Eureka... what were you expecting?

[Valdegarde]

And since it was tied to the relic, I thought we were going to get a storyline akin to 2.X's where we have this godly/notorious weapon (which would fit with the actual Eureka from FF3), and it would awaken it's full potential as we slay higher level NMs.

In both FF3 and FF5 with the Sealed Castle Kuza, there was a cool idea of weapons sealed that you had to discover and undo...With these, Gerolt basically lampshades how dumb it's gotten. There's barely any dialogue, just "well, I made the thing out of the crystals here, goodbye." Considering Eureka is (supposedly) trying to use elements of FF3 and FF5, they really missed the target on that referential aspect.

[Okamimaru]

I ask because we have many threads saying people hate it and a few saying they like it... most say it's not what they wanted but don't go into specific details on what they wanted beyond something like blah blah blah from such and such game... I'm just trying to figure out where the disconnect is

[Keridwyn]

Things I hoped I was getting and did get:
- A zone that felt old school MMO dangerous and required some thought to explore/traverse.
- A zone where I could lose some progress if I wasn't careful (to keep me on my toes during the grind).
- A zone that was aesthetically pleasing after the rather drab canvas of Ala'Mhigo.

Things I hoped for and kinda got:
- Better RNG than Atma/Anima. (Those crystals were painful. Even now I have no urge to try and pick up other relics despite the drop rate buffs. You people who did Atma when it was current need a medal.)
- The ability to progress despite limited time. (I'm already starting to fall behind as the gaps get too wide between players but if I put in at least one 3 hour run a day I'm doing okay for now.)
- Being able to help my friends. (Yeah, they started later than I did and just me by myself isn't making much of a difference. They're better off joining the train with a party of their level than hanging out with me.)

Things I hoped for and was completely let down on:
- The solo experience. (I was told it would be soloable...they didn't tell me I'd still be working on it come 5.0 if I tried. I'm not even certain you CAN solo Pazuzu so...there's that.)
- Interesting use of elements. (When they removed them from elsewhere in the game I was expecting them to play a heavy and important role in Eureka. Like switching up our elements to be immune to certain attacks from bosses or to provide different buffs (like Water refreshing MP, Wind increasing attack speed, etc. Something to provide us with choice and agency when we spun the board. Did we need the immunity or was our armor good enough that we could run Fire for extra damage?)
- The lack of anything beyond murder. (I expected some dailies or at least hunt style bounties. Goals to direct us around the island. The closest I get to that is kill xx of this mob and spawn a 'boss' version, like spawning an S Rank.)
- That this stick came with a carrot. (While I expected to get work done on my relic weapon and even relic armor this time, I also expected that there'd be something...more. We were getting a whole zone to fart around in and grind in but the grind ended up feeling unrewarding. Crystals just don't drop fast enough for most levels and mobs don't die fast enough when you're on your own and sometimes even in a group.)
- That I'd always be able to heal my party/hit the monsters. (The culling makes it so sometimes I can't even do my job properly and I die to attacks that I never had a chance at avoiding.)

The above is why I'm so upset and frustrated with Eureka. Take that as you will.

[MilanFrozen]

Before I had any actual details from the devs I was getting earfulls from a friend about Eureka possibly having area specific abilities and POTD styled random world but on a larger scale and in an open world. Fortunately I was skeptical and waited till I got to hear from the horse's mouth. After that I knew what Eureka was going to be long before it was released with the exception of how heavily the elemental system would play into it.

I was NOT disappointed by Eureka on release, (only when I heard what it actually was) but that's because I was already pierceiving it to be mediocre at best.

[Kaonis]

Despite the devs pushing that it would be "Different from Diadem" and "Innovative and fresh content" I expected none of that. I expected something similar to Diadem 2.0, where you would be grinding FATE's and exp would be going directly into your relic. Then maybe there would be hunts and probably something similar to the daily/weekly hunt marks and maybe even poppable NM's meant for a party of 4-8. I'll also mention none of that is what I would have wanted either, just what I expected given SE's track record. The fact they were able to fall below my low expectations of them is quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

[Usho]

I was expecting it not to be sh*t. They had over a year to work on this. I didn't wait this long for Diadem 3.0, I wanted content called "Eureka". This is not the Eureka I waited patiently for.

[Alleo]

I ask because we have many threads saying people hate it and a few saying they like it... most say it's not what they wanted but don't go into specific details on what they wanted beyond something like blah blah blah from such and such game... I'm just trying to figure out where the disconnect is

There is already a thread about constructive ideas to make it better and I would believe that those kinda show what people have wanted.

I never really kept up with Eureka, just found it strange that they told us about this so many months ago and yet barely anything was shown. Even before the patch came it felt like it was barely hyped by SE itself, so I kinda did not have much expectations. I just wanted it to be better than Diadem but honestly I had more fun with the few runs I did in Diadem than the ones in Eureka.

I wanted more quests, a better story line for Gerold and for Krile. I wanted it to be a fun grind that may take some time but that will get me back to it without needing huge amounts of rewards..I wished it was kinda like settlements where we start out and monsters will attack them. Fighters would have to defend it (and depending on how well they did, it would change the look of the settlement for a time). Gatherers would need to collect things to help with wounded NPCs and other parts of the settlements. Crafters could craft stuff that is necessary to either help defend it or built it back up again. With each of these quests we would get points for our relic. So you could do it solo too. Since this is a different zone they could have tried such things instead of doing in Eorzea where they could not destroy landscapes.

Maybe have way more exploration built in. Other than wanting to look around the map or to go to the next NM the map is barely used..for something that is so mysterious its strange how we are not really trying to find out more. Have stuff hidden all around the map (random for everyone). Like story part, lootboxes. Give us riddles that we can still solve alone or with a group to find treasure.

In the end anything with way more depth would have been better.

[Okamimaru]

I was expecting it not to be sh*t. So there ya go.

It's probably super helpful comments like this from such positive people like yourself that gives the development team such clear vision as to what the players actually want...

[Alleo]

It's probably super helpful comments like this from such positive people like yourself that gives the development team such clear vision as to what the players actually want...

People posted quite a lot about what they dislike about Diadem 1+2. They also posted more than enough that they are sick of Fates and stuff like that. Hunts has been a pool of toxcity for a long time. So somehow they come and combine all those things into a new and innovate content..Honestly its quite telling that this is often called Diadem 3.0 or even Beta Diadem (since its worse for quite some people). That after all these posts they still created something like this..

[MilanFrozen]

It's probably super helpful comments like this from such positive people like yourself that gives the development team such clear vision as to what the players actually want...

To be fair with how it turned out, it wouldn't be surprising in the slightest if they didn't even read the forums.