Unfair DOL levequests... Dear Square Enix.

[Super_Bee_Brian]

It is 5 AM in the morning where I live right now, logged on in the game hoping for some fun until I realized that it is another day to get plagued by a MAJOR issue in this game. First, let me make this clear, dear Enix… This is an independently written letter. It’s only me and no one else. However, it is my hope that by posting this letter publicly in this forum, that I get other players to read it and support me in getting this heard by your headquarters.

The issue is about certain levequests aimed for mining and botany. I haven’t done fishing yet so I don’t know if this applies to fishing as well. For now, let’s just focus on mining and botany… First, something that needs to be said… Final Fantasy games are 50% luck. Perhaps that number is an exaggeration, but there is profound truth to it. I am fully aware and painfully resentful of the fact that in Final Fantasy games, LUCK is a lady who gets the spotlight more often than not. Like in Final Fantasy 8 where even if you do everything right, there’s a chance that Squall Leonhart wouldn’t perform the Lionheart when it counts the most. I love Final Fantasy games so I have learned to accept this. But in FF14, it went too far…

In certain levequests for either mining or botany, there are a group of them that gives you 8 chances to gather 32 units of items. You don’t get a chance to get 32 units in EACH attempt, no. But for 8 times, cumulative, to succeed in the levequest, you must gather 32 units to complete. Otherwise, it’s a failure. Permit me to use strong words against this. It… is… BULL. Random-Number-Generator (RNG) is a part of this game, but this particular group of levequests should be addressed. I cannot tell you how many times I failed in these quests, having 50% chance of success, and somehow fail 5 times before I succeed once. In fact, it just happened right before I turned on my laptop to type this message out. Hear me out, Square Enix: With RNG active, it is entirely possible to fail 100 times before one succeeds once. Are you really willing to let that happen to your paying players?

Here are my suggestions…

A.) Completely remove these levequests. Perhaps let them stay but change their format, or completely take them away. I don’t care…

B.) DRAMATICALLY increase the rewards for completing them. I mean AT LEAST DOUBLE them.

C.) Create a system where if we fail X number of times, the next few attempts become 100% success to mitigate the terrible beginnings.

I don’t care which of these you do. All I ask is for you to consider my pain and do something about it!

[Iscah]

Check your equipment is up to date, and look at using skills that increase your gathering rate.

I don’t think I’ve ever failed one of those levequests.

[Aster_E]

Check your equipment is up to date, and look at using skills that increase your gathering rate.

I don’t think I’ve ever failed one of those levequests.

Nor have I. With half-decent gear and a low-cost skill, this kind of gathering leve is easy. It's just BORING when you need a minimum 32 items, you're only halfway done with the nodes, and it's not like doing extra will actually make you more money. Unrewarding monotony is the issue here, not rng.

[Vidu]

You have 20 minutes to complete the levequest and 400 native CP.
The skill to increase the gathering rate by 50% costs 250 CP. If that doesnt buff the gathering rate to 100%, aka if your native gathering chance is below 50% you desperatly need new gear. NQ-gear is sold for cheap in all the main cities.
You have enough time to let your CP charge up to use this skill on enough nodes to get the required 32 items, assuming that you're doing those levequests on level and that your equip is up to date. If you run into trouble with your CP: you can buy CP-potions from your GC aswell.

Since the objective doesnt change you can also just try to avoid those levequests, by completing the others that are offered to you.
I always considered them the most annoying because I had far more items than I needed after 5 nodes and still had to run over to the last three... the only adjustment those leves need in my opinion is an added bonus if you gather more items than required.

I'm also not sure if you've noticed this, but a huge chunk of leve-exp actually comes from gathering the items itself. So by not making clever use of your skills and maximizing your gatherin success, you're losing out twice.

[Kaurhz]

If anything levequests are just excruciatingly boring. If you're struggling either update your gear, ensuring it is the most up to date, or change the difficulty modifier when you do the levequests to be either a +1/-1. Setting it to max when you've just entered that level range is only going to drastically reduce the probability of gathering an item. Aim to do the eval leves.

[Adeacia]

I levelled my MIN and BTN to 70 on leavequests. I did a lot of the ones you described. Don't be afraid to use your 50% gather rate boost if needed. Then a cordial to refresh your cp. You'll only have enough time to use one due to the cooldowns though so maybe using the 15% boost is enough if you have upto date gear.

[Iscah]

The 15% boost should be good enough to get you “enough luck” to hit the 32 quota, as long as you keep track of how many attempts you have left, and use the 50% boost if you get to a point where you can’t afford any more misses.

[Frizze]

Yeah this is a you not using all the tools available to you(and possibly having bad gear) issue, not a game issue. I failed 0 levequests while taking MIN and BOT to 70. How? I kept my gear somewhat up to date, and i used my skills to get a boost when i needed it. I waited out GP regen, and i drank cordials if needed.

And i know you didnt ask, but fishing is different. Fishing is always different.

[Neri]

If your default chance is 50% or less, you are apparently need better equipments.

[Malzian]

I did these leves starting from 2.0... They're always been that way... Never had a problem because I always minded my gear. If you have a 50% chance to gather these you're either way undergeared. Also, learn to use your skills, you should have some that give you % chance to gather up and you need to be mindful of your GP and choose when to start a gather attempt around your available skills.