The MSQ Endwalker Trial Bosses are WAY too hard for newer players to FFXIV

[van_arn]

Except now you've made the experience worse for those "good players" because we, apparently, have to coddle people who can't be bothered to learn how mechanics work. Despite being a new player back in Heavensward who took ten months to even complete the MSQ, I was still quite disappointed that the supposedly all powerful Thordan—a boss based on the iconic Knights of Round summon—was such a laughable chump players ignored every single mechanic, stood in everything and just slaughtered him. Even I just stood in his AoEs once I realized they weren't actually going to kill me. While it didn't ruin my enjoyment of Heavensward, it absolutely cheapened the climax. Meanwhile, I used to love getting Shinryu because he actually felt threatening for a story boss. Likewise, I like seeing that Zodiark and Hydaelyn aren't total pushovers in the story. Relatively speaking, that is.

This game already goes far out of its way to down everything down to super easy mode. We don't need literally every non-Savage content to give out participation ribbons.

Completely. I want the msq to be “easy” as the 83 and 89 trials are now, not “free” as anticlimactic as the fight with Thordan/Ultima is.

[Dewslam]

Zodiark is easy. Just follow the player marked with a triangle.

I'm going to throw my hat in to say that this is exactly why so many people find the trial, and similar trials over the years, hard. They aren't learning the mechanics but, instead, rely on following someone who already has (or is using an addon to tell them what to do) without actually adapting to the tells and processing the information for themselves. So when people wind up in groups where there isn't a guide, then whoops it's time to wipe.

[NishaSetsuya]

Even that's somewhat like the second boss in Mt Gulg, just less obvious about where to look to see the safe spots.

There even a giant line to show you where to look at

[Avidria]

There even a giant line to show you where to look at

I will admit I did not know WTF that line was supposed to mean at first, I just assumed it was where an aoe was coming from or maybe a knockback or something lmfao. Seems obvious now given the, y'know, arrows pointing outward buuuut... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But... yeah. I still don't think this fight was any more difficult than any other story trial has been. It just seems like it cause everything else is old content everybody overgears by now, and that "old" players have been doing in roulettes for ages and (theoretically) know pretty well already.

[Dewslam]

There even a giant line to show you where to look at

It, shamefully, took me three wipes to realize how the stars falling related to the patterns on the floor, but given that all but one or two people in the group were new I'm just glad I wasn't the only one who was that dumb. Once we cottoned on to it and shared with one another what we thought we were supposed to do, it went way smoother and we kicked his ass the next time.

[HyoMinPark]

There’s honestly no need to make MSQ trial bosses that hard.

This is the same argument that was used for Final Steps of Faith. Royal Menagerie. Castrum Fluminis. The Dancing Plague. The Dying Gasp. The trials aren’t hard—they just aren’t Thordan normal mode where you can turn off your brain and win. Some may take a couple tries to understand the mechanics, and that’s fine. I think it’s quite normal for the average player to be blinded and awed by the spectacle of the fight the first time, and not pick up on all the mechanics. But they aren’t hard or extreme or impossible in any way. I don’t want to see them get any easier. I’d rather the “big bad trial bosses” actually feel like “big bad trial bosses” and not just glorified dungeon bosses with a 10-minute fight.

I’m also astounded at the notion that any of these mechanics are “savage-level” mechanics. It’s extremely obvious that the people saying this have never set a foot into a Savage fight if you think Zodiark NM has “savage-level” mechanics.

It took them a while to nerf the final trial in Stormblood and the outcry on that one's difficulty was a lot more prevalent than what I'm seeing about EW.

As far as I’m aware, Shinryu was never nerfed. He was just eventually outgeared. Same with Hades. Which will happen to all of the end of the expansion trial for EW. But they never nerfed Shinryu’s damage or mechanics. His mechanics weren’t even that hard—most were things that could be seen in ARR trials or in a dungeon (e.g., the chains were in The Vault).

[MaelleRiou]

But they aren't for newer players. They're for players who have already leveled all the way up to 80+. You're no longer a sprout once you get into Endwalker. How do you get all the way to 80 and not know even the basic mechanic indicators that are used in almost every fight?

[Unsung_Wanderer]

Not really "new" anymore if you're doing Endwalker MSQ, but ok.

[Havenchild]

If you are doing 80+ level content, and expecting an "easy" brain dead experience, I'm sorry but I think you have a rather skewed and uninformed opinion. Granted I have known and played with players that absolutely are that smooth brain that they cannot possible handle 3 things to look at and critically think at the same time.

I do not however believe the game should be cattered to these individuals though and I think it's an epic backstep if it was any further. Steps of Faith was the biggest misstep SE made, by nerfing the overall encounter and the dragonkiller mechanic to a verified moving Striking Dummy.

[Rolder50]

If you have gotten to level 80+ and still not gotten a grasp of the game, I don't think the problem is the trials.