ARR and Dungeons/Istances timers.

[Abriael]

That's what I'm saying. The way you put things we wouldn't even need instances. Just run up to the cave and start exploring! No timer for you. So I guess you're saying you'd prefer open dungeons then? That's what it sounds like. Also, you and too many other players think "inside" the box. With timers you can introduce a ton of mechanics and we already see that.

At what time ON THE CLOCK does Garuda 2hr? This determined by the clock. In a dungeon situation, they could alter it such that "x" thing occurs at "x" time on the clock. How can you not find sudden changes, both fun and challenging? It can be done in so many creative ways that having timers can give players new ways of playing the game. Split the group up at a certain time on the clock and force them to battle monsters until they regroup. Things like that really get me going because the challenge is actually exciting. It's really not an elitist attitude to want some actual challenge with pressure.

Casual mode is boring. Your way, we'd all just get our swords, take our time getting to a big boss, kill the big boss, divide the loot and whee that's it. Oh, we'd get to explore along the way - I guess. I don't really think it's enjoying the content because you can run up to see a rock you'd normally just bypass in favor of finishing up on time.

Not bad design in my opinion. If doesn't hand you what you want on a plate. Unlimited time kind of does that whether you'll admit it or not. Many instanced things in FFXIV would become piss easy and it's not like FFXIV is hard as is now. Not sure how they hold for ARR.

Have you ever played another MMO outside FFXIV and FFXI? Encounters are made exciting by the fact that they're interesting in themselves, with complex mechanics and multi-staged evolution. They don't need a crutch like a timer to be exciting. The very most most MMOs have are enrage timers for some bosses.

It's incredibly narrow-minded to think that a timer is anywhere necessary to avoid "handing things on a plate". If an encounter is challenging, it is so regardless of the timer. As a matter of fact, an overall timer limits the challenge a dev can put into each encounter, because they need to leave some room for error.

Nightmare dungeons in The Secret World (just to make an example) are a TON more complex and challenging than anything Square Enix ever designed, and they sure don't need a timer to be exciting, because timers are nothing more than a crutch to hide simplistic design.

Instanced dungeons are designed for parties to avoid running into each other and interfering with each other, and to give them some story progression. Timers have *nothing* to do with it.

Please, do set foot outside this little world, because it gives you some very skewed ideas of MMORPGs.