Expansion Ideas: Systems, Features, and Content Types - What would you add?

[Selvokaz]

Psychic is coming, i can feel it, and my feels have never led me astray, it might not show up next but it'll pop up eventually.

[Yzuna]

I'd like them to rework the combat system. So it's less about rotation, and more about teamplay.
Whether it's group chain attack, party buff, situationnal buff...but enough about the mindless rotation.

I'd like the combat system to be more "if X them Y". React to what the mob is doing, react to what your party members are doing.
I find it more interesting than "first X then Y" rotations.

Also, more boss where you can't see casting bar and need to react to what you see or hear. If possible, for some, less predictable rotation and more random TP move.

For features, i'd like for them to do something with the guildleves system (think ENM/Assault from FFXI). Hard content for 4/8 members, with specifics conditions tied to winning, bonuses unlocked depending on how you do it (times/members paths etc.). Guildleves was fun at the beginning, I don't know why they didn't follow-up on those. Specially since it's quite cheap to make, they can re-use most of the asset they have.


More condition to win PoTD/HoH. Like kill a single mini boss, avoid mobs, activate something, solve mini puzzle...add a little variety to the system.


Worldquests to unlock big new content (new area/boss etc). Think WoW AQ quests for instance. It might not be the best content, it can be grindy, but you get a great sense of achievement as a community, and I think it's never a bad thing.


Try to develop, as least once, a huge, hard donjon (instanced or not). designed for 4 or 8, with multiple paths, optionnal/secret boss, roaming patrols of trash, where mobs can link add etc., and quests tied to it. (like EQ2 donjons, or Blackrock Depths from WoW vanilla) You could go to clear only a few boss, go specifically for a quest, or to clear it all)
If people like it, great, you can make more of those, if not, well then at least they'll have tried. But I'm pretty sure it can be a huge success.


But more than anything, please, please SE, stop making content revolving on FATE train grind. One boss FATE here, one boss FATE there, sure, why not. but the huge part of content tied to it is too much.

[Acidblood]

Try to develop, as least once, a huge, hard donjon (instanced or not). designed for 4 or 8, with multiple paths, optionnal/secret boss, roaming patrols of trash, where mobs can link add etc., and quests tied to it. (like EQ2 donjons, or Blackrock Depths from WoW vanilla) You could go to clear only a few boss, go specifically for a quest, or to clear it all)
If people like it, great, you can make more of those, if not, well then at least they'll have tried. But I'm pretty sure it can be a huge success.

^ Definitely this! And just a general move away from Casual = Braindead FATE grind (but instanced! :/) and Hardcore = Dancing with a Boss. (MHW event is hopefully a step in this direction).

Class customisation via Traits and just generally giving every class the attention they need to make them fun, fluid, and distinct (even if this means no 'new' classes).

Systems to allow more re-use (i.e. scaling to current iLevel and rewards) of 'old' content... e.g. monthly 'savage' dungeons, weekly 'time-travel' raids / trials, some sort of progressive dungeon scaling (e.g. mythic+)

A proper (ARR/HW style) relic quest with diverse activities that can be done slowly over time (and solo / duty finder if needed).

Extreme suggestion: Drop PvP (or at least the competitive side of it) and introduce seasonal PvE leader boards for competitive dungeons / trials / raids / etc. (e.g. fastest run, fastest kill(s), least damage taken, etc.) ... duty recorder could be used to verify results and share them publicly.

[Ekimmak]

A proper (ARR/HW style) relic quest with diverse activities that can be done slowly over time (and solo / duty finder if needed).

See, while the original versions were a grind, they were also a lot of things you could do on your own over time.

There's an excessive lack of things to do while waiting for a cross-world party to fill. The relic/anima weapons were a good "spare time" thing to do, but since Eureka is also instanced, going for the Anemos equipment means forgoing any queues or grouping.

[Tanama]

I'd like them to rework the combat system. So it's less about rotation, and more about teamplay.
Whether it's group chain attack, party buff, situationnal buff...but enough about the mindless rotation.

I'd like the combat system to be more "if X them Y". React to what the mob is doing, react to what your party members are doing.
I find it more interesting than "first X then Y" rotations.

Also, more boss where you can't see casting bar and need to react to what you see or hear. If possible, for some, less predictable rotation and more random TP move.

For features, i'd like for them to do something with the guildleves system (think ENM/Assault from FFXI). Hard content for 4/8 members, with specifics conditions tied to winning, bonuses unlocked depending on how you do it (times/members paths etc.). Guildleves was fun at the beginning, I don't know why they didn't follow-up on those. Specially since it's quite cheap to make, they can re-use most of the asset they have.


More condition to win PoTD/HoH. Like kill a single mini boss, avoid mobs, activate something, solve mini puzzle...add a little variety to the system.


Worldquests to unlock big new content (new area/boss etc). Think WoW AQ quests for instance. It might not be the best content, it can be grindy, but you get a great sense of achievement as a community, and I think it's never a bad thing.


