Next Criterion Dungeons - Where do you want them to be?

[Jade_Tyrant]

I'd like to head back to the First somehow. There's still places to explore there, and with Shadowbringers done, side content seems to be the most likely way for us to head back there for new things.

Personally I'd be very happy if we got Feo Ul in the small pixie form as our companion, intentionally just along for the ride rather than helping out in combat, but I imagine that'd be somewhat unlikely.

[Khryseis_Astra]

I'd like to head back to the First somehow. There's still places to explore there, and with Shadowbringers done, side content seems to be the most likely way for us to head back there for new things.

Personally I'd be very happy if we got Feo Ul in the small pixie form as our companion, intentionally just along for the ride rather than helping out in combat, but I imagine that'd be somewhat unlikely.

I’d love more Feo Ul! I was kinda disappointed that we didn’t have any text lines about how we’re the sapling of a Very Important Fairy in the new Variant! lol

[RitsukoSonoda]

Fray for Variant Dungeon companion

Honestly. Completing the initial DRK job quest line should unlock Fray style dialogue choices in cutscenes going forward... lol

[Denishia]

First pick would be Gelmorra/Expanded Gridanian focused. Though I’d also like Ala Mhigo/Gyr Abania focused on as they’re the other criminally underexplored Main City, perhaps something that uses the Ark or Ziggurat, I do think it would be feasible to add in some Ala Mhigan lore/references to one of the routes of a Gelmorran dungeon like how Sil’dah had some Amaljaa. The accompanying NPC needing to be a noncombatant may or may not rule out one of the Padjaal - but the perfect fit for noncombatant talkative and somewhat comedic relief would be a moogle. Which could also be a companion for a Dravanian/Churning Mists exploration of the ruins from a thousand years ago if one goes with that option .

Second choice is Norvrandt. Preferably Voeburt or the Elven civilization in Lakeland, but anything on the First that isn’t Ancient ruins. Variant dungeon seems perfectly made for a decently substantial chunk of dungeons and lore without worrying about tying the First into current plot.

[ReynTime]

if said person don't care about hard difficulty content, its not a wierd take at all. if I had the choice between more dungeons per patch, or variant, i'd take more dungeons anyday.

SE are too stubborn to change things, so I have no faith they will do better with the 7.0 variants. But i'll be glad to be proven wrong

With the way they design dungeons now, which are literally all the same, I think even variants are better. By a hair. Because quite frankly the way you choose paths feels incredibly artificial, like you're in a Disney ride and sometimes the actor/actress playing the character stops to ask the tourists to choose what door to open.
CBUIII is really bad at organic dungeon design.

[DiaDeem]

I'd like to have a bunch of them in The First. I'm a simple woman. Give me more Feo'Ul and Ryne/Gaia adventures.

[Absurdity]

With the way they design dungeons now, which are literally all the same, I think even variants are better. By a hair. Because quite frankly the way you choose paths feels incredibly artificial, like you're in a Disney ride and sometimes the actor/actress playing the character stops to ask the tourists to choose what door to open.
CBUIII is really bad at organic dungeon design.

This. Are variant dungeons these fresh amazing dungeon experiences? Obviously not.
But they are at least not quite as void of creativity as 2 trash packs-> wall-> 2 trash packs-> boss-> repeat while you run through hallways with fancy wallpaper in the background.

[Post]

I’d love more Feo Ul! I was kinda disappointed that we didn’t have any text lines about how we’re the sapling of a Very Important Fairy in the new Variant! lol

Feo Ul isn't a Faerie, they's a Pixie. Not to imply Statice has any reaction to seeing Eos or the skin of Selene in a dungeon where you can freely swap your job...

As far as locations, I feel like I'd enjoy them all enough. They're fine when it comes to theming. That's basically the one aspect of dungeon design they've iterated on since ARR, a time when they were more okay with having dungeons have literal multiple paths and dead ends.

I'd like them instead to iterate on how their paths and areas function on an interactive level. I don't know why we couldn't get pieces like the tavern in Sastasha that actually have multiple paths to choose, be they dead ends or not, rather than at most two paths and both paths leading to the same boss. Is it crazy to think I should be able to take the left path at the start and still end up fighting the right boss at the end?

Also, amid the occasional trash puzzle, they still force you to fight boring load-bearing trash that does nothing but open the next gate. The trash isn't behaving any different, and the variant actions we have invalidate them even more than typical dungeon trash, so why not put in less of it, or have them behave differently, or even have roaming packs or all that old MMO dungeon stuff to try and make it feel more like a 'place' than a series of corridors with a boss at the end?

Like, I remember thinking early on in Snowcloak that we had to use a Bomb to blow open an ice wall, but, nope, it just dies and the wall opens. That's kind of a more intuitive puzzle that would fit a lot of the game's environments, moreso than 'spook these armadillos to change one boss mechanic and how the journal author felt about these events'. At least early Snowcloak had an interesting boss where you used the environment to interrupt its attacks or deal huge damage, and the best way to do it was to coordinate with your team (RIP, yeti). Variant is a good chance to lean into that stuff, ESPECIALLY because we're not beholden to the 15 minute run even Medica2 WHMs or Blizzard BLMs can do for tomes every day. So, more mixing the battles with puzzles, please, there's no reason they have to stay segregated!

Hell, even potd had more puzzle bosses and you can't even retry those if you die

[Gullis]

But they are at least not quite as void of creativity as 2 trash packs-> wall-> 2 trash packs-> boss-> repeat while you run through hallways with fancy wallpaper in the background.

I feel they are, but they are just hidden under a lot of fluff. Its still the same formula of packs into boss, except they prevent you from w2w pulling by putting a barrier on every pack, instead of every two.
Each path is just a different hallway with fancy wallpaper, that plays no different than the others. They could not even be arsed putting a unique first boss into each path.
the exploration and secrets are usually just a super obvious choice of pick option A or B, with a single unique and fun puzzle per variant, that leads you to a hidden boss.

if it had more stuff like those cool puzzles that led you to a completely different areas with a secret bosses it would be way more fun, but alas they can only bothered to put one of those per dungeon.
even tho these are new experiences in EW, and we only have 3 of them, the formula has already gotten stale and predictable for me. Each of them are the exact same, except that you got a different npc, and different paint.

Its just a normal dungeon.5 except somehow more boring to replay (ironic as they are suppose to be the opposite) as you have to wait for a npc, before you can do anything, and have a total of 5 bosses between 12 paths (and only 1 of them contains the 5th boss)

I like the idea of it, I really do. it has much potential to be great, but right now they are so barebones, that if I got a choice between this or more dungeons per patch, would rather just have more normal dungeons per patch. At least it would help with making expert roulette slightly less stale.

[Post]

They need to iterate on the mechanics, not the locations. All three have fun little trash pack gimmicks once. Once is too few if you're spending 40% of your time in there fighting trash.

Bosses could have more to them, too, especially the mini boss. While I'm glad at least the mechanics for those vary a little (expert could really, really use that), the only reason it exists in every path is to pad out the dungeon run time. It adds to the time, not so much the overall experience of discovery and exploration, which I think should be the goal.

I think Criterion on the whole works a lot better because it's what they're comfortable building already. They've managed to have some very creative bosses in Criterion, too. Many I've liked more than most of Pandemonium Savage, it's just the reward structure sucks for Criterion.