Delubrum Reginae is the best raid you've designed... BUT...

[TeraRamis]

...but it's the worst up-front experience I've ever had with a below-extreme content in this game. I have come to really appreciate and enjoy the mechanics of the raid - but I probably died 10 times on that first run. And this is because it's perhaps the worst content SE has ever added to the game when it comes to teaching mechanics.

As someone who mostly does PUGed raids, I'm pretty accustomed to bosses following a fairly strict, 2-step routine:

1) demonstrate abilities,
2) complicate/stack/increase haste of said abilities.

DR doesn't do that well at all. Some of the abilities during some of the fights are sort of telegraphed. But a lot of these mechanics - probably even most - are just something you have to pick up on. A good example of this is the fire/ice arrow "maze" on the fifth encounter. Just looking at it the first time, I had absolutely no idea what was going on (I'd read a strat before entering, but wasn't clear on exactly what I was supposed to be doing). Now, is it fun once you learn it? Absolutely. But the 'first contact' experience feels... I dunno... dirty to me; unclean; messy; or, to quote the Griffin: SLOPPAY.

Look, I know nobody wants to rehash what's the better part of year-old content at this juncture, and I think that DR is really, really an excellent experience once you have it on lock. But... I don't know that it's really suitable for casual play. The initial takeaway is that it feels somewhere between savage and EX (no, it's not that hard once you learn it, but the learning curve makes it feel like that the initial few times). And, honestly, after running into that buzzsaw the first time, I just didn't want to do it again. It made me feel inept. And I don't think that's an emotion that a lot of casual FFXIV players are accustomed to experiencing when it comes to PUGed content. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd wager that a lot of them tried it once and never went back. I almost did - I'm not ashamed to admit it; I was embarrassed and didn't want to try again.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, DR turned out to be fun, but considering it within the context of the rest of the content of the game for the majority of the casual crowd, it's nightmarish to begin with. And first impressions are such a big deal - especially when the majority of us have been waged on a strict diet of pretty soft encounters. This isn't a plea for SE to nerf the raid or something like that... just maybe keep in mind moving forward that this isn't what people are used to seeing in your product.

[Vahlnir]

but I probably died 10 times on that first run. And this is because it's perhaps the worst content SE has ever added to the game when it comes to teaching mechanics.

Did you ask anyone how they worked? If you don't want to do that then figure them out yourself. If you don't want that either you can always read or watch a guide. I died a lot in my first few runs too (probably more than you) but eventually I picked up on these things. In my opinion they aren't hard to deal with once you know what's what. I'm a casual player by just about every standard. It's fine as is on this front. They teach you the mechanics through trial and error. Not everything needs to be displayed in big, bold letters on a flashing neon sign which reads "OMG STAND HERE NOW!" (The game already does that by the way in most parts of the game). There is nothing wrong with having to use one's brain a bit. I'd argue that it is actually quite healthy. lol

[Arillyn]

I enjoyed it because I did have to pay attention to the mechanics and figure out how they all worked. I felt most of them were pretty self-explanatory, though I had to run DR a few times in the beginning to get all the mechanics down, but I personally enjoyed doing that.

[Bright-Flower]

DR, at least normal I haven't touched savage, honestly felt about in line with normal alliance raids difficulty wise to me. Of the Bozja raids only LL really ever gave me any trouble and even then, I think that was largely some bad group luck when I was still learning it.

That's not to say I never died in DR etc, but I die a lot in new alliance raids as well while still learning the mechanics, this didn't really feel any different in that regard.

[Ayuhra]

I agree. Delubrum Reginae, and to a lesser extent Castrum Lacus Litore, do a poor job at conveyance of mechanics.

Eventually Delubrum is going to need a nerf anyway, though. Maybe not to damage or mechanics but certainly to boss health. The Queen especially is balanced around the idea that the raid is using damage essences but people rarely use damage essences already and will do so less and less the more outdated the content is.

