Insufficient game moderation and competitive PvP in The Feast

[SturmChurro]

It's just a shame that there are so many desirable items tied to this, and instead of promoting play, there are players who abuse the system like this. For that matter, having only the top 100 receive this is too few for a playerbase this large in the first place. Due to things like this, if a player has it, instead of being a sign of prestige, players just see it as a result of win trading, whether it was attained that way or not. Quite a bit of changes need to take place in PvP (Ranked specifically), but I just don't see the constant moderation that is needed happening.

[SlamDunkelritter]

You don't necessarily need constant staff moderation, if the player base is empowered to report suspected play disruption with the ability to provide any additional corroborating evidence. Those claims can then be substantiated by staff with appropriate tools and training for such situations, so that action can be taken against verified violators.

That's the issue, though. There appears to be a breakdown somewhere in moderation policy. Players do report this sort of activity through the in-game support desk, but time and time again the same individuals seem to blatantly exploit the system without repercussions.

[KageTokage]

Skewed priorities and lack of staff on the moderation teams seems like the main problem as they don't even have a dedicated GM for each server.

And let's not even get into the STF that's supposed to be policing the entire game for cheaters with only four people...

[Post]

Only four people on the... STF? Does that mean security task force or something?

I'm curious to where you're able to find this information if it's true. As it is, I feel the lack of communication with the support staff or plans from the developers regarding pvp pretty keenly.

Which is a shame, because let me tell you folks, if you HAVEN'T tried pvp in this game, don't believe the naysayers. It's actually really good!

I recommend getting started by going to the wolves den pier to set up your pvp actions. Every job works differently in pvp, with its own unique rotation, shared actions like Bolt (sprint) and Medkit (self heal with 3 charges), and 2 selectable role actions you can switch as you go. There's striking dummies to practice against there, and a dueling arena. Some servers have a pretty busy dueling arena too, and usually folks there are open to chat as well! Just like pve, the seeming 'delay' on your actions isn't lag, it's just how the game plays. You have to weave, and you have to be mindful of animation delays when you're trying to coordinate burst damage and healing.

The Frontlines are split three teams, so with good strategy (and knowledgeable players that don't attack the third team when the leading team is way in the lead) it's always possible to prevent one-sided stomps. So many matches that have had one team leading or my team trailing yet we turn the tide because of careful play, and because of the Battle High system (basically, kill streaks increase your damage/healing). Throw in the fact that you deduct points from enemy teams when you KO their players, and you earn points for yours when you score KOs, you can have some very close, fun matches if everyone's playing mindfully. Great exp, too!

Rival Wings is a 24v24 MOBA, and it rules. Each alliance is split into 6 teams, and each team can pilot a single mech, like a hero in a MOBA. You push lanes, you meet up for timed objectives, you sneak up and ASSASSINATE 8 ENEMY PLAYERS IN ONE CHOP as Cruise Chaser. This game mode needs nothing except a roulette to get it to pop regularly. Community discords (like discord.gg/pvprevival) make a push for it every week to play it. It tends to pop during Moogle Tomestone events as well, because it turns out it only needs a tiny extra incentive.

The Feast is also pretty dang well balanced for what it is. Almost every job makes a showing in the top 100 every season, and though that's not always the case for the top 10 players, there's still a variety and it's never just one tank or one healer that makes it there. Right now, it's struggling from a lack of player and dev attention, and it sucks that so few can maintain a stranglehold on it because of that.

But they'd have less power if more played, which could either be a reason to add more grind-able unique rewards or, importantly, empowering the players and the moderation staff to combat these disruptive actors.

[KageTokage]

The STF is the party solely responsible for dealing with cheaters utilizing things like hacks and/or bots and thus far has been woefully ineffective at actually accomplishing much of lasting value.

