Accessibility Matters - Content Needs To Be Playable For Disabled Players

[Zhalar]

I'm a relatively new player. I started FFXIV in 2019 after playing World of Warcraft for over a decade. I'm no stranger to MMOs nor hardcore PvE content (I did Heroics in WoW.)

Sadly, the overall feeling I have toward Dawntrail's PvE content is that SE devs looked at it and said, "How can we weed out all the disabled players and only keep our hardcore players entertained?"

Before all the uber hardcore raiders jump in here and scream I should go play something easier... No, I shouldn't. I'm entitled to play FFXIV just as much as anyone else and enjoy the game just as much as anyone else. It shouldn't take me a dozen tries or more to get past one boss in a Duty Support dungeon because I'm struggling to deal with the visual effects and keep up with my motor skills disabilities.

Accessibility matters.

The game needs to be playable for EVERYONE, not just the hardcore raiders who feel the content isn't challenging enough for them.

That's what the high end content in the game is there for—so people who want those challenges can seek them out.

Basic MSQ dungeons should not be so difficult and challenging that disabled players have to make many attempts trying to get through them, often with various side effects (i.e. vertigo, nausea, headaches, hand cramping/numbness/tingling). No, we're not playing too hard. These are average effects of trying to just play the dungeons for many people with disabilities. And I've heard this from multiple disabled people who've experienced these symptoms due to Dawntrail's PvE content.

SE, please reconsider PvE content design in Dawntrail and going forward in the future. If you don't have disabled players testing this content, you need to. Accessibility matters!

[Supersnow845]

In your example here why is everyone either “player with potential disability who is struggling with DT’s MSQ” or “toxic savage raider”

Does nobody consider that ALOT of EW’s negative feedback came from people who sit somewhere in the “aetherfont put me to sleep but I don’t want to do a savage raid to fill that niche”

Like people endlessly proclaim 14 is overwhelmingly casual in its playerbase. Why do we assign (in the nicest way possible) “lowest possible competency to barely be able to play the game” as the general competency level of the entire casual playerbase

[Carighan]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing, why does it have to be such an us-vs-them mentality, OP? Shouldn't the vast vast vast majority of players be between those two extremes?

[Xenoviastar]

No, I like watching people die in dungeons.

[17cupsofcoffee]

While I absolutely empathize with people who are struggling with the difficulty spike in Dawntrail, I feel like there has to be better solutions to that than just 'make the dungeons easier for everyone'?

For example, I think they could make dungeons feel a lot less punishing in Duty Support if they gave you a few auto-raises per dungeon/boss, like they do in trials. That way, people would have a chance to process what killed them (like they would if they were playing with real people!), rather than immediately getting booted back to the start.

[AmiableApkallu]

Framing accessibility as pitting "disabled players" vs. "hardcore players" is a tragic misunderstanding of what "accessibility" is.

Basic MSQ dungeons should not be so difficult and challenging that disabled players have to make many attempts trying to get through them, often with various side effects (i.e. vertigo, nausea, headaches, hand cramping/numbness/tingling).

Vertigo, nausea, headaches… these sound like things caused by Dawntrail's VFX, for which I've seen no serious defense. Tweaking them would likely benefit everyone. For example, VFX that are unpleasant in the normal version of a trial are probably just as unpleasant in the extreme version, if not actually worse.

Hand cramping/numbness/tingling… I don't actually know what changed in Dawntrail that would make these more of a concern now. So, what is the cause here?

[Catwho]

Hand cramping/numbness/tingling… I don't actually know what changed in Dawntrail that would make these more of a concern now. So, what is the cause here?

Back in FFXV this happened to me because I got so stressed out I ended up gripping the controller too tightly.

Mostly during fishing.

But this is why I play battle content exclusively on keyboard in XIV.... don't have that issue. I use the controller for low key, low stress, menu heavy things, like gathering.

[PorxiesRCute]

For me, figuring out and solving the mechanics is fun in a savage raid, but you know what's not fun? Everything else about it. I hate progging. I hate that if you have one bad player in your PF you're never getting past the first two mechanics and then if you boot that person out the entire party disbands for some reason. I hate having to deal with static schedules and drama. And most of all, I hate that my disability means I don't have the energy to devote to days or weeks of prog.

Having actually engaging battles in normal-mode content makes this game a thousand times more enjoyable for me.

I agree that some consideration needs to be made for players who aren't able to complete it, but making dungeons dull as dirt again isn't the way to go.

[Zhalar]

For clarification, I have a cluster of chronic illnesses. Yay me, I won the unlucky lottery of multiple diseases.

1. VFX start happening in a boss fight—triggering vertigo and a headache for me. I'm also partially blind in one eye so trying to follow some of the WHIRLING mechanics (looking at YOU teacups) is not only dizzying, but virtually impossible giving my constellation of problems.

2. Now I can't see things, I'm dizzy, my head hurts, and I'm nauseated... I'm also GRIPPING my mouse hard enough to leave fingerprints and my other hand is tense as I'm trying to use every trick I have in my toolkit to save everyone's bacon (including my own) so we're not wiping a dozen times on one boss because I feel like I'm going to throw up and pass out. End result of that is now my hands, which I already have motor skills loss, hand tremors, and numbness and tingling to begin with... become even worse.

No, the content shouldn't be boring for everyone, but it should also be accessible for everyone. There should be options to make it playable for disabled players who suffer from vertigo, motor skills loss, etc.. We shouldn't be excluded from enjoying the content due to our disabilities. My apologies if I made it seem like an us vs. them situation, but I've seen it so many times that whenever the subject of making the content more accessible IS brought up, the majority opinion is that making it accessible means making it "dull" and "boring."

Well... don't want "dull" and "boring?"

There's more challenging content available. Or maybe SE needs to look into making challenge mode dungeons to address the issue so that basic MSQ content is accessible while players wanting more to chew on can enjoy a greater adventure!

Disabled players shouldn't have to suffer through basic MSQ PvE content due to our disabilities or be prevented from progressing without the need to find people who can carry us. I've done fine through the game up until Dawntrail, but let's face it, I'm getting older, my disabilities aren't getting any better, they're progressing and getting worse. I still love the game and I still want to play it, but I feel this entire expansion's PvE content has been tuned for people who are gearing up for exceptionally difficult content and I'm being left in the dust because I physically/physiologically can NOT do what is needed to get through it.

SE devs need to look at this game and consider the longevity of their player base and the need for accessibility. The average age of MMO players is in the mid 30s now, not mid 20s, and I'm well beyond both of those! Again, I know I'm not the only disabled player with these problems and I also know there's a significant older population in the game... and we're not getting any younger! LOL

[Zhalar]

I agree. I want content to be interesting and fun, but I don't want it to trigger vertigo, headaches, and nausea and leave my hands numb and tingling for an hour because I wiped on the same boss a dozen times before I gave up and quit because I just literally, physically, can't handle all the VFX and split second fine timing needed.