Eureka... what were you expecting?

[Alleo]

I honestly think that they will add more things to do later. They didn't release everything on day one because there are some people that can finish everything in few days.

Like with Diadem 1 and 2 which was never much improve or built upon after it was death?

If people are burnt out or bored from this will they really give it another chance when they release more to do later on in a few months? Were 17 months not enough to release a full version? I mean even right now most people will not be able to finish everything in a few days, yet now if people have their stuff and never go back there it will be harder for the rest. If they had more ways then people could have still found a use to go back there.

[Krotoan]

Apparently, the scaling seems to be really good. Even with a single group of 6-8 people in the instance you should be able to easily get things done.
You still won't be able to do anything effectively in solo, though. But that doesn't change from the current situation.

6-8 people around your level. Which may be the problem later. We're going to have 30-40 lvl 20's farming their stuff and a scattering of 1-15's who can't party with each other and have to grind solo. This is the problem I foresee. I have no difficulty completing NM's around my level in a party, but if I'm playing catch-up it's not going to be like that. I really hope it's NOT going to be like that but I don't see a solution currently in play or possible without changes.

later subscribers and players are going to have a much worse experience than those currently playing.

[Solarra]

Something along the lines of WoW's Timeless Isle/Argus model, not a carbon copy but something similar. A large open world land that had something for everyone, a large range of rewards and different ways to play and enjoy it. Easy mobs, elite mobs, rare mobs, Fates, dailies, rep, minions, mounts, treasures, gathering, crafting, invasions, proper story chain, that sort of thing.

^this!

Plus:
I expected I'd be able to play with my friends (including those who started late).
I definitely expected to be able to go in solo when I had some free time and feel I'd achieved something regardless of how long I spent.
I expected interesting potions and items unique to the island in hidden locations or just randomly spawning, so exploring was rewarded.
I expected story. Rowena and Gerolt have a lot of history that could be explored and Krile's story was one I was particularly looking forward to but there's nothing there.
I expected longevity.
I'm not sure how feasible it will be to get a SB relic after the expansion but it looks like it will be brutal at best, assuming the fate to get the feathers can be solo'd.
I expected a quest hub that would keep people occupied for months and give them reasons to come in even after the relic is no longer current.
I expected content that was fun to do in itself, not something I'd actively dislike but might consider pushing myself through for the rewards.


What I didn't expect:
Nothing to do besides grind and ride the Fate-Train.
FtP-type time-waste mechanics like the pitiful XP from mob kills and the hefty death penalty.
The horrible culling issues.
Mounts and Aetherytes as rewards for levelling.
Not only is it frustrating not being able to attune below level 9 but high level players not needing to pass through areas where the lowbies are levelling might make getting rezzed difficult in the future. I'd have preferred everyone to have mounts and Aetheryte access or no one (the island isn't that big). Note: This wouldn't be an issue if there was any reason to explore.

Since we are basically spamming our rotations without a break while we are in there, I would have hoped (I admit I didn't expect) for some change to our abilities to make it less punishing on the hands.
People who played XI talk about having time to socialise and chat while fighting; I think I would have enjoyed this content more if we had a combat system that allowed that.

[TheGrimace]

I expected another Diadem. I got another Diadem. I'm not surprised, but I am still disappointed. They made it abundantly clear that there would be solo options, but yeah, no.

The zone is beautiful and I like its size but it has absolutely no longevity. In a month or two it will be dead content after everyone has their artifacts or gets bored. It will slowly begin to trickle to nothingness, much like Diadem. Those who still attempt the content will do it at a much slower rate due to the lack of people. SE will tease updates and fixes, but it won't solve the problem at large, the lack of substance. It's on borrowed time.

[Fyce]

6-8 people around your level. Which may be the problem later. We're going to have 30-40 lvl 20's farming their stuff and a scattering of 1-15's who can't party with each other and have to grind solo. This is the problem I foresee. I have no difficulty completing NM's around my level in a party, but if I'm playing catch-up it's not going to be like that. I really hope it's NOT going to be like that but I don't see a solution currently in play or possible without changes.

later subscribers and players are going to have a much worse experience than those currently playing.

Wait, why wouldn't the scattered players group up? Fate EXP isn't affected by party composition at all. And since even a Lv.1 can be a valuable party member by simply being a healer/rez mage/SMN, there's no reason not to take them with you. The Lv.15 will have a really easy time making lower level Fates spawn while still getting a chunk of EXP and crystals, and the Lv.1 would quickly get fate EXP while providing support. (Granted, tanks and other DPS won't be able to do much though...)
Besides, the Lv.20 players would likely join the fates on the occasion, as there's not really anything to "farm" in Eureka at high level. Once you kill Pazuzu (Lv.20 NM), you get your feathers and... well that's it. If you want crystals you'll have to do fates anyway.

