Stories that focus on the individual should never require parties.

[Ryans]

Isn't this entire thread moot with the confirmation of content finder, not just recently but something we've known about for a year, and how it will be used for more than just raids to find groups? Don't complain about something that is being fixed.

[Alokin1988]

Party content is a good thing but not when its left to stand on its own. If Yoshi wants to keep a good bit of the content in FFXIV for parties instead of players he needs to provide two things.

1. A search function similar to the one found in Rift or WoW. Try and keep it on the same server though.

2. An incentive for higher level players to rerun that content. Rare mounts with small drop rates can be all the incentive ever needed. Earning some kind of experience, renown, legacy, nation points, etc...

[Kowen]

Isn't this entire thread moot with the confirmation of content finder, not just recently but something we've known about for a year, and how it will be used for more than just raids to find groups? Don't complain about something that is being fixed.

You're correct, but the problem is that the content finder isn't coming until version 2.0, so the one-time-only story quests that people are having trouble completing now won't exist anymore.

[Senuska]

To every one who is unsure why solo players play MMOs I direct you to this article in Massively

[Andrien]

To every one who is unsure why solo players play MMOs I direct you to this article in Massively

Nice find. I agree with the journalist too.

[Koroma_tanuki]

MMO games should require groups to do most things.

I could not possibily Dissagree any Harder.

[Zezlar]

They need to find a decent balance of half and half. Either way whether solo or party only it's going to kill the fun for the opposite group.

[DarthTaru]

In FFXI a time came when I decided I needed to unlock sea access. To do this I had to get through the CoP expansion. It was an incredible expansion, both for content and for game lore. I had to go above and beyond to accomplish this and the highs were highs and the lows were lows. Some nights I would have to build a party for longer than I would have wanted to and travel across the world (without instant teleports), overcome difficult situations and all just to fail in the end and have to try again another day. Defeats were sometimes crushing but victories were sometimes some of the great thrills of all my experiences in an MMO.

If FFXI had a forum with whiny casuals wanting instant gratification they would have all been crying to nerf and `make solo` the greatest expansion in the history of MMO's. This is why XI veterans react with a certain hostility to the WoW crowd always asking for easier while at the same time claiming "they don't mind difficult content."
I could solo FFXIV's main storyline quest. I couldn't even come close to soloing CoP. One was memorable, one was completely forgettable.

What the OP is asking for is a content nerf, pure and simple. And why? Because on one night he couldn't find other people who needed it or strangers who didn't sign up to be his personal quest-minions for no reason other than that's what he wanted to do. It didn't work out, that one night, and now he, she, and they, want a game change because of it.

This is probably never going to end. These threads pop up regularly. It's the `casuals` (or just people not that great at the game) who are quick to say "they want content for everyone" but the reality is they don't. They just want everything nerfed. They think they are the bar from which all standards are set.

I imagine once Odin and other open world HNMs are released they'll cry for a nerf. It won't matter that they can do some things by themselves. The moment they see something they can't do, like always, they'll take to the forums and start crying foul, claiming all of these mobs need to be gimped and thrown in an instance that scaled to how many people they have in their party, if any, because "not everyone can have a good linkshell" etc.

In XI the community realized and accepted the fact that it was their responsibility to RISE to the difficulty level of the content. Since the WoW influx, people have decided it's the content that needs to be scaled down to them.

It boggles the mind that after the disaster that was FFXIV 2010 there are people essentially asking to go back to it.

Pro tip: If you can't get people to help you in Ul'dah, go to the dungeon entrance and either follow a full party inside or look for a group of 6 or 7 heading in that you can get an invite from. You know, show some initiative. That or do something else for the night until another opportunity presents itself

[KujinRen]

MMO stands for Massive Multi-player Online. I don't understand why so many of the overly-casual players complain about grouping up in a "multi-player" game.

If I wanted to solo, I would go play a console Final Fantasy. Just saying...

[giolli]

The problem is that any content that requires a full party should be isolated from any progress based elements. That isn't really the case here.

Its understandable that some content and rewards are exclusive to such content. However, things like ranking up in your chosen company shouldn't require you to do a raid or full party instance. Some people would rather be playing the game then sitting lfg for significant lengths of time.

I would argue there are some design flaws in 1.0 that do hurt casuals extremely. I would also argue the community needs to learn how to use the search feature. When people use it as intended its a very helpful feature. But alas, most stick to ls or shouting in uldah.