Try to develop, as least once, a huge, hard donjon (instanced or not). designed for 4 or 8, with multiple paths, optionnal/secret boss, roaming patrols of trash, where mobs can link add etc., and quests tied to it. (like EQ2 donjons, or Blackrock Depths from WoW vanilla) You could go to clear only a few boss, go specifically for a quest, or to clear it all)
If people like it, great, you can make more of those, if not, well then at least they'll have tried. But I'm pretty sure it can be a huge success.


But more than anything, please, please SE, stop making content revolving on FATE train grind. One boss FATE here, one boss FATE there, sure, why not. but the huge part of content tied to it is too much.

All of this would breathe a much needed breath of fresh air to the mundane content cycle we've had going for the last couple of expansions.

[Grimoire-M]

With how much stuff SE adds to improve the levelling experience it would be nice to see some better one-and-done overworld level-cap side content at release. Stuff like Hildibrand and the Post Moogle quests were great, but we barely get time for anything like it. Beast Tribes barely count in this regard as they're daily locked, and scale to the player's level, but don't offer much at 70 other than aesthetics and a pitiable amount of tomes. I'd like to see less levelling sidequests and more level 80 only side quests at the release of the next expansion. Or level 80 rewards for these levelling quests. I think that would be a good idea to add them in as a one-time way to quickly generate uncapped tomestones, which players would appreciate immensely at release and as part of catching up beyond that.

[OriginsOfSkye]

Well it's really a pretty minor thing but there's a specific type of defensive ability in this game that has been annoying me for the whole 2 years that I've been playing this game.
I'm talking about defensive abilities like addle and feint that only apply to either magical or physical incoming damage. The problem with abilites like these is that as far as I can tell there's absolutely no in-game way to tell wether any attack is magical or physical in nature (and some are just really unintuitive). So just give us some indication at all on wether an attack is one or the other. Could be as simple as a little icon next to the castbar.

[MPNZ]

Hunts:

• An ability to help players locate b rank hunts.
  
• Increasing the number of A-rank enemies to two.
  
• a significant decrease in spawn times for A and S ranks.
  
• An introduction of SS-class hunts for encounters like Odin, Behemoth, Ixion et cetera
  
• A significant increase in spawn rates for encounters like Odin
  
• Unique music for encounters like Odin
  
• Ifrit to be introduced as an SS-class hunt with new music
  
• Allied seals to be reward from FATES
  
• An increase to GC elite hunt marks to three
  
• Two SS-class hunts per area (Black Shroud, Limsa, sea of clouds, Coerthas et cetera) with expanded areas to explore (no flying, please)
  
• SSS-class hunt marks (instanced) as purchasable (one to unlock and one to enter the instance)
  
• An increase to Hunt seal capacity to 20000 each
  
• Alternate Artifact weapons and armors and upgrade quests
  
• Glamour sets
  
• an option to exchange unique items like the Behemoth horn for GC seals or squadron equipment

Exploratory missions:

• No longer instanced
  
• Introduced clan centurio and mark lists (for EXP and crystals )
  
• increase NM spawn rates

General:

• More areas to explore in existing zones (lv 51-99 monsters)
  
• New towns and NPCs
  
• more no-fly zones
  
• Beautification of older zones or at least an introduction of Vistas for players to discover
  
• an introduction of dungeon mechanics to ares (water slides, elevators, et cetera)
  
• Aethercytes in asyss La...

[Seraphor]

I had a thought about a limited implementation of a "parser".
It could take the form of a "Battle Report", and be displayed at the end of an instance along with the commendation and loot windows.

It would display only:
DPS rankings, no figures, just 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.
Your personal DPS, damage taken, healing received, etc for the entire instance.
Your highest damage single hit.
Recap all the loot you received.
Then give a star ranking for your party's overall performance similar FFXIII.

As this would be pretty much just your personal figures, and nothing shared besides a general dps rank, there wouldn't be much to use to harass other players, plus being solely at the end of an instance means it cant lead to kicking, once you discover any results you've already completed you obligations to that party.
However it would serve the intended purpose of a parser to help individuals know where they might be going wrong and encourage them to improve.
Plus there would then be a tangible reference to base commendations on if you wanted to, and something to screenshot for high end bragging rights.

[Dualgunner]

I have a few ideas.

1) Instanced Dojo.
During prog for the latter phases of Ultima Weapon, my team started using Binding Coil Turn 4 as a practice area. This was possible because the whole arena is accessible without triggering combat, and its size was roughly analogous to Ultima's arena.

Instanced Dojo is a suggestion that sort of expands on that. In an instance let us place dummies that can act out mechanics, dps checks, set markers, set timers, etc so players can put together practice stages for fights.

2) Class Halls
Like in WoW; have class halls with associated class campaigns and other reasons for it to be a possible player hub. Past that the real reason for its existence is to be a hub for players of the same job to congregate. The hope and intent is to stimulate conversation between players ingame and provide practice dummies for players to help each other improve.