The ShB credits list them as being staffed by only four people last I recall, and they supposedly have access to certain privileges and "tools" that are supposed to make them more effective at actually detecting/punishing violators then the GMs (Who will adamantly refuse to act against such players unless they're actively impeding you in a way that could fall under griefing) but I can count on a single hand the number of times well-known cheaters have been actually banned on my server.

[Post]

I'll take a look for them in the credits I suppose.

One of the major problems as we've been bringing up time and time again is that the moderation team is unable to combat this kind of clear, disruptive behavior in the Feast due to lack of tools or lack of ability to accept evidence from players that suffer through it.

I've heard that they basically only can see chat abuse, so called "gamer words" and that's why timestamps for events are so helpful, and given that the Feast has lost its ability to chat (you can only use pre-canned phrases assignable to hotkeys while inside, you can't even speak in your other chat channels than party during a match), this method of moderation is especially insufficient, here.

[IDontPetLalas]

[QUOTE=Post;5673996].


You know, there is a lot of potential to the PVP in FFXIV but right now it's a hot mess.
Some of the pros:
1- Anyone can just jump right into PVP- to me, this is fantastic- there's no gear ceiling, no worries for new players that they'll be stomped just to a gear disparity.
2- Simplified skills - there's a specified skillset for PVP, and not too many skills to keep track of.
3- Strategy based matched- I find deathmatches the most boring combat, I kike maps that keep me involved in PVP and in teamwork.
Cons
1- Many people run around like headless chickens- I'm honestly not sure how to help fix this without revamping the system, i.e. by adding a type of entry system before allowing people to queue. Not too long, but one to teach at least some minimal basics. Like a mini tutorial with a trust. Because many people are simply not "knowledeable players".
2-My personal pet peeve is the targeting system, I really hate it in PVP, with a a passion.
3- I won't speak to the Feast, as I was interested in it, my understanding is that this is the last season and is has so many issues. I'm looking forwards to the new PvP mode.
I would just add that in any game that I've played that involves a competitive rankings, there were always, ALWAYS cheaters. It may be only a very small percentage of players, or it may be larger (depending on the game) but they had a very disproportionate affect on the rankings and any rewards so it's crucial that there is some system in place to deal with this.

[Stormfur]

Hi Larc!

I agree with you 110%. However, don't be surprised if:

1. This thread gets chucked into the PVP forum where the win-traders and boost buyers can clutch their pearls and whine about how you just need to "git gud".
2. This thread gets pulled down and you get a mark against you because it has other players names in it (You may want to edit your screenshot to blur out the names)

Any kind of system in game that has exclusivity + seasonality together will be gamed to the fullest extent possible. Those people might disappear from the leaderboards but they still get their rewards. It's pathetic.

[Kyrj]

a lot of people have said they want gms to monitor pvp but you have to consider how many feasts are running and how many gms you'd need

\
So like 5?

[Tsumdere]

Which is a shame, because let me tell you folks, if you HAVEN'T tried pvp in this game, don't believe the naysayers. It's actually really good!

I agree. It's really fun when it is working as intended, but there are so many people who use PvP for leveling only (Frontlines) and afk, or people wintrading through Feast. There is also a lot of systems that are super damaging to Feast like no decay and limited rewards. It's incredibly disheartening and prevents me from playing because I know between the hours I can actually play and the people who boost to hell... I'll never get anything from the Feast. I've tried twice before, but the queues died before I could break silver. So why try anymore? I assume that there is many others who feel the same way.

I want to like PvP! It could be great if Squeenix put effort into it.

-

There is a Discord for Crystal server that has a couple dozen people who actively plan win trades in Feast. There is also evidence they buy clears and achievements. Also evidence that they bot to get achievements like Palace hordes/weapons and crafting/gathering. It's scummy and shitty that GMs can't/won't step up to investigate to cull this kind of behaviour.

I know they can't take third-party screenshots/videos as evidence, but it would push them in the right direction. Once they know who is possibly breaking ToS, it shouldn't be that hard to confirm in game via logins and abnormal activity.