State of the Game: Quality of Life Adjustments for Players with Friends

[Delmontyb]

There is a lot to love about Final Fantasy XIV, and having given the latest expansion some thought, I figured I'd like to share some ideas that would add to the overall replayability of the game as a whole.

While I have a lot of ideas that I want to share, this post is focused on the idea of Quality of Life Adjustments for Players with friends, and what that really means, it's focused on the overall player experience for friends helping friends on quests and more.

YouTube video

1. Party Level Sync
Outside of Fates, Dungeons, and Trials, if players want to play together and help each other out with quests and missions, it's in their best interest to be at the same level or have the other friend hang outside the party to assist their friend and only group up for FATE content and Dungeons. This can be a hassle, and if players where able to group up and sync to a player in the party's level, this would remove the need to keep dropping and reforming the party. Players would only be able to sync down to the select player, and it wouldn't allow you to sync upward. Furthermore, as talked about in another post, if there was some benefit to XP once at the cap, then you would help add a benefit for the higher level player (see XP at cap post for more on that final thought)

2. Quest Sharing and Scaling
One we have the ability to party level sync and help each other run questions and missions, the natural extension of this feature would be to allow players in a party see the quests, as well as objectives that the other players are seeing. This would remove the need to have a perfect memory of content you've done before. Being able to see on the map where quests objectives are located and the name and info of what quests a player is working on would be a huge help. With the quests being balanced for one player, then the next request is that as players team up to tackle these quests, it would be nice to see the difficulty scale for quests where a certain number of enemies need to be beaten, etc.

3. Upgrade Single Player fights into Party based fights if the player wishes
It would be nice if these single player battles that FFXIV has in the main storyline where to be opened to allow for multiple people to run the fight. Right now it's a bit of a disconnect that as we help players through the main story, there are always those times where you have to drop party to run a specific fight. It would be nice if a player could take others into these fights, and if they did, just scale the enemies up in terms of difficulty and stats.

4. Shared Map Markers
Being able to post your map marker into the chat, is a very nice feature. However, it would be so much better if each member of the party had their own flag, and that they could mark the map, and players in the party would already see it. Without the need to post to chat, and for other players to select the post. Each player's flag should be a specific color or even show their job stone and name.

Those are just my ideas, I’d love to hear your feedback, and hopefully get the attention of the development team with this feedback.
Thanks for your time and attention.

[Souljacker]

What's ironic is all of these are things that were asked and answered in their previous mmo. Why this once didn't come with these things already built in remains a mystery.

[Dzian]

3. Upgrade Single Player fights into Party based fights if the player wishes
It would be nice if these single player battles that FFXIV has in the main storyline where to be opened to allow for multiple people to run the fight. Right now it's a bit of a disconnect that as we help players through the main story, there are always those times where you have to drop party to run a specific fight. It would be nice if a player could take others into these fights, and if they did, just scale the enemies up in terms of difficulty and stats.
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I've said this since 1.0 to be honest. It's an MMOplayers want to experience the stories with there friends..

The added advantage of allowing this would be reducing server load as well.

If you look at 4.0 and the hundreds of people trying to click that npc to get into the cold steel instance because they had to go in alone. How reduced would the server load be if players could do that fights in groups. My friends and I would be doing that fight in one instance not 6 or 7 separate ones. That would be a significant reduction on server load.

It would also be bucket loads more fun to do all of those instances with friends

[Delmontyb]

I've said this since 1.0 to be honest. It's an MMOplayers want to experience the stories with there friends..

The added advantage of allowing this would be reducing server load as well.

If you look at 4.0 and the hundreds of people trying to click that npc to get into the cold steel instance because they had to go in alone. How reduced would the server load be if players could do that fights in groups. My friends and I would be doing that fight in one instance not 6 or 7 separate ones. That would be a significant reduction on server load.

It would also be bucket loads more fun to do all of those instances with friends

People have requested the ability to re-do these fights, this would also allow for that to happen.

[CainCrimson]

I love this game, loooooove it.

But i may leave and not come back once Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out.

I'm already a little burnt out on massive multiplayer online games, and came back to this in hopes it would keep me locked in thanks to it's old school type grinding.

[Delmontyb]

I love this game, loooooove it.

But i may leave and not come back once Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out.

I'm already a little burnt out on massive multiplayer online games, and came back to this in hopes it would keep me locked in thanks to it's old school type grinding.

On that note, you need to plan out breaks, and playing other games is a good idea and something to help. Burnout can be real, take breaks, play other games, and come back when it works for you and your schedule.

