Can we get more ways to get timeworn artifacts?

[Akonyl]

When you look at previous steps, there were a variety of options to keep things fresh. Fates drops were in more than one zone.

While I can understand thinking DR is boring (at the HP levels it currently syncs to), I can't agree with this being any better. Fates are, by and large, all the same, regardless of zone. There's boss fates, aoe'able fates, and item collection fates, and you find those repeated across zones, with different enemy models + easily dodgable aoes. To me, fates in mor dhona, the lochs, or the tempest, are all the same, the enemy may change slightly but ultimately doing the same thing. It's not great content, and DR would definitely be better to me if the bosses had a bit less HP to put them more in-line with variant dungeons or something.

Relics have always had boring steps, and it'd be great if they're better (especially for older artifacts), but I don't think DR's really something to be singled out here. Maybe they could add a poetics option to old relic steps like this which are old+require groups, but at the same time since these steps are meant to ensure those dungeons are at least always slightly populated, I wouldn't be surprised if they never made an alternative.

[TaleraRistain]

While I can understand thinking DR is boring (at the HP levels it currently syncs to), I can't agree with this being any better. Fates are, by and large, all the same, regardless of zone. There's boss fates, aoe'able fates, and item collection fates, and you find those repeated across zones, with different enemy models + easily dodgable aoes. To me, fates in mor dhona, the lochs, or the tempest, are all the same, the enemy may change slightly but ultimately doing the same thing. It's not great content, and DR would definitely be better to me if the bosses had a bit less HP to put them more in-line with variant dungeons or something.

I think you confused me with another poster. I didn't say DR was boring. I just said it didn't click with me.

And if you go back to the post you quoted from, the main issue is that there are only 2 ways to get the items for this step. One relating to Bozja that is guaranteed and an outside Bozja alternative that is not guaranteed. When you look at other steps in this relic line, most alternatives to Bozja zones are guaranteed drops or updates. FATEs early on for the memories weren't, but their rate wasn't too bad and that step could be finished fairly quickly. But you run a 60 dungeon and you get a bitter memory. Run CT and you get a loathsome memory. Run a 70 dungeon and you get a raw emotion. This step is completely out of line with steps both before and after it. So it has nothing to do with DR itself and everything to do how incredibly limited the options for these items are.

The low hanging fix is to make POTD drops guaranteed on any floor. That would be a massive improvement. If they wanted to add an option to get them from something like 50+ once a day, that would also be welcome but just a guaranteed drop on the current alternative would go a long way. Then you know after 15 runs you're done, just like someone doing the DR route knows they're done after 5. It won't take away people going to DR because DR is still better if you can get fast runs and it has drops from the next step so you can double dip. Plus there are people like myself and many I've met doing the same in POTD who wouldn't be doing the DR route anyway, so no loss to DR there and the benefit that we can finish through the POTD route faster than we currently can.

Not to mention there are those in this thread who would try the DR route and have pointed out the flaws with the current setup and the difficulty there is using that route. This step in its current form really isn't helping anyone trying to work on resistance weapons.

[Deveryn]

The low hanging fix is to make POTD drops guaranteed on any floor. That would be a massive improvement.

And the truth comes out. You really just want to go through floors 1-10 for some super braindead faceroll for your artifacts, kinda like with the ARR weapon. Good luck with that.

[Stasya]

And the truth comes out. You really just want to go through floors 1-10 for some super braindead faceroll for your artifacts, kinda like with the ARR weapon. Good luck with that.

Make it 100+ floor then its super fine

But nah you actually wrote it to bait people, SE White Knight honk honk

[TaleraRistain]

And the truth comes out. You really just want to go through floors 1-10 for some super braindead faceroll for your artifacts, kinda like with the ARR weapon. Good luck with that.

What exactly do you think a 15 minute DR run is puffed up on essences but faceroll?

And you keep bringing up the floors that require a fixed party. Fixed party isn't an option for everyone. Other step alternatives provide guaranteed drops from content that someone can easily queue up for. There's no reason this step should be any different.

You're just being deliberately obtuse at this point. The logic has been laid out for you.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

[...]Not to mention there are those in this thread who would try the DR route and have pointed out the flaws with the current setup and the difficulty there is using that route. This step in its current form really isn't helping anyone trying to work on resistance weapons.

Just a bit of anecdote from my personal, recent experience with this content.

Yesterday, I had finished helping 2 friends through 3 of their relics progression via DRn starting from about a couple of weeks ago. So that's exactly 15 DRn ran. Our meet up timing were sporadic, which mean we didn't always catch the server's peak hour.

For the most part we got into the run with just the 3 of us with myself mostly carrying out the weight by doing LAs/Essence swapping as a WHM while they rolled with the basic damage essences and sufficiently helpful actions (mostly to save my cache space by carrying the buffs for me instead). There were like 2 or 3 runs where we would get 1 or 2 stranger who would come along to enjoy the ride, but I also remember exactly 1 of them bailing out after Dahu because apparently it was too long to their comfort. Nevermind that, we pressed on, carrying the burden of an extra missing players and cleared it. And finally there was 1 elusive run where we got paired with another full party of 8 who formed via their own PF and that one run was a total breeze.

Discounting the outliers, most of our 3-man runs took anywhere from 40m to 55m depending on whether we take a few breaks in mid run or I just went on "go go go go!"-mode. Oh yeah, don't forget the 10m queue time too, that also adds up since there's no way we could start the instance undersized until aforementioned timer. Either way, after all these 15 runs helping them, I have say if I were in their shoes without helping hands, it would be very miserable to progress through this specific phase, I wouldn't be so sure if I want to put that load of effort. Doubly so if multiple relics are desired. Ironically enough I did, and still enjoy doing DRn to a lesser degree even today (I wouldn't have cleared all relics while they were current & speedrun PF wasn't even a thing back then if I didn't enjoy them!).

Outside alternative method to farm TAs which I think would be very welcomed to current days' relic grinders (I still wouldn't touch PoTD though!), I would also propose to add the option/check mark to force instance creation just like how Variant Dungeon had shown us in its recent implementation. This would eliminate the mandatory 10m added wasted time per run & remove the possibility of getting paired with folks who just bailed without carrying their own weight, who's also probably unaware that the duty is scaled to the number of players queued into the instance. When these folks bailed, they're essentially forcing the remaining players to carry their weight. This wasn't too noticeable back in the day when 24 player DRn was still common. But in an undersized runs, this hits hard.