Remove the hunt until the system works as intended.

[Jow]

Remove sand -> Fixed!
And sorry comparing couple days following a bunch of people in a zone isn't equal to work for coil clears.

[HumsterMKX]

It is not the sand that is the problem....even if sand is removed, the problem will still persist.

[Velhart]

It is not the sand that is the problem....even if sand is removed, the problem will still persist.

There would not be this mass amount of people doing the content if Sands of Time was not in there. True removing it wouldn't completely solve the issue, but it is pretty much an understatement that the item is the reason so many are out there day and night hunting these NM's. If it was just vanity items and alexandrite, the hunting system would not be in such a state it is currently and be working as intended for the most part.

[Atomnium]

Just as a side note, I would like to attire the intention of the community for an important thing.

The OP of this thread got temporary banned from the forum for 1 month yesterday and then perma-ban from the forum during the last light...

In before I'm myself banned for actually giving this information ^^; but anyway, could it be possible to actually have an answer from a moderator in order to enlight us? Or maybe it was just too much nice threads in less than 48h from 1 person (hunt petition + titan-egi finding).

That being said I'm going back silent, kinda don't want to be banned for having an opinion, it would sound like... oh wait :x forget it.

[Synestra]

Sorry but name me a game where you can get end game gear where the mob which drops said gear dies in less than a minute.

Actually now after that HP buff rank A's takes some time to kill with full-party, the issue you mentioned only arises when half of the server is there. Zerg is what kills the enjoyment from hunts atm, when you do them with 4/8man parties they are actually pretty damn fun.

So i suggest everyone to find 7 friends and do hunts only with them, splitting members across all zone and keep your findings inside party chat.

[HumsterMKX]

I don't think we will get an official response.

[HumsterMKX]

Actually now after that HP buff rank A's takes some time to kill with full-party, the issue you mentioned only arises when half of the server is there. Zerg is what kills the enjoyment from hunts atm, when you do them with 4/8man parties they are actually pretty damn fun.

So i suggest everyone to find 7 friends and do hunts only with them, splitting members across all zone and keep your findings inside party chat.

A lot of ppl are doing this, but it becomes hopeless soon. Here in my server, even Rank A dies like under, in like the time I took to cast FireIII ---> Swiftcast Flare ---> Convert---> Flare, mob dead.


Update:

LOL it just got better.... I can't even get the Second Flare off now before mob is dead.

[skaterger]

Actually now after that HP buff rank A's takes some time to kill with full-party, the issue you mentioned only arises when half of the server is there. Zerg is what kills the enjoyment from hunts atm, when you do them with 4/8man parties they are actually pretty damn fun.

So i suggest everyone to find 7 friends and do hunts only with them, splitting members across all zone and keep your findings inside party chat.

It doesn't matter if the hp of the mobs got buffed, the original point was that SE has taken an unprecedented stance in how they approach the issue of open world boss mobs. In most other rpgs, NMs typically have one or more of the following characteristics:

1. They are claimable/party which does the most damage gets the drop
2. They drop gear at a low percentage
3. They have millions of hp and are typically hard to zerg down and can easily 1 shot a party if they are not careful

None of these are implemented in hunts. What hunts are essentially loot pinatas that award players who can get there first. And while a free for all non claimable system might sound good on the surface, with no restrictions to entry, everyone and their mother will rush to get there first, seeing as they reward some of the best items in the whole game. Basically it boils down to this

If you are solo or duo, you are screwed.
If you don't have connections or join an active hunt linkshells, you are screwed.
If you don't use 3rd party program or track down respawn timers, you are screwed.

The difference between the players in the above categories and those not are huge. If you think splitting around running randomly in different zones hoping to get lucky stumbling across random hunts, at least on my server, that is pretty naive. Mobs are camped on my server, and they are hunted and killed no more than 3 minutes after they spawn. There are even spreadsheets documenting the last kill and next respawn time of all the hunt elites. The people who are at these hunts are usually the same group of people, and they accrue sands at a rate of several per day, while the rest are left to pick up the scraps. Information is privy to within certain channels, and if you aren't one of the lucky ones that joined these linkshells early before they were full or know some of the players inside, you are basically out of luck. But can you really blame them for withholding these information? According to ffxivsoul, my server has over 50k players, but each elite is designed no more for a full party up to a maximum of 50 players. Yet they put sands of time behind these hunts which are supposedly meant to help casuals catch up, yet the casuals are the ones that are the least likely to be cognizant of all these and it's usually the high end organized raiding guilds that monopolize these hunts. I don't blame the players but they system because SE can't seem to make up their mind of what they actually want to do with this.

Don't get my wrong, I have almost gotten my second sand from the hunts but every second of getting there has not been fun.

The OP of this thread got temporary banned from the forum for 1 month yesterday and then perma-ban from the forum during the last light...

Why did the OP get banned? Surely not because of this thread?

[Sophistrie]

Step #1: Grab 2 friends. Each form a full party, and assemble those 3 parties in a new LS.

Step #2: Station a player at every outpost aetheryte and report whenever a hunt mob ports in. Follow them, get credit, and record the rank/time/location. Voilá: your own respawn tracker, with minimal effort. Bs respawn about every 45m-1hr, and As respawn after a minimum of about 3hrs, so you'll know when those respawns are due and can send scouts. Keep this info updated with every kill. Once you have reliable info about the A and B of a zone, stop camping that aetheryte.

Step #3: Promote trusted LS members to leaders and start inviting others. You want only active hunters in the LS, so remove offline players and tell people contact one of the leaders for re-invites. Invite many, but remove griefers and flamers, and don't invite them back.

Step #4: Profit!

[Drasken]

Just ran up on a B. Someone had pulled solo and died just as I arrived. Started fighting with other people. I had full credit until it was taunt reset TWICE! No credit. The development team really needs to sit down and actually talk about what purpose this is serving besides just being a giant hassle that most people don't get rewarded for.