We Really Need To Talk About The State And Path Of FFXIV

[Dualgunner]

No, for the sake of tranquility, I'm moving on from that topic. I've adequate stated my opinions on that topic and every else is free to consider what I said for themselves. An alternative to the status quo can exist.

So, you're ceding? Because if we're just going to play the "I can say what I want and not defend it" game...

Raiders deserve the best equipment from raids.

[Edax]

So, you're ceding? Because if we're just going to play the "I can say what I want and not defend it" game...

Raiders deserve the best equipment from raids.

I've already deconstructed the system and pointed to Old School Runescape as an successful example of an MMORPG doesn't use this system at all. And others on this thread and deconstructed the concept of "difficulty" in gaming. I'm already under the impression that many here have strong opinions about the system. I cannot invalidate their opinions and they cannot invalidate mine. If I'm going to just restate what I've already stated on this forum, then we'll just go around in circles.

As I recall, this raids-having-the-best-gear system was not in Old School Runescape. In fact, the problems I have in this game were problems I did not have in Runescape. There weren't such content dry patches and there was almost always room for self improvement in the game in so many different ways. If you wanted some of the best armor in the game, you could just buy it. Yes, there were some quest requirements and some combat requirements to wear them, but it was hardly a system where the players that did the most difficult content only got to have the special best stuff in the game. There were many ways you could acquire Dragon armor in that game, it all required a grind but you could choose to grind in the best way you saw fit. You could have fought the monster that dropped them for yourself, you could have mined, blacksmithed, lumberjacked or whatever to get the capital needed to buy that armor.
This spiritbonding armor system from loot drops is not a core foundation of a MMO. Neither is raiding.

Well, if nobody in the MMO world ever really deviated from that norm (as per your experiences), can we really tell if changing it would not work?

There's little theoretical reason why it shouldn't. The reason why difficulty options arose in gaming is because the skill level of the playerbase varies. If you tune the difficulty to easy, more skilled players get bored. By adding a harder difficulty, you do nothing for less skilled players, but your higher skilled players no longer get (as) bored and thus derive more enjoyment from your game.

If that is the case, it begs the question why higher rewards are needed to compensate for higher enjoyment. And if that is not the case, it begs the question why you add a higher difficulty in the first place.

Conclusion: People are weird.