How to make the 3rd raid difficulty work

[BubblyBoar]

But the story is an integral part of "that kind of content". "Oh, look, Bahamut is a threat to all Eorzea, what a powerful foe !...that we can beat while watching Netflix"

So, in fact Coil is an integral part of a story you didn't even play, and on top of that, that you probably wouldn't have cleared since 1.xx actually had challenging story fights.

Yes, it did, but it wasn't the only culprit. The other culprit is gear lifetime. Those two together reduced the raiding population because, suddenly, neither gear nor lore was a longtime reward for raiding.

So, if they stick to normal/savage mode to include people like you, they'd better improve the other incentive of raiding. Problem is, people who don't raid still think that they deserve equal rewards than raiders, and that's wrong. If the only thing that bothered casuals was doing the raid content, removing the ability to upgrade to i270 wouldn't actually hinder their progression at all.

And guess what? That challenge you want is being added as the third difficulty. So what if there is a normal mode, it doesn't diminish the satisfaction you get for beating the hardest version of the fight. Normal mode didn't diminish the threat of Alexander. That was a whole different issue. Lore-wise, you are the only one that beat it, no one else, so just because there is an easy version of the fight doesn't mean anything. The story is for everyone, it's literally the main selling point of Final Fantasy.

And I love how you just assume I'm a horrible player because I don't raid. Just because I don't like the content doesn't mean I don't try to be good at the game. I'm not top of FFLogs nor do I try to be. But I'm also not one of those DF horror ice mages. I know my opener and rotation. I work to play my class well. I even make pots and food because I enjoy crafting them. But I don't like raiding. Amazing right?

And no, normal mode wasn't a major part of what killed raiding. The major factor was people asking for more than they could chew, whether that was because normal gave them false confidence, or because they saw others clear final coil and thought it should be harder. As for gear, savage gear has always been better than the normal gear, I'm not even sure the point you are trying to make with that.

I'm not saying savage should be for me. I've said it many times that I'm not a raider. I'm happy with normal mode and just that. Are there people asking for savage nerfs? Yes, but they are fools and I've called them out on it. I even said in the very post you quoted that I don't want anything from savage, I just want my story, that's all. Please stop making me out to be some entitled cry baby. I don't want your gear or mounts or minions or titles. All I want is the story that normal gave me and I'm happy with it. Don't conflate me with the others.

[Reynhart]

No, all I can offer is observation and on Tiamat (very low population server) while the content was still relevant, I'd routinely see 10+ players at any given time wearing the titles.

Sorry, but "looking around you" is hardly a clear evidence.

I don't think this is a good idea for 2 reasons..: Balance and incentives.

"Balance" against what ? Every raider would have the same chance to drop those items.
As for incentive, even if you could get 8 pieces, you'd still need to do creator to complete your set. And if you didn't drop, Creator loot will help clearing every raid faster, thus increasing the odds of looting this special gear. Especially if this special gear is actually higher than i270.

And then there won't be anything to strive for with the gear when the raid is over too.

Yes, there is...Stormblood content. If the gear you drop won't get replaced until the next level cap, you'll use them far more than any normal drops.

And guess what? That challenge you want is being added as the third difficulty. So what if there is a normal mode, it doesn't diminish the satisfaction you get for beating the hardest version of the fight.

No, it diminishes the incentive to do it. Challenge only for the sake of challenge is boring.

And I love how you just assume I'm a horrible player because I don't raid.

I don't assume you're a horrible player. There's no difference between clearing Rivenroad in 1.23 and killing a raid boss. If you don't like that, you just probably wouldn't have done it. And if you would have, I'd like to understand why you don't like raiding ?

The major factor was people asking for more than they could chew

Sure, Gordias was brutal. But having a good incentive is what pushes people to get better. If there's none, they'll just say "fuck it, I can have on par gear without it"

As for gear, savage gear has always been better than the normal gear, I'm not even sure the point you are trying to make with that.

Yes, but why non-raiders should obtain same ilvl gear ?

I don't want your gear or mounts or minions or titles.

Maybe you don't, but people do. That's why we have alternate means of obtaining upgrade items since second coil.

[Magic-Mal]

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That's bad though because when the actual i270 raid comes out people would beat it way too fast. Therefore, messing up balance AND giving players an excuse to be bored and say "It was too easy". Not only that, the moment a previous raid tier gets it lockout removed, players would farm it for i270 loot.

By the way there are 12 slots in a set of gear. And only 11 slots to fill due to only being able to carry one ring. So that would be 8/11 pieces of the final raid. Why do the raid longer than a week or two?

[Reynhart]

That's bad though because when the actual i270 raid comes out people would beat it way too fast.

No, they won't. You just have to focus more on mechanics than gear checks.

Not only that, the moment a previous raid tier gets it lockout removed, players would farm it for i270 loot.

They would still only have 4 items for each tier. It's still better than having everything you dropped being obsolete. And frankly, even when Midas was released, most people were still unable to clear Gordias Savage.