[Daeriion_Aeradiir]

A good example of this is the fire/ice arrow "maze" on the fifth encounter. Just looking at it the first time, I had absolutely no idea what was going on (I'd read a strat before entering, but wasn't clear on exactly what I was supposed to be doing).

What? The arrow maze is arguably one of the most telegraphed mechanics in that entire instance compared to other mechanics you could have mentioned. The very first time I saw it blind, I knew instantly what to do based on all the info it gives you:

-The arrows on the opposite side have the gauge indicators, and you experience at least one hot & cold before the arrows so the temperature gauge isn't new, so by this point if you died to the first set of hot & colds, you should understand the mechanic is based on these temperature gauges.
-The maze traces the route the arrows will be taking extremely blatantly with a white line starting from each start point and reaching its intended end point, which even if you don't immediately clue in that the arrows will always turn if they're able, still shows you the exact solution to each of the two arrows.

The next arrow maze adds the ^^ & vv temperature arrows, but the previous hot & cold also introduces the concept of the 2x temperature gauge so its literally just the same as last time, only you find the 1 arrow's white line out of 4 instead of 1 out of 2.

There's far more egregious 'gotcha' mechanics in Delebrum, like the Crocodile instantly cleaving the other half of his side right after the first hit with zero indication, Trinity seeker's full room aoe just making you have to guess you have to hide behind a wall, or the rings being a 50/50 chance you get hit the first time you ever see it since there's little visual indication. Arrow Maze is one of the easiest to understand mechanics on the first go around with how much info it gives you.

[Remish]

What? The arrow maze is arguably one of the most telegraphed mechanics in that entire instance compared to other mechanics you could have mentioned. The very first time I saw it blind, I knew instantly what to do based on all the info it gives you:

-The arrows on the opposite side have the gauge indicators, and you experience at least one hot & cold before the arrows so the temperature gauge isn't new, so by this point if you died to the first set of hot & colds, you should understand the mechanic is based on these temperature gauges.
-The maze traces the route the arrows will be taking extremely blatantly with a white line starting from each start point and reaching its intended end point, which even if you don't immediately clue in that the arrows will always turn if they're able, still shows you the exact solution to each of the two arrows.

The next arrow maze adds the ^^ & vv temperature arrows, but the previous hot & cold also introduces the concept of the 2x temperature gauge so its literally just the same as last time, only you find the 1 arrow's white line out of 4 instead of 1 out of 2.

My first time in there, I actually walked into the the Fire wave thinking the arrow maze was a narrow passage to the Fire and Ice, and that I had to walk to it. Learned immediately that was wrong of course, but that wasn't my very first thought when I saw the mechanic lol

[Jeeqbit]

I did it blind and figured out most of it. Even the things I died to I got how they worked. I think if you actually look at your surroundings the mechanics are actually obvious. You are expected to use your knowledge from previous fights to understand this.

The final boss took me several runs to fully understand and it was because I did not observe my surroundings closely, such as the number of eyes on each enemy as it marched.

The reason why it's suitable for casual play is because even if it's too difficult for a casual player, there are up to 23 people available to resurrect them and that's the only reason they will allow mechanics to kill you in one hit. You are even given a chance so on most of the mechanics, the first mistake doesn't kill you but the second one does.

[Vahlnir]

My first time in there, I actually walked into the the Fire wave thinking the arrow maze was a narrow passage to the Fire and Ice, and that I had to walk to it. Learned immediately that was wrong of course, but that wasn't my very first thought when I saw the mechanic lol

Yeah, it took me some time as well, but after a few runs I had it down to a science. My learning speed varies depending on the content (some things confuse my brain more than others, but I'm sure that happens to everyone) but even if I was slow to the punch I still got there.

[TeraRamis]

Did you ask anyone how they worked? If you don't want to do that then figure them out yourself. If you don't want that either you can always read or watch a guide. I died a lot in my first few runs too (probably more than you) but eventually I picked up on these things. In my opinion they aren't hard to deal with once you know what's what. I'm a casual player by just about every standard. It's fine as is on this front. They teach you the mechanics through trial and error. Not everything needs to