Thread: Patch 3.1 and the Problems with a Two Tier Model of Content

Originally Posted by Zojha

Do they? Then why, with few exceptions, do they choose the least challenging way to get what they want? Why are so many people rather running Diadem than AS for i210 gear? Why did so many people drop Pharos Sirius when they got it on roulette?

I simply have a hard time believing people enjoy a challenge when they constantly avoid and reduce it where- and however possible.

And that's the kind of people I don't understand.

A game should be something fun with which challenge yourself, instead those people play the same way they would do a job they can't stand… they try to finish it the easier and faster way and be done with it hoping to never being bothered in doing it again

Talking about the content, I would like something with some kind of progress that requires a minimum of players organizations…
like gathering some kind of triggers with no specific order required to summon some uber boss. This could let FCs organize in full partys that would gather the single triggers and then gather together in a full 24 raid to destroy the final boss summoned with the above triggers.

All we are getting are instances where you enter, tank and spank and you are done. Repeat until you are burned.

Originally Posted by ZohnoReecho

...

Not everyone like challenging things. I play the game to relax. Void Ark difficulty is just fine for me, it needs attention, but if everyone at least care a little about the run, you can complete it without any wipes. Thordan EX is the maximum difficult I can play without having a mental breakdown. I can't conceive the idea of spending hours and hours and hours of frustrating wipes just to learn something. On the other hand, I love grinding for things, something that most people hate. I have more fun leveling characters than any other content in the game.

This is all a matter of taste and SQEX will never be able to please everyone. I just wish they would let go of this "balanced raid enviroment" nonsense and transform this game into a true FF...

The one thing I think is missing, and probably needs to be added in some way is content that is middle of the road content, not end-game, but is challenging (*). Content that does not rely on scripted instant death or enrage for difficulty. Content that is forgiving enough that skilled players (skilled != elite) can recover if they do the right things. Content that is variable enough that there is no single way to defeat it - I get so tired of robotic demands to watch a video before playing. Above all content that is fun to play, and remains fun as players increase in power.
( * - Note: Challenging does not mean hard enough that only a small minority of players can beat it, it means that most groups can beat it, but it's not a cake walk for any but the elite players.)

If Boss battles and other content was not exactly the same every time with the same moves, phases and pattern; I think players would find it more challenging. Not only that, but they would not burn out so fast since it would be impossible to blindly speed run the content in exactly the same way each time.

I also think that in addition to the level sync that is applied to some dungeons, all dungeons past 49 should include a small amount of damage scaling and/or Monster level increase (in addition to basic level/gear sync) to compensate for the sometimes ridiculous overgearing in content. Doing that should also lengthen the life of content because content that can't be steamrolled the same way every time, becoming more difficult in line with the power creep of the player, cannot simply be rushed and farmed into the ground.

By all means have end-game content, by all means have farmable content, but let's have more middle of the road stuff that is fun to do and which you don't burn out on.

Procedurally generated maps (or portions of maps), some level of random variation in mob/trash/boss selection and placement, changing mechanics and so one, along with slightly better AI in the Bosses and trash would go a long way to increasing the longevity of all content.

That kind of content is not easy to make, and requires a lot of testing, so it may be a pipe dream, but I think it would help the game immensely. I also think that occasionally adding in a new dungeon (using the ideas outlined above) below lvl 50 would be very helpful, especially if it were properly level sync'd to maintain it's difficulty level.

Originally Posted by SerCypher

snip.

If you are referring to unsync'd content, I actually feel like its necessary. Not so people can faceroll it, but so they can use fewer members to get a player through a dungeon atleast once so they can continue on and NOT get stuck there or have to wait hours on end for their que to pop (which is probably a larger reason why back in 2.4/2.5 more newer players were starting to unsub)

Originally Posted by Fersaken

New people subbing, seriously? The story quest line is so stupid. When people sub they want to play with their friends, not wait 10 weeks while their friends complete all the story quests.

The story Questline is not stupid. Maybe it is to you, but not to everyone. I actually quite enjoy it and have played through it on a few different alts now. And truthfully it takes less than 2 weeks to reach 50 on a new character even if you are playing only a few hours a day. I know this because Ive played several alts over the course of 2.0/3.0. I wont say that EVERYONE joins this game to watch the story OR play with their friends. BOTH are equally true. So don't discount one just because of the other. There are many reasons people sub to this game. And there are many reasons they unsub too!