How to fix FATES (and to a degree marks) in three easy steps

[Saccharin]

1. Add complications and variables. Players don't mind having to use a strategy. As a rule, half the FATEs should not be able to be completed with only 1 class, much less one person.

More interesting mechanics come with problems. First of all, open world content can't be too challenging because you have lots of uncoordinated people. Do you want taunt wars with multiple tanks trying to take control of the boss and wiping rest.

There's also the repetition. FATES are basically grinding content whether it's for XP, ATMA or seals. While complex FATES might be fun at first you'll likely get sick after to 100th one.

Group FATES only work when there's enough people to group with otherwise they are just there until they despawn. Improved scaling tech is a better solution.

2. Create a hard mode. All those fates where the guy stands there and waits for someone to open the FATE? Yeah. Plenty of opportunity to make FATEs specifically for the level 50s who want extra challenge (they show show on the map as a different color) instead of having a bunch of fully decked pcs completely negate the new guys who are using the FATEs to level. On its own, level sync is not a challenge it's a replay.

ARR just isn't that kind of game and people just need to accept that. Most MMO players just aren't into that kind of thing. Carbine just launched Wildstar as this hardcore MMO but it'll come back to kick them on the arse later, mark my words. If you want to get frequent updates you want to cater for as many players as you can. If you put in hardcore content then you also have to have a more forgiving version because creating content for a small amount of your player base just doesn't make business sense. The brutal, or was it savage, version of Coil is SE testing how multiple dificuilties work out. If only a very small percentage do it then it's just not viable.

3. FATE Actions. FATEs are supposed to be people coming to together, but has anyone made a friend through a FATE? (Not a FATE party, an actual FATE). Do people work together during a FATE or is it mindless?

We need better grouping options I think. In Rift you can set your party to public and at the top of the screen, when there's an open world event and an available party, you can join it. To do this they would have to make parties much bigger, eight is just not big enough. Keep instanced content for at most eight people because frankly anything larger and you struggle to recruit later down the line. The days of 40 man raids are gone.

FATEs only need 2 things

1. more chain FATEs
Like the one in northern Thanalan, where it start easy and the difficulty increase with every next FATE in the chain. And at the end a hard boss fight.

Yes, they need to be more involved and tell a story not that some vegetable monster has appeared and he looks evil so must be killed. Give us a story. SE have done a great job with the patch main story. I liked the FATE in the Highlands that started at Camp Dragonhead and ended at the Steel[?] Vigil and the big dragon. These are the kind of FATES I want to see.

2. more variety
In moment we have gathering FATEs, escourt FATEs, protect FATEs and "hitting the enemies with the weapon until they die" FATEs. There need to be more mechanics in the FATEs.

We need to have fewer FATES but yes more variety. Being open world content the complexity has to be limited. One shot mechanics for example just don't work well with many uncoordinated people.

The main problem FATEs seem to have is lack of decent non-XP rewards currently. GC seals are worth very little and easy to collect elsewhere and the Gil rewards barely cover repairs.

This isn't an issue with seals but rather there need to be seal dumps for a want of a better word. I finished doing my ATMA chain and managed to accumulated a lot of seals. I dumped them mainly in ventures. there needs to be more seal dumps. Maybe crafting mats. Just a suggestion but stuff like that.

My suggestion would be to give the following Fates the following Allied Seal rewards for successful (Gold) completion:

Hell, hell no. It doesn't matter the conversion ratio. Hunts were given a separate currency for a reason, SE didn't want to tie them to FATES - remember those things people said they were sick of grinding. Currently the hunts are broke and the way to 'fix' them isn't to stop doing them. SE will get round to fixing them. Be patient.