What's your first impression of Eureka?

[Mimilu]

With 2+ weeks past since Eureka's release, here are my current thoughts on it as a lowly, level 6 character:

Pros/Things I like
+You can play as any level 70 job and you can gear up any level 70 job while playing as any level 70 job
+I like the EXP fairies. It's kind of fun looking for them, like a scavanger hunt.
+The NMs were okay, if a little bit basic. I've done a few high level NMs when I can get on the NM Train, including Pazuzu. I would say his difficulty is about the same as an current-expansion A Rank Hunt.
+It is making more people more supportive in the community
+It promotes some exploration

Cons/Things I don't like
-The grind can be monotonous. Vidu said it best in their posts, whether you're in the NM train or chaining normal mobs, there is little to no difference in what you are doing from level 1 to level 20. How the battle system is designed to be rotation-based doesn't really help this either...
-The NM Train is life, brah. I know the NM Trains are a player-made thing but Eureka's design really facilitates it. A lot of instances are focues solely on the NM train, especially higher level NMs, which is discouraging to lower level players, who have to either stand to the side and watch higher leverl characters do most of the work, try to help by pecking away at the NM for 20 damage while praying they don't get oneshot, or be a Phoenix Down as a Healer, RDM, or SMN (sorry if you wanted to DPS or Tank).
-The difficulty is front-loaded. I mean, it's to be expected that when you are at the current level cap, you're more powerful then when you started out and have a few more perks but almost all of the challenge in Eureka comes from level grinding. This can be discouraging to newer-or-lower level players, especially if most people in the instance are already at higher-or-max levels. I can't really talk for those who are higher-or-max level but some I've talked to and some I've seen on forums don't feel like the content is challenging/engaging enough.
-Visibility of monsters and partymembers needs to be fixed. They need to optimize the instance better so targeted monsters and partymembers don't dissapear during big, zurg rush fights.

Suggestions
=You could add daily and weekly objectives. Like hunts or quests. These could act as a buffer for some people's feeling of ennui during the NM train or chaining normal mobs. These don't have to just/only reward you with EXP, items, and/or gil either, they could give other things like temporary Eureka-only stat buffs or a buff to your EXP or maybe temporary access to special areas or something.
=You could take more inspiration from GATEs, having some less combative FATEs that revolve around platforming, traveling, stealth, and/or puzzles.
=You could experiment with 1.x's Hamlet Defense idea. Prepare a location for battle as crafters and gatherers and defend it as fighting jobs.
=You could add more interesting/difficult ways to spawm more rewarding NMs.
=IF the NM train is going to be the norm for the rest of Eureka, you guys need to figure out what to do with lower-level players. Maybe make cheering an actual mechanic? Like, have a special Eureka-only Cheer action you can do to other players and they will get a buff that will help them slightly? You could have differnt cheers for different effects. Just a thought...
=A Party Level Sync so Higher Level players could help lower level ones would be nice.
=Allow players the ability to turn in multiple Lock Boxes and Crystal at once. :B

My overall thoughts
Sorry guys but I don't like Eureka, which kind of sucks because it's the newest content we've gotten and the relics are locked behind it, plus it's the only way to gear up multiple jobs outside of a weekly-lock out.
I found it really repetitive.
While I personally don't mind NM trains and perfered fighting NMs over normal mobs, I really don't like how the train has become the centeral focus of the instance and that it kind of promote lower level characters to be inactive during fights out of fear of being oneshot.

[Tsumdere]

-snip-

The cheering suggestion is really cute. Could be cheers for increasing damage, increasing defense, increasing the rate in which lower mobs spawn so you could potentially spawn the lower level NMs faster...

Ziz Cheer. Get enough people to do it and it summon hundreds of Ziz to the immediate area to be AoE'd down in a burning pile of FPS loss.

[Ruf]

Eureka is bad x????
First,second & third impression.

[Mimilu]

Suggestions
=You could...

To add to the my list suggestions of content you could add
-You could experiment with Assault-type of missions, where we have to go in and clear/conquer some kind of enemy on the field and/or their lair/nest/home base.
-You could experiment with something like XI's Campaign Ops. In XI, Campaign Ops are small-scale missions players can do for the city of Jeuno. Lore-wise, these missions help boost the coffer's of Jeuno's battle funding but you don't really get to see it...THIS is where you can expand the idea more, I think! We already have Rowena and the East Aldenard Trading Company backing us, so we could do missions that would benefit them and we could get different perks for doing so, as a community, like unlocking more items or services, getting instance-based buffs, etc. Campaign Ops mission range from things like procuring resources, transporting supplies, gathering intel, offensive and/or defensive operations, and military training. These could be locked to the instance, with each instance need to do missions that raise the coffer more to get more benefits from it.
-You could experiment with something like XI's Besieged battles. In XI, Besieged is a type of battle where you have to protect a city from enemies that want an mystical artifact that gives the players buffs while they are in the area. Enemies prepare their armies and once their time is up, will attack the city, where anyone who can wield a weapon must help defend the city (including NPCs). The mystical artifact is held in a special chamber that can only be entered if you have 1-of-5 special keys held by 5 NPC-generals. Protecting the Generals is very important. Other aspects include battling NMs, defeating as many weaker enemies as you can to lower the enemies number, and rescuing NPC prisoners from the enemy. If the enemy does get the artifact, it is the city's turn to attack them and get it back. I think this could easily translate to the Eureka main base being attacked and use having to defend. You could make these locked to the instance, that way what ever you use for the artifact will always be there when players start an instance but you have to defend it if-and/or-when it is being attacked.
-You could add special items that will teleport partymembers to harder-but-rewarding NM lairs. Think of it like XI's Burning Circle fights mixed with XIV's maps. These special items could be found in lock boxes, NMs, and/or chaining normal mobs.
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[Altanas]

You could experiment with Assault-type of missions

You could add special items that will teleport partymembers to harder-but-rewarding NM lairs

This is exactly what Eureka needs.
Something beyond the grinding and FATE trains.
Even if the said special items/pop items came from grinds/trains, players could then go with their own parties to do events beyond those simple things.

At the moment, to draw a comparison, Eureka feels more like fighting the first tier of Sky NMs, but without getting drops to spawn the 2nd tier and so on. The devs should build on what came before, the way they created tier levels of content throughout FF11, it makes little sense to innovate by just throwing out what was built up before, Eureka basically feels like FF11-Beta version before content was added....