Coil lockouts: "we haven’t been able to find an alternative system to take its place"

[Zirael_Foxfire]

Q18: Currently, once you complete the Coil of Bahamut, you are unable to challenge it until the reset. If we are in a FC or LS with more than 8 players, it’s hard to sync the progression of everyone in the FC/LS. Is there anyway you could change the once-a-week system so that we could help out our fellow FC/LS members?

A18: As for the once-a-week system that we currently have in place, we are indeed looking into the matter, but we haven’t been able to find an alternative system to take its place.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post2385105

You can fight the same boss multiple times in a week, but you can only win lot on 1 item.

[givemeraptors]

It is a solution but it also caps gear progression in a way that only RNG does now. A lucky person can gear up rather quickly if they get all their drops. Look how long it takes people to gear up via CT and ST. Also, what about items like Oils, Sands and UATs? I don't think it's a good idea to cap it like that.

Could open it up like when 1st Coil went "public" so to speak. But then you'll have the people who can play 24/7 totally geared up by the end of the week. Then they'll unsubscribe till the next Patch.

[Prymal_Darkstar]

It is a solution but it also caps gear progression in a way that only RNG does now. A lucky person can gear up rather quickly if they get all their drops. Look how long it takes people to gear up via CT and ST. Also, what about items like Oils, Sands and UATs? I don't think it's a good idea to cap it like that.

Could open it up like when 1st Coil went "public" so to speak. But then you'll have the people who can play 24/7 totally geared up by the end of the week. Then they'll unsubscribe till the next Patch.

Cap gear progression? LOL. Hunts already ruined that. There are people iLevel 110 and never stepped foot in 2nd Coil. They may not be BIS but they are 'gear capped'.

[PetiteMalFleur]

Someone pointed out how this would lead to problems people selling clears every week after clearing and getting the drops for their own group.

[Garlyle]

Someone pointed out how this would lead to problems people selling clears every week after clearing and getting the drops for their own group.

Even without selling, honestly.

Also, even though coil rewards are oriented towards 8-person static groups (8 drops per week), this would impact the drops they can get by allowing them to just be like "oh yeah I really want a High Allagan Bow", so the group just does turn 9 over and over until they get it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - but it might be against the kind of loot restriction/incentive style that SE want to go for on Coil, if you can just farm until you get the exact drop you're after.

[Kinseykinz]

Even without selling, honestly.

Also, even though coil rewards are oriented towards 8-person static groups (8 drops per week), this would impact the drops they can get by allowing them to just be like "oh yeah I really want a High Allagan Bow", so the group just does turn 9 over and over until they get it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - but it might be against the kind of loot restriction/incentive style that SE want to go for on Coil, if you can just farm until you get the exact drop you're after.

Or you know, they could make it so you can only lot the FIRST time you clear each turn each week...basically making it so drop wise, you get the exact same odds you do now, but you can re-enter as much as you want. This way, just like now, you have to work out your lots...after that, if you wanna take people through, fine....and if SE doesn't like that it means that if you help someone they now have no competition for lots since you are 'locked out' of lots for the rest of the week then that means SE should then adjusts the drop rates so that if you go in with only 1 new person, that they only get one chest....and it may or may not contain gear, that also works. (Or even make it that you can only re-run the content after you're initial clear each week if x amount of people have yet to clear it for the week) What ISN'T working is the forced lockout. You should be able to play the content as much as you'd like....gear shouldn't be the only reason you do something.

I get the feeling I'm in the minority here, but I think things are perfect as they are. Not trying to upset anyone or start any wars by posting, but just want to share my opinion.

1) There absolutely has to be some type of status/epeen for hardcore players. Right now, coil drops are the only skill based status items in the game. Removing the lockout will significantly decrease the status associated with these items.
2) There are gear alternatives of the same item level that can be obtained without doing coil, so there isn't any punishment or penalty for not doing coil.
3) Coil lockout is already removed when the next major patch hits, so the content is not inaccessible to players. People can still obtain the items and experience the content, just on a slight delay.

