Solo dungeons and Gambit system

[Saseal]

They sort of already have this - if you think of some of the solo fights and FATEs with NPCs in the MSQ or job quests. They're not TOO bad - they do keep you alive once you've hit the HP trigger (in terms of the healers), but they're not all that smart, either. I wonder if they'll be programmed to actually dodge AoEs or if they'll be as derpy as the originals. Can you imagine a Tank NPC? I wonder how they'll pull mobs.
Or position enemies (such as in Amdapor Keep at the last boss for Catastrophe, or reacting to the pulse damage orb, etc.). It's possibly they may restrict such system to the lower level dungeons (such as pre-level 30/35) where placement mechanics don't matter so much.
Which is still fine by me - then I can still level my alts and lower jobs and spam lower dungeons all day

If they do this, I wonder if we would have a "team" that we hand pick ("I'd like one paladin, one conjurer and a thaumaturge with a side of suicidal tendencies, please"), or if we're just given the trifecta at random (one run you get a pugilist, another run you get a rogue, etc).
I'd love it even more if you get like a personal GC team and assign them classes... mixed with the ability to pick out looks like retainers >.> I'd dig that - and hug em and squeeze em and not care how stupid they were.
Or, maybe even level them like the Chocobos o________o TEAM DERP 4 LYFE.
(though, as far as looks go, I can sorta see it being more like the housing NPC scrolls. Pick a race and gender and boomf. It is what it is)

[LineageRazor]

Not sure how I feel about having a NPC squad to "solo" dungeons. Would they be stupid?

To be honest, when it comes to sub-30 dungeons, NPCs could be blithering morons and still give you clears. At those levels, there's little in the way of fancy mechanics, and mobs are so gentle that DPS can, and often do, tank them with minimal stress on the healer.

Dungeons higher than 30, on the other hand, could be a different story. Particularly in dungeons like Dzemael or Aurum Vale, but even dungeons like Stone Vigil and Qarn have some (relatively speaking) fancy mechanics to them that a derpy NPC would have to have some pretty clever programming to deal with. However, I'd imagine that level 30+ dungeons are going to be much more active with players for much longer, due to the fact that the new jobs start at level 30. There's not as great a need for the Derp Squad there...

Ooh, all this talk of derp... wouldn't it be kinda cool if your Derp Squad actually contains members from Derplander's crew? It'd be a way to finally integrate them into the game proper, rather than just as trailer fodder...

[Arkenne]

Err...

If I remember correctly, in one of the latest letters from the devs, it was mentioned that the DF would be revamped on HWs release to admit incomplete parties into dungeons, for example duos or trios for 4-man content, or even entering Coil with a 7-man party. Later on allowing others to enter your party in progress.

This is one of the features I am personally looking forward to from HW.

[StouterTaru]

Err...

If I remember correctly, in one of the latest letters from the devs, it was mentioned that the DF would be revamped on HWs release to admit incomplete parties into dungeons, for example duos or trios for 4-man content, or even entering Coil with a 7-man party. Later on allowing others to enter your party in progress.

This is one of the features I am personally looking forward to from HW.

It sounds like a duty finder option similar to join in progress.

"Players will be able to undertake duties with smaller pre-made parties using a new option in the Duty Finder. For example, you’ll be able to enter a dungeon with just two players. We’ll make further adjustments for this so new players can follow as well. With this feature you’ll also be able to challenge the Coil of Bahamut with 7 players."

[Arkenne]

It sounds like a duty finder option similar to join in progress.

Expecting the worst, yea, maybe.
But I still hold the hope that me and my friend will be at long last able to duo duns whenever we want.

[Koenignovi]

Not to pull FFxi into this, but it could be similar to their Ego system they have. In that you the player have to go recruit NPCs to go dungeon dive with you. I would start it off at an early level to give new players a chance to still experience early dungeons but as dungeon become harder it would be up to the player to seek better NPCs if they can not get a real player to help.

[Vlady]

I believe such a system already exists. Called final fantasy 1-10. I do not understand why dev time focuses on solo content when the game is an mmo. The focus should be on people banding together to overcome obstacles in the game.

[LystAP]

I believe such a system already exists. Called final fantasy 1-10. I do not understand why dev time focuses on solo content when the game is an mmo. The focus should be on people banding together to overcome obstacles in the game.

As noted by Vlady, SE isn't unfamiliar with the usage of NPCs as party members. They could probably implement, if not transfer NPC programming from the more recent Final Fantasy games with real-time RPG combat. It would also make Grand Companies far more relevant. On the other hand, it may mean more 'characters' to gear. But it may let them resolve the issue with people skipping cutscenes; a fair amount of storytelling that is used in Final Fantasy involves mid-instance cutscenes, of which are understandably unpopular at the moment.

Maybe we could create our own plucky squad of misfits that could give our own characters more character.

[Vlady]

You misunderstand. Any implementation of npcs interacting in dungeons will hurt and segregate the community even more.

[StouterTaru]

You misunderstand. Any implementation of npcs interacting in dungeons will hurt and segregate the community even more.

We already have similar content several times in the MSQ and class/job quests. They're just much shorter than dungeons. NPCs would never be made as powerful as players, so the runs would likely be slower, but still faster than waiting 30 minutes in the queue.