Does the game need to be a bit riskier?

[Hazama999]

I do wish dungeons were more difficult. Yes, I know that they're supposed to be repeatable instances that you bumrush to get your daily dose of tomestones/gear, but this is just my selfish wish. I remember timing out once or twice in 2.1's version of Pharos Sirius. It was the kind of dungeon that you'd land on with an "aw crap... it's this." And not in a "aw crap, it's AV" kind of way. I'm not even asking them to be super hard... just... Idk, make it so you at least have to pay attention to get through...

When it comes to jobs, I have to say I enjoyed them most back in HW. Dark knight, which had been my main since then, feels like it's lost its identity over time. I'm all for throwing balance out the window if it gives some strong flavor to jobs in terms of how they feel during gameplay. I don't do savage/ultimate, so again, selfish wish ;P

[Rufalus]

Big yes to more risk in my opinion. That's where I'm at with enthusiasm for the current product. But the game has been too successful sticking to the old formula, that's why it never gets overhauled. If you're the lead designer you keep doing the stuff that prints the money and pleases the majority.

For newer players I'm sure all of this content is exciting and fresh. Me personally having been around a while, I'm pretty tired of the whole player progression model which almost hasn't changed at all since the 2013 rebirth. They increment the item level occassionally and you top up your gear in exactly the same way as every previous season of the endless cycle. Get your weapon from ex trial or raid, get your armor from tome currency or raid. Pretty much just that to put the entire endgame in nutshell.

Item level is the only method to progress our characters apart from cosmetics. When they do come up with new ideas, they isolate them in side content bubbles so that it doesn't impact the game in any meaningful or lasting way and is just viewed as an optional curio. You have a look at those side attractions, then it's back to the eternal grind of getting tomestones to boost your item level. Or just sit out and wait for the next tier/season of newer gear; the item level feels a bit meaningless after so many iterations.

So yeah personally I'd drop a meteor on the whole patch model, reward model, player progression model and rewrite those into something fresh. The world is ok, I just want new activities to do in it with a different incentive than cosmetics or item level. And yeah it'd be nice if the graphics got updated for PS5 / XSX / Direct X 12U with ray tracing.