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

[Zantetsuken]

People want challenge... they just want it to be less like this:









And more like this:




...or this:





...or even this:





For all the modern technology showcased in ARR, why there is virtually ZERO A.I. in endgame boss battles?


BTW Extra Credits "Easy Games" episode is far more accurate in describing this problem.

The takeaway part is:

People want challenges based on DEPTH, rather than challenge based on EXECUTION

ARR's endgame challenges are based almost entirely on EXECUTION. And not just your own EXECUTION, but everyone else's as well. This is mind-numbingly boring when done correctly, and insanely frustrating when you wipe for the XXth time with a PUG.

Combine it with a linear gear system that makes any reward for your work meaningless after a few months, and you will understand why ARR has alienated long-time MMO players.

[Iriadysa]

People want challenge... they just want it to be less like this:

For all the modern technology showcased in ARR, why there is virtually ZERO A.I. in endgame boss battles?

I don't think you are understanding this thread.

It's not that I don't agree with you. I would rather have a freakishly difficult game with really tough A.I.

This is not what the OP is asking for, however. What the OP is asking for is:


"I want this, but if I don't want to have to react so fast to dodge because I lag, so I want to be able to dodge with a 400ms connection"


"I want this, but my connection isn't good so it has to be lag independent!* And if I get hit, I want it to not be fatal so that I can recover!"
*Note: this is impossible.


"I want this, but I want gear to allow me to survive the hits if my gear is good enough!"

And so on and so forth.

Everything you showcased would require reflexes and latency way beyond what Titan Extreme or Twintania ask for.

So, again, it's not that I don't agree with you, it's that this isn't really what the OP and the horde of goons is asking for.

EDIT: The FFXI examples, however, is what they want. 100% gear carried encounters. Unless you count the whole "OMG RUN OUT OF THE ROOM" thing in Ultima. Then it's 90%.

ARR's endgame challenges are based almost entirely on EXECUTION. And not just your own EXECUTION, but everyone else's as well. This is mind-numbingly boring when done correctly, and insanely frustrating when you wipe for the XXth time with a PUG.

Combine it with a linear gear system that makes any reward for your work meaningless after a few months, and you will understand why ARR has alienated long-time MMO players.

Yes they are, and it's a problem.

But can you explain what depth is there in any of those two FFXI encounters you linked?

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Let me put it this way: anyone that looks at your first images (not the FFXI ones) and says "Yes I want this!" and then says "They should make Titan Extreme less lag dependent!" is a massive hypocrite. Or an idiot. Probably both.

[IgnisFatuus]

But can you explain what depth is there in any of those two FFXI encounters you linked?

i dont know that much about ffxi endgame design, but at least you should look up the various strategies that people came up with to deal with absolute virtue. that is something that you're never going to see in xiv. the most we had of this is t2 enrage and SE will triple check every future encounter to not let this happen again and make them 100% scripted. you don't need any theorycrafting for this game, that's basically the missing "depth" part (don't confuse this with me wanting encounters like AV in the game, hell no).

in theory fast reaction is a possibility too, but not as long as the servers dictate your place in the world and not the client. and they won't change that, because it would require a complete rewrite of their netcode and server structure.