#FFXIVHEALERSTRIKE

[Loggos]

Fundamentally, endgame raiding is similar to Elden Ring bosses - you have a challenge, you chip at it to learn what works, and eventually you overcome and beat it, which results in nice dopamine rush.

Oh, I see! That's a good point!

Unfortunately FFXIV has no mechanisms to ease new/casual players into this and many don't even know that they are missing out and that would actually like to face and overcome this challenge.

I've only ever done Zeromus EX (one of the easier EX fights) and even here the difference between casual content and this fight was night and day for someone who had zero former exposure to this level of content.

Even basics like markers, positioning, sub-groups, countdown etc. were all new to me. I had to read up on all those things first and when I watched a guide I ended up taking several pages of notes and made a mini heal plan.

I went from not even caring which dungeon/trial I end up in because I know I'll get through them even if I have forgotten the fight, to sitting down, doing actual homework and preparing for a couple of hours.

It really didn't feel like a natural, smooth transition into harder content.
I'm a bit of a wannabe tryhard, so sitting down for some hours was ok for me.
But I can imagine that there are other people who (understandably I think) wouldn't want to bother with that much work out of nowhere.

(When you are a seasoned raider this kind of preparation and planning surely becomes part of the fun.
But if this is all new it feels like a huge chore that gets thrown into your face all of a sudden and gateskeeps you from playing (parts of) the game.)

[Ramiee]

I've only ever done Zeromus EX (one of the easier EX fights) and even here the difference between casual content and this fight was night and day for someone who had zero former exposure to this level of content.

Even basics like markers, positioning, sub-groups, countdown etc. were all new to me. I had to read up on all those things first and when I watched a guide I ended up taking several pages of notes and made a mini heal plan.

CBU3 Have never really ever done the transition from normal/story mode to extreme/savage/ultimate well at all.
Criterion dungeons are the most recent example of this, it went from something soloable to something thats nearly savage level, there was no >story/normal>hard>extreme>savage it was just story>savage.
This is why I believe hard mode should come back and be an actual transisitonal difficulty where you can die from failing mechanics and wipes are possible, concepts like light party splits, lack of indicator graphics, markers should all be introduced. Especially now with the whole text thing appearing on the screen they can use that to introduce extreme/savage mechanics in this figurative hard mode.

[Loggos]

CBU3 Have never really ever done the transition from normal/story mode to extreme/savage/ultimate well at all.
Criterion dungeons are the most recent example of this, it went from something soloable to something thats nearly savage level, there was no >story/normal>hard>extreme>savage it was just story>savage.
This is why I believe hard mode should come back and be an actual transisitonal difficulty where you can die from failing mechanics and wipes are possible, concepts like light party splits, lack of indicator graphics, markers should all be introduced. Especially now with the whole text thing appearing on the screen they can use that to introduce extreme/savage mechanics in this figurative hard mode.

Yep, absolutely this!
When I found out that criterion dungeons are basically another thing that requires a guide watching and homework session (because other players often expect it) I put it off again. I plan to do them eventually.

But in that moment (and also right now) I just wanted something challenging I can just jump into and figure out myself by reasonable trial and error.

Something that is, like you say, hard enough that you wipe several times but that you can still figure it out just by playing.
(Without needing the established knowledge and skill of an experienced raider to recognise certain high end mechanics.)

[Absurdity]

It really didn't feel like a natural, smooth transition into harder content.
I'm a bit of a wannabe tryhard, so sitting down for some hours was ok for me.
But I can imagine that there are other people who (understandably I think) wouldn't want to bother with that much work out of nowhere.

(When you are a seasoned raider this kind of preparation and planning surely becomes part of the fun.
But if this is all new it feels like a huge chore that gets thrown into your face all of a sudden and gateskeeps you from playing (parts of) the game.)

There absolutely are, and unfortunately they make for a frustrating pug experience. They join your party, have no idea what they're doing, are (understandibly) woefully unprepared for what they got themselves into and end up sandbagging everyone else.

Which then leads to everyone coming out of that pug with a bad experience, the experienced players because they got their time wasted, and the inexperienced player because they probably feel bad about their own performance and because they might have gotten some negative comments about it.

The complete lack of a difficulty curve is just bad for everyone.

[Loggos]

There absolutely are, and unfortunately they make for a frustrating pug experience. They join your party, have no idea what they're doing, are (understandibly) woefully unprepared for what they got themselves into and end up sandbagging everyone else.

Which then leads to everyone coming out of that pug with a bad experience, the experienced players because they got their time wasted, and the inexperienced player because they probably feel bad about their own performance and because they might have gotten some negative comments about it.

The complete lack of a difficulty curve is just bad for everyone.

Yeah that's true, that's the other side of the coin. Some people would like to get into harder content via "learning by doing" but (unless in that short period where there are no guides) this difficulty level just isn't the place for this style of learning, esp. for those new to raiding.

(Esp. as a healer when other people depend on you and you have to learn two things at once: the general nature of EX/Savage trials and dealing with an unfamiliar level of healing difficulty.
I first learned Zeromus as OT because it was easier for me to get the fight down.

This is another reason why the "just play harder content" comment is so unhelpful. Some people might have to split their learning process into two steps: learning the fight design on another class, and then switch back to healer to learn the new aspects of their role. So those players might have to take a detour first to even get to have fun, i.e., playing healer in harder content, that other classes often don't need to take.)