Add difficulty/challenge modes to dungeons

[Zojha]

Casual players get gear aimed at casual content and hardcore players get better gear aimed at more hardcore content.

Shouldn't you give casual players far better gear so they can compensate their lack of skill with it and join hardcore content instead?

It's somewhat odd that people claim better players should better gear when the purpose of bettering your gear is to make content easier through higher DPS, more margin of error etc. That is exactly what less skilled players need in order to engage in harder content and exactly what better players prove they don't. Thus, in order to justify it, you need even harder content that requires this higher DPS and higher margin of error even for better skilled players. Even among the better skilled players however, there are differences - some would need better equipment for that content, but they cannot get it, whereas the even better skilled do get it by proving they don't need it. That in turn...

If you're consequent about it, it's pretty much a sieve system that can be done as often as you like until only one hardcore group remains, while a constantly increasing amount of people gets locked off content. Granted, in theory - in practice, SE probably wouldn't have the ressources to play the exclusion game all the way to the end. I don't think that's a very good system overall, though.

[TaleraRistain]

Casual players get gear aimed at casual content and hardcore players get better gear aimed at more hardcore content.

The problem here is what do you define as casual content and what do you define as hardcore content in a game like this where we all have to do the same content to progress? EQII did this and it turned into the solo content and gear was for the casuals and everything else, even just basic dungeons, started to be balanced toward the more hardcore because the content wasn't challenging enough. There was even one expansion that was too hard for the solo fanbase when it first came out because it had been balanced toward hardcore gear in the beta. That got updated, but it was unpleasant just trying to complete the solo content in open zones when it first launched. If you're going to say the MSQ here should be balanced around more hardcore gear, then you lock the casual fanbase out of MSQ progression.

[SessionZero]

Instance challenge is a particular hot-button topic right now, I think, because generally in FFXIV content is either mind-numbingly easy or ball-bustingly hard. There's usually no middle ground. I agree that adding a WoW-style Heroic or Mythic difficulty to the table with each dungeon introduced would be a good idea, instead of the current method of re-introducing an older dungeon as a 'Hard Mode' in future patches (which isn't always a harder variant of it's older counterpart... glaring at you, Hullbreaker HM).

It'd be easy enough to sit down, design a dungeon, then create a few variant mechanics and mobs with greater stats to plop into the dungeon as a Heroic mode that gets introduced alongside new dungeons. That way veteran players who clear the normal content quickly have something else to do besides mindlessly farming tomes or bashing their heads against Savage content.

[xanthos]

Would agree if thete was an extreme mode version of dungeons but make it with harder mechanics ive done dungeons at minimun i lvl it doesnt really make a difference its not like raid difficulty plustreasure dtops of 10 ilvls or higher of the current dungeon would be nice

[Lunavi]

I agree, a certain other MMORPG has implemented a system like that, and it almost made me go back to it, almost... It is something SE should really look into as it creates potential to create relevant content for when only 4 people in FC is on. Maybe 51-200 palace can fulfill that need, but it would really need to drop relevant gear for that to truly happen.

[Sylvain]

Removing the big red circle on the ground would make any new released dongeon much harder since no one would dodge anything.

[Deliciou5]

Removing the big red circle on the ground would make any new released dongeon much harder since no one would dodge anything.

Mostly referring to the bosses, having too watch their animations/cast bars more than the aoes on the ground.

[XiXiQ]

I think you already have the power to make content more challenging if you wish without any changes being made - simply get a group, and go in using minimal gear, or just take 2 people into a dungeon, or choose an unlikely group of classes/jobs to do certain content - and if you think POTD is joke easy, go do it solo.

[Maero]

The new dungeons this patch, at least in terms of dungeon design is great, the difficulty well, there is none really. They really should make away with the "Hard Mode" naming also, lol
Procedural generated stuff would be a way to go, POTD uses this (somewhat) but could be great to have varied enemies every time you go in.


Ok that is just my opinion anyhow, that is totally fine if some do not agree with me

[LunnaRavenheart]

The new dungeons this patch, at least in terms of dungeon design is great, the difficulty well, there is none really. They really should make away with the "Hard Mode" naming also, lol
Procedural generated stuff would be a way to go, POTD uses this (somewhat) but could be great to have varied enemies every time you go in.


Ok that is just my opinion anyhow, that is totally fine if some do not agree with me

I am fine with any opinion I just not understand how can newly realesed dungeons can be considered as good difficulty. Atleast not good for everyone i think. I think its just same as old with new graphic. Nothing changed at all. Thats why I asked for option to be able to choose difficulty according of prefference.