Please no more "grind" relic quests before the expansion

[MasamuneBranford]

This is obviously just my opinion / rant (please nobody freak out). Here are my thoughts:

Why would SE release so many lengthy grind quests (nexus / zodiac) so close to the release of the expansion? When the expansion is released - who is going to want someone in a party with an item level 110 weapon earning light numbers? Who is going to be doing 2.0 dungeons for someone with a nexus working towards their zodiac drops? Why is there an expansion coming out in the Spring yet the biggest grind questline in the game is not finished? Isn't it time that the grind end and "challenge" quests be released?

I'm working towards a Novus while using a soldiery weapon (like many others who are still playing catch-up). Should we give up? I feel like it will be near impossible to earn a zodiac weapon come expansion (2.0 dungeons will be ghost towns). I'm fine with grind quests. But this close to the release of an expansion? Wouldn't it make sense to have the final relic quests available at least 6 months prior to an expansion? Maybe beat T13 or something for the next quest and nothing more (for those complaining - realize this will be fairly easy once the level cap goes up to 60).

[Prototype909]

Why would SE release so many lengthy grind quests (nexus / zodiac) so close to the release of the expansion? When the expansion is released - who is going to want someone in a party with an item level 110 weapon earning light numbers? Who is going to be doing 2.0 dungeons for someone with a nexus working towards their zodiac drops? Why is there an expansion coming out in the Spring yet the biggest grind questline in the game is not finished? Isn't it time that the grind end and "challenge" quests be released?

This is why the grind is here to stay

1) To keep people subbed with their iconic carrot on a stick quest-line
2) To keep old content populated even in the face of the expansion with all the steps which require you to farm/repeatedly enter old content - especially important since new players may join with the expansion's release (This is the big one, the entire Relic Questline is designed around keeping old content on life support)
3) The entire point of the Relic is to not be a "challenge" but rather a time-sink for players who can't or don't want to raid. In SE's eyes Coil is the "challenge" path and the way the game is arranged supports this conception of the two paths. It's the same reason why Relic has always been inferior to Raid drops until the very end of a patch cycle.

[Atomnium]

This is why the grind is here to stay

1) To keep people subbed with their iconic carrot on a stick quest-line
2) To keep old content populated even in the face of the expansion with all the steps which require you to farm/repeatedly enter old content - especially important since new players may join with the expansion's release (This is the big one, the entire Relic Questline is designed around keeping old content on life support)
3) The entire point of the Relic is to not be a "challenge" but rather a time-sink for players who can't or don't want to raid. In SE's eyes Coil is the "challenge" path and the way the game is arranged supports this conception of the two paths. It's the same reason why Relic has always been inferior to Raid drops until the very end of a patch cycle.

^ The smartest answer yet, should deserve way more likes...

[Yukiko]

^ The smartest answer yet, should deserve way more likes...

sigh...
You easily lose subbed players than you get for a simple reason: too much is not good either!
SE generates grind always from the view of one already finished the presteps to keep those busy, but everyone who could not or did not catch up is losing interest, the more steps you add the more you will lose!




lets have a close look at "individual goals":
If your goal is to level Chocobo, then how do you farm Dungeons for Zodiac?
If your goal is to farm Dungeons for Zodiac, how can you collect materials for Zodiac?
The problem is SE forces us to do specific content... Thats why in mmogs there are trade ins like "Tomestone" but in FFXIV its just like gil another currency!
Normally those Stones reward you just for playing, so you can progress while having fun, win-win.
How many different currencies we have in FFXIV? They are not following the idea behind those "Stones". In FFXIV its like a hiddden "lockout" - only those who do PVP can enjoy pvp with progressing. That leads us to another problem: How do we progress? Character stats are not even worth to mention, nor character customisation, what is left is gear (each new ilvl increases "all")

[Atomnium]

sigh...
You easily lose subbed players than you get for a simple reason: too much is not good either!
SE generates grind always from the view of one already finished the presteps to keep those busy, but everyone who could not or did not catch up is losing interest, the more steps you add the more you will lose!

