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

[Buddhsie]

It's really surprising and rather disappointing to see so many people against the idea of being able to choose your difficulty for raids and primal fights. Games are a form of entertainment made for an audience of various lifestyles. This is especially true in an MMO like FFXIV where we literally collaborate with other players on an international scale. Why is it that there's a notion that MMO or "endgame" content must be for the "hardcore" players? We're not even talking about rewards here as Ren has stated in the original post that players choosing the easy modes would not be getting NM or raid gears.

What's so wrong about allowing players to experience content which they have worked to become eligible for? Would you tell someone they're not allowed to see a film because they don't understand the underlying themes of the movie despite the fact that they are able to enjoy the story on a surface level? Adding an easy mode with reduced reward to "endgame" content doesn't take away anything from the "hardcore" players. Players overcoming the regular and harder difficulties can still keep their inflated egos with their special gear while players choosing the easy route will get to experience the full battle with higher survivability rates while foregoing the superfluous rewards.

The point is, not every player is going to be a hardened video game veteran with over a decade of experience under their belts. Some players are just here to chat and experience the content because they love the world, or Final Fantasy or just enjoy doing things with friends. And if SE's goal is to reach out to as wide a player base as possible, this would be one idea that could be taken into consideration. For the time being, I hope your friends can overcome their challenges with the high level content currently available.

No, endgame is not just for the 'hardcore' players. The little endgame that FFXIV has now is challenging, as it has been designed to be. As I outlined in my previous post, the ideas behind the difficulty of events such as the Ifrit fight is that between each major patch the entire range of players ends up beating it. He said that the ideal progression is that the hardcore players beat it first and the casual players end up beating it later when the mechanics of the fight become well known and it becomes easier.

It doesn't take a hardcore gamer to be competent and complete difficult endgame content, a casual player can be just as good. FFXI is a very clear indicator of a system that worked, it had a large range of endgame events (that will be the case for FFXIV too later on) that catered to a range of players. When salvage came out it was hard as shit, a couple months later you had the right party setups down, the right strategies and paths to follow and it was easy, easy enough for pickup groups.

It devalues the victory of ALL players to allow a difficulty setting for endgame content. Where's the satisfaction of watching a cutscene for beating a mission fight when you do it on easy mode? When you watch a huge-ass monster die in front of you, how do you feel knowing that you made it easier for yourself? This isn't pre-school, you aren't having your hand held, either do it properly or don't even try.

I seriously think all of the people in this thread crying to have this implemented are a) jealous of more skilled players that have done things like beat ifrit, b) had their application to a good linkshell denied or c) are just plain lazy and want things handed to them like children. You aren't here to have things made easy for you, the point of the game is to have challenging events that you work towards, and the satisfaction of completing them AS THEY ARE is the feeling you strive to have.

Your analogy is garbage btw.

[Preypacer]

I don't want to be rude, but how do these people get by in their everyday lives? I'd imagine they're constantly in a state of complete nervous breakdown.

I also don't intend to sound rude or apathetic, but if someone has stress issues with things that happen as a course of normal gameplay in most any game out there, they really should be reconsidering their choice of entertainment.

@the OP:
Certainly there are going to be situations outside of end-game/raid content that could possibly stress friend out. How are they going to deal with that? You can't keep asking SE to create an "easier, stress-free version" of every single type of content that your friend happens to find is stressful to them.

Also, the idea that MMOs are supposed to be inclusive is certainly true... but to say "that obviously includes people with stress disorders that are triggered by playing intense content" is a bit of a stretch. If you're going to cross that bridge, then what's to stop people with other disorders from doing the same?

I'm sure there are a number of things in your friend's life that they've had to come to terms with, or find other ways to engage in or enjoy due to their condition. I doubt your friend asks everyone they deal with to please alter things or do things differently so they don't get stressed out.

Again... I empathize with your friend's condition and I'm not just saying "pffft... screw them". However, at the same time... it just seems something that could be a can of worms.

Let's say SE does that. They say "Okay, in order to better accommodate people with stress disorders, we are going to introduce easier versions of all content for people to do".

How much would people like to bet that, "overnight", a whole bunch more people who never complained of it before, suddenly start popping up with a variety of disorders of their own, and who require special consideration by having SE change some aspect of the gameplay to suit them? I can definitely see people abusing such a thing, given the behavior already demonstrated by many of them.

What's to stop other people from claiming they have issues that requires them to avoid "this" or "that" and so SE needs to change some aspect of the game to suit them? What is SE going to do, check the medical records of everyone who claims they have an issue to see who's lying and who's being honest?

How does SE say 'Okay, we'll accommodate the people with "List A" disorders... but not those with "List B" disorders". Then they're going to be accused of favoring some players over others.

And further, how long do you think it will be before some of those same people are demanding the same rewards as those doing the toughest version of the content in question, arguing that "I'm being punished for having a medical condition! SE is punishing people with legitimate medical conditions by refusing them access to the best gear in the game!!! SE doesn't care about their customers!!"

