new melding system. more casual? no thanks!

[Duuude007]

I didn't really see anything complaining about materia;

4 pages of complaints in this thread. You want to amend your assertion?

[EinSoFZ]

4 pages of complaints in this thread. You want to amend your assertion?

Well, I was more talking about people ingame. Just in a general sense, when talking to others about materia it's usually seen as being a do or die thing. I've never met anyone in my gaming experience who said they thought it was too hard to get a triple meld and that SE ought to improve the chances or make everything materia related easier on us. On the forums, it doesn't exactly surprise me to see people wanting easy mode everything; disappointing? Yeah.

[Reika]

Well, I was more talking about people ingame. Just in a general sense, when talking to others about materia it's usually seen as being a do or die thing. I've never met anyone in my gaming experience who said they thought it was too hard to get a triple meld and that SE ought to improve the chances or make everything materia related easier on us. On the forums, it doesn't exactly surprise me to see people wanting easy mode everything; disappointing? Yeah.

I complained all the time!

Anyway, I had this: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...Materia-Reborn But its ok, lets continue to make multiple threads all over the place ^^

The removal of the stat fluctuation, reduction in impact on multi-melds, and increase in multi-meld success rates was needed and should have been done a long time ago. The current melding system makes many dropped gear unworthy of equipping.

[EinSoFZ]

I complained all the time!

Why? Like, I genuinely want to hear that. From this thread I've gathered that too many think it's too much of gambling thing and less of a skill thing (since apparently, everything has to be about skill). The solution is the just make it easier to accomplish? I fail to see how handing us stuff on a platter is good for us in the long run.

Even if they offset content in ARR to balance this out, it's still an unnecessary move to me.

[Reika]

Why? Like, I genuinely want to hear that. From this thread I've gathered that too many think it's too much of gambling thing and less of a skill thing (since apparently, everything has to be about skill). The solution is the just make it easier to accomplish? I fail to see how handing us stuff on a platter is good for us in the long run.

Even if they offset content in ARR to balance this out, it's still an unnecessary move to me.

Clicking a button never had any difficulty. Nothing soley reliant on a dice roll can be associated with difficulty :/ You get some warriors and white mages together, maybe a black mage, and you mindlessly blow up groups of monsters until your spiritbond guage fill, repeat for multiple sets, then you press convert. Thats never been hard.

They still need to change the rarity of some materia, eliminate the chance of getting grade II materia from high level equipment, and put in elements that make resistance materia useful.

[EinSoFZ]

Clicking a button never had any difficulty. Nothing soley reliant on a dice roll can be associated with difficulty :/ You get some warriors and white mages together, maybe a black mage, and you mindlessly blow up groups of monsters until your spiritbond guage fill, repeat for multiple sets, then you press convert. Thats never been hard.

They still need to change the rarity of some materia, eliminate the chance of getting grade II materia from high level equipment, and put in elements that make resistance materia useful.

As far as converting goes, I'd agree. It's just pressing a button after SB'ing to get a materia determined by RNG. So if it that you're talking about I'd guess we're on the same side.

My issue is with melding. It really shouldn't be easier to stick it in there multiple times than it is now...why should it be? So everyone can get great melded gear a whole lot easier? I just find no accomplishment in that.

[Reika]

As far as converting goes, I'd agree. It's just pressing a button after SB'ing to get a materia determined by RNG. So if it that you're talking about I'd guess we're on the same side.

My issue is with melding. It really shouldn't be easier to stick it in there multiple times than it is now...why should it be? So everyone can get great melded gear a whole lot easier? I just find no accomplishment in that.

Melding is still luck beyond the first materia, but the process stays the same. Select gear or materia, select materia melding, select gear or materia to meld to, press meld button. pass or fail dice roll.

Both SB and melding are RNG based. So you end up with RNG on top of RNG....

