Forced to Raid?

[Boblawblah]

There's no gatekeeping happening



And? So what? Again, this is a MMO. Playing with others is kind of you know...the point

I disagree, I would bet that the majority of players spend the majority of their time doing solo activities in a social environment. Being in a multiplayer game doesn't necessarily mean always actively interacting with people. Just being around people while doing your own thing is still valid.

[EnigmaticDodo]

Not gonna act like I didn't have weird video game social anxiety when I first played this and before I did LFG type stuff, but the content isn't that bad difficulty wise and the people aren't that bad, either. Though you, of course, might get some fecal runs and some fecal people here and there.

I'd say try to leave your comfort zone a little bit and try to experience the game as much as you can. The 8 man raid series stuff is sometimes the most fun content in the game! I don't favor the 24s as much gameplay wise lol but ymmv

[Midareyukki]

I disagree, I would bet that the majority of players spend the majority of their time doing solo activities in a social environment. Being in a multiplayer game doesn't necessarily mean always actively interacting with people. Just being around people while doing your own thing is still valid.

But those two ideas aren't mutually-exclusive. He's still right when he says the point of an MMO is the appeal of playing with other people. It's defined by the word "Multiplayer". And you're right in that there are solo activities and you're fully allowed to do your own thing and go by the game by your lonesome. However, this is still at the end of the day, an MMO. The focus of the game won't be the single player activities, but rather the multiplayer ones.

Obviously, we shouldn't discredit people who want to do their own thing, but catering to them too hard is going against that "Multiplayer" aspect. The person next to you brings up a really good point that I'd like to illustrate with my own experience.

Not gonna act like I didn't have weird video game social anxiety when I first played this and before I did LFG type stuff, but the content isn't that bad difficulty wise and the people aren't that bad, either. Though you, of course, might get some fecal runs and some fecal people here and there.

I'd say try to leave your comfort zone a little bit and try to experience the game as much as you can. The 8 man raid series stuff is sometimes the most fun content in the game! I don't favor the 24s as much gameplay wise lol but ymmv

I do have social anxiety. Oh I'm fine and extraverted online, but when I don't know the environment I'm going to shove myself in, I basically freeze into stone. Going through Sastasha to Copperbell was an exercise in obssession. I didn't "study" Mizzteq's guides for something that now I take for granted. I went absolutely insane trying to figure out how the dungeon was like because I didn't want to make a complete and utter fool of myself. By that I meant stuff like "any maps? What animations should I look for? What's she doing as a tank so I know which button to press when?". Ifrit was so bad because "oh it's a standalone boss, he probably is very hard" to the point where I cancelled my queue about five times because I was having panic attacks.

A lot of it came from how I imagined the internet would be. Sure, after that it got a lot better because I realized it wasn't that bad. Then I got into an FC and slowly that anxiety went away. I still feel it when I join for Savage content, which is why I at least try to watch guides to have a notion of what I'm going to do. I will fail, I will wipe, I will likely even cause a wipe. But I know now that I can learn and most people will be patient.

But I knew what I had gotten myself into. I knew this was a multiplayer game and that I needed to be in a party with other people. That was its focus, its appeal, and thus I had to respect it, and I didn't question whether maybe they should have changed it. It said so on the label: "MMORPG". My anxiety comes from my own self, from within. It's not videogame anxiety, this crap plagues me irl to the point where it's a medical concern of mine. And while it's not healthy, at times I forced myself to go through content, disable chat and pretend the others are NPCs. Because to me, I paid for the online multiplayer experience, and I wouldn't be here knowing that if I didn't want to.

Of course, this is just my experience, and some likely have it far worse, others have it far better. Just because I pushed myself doesn't mean others have to nor that it was okay to begin with. But there is a bit of awareness to be had with the "Multiplayer" aspect of the label, and unfortunately, we can't deny that it brings along an expectation and standard. It shapes what we're going to interact with. We might have ways to mitigate this and help people with anxiety to feel at ease, but in an MMO, at some point, other people will be around.

