SE: Frontlines is bad - really bad - and for a dumb reason. Please fix it.

[Absurdity]

Throwing 3 teams of 24 players against each other is bound to lead to incoordination, but that isn't the issue.

I actually think it's a rather big issue. Why do you normally not see 3 different factions in the same battleground in a pvp focused game? Because it's an absolute balance nightmare. If two of the teams decide to gang up on yours for whatever reason it is almost impossible to recover. With how limited the skill system is nowadays you don't exactly have options to make up for the significant numerical disadvantage.

Oh and since everyone is now flagged as a freelancer in pvp anyway, is there really even a reason to keep the 3 factions? Your Grand Company does not matter a single bit anymore.

[Esmoire]

I feel like some basic fundamentals of a good multiplayer game are in order. Other multiplayer games do a really good job of telling players when something really important is happening both audibly and visually in a way that can't be drowned out by the game. Some examples:

Compass waymarks. When something important happens on the map, have icons on the edge of the screen telling you what they are and where they are relative to your position. When you get close enough to it and it's in your field of view, the waymarks disappear.

Weenies. Basically like a HUGE pillar of light or something on the map on the position of a key strategic point of interest. Like with waymarks, when you get close, they disappear so they are not disruptive.

Audible callouts you can hear at any time and any place. This is done by having the sound of them spawning be global and not relative to your position. Right now in FFXIV you either have to be close (if it makes a sound at all), looking at the map, or pray you see the little notification that is always being drowned out all the time. This is also a good place to say if the battlefield situation has changed, and a team has taken the lead (obviously with some cooldown so it won't repeat when two or three teams are close in score).


Just a few examples. Also, they could make way better use of the space they have with zero disruption to the game. For example, the tooltips for objectives suck. They should tell you how much they are worth when you hover them. Also, why not take advantage of the load screens? Put a tl;dr of the map on there. Maybe loading screen tips. Also, score board could be way better, like showing you where you are getting all your points from (number of points controlled, ovoo held, etc.)

Also, if we are not getting traits like we had, maybe put some of the hidden stuff in a trait window, like the damage reduction melee and tanks get. Right now the only place this is said isn't in the game mode, its in-game guides of Wolves' Den... you have to check the website or patch notes.

Just in general a lot of opportunities to do simple tried and trued things from multiplayer games made decades ago not being done here.

I actually think it's a rather big issue. Why do you normally not see 3 different factions in the same battleground in a pvp focused game? Because it's an absolute balance nightmare. If two of the teams decide to gang up on yours for whatever reason it is almost impossible to recover. With how limited the skill system is nowadays you don't exactly have options to make up for the significant numerical disadvantage.

Oh and since everyone is now flagged as a freelancer in pvp anyway, is there really even a reason to keep the 3 factions? Your Grand Company does not matter a single bit anymore.

I disagree. I like the three team idea of Frontline. I think there are times when your team is last and second place is going after you for no reason, it can be like WHAT? Other times, it creates a lot of fun drama or makes for cool stories. Holding off your home turf against two teams feels really awesome. I feel three teams makes it harder to call the winner in more matches than if there was just two teams.

I don't think anything about FL has to change on a fundamental level; the UX and UI have huge room for improvement. That said, I do think FFXIV needs more standard and basic multiplayer experiences not to replace it, but compliment it. Right now IMO the competitive atmosphere of Feast and the almost excessively over-designed RW has a massive gulf that is just begging for like... 16v16 CTF or payload or something way easier to jump into and play. There should be something like this supported with a Daily Challenge like FL has.