Reworking Normal Raid Currency

[Deceptus]

There was a reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...ge_how_normal/ that was discussing how to better handle raid currencies and I had a thought that gained some traction so I thought I'd post it here to get more opinions.

Every Normal raid boss drops four tokens everyone can roll on. These tokens are ALL the same currency. Weapon tokens still only drop once per week.

Chests / Legs cost 4 tokens

Head / Hands / Feet Cost 2 tokens

Belts / Acc's cost 1 token.

You get 4 tokens per week (upon killing 4 bosses if you win your rolls) and you determine how you want to spend them. Want to bump your ilvl up quickly? Aim for Acc's and the belt.

Want better stats? Weeks 1 and 2 are devoted to Chest / Legs.

It would take the exact same time if you were doing the "optimal" pick up route. There is small deviance in the fact that you have roughly a 50% chance at a token for each boss, but it's manageable.

No more fighting over 4 chest slots tokens that everyone wants.

What some others have said:

It would also make it easier for them to just move tokens and pages to the Currency menu, reducing inventory bloat in the process. They could also make all old raids simply drop "Old-Raid Token", simplifying the process for acquiring gear that will only matter for glamour when the next expansion comes.

Allow the tokens to be exchanged for other things like a second minion per tier so players have a reason to keep running them. Or maybe have two versions of each raid amount, and the normal version could cost 100 tokens, but the savage version is flashier.

I like this, since it gives people choice while also giving incentive to run all four bosses.

There needs to be a huge token/currencies crunch. Something like that will inevitably also effect how loot is distributed for raiding. A new player or even a veteran who's returning after a few months of break is going to find it really confusing how to get certain gear because just about everything in the game is purchased with tokens now.

[Crushnight]

I fully support this there is no need for all the inventory bloat every new raid tier and it will help the earlier fights stay more populated longer

[BillyKaplan]

It gives incentives to run all four encounters every week, true, but let's say that I'm done gearing one job and now I want to move to another, but here's the catch - let's say the only thing I need is the top. BiS for this tier or what not. Before I'd have to wait an entire month for it. Now all I need is a week, getting my token from each separate encounter.
Running all encounters for a week vs. running the one encounter for a month, is the consideration that makes me think they won't do it. The illusion of shortening the content's lifespan

I sure hope they do, mind, especially with them peppering extra drops into the different fights like minions, orchestrion rolls and crafting mats.
Also, while I don't see them homogenizing the drops for the current tier, I certainly see no reason for them to not do that for older content. Even if someone wins all 4 tokens, it's old content people probably already run unsynced or through roulette in the first place.

[Kurando]

No more fighting over 4 chest slots tokens that everyone wants.:

It's not really a problem if you pre-form your party though and discuss before what pieces people want. Anyway it would likely cause the content to being run less often, afterall once you have your tokens for the week there is little reason to run it anymore, resulting in longer queue times. Now RNG isn't great, but it's that carrot that causes players to keep running the content to get what they need, I don't think it taking the savage route is the best option.

[Maero]

Sure you could pre-form like some have said but that is not at all the point.
The current loot system needs improvement and i agree with OP on some points.
I can go months without any sort of gear because RNG is a bitch in this game. And it is annoying as hell because i play multiple jobs.
And i am one that does not like to have to bother people just so i could obtain gear. People miss the point that keep insisting "just form a party with friends".

A token system would be best.

[linay]

Sure you could pre-form like some have said but that is not at all the point.
The current loot system needs improvement and i agree with OP on some points.
I can go months without any sort of gear because RNG is a bitch in this game. And it is annoying as hell because i play multiple jobs.
And i am one that does not like to have to bother people just so i could obtain gear. People miss the point that keep insisting "just form a party with friends".

A token system would be best.

I don't disagree with improving the system, just not in the way Eli85 described it as I understood it.

That being said, why do you consider it a bother to other people? It's an MMO, so playing with other people is a normal thing to do. It's also not like you're necessarily the only one getting something out of the run, so it never hurts to just ask or even announce that you are running something and see if other people want to join.

[Nora_of_Mira]

If they're all the same token, why would anyone do the later 3 fights? Wouldn't they just spam the easiest/quickest fight for tokens and not step into them at all after that?

edit: I get it now. I assumed your post meant AFTER the weekly lockout is removed, which it is at the moment. But my point doesnt change. After the lockout is removed, you'll run into the issue i described.

[Seraphor]

I think this is a tad too simplistic. As others have said, this means you could get a Chest piece in a week, whereas before it would take a month.

The different kinds of tokens should still work, but it can afford to be consolidated.
If the Chest and Leg tokens drop from the same encounters, and you need the same amount, then why aren’t they just one then?
Head, Hands and Feet?
Belt and Accessories?
You only need three types of token.

Token A:
1x for Accessories or Belt
Can drop from encounters 1, 2 and 3.

Token B:
2x for Head, Hands or Feet
Can drop from encounters 2, 3 and 4.

Token C:
4x for Chest or Legs
Can drop from encounters 3 and 4.

Yes, technically being from 3 and 4 means you could get a chestpeice in two weeks, but this is somewhat balanced against encounter 3 being able to drop all possible tokens, so there’d be a lower chance of getting the chest/legs token from 3 than from 4.

So in summary:
Encounter 1: Drops token A
Encounter 2: Drops tokens A and B
Encounter 3: Drops tokens A, B and C
Encounter 4: Drops tokens B, C and Crystalloid
Nice ramping up in terms of difficulty and reward.

This would enable you to get over the course of two weeks either:
All of the right side and belt OR all of head, hands and feet OR a chest piece or legs

The minimum amount of time to get a full set simultaneously would be:
Four weeks for Chest and Legs (encounters 3 and 4 x4weeks)
Five weeks for Head, Hands and Feet (2 x4weeks / 3 and 4 x1week)
Five weeks for Belt and Accessories (1 x4weeks / 1 and 2 x1week)

Or if two weeks is still too quick for a chest peice, up the tokens required to 6x for Chest/Legs, this would bring all categories up to six weeks for simultaneous completion.

[Deceptus]

I think this is a tad too simplistic. As others have said, this means you could get a Chest piece in a week, whereas before it would take a month.

While you would get your chest piece in a month it would still take 5 weeks to complete your set.

The same way it is right now. Just with my system you don't have to worry about carrying 7 currencies to do it. You just need one currency.

If they're all the same token, why would anyone do the later 3 fights? Wouldn't they just spam the easiest/quickest fight for tokens and not step into them at all after that?

edit: I get it now. I assumed your post meant AFTER the weekly lockout is removed, which it is at the moment. But my point doesnt change. After the lockout is removed, you'll run into the issue i described.

Easily solved by not completely removing lockout. Instead of removing lockout restrict it from one roll a week per boss to two. Two and a half weeks for a complete set isn't demanding much and still allows for catch up.