[KisaiTenshi]

1. Party Level Sync

I don't know why they don't just do a level-sync + ilevel sync to the weakest party member in all content. That would solve so much of the issues the game has with players trying to level through content too fast. Right now Eureka just makes it feel extra punishing because you can't find people to party with, and groups of players will flatten a NM before you even reach it, thus denying you of any exp. The same issue with FATE's in general.

2. Quest Sharing and Scaling

I've seen this in other games and it doesn't work as well as you think it would. It's also ripe for RMT abuse. The only version that really works well is the "scavenger hunt" type of quest where you need to find/collect/buy items, and thus everyone splits up while in the same party, and the quest updates as players find the items. It would still require some kind of "anti-carry" provision where each player needs to contribute no less than their 1/4 or 1/8 or 1/24 for the quest to be considered complete, or the quest reward will be penalized.

3. Upgrade Single Player fights into Party based fights if the player wishes

For storyline reasons, this will never be a thing, but I would still want SE to allow players to re-visit these fights. The reason why they will never be a thing is that these are the only things in the game that rely on not being carried. I've seen how this goes in at least one other game, if you allow anyone into the "single player" instances, then players are denied any challenge. Even limiting it to someone with a combat mentor status wouldn't solve it if the mentor can just finish it for them. Thus you would really want any player invited into it to only observe/coach, not participate in the fight. That complicates the existing combat system and thus I don't believe it would be possible either.

4. Shared Map Markers

The entire markers system needs some kind of QoL adjustment. Like being able to save dungeon/raid - specific markers, so you don't need to replace and re-explain the markers. That way positioning macros could be designed for raids per phase rather than "pads!<se>" every time.

[Dzian]

For storyline reasons, this will never be a thing, but I would still want SE to allow players to re-visit these fights. The reason why they will never be a thing is that these are the only things in the game that rely on not being carried. I've seen how this goes in at least one other game, if you allow anyone into the "single player" instances, then players are denied any challenge. Even limiting it to someone with a combat mentor status wouldn't solve it if the mentor can just finish it for them. Thus you would really want any player invited into it to only observe/coach, not participate in the fight. That complicates the existing combat system and thus I don't believe it would be possible either..

There is no challenge in story line missions. doing the storm blood msq I completed some of those instances literally being afk for several minutes. the one where you take that bridge thing and minaago glamours the flag.. I had a courier a my door so put my controller down went to answer the door sign for a package and put something in a box to go back to the courier and even made a drink as I was on my feet. went back picked up my controller and duty complete...

the absolute ease is partly why much of the msq is so forgettable. hence it would indeed be much more fun scaled up with friends

[KisaiTenshi]

There is no challenge in story line missions. doing the storm blood msq I completed some of those instances literally being afk for several minutes. the one where you take that bridge thing and minaago glamours the flag.. I had a courier a my door so put my controller down went to answer the door sign for a package and put something in a box to go back to the courier and even made a drink as I was on my feet. went back picked up my controller and duty complete...

the absolute ease is partly why much of the msq is so forgettable. hence it would indeed be much more fun scaled up with friends

And all the MSQ content assumes you're a DPS. As per your example, in theory you should be able to heal-only your way through the content, or at the very least not require the level of DPS that a DPS player can put out.

It's still a Final Fantasy game, FF games are known for some heavily scripted cutscenes and "intense moments" that you only get to play once. Given the propensity for players to complain about cutscenes during combat, the last thing FFXIV should do create more of them. Seeing that nobody plays the guildhests, and we haven't been given any new ones post ARR, would suggest that players are just not interested in doing this kind of content. Likewise see MSQ roulette and the intense complaints about being forced to watch cutscenes. That's why they put most if not all the storyline fights that feature storyline NPC's into solo instances post ARR. Everyone gets to watch the cutscenes at their own pace.

For storyline reasons, you simply can't have other players. "You" are the warrior of light, not your party.

Now, what I would appreciate, would be if the developers maybe just make it so that other party members can RP the other characters or observe from their PoV, thus giving those players temporary jobs, while still following the script. Because most of these other players are tank/healer, not DPS, that might warm some people up to the idea of tanking or healing. But that's really the only justifiable way to get other players into what is otherwise a single-player, one-time mission, and not turn it into a way for players to carry others through the content. If Yoshi-P decides to expand the RP system to allow something like this, it would at least give more replay value to solo content without having to roll an entirely new character.

[MoroMurasaki]

And all the MSQ content assumes you're a DPS. As per your example, in theory you should be able to heal-only your way through the content, or at the very least not require the level of DPS that a DPS player can put out.

I've done every instanced MSQ battle on WHM except for a few on SCH in HW when I swapped mains.

You 100% can put out far more than the requisite dps as a healer with ample room to spare you just have to avoid standing around doing nothing or healing people who don't need healing.

The content is reflective of the game - in both a heal-only playstyle isn't going to get you very far.