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

[AmnesiaHaze]

i fully agree , there are lots of better ways howto create challenge than the current system , its not really a challenge just requires you to memorize simple patterns and practice em a bit and on the other hand it doesnt allow any mistake which leads towards hostility from more experienced players towards less experienced players

some randomized battle system with actual AI rather than preset patterns would make each fight unique and challenging in a more interesting way, of course it had to be more tolerant towards one-mistake but could compensate that by the randomness factor which would lead the team to more mistakes in total unless they good as opposed to well prepared by studying patterns on youtube , also would put people on a more equal level because it would be more about observing and adapting as quick as possible rather than learning preset patterns and praying not to get a lag spike or get distracted for a second to not wipe the whole party

[Ooshima]

IDK - the fact that each and every one of the fights in this game is pretty much scripted and yet there are so many players who can't clear it, you guys sure you want battles with high degree of randomness?

Don't tell me that some players who can't clear things like Titan is due to lag. It's not that I do not acknowledge that latency is an issue. Because it is an issue, no matter a scripted fight or a random fight it WILL still be an issue. If you can't dodge 1x WotL you can't dodge 4x WotL (if you are that bad luck to get 4 in succession due to RNG) consecutively. It doesn't really change a thing.

If you can't observe a preset, scripted battle it will be even tougher to do randomized battles. It demands higher sense of awareness and able to react and decide your actions and counter actions at the snap of a second. These are all the traits of a top end player gunning for world firsts/rankings.

And not to forget, it will even demand lesser latency and better connection than ever.

And sorry that I would disagree - because coil 2 is a significant test of skill and a step up from coil 1. I have seen players who could comfortably faceroll coil 1 before echo facing difficulties in coil 2. You need skill to be able to push more DPS on DPS checks and gear only can help you with very little. If you don't have the discipline to watch for debuffs T7 will tear your party apart. If you do not have everything to clear T6-T8 and learn from it, you won't be able to clear T9.. Comparing T5 with T9, T5 was way easier (not because of gear, I'm comparing first attempts).

[Yurihyuga]

IDK - the fact that each and every one of the fights in this game is pretty much scripted and yet there are so many players who can't clear it, you guys sure you want battles with high degree of randomness?

I can agree to your points but then we have to consider what is also fun. Wouldn't you have more fun having to make decisions on the go or those decisions being made for you by a mechanic driven system? This is the defining question most people don't watch videos and depend on luck to get past a script that can be read which has a rippling effect through the community.

[Ooshima]

I can agree to your points but then we have to consider what is also fun. Wouldn't you have more fun having to make decisions on the go or those decisions being made for you by a mechanic driven system? This is the defining question most people don't watch videos and depend on luck to get past a script that can be read which has a rippling effect through the community.

I remain my stand that while the idea is good and I'd love to try it (in fact the older FF single player RPGs have their bosses uses skills at random) but it is really a higher level skill IMO. How does one who can't handle instructions like a script handle randomness and bad RNG (image 4 hard hitting raid wide moves in a row, now you DO need luck to get past this if it happens).

[Scaevolicious]

I can agree to your points but then we have to consider what is also fun. Wouldn't you have more fun having to make decisions on the go or those decisions being made for you by a mechanic driven system? This is the defining question most people don't watch videos and depend on luck to get past a script that can be read which has a rippling effect through the community.

It's fun to move on to different, newer content once you've mastered a given fight. "Oh, this time Titan EX is going to use mountain buster THREE times instead of two! This is a completely new, engaging take on this fight I've already done 3 dozen times!"

The original poster claims the most fun he ever had in FFXI was camping sea and sky for years, so I am going to need some convincing not to just dismiss his opinions about what the people do and do not want entirely.

OP doesn't want to make the game easier, but more forgiving (which doesn't mean it will be easier).

Huh? Making it more forgiving will absolutely make it easier. Of those players he categorizes as "casual", the majority of them are most likely capable of clearing the content they're struggling on (EX primals, early Coil 2) and certainly with echo; the problem is they are perpetually stuck in runs with other casual players who are not. If a raid of mediocre players could lose two people and still beat an EX primal, even with echo, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

[Litre]

If you can't observe a preset, scripted battle it will be even tougher to do randomized battles.

I think you're forgetting a key other point the OP mentioned though, that the random effects you need to dodge are not insta-kill mechanics.

What's that mean? Well if you're a DPS with good gear, or a good healer, you can compensate for their screw up. This may motivate you to get better gear or try harder for that gear because you know it may turn around a fight, saving you and your friends time, a huge benefit I believe.