[ffxiv-future] A request for "Player-Selectable Difficulty Scaling"

[Davorok]

I am OK with Scalable Difficulty on Dungeons as long as the loots are lessened and more importantly, as long as after beating Ifrit in Easy-mode, the Loadstone Achievement portrays your character with a Dunce Hat. ;>P

[Lienn]

Agreed.

Some people seek fun on these games, not stressful content. An awesome raid system reference is Dragonica...it's pretty much what OP suggested...it has scalling difficulty in exchange for a much superior loot or, at least, different loot. By the system they use there would be like you having an AF piece dropping exclusively from a certain difficulty level...so if the player want to solo his entire AF he will need to subdue the raid with overleveling, actually losing the optimal experience and level for the loot (exactly like happened to Toto-rak here...you can solo it at 50...but the overall gaming experience and loot usefulness will be damaged). Also, they added there a evaluation system based on intented performance there...so if the dude is too low or too high for that content he might not have access to full reward.

IMO that's a good way of dealing with different groups of players, giving support from solo to party, from casual to hardcore. It's all about player skill and playstyle there.

[Andrien]

I like this idea. it gives the game that theme park adventure for those looking for fun

[Fensfield]

Honestly, I think this is a lovely idea - obviously so long as there are distinct benefits and penalties to the various difficulty settings.

Besides, I like experiencing these things just to see them and the bits of story surrounding, and not having to bicker with hardcore raiders when I'm really not all that concerned about my DPS or the equipment I get at the end (although obviously I sometimes pursue gear.. want that Mercenary's Acton >.>)

At the very least, I think we should have a 'Normal', comfortably challenging mode that doesn't require perfect group cohesion and pimped out gear.. and then an extreme mode with appropriate rewards in turn.

Although that said, I do think normal mode ought be the default. Somehow it just feels right that players wanting the easier, less rewarding option ought be consciously selecting it - and same for the more challenging mode and all.

Anyway! Just to say I'm in on this one, like on OP given and all.

[ninesunz]

If it doesn't affect you and you're not gonna do it, why are you flaming it?

Why are you opposed to something that will be fun and of value for someone else?

Live and let live

[Teakwood]

If it doesn't affect you and you're not gonna do it, why are you flaming it?

In theory, because dev resources are limited and this would take away from other stuff that might be more important.

In practise, because haters gonna hate. (Also a legitimate in my view desire to not see people walking around with Ifrit weapons unless they've done the difficult fight, which would be solved by multiple loot pools based on chosen difficulty.)

[ninesunz]

In theory, because dev resources are limited and this would take away from other stuff that might be more important.

In practise, because haters gonna hate. (Also a legitimate in my view desire to not see people walking around with Ifrit weapons unless they've done the difficult fight, which would be solved by multiple loot pools based on chosen difficulty.)

The dev resources point is valid.
The OP pointed out the ez fights shouldn't reward you with phat lootz.
Additionally you could scale it harder than original and get better % for drops?

[Bearforce]

Greetings.

This is a repeat of one of my old threads, but I'd like to bring it up again - and preferably without the trolls, as the world is a fairly diverse place, and there are people of every different stripe imaginable.

I have friends who have difficulties handling stress and anxiety, and they also want to be able to participate in the Lv50 content in Final Fantasy XIV. As it exists now, Dzemael Darkhold and the Hyper Ifrit Fight are too stress-inducing for these people, and their personal health can suffer as a result.

However, they want to experience this content on their terms. Think of it like guildleves. Guildleves have a star system in place that allows you to decide the difficulty level, and with 1.19, it now spells out exactly how many levels above you the leve can be set to.

This is precisely what we need for the endgame content. Don't make everything arbitrarily difficult, it's too restrictive in that manner. Instead, have rewards scale according to difficulty settings. For the endgame content, let's use a three-star difficulty system as an example.

1-Star: Easy Mode, 14 Levels Below Original Difficulty (Grants NG equipment)
2-Star: Average Mode, 7 Levels Below Original Difficulty (Grants +1 equipment)
3-Star: Hardcore Mode, Original Difficulty (Grants Dungeon-Specific Equipment, like the Canopus Guisarme)

I strongly encourage Yoshi-P to examine the feasibility of such a system, because my friends have been telling me that if they can't be given the choice to decide how difficult they want the endgame content to be, they would not remain with Final Fantasy XIV. This is their ONLY major gripe.

Choice matters. Being able to complete all of the content the game has to offer on your own terms is important.

It's not fun when you look at the content, and realize: "Oh geez. If I do this, I'll get an anxiety attack and have to chuff all of my meds - and that's gonna cost me several times more than the subscription fee alone. This sucks."

So I would appreciate it if the FFXIV developers would be considerate in regards to these unique situations.

I ask the thread's respondents to please be thoughtful and polite before replying. Responses such as "Then they shouldn't play this game", are terribly rude and inconsiderate - and consequently, reflects badly on the community as a whole. Also, saying that "Ifrit has an easy mode", is not applicable in this situation as that can only be completed once, and repeated if someone in your party has the quest. It is a very limited option.

MMORPGs are meant to be inclusive. If you want to be rude or trollish, I suggest you go to EVE Online's forums.

Thank you for reading.

silvertearRen your idea,s are gold and iam 100% on supporting it. pretty much it adds incentive to lvl 50 players to help lower players/ or even friends.

[KamikazeMan]

I'm against it. The high level content should only be reserved for high level players. They worked hard and should be rewarded by being able to access the content along with the rewards. Low level players can stick to the low level stuff and their friends can help them with that if you guys want to play together.

[Alhanelem]

I have friends who have difficulties handling stress and anxiety

I have no rude intentions in making this statement, but if your friends have difficulties handling stress and anxiety, they probably shouldn't be playing any kind of combat-centric online game. Games like FFXIV and WoW and others were not built to be serene and relaxing.

If you allow the dungeons to be scaled back, one of two things is going to happen:

1)Everyone will do the easy mode because it's easier, or
2)No one will do the easy mode because they can't get the same rewards by doing it.

Guildleves get around this problem because they are primarily used for training and currency, not item drops and the currency obtained is only somewhat modified by the difficulty, so people choose the best difficulty for their EXP gain, rather than just going straight for the easiest or hardest. But with dungeons, you can't make them easier without also making the drops harder to get (or there's no motivation to play on a higher difficulty). Then you will have people complaining that they can't get the same items as the hardcore players because they chose easy mode.

I honestly have to ask, what's the point in playing a game like this if it never challenges you? If anything that's difficult triggers a stress attack....

MMOs really AREN'T meant to be "inclusive." Many of them gradually became more inclusive as people who the games weren't designed for played them and complained, but they weren't originally designed to accommodate every kind of game player. MMOs are the only genre I've seen where games get altered to accommodate people for whom that genre probably isn't the best choice.