[Colvin]

My issue is with melding. It really shouldn't be easier to stick it in there multiple times than it is now...why should it be? So everyone can get great melded gear a whole lot easier? I just find no accomplishment in that.

Currently, It is the same level of accomplishment I would get playing yahzee... none. It is random.... random is inherantly not skill-based so I "achieve" nothing but wasted money and patience.

[Rhomagus]

Why? Like, I genuinely want to hear that. From this thread I've gathered that too many think it's too much of gambling thing and less of a skill thing (since apparently, everything has to be about skill). The solution is the just make it easier to accomplish? I fail to see how handing us stuff on a platter is good for us in the long run.

Even if they offset content in ARR to balance this out, it's still an unnecessary move to me.

In general most people don't like the RNG. People don't mind wasting their lives away as long as the randomness is taken out of the equation. If you could create a system (like totems or GC seals) that give you a definite positive feedback towards progression people seem to like that much more than the RNG.

People feel like if they spend all night without getting a drop or that specific meld they were hoping for that they had wasted their time. For people that have rl jobs, families, and responsibilities outside of the game their in-game time is precious to them. To have it wasted is incredibly frustrating.

It's even more frustrating when a friend of yours is successful on their first try. If your a person with limited game time and you spent all four hours you had in your week while your wife and kids were at your in laws for the weekend and before you had to get that paper done for your college night class it's going to miff you.

Now if you used that four hours and were able to say "I'll get this far this week with my four hours then next week I'll be this much closer to that goal." You'll be much more inclined to attempt the activity.

Some activities will always be out of your reach but you'd be okay with that. You pay just as much a month as all these other people who can play the game at their work or don't have jobs. You're not asking for more progress just more predictable progress. We know they have more time and that they'll get things first. The tease game begins to lose it's charm when your an adult with real life responsibilities.

Eventually most gamers just opt for more casual games. They still identify themselves as gamers. Just as a film buff will still identify themselves as a movie fan even though they might not be a professional critic, or a person who likes fiction will still identify themselves as a writer or reader when they write poetry or read fiction novels in their off time. They don't want to throw away the hobby they've grown to love since they were three were kids and quite frankly they shouldn't have to.

If I'm a reader I can still read Infinite Jest. Ya, it's a huge book that has pages upon pages of footnotes, but that doesn't deter me from reading it nor am I jealous that my freelance writer friend read it from cover to cover in a week or two.

If I'm an MMO player where the game focuses on group only content or RNG, that's a different story. Group content doesn't effect time as much as the RNG could potentially but as the MMO dies down, forming groups becomes more difficult. Forming competent groups based on the current activity adds another layer that the time sensitive gamer has to take into account. {Garuda} {Veteran Class} 1/8 {Please} {/tell} Rhomagus Asclepiot for an hour and a half after work isn't really my idea of a good time... at all. Nor do I think it's anyone else's. You're not even playing the game at that point, your just waiting for a different RNG, and that is who's in Ul'dah during my server's primetime.

It's the equivalent of looking at the book Infinite Jest, flipping through the pages, and reading a random page here and there.

Quite frankly that's ridiculous.

Now I'm not one of these people but I can totally relate to their perspective. There was a time where I had school, work, friends and a girlfriend (that didn't like video games). I noticed that friends and gaming (which I heavily identified with) was the first to go (which after awhile, most of my friends were people I'd met through gaming). Then real life friends, then the girlfriend, as stress began to take it's toll.

School eventually fell by the wayside and here I am picking up the pieces. The game never really got in the way, as it was the first to go but I don't think it ever needs to. Developers shouldn't create games that purposefully consume your life. Lessening the RNG and putting more predictable, measureable goals (such a different currencies/ point systems) can just as easily prolong content as the RNG, and open up the game for all types of players. Those with more and less time.

[Colvin]

...Those with more and less time.

And statistics show that casual is where it's at. You wanna see a popular MMO? try Facebook. It is pretty much an MMO and it is ALL casual.