One shot mechanics in Normal Raids

[tdb]

No. The side and back portals are not only different in color, they also function differently as well. By her saying different, I have no idea how they differ from each other outside the obvious color schemes and positions.

I have a feeling you are interpreting the latter part as an independent sentence, when in reality the "Stand where" applies to both the first and the second parts. Adding some more words: "Stand where the birds are opposite your debuff, and also where the portals behind you and to your side are of different colors." Or putting it another way: "Stand where the birds are opposite your debuff, and at an intersection of two different-colored portals."

Explanation, which you probably already know: Portals of the same color are linked. If white birds go into the red portal at the back, then white birds will come out of red portals at the side. Red = white, blue = black (in this example). You want to get hit by different colors. Thus if you have the dark debuff to begin with, you want to stand in front of the red portal (where white birds go in) and with a blue portal to your side (where black birds come out).

Further explanation: The portals and their intersections form a checkerboard pattern of alternating safe and lethal squares. The initial positions of the birds make two entire columns lethal. Thus there will be four safe squares on the playfield. This is somewhat similar to the grid mechanic on the first boss of Orbonne Monastery.

Edit: The goal of this sort of short instructions is to give players who do not grasp the logic of the mechanic something to memorize. Those who do grasp the logic will sooner or later come up with their own way of figuring out the safe spots from the clues, as you have done. But given how impatient people are it's impossible to teach the full logic to people after entering the instance.

[tdb]

I'm not asking for a nerf personally, I had fun doing this with friends (although it was definitely stressful). But if I didn't have such a great group to go with, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't want to inflict myself on a random bunch of people. So it's sad that some will miss this story because they don't have an appropriate(and patient) friendship group.

As time goes on, more people will learn to do the mechanics reliably and it will become easier to carry people who haven't learned yet. Gear upgrades will help dealing with the DPS check phase. So even if some people might not get to experience the story on patch week, sooner or later everyone will be able to.

[EaMett]

Yeah it's hit or miss atm but everyone will get used to it. My personal experience was pretty mellow, caught us off guard the first time around and then cleared on the second pull. All pug of course. So your experience may vary depending on how experienced the people you end up with are.

While we're on the topic of hard encounters. I feel like shiva's difficulty in savage might be overtuned. I love it and wouldn't change anything about it, but I have a hard time picturing pugs doing it anytime soon.

[Gemina]

I have a feeling you are interpreting the latter part as an independent sentence, when in reality the "Stand where" applies to both the first and the second parts. Adding some more words: "Stand where the birds are opposite your debuff, and also where the portals behind you and to your side are of different colors." Or putting it another way: "Stand where the birds are opposite your debuff, and at an intersection of two different-colored portals."

Explanation, which you probably already know: Portals of the same color are linked. If white birds go into the red portal at the back, then white birds will come out of red portals at the side. Red = white, blue = black (in this example). You want to get hit by different colors. Thus if you have the dark debuff to begin with, you want to stand in front of the red portal (where white birds go in) and with a blue portal to your side (where black birds come out).

Further explanation: The portals and their intersections form a checkerboard pattern of alternating safe and lethal squares. The initial positions of the birds make two entire columns lethal. Thus there will be four safe squares on the playfield. This is somewhat similar to the grid mechanic on the first boss of Orbonne Monastery.

Edit: The goal of this sort of short instructions is to give players who do not grasp the logic of the mechanic something to memorize. Those who do grasp the logic will sooner or later come up with their own way of figuring out the safe spots from the clues, as you have done. But given how impatient people are it's impossible to teach the full logic to people after entering the instance.

Most of what I've written is simply how my brain is processing things. As I said before, I believe there are a lot of ways to explain what's going on that are all perfectly valid. However, the way some might try to explain where it is safe to stand may differ from how their brain will finally lock it down. As an example, the way you added some additional context to my explanation only made it more confusing for me, but I also understand that it is all accurate information.

What I have found in my PUGs is that players are being patient. No one is rage quitting or anything. Those trying to figure things out are asking questions, and those who have are answering them the best they can. I find that this particular mechanic is more difficult to explain than it is to grasp, especially in a PUG where even if those players are being patient, you still feel a certain pressure or rush to get the information out, and you may not word things the way you would like to. This feeling of a time constraint is exactly what is going on during this phase of the boss.

[Crushnight]

I would just like to say that this thread has gone some way to restoring my faith in the XIV community. Unlike most threads on this kind of thing, very few people have been downright rude and told the OP to 'git gud'. Most people seem to understand why this mechanic can be very difficult to grasp. As Gemina said, it's two different thought processes at once (a bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time).

