Is EX/Savage content a battle or a dance number?

[Xerek]

Just seeing what others think. I recently dipped my toes into Savage content and discovered it not to my liking. I'd like to think I'm a good astro, and can rock casual content quite well. So, I got to thinking, why is EX/Savage not engaging for me? It's not difficulty. I love a challenge, and beating my head against A8N until finally getting the clear remains a highlight of XIV for me. So, I thought a bit more and it hit me.

EX/Savage content isn't harder battles. It's harder because it's overloaded with mechanics and is a predictable pattern. When I run them, I'm not fighting a brutal battle, I'm playing "Dance Dance Revolution - Eorzea". Most wipes are not the result of a healer not healing well enough, or a tank not holding aggro...it's not the DPS not burning down adds quick enough...it's someone failing an arbitrary mechanic. O1S, someone doesn't slide back to the right spot? Likely two deaths. O2S, someone doesn't get the bouncing ball mechanic right? Likely a few deaths, maybe even a wipe.

You're not fighting a fight, you're executing a pre-established routine. I'd love to have to decide if I need to heal the tank, or if I can heal an injured DPS. Is my card draw situational? Is someone down TP? Do I shuffle, hoping for a Spire? Instead I get..."Oh, Classical Elements. Okay, everyone to the center on their cardinal point. Okay, wait for it...ice...okay, now we get blasted back. Everyone slide to center. Boom. Okay, everyone slide back to the edge at their cardinal points. Boom. Okay, everyone back together for the shared AoE. Boom." ...what didn't I say in that entire sequence? Anything combat-related. At all. I swear I could take a recording of that sequence from O1S, cut the audio out and replace it with classical music and it would look like a routine.

O2S is even worse. Up, down, up, down, half up, half down, DPS to diagonal corners, heals/tanks north south, follow the bouncing ball, make sure you drop the tentacles in the marked spots...cue the Blue Danube. It's a dance. And in-between the dance steps, fit in a lil tank/heal/DPS. It's not a savage battle. It's a dance, and if you screw up a single dance step one or more people die. It's not about being an elite tank/healer/DPS, it's about memorizing each dance. And since the mechanics come at specific times each fight, there is nothing reactionary. It's not about knowing what to do when Charrybliss knocks people down to 1 HP in O1S. No, it's part of the dance, because it's going to happen twice...at the exact same times...each time.

Now, I realize my opinion is my own, I'm not going to say SE should change things, because there are obviously people out there that like it in it's current incarnation. But I figure I could at least express my disappointment and see if there was anyone else out there that felt the same. There is nothing savage about Savage. It's actually quite formal and civilized. All you need do is learn how to dance each dance.

[Nightroad]

The term you are looking for is "Synchronized rope jumping" , I believe.

[Aylis]

The term you are looking for is "Synchronized rope jumping" , I believe.

I just call it "The Square Dance"

[DeaconMoore]

Oh man, don't tell raiders they're just playing a reskinned Dance Dance Revolution game, you'll have a riot on your hands. They're the elite killers of Eorzea, not it's dancing queens.

[Lilseph]

Oh man, don't tell raiders they're just playing a reskinned Dance Dance Revolution game, you'll have a riot on your hands. They're the elite killers of Eorzea, not it's dancing queens.

But it's the raiders the ones with a nasty attitude, right? Right, guys?

@OP: O1S-O2S are a joke. The real challenge begins at O3S, culminating with O4S, where you'll find yourself in trouble healing-wise.

[Sebazy]

O1S has no right to be called a Savage turn whilst O2S is pretty much a target dummy with a moderately interesting gimmick attached, so yes, your views are pretty correct for the content you've seen so far.

This tier's savage really doesn't start until O3S IMHO and I'd strongly recommend you give it a dabble as it's quite far removed from what you've seen so far. Whilst yes, it's still a dance of sorts, it's a significant step up in raw challenge vs the previous 2 turns as well as bringing a modest amount of RNG to the table that you can't entirely preplan and position for. It's my favourite fight of the tier TBH, perhaps because it reminds me of a watered down A3S.

*edit*

On a side note, I'd be interested to see how you feel that SE could make this stuff more challenging?

I'd argue that T13 had one of the sternest healing checks of ARR, yet it was also the easiest tier of the time. A3S and A8S conjure a lot of good memories but at the end of the day, whilst they both had notable healer and DPS checks, they were both very mechanic centric fights at their heart as well. *edit2* Heck, did you ever do Coil Turn 1? In Darklight gear it was actually pretty brutal with fairly careful CD usage being required to survive as the damage stacks built up. Once we had full Allagan gear? It was completely trivialised. A sadly reoccurring theme with raid content in MMOs built around vertical progression.

I see people asking for more RNG in FFXIV but in all honesty, I'm not really sure that's a good way to go with the endgame (As WoW attests to).

[KaivaC]

Man...if you think O1S and O2S are representative of Savage, O3S is going to feel impossible. That one truly is a dance. Every. Single. Mechanic.

[Enla]

I mean that's basically why I call unsync'd Titan Ex the game's equivalent of Dance Dance Revolution. That sort of game style has been prevalent since ARR.


Literally this is not the list of possible moves but the literal order in which they come every single time.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I mean that's basically why I call unsync'd Titan Ex the game's equivalent of Dance Dance Revolution. That sort of game style has been prevalent since ARR.


Literally this is not the list of possible moves but the literal order in which they come every single time.

You left out the tank version!

[Enla]

You left out the tank version!

Meanwhile one of the healers and the dragoon is down in the lava, hanging out. Good times! xD