FFS people without any kind of medical condition are already making those claims. Could you imagine the less honest folks out there having access to such ammunition as saying "I have a medical condition"?. They'd be all over that.

It's a potentially slippery slope, to be honest and I can't see how SE could reasonably handle it without painting themselves into a corner or coming out looking like the bad guy at some point down the road where they finally have to draw a line.

I'm not saying "it shouldn't be done". I just don't know how realistic a thing it is to expect, given the time/work involved, and the potential consequences of it.

[ChiefCurrahee]

I wonder what it's like for these people at a super market when they buy milk.

non-fat? 1%, 2%....... WHOLE MILK!!!!! IT'S TOO DIFFICULT!!!!!

[Fensfield]

The most depressing thing, is half these spiteful comments probably wouldn't be coming up, and there might even be more positive reactions, had the original suggestion simply been:

Why not have difficulty scaling for people who want to see and experience content normally restricted to people willing to deal with the negative aspects of hardcore play, and are more than happy to get lessened rewards as a result?

It's kind of sad that someone giving more context to their suggestion and being open with the community, ended up with more misunderstanding, trolling, and spite.

[Preypacer]

Comments like these are not welcome in this thread. I specifically asked for you people to be more considerate, and you're failing quite horribly at that.

I'd try to justify everything, but the point of this is to give people flexibility and choice. This isn't about just my friends' health, but a fundamental aspect of the game that needs to be addressed.

I don't like it when games force a tough battle on me without the option to adjust the difficulty - I don't always have time to spend one whole hour on a single boss.

But wait... what does you not having the time to spend "an hour on a single boss" (which isn't the case in FFXIV, as others have noted) have to do with your friend's condition? I mean that is the premise you started this thread under.

You started this thread pleading for the sake of a friend with a medical condition... and within a few posts, you've brought it around to also being about what you want and what time you have.

So then, is this actually all about you feeling that you don't have time and that you prefer difficulty settings in games? Did you use your friends' health as an emotional element to bring more "weight" to it?

I have a feeling you just outed yourself here, Silver.... And if that's the case, then shame on you for using the health of others to further your own personal agenda.

Further, the post you responded to is absolutely fine. They gave a straight and frank answer with valid advice. Just because it wasn't sugar-coated and wrapped up in sympathies doesn't make it "rude".

As for your suggestion, I've already stated in a previous thread that I'm not against the idea itself, but that I question the feasibility of it, given all that can happen in its wake.

P.S. If you 'sometimes' don't have the time to do more time-consuming content, then 'sometimes' you simply choose to do things you can do in the time you have. Save the more involved content for when you do have the time for it. It's not rocket science.

[Buddhsie]

The most depressing thing, is half these spiteful comments probably wouldn't be coming up, and there might even be more positive reactions, had the original suggestion simply been:


It's kind of sad that someone giving more context to their suggestion and being open with the community, ended up with more misunderstanding, trolling, and spite.

It's got nothing to do with that, it's a ridiculous suggestion to begin with.

[Preypacer]

It's got nothing to do with that, it's a ridiculous suggestion to begin with.

Also a suggestion given under dubious circumstances, given Silver's abrupt change in focus, from it being about "their friend being able to do end game content", to it being about that and them not having enough time and wanting to still do the content.

I could be wrong.. But I find it dubious.

I'm not questioning that they have friends with medical conditions (I'm pretty sure most of us here know at least 1 person with some kind of medical condition). I just question what the true motivation for their suggestion is/was.

[Belial]

Also a suggestion given under dubious circumstances, given Silver's abrupt change in focus, from it being about "their friend being able to do end game content", to it being about that and them not having enough time and wanting to still do the content.

I could be wrong.. But I find it dubious.

I'm not questioning that they have friends with medical conditions (I'm pretty sure most of us here know at least 1 person with some kind of medical condition). I just question what the true motivation for their suggestion is/was.

Eh. Don't question yourself too much. Just gauge some of their responses. Rage fits, refusing to address valid arguments, slinging insults when he has nowhere else to turn. That says enough about the situation.

[Kopuno]

In thought there is not a huge problem with this type of thing. However, It will not help anything with a majority of players. Normally, instead of people that have disabilities, it's the casuals who are the ones that are asking to be able to complete the same content the hard cores are finishing. So let's say we dumb things down for (people that really shouldn't be playing MMO's or atleast playing "harder" MMO's) people with disablities. Indeed they are now able to complete what the non-disabled player can and thats great, however, soon the "I want the gear they get from completion sets in". The forums get flooded with complaints about it. It's happend in almost every MMO I can think of that has that type of scenario. Because of this, I've seen MMO's dumb down content and make almost everything easy-mode. I really don't want to see that here.

[RedAffinity]

I think they've been pretty generous so far introducing higher level, and lower level of similar content. Sadly it's impossible to have perfect balance that will suit everyone's needs. It is after all a genre that once started off catering to hardcore players, that's branched off into appealing to casual players but even then not every new content can be perfect for everyone. That's sadly just the way it's going to be

But again they've been pretty generous. Leves have difficulty levels, dungeons have a lower and higher alternative etc..