"In from the cold" was fine. Please keep trying new things, SE (spoilers)

[JanVanding]

I liked in from the cold a lot. The fact you can't just unga bunga bruteforce it and have to actually think, observe and weigh up your surroundings was a nice touch.

I dunno how anyone can actually dislike this section.

[Vexander]

Speaking for myself, this was the one thing in the expansion that killed my enjoyment of the game.

I don't like timers. At all. So, that stressed me out right from the start. That said, if there hadn't been a timer going like that, it wouldn't have been a problem until the end when you have a quick time event. I panicked and spammed my keyboard and must've hit enter because chat opened which means none of the inputs were being accepted for the quicktime event and it failed almost instantly. Just spamming one or two keys was not cutting it.

Failing because of that, was not a good time.

[JanVanding]

Speaking for myself, this was the one thing in the expansion that killed my enjoyment of the game.

I don't like timers. At all. So, that stressed me out right from the start. That said, if there hadn't been a timer going like that, it wouldn't have been a problem until the end when you have a quick time event. I panicked and spammed my keyboard and must've hit enter because chat opened which means none of the inputs were being accepted for the quicktime event and it failed almost instantly. Just spamming one or two keys was not cutting it.

Failing because of that, was not a good time.

It's a 30 minute timer which is common for these types of sections, instead of being nestled in a corner they make it more prominent to give you a sense of urgency.

And the limited abilities and having to scrounge health kits is intentional, for obvious reasons.

It's intended to instill you with a sense of dread, futility and panic so the fact you did feel those emotions means the quest did exactly what it was intended to do

[hydralus]

The quest actually holds your hand a lot. The enemies do less damage the lower the HP you have.

[Vexander]

It's a 30 minute timer which is common for these types of sections, instead of being nestled in a corner they make it more prominent to give you a sense of urgency.

Yes, exactly this. I did not like this. I don't play to have anxiety attacks, I play to relax and have fun.

And the limited abilities and having to scrounge health kits is intentional, for obvious reasons.

Didn't have a problem with this at all. I've never minded the RP trials where you play as someone else. The scrounging for health kits felt like a creative way to reinforce how different the WoL is, and I appreciated that.

It's intended to instill you with a sense of dread, futility and panic so the fact you did feel those emotions means the quest did exactly what it was intended to do

Yes, and therein is my problem: the intent of the quest. Like I said, I play to relax and have fun, not to suffer anxiety/panic attacks, only to fail at the very end because of a quick time event and hitting a key that opened chat, nullifying all inputs for said quicktime event.

To give a comparison, it made me think of, 'The Maw,' in World of Warcraft's latest expansion. Prior to the 9.1 patch, the Maw was designed to be intentionally frustrating, not allowing players to mount, choking it with hazards and mobs that would follow you around half the place before leashing back. None of it was, 'threatening,' or, 'menacing.' It was annoying.

To intentionally design a part of a game to be frustrating or annoying rather than fun feels counterintuitive to the purpose of what a game is supposed to be: Fun. Granted everyone will have a different definition of what is fun, and mine is no more or less valid than anyone else's. I'm just stating what I found unenjoyable about this part of the game.

[SeverianLyonesse]

Yes, exactly this. I did not like this. I don't play to have anxiety attacks, I play to relax and have fun.

Different games are designed to offer different experiences. FF XIV might just not be the experience you are looking for, but that doesn't make it any less valid for targeting experiences you find unpleasant.

I found it unpleasant because it was just a poorly handled plot arc. Not because it wanted to instill certain emotions.

[DrFlesh]

Same, it wasn't even hard. I cleared in on first try with a lot of time to spare. People just doesn't want to use their head.

when arr released one of the msq fights had a monster use a poison on you that you had to cure with an antidote, there was a 50 page thread on the forum qqing about the quest needing a nerf because opening your bag and using an antidote was hard (you even got a couple of those on a early quest)

[Vexander]

Different games are designed to offer different experiences. FF XIV might just not be the experience you are looking for, but that doesn't make it any less valid for targeting experiences you find unpleasant.

I found it unpleasant because it was just a poorly handled plot arc. Not because it wanted to instill certain emotions.

My issue was more on the mechanics side of it, rather than the immersion side of it.

Stress because, "OMG what is going to happen to the Scions," is perfectly fine, it's part of a good story, and a good story has moments of suspense.

Stress because, "WTF there's a timer on crack over here," and, "I failed because I hit a key that opened chat," are not elements of a good story or gameplay (in my opinion which is, again, no more or less valid than anyone else's).

I didn't even mind the fact that nothing really happened while your body was stolen, because I honestly had my doubts anything would happen to begin with. Y'shtola was present and would spot something wrong a mile away (and more or less did).

[JanVanding]

Different games are designed to offer different experiences. FF XIV might just not be the experience you are looking for, but that doesn't make it any less valid for targeting experiences you find unpleasant.

I found it unpleasant because it was just a poorly handled plot arc. Not because it wanted to instill certain emotions.

I saw it differently, it felt like violation and made me hate Fandaniel whom up until the Tower of Zot I'd wrote off as a bit of a C list villain.

What happened increased his threat level to us and builds his threat level further with each part after. While a certain Garlean turned out to be a bit of Red Herring, Fandaniel elevated quite substantially to become one of my top 5 FF villains.

Not bad at all for a Villain I had got used to calling DamnDaniel.

[Loonies]

Try new things, yes keep it as a side quest and see how many player do the quest. Nothing against this, but place it in the main quest line reminds my to much to the WoW developers, lets do this in a way so the players must do it and we can say oh look the players like it.