Player Drop Off and Accessibility/Diffculty

[Supersnow845]

Here’s a legit question for people with disabilities (and I’m not trying to sound rude here I’m actually asking). There is an argument that with the type of game 14 is that having most content accessible to people with various disabilities is incongruent with an average “abled” person’s fun. I’m not saying I agree with this take but there is an element that EW was too easy for the “average” player in the name of accessibility

How “accessible” do you make content for people who need such channels at the expense of the “average” player?

(I’d also like to apologise if any of this comment came off as rude, I tried to phrase it as nicely as I could but I’ll edit it if any part of this appears overtly rude)

[RajNish]

How “accessible” do you make content for people who need such channels at the expense of the “average” player?

1. Allow players to disable flashes and unnecessary special effects (which are not an indirect or direct indicator of an attack). This really painful for people with migraines or epilepsy.

2. Replace AoE bombardment with more interactivity (picking something, pressing something, carrying it somewhere, standing in a certain cover, completing a quest within a fight). Revise damage mechanics from unavoidable or avoidable only by jumping out to avoidable through group actions and using abilities or environmental details, as was the case in ARR.

3. Stop using the "remember the AoE order" approach; instead, consider alternating debuffs and buffs, such as removing debuffs by entering a specific field/location, same for getting buffs.

4. Add more mechanics for interrupting, cleansing, shielding a teammate, and other features that will be more meaningful and no less interesting.

5. Don't simplify classes to the point of being ugly, but give them more scope for working in a party, some unique skills that will affect game mechanics, and not just damage and the ability to survive it.

6. Stop playing for speed and timers, it's better to do a regular DPS check and enrage, and one that depends not on the damage of the players, but on the execution of micro-mechanics.

7. And finally, learn how to at least make trigger warnings, it’s not that difficult, put a caption on the screen.

[Shistar]

1. Allow players to disable flashes and unnecessary special effects (which are not an indirect or direct indicator of an attack). This really painful for people with migraines or epilepsy.

2. Replace AoE bombardment with more interactivity (picking something, pressing something, carrying it somewhere, standing in a certain cover, completing a quest within a fight). Revise damage mechanics from unavoidable or avoidable only by jumping out to avoidable through group actions and using abilities or environmental details, as was the case in ARR.

3. Stop using the "remember the AoE order" approach; instead, consider alternating debuffs and buffs, such as removing debuffs by entering a specific field/location, same for getting buffs.

4. Add more mechanics for interrupting, cleansing, shielding a teammate, and other features that will be more meaningful and no less interesting.

5. Don't simplify classes to the point of being ugly, but give them more scope for working in a party, some unique skills that will affect game mechanics, and not just damage and the ability to survive it.

6. Stop playing for speed and timers, it's better to do a regular DPS check and enrage, and one that depends not on the damage of the players, but on the execution of micro-mechanics.

7. And finally, learn how to at least make trigger warnings, it’s not that difficult, put a caption on the screen.

I really like most of these.

[Supersnow845]

1. Allow players to disable flashes and unnecessary special effects (which are not an indirect or direct indicator of an attack). This really painful for people with migraines or epilepsy.

2. Replace AoE bombardment with more interactivity (picking something, pressing something, carrying it somewhere, standing in a certain cover, completing a quest within a fight). Revise damage mechanics from unavoidable or avoidable only by jumping out to avoidable through group actions and using abilities or environmental details, as was the case in ARR.

3. Stop using the "remember the AoE order" approach; instead, consider alternating debuffs and buffs, such as removing debuffs by entering a specific field/location, same for getting buffs.

4. Add more mechanics for interrupting, cleansing, shielding a teammate, and other features that will be more meaningful and no less interesting.

5. Don't simplify classes to the point of being ugly, but give them more scope for working in a party, some unique skills that will affect game mechanics, and not just damage and the ability to survive it.

6. Stop playing for speed and timers, it's better to do a regular DPS check and enrage, and one that depends not on the damage of the players, but on the execution of micro-mechanics.

7. And finally, learn how to at least make trigger warnings, it’s not that difficult, put a caption on the screen.

I really don’t disagree with any of these but how many of them are accessibility vs just simply “hard encounters easy jobs” mantra doesn’t work properly which is a super common reason given for why the jobs are so easy

Again just trying to understand

[Crafoutis]

I don't see a difference in this example between "Interact with this object in X seconds" versus "Move out of the orange in X seconds" as far as accessibility goes. It's the same finger effort in the same time period. Moving a character via joystick/keyboard carries no extra effort than pressing another ability.

[Alice_Rivers]

The first option that came to my mind was to add an option to the accessibility section to increase the duration of the orange marker by up to ten seconds. Certainly you can't prevent people abusing that but it would give people with slower reaction times more time to move, there could be an option for extra telegraphs too - Like a rotation marker on San d'Oria third boss. As I said, I know there's no stopping people who don't need those options switching them on but if it helps people who actually need them I don't see the harm.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

Recoloring the AoE marker. Why is that not a thing yet?

[RajNish]

I really don’t disagree with any of these but how many of them are accessibility vs just simply “hard encounters easy jobs” mantra doesn’t work properly which is a super common reason given for why the jobs are so easy

Again just trying to understand

I never mentioned simplifying the jobs. I'm talking about a more intelligent combo mechanism (like in PvP, for example) and the addition of some unique skills. And it would be a good idea to remove the positioning for the melee.

I don't see a difference in this example between "Interact with this object in X seconds" versus "Move out of the orange in X seconds" as far as accessibility goes.

I see the difference. I find it much more convenient to kill adds in a specific order, detonate bombs around the boss or collapse pillars on it, or go behind a wall to reflect damage, destroy the "supercomputer" cores and disable the power, or manipulate buffs and debuffs, than to endlessly and almost instantly run out of circles that are also difficult to see. The timer is different, but there's still plenty to do, and inactivity leads to a wipe.

Roughly speaking, some people lack quick motor reactions, but they have tactical thinking. Let's not confuse dumbing down the game with making it accessible.

[Crafoutis]

The timer is different, but there's still plenty to do, and inactivity leads to a wipe.

If the timing is the same, the quick motor reactions are the same is my point, I pointed that out specifically.

Your scenario changed the words in my mouth, you weren't refuting what I said, you painted a new scenario to refute.

[RajNish]

If the timing is the same, the quick motor reactions are the same is my point.

The timer is different, but there's still plenty to do

It seems you've confused yourself and come up with the same timing. I'll leave you to argue with yourself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