Please move the game away from grind and towards skill

[SethLex]

...or at least make skill an alternative to grind.

Just so we're clear from the start, I don't mind when things are hard to get, but I do mind when the process of getting them is tedious.

Right, so Novus is here and for someone who is not afraid of grinding, but is dedicated, it's going to take 75 days to complete the scroll. So I'm going to guess that's pretty much the time window SE allowed itself for coming up or at least hint at new ways of enhancing the relic weapon. For others willing to invest more time, Novus can be obtained in let's say 30? maybe even 20 days.

The problem is that trying to force your way through this means you have to deal with long hours of grinding BF or hoping the planets align and that a fate with somehow drop a piece of Alexandrite. Maybe it's just me (?), but that's not something fun.

/part 1

[SethLex]

So why not use things which already at your (SE) disposal to make this Novus quest more appealing? Clearly it won't happen for Novus, but I'm hoping this will trigger some positive thinking in the future. Let's say, just for the sake of the example, that you have to complete 75 challenges, one for each meld. What could those challenges be? Kill Twintania in less than X minutes? Down the three pillar bosses (can't remember the name) from Labirynth of the Ancients in a 2 seconds time window? Complete T1-5 without any KOs? The list could go on, but my point is:
- you would make this about skill (yes, it's also gear, we are talking Novus here)
- you would bring more people together in playing your game (not grinding it's content)
- you would recycle old content
- you would make the game more fun
- you would make a Novus obtained in 5 days something to really brag about and not just a sign of insanity

I hope you will consider this.

Cheers!

[mero-ix]

...or at least make skill an alternative to grind.

If you don't want to grind for Novus then the alternative is getting your weapon from The Second Coil of Bahamut, which requires skill.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

While unrefined, SethLex made a good point.

What are the majority of endgame players doing now? Grinding for tomes. Grinding FATES for Atma. Completing the books for their Animus. Doing whatever the Novus quest involves (I don't know, and I'm completely disinterested.)

Is any of that particularly difficult? Does it require skill? Not really.

What are they NOT doing? Learning better/proper ways to play their classes. Trying something different. Consistently clearing HM/EX primals. Challenging and/or clearing even the first set of Coil turns. Learning or even getting to SEE the Second Coil.

I'm not trying to sound holier-than-thou at all. You can lump me in with the rest. The difference is, I WANT to use the skills I worked hard to learn to challenge content that IS challenging. I don't care about the Zodiac Saga, not when I realized it's a grind purely for the sake of a grind. Speedrun Brayflox HM for tomes? Nah. I'm level 50, i90x. I can get tomes doing literally ANYTHING now. Why overlook everything else the game has to offer for just a by-the-numbers routine, for the sake of a grind that serves as a gateway to a grind. . . which serves as a gateway to a grind?!

To hell with the Zodiac Saga and the grind it enforces. Get me into Coil anytime.

[Alenore]

Please move the game away from grind and towards skill
...or at least make skill an alternative to grind.

I think you've never heard about Coil.

Snip

Nobody tells people they HAVE to do animus/novus. They could go into coil and clear. If they don't, it's their choice, either because they don't have the time for it, or the skill, or the people to play with.
Nothing is stopping you to get into coil either.

Now, some people don't mind the grind, so why shouldn't there be any grind for these people?

[r2rknot]

Because nothing about the game requires skill. You cannot click a button in any fashion better or more skillfully than another. You may however see patterns faster than others, and adapt. But its only a matter of time before other adapt as well. The game requires about as much skills a complicated game of Simon. This is a game, made for fun, with a gear grind made to keep people busy and feeling as though they are progressing.

[tOnni3]

Seriuosly dude.... this is MMO game....

[SethLex]

Ok, allow me to simplify then since apparently my original post got translated into Novus vs SCoB4 which was, I had hopped clearly, not my intention:
ATM - in order to get Novus you need to kill 2 mobs.
Proposal - get Novus by killing 1 mob with a crit killing blow.

Even simpler: add a twist to it. It's still going to be a grind in the end, because, dude, it's an MMO game. That doesn't mean it can't be fun or challenging. (!!!)

[Hali]

What is Second Binding Coil of Bahamut?

[Madoka]

It would seem you want this one specific weapon to be easier. The one specific weapon they had already announced would be a long grind and take plenty of time and be a huge time sink to do when you aren't doing other things.

Don't get it