[Illmaeran]

I think the best balance would be to have 100% of the MSQ be soloable; including the ability to skip running the CT raids and only watching the cutscenes if you want. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING not directly tied to the MSQ should be multiplayer and completely optional for the player. If they want to go through EW by their lonesome and then start dipping their toes into multiplayer, let them...and make them start at Sashtasha and unlock everything per normal.

The game will only benefit from including the fairly significant solo-gamer crowd provided the non-MSQ stuff isn't impacted. Well, perhaps adding trusts/duty somethingorother NPCs to everything. I wonder how frequently we'd end up at level 90 running Toto-Rak if folks could do it with trusts...

[Atelier-Bagur]

I will say this in regards to the solo players forcing them out of their comfort zone.


I was once one of these people whom had terrible social anxiety for an online MMO thanks to the preconceptions about online toxicity with group content in other games such as WoW. So when I started FFXIV, I didnt know what to truly expect, the only thing I knew was that for me whom was just only interested in going through the story I knew that I'd be having to eventually go through dungeons or other content to progress which requires interaction with other players. And due to how the game made going through dungeons, knowing your class and combat very simple and casual I slowly broke out of that mold and wanted to continue interacting with other players even more.

So I think the solution here is that you'd want the game to make you WANT to interact with players and have fun. Instead of trying to go for absolutes, continue to design the game to slowly ease in new players to play with other people.

[Atelier-Bagur]

So I think this a huge plus for why its important for FFXIV to be this casual, but also is important for them to add in harder content for these same players whom grew to love the game's experience would want to have more fun as well. Yeah I know Im responding to a different topic here at this point but I think its important food for thought for people whom are only sticking to playing alone like I used to.

[Midareyukki]

So I think the solution here is that you'd want the game to make you WANT to interact with players and have fun. Instead of trying to go for absolutes, continue to design the game to slowly ease in new players to play with other people.

That seems to be their current model from the looks of it. Implement Trusts to older content, but stuff like roulettes will still keep players around. Though I personally don't think that's as great an incentive as it sounds, because they'll still have anxiety, it's just relegated to Roulettes than directly queueing through Duty Finder.

[Atelier-Bagur]

That seems to be their current model from the looks of it. Implement Trusts to older content, but stuff like roulettes will still keep players around. Though I personally don't think that's as great an incentive as it sounds, because they'll still have anxiety, it's just relegated to Roulettes than directly queueing through Duty Finder.

I think with the way current FFXIV's combat and class design work to be relatively easy to pick up and play, its an eventuality for solo players to ease into the multiplayer aspect. Its probably this game's biggest W compared to other MMOs whom have more complex systems for endgame gameplay. Although currently that same design choice is also clashing with the more mid to hardcore player base whom want something more deeper than what the current game has. The dev team has yet to find that nice middleground.

[Jojoya]

Exhaustion is a personal problem. MSQ content can be cleared while anxious but if the person doesn't like being anxious they have the option of playing something else.

Exhaustion is a medical condition, not a personal problem. A person doesn't make the choice to be exhausted. The body does by ceasing to function as efficiently as normal. It may be simple to treat in most cases (rest) but that doesn't mean that it's so easy for people to control when it will occur.

You're getting back on the gatekeeping carousel. "If you don't fit my standards you have no business playing the games I play. Go play something else".

I'm fairly certain SE and the developers of this game have a different opinion considering the effort they are currently putting in to make as much of the MSQ solo friendly as they can. As many say, it's more JRPG than MMO and that balance is shifting even farther with every patch release.

If you don't like it that others can play this game without having to interact with you on your terms, perhaps you're the one that would be better off playing a different game.

Like, what significant difference is there between a 24 man and an 8 man? The only time alliance specific mechanics really happen are when you have to kill a specific add. They're essentially 8 man dungeons.

As a few of us have said, anxiety triggers will differ from person to person and that's why one person will be fine while another won't be.

[Hasrat]

But those two ideas aren't mutually-exclusive. He's still right when he says the point of an MMO is the appeal of playing with other people.

Eh, would say your point falters at the very start here. Or, at least, would disagree that the appeal of an MMO is playing with other people.

I enjoy the game for the content of the game. The other players are just background noise.