How would I explain this games never changing formula?

[Ryel]

Not quite. If they delivered the 'same old burger', then we'd have multiple exact copies of Sastasha, Thousand Maws, Tam Tara and Copper Bell Mines to cope with. Obviously, we do not.\

Some may argue that the hard modes of existing dungeons are almost this, maybe not "exact" but close enough.

This is what really annoys me about the charge that the content is exactly the same, when it patently is not. A dungeon is a dungeon, a burger is a burger. Different meat is a different flavor. Different dungeon settings are analogous to that different flavor. But the dungeons are not the exact same, nor are the raids. The complaint about sameness leans completely on the overall structure of something being similar. Tokesn vs gil, vs tomes, vs MGP vs any other thing you collect in quantity to exchange for something else. It's all the same, why can't we do something different? Um, because money works. Dungeons are places where a team overcomes an obstacle by working together; sometimes with multiple steps involved, sometimes not. Are all the dungeons in the game exactly the same thing because they are light party dungeons with a boss at the end? If so, then every MMORPG needs an overhaul. Clearly they are not exactly the same, and nor are the trials, which differ mechanically and thematically. How would you make them more different?

Except that's kind of the issue, personally speaking as a tank my approach to dungeons has hardly changed since 2.0 dungeons, my job, my levels, and my cool-down order might have but the general flow of content and the method of completion has been almost identical since 2.0 release, in fact the last dungeon to change this somewhat was probably Hullbreaker (Hard) if only because the first "boss" doesn't follow the usual formula.

Saying that we can't change the status quo because they are currently making money off of it falls short of reasoning when players are coming onto the forums voicing their opinions and unsubscribing from the game. Is their money somehow worth less now because they don't enjoy the token grind?

Personally speaking I've seen enough of other MMOs to know that the way we get content now isn't the only way they've been done in other MMOs, dungeons in XI, WoW, GW2, Tera, DCUO, etc all play out very differently in approach and feel to many of the ones we currently have, this is especially true the further back in MMO history you go.

Seriously, it's so easy to bash on about same old content, copy pasta, etc... without really getting into the points because as soon as you do, it's obvious that a dungeon is still a dungeon, and a trial is still a trial, but they differ considerably in their content, and other than being dungeons and trials they are not the same as each other.

The OP of this thread created another specifically detailing many things he would like to see altered with the current state of the game, many of the ideas presented aren't even massive from an overhaul standpoint but are good ideas that would add some diversity to content at the very least, i'd give it a read if you have the time.

Elky's Idea Thread