Is anyone else fed up with the single player trend of FF14?

[Valic]

*snip*

I feel they could still easily write WoL and every other character to obtain or become something that allows them to be a bit more equal at least. I also played FF8 so... maybe my mentality is different in terms of thinking about how anyone should be considered an adventurer/hero and be able to face off against big bads. It doesn't need to be forever that this happens, but personally when I find myself teleporting from map to map and flying from A to B without even having to check my map anymore and I'm just gonna overcome another big bad again when I get there and know it.... Idk... It's why I appreciated the post SB quests where we raided the king's tomb in that lost city area. We were doing it because we love adventurer, fame, glory, riches, it's the basis of why we go out into the world and explore. Not... YOU, OH' SACRED WARRIOR, MUST DEFEAT YET ANOTHER EVIL THAT THREATENS OUR PLANET... Like we're Superman. Lemme be Clark Kent for a while ya know?


I get story telling purposes but there's scenes I value so much more because they put you on the level of the average adventurer sometimes. Like the meal you have with Aymeric, I'm sure it's an honor considering he's the commander of the Ishgardian nation now but.... we literally just sat down, chat about our adventurers, and boast about wanderlust for a lil bit. Not how I champion god-like beings and ascend into various planes of existence. I want to feel that more often in the story, it feels awkward when you get these singular voice acted dialogues directly solely at you, despite you having 7 other people right behind you. Take Praetorium as example, it's all about "you" but I guess he doesn't see the 7 other party members right with me?...

[Mahoukenshi]

@Valic: I agree with you here. The whole solo vs party fickleness in the WoL's battles are genereally handled clumsily. We always have these equally powerful adventures with the Blessing with us during harder missions, yet outside of the mission briefing where they may or may not be mentioned, they are totally ignored, even though they could be easily as dangerous or satisfy Zenos thirst for a worthy opponent. That's why I love the Trust system as it moves the other Scions from other "duties" (or their cheerleading role) into an active part during at least dungeons.

I also didn't like it that much that during all the encounters with Zenos, everyone but us was rendered utterly useless. I mean, of course, I don't mind being special against the Big Bad, but it's this stark contrast in "power level". Like he wouldn't need to be impressed by the other "opponents", yet something like "Not terrible but not what I seek" level of acknowledgement.

[Valic]

@Valic: I agree with you here. The whole solo vs party fickleness in the WoL's battles are genereally handled clumsily. We always have these equally powerful adventures with the Blessing with us during harder missions, yet outside of the mission briefing where they may or may not be mentioned, they are totally ignored, even though they could be easily as dangerous or satisfy Failos thirst for a worthy opponent. That's why I love the Trust system as it moves the other Scions from other "duties" (or their cheerleading role) into an active part during at least dungeons.

I also didn't like it that much that during all the encounters with Failos, everyone but us was rendered utterly useless. I mean, of course, I don't mind being special against the Big Bad, but it's this stark contrast in "power level". Like he wouldn't need to be impressed by the other "opponents", yet something like "Not terrible but not what I seek" level of acknowledgement.

Who's Failos?

[Elladie]

Who's Failos?

I think they mean Zenos? I guess they forgot some folks like Zenos?

[Valic]

I think they mean Zenos? I guess they forgot some folks like Zenos?

Oh.... yeah I guess.

For Zenos, I felt like he handled us the same as anyone else at the start. I also wish he showed some form of recognition of the others as well but eh... I like the trust system but it does beg the question "if you guys can do this kinda stuff too, why does it feel like I'm the only one they ever focus on?".

[Mahoukenshi]

I think they mean Zenos? I guess they forgot some folks like Zenos?

Yeah, sorry. I let my personal bias get the better of me . I corrected it.

[linay]

I feel they could still easily write WoL and every other character to obtain or become something that allows them to be a bit more equal at least. I also played FF8 so... maybe my mentality is different in terms of thinking about how anyone should be considered an adventurer/hero and be able to face off against big bads. It doesn't need to be forever that this happens, but personally when I find myself teleporting from map to map and flying from A to B without even having to check my map anymore and I'm just gonna overcome another big bad again when I get there and know it.... Idk... It's why I appreciated the post SB quests where we raided the king's tomb in that lost city area. We were doing it because we love adventurer, fame, glory, riches, it's the basis of why we go out into the world and explore. Not... YOU, OH' SACRED WARRIOR, MUST DEFEAT YET ANOTHER EVIL THAT THREATENS OUR PLANET... Like we're Superman. Lemme be Clark Kent for a while ya know?


I get story telling purposes but there's scenes I value so much more because they put you on the level of the average adventurer sometimes. Like the meal you have with Aymeric, I'm sure it's an honor considering he's the commander of the Ishgardian nation now but.... we literally just sat down, chat about our adventurers, and boast about wanderlust for a lil bit. Not how I champion god-like beings and ascend into various planes of existence. I want to feel that more often in the story, it feels awkward when you get these singular voice acted dialogues directly solely at you, despite you having 7 other people right behind you. Take Praetorium as example, it's all about "you" but I guess he doesn't see the 7 other party members right with me?...

Well, like you said, we still have those types of scenes, so I think it's fine either way.

