In ARR I'd like a feature to help get people interested in redoing quests.

[Xerius]

One of the biggest problems in MMOs today is that after a certain amount of time, the amount of new subscriptions falls off and the newer players have a hard time catching up to the older players. You see this all over the place in FFXI today and it's a real issue. One day we had to wait for a level 99 to take the boat from Selbina to Aht Urgan.
I hope that in ARR they have something in play to avoid this exact type of phenomena. They need to give people that have already finished content a reason to redo it. As a newer player to FFXIV I've noticed that if you want to get any type of "quest" or "mission" party together that isn't endgame, you're going to be shouting in Ul'dah for a very long time. Then you have to go through the "mini-quest" of assembling the party.
I've created this thread with the hope of brainstorming ideas of what might entice older players to help newer players. A few things come to mind:
Obviously, cold-hard gil is a choice.
Exp based on level.
Or maybe even a completely random materia based on the helper's level.

I'm sure you guys can come up with even more. ^^

[KimimiAvesta]

As somebody who was stuck for far too long on The Chorus of Cataclysm (and many other quests) just because I couldn't find enough people to help I agree completely. I've been thinking myself of a few solutions, some will be more popular/practical than others -

1) Balance your content! Re: The Chorus of Cataclysm - it was impossible to solo, and a complete pushover with the recommended party. I didn't fail because I lacked skill, and I didn't succeed because I played better. By all means it should be easier or offer better rewards for a Full Party, but the ability to experience content should be determined by player/group skill, not just how many people they can find with an hour to spare.

2) Alternatively, offer some sort of grindable token/reward if you re-complete a quest you've already completed. Nothing of any direct importance, but perhaps something that can be exchanged for decorative items or other "fluff".

3) Make the recruit feature less specific. At the moment, as far as I can see, you can't just generally search for people looking for help you have to check each camp in each area.

Umm... that's it for now, but I really do think this needs looking at.

[Xerius]

I like the token idea a lot.^^ As for the balancing, I think that has to be done very carefully, I think things should be challenging but they should never be a roadblock, like how you experienced with The Chorus of Cataclysm. On the other hand it can't be too easy or else you see what happened with Mini-Ifrit, it's too easy now because of how fast people level, I skipped half the cutscene to get in on the fight and the fight was still over before I started and I missed half the cutscene. ;_; Luckily, I can go back and watch them. ^^ It's good to know though that I'm not the only one that feels this way!

[KoujiMoreno]

As long as the tokens don't lead to something like in WoW.

Perhaps a token that can be redeemed for a set amount of XP that you could use for another class that is the equivalent to a certain amount of quests that could be done in that time frame or something?

[BlaiseLallaise]

The token system could work if done properly. I like the idea of redeeming them for useful consumables such as XP scrolls, materia, catalysts, crystals/clusters, stacks of ammunition, etc. As long as they don't award so many that the market for them becomes worthless, it could work. I could see someone who spends a lot of time helping others rarely having to spend gil on arrows, but in general, I doubt many would ever do that much assisting others.

[Xerius]

As long as the tokens don't lead to something like in WoW.

Perhaps a token that can be redeemed for a set amount of XP that you could use for another class that is the equivalent to a certain amount of quests that could be done in that time frame or something?

Can you elaborate on the WoW thing please? I've played WoW for all of a week. I honestly don't know what they lead to.

[Xerius]

The token system could work if done properly. I like the idea of redeeming them for useful consumables such as XP scrolls, materia, catalysts, crystals/clusters, stacks of ammunition, etc. As long as they don't award so many that the market for them becomes worthless, it could work. I could see someone who spends a lot of time helping others rarely having to spend gil on arrows, but in general, I doubt many would ever do that much assisting others.

I believe they're taking consumable ammunition out of ARR. I like the idea of the exp scrolls though or other R/Ex items maybe PvP related items or cosmetic items or maybe even furniture for the new housing system. Items that have no real impact content wise but are just nice to have and show off.

Hell, even an achievement catagory for "Charity" would motivate people.

[BlaiseLallaise]

I believe they're taking consumable ammunition out of ARR. I like the idea of the exp scrolls though or other R/Ex items maybe PvP related items or cosmetic items or maybe even furniture for the new housing system. Items that have no real impact content wise but are just nice to have and show off.

Hell, even an achievement catagory for "Charity" would motivate people.

You are correct. I happened to read that little ammunition tidbit after I made my previous comment.

[Xerius]

You are correct. I happened to read that little ammunition tidbit after I made my previous comment.

Could still work with thrown weapons though because those are going to remain consumable I believe. They need more variety of those anyway in my opinion.

[BlaiseLallaise]

Could still work with thrown weapons though because those are going to remain consumable I believe. They need more variety of those anyway in my opinion.

It would also be nice to see some viability in throwing weapons. Who uses them anyway?