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

[Roris]

Nothing in his post implies that though. Anyway, most fights are already a joke for hardcore groups, Second Coil being on farm for them for weeks. If anything the on rails nature of the fights makes everything more exploitable because everything can be predicted and you can know exactly when it's going to happen and how. Again, even knowing everything, people can have issues due to the wonky netcode and lack of servers for some regions, so even if you learn to adapt to the lag, the lag will still be there and can still be unreliable. I think they either aren't using the Gambit AI system to its full extent or it just isn't a proper system for monster AI. I mean they already had a better system since XI and in 1.X, the original 1.0 before the team shift even included field monster AI, no clue why they just tossed it out in favor of a more generic and heavily simplified and linear system.

There's also that subset of players who can clear most fights and might not have issues dealing with them or latency issues, but still don't like the on rails mechanics. Of course there might also be that subset of super casual players who really don't know how to play their class and even a smaller subset who are unwilling to learn. If anything it's also the game's fault for pushing FATEs too much and class quests, while ok and some with really good stories, don't really teach the roles properly when they kinda did do it right during beta but then sadly got gutted out.

The game also doesn't really push Guildhests enough when a lot of party mechanics are somewhat taught better there before properly going into dungeons and putting it into practice while also learning even more, then of course there's the fact that the main story is so dumbed down and easy, everything railroads this small subset of players into playing and treating the game the way they do.

[silentwindfr]

I think people would troll groups and make the AI smart so latter phases are near impossible

depend of how you make the whole fight, if the AI is smarter, you will tune down him attack, here if the skill are soo deadly it's most of the time because it's easy to predict what happend. if you take any boss of FF14: ARR now and add a smarter AI, no one will pass it. normal since them attack and pattern are not means to be used by a smart AI. that the same thing with the random in the fight.

you can use the argument, yeah but if titan use 2 MB in row, but MB is deadly because it's a scripted fight. you can't use it in a more free fight, that normal and we don't ask this, we don't say: hey change the fight and make titan smarter like he is... it's stupid and are not even a valid argument. what we ask it's to make the next boss coming smarter, that will had more challenge and be more fun than what we have yet.

i'm part of the people that don't like the full scripted fight, because is not fun, it don't make me feel any thrill, since i can litterally say when something will happend. what is the point? it's like a fight where you can read the mind of the enemy.

i want to add this, and i hope that the dev will see it: "No glorry without risk!" scritped fight are not means to risk they are the easy way! please, give us risk and think the futur content differently!

[Rosy]

Going back to what other games have done before which made raiding more interesting (we used EQ as an example) when you entered a Plane raid area, the boss wasn't in a specified place all the time. He was in an area (anywhere in that area) he wandered, but he wasn't standing there in the middle of a small arena waiting for you to kill him. You had to keep your eyes open and be aware that he could be anywhere. You had to kill adds round him before taking him on. FFXIV coil areas are so ...sterile. You know EXACTLY what mobs are where and it's a linear path to them, you are not free to wander the area or even to approach the boss from a different direction. (except ADS perhaps...but that is still a series of small rooms, not a "free" area). Zoning in to Fear or Hate, had to even be carefully done, there wasn't a "safe zone in"....you could be suddenly set upon by a myriad of very hard trash mobs, so everyone had to be on their toes even before you zoned in.

Just small things, but they all add interest.

[Gormogon]

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Kind of why I prefer CT over Coil. They were more fun and inventive over being complex for the sake of it. Though Turn 1 Caduceus was actually pretty fun compared to the other fights.

[Melithea]

I mean they already had a better system since XI and in 1.X, the original 1.0 before the team shift even included field monster AI, no clue why they just tossed it out in favor of a more generic and heavily simplified and linear system.

Because Yoshi wanted to make the game more casual. Yes, seriously.

[Enthy]

Great read, totally agree with OP/Blogger
(And I have read every page of this thread so far)

As many have said before, Insta Death Mechanics are a lazy cop-out for the developers. I'm sick of watching Youtube videos before I'll even be allowed to join a PF group (I only have a few hours of free time each night... I sure as hell don't want to spend it watching YouTube FFXIV fights! I want to actually play the game I pay for!

Remember when dying would cause EXP loss and you could even down level? Imagine if that was still the situation! Everyone would be in Rage-Mode about our current "jump rope" battle mechanics. I know I've died quite a few times just because 1 party member messed up and we were no longer able to meet the DPS check on Titans heart ~_~

[gti443]

Because Yoshi wanted to make the game more casual. Yes, seriously.

This. There's a lot of nostalgia around here, but instanced, mechanics oriented encounters on a short timer opened MMO's to players with jobs, families, classes to attend, what have you. There's still grind heavy content like Atma/Animus/Novus but so far its optional content; if you have a stable group and can dedicate a few hours a week to practice you can take on the most difficult content in the game... eventually. And I know people don't like to hear that but...

That the content isn't casual enough can be a valid point, I suppose, but some of the suggestions here just contradict what they are trying to accomplish. Attempt caps lend themselves to grinds for whatever tokens each attempt will cost... good luck if you only have 2 hours a night to farm enough tokens to not be a liability to your group. More alliance oriented content could help ease the execution requirements of people who may struggle the most but then the "challenge" shifts to organizing 24 or more people. Unlimited recovery options are nice in theory but the challenge involved is typically shifted to the overall length of the fight.

[Gormogon]

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The issue isn't that it is or isn't casual friendly. There's rarely anything outside of Coil that is equally rewarding (quantity wise) and diverse but CT and Yoshi or any dev stated, "well to bad if you can't completed it isn't meant for you".

The recent interview though kinda hints that it isn't meant for casual and mainstream to complete and that it will ease up within the time for certain demographs as alternative methods for progression are introduced.

Yet that wont solve the issue of people being idle without much of a goal to accomplish that's rewarding.

[kukurumei]

The issue isn't that it is or isn't casual friendly. There's rarely anything outside of Coil that is equally rewarding (quantity wise) and diverse but CT and Yoshi or any dev stated, "well to bad if you can't completed it isn't meant for you".

The recent interview though kinda hints that it isn't meant for casual and mainstream to complete and that it will ease up within the time for certain demographs as alternative methods for progression are introduced.

Yet that wont solve the issue of people being idle without much of a goal to accomplish that's rewarding.

That's how it is. Same with Zodiac. It's too hard to be worth the reward! Yet...if you're not doing coil for i100-110 weapons, people complain the lack of progression content.

No matter what a progression style game just won't appease everyone, and people fail to understand that that. If you're not going to do it, settle with 2nd best.

The Dev team can only do one of 2 things.
Slow down progression like Zoadiac or add more content to keep people progressing.

[Gormogon]

snip

Sadly.

Yet I know they can make these long grinds enjoyable goals.