Hi Meowy,

Good topic, and one I can empathize with you on.

I think there are valid points on both sides for what was "great" or "bad" about FF XI's HNM Camps.

While I loved the excitement at claiming Nidhogg against a bunch of other LSs, there was just as much frustration / angst / disappointment on not claiming the HNM, reflecting back and realizing you just wasted HOURS of your life with no claim. And even if you got the claim, you had a high chance of getting no drop.

I realize that's part of the "charm" of FF XI's HNMs and I certainly hate the opposite, which is what we're seeing in FF XIV. I agree with Meowy that right now in XIV, these new R30 NMs with their 2 *Minute* Respawn Times and generous drop rates, make it really... boring and kinda sad. We go in, get a kill (if no drop, then wait 2 minutes, try again and usually get it within 1 - 5 tries), and we're done.

There should be a balance, and I think Physic brought up a great example with something like Relic Weapons.

THAT was an overarching goal / time sink that really felt rewarding as you built up for it (a little too epic maybe (^_^; but still a good, long-term goal). Or multi-step Quests and Challenges with interesting Puzzles and Boss Fights, that may take multiple tries and planning, but at you feel great after beating it.

I enjoyed Sky / Kirin & Sea and Dynamis (64-player version when it first came out), and Relic Weapons. I loved *aspects* of the HNMs, but I *hated* the wasted time and loss in claims and the whole "JP server advantage"-type arguments that came out of that, or Bot Claims, etc.

So, I definitely vote "YES!" to overarching, grand, long-term Goals and Content. Stuff to allow those that want to invest the time to work towards. But probably not 24 Hour Respawning HNMs that would probably be overcamped and overclaimed with today's advanced Bot programming.