New Direction in Content

[Xairos]

As many have stated, this claim to make balanced, always fun, adventurous content is really really tricky: SE is working within the scale of ilevel and how that relates to "power" in this game (i.e. the only power in this game is ilvl), as such the player base as a whole will rate content in terms of that scale:

"Does this help me get stronger or not?"

What SE has to do is pull our attention away from that objective and do it in a manor that doesnt feel like a band aid being ripped off. To the point of challenging content: remember Steps of Faith, before that Pharos Sirius, before that the nerfs to Amdapor Keep and trash gating? Remember the time when we as a community fought to have the trash mobs become relevant for killing? If the challenge is too much, we will fight to have it "re-tuned" to a more repeatable level.

Anytime content is introduced the player base will find the most efficient way to get their reward. There is a very fine line that must be found to make content repeatable, challenging, worth-it, and fun. It seems like at best, we can pick two or three right now.

My gripe is mostly at ilvl and how it has changed the way we as a community approach content. Coil, CT, old lvl 50 gear like AF is completely left behind. So much content is not worth-it that Pony Farm parties that players would once have to pay to clear sit empty in the Party Finder. To me this comes down to a very static and immutable gear<>power system; There is no pay off for players to run this content anymore and Mounts and Minions aren't gonna cut it.