Concerns about Content Finder, Drops, and Difficulty Settings for EG.

[DeadRiser]

I actually like this idea. Not that I can't complete the content, but the easy setting would teach the new or inexperienced players how to do content or how it's done. And can be a precursor to the harder content.

[Maxthunder]

100 percent agree with op not everybody has time to grind hard shit over and over to get just the win. Some people are average players who for the effort deserve decent gear and for the hardcore the last lvl of difficulty for best gear not stupid better either. Plus they get bragging rights and achievement for it.

I disagree with you on this statement and thats because what ever the reward is you should EARN it not have it given to you. Any decent player can run these dungeons with out an issue so this point is moot. The reason decent players dont have the good gear is because of how the DEV's designed the drop rates, not because they cant spend hours running the dungeons a day.

I disagree with different tier's of difficulty. Reason being it dosent matter if you are a casual or hardcore you can still do the content. It may take longer but thats ok. I see no reason to having 3 different tier's of content. Even a casual that plays a few hours a day can get a party going and do a few runs.

This easy mode stuff needs to stop, there's no reason to have everything on easy mode. All end game content needs to be difficult not put on easy mode or normal mode.

[FallenRaine]

I forsee the loss of gear with the content finder.people going in between servers SE will glitch it at start lol. Say you win the drop and get ported back to your server and its not in your invo....

just see this happening and also the chance of someone ninja lotting you and poofing away back to their server. SE needs to be very careful with how they manage the drop system in content finder

[AmyNeudaiz]

I disagree with you on this statement and thats because what ever the reward is you should EARN it not have it given to you. Any decent player can run these dungeons with out an issue so this point is moot. The reason decent players dont have the good gear is because of how the DEV's designed the drop rates, not because they cant spend hours running the dungeons a day.

I disagree with different tier's of difficulty. Reason being it dosent matter if you are a casual or hardcore you can still do the content. It may take longer but thats ok. I see no reason to having 3 different tier's of content. Even a casual that plays a few hours a day can get a party going and do a few runs.

This easy mode stuff needs to stop, there's no reason to have everything on easy mode. All end game content needs to be difficult not put on easy mode or normal mode.

I wouldn't go as far as to say there shouldn't be an easy mode, but any easy mode should not have end game loot.
It's like how modern games have an "easy" setting so people can enjoy the game without getting mad at it for losing, but a lot of games you don't Achievements (for us this would be like loot) for completing the game on easy.

As for your other point, I agree. The people who have full darklight sets currently are just people who spam content repeatedly or just got lucky and even a lot of the hardcore gamers can't deal with that.

[Amsai]

I disagree with you on this statement and thats because what ever the reward is you should EARN it not have it given to you. Any decent player can run these dungeons with out an issue so this point is moot. The reason decent players dont have the good gear is because of how the DEV's designed the drop rates, not because they cant spend hours running the dungeons a day.

I disagree with different tier's of difficulty. Reason being it dosent matter if you are a casual or hardcore you can still do the content. It may take longer but thats ok. I see no reason to having 3 different tier's of content. Even a casual that plays a few hours a day can get a party going and do a few runs.

This easy mode stuff needs to stop, there's no reason to have everything on easy mode. All end game content needs to be difficult not put on easy mode or normal mode.

Yea, I think you need to chill out a bit. Your kind of coming off as an elitist. Everyone that pays for this game should be able to "FULLY" experience the entirety of the EG content. We want this game to be inviting to the casual players, and lets face it, casual players are the vast majority of subs in an MMO. Thats a fact. I myself lean more towards the hardcore gaming, but I am not so selfish as to only want the best for myself to the potential ruin of this game.

And I cant beleive another person came into this thread with the skewed view that EG content isnt hard. Have you even played other MMOs? I have never played an MMO with harder EG content (from the current generation of games). Compared to FFXI and WoW and just about anything else out there, FFXIV is ridiculously harder. I would say that all the primal battles and Dungeons (with the exception of Darkhold currently) range in difficulty from hard to too Hard for the average MMO player. As I said before either you are a badass or you are a liar, because thats the only excuse I can think of for you to call any of the content (aside from DH) easy and suitable for the casual player. Its not just about drop rate.

FFXIV failed horribly once already. Few games get a 2nd chance. FFXIV 2.0 has one more chance to get it right, the game needs to be nearly freaking perfect. Period. And I dont think anything I have suggested would kill gameplay or hurt hardcore players. If you think I have, then you are being wholly unreasonable and willfully ignorant.

As for the difference in gear from one difficulty tier to the next, I dont know what SE is planning. I just think they need to be cautious about how they approach it. The example I gave was just that, an example. However, anyone that thinks they deserve to get gear that is vastly superior to the Normal mode gear, are not grounded in reality. Hard mode is a step up from Normal, therefore the gear should only be a step up. Not night and day. I promise you I have many casual friends and family that will not play this game if you grind normal dungeons and get gear that makes you feel like you are being punished for not being hardcore enough. And it would potentially be a death nail to this game. If you think I'm exagerating, youve been caught up in the FFXIV EG scene for too long and have begun drinking the Kool-aid.

[Amsai]

I actually like this idea. Not that I can't complete the content, but the easy setting would teach the new or inexperienced players how to do content or how it's done. And can be a precursor to the harder content.

Thanks for the support. And you make a good point about using easy mode content as a training ground for casuals to gain experience.

[drivendawn]

Maybe because hard mode takes more effort, time, and skill than normal mode? Ever thought about that?

So your sayin that with hard mode just being a step up from normal mode that the difference should be like night and day on the gear. I and betting others would beg to differ.

[Yusuke]

A beacon of logic shines through the darkness of the Final Fantasy XIV forums.

You guys don't listen. They aren't saying that jo-shmo can just go in there and play it on stupid easy mode and get bad ass gear. They're simply saying that hard mode shouldn't be LEAGUES ahead of normal mode. It should be better, but let's be a bit reasonable. EG is so involved and difficult for most players coming in they'll be hard pressed. Having a difficulty that's a step down from the hardmode with gear that's a step down is not unreasonable. You guys are talkin' like casual players shouldn't get a damn thing. Many folks who like to play this game and want to participate in EG aren't able to spend nearly as much time as other people and shouldn't be handed a terd for good effort they put into it.

[Dragon]

So your sayin that with hard mode just being a step up from normal mode that the difference should be like night and day on the gear. I and betting others would beg to differ.

"I" didn't say that.

I was very clear about why hard mode should have better gear; it's your own problem to believe that better implies something as grossly over-exaggerated as "night and day" differences.

Now, tell me why just because you're doing ezmode, you should get gear hardly any different than what more skillful modes offer.

[Duelle]

While I in part agree with the OP, I'd be more worried about what dungeon design is going to be like once 2.0 launches. Will we get more of "run to a beacon to make all mobs vanish", or will get start getting "fight your way through the dungeon, complete objectives and fight bosses with interesting mechanics".

On content finder and difficulty levels, I would set it up as such:

Normal Mode: Not insanely difficult and not requiring people to be over the top with gear in order to clear.
Hard Mode: The "canon" version of the instance. Requiring people to know how to stat but not take it to super extremes.
Hard mode +1: Hard Mode but with a time limit. If you take too long you get booted from the instance.