EXP Rewards After Hitting Level Cap

[linay]

I love the world and story of FFXIV. Seeing new places, meeting new characters, uncovering mysteries - it’s all good stuff. I even started reading the Encyclopedia Eorzea and getting into all the lore makes me want to dive into FFXIV even more. But I’m in a bit of a pickle. As much as I love the story 'n stuff, the gameplay kinda stinks. I think it's a big pile of doo-doo.

Now, before you start disagreeing with me, try to look at it from the perspective of a filthy casual who has no interest in endgame raids and can barely keep up with the main scenario. For hundreds of hours, I’ve been fighting basically the same enemies that require no skill, no strategy, nothing. They may look different in each new area, but they certainly don’t make me play differently. I can easily get through the vast majority of combat encounters by spamming one or two of my abilities. With my eyes closed. Quest objectives don’t fare much better in terms of design, as they’re mostly just a bland, repetitive mix of various fetch tasks.

You're giving conflicting information. Someone who can "easily get through the vast majority of combat encounters by spamming one or two abilities with eyes closed" does not seem like someone who can barely keep up with the story.

Here’s the thing though: I think that’s actually fine. Or at least, it’s exactly what I expect from an MMO. However, what I also expect from an MMO, is some kind of reward to keep me going. Some juicy skinner box treadmill that keeps the degenerate part of my brain entertained so the other parts can enjoy the pretty graphics and intricate story. Some dopamine to make me feel like I actually achieve something by gathering flowers for some random kid. Story as a reward is nice, but I’m talking level-ups, abilities, weapons, armor - all that shiny stuff!

So… what’s the idea here, SE? Am I supposed to grind away dozens of hours to get another job up to level 65+ that I’m never going to play, just so I can dump the quest EXP there? Or should I stop treating FFXIV like an actual game and look at it as a semi-interactive novel?

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Tl;dr: Wouldn’t it be nice to get something for the EXP we gain after hitting the level cap? Maybe even just vanity stuff like mounts, minions, glamour, et cetera?

There are already quests that give gears, items, currency, mounts, minions, abilities, unlock new features, and of course exp to level up. Obviously not every quest will give all of that as the primary reason for a quest is simply to tell a story.

[Efrye]

You're giving conflicting information. Someone who can "easily get through the vast majority of combat encounters by spamming one or two abilities with eyes closed" does not seem like someone who can barely keep up with the story.

Completing the MSQ is a huge time commitment, compared to other games. Not being able to keep up has nothing to do with difficulty.

Since gearing up serves a similar purpose to leveling, how would you feel about getting a small amount of uncapped tomestones for every MSQ you do after hitting level cap? Like 5-20 tomestones per quest. I feel like that would not affect overall game balance and it would be a small bonus towards the gear grind that awaits. You could also choose to use those tomes on the materials and music rolls which are already available at the same vendor.

I think that would be a decent solution, although I'd rather tie it to EXP directly, rather than quest completion. That way you'd also get rewarded for doing fates, roulettes, side quests, et cetera. Like it's supposed to be.

that's not what it is. some of us are just more realistic in what they would do given their track record.

the game might not be fine but that doesn't mean they will make large changes that affect small amounts of people.

and it also is a zero-sum game, resources they put into something like this means resources they won't put into something else. what's not going to happen is SE opening the wallets.

Right, I get that. But I do think that's missing the bigger picture. Obviously, I don't have any inside knowledge of the FFXIV player base. But if it's even remotely similar to almost every other big game, what I'm requesting would not "affect small amounts of people", it would affect the majority. Well, ok, maybe not the majority. The majority probably never even reaches the level cap. But that's my point: You may not notice them, because they're not part of your FC and don't post in the forums, but it's usually the casual players who make up the silent majority of players/subscribers. Ignoring them won't serve anyone.

[Aramina]

Completing the MSQ is a huge time commitment, compared to other games. Not being able to keep up has nothing to do with difficulty.



I think that would be a decent solution, although I'd rather tie it to EXP directly, rather than quest completion. That way you'd also get rewarded for doing fates, roulettes, side quests, et cetera. Like it's supposed to be.


Right, I get that. But I do think that's missing the bigger picture. Obviously, I don't have any inside knowledge of the FFXIV player base. But if it's even remotely similar to almost every other big game, what I'm requesting would not "affect small amounts of people", it would affect the majority. Well, ok, maybe not the majority. The majority probably never even reaches the level cap. But that's my point: You may not notice them, because they're not part of your FC and don't post in the forums, but it's usually the casual players who make up the silent majority of players/subscribers. Ignoring them won't serve anyone.

I think the biggest flaw in your reasoning is attributing how you feel to how "casuals" feel. Since you are a casual and you feel x way, that must mean that it is a casual way to feel. It's not. I also consider myself to be a very casual player and do not feel, at all, the way you do. I mean I wouldn't object to getting more rewards (who would?) but the feeling that it is in any way necessary to do so to retain casuals is pretty off-base.

[linay]

Completing the MSQ is a huge time commitment, compared to other games. Not being able to keep up has nothing to do with difficulty.

If you barely have time to complete the MSQ, then why are you overleveling it to the point that you see quest EXP that you no longer need since you're at level cap? At level cap, MSQ gives no EXP as far as I know, so you must be talking about the leveling portion of MSQ.