Do encounteres (specifically Extremes) FEEL different now?

[DixieBellOCE]

Extremes are not Savages, and are not supposed to be Savages.

I remember the first time I considered trying a Savage (E1S), the big thing that got me was how they remove the telegraphs. You might get some of the Normal mode attacks, but you have to either look at what the boss is doing, the name of the spell being cast, or remember a set pattern. This is distinct from Normal content and Extremes I'd done up until that time, which might be rough but at least provided telegraphs so players could see what was going on. You might die, but generally could see what killed you, like Innocence's star explosion being knicked by the person with the AOE laser or you standing in the wrong color of Susaku's platform as the firebird flew around the outside setting the different segments off.

Barbaricca was around the same level of difficulty as WoL and Hades EX.

It was a return to what extreme difficulty is, but it did release during a primary patch cycle which means we didnt overgear it like we do during the off numbered patch cycle extremes.

I've been doing Extremes and Savage since Stormblood. I think that the difficulty level for the Extremes has been roughly same from SB through EW. Extremes usually have 1 make or break mechanic while the rest is more smooth sailing. As for seeing less extreme fight listings in PF over time, maybe it's because more people are actively doing savage and ultimates? In the past, ultimates were almost exclusively done in statics, but their listing count has jumped. This is just my experience and observation though as I do not have any metrics to back up what I'm saying.

The playerbase are just getting better over time, atleast the part of the playerbase that does high end activities.

Extreme hasn't got harder, most of the fights are just much easier this expansion and when an extreme like Barbaricca returns to the normal level of difficulty, its a shock to the people who become used to the easy content.