Content Finder

[Sylvari]

Pretty sure my example I said earlier... included your "time I wait".... Sooo, when I invite you to a party, your going to stick around for x amount of time before it is created, or you going to say "LETS USE THE FINDER"....

rude player is rude.

I'm happy to wait, If the leader wants to invite more ppl then i don't mind. If I'm leader then I'll invite my friends and then if nothing comes up, I'll use the finder and enjoy some runs.

edit: I'm aware that ^ comment does contradict my other one, But i do have a lot of patience.

[Rokien]

I'm happy to wait, If the leader wants to invite more ppl then i don't mind. If I'm leader then I'll invite my friends and then if nothing comes up, I'll use the finder and enjoy some runs.

edit: I'm aware that ^ comment does contradict my other one, But i do have a lot of patience.

Invite your friends... Why not make new friends on the server where it matters. Instead of helping other people that you don't even know or won't see again.
It seems more beneficial to help the people you will be playing with or more of a chance to play with than random dumbies.

[Sylvari]

Invite your friends... Why not make new friends on the server where it matters. Instead of helping other people that you don't even know or won't see again.
It seems more beneficial to help the people you will be playing with or more of a chance to play with than random dumbies.

Who says i want anything out of it? Who says having a nice conversation isn't enough?

[Rousseau]

Who says i want anything out of it? Who says having a nice conversation isn't enough?

[Sylvari]

Nice pic, But I'm content with the little things in life... I don't need to be the best.. I'm happy taking my time and enjoying my self. I like to have interesting conversations every time i log in. I've almost reached Euphoria.

[Rousseau]

Nice pic, But I'm content with the little things in life... I don't need to be the best.. I'm happy taking my time and enjoying my self. I like to have interesting conversations every time i log in. I've almost reached Euphoria.

I wasn't talking about you. I was agreeing with you via sarcasm. :P

i.e. some people aren't content with just having good conversation or a bit of fun; they want it all

[Lior]

I'm an old-school gamer who (perhaps foolishly) clings to an old-school mentality. I don't necessarily buy into the modern mindset of games needing instantly-accessible content, at least not MMORPGs. MMORPGs, to me, are about persistent worlds with regular users who, over time, form a community, work towards objectives, and define the virtual space they play in. They're about a slow boil, and I think the subscription model ties into this - I feel more comfortable paying a sub fee when I expect to be doing something over a long period of time, rather than just jumping in when I feel like it to get a new shiny.

Easily-accessible content isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think that there should be opportunities for people to log in and get something done in the span of an hour, but I think there are a few flawed concepts in the current execution seen in games like WoW or Rift:

1. Content-Finder Content Shouldn't Be The Game's Core Feature
   

   WoW put way too much focus on its instanced dungeons. This isn't inherently a bad thing, but coupled with dungeon finder it became a scenario in which the only content worth doing outside of two, maybe three nights dedicated to raiding, was content that you never had to leave the city or get to know people for. For those who don't raid, which would be the majority of players, this meant that the entire game was played around this queue system, negating a lot of what I feel are the foundations of an MMORPG: world and community.
   
   If FFXIV introduces a content finder, the content it queues you for can not be the end-all be-all of the game for all but the hardcore. Bite-sized adventures are fine, but SE needs to be careful not to completely eliminate all need to remain grounded in the community and the world. Speaking of which...

2. The World Cannot Be Negated
   

   One thing I enjoyed about FFXI was the fact that even when other games around them were jumping on the bandwagon, they never went the instant-and-easy travel route and negated the world their developers spent so long designing. Even FFXIV manages to find a decent balance with its anima system. Why, however, would you spend resources and time creating a game world if that world exists solely to funnel people through levels until they wind up sitting in a city and queueing for instances?
   
   I understand that travel can be a time-waster for those with limited time to spare (though I'd argue that MMOs, by their nature, should require a greater time investment), so perhaps a middle-ground could be a free teleport to the nearest aetheryte? Something that still keeps you in the world, and makes some degree of sense in the context of lore, without turning the game into a lobby game.

3. If I Wanted a Lobby Game, I'd Play One
   

   I play MMOs for a specific kind of gameplay. If I just wanted to run some quick content with people, ignoring all sense of world and community, why would I pay a subscription fee for it? There are countless games that fulfill that niche, there's no reason to turn yet another MMO into one. Hell, if you insist on having levels and items tacked on so you can work towards an achievement with your dungeon-farming, why not play Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2? Final Fantasy doesn't need this. It needs to be its own game.

A content-finder can work, sure, but it really shouldn't take over the game like it does in WoW. My ultimate preference? Look at LOTRO's skirmishes or Rift's chronicles. Small 1 or 2 man bite-sized content with interesting stories and mechanics, and rewards that don't overshadow the main content of the game. It's enough to satisfy the casuals, and can be used safely with a cross-realm model, while still leaving those who have more time to invest firmly grounded in their world and community.

[Chardrizard]

Invite your friends... Why not make new friends on the server where it matters. Instead of helping other people that you don't even know or won't see again.
It seems more beneficial to help the people you will be playing with or more of a chance to play with than random dumbies.

I feel sorry for you if you thinks u can only make friends from your server and random strangers from other server is all dumbies to you? No wonder people ignores your posts in this forum.