So, how is Pagos?

[Claviusnex]

You've been asked several times where you got this supposed "fact" because you keep consistently trying to claim that the relic is supposed to be "a challenge" and no, it's not. The EX and savage weapons are the challenge, the relic is a casual-friendly way to get a decent weapon. You may feel like this is supposed to be some grand "test" to weed out the weak but that's - literally not it, it's supposed to be something you sink some time in here or there. The only people I know who are above 25 in Pagos are the people who spend upwards of 10 hours a day in there. (I'm sure someone's going to speak up and be an exception but I have no in-game proof of that.)

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In fact it is the EX and Savage weapons that form the basis of SE's rationale for starting the Relic so late in the patch cycle. It is to allow the higher level players to have and maintain exclusivity of the best gear without being lowered in value by casual players who get similar gear levels via an easier path.

The grind is there not to make things appear harder, that is done with content, but to limit the rate at which people complete the goals. In Pagos the content itself isn't any harder and is likely easier than previous Relic dungeon/raid requirements. The problem is with the gating techniques. Chaining doesn't allow for breaks like you had with Anemos or previous Relic grinds. You can't even let the dog out or change the baby without breaking the chain and wasting the party's time. The spawning of NM's is also a gate however with Pagos they have become so rare you have to wonder if they are worth the reward. Another gate is the rewards that are used to entice people to keep playing. Rewards includes XP along with the tangible stuff like lock boxes, minions, etc. The drop rate is so low on any of it that people get tired of waiting for RNG they quit playing. All of these techniques are broken for all but the hardcore players who have lots of time to spend in Pagos.

Another problem is low levels have no catch up mechanism which has become an unintended gate whereas running instances allowed high level players to directly or indirectly help lower level players due to level sync. If you only have a few hours per week or 30 minutes here or there it is likely you will never be able to finish Pagos, This is due to no one to group with. Much like Anemos before the NM train Pagos is already showing signs of this but has no mechanism, no matter how inefficient, for low level players to compensate and catch up.

I think it would help if some of the players quit equating effort (grind) to challenge. Other than the risk of repetitive stress injuries Pagos is not that much of a challenge so fits the casual definition. The problem is the effort required far out weighs the benefit of the rewards and the gap becomes even wider over time for those that cannot dedicate a lot of time to Pagos.