A thread to gush about the Trust system

[Omedon]

I need to do this in a space where it will be appreciated or at least understood.

The Trust system is, and I realize this is a high bar and that’s acknowledged, the greatest system in any MMORPG of remotely the same design, that isn’t tied to personal character expression.

It’s better than automated group assembly, it’s better than deterministic currency gearing, it’s better than WoW’s “personal loot.” I love all of those systems, but trusts are the pinnacle of approachability and enjoyment as it relates to storytelling, gearing and learning to play within instanced content.

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn are the only companions I need to enjoy FFXIV. I of course reserve the right to join an actual FC if I find myself entering a long stint in the game (at the time of this writing my sub runs out in 5 days, and I’ll largely be playing WoW for a few months), but knowing the Scions have my back, and will be waiting when I return, assures that that return is inevitable. I find myself complimenting them out loud for their performance and thanking them for guiding me through fights on a regular basis. I promise I’m not crazy, or some lonely shut-in with no friends, I just love these characters like I love the cast of any Final Fantasy game, and this one is designed to be played for longer, so of course I’m attached!

Trusts are my condition to return to FFXIV, and the only reason I tolerate their absence in WoW is because WoW’s approachable casual open world game is top tier. I don’t do instances in WoW as enjoyably as I do in FFXIV with the Scions.

That’s all I want to say right now, thank you for reading! You folks are so lucky to have trusts, I hope you appreciate them!

[Goji1639]

Agreed; I honestly hated having to run story dungeons with a bunch of randoms for everything before SHB. It didn't fit the narrative at all, especially with most of the primal fights, and all the rushrush made the pacing of the story feel really disjointed. The dungeons are supposed to be these big set-piece moments in the story, but instead you're basically forced to rush through them as fast as possible, with people in chicken costumes who have nothing to do with the story.

Trusts made SHB 100x better and I think they should be implemented in more than just the main story.

[Krissey]

Hard agree. I love the trust system and believe it’s everything I thought Blizzard was trying to do with Garrisons and Garrison followers, the whole going on mission with them and getting loot thing. Sending them into “dungeons” by themselves and waiting 8 hours was… not my expectation. I adore the trust system as well as the Grand Company squadron system. Would that we could mix and match. I love the characters of the Scions of the 7th Dawn, however on the other hand I hate to leave behind my hand picked GC Squadron mates who I’ve also run content with. It would be too much work I imagine to fuse the systems and have them go from 1-80 but what we have I love immensely.

[Conundrum]

Another agree. I play MMOs to get away from people (as counterintuitive as that may sound), and Trusts and to a much lesser extent Squadrons facilitate that. I honestly wish they would extend Trusts to all MSQ related content.

[LaylaTsarra]

I like trusts I use them all the time for story dungeon clears on my main and many alts. Have them fully leveled on my main and one alt in particular.

[Theodric]

I'd rather have more opportunities to team up with other players rather than less. I already have ample opportunity to 'go at it solo style' in the form of...numerous single player games.

I think it's a real shame that MMO's have become far less social experiences over time.

[Vidu]

For me the current system with Trusts and "normal" dungeon queues has one big, fatal flaw: Its either-or.

I enjoy playing through the story with my partner and that includes (obviously) dungeons. We were kinda looking forward to be able to these dungeons, just the two of us and some AI... and then it turns out that we either have to split up or use good old dutyfinder again. We would have loved to fill the missing slots for healer and second DPS with some of the Trusts, but that wasnt an option.
As a result I never really used Trusts... I tried once and find it to difficult to deal with how slow runs are with them (I'm pretty spoiled with my pocket-BLM, I guess).

So, yeah... maybe Trusts would have more of a place if they would allow for more dynamic groups.

[ZedxKayn]

I think it's a real shame that MMO's have become far less social experiences over time.

I agree. XIV is in kind of a tough spot in being a FF MMO and needs to cater to both single player RPG players and MMO players.
But personally I prefer how ESO dealt with that...

[ItMe]

I really like reading what everyone has to say during the dungeon. The little tidbits about background or them just reacting to things is surprisingly charming and well done and does a lot to help the NPCs feel like characters.
I agree OP, the Trusts make it fun to hang with the Scions.

[Misplaced_Marbles]

I think it's a real shame that MMO's have become far less social experiences over time.

Best and only good solution in MMOs? Options. If people prefer not to deal with other people they should have the ability to choose so. They just need to expand trust to all story dungeons. Obviously this should also work in the way that you should be able to choose how many bots you want with you so you can play with your friends if you want.

If giving people options makes it so nobody "teams up" anymore, it was just a facade from the beginning. What i'm saying is that they never were any more or less social. People who want to socialize, socialize. People who don't want to, won't. Simple as that. It's just not done out of necessity to progress anymore.