The only issue being that lower level players will have a hard time not getting one-shotted by AoEs, but that why being able to choose what boss you want to fight is an invaluable improvement over regular Fate farm, Hunts and Diadem. The amount of control you have in Eureka is very high in that regards.

So, speaking out of my personal experience, I legitimately don't see the declining participation in Eureka to be much of an issue. Except in the absolute worst case scenarios... but even then, these probably won't occur before the content gets nerfed/improved.

I'm actually very surprised that SE managed to come up with a content which seems that it'd hold abandonment pretty well. And in regards to this thread's topic, I have to say that wasn't something I was expecting.
Time might prove me wrong, but so far it doesn't seems an actual concern to have.

[Maero]

Well it may not have been a promise about solo-ing the content but they had said it would be possible. I guess to some degree it is?
As for Eureka itself for the little bit of info they had given it was made to sound like it would be something very different when in reality is a new Diadem with elements of atma and POTD
So really i wanted SE to finally think out of the box but they have not.
With this said i still do not mind Eureka to some degree, players are what are making the content less desirable for me.

Kinda hard to expect anything when most of the profit this game gets doesn't get funded back into improving it. Instead it goes to ffxv how much dlc can we possibly make for this game and ffvii never figure out what we want to do with the remake edition.

This is very true, alot of the money from this game goes to SE other projects which is part of business i guess but still sad

[Krotoan]

Wait, why wouldn't the scattered players group up? Fate EXP isn't affected by party composition at all. And since even a Lv.1 can be a valuable party member by simply being a healer/rez mage/SMN, there's no reason not to take them with you. The Lv.15 will have a really easy time making lower level Fates spawn while still getting a chunk of EXP and crystals, and the Lv.1 would quickly get fate EXP while providing support. (Granted, tanks and other DPS won't be able to do much though...)
Besides, the Lv.20 players would likely join the fates on the occasion, as there's not really anything to "farm" in Eureka at high level. Once you kill Pazuzu (Lv.20 NM), you get your feathers and... well that's it. If you want crystals you'll have to do fates anyway.

There are already high levels who come in, kill maybe 3 different NMS including pazuzu then leave. This is a thing. They don't want piddling low level NMS or anything that doesn't get them optimal crystals and lockboxes.
A 15 solo would be better off leeching off the high levels, the low levels would likely rather get XP as they try to spawn things. If they band together it's to HOPE that they can do better than alone.

The only issue being that lower level players will have a hard time not getting one-shotted by AoEs, but that why being able to choose what boss you want to fight is an invaluable improvement over regular Fate farm, Hunts and Diadem. The amount of control you have in Eureka is very high in that regards.

So, speaking out of my personal experience, I legitimately don't see the declining participation in Eureka to be much of an issue. Except in the absolute worst case scenarios... but even then, these probably won't occur before the content gets nerfed/improved.

A party wipe post level 6 will be DEVASTATING. All you'd have left at that point is HOPING that some level 20 will peel off and come help. otherwise hours of work would be gone. This is not how I want to play this game. I will concede others may like it, but I will vote no every time to this kind of mechanic.

[Lambdafish]

In all seriousness, my expectation on patch day was finding out what the hell it was

[Bourne_Endeavor]

You only have yourself to blame at that point, considering the only meaningful way you can show you don't like a content is by not doing it.
I personally like it, but, seriously, this is a game so if you don't like, you really shouldn't do it.

To be fair, there isn't much else to do at the moment. Eureka is pretty much going to carry us into 4.3, which likely won't release until May.

[Lord_Zlatan]

Overall, after having a weekend to play in it, I LIKE IT.

I do not love it. There is something alarming about it though that highlights one of the things I despise about modern gaming: IT IS CLEARLY NOT FINISHED. How this is possible/acceptable is beyond me, but alas, it is an unfinished product none the less.

I started out doing Eureka because I did not want to be super behind on the 4.x relic situation. I eventually learned that one of the most positive things about it is the community connection element. Beyond just saying O7 at the beginning of an instance or people BSing in Limsa, people dont have to converse DURING battle content. This is a much needed and welcom change IMO. I love going out and rezing people, coordinating with people on what to farm, etc...

There needs to be more, though. They need to have stuff to break up what is essentially a straight up grind. Those things have been mentioned in other threads, but simple things like gathering, daily/weekly, invading beast tribes, hunt board, etc would all be fantastic editions to a potentially good albeit unfinished piece of content