with every faction (yes, even the Iroquois