@Valic: I agree with you here. The whole solo vs party fickleness in the WoL's battles are genereally handled clumsily. We always have these equally powerful adventures with the Blessing with us during harder missions, yet outside of the mission briefing where they may or may not be mentioned, they are totally ignored, even though they could be easily as dangerous or satisfy Zenos thirst for a worthy opponent. That's why I love the Trust system as it moves the other Scions from other "duties" (or their cheerleading role) into an active part during at least dungeons.

That's just the nature of storytelling considering you cannot really account for the other players. Once you attempt to account for the other players, everything breaks down as you start to realize how silly it is that other people are doing the same thing your character is doing that should have been a one time thing.

I also didn't like it that much that during all the encounters with Zenos, everyone but us was rendered utterly useless. I mean, of course, I don't mind being special against the Big Bad, but it's this stark contrast in "power level". Like he wouldn't need to be impressed by the other "opponents", yet something like "Not terrible but not what I seek" level of acknowledgement.

I don't see the problem there as we are more powerful than our friends. It would be a plot hole if he were to not acknowledge our strength compared to the others.

[TroySoFab]

Isn't the whole point of a Massively Multiplayer Online game to be played with others? If you want a single player game, there's plenty out there.

[ReynTime]

I felt like 5.55 was the last straw for me.

I get it, you want people to be able to progress MSQ at a steady pace. But I'd take more content that was closer to a middle-ground between casual and hardcore that wasn't another extreme trial over these unique solo duties any freaking day.
I want the option to do MSQ as a group. If I wanted to play a solo RPG I'd play any other offline RPG I can have. Specially considering their solo exp isn't held back by being a MMO and needing "accessibility" that strips the solo part from all little depth it could have.
I'd rather play an offline version of XIV, with all the good stuff they took away in ShB or Stormblood for sake of homogenizing jobs in a role or making things less complex.

My point is, if you're gonna keep "streamlining" (to put it nicely) the mechanics so much, at the very least stop making excuses to prioritize these watered down offline FF portions over more middle-ground-level dungeons and duties. The simple and repetitive nature of the combat and complete absence of prep (which has been and still is half the "battle" in single player japanese RPGs) makes the solo content either non-threatening or just awkward.
I'm sure someone will say "but Bozja". Bozja doesn't count for the sheer fact outside the warzone grind it has ALLIANCE-like raids, which going by recent interviews are designed so players can be carried by the few. Which means yet again designed for the casual base.

EDIT: Just to clarify a bit.
Everytime someone compares this to an "sp FF first, MMO second". I have to laugh.

Even in the easiest of FFs, party setup is important. XIV gradually threw that away since ARR.
Trusts are no "party member" replacement. They can't be touched by you unless you feel content by just changing their attire (to a grand total of one alternative costume). You have 0 control over them. You can't give them orders. You can't make them AoE more or less. They're, at best, "boss mechanics teachers" and nothing more.
Dungeons in most SP rpgs aren't all just hallways with a different wall decoration and the exact same formula of trash and bosses. ARR actually had it right in that many dungeons had their own "gimmick" no matter how small and you had optional dead-ends to explore for treasure or lore bits, or even times when it was more convenient to avoid fighting. But because this is a MMO first and foremost, the newer dungeons had to throw that away so duty roulettes didn't "drag".

This is not a different game to traditional MMOs. That's such a widespread nonsense. It's very much like most modern MMOs.

[Fayt1203]

I felt like 5.55 was the last straw for me.

I get it, you want people to be able to progress MSQ at a steady pace. But I'd take more content that was closer to a middle-ground between casual and hardcore that wasn't another extreme trial over these unique solo duties any freaking day.
I want the option to do MSQ as a group. If I wanted to play a solo RPG I'd play any other offline RPG I can have. Specially considering their solo exp isn't held back by being a MMO and needing "accessibility" that strips the solo part from all little depth it could have.
I'd rather play an offline version of XIV, with all the good stuff they took away in ShB or Stormblood for sake of homogenizing jobs in a role or making things less complex.

My point is, if you're gonna keep "streamlining" (to put it nicely) the mechanics so much, at the very least stop making excuses to prioritize these watered down offline FF portions over more middle-ground-level dungeons and duties. The simple and repetitive nature of the combat and complete absence of prep (which has been and still is half the "battle" in single player japanese RPGs) makes the solo content either non-threatening or just awkward.
I'm sure someone will say "but Bozja". Bozja doesn't count for the sheer fact outside the warzone grind it has ALLIANCE-like raids, which going by recent interviews are designed so players can be carried by the few. Which means yet again designed for the casual base.

EDIT: Just to clarify a bit.
Everytime someone compares this to an "sp FF first, MMO second". I have to laugh.

Even in the easiest of FFs, party setup is important. XIV gradually threw that away since ARR.
Trusts are no "party member" replacement. They can't be touched by you unless you feel content by just changing their attire (to a grand total of one alternative costume). You have 0 control over them. You can't give them orders. You can't make them AoE more or less. They're, at best, "boss mechanics teachers" and nothing more.
Dungeons in most SP rpgs aren't all just hallways with a different wall decoration and the exact same formula of trash and bosses. ARR actually had it right in that many dungeons had their own "gimmick" no matter how small and you had optional dead-ends to explore for treasure or lore bits, or even times when it was more convenient to avoid fighting. But because this is a MMO first and foremost, the newer dungeons had to throw that away so duty roulettes didn't "drag".

This is not a different game to traditional MMOs. That's such a widespread nonsense. It's very much like most modern MMOs.

But But its not A MMO its MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) XD XD