The more things stay the same...

[Colt47]

Well, I've given the game a few months after returning for a haitus to see how things have shaped up with the latest patch, and while nothing really stuck out as being extremely horrible, there's a lot of room for improvement. So, for those now looking at the horizon for patch 2.5 and beyond, what are the things you are hoping they either fix or change in the future?

My top list of things that feel like they need to fix or implement...
1. Bring back the story, HM, and EX model for primal fights and reward people for completing HM and EX versions. The old primal fights worked great as they iteratively introduced players to the bosses set of mechanics. That and the HM versions provided rewards for completion, so players would repeat doing them and get better at the basic move sets. Right now, the 2.4 primal just has a "story mode" and a EX mode with no real gradual introduction of the mechanics and no rewards for anything but the EX mode.

2. Fix Chocobos so we can use them in groups. AI companions are a great idea for expanding what can be done in fights and encounters for any job, and with so much focus on chocobo breeding and customization it's a crime not to do so.

3. Drop Lockouts based on previous patch content. If someone is coming back after a hiatus, the last thing they are going to want to do is be forced through content they chose NOT to do when they left just to see the newer content.

4. Stop basing content around the idea people will form statics (Ramuh EX, Coil). Statics formed because people wanted to make better use of their time, not because they wanted to have content built to ever higher difficulty standards to make sure they didn't mow through things too quickly. It would also help people with time constraints learn fights if they could just queue is the Duty Finder for some learning attempts instead of fishing for 30 minutes to an hour in PF trying to build a group themselves. The PF makes sense if someone is trying to build a party of people with prior knowledge of the fight, it makes no sense not to allow DF for simple learning.

[Phyllo]

I agree with all but the last thing you talked about in your (4), PF is for making learning parties, DF is for sure kill, or at least was intended to be.
you can't train in DF when 80% of your team comes from a different server, the moment your party breaks up you restart from scratch.

[Colt47]

I agree with all but the last thing you talked about in your (4), PF is for making learning parties, DF is for sure kill, or at least was intended to be.
you can't train in DF when 80% of your team comes from a different server, the moment your party breaks up you restart from scratch.

That's a problem with how they are designing the encounters in the first place and goes back to the fact they are only really implementing two modes now. Either people are on cruise control in story mode or have to be balls to the walls active for EX. They removed the HM mode entirely from the equation and have kept the HM moniker strictly for consistency. People could originally see the types of things the boss does from start to finish in HM mode, then have to learn a few extra things for EX, thus making DF learning completely plausible. This idea of forming a static that has to meet up for nights on end to crush content benefits nobody, including the people making the static. This is coming from someone who has been a dedicated raider for 8+ years in previous MMOs, spent tons of time on minimal drip fed content, and finding none of it is worth it in the end because eventually the game is going to grow old and all those achievements mean nothing.

[Felis]

I agree with all but the last thing you talked about in your (4), PF is for making learning parties, DF is for sure kill, or at least was intended to be.
you can't train in DF when 80% of your team comes from a different server, the moment your party breaks up you restart from scratch.

DF is more for joining a party or filling up a missing member slot.

[Felis]

DF is not here to find a training party or experienced party. For both there exist PF.
DF is here to find fast 7 or 3 other random players and nothing more

[Seif]

I agree with all but the last thing you talked about in your (4), PF is for making learning parties, DF is for sure kill, or at least was intended to be.
you can't train in DF when 80% of your team comes from a different server, the moment your party breaks up you restart from scratch.

Hahahaa lol ... Ahem yeah.
Df pt is NEVER a sure kill for EX fights. Treat it as learning only. The pt breaks up after but you'll have the experience anyway.

[kyuven]

1) I agree the "story mode" EVERYTHING should have some tangible reward beyond a paltry myth bonus.
2) Chocobos are meant to supplement extra players for overworld content like fates, hunts, etc. They're not meant to replace actual players. I doubt we will EVER see chocobos usable in Duties as it goes against the nature of what MMOs are.
3) This isn't going to happen in the way you want it to. From what I can glean, SE's plan is to require playing things in order for the content update "chunk" that's currently in play. They've already said the "after coil" from 3.0 and beyond won't require coil to access, but you're simply not going to get rid of the unlock progression in this game. It's actually much easier and more fair than the lion's share of games I've seen with content locking. All you gotta do in this game is watch some cut scenes, fetch some stuff, and beat an easy-ish boss to unlock the good stuff.
4) This isn't going to happen. As Phyllo said, the PF is for training and the DF is for when it's a "sure thing." You have what each one is intended to do backwards. Granted what people ACTUALLY use them for is completely different, but that's not the way it was designed. Currently the DF is there precisely BECAUSE of what you want from #3. What you want here is so counter to the decades of MMO history it's laughable. Statics ARE how content is intended to be done. The DF is there for the same reason chocobos exist for overworld content: to supplement any deficiencies in your group. It's just most peoples' deficiencies happen to be "doesn't have a group."

[Colt47]

1)
...
4) This isn't going to happen. As Phyllo said, the PF is for training and the DF is for when it's a "sure thing." You have what each one is intended to do backwards. Granted what people ACTUALLY use them for is completely different, but that's not the way it was designed. Currently the DF is there precisely BECAUSE of what you want from #3. What you want here is so counter to the decades of MMO history it's laughable. Statics ARE how content is intended to be done. The DF is there for the same reason chocobos exist for overworld content: to supplement any deficiencies in your group. It's just most peoples' deficiencies happen to be "doesn't have a group."

I think your logic is backwards. You are saying that "the designers designed it this way so it shouldn't change... even though people aren't using it this way..." You do realize the point is to design things that meet the needs of the audience, right? If people are using something in a way that is unexpected, the designer doesn't shoehorn those people to use it as expected they change it so that it fits the use case.

[kyuven]

snip.

It's about a disparity between design and practical application. How it's DESIGNED is also how it's used, but since it's designed that way, it can also be used in a different way. It's a little confusing to explain, but the way it is now allows for groups to fill holes AND for people to get practice. It may have originally been intended for the former, but the latter may have been an unexpected but welcome consequence. However, shifting more towards one or the other will not benefit anyone. But yes you can also say they specifically designed it to please both camps as well. That's actually why roulettes were put in.
Bottom line is it's not changing, either because of the happy accident or intentional design.
Let me also add that hearing antipathy to forming a static raid group is increasingly silly to me given my own background...back then that was the ONLY way to get things done. Matchmaking systems didn't even exist for MMOs for a good while.

[SarcasmMisser]

I think your logic is backwards. You are saying that "the designers designed it this way so it shouldn't change... even though people aren't using it this way..." You do realize the point is to design things that meet the needs of the audience, right? If people are using something in a way that is unexpected, the designer doesn't shoehorn those people to use it as expected they change it so that it fits the use case.

This is the saddest post, this is why video games are the state they are in. You seriously believe they are not independent projects made from the artistic talent and vision of the developer, but a product that meets an audience needs. It is pathetic, customer feedback is to be listened to but acted only on the sole discretion of the developer because they are video games not your internet provider's call center.

You have reduced games to a consumer product and the thing that makes this sad is that the whole problem is that video game development is exactly like that, and it kills creativity. You should not wonder why every Christmas we get the shelves lined with nothing but sequels of all the most tired franchises because you are the reason. The logical end game with this thinking is that they don't make MMOs anymore, because the best money is in other online games anyway.