I found 'Git Gud' should only only apply to people who get snarky or snappy ie they stoop low 1st, regardless of content from dungeons to ultimate.

It just doesn't help people who are struggling with something so explaining even for 90 minutes is better than a single 'Git Gud'.

[Limonia]

I tried this fight for the first time today and was so bad at that portal thing. I'm usually quiet and calm but I get so very angry when I'm new in normal mode content and I'm the only one failing the mechanics even though most others are new as well. How does everyone grasp it right away?

Then I just went as off-tank instead of healer. My boyfriend who only ever does casual content went as MT and kind of carried me through it, because he understood it immediately as well.

The portal mechanic just is the kind of I'm really bad at. It reminds me a little bit of the Atomos mechanic in Dun Scaith. I can only do it right when he tells me where to go. I mean I understand the portal mechanic at least, he explained it to me with a video and I got it, but in the fight I was still too stupid for it. Maybe I'll get better after a while. I'm the last person asking for nerfs, I'm fine with "trickier" mechanics (yes, I know, you understood and executed it perfectly immediately). But I really don't like this one.

[Valorak]

I just did it again this morning to see if people were struggling with it, and this group definitely had a harder time with it than my first group. That said, we only wiped a few times before people really started catching on. Just hang in there and talk it out with your group members.

I tried this fight for the first time today and was so bad at that portal thing. I'm usually quiet and calm but I get so very angry when I'm new in normal mode content and I'm the only one failing the mechanics even though most others are new as well. How does everyone grasp it right away?

Then I just went as off-tank instead of healer. My boyfriend who only ever does casual content went as MT and kind of carried me through it, because he understood it immediately as well.

The portal mechanic just is the kind of I'm really bad at. It reminds me a little bit of the Atomos mechanic in Dun Scaith. I can only do it right when he tells me where to go. I mean I understand the portal mechanic at least, he explained it to me with a video and I got it, but in the fight I was still too stupid for it. Maybe I'll get better after a while. I'm the last person asking for nerfs, I'm fine with "trickier" mechanics (yes, I know, you understood and executed it perfectly immediately). But I really don't like this one.

Hahaha, well hopefully no one thinks that someone is stupid just because they aren't good at solving puzzles quickly. There are different types of intelligence and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Personally, if I have a choice between someone with a good attitude that struggles sometimes or some elite gamer with a crap attitude, I'll always pick the person with the good attitude.

[Granyala]

I'm a raider with almost a decade of experience and I got gibbed by the mechanic too b/c I just needed too long to come to the decision about where to stand.
I believe it will take a while to get used to it.

I can understand newbies being frustrated by it.

[Gemina]

I tried this fight for the first time today and was so bad at that portal thing. I'm usually quiet and calm but I get so very angry when I'm new in normal mode content and I'm the only one failing the mechanics even though most others are new as well. How does everyone grasp it right away?

Then I just went as off-tank instead of healer. My boyfriend who only ever does casual content went as MT and kind of carried me through it, because he understood it immediately as well.

The portal mechanic just is the kind of I'm really bad at. It reminds me a little bit of the Atomos mechanic in Dun Scaith. I can only do it right when he tells me where to go. I mean I understand the portal mechanic at least, he explained it to me with a video and I got it, but in the fight I was still too stupid for it. Maybe I'll get better after a while. I'm the last person asking for nerfs, I'm fine with "trickier" mechanics (yes, I know, you understood and executed it perfectly immediately). But I really don't like this one.

Try not to think of things that way, and as a matter of fact you helped me remember where in the hell I seen these damn portals before. It was in Dun Scaith! The devs love to grab existing mechanics and reapply them in different ways.

Anywho, you're not too stupid. That's why I was trying to explain that everyone will have their own way of locking down where it is safe to stand no matter how accurate the information being given to them is. The good news is you understand how the portals work, and I believe you also understand the debuff switch as well, so it is just a matter of putting the two together. Also understand that if first timers are surviving that mechanic, it is possible that it is just out of shear luck xD. Even if you have no idea what's going on, it's still 50/50 whether you get hit or not.

Try not to get discouraged. Many people are/have struggled with this one. Myself included. As a healer my first couple times in there, I wasn't contributing a whole lot. I even just walked right off the platform in one attempt^^

[linay]

SE did after people complained in ARR because they couldn't experience the story of the coil of bahamut.

No, they didn't. They lowered the skill required for Normal, but that doesn't mean it's for low skill level or there would never be a wipe in Normal, which there is often enough.