That is why all the lockouts and weekly token exists, generating a "false but slow" progression without any kind of grind, this way, the customers (us) keep their sub going in order to be sure to get all tokens/loots every week.
But on a personal point of view, as an old school player, I don't call this "new generation mmo system" a freedom system.... More like a hostage taking system, hostage being our wallet.

lets have a close look at "individual goals":
If your goal is to level Chocobo, then how do you farm Dungeons for Zodiac?
If your goal is to farm Dungeons for Zodiac, how can you collect materials for Zodiac?
The problem is SE forces us to do specific content...

I must to admit it, you are right on this point.
FFXIV is very poorly designed when it come to solo or low-man contents. The game will force you to play with a specific number of people for anything, even for raid contents you have to be 8, no more no less and you can't build any kind of end-game-FC... There is just no points, if you are 8 it's enough, if someone is missing, too bad for you, deal with it. (and no, 2.45 system didn't changed anything, trust me...)

Oh and btw, even if your diagrams were interesting, on a personal opinion... I really don't give a single **** xD (no offences, really ). I'm a player and a FF-fan since so many years, all of the above stuff is obvious for a game company but when it come to gaming, I'm thinking like a gamer and today the gamer that I'm isn't much pleased to be considered as a wallet with a brain, emotions and hands

Back in my days, we didn't had so many daily/weekly limitations in rpg/mmorpg, we had a lot of grinds, all sort of grinds... It was the point of a rpg, to be time consuming with a lot of things to do at our personal pace.

[KaedrianLiang]

This is why the grind is here to stay

1) To keep people subbed with their iconic carrot on a stick quest-line
2) To keep old content populated even in the face of the expansion with all the steps which require you to farm/repeatedly enter old content - especially important since new players may join with the expansion's release (This is the big one, the entire Relic Questline is designed around keeping old content on life support)
3) The entire point of the Relic is to not be a "challenge" but rather a time-sink for players who can't or don't want to raid. In SE's eyes Coil is the "challenge" path and the way the game is arranged supports this conception of the two paths. It's the same reason why Relic has always been inferior to Raid drops until the very end of a patch cycle.

I say bring it Yoshi-P! Is this all you can conjure? *cackles maniacally*

[Cyrus-Wallace]

Even though it's your opinion, you might want to understand that the relic quest is pretty much a timesink between patches. Something to keep you busy. As the patches are released, they're going to nerf the previous stages of the relic. As they did already. They increased the drop rate from Atmas, they decreased the sold cost from books. Alexandrite is now way easier to obtain compared to the times when the Novus questline was released, where you only were able to get them via dailies/mythos. The only "annoying" part of the quest... are the lights. Yeah, it sounded fun and interesting at first, but when you realize the amount of grind that it might require, you want to punch somebody in the nipple. The rest of the quests are easy going.

We are not sure if this questline will continue in the 3.0 or if they're going to throw it away and make a new system. Something that I'm sure, is that they're going to nerf the previous steps as I stated above. So far, better than you sword, you have T9 with the echo and Shiva's weapons, you can get these until you either down the second turn of the FCOB or when you finish your relic. You can beat said content with your sold weapon.

As a personal note, the only "hard" part is the Nexus, which takes a lot. The last phase of the zodiacal quest, is... uh... well, it depends a lot on RNG but it's not that bad. I've completed that quest twice and yeah, it's a bit frustrating but again... not that bad.

[kyuven]

As pretty much everyone else has said, it's their to keep people subbed. Remember that anything that isn't a timesink gets blown through in literally 2 days and then posted online.
SE needs something in the game that will keep you subbed until the next content update. If you can think of a better idea that doesn't involve completely revamping an entire system or taxing their servers beyond what they're currently at, I'm sure they would be ALL ears.
Timesinks and MMOs go together like peas and carrots.

[LaylaTsarra]

My second Zodiac and I love it: Yoichi's Bow



My first is my Lilith Rod for my main role which is my BLM. Back to collecting light now for my Warrior's Bravura axe – about 750 light to go.

[Skyl1n3]

My second Zodiac and I love it: Yoichi's Bow

My first is my Lilith Rod for my main role which is my BLM. Back to collecting light now for my Warrior's Bravura axe – about 750 light to go.

Err... what does this have to do with OP's Post?