Quote Originally Posted by Windfire View Post
BS, I see non tanks killed by the charges all the time, especially if they are a squishier job (any casters or phys range). I've also seen sprout tanks eat dirt taking all three charges. As far as making lower stuff harder, I strongly suspect it's advocated mainly by those who only do rouls w/ their friends/fc, I solely solo queue and exactly zero desire for dungeons to be harder. Why you ask? Because it's hard enough trying to herd cats as it is, yes you can get vets that make the run "boring" but you can just a easily get an all sprout but you group that makes it a nightmare (crap gear, poor/no use of skills, won't listen). For me that randomness is what I like about roul (even if I grumble about poor play sometimes), never know if it's going to great or terrible lol.
If you have max stats for the duty, the charges will not kill you. Perhaps not all three, but you can definitely eat two of them as a non tank. They don't even put vuln stacks on you. Players killed by the charges have squishy gear.

You're also mistaking the request of difficulty. No one is asking for these duties to be harder. They only want them to be brought back to the level of difficulty they once were at. And an all sprout group is a moot argument. Player skill level should not be the determining factor for where the difficulty is set. This isn't anymore true for an all sprout group as it is a group of vets.

Quote Originally Posted by Erzaa View Post
I don't understand what you feel you're arguing here. The poster is correct. The reason leveling and gearing exist is for the player to feel a sense of progression, becoming more powerful. Levels and gear is the RPG equivalent of mastering your art. It's been that way since the days of tabletop RPGs, and I don't see how anyone can claim D&D is a single player game.
FFXIV isn't a RPG. It is a single player game with mmo elements sprinkled in. You do get more powerful as you level up. You get stronger gear and more powerful abilities that make it easier for you to kill stuff, and make it more difficult for stuff to kill you. This is fully intact. Taking on your weekly elite B mark in the current expansion is a testament to that as it gets easier and easier to defeat as you gear up throughout the expansion. However, this quasi sense of power should not come at the expense of challenge and engagement to the other players in your group, or even yoursself.

If you must become stronger to take on the next challenge, then inevitably the previous challenge must effectively be easier. If the previous challenge you overcame isn't easier now, then the next challenge is effectively moot, you've gained no progression.
This is false. There is no truth to this whatsoever.

This isn't a single player or multiplayer situation, it's how a real world concept is translated into a video game. If every player is supposed to always have the same difficulty at all times, there's absolutely no reason for levels or gear at all. The SE team could effectively balance every single encounter around your base stats and damage of your abilities, change up the encounter mechanics, and just make all gear glam.
Again, you get stronger gear to prepare yourself for the next challenge. If you want to talk about how a real world concept is translated into a video game, then in order to get better and stronger, you have to push yourself. It doesn't happen by tackling challenges that are too easy for you. Ask any weight lifter if they feel more powerful when they do lifts that are easy for them, or when they go past their previous max lift. Ask any runner if they feel more powerful by run a distance they're used to, or when they go past their previous limit. Your sense of power and progression is false. Sorry.

And fun is subjective. I frequently have fun performing "braindead content" as you say, because after a long day of non-braindead stressful work, I want to sit back and relax with my entertainment. Perhaps on a weekend where I have alot more free time, I might feel an inclination for something more challenging.
You're correct. It is subjective. But again, if you're not being challenged, then your not even really playing the game. Games are supposed to be fun and challenging. Otherwise, what are you even doing? What exactly are you being entertained by that you can't get from reading a book, watching a movie, or something else that does not require your engagement. No one is saying you can't relax. What people like me are saying is that your leisurely activity should not come at the expense of others. Stop being selfish.

What can SE do to keep higher level players filling the queues, while also giving lower level players a decent challenge? I don't know.

But as it stands, you do have the tools to experience harder casual content for yourself if that's your wish. Wear crappy gear, find the duty you want to do, set it to MINE on PF and play with people who have the same mindset as you.
You're under the impression that I am just thinking about myself. What makes you think that this isn't how I already play the game? I can't even remember the last time I did a roulette. Despite this, if I do decide to hop into trial or raid roulette, it is not unreasonable for the duty to be as difficult as it was intended upon its release.