Hard Mode {Found It}

[AngryNixon]

Here are some videos of "interesting" solos if the OP is interested in player-made challenges. Including a solo of that Lv99 Qiqirn Mercenary someone mentioned. Solos were done by either myself or another player on my server Roi Beoulve.

Lv99 Qiqirn Mercenary by Lv50 GLA
Lv75 Widowmaker by Lv50 GLA
Lv70 Ogre by Lv50 GLA

Lv91 Rainbow Basilisk by Lv50 ARC

Uraeus by Lv50 THM
Great Buffalo by Lv50 THM
Elder Mosshorn by Lv50 THM
Dodore (Un-nerfed Version) by Lv50 THM
Haughtpox Bloatbilly (Un-nerfed version) by Lv50 THM
Tarbh Uisge by Lv50 THM

There are many aspects of the current XIV battle system which are "broken" and make these solos possible (some of them with relative ease). Just to list a few of the really big ones:
(1) Aegis Boon and Deflection being broken (Aegis Boon at least a glitch)
(2) dLVL-ignoring attacks (Bloodletter, DoTs, Barbs) being very strong on high level mobs
(3) The "return to territory" mechanic being extremely abusable

To add a couple which I'm sure you've seen from these group kills:
(4) The fact cures generate almost/no enmity.
(5) Twisting Vice being extremely overpowered as a TP-control strategy

Hopefully many of these mechanics will be changed (in as little as a week from now). I think it's fun to challenge yourself or you group, but as others have mentioned, there is little reward for exceling beyond maybe farming the NMs solo/low man for selling right now. And with all due respect to the players that posted the Lv87 Ogre video in the thread that got locked, there is no mob challenge that truly requires anything beyond 2, maybe 3 players in this game currently, although that shouldn't diminish their own sense of accomplishment.

With all due respect Kaeko, I disagree with your assertion that doing things legitimately is worthless and/or largely negated by the fact that nothing in this game "truly requires anything beyond 2, maybe 3 players" by virtue of the exploits you have so usefully assisted in bringing to light.

You have, I submit, incorrectly substituted the fact that you can currently cheat the system in order to succeed due to SE's many failings in the game mechanics department as the true "mark of accomplishment" with killing these various things traditionally. By traditionally I mean with a party without intentional use of exploits.

I fully agree with you on your points (2), (4) and (5) insofar as those exploits engage themselves passively whether you seek them out or not in every encounter you enter into and so diminish all our achievements universally. In other words, their universality levels the playing field and so makes their detrimental effect on the difficulty of any given achievement moot (because everybody who posts a video glorifying themselves is passively suffering from (2), (4) and also sometimes (5)). I should say this in no way diminishes their damaging effect on the game and their being fixed should still be high priority for SE. I share your hope of these mechanics being altered for the better.

Anyhow, I agree there are exploits that engage themselves without conscious action by players but saying "Look, I did this solo because I specifically targeted the failings in the game and exploited them to succeed, and therefore those who did not specifically target the failings to succeed and simply did it "as intended" or as close to that as possible haven't achieved anything" is somewhat skewed. For me that is akin to saying "You earned your money by working all day, I earned it by defrauding my insurance company without much effort, therefore people who work for their money haven't achieved anything". Yes that analogy is a stretch but it's the closest one I could think of.

Anyhow that's all.

P.S. Keiko keep up the good work bug testing their game for them. They need it.

P.P.S. Good on you OP for going out there with other people and trying new things.