Are we as players afraid of a challenge?

[Cakekizyy]

In this game you can go afk to have dinner or something, come back to find you've been pwned by spawned A rank on top of your head

Why I afk in sanctuaries.

[Windi]

Why I afk in sanctuaries.

Or just afk in a safe spot where enemies don't spawn or see you.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Nowhere do I suggest that it be impossible to travel once you have got through the zone once. Think of it as having a aetherite at the end and have the roads themselves be fairly safe, but have objectives beyond the path that require some effort or teamwork.

Then again I probably have a different definition of fun than you do as frustration is part of how I enjoy my games. If they aren't challenging me then it's not really fun.

Problem with that is the challenge is rendered obsolete almost instantly because if you up the difficulty to that extent, people will always teleport. I would rather new mechanics be introduced that have a lasting appeal. Ideally, I'd love to see hunts reworked into world bosses with actual mechanics and a means to prevent people zerging them down.

And oh, I don't mind frustration in my difficulty. I've put silly little challenges on my games in the past. I just don't like difficulty that feels more tedious than fun. Case in point, in Mass Effect 2, I did a no-cover Vanguard run and cursed like a sailor the whole way through. Was a blast though, especially one fight you're not supposed to even win. Now flip to FFX's No Sphere Grid and I just never found it fun. Might be turned based combat rearing its limitations over action, but when I think of hard content, I want the fights itself to be interesting and engaging not just supped up mobs.

[Shurrikhan]

And oh, I don't mind frustration in my difficulty. I've put silly little challenges on my games in the past. I just don't like difficulty that feels more tedious than fun. Case in point, in Mass Effect 2, I did a no-cover Vanguard run and cursed like a sailor the whole way through. Was a blast though, especially one fight you're not supposed to even win. Now flip to FFX's No Sphere Grid and I just never found it fun. Might be turned based combat rearing its limitations over action, but when I think of hard content, I want the fights itself to be interesting and engaging not just supped up mobs.

A lot of the best examples I can remember of urgency in a turn-based comes down to FF bosses that had something of a soft enrage, or just really wanting the thing to die already, while having certain things to be maintained between gambits of burst or reduced personal defense (no Shell/Veil for Death because you were pushing a burn), or any particular burn phases where you had the option of either bunkering down or just pushing even harder, desperately so, in order to swap phases or suppress damage. Weirdly enough, most of the examples coming to mind come from the XIII series, for all its bad wrap. Bits also from VIII, IX, and X though. The rest, it's just been too long since I've played, I guess.

And even those can easily end up feeling tedious rather than urgent, especially when no soft enrage or appropriate scaling is present to make the fight feel right at more than just one level of stat or trait quantity/power.

I would rather new mechanics be introduced that have a lasting appeal. Ideally, I'd love to see hunts reworked into world bosses with actual mechanics and a means to prevent people zerging them down.

I feel like there is so damn much potential in open world boss fights, if they really went whole hog. There could even be aspects of trying to scare the boss out of one place, having him fly off to another area where its mechanics differ, ramping up enough total enmity to cause it to change its tactics.... Open world bosses have at least as much potential for interesting mechanics as any of our instanced raid boss; where our raid bosses can be pushed phase by phase to adjustment of their environments, the open world boss has randomization or multiple options in both initial position and later displaced or phased/replaced environments, can excuse a larger play area than would fit most raids (except perhaps the original T5?), and necessitate scaling for whatever combination of player, ilvl, and role count. Just thinking about 4.0 (been imagining a myth-encroached Sharlayan and surrounding lands), I can't help but include them in my daydreams.

[Jynx]

Ideally the monsters wouldn't just be beef tanks but take a que from 1.0 monsters where they had actual mechanics and tactics to fight with.

Just a few examples of how 1.0 curb stomped it's 2.0 predicessor with monster mechanics.

• Wolves: Would attempt to flank players when fought in groups to do more damage at the side and flank.
• Crabs: Would raise their hands in a guard stance and counter when attacked. Some sub-species (Red Crabs) would also raise their claws when you got near them but would not engage until you got within a certain range letting you know they meant business before you got too close.
• Efts: When near could only sense you if you moved, if you moves close to them they would pop their heads up and try to pinpoint you. Aggro Could be avoided by stopping in your tracks until they lowered their stance.
• Funguar: Would bloat up or shrink in a counterstance that if attacked would unleash a AOE poison or damage and could be avoided by avoiding attacks during this phase.

That's just to name a few, monsters felt more alive in the world than they do nowdays and that's a damn shame they took those mechanics out just because of one annoying behavior type that goats and Galago had in common (Where they would follow players on sight for a small distance but not attack making use of AOE attacks a hindrance in some areas) Why they just didn't remove the one AI is beyond me but baby with the bathwater and all that.

[Headhunters]

ahhhhh

the San D'Oria > Jeuno 1st walk at lv 20~21. Memories.

[Granyala]

Given how horribly bad most of this community is at playing this game:
You damn right I am.

Apart from that: challenging open world content that isn't instanced will NEVER work, because you can always just bring more warm bodies.
If you force people into soloing challenging stuff you will quickly run into class balance issues.

Bottom line: Not worth the DEV effort.

[Sandpark]

That's just to name a few, monsters felt more alive in the world than they do nowdays and that's a damn shame they took those mechanics out just because of one annoying behavior type that goats and Galago had in common (Where they would follow players on sight for a small distance but not attack making use of AOE attacks a hindrance in some areas) Why they just didn't remove the one AI is beyond me but baby with the bathwater and all that.

And even that could have become a mechanic.

• Have a shoo emote that makes them move away for a minute or so then AoE could be used in that time.
• When you cast an AoE you have to fight them once but then those type get a collective consciousness for X amount of time and don't follow you.
• Or have it be a type of enemy that would assist you fighting and be immune to your skills like a non invited party member.
  
  But hey! At least now enemies are just there for decorations and fates. Baby and the bathwater. Think, See, Feel.

[Jynx]

Honestly I feel like monsters in general even in instances feel like lifeless punching bags.

[Tolmos]

I also think a lot of the trepidation that players have towards challenge in MMOs, especially this game, has to do with playing with other people. There is always that one guy in every group who has done the content 20-30 times already by the time they hit the run with you, and if you haven't watched all the guides and perform all the moves perfectly, they go full man-child on you and throw a tantrum of legendary proportions in party chat.

That can get under the skin of even the more seasoned MMO players, and is not particularly enjoyable.

So, in a game like this where random parties are a crux of the game for many people, a lot of them are not going to be happy with the idea of an extremely challenging duty... not because of the challenge, but because of what it brings out in the more "hardcore" players.