The Formula won't change

[KillaKilala]

I'm curious... How do you read the patch notes for the upcoming 7.1 and come to the conclusion that the game caters to casuals?

Us casuals, all we're getting is 3 hours of story, and 45min per week to repeat ad nauseum the same 24 man raid, at best. Raiders are getting the new Chaotic, a new Ultimate, the next Unreal and a new Extreme trial.

And I assure you, it's very possible for casuals to complete all the casual content. I know, because I've done it. From ARR to DT, it takes around 3,5 - 4 years to complete every single piece of casual content, and then you're left with FATEs and Hunts.

All I have to look forward to for the next 4 months is attempting my solo Deep Dungeon runs.

In my personal opinion, they need to tone back on all the endgame hardcore raids and give casuals more interesting and fun things to do.

I’m judging by the previous expansions. In EW we got variant dungeons, island sanctuary, relics with zero grind. Not to mention devs are too scared to make content more difficult, in the LL Yoshi-P said that the 7.1 dungeon will be easier than the expert dungeons… For real? Were these difficult? You can fail multiple mechanics and still survive so what I do is I just ignore these mechanics. Why would I care about the aoes if they’re not going to kill me? Devs probably want to make the MSQ as accessible as possible, but maybe it’s better not to tie content to the msq or let giga casuals go straight to the explorer mode.

[Erzaa]

I’m judging by the previous expansions. In EW we got variant dungeons, island sanctuary, relics with zero grind.

Endwalker also came with two Ultimates, the usual amount of Unreals, Extremes and Savages and Criterion dungeons, which weren't harder dungeons, they were Extreme - Savage level difficulty. The hardcore crowd was perfectly catered to in Endwalker as well. This time around, raiders are getting a completely new type of hardcore raid as well as all the previous raids. If the raid succeeds or fails like Criterion, that remains to be seen.

Not to mention devs are too scared to make content more difficult, in the LL Yoshi-P said that the 7.1 dungeon will be easier than the expert dungeons… For real? Were these difficult? You can fail multiple mechanics and still survive so what I do is I just ignore these mechanics.

If anything, the devs can't scale content properly. They make casual content way too easy, they make raiding content way too hard. I've neither the patience, nor the energy, and time, to waste, banging my head against a wall, progging a fight. I leave that to the younger, more energetic, more skilled and experienced players. It's not for me. That also doesn't mean I want everything to be a joke. But, no, I don't feel like the MSQ content should be any harder than it is. It's supposed to be for everyone.

Having said that, you answered your own question

Devs probably want to make the MSQ as accessible as possible, but maybe it’s better not to tie content to the msq or let giga casuals go straight to the explorer mode.

You're not going to convince a corporation that's interested in profit, to stop catering to the very casual playerbase who want to breeze by the story without stress. That would lose them money. The MSQ is designed to be played by the lowest common denominator.

And the "giga casuals" are paying the same subscription you are. And all they get is the MSQ, and little bits of content like beast tribes or whatever. Most of them are probably happy with it. You're not going to find them joining your PF Savage prog. You're still going to get your hard and challenging content later. There's absolutely no reason to deride them for enjoying their entertainment differently to how you enjoy yours.

A neat solution could be a difficulty setting, you could choose a Normal or Hard version of the dungeon. But that would be hard to implement, as difficulty levels would segregate the playerbase, and then, how would the be handled in the DF? And, as I said before, they don't seem to have a middle ground. Everything is too easy or too hard and team oriented. They're terrible at just designing a Normal difficulty mode. I'm sure it's partly to how they design their content too. Once you've repeated the same fight with zero variations for the upteenth time, it's bound to get boring.

You can fail multiple mechanics and still survive so what I do is I just ignore these mechanics. Why would I care about the aoes if they’re not going to kill me?

Sure, play like you want to play. But, you need to understand that you're not the only player in the game, other players may have disabilities, may have difficulties reading queues, maybe they're zoned out that day and tired... any number of things. And those players may find it harder than you do.

[Volgia]

Endwalker also came with two Ultimates, the usual amount of Unreals, Extremes and Savages and Criterion dungeons, which weren't harder dungeons, they were Extreme - Savage level difficulty. The hardcore crowd was perfectly catered to in Endwalker as well. This time around, raiders are getting a completely new type of hardcore raid as well as all the previous raids. If the raid succeeds or fails like Criterion, that remains to be seen.

So Ultimates aside, is there a reason you wouldn't like to try Unreals or Extremes? I agree that there should be more variety of content, and I'm hoping a new Bozja like zone could intersect the Hardcore and Casual group of players into something fun, but since you have 4 months of "nothing to do", wouldn't it be nice to try them?

Like I swear if you go into a PF on a fresh or blind party no one will get angry at you for messing up.

[Erzaa]

So Ultimates aside, is there a reason you wouldn't like to try Unreals or Extremes? I agree that there should be more variety of content, and I'm hoping a new Bozja like zone could intersect the Hardcore and Casual group of players into something fun, but since you have 4 months of "nothing to do", wouldn't it be nice to try them?

Like I swear if you go into a PF on a fresh or blind party no one will get angry at you for messing up.

I did the ARR and HW EX's synced, they were nice. But from SB onward, they seemed to change, the mechanics just became more and more punishing. I don't know, maybe the ARR and HW ones were more punishing on release, and because I came in late and had the benefit of the Allagan tomestones gear, they were easier?

It took around 1 - 2 hours to complete each of them.

I jumped back in recently with the Zoraal Ja EX with some friends, we put up a PF for an extra two people, and it just wasn't any fun. I wasn't coordinated enough for that silly stack moving mechanic. We tried for an hour, and even though the PF said blind and practice, we still had people jumping in and out constantly, after the second or third wipe.

Edit: I also really enjoyed doing the blue mage challenges for the titles and the rewards (the umbrella)

That kind of content seems to be the perfect difficulty for me.

It's not fun to me. All respect to those of you who enjoy it, play it to your heart's content, but I much prefer the slow solo deep dungeons challenge. I don't have to wait for other people, I don't have to watch them get frustrated and leave, I don't have to feel bad about my mistakes and I can just go again and learn at my own pace.

[Volgia]

I did the ARR and HW EX's synced, they were nice. But from SB onward, they seemed to change, the mechanics just became more and more punishing. I don't know, maybe the ARR and HW ones were more punishing on release, and because I came in late and had the benefit of the Allagan tomestones gear, they were easier?

It took around 1 - 2 hours to complete each of them.

I jumped back in recently with the Zoraal Ja EX with some friends, we put up a PF for an extra two people, and it just wasn't any fun. I wasn't coordinated enough for that silly stack moving mechanic. We tried for an hour, and even though the PF said blind and practice, we still had people jumping in and out constantly, after the second or third wipe.

Edit: I also really enjoyed doing the blue mage challenges for the titles and the rewards (the umbrella)

That kind of content seems to be the perfect difficulty for me.

It's not fun to me. All respect to those of you who enjoy it, play it to your heart's content, but I much prefer the slow solo deep dungeons challenge. I don't have to wait for other people, I don't have to watch them get frustrated and leave, I don't have to feel bad about my mistakes and I can just go again and learn at my own pace.

It sounds to me like you enjoy the single-player experience more than group content? I mean... things like blue mage content or even the Fall Guys event mechs can trip you up, but I guess the stress you mention comes less from the content and more the pressure of the people around you.

I understand the feeling, but I just like the direction the game is taking by including more group content and just leaning more onto the fact that this is an MMO.