Can you please provide some sort of challenge while questing? Leveling is horrible!

[ScarecrowJames]

i skip the text for the story and side quest because I find it to be below average and to me uninteresting. You just play fetch and perform the dirty work while npcs play the part in the story while you are a mere slave getting praise from npcs for following a set path.

I just level because im accustomed to the grind. If it wasn't for the Final Fantasy name and common characters derived from it im not sure I would be playing it because the combat is really simple and nothing more than remember boss patterns. I like the combat its more a chill relaxed against fighting games. It feels quite casual. and for that I like it but Final Fantasy keeps me in.

[BlaiseArath]

I think I'd hate leveling a lot less if I could kill Over-world mobs for even just half the exp of Dungeon mobs... I mean, It would at least break the monotony of doing the same quest 30 times under a different name... would even be a really nice distraction leveling your chocobo at the same time.

I know it kinda sucks but mobs in the overworld are quite a bit harder to kill, could they please offer exp worth killing them for? Even people who hate the idea of an "Exp party" (I'm asking more for soloing), Its better than FATE grinding... Variety at least is nice.

I do like how they give almost 200 more exp than mobs at level 30 even though, even though our exp TNL is like 8,000% higher by 55.

[Colt47]

They are using the levels of 50-60 as a tutorial section for the new abilities they are throwing into the jobs. I've been sighing all the way through as the last thing I was interested in coming back to playing my paladin (king of "keeping it simple" gameplay) and finding out they are adding more abilities because "it's not challenging enough". How about making the encounters worth their play time instead of worrying about how complicated our rotations are? We aren't playing dance dance finger revolution, we are playing a MMO RPG where situational awareness is key.

Well, unless the idea for situational awareness is supposed to be "Oh, on my rotation I got to be flanking the guy now, so I'll move over here..." instead of "oh, the boss is going to do a swipe in back of him, maybe I should get away..."

[Sylve]

We aren't playing dance dance finger revolution

As for Paladin, i for one am incredibly overjoyed that theres more to the Job than 1-2-3+CD cycling.

Also, we can have both. There is challenge is maximizing ones Damage Dealing under less than ideal circumstances. Part of that is reacting to pbAoEs and part of it is responding to the bosses movements.

Lastly, with a 2 - 2.5 second global recast, we're about as far from the line in the quote as it is possible for an MMO to be.
If you want DDfR go play WoW, where there are no combos and the global recast is 1 second.

[Colt47]

As for Paladin, i for one am incredibly overjoyed that theres more to the Job than 1-2-3+CD cycling.

I don't mind they are adding something we can do when there are multiple paladins in group or we are soloing. Not much point of constant "Rage of Halone" spam when another guy is already spamming that on the monster to begin with. I'm more bugged by the fact the developers think Dragoons and monks need even more complexity when those guys have to manage situational awareness, positioning awareness for their rotations, and order of execution on their task bar. Not to mention still fit all those abilities on both a keyboard and a controller set up.

[Sylve]

I-

All of which, IMHO, adds up to a more rewarding experience during play. When everything meshes together just right and i see those numbers it feels good.
Gives me something to work towards improving as a player.
Doesn't take long to get a standard rotation into a habit, but the complexity of being in the right place and the right time for my combos to do their work is something that only comes with long hours of play/practice.
Part of the reason i abandoned WoW, Rift and SWtOR was their extremely unengaging combat. Both visually and mechanically. Most any 'modern' MMO falls into WoWs "Simplicity for simplicitys sake" trap.

The challenge is being able to make your complex rotations work even under the worst possible conditions.

[Fendred]

Games that use the tank/DD/healer trinity can't push out "strong" solo content because the recipe for good solo content requires a hybridization of those three things. This game is build with only one kind of encounter in mind and tries to focus on doing that well. On the other hand, I agree with the position that it is high time for developers across the industry to start exploring other ways to set up game mechanics that more effectively spread the fun across both the solo and team content in MMORPGs, given all the solo content we have in them nowadays. That will never happen in FFXIV:ARR, though. Unless they did something drastic like uprooted the DD role for a controller role with some different options. Then they'd have the ability to hybridize because they wouldn't have to guard against dps getting too high on a non-DD class.

[Hyrist]

Can't agree. Not into the leveling for the challenge. It's more like a tour of the zone, its monsters and its features, and bits and pieces of its lore. When I get bored of them, I switch to dungeon/hunt/roulettes and can find plenty of challenge there simply because not everyone is at full competency level.

Don't like sidequesting? Don't do them. I evaded Moogle Hell on this simple policy. Levels come quick regardless, and there's good gear to glean from the dungeons (some of it incredibly pretty).

[BlaiseArath]

Don't like sidequesting? Don't do them.

They are a very valuable source of exp, and considering the only other options are horrific FATE grinding and Dungeons(which offer a neutered amount of exp considering our TNL), not doing them is going to halt your leveling to a crawl compared to those doing them.

Its why I stomached through them and completed them. It says a lot when the "Lore" of the zone or "Tour" is so boring because of its execution that most players couldn't even tell you the names of the areas. Hell most NPCs werent even named after a point it was just "Worried Moogle" or "Angsty Moogle", they didnt even have names :|. The only moogle i remember is Mogleo because he had a THF hat.

I'm not denying that your strategy of getting through these is good (Move on once you're bored), but they are, by purposeful design, the most potent means to level up in this game by a wide, wide margin. FATEs aren't too bad if you find a good party, and Dungeons, while offering respectable exp, are a devoted time sink. Your best way to level up will be grinding through these quests for quick exp.

So its not like your suggestion of "Ignore is" is helpful considering the OPs complaint is horrible leveling... your suggestion would only hurt his leveling.

(admist all my complaining here I would like to point out I think Heavensward touches a Lot of issues I had and aside from very minor issues I enjoy it.)

[Hyrist]

They are a very valuable source of exp, and considering the only other options are horrific FATE grinding and Dungeons(which offer a neutered amount of exp considering our TNL), not doing them is going to halt your leveling to a crawl compared to those doing them.


(admist all my complaining here I would like to point out I think Heavensward touches a Lot of issues I had and aside from very minor issues I enjoy it.)

Not... really.

See it depends on the lenght of your playtime. If you're pushing through every day with several hour playtimes, sure, grinding out quest may yield the quickest results. However, if you're stuck with an interrupted rotation where you're not pushing out several quests over and over agian, you're actually going to progress quite quickly doing your daily hunts and roulettes first. Those bonuses are comparable to multiple quest turn-ins.

My suggestion to them is to not burn out. Take a break from the grind, let the bonuses you get for being patient-yet-diligent pay in dividends for them.

The Dungeons themselves are fun and will net you good gear (also good practice for endgame mechanics), and I don't think most people here ever touched the Temple Leves. "Slow to a Crawl." Is pretty out of place considering we're barely a week into release at this point. I think excitement and desire for instant-gratification are playing with our concepts of time and value in this case. The game isn't going anywhere - hell, the story mode Alexander isn't even out yet for another week. No point in chugging good wine, I say. Take your time and enjoy.