TLDR: Removing the lockout will take away the only thing that keeps some players in the game, in exchange for providing players who already have options with even more options.

1. They still have their status. I mean, come on, EX primals aren't gated and the More Elite groups win those battles (and gain the goods), far faster than everyone else. Binding Coil 1 could have been DF from the get go and people STILL would have spent months dying to twisters....and it STILL would have been the 'Elite' people beating it first...esp on a regular basis. Access to content is not equal to Skill. The skilled and organized, (who also put in tons of hours) will ALWAYS clear faster than those who are less skilled, organized and time-committed.
2. It's not about gear, it's about story-progression. People serious about farming for gear will once again, find others to party with (static) who share the same desires. But not being show a FC buddy the ropes in your downtime is silly.
3. 'slight delay'=more than 8 months, when the content is no longer relevant and the next chapter of the story is out.

People are so hung up (including SE) on the damn drops they are missing the point of playing....the STORY. People, you don't even need the current 'endgame' gear drops until the next patch's content goes live. (IE, you don't NEED BC2 gears to clear ANYTHING in game atm...but once patch 2.4 comes out, it'll be necessary for a while for some content). So focusing on the gear is wrong...yes, nice stuff drops....but it's more about the progression (and I hope fun of battle) than gear....if you only keep doing it for shinies, that's just sad.

[grumpypants]

'slight delay'=more than 8 months

This is from when the content was released. I would estimate that most coil players have only had SCOB cleared for 3-4 months. I would also say that a decent chunk of this content is being pugged on a lot of servers, so we're really looking at a 4-5 month delay for 2ish bosses in coil. When you look at the game as a whole, this is a relatively small amount of content.

if you only keep doing it for shinies, that's just sad.

I'm sorry that you feel the reason some people play this game is sad. I do understand that posting here isn't really going to change anyones mind, and that wasn't the intent. It was mostly just to be a voice for the other side since it seems that people overwhelmingly are supporting the lockout removal. My main point in all of this is that if the game is striving to have/retain a little of something for everyone, then it might be a good idea to leave something for the people who "do it for shinies". Easing the lockout means that more people will have shinies, and it unquestionably diminishes the value of those shinies.

What if we were to ease up on other parts of the game that people work hard for? Would the value of the Zodiac weapons be the same if they made them easier to obtain and everyone had one? What about end game crafting gear? Would market values not take a hit if everyone could craft anything in the game including 3 (and 4) star items? I feel that although people who play this game for status might be a minority, there should still be a little piece of the game for them, and the current setup manages to do this well.

[Ellatrix]

Oh noes 1% of the population will sell clears to 3% of the population. Clearly worrying about less than 5% of the population is a reason to not implement something that will be of great benefit to the other 95%.

[Alberel]

Oh noes 1% of the population will sell clears to 3% of the population. Clearly worrying about less than 5% of the population is a reason to not implement something that will be of great benefit to the other 95%.

And where would the people who buy carries get the gil to fund those carries eh? It's pretty obvious that allowing players to pay their way through top tier content would result in a massive surge in gil buyers... which is precisely why SE doesn't want to allow it.

[Ellatrix]

And where would the people who buy carries get the gil to fund those carries eh? It's pretty obvious that allowing players to pay their way through top tier content would result in a massive surge in gil buyers... which is precisely why SE doesn't want to allow it.

RMT will exist as long as gil has any sort of value. Gil is already really only useful for: housing, vanity, melds. SE has done a pretty good job of neutering RMT so far as the economic impact of RMT has been minor. Anyone who is against an idea that would be good "except people could sell runs!!1" is just another case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

People who buy a single clear don't need RMT gil to afford it. People who buy farming sessions are typically full 3star DoH/DoL and play the economy game with a passion.