FFXIV and Risk vs. Reward

[Magis]

Awesome post OP but a lot of people on the forum won't get it (and can see it in the replies). They see it as an either or; instances HAVE to be brain dead casual or HAVE to be punishingly hard. So when you ask for content that takes some basic problem solving skills you hear them quickly paste their canned responses of HUR HUR ALEX SAVAGE, HUR THE CHALLENGE SHOULD BE GOOD ENOUGH.

The risk (or difficulty) and reward are intertwined. The risk makes the reward more valuable, more desirable, and more memorable. People remember getting that item from a hard fight over the vendor trash you get completing the billionth fetch quest. On the other hand, the reward is the prime motivator to push through the difficulty. It's the light at the end of the tunnel, the carrot on the stick. Put the correct reward and players will push through even the toughest content. Put a crap one and people won't do it at all. This isn't some rocket science, this is fundamental game design.

And this is what FFXIV's content has turned into; a pendulum swinging between two extremes because SE's content designers can't seem to do basic game design. You have content like Alex; super hard but barely any reward (dyable subjectively ugly gear, that's it). No wonder it failed, there is no motivator. Then you have Diadem; High reward but low difficulty, and people began to bemoan how boring it is. Both lead to boredom, both are shitty design. You need to balance difficult content with an appropriate reward, not settle with BS half-measures like "clearing it is reward enough". So is playing the Pain Station but I wouldn't call that a "good" game.

Oh great. Another casual vs hardcore topic where the casual argument will ultimately win because hardcore players are the minority blah blah blah.

I love how dumb that argument is. Look at any subset of the total player base and you'll find minorities and can bring a justification to ignore them. People who play Triple Triad are a minority, better garbage that content. How about those doing Chocobo Racing or the new LoV? People who buy stuff on the cash shop are probably a minority, let's garbage that too (I hope)! Housing, gardening, etc, etc...

If the game was what only the majority cared about or did, it would be nothing but two dungeons and a currency grind, with a shit ton of inactive accounts except during Tuesday reset and patch month.