Current State of End-Game Contents - A Blog Post from A Japanese Player

[Bizniztyme]

OP mentions how the fights before T5 are more balanced and the Second Coil is where mechanics start playing a mayor role, he also mentions this for EX Primals where I agree they are somewhat mechanics based but not as heavily based around them so personally it's not as much of an issue. So yes, while they might like the mechanics before T5 they really should experience the Second Coil before forming a solid opinion about what the OP is talking about on that subject, but also feel free to use this argument against myself since I haven't beaten T9 therefore I can't criticize it, which I haven't mind you.

Mechanics are a major role of almost all encounters in this game, not just Coil. Coil is just alot harder as it should be.

[Seoulstar]

I wouldn't mind the non scripted fights. It can become quite boring when you know the fight like the back of your hand. (Even though times you accidentally mess up like I recently did in Titan). But to mix things up would be very nice in my opinion. I'm no hardcore player, will probably never be one. But something has to be done to add a challenge to these fights.

[Kanti]

Flipped through the original while reading. Really nice job on the translation. Good work.

[Sramdi]

Amazing post, and definitely summarizes a lot of what I've been feeling lately and it explains some of the ambiguity/lack of motivation I've felt towards completing some of the end-game content. Thanks for sharing/translating it.

[Zantetsuken]

I totally agree with the blog post, and thanks for the translation, OP...

"Team Jump Rope" mechanics is one of the major design flaws in this game and it places all the pressure of winning on the weakest member(s) of the party. It creates an environment for hostile player relationships, and further erodes the relevance and usefulness of an already weak gear system.

I've enjoyed reading some of the proposed fixes in this thread as well... The idea of a time consuming climb back up to Titan after being knocked off is fantastic. (it could incorporate the 'fall damage' to reduce HP to 1 and put pressure on healing before you reach the top.)


Mechanic-based fights that require memorization are not remotely the same as those that require skill. Skill is gained via familiarity with the game's systems but ARR's boss fight systems are all islands unto themselves. Success in them is determined by their own specific mechanics that exist virtually nowhere else in the game.

I'm not against boss fights with new mechanics, but they should make the fight more difficult rather than be the sole pivot point by which a fight is won or lost.

In FFXI (pre-Abyssea), some of the most memorable fights were the ones that had unique mechanics which ramped the difficulty up, but still allowed for player mistakes and a bit of luck.

• Divine Might (one of the best fights ever)
• Proto-Ultima (Citadel Buster, on <t>, (Run away!) /cry /comfort <t>)
• Kirin (mechanics based on what you learned by fighting the other gods)

One of other neat things touched on in the blog was the fact that a FFXI player could be a 'hero' in a battle by carrying a bit of the weight for the newer players.

Sadly, there is little opportunity in ARR to compensate for someone who isn't pulling their weight. The mechanic-driven battles of ARR put rigid ceiling on skillful play and punish the entire party for those who don't perform.

[Elazu]

Couldn't agree more with him.

[Seif]

The writer is right about stats and echos.

They're next to useless in the face of pattern memorization.

In XI you could tell who is a great player in a group but in XIV there is no such thing. You either follow the pattern or you don't. In extremes the great players cannot compensate for the mis-steps of the less experienced. Skill in this game is binary. You either follow the steps or you fail.

Now that I think about it; why am I working so hard for gear to begin with?
The animus is not THAT much stronger than easier-to-get gear and in the end it's not going to matter that much especially for a warrior.

[Iriadysa]

Reading all the thread responses is just plain sad.

I would never say the game is perfect, in fact I believe it has many flaws and certainly a lot of things that I don't like... but this apology of the skill-less is just horrible.

I guess this is why we start seeing things like the white tanoki suit, the skip to next check point or all the clue systems.

In my opinion, games should strive for high difficulty with low tedious factors. FFXIV does this well in many of the end game fights: you wipe in coil and everything instantly resets and you can try again. And again. And again. Until what makes you leave is not that that the time ran out and you wasted your weekly entry but the fact that you have to accept you aren't good enough to beat the encounter today and Perhaps tomorrow will be different. (Side note: ATMA quest is the exact opposite: high tediousness, low difficulty).

Maybe I just miss the (not so long ago) times when games weren't afraid of not being politically correct and would tell you in your face: "You suck at this".

[Cap75]

In my opinion, games should strive for high difficulty with low tedious factors. FFXIV does this well in many of the end game fights: you wipe in coil and everything instantly resets and you can try again. And again. And again.

That exact repetition is tedious by definition because the fights are exactly the same every time due to the extremely scripted nature of them.

[Iriadysa]

That exact repetition is tedious by definition because the fights are exactly the same every time due to the extremely scripted nature of them.

A fight only becomes tedious from repetition once you master it.

Otherwise you are just looking for blame outside of your own inability to improve. Although... I suppose you could get tired of sucking at a fight. Well, that's the game right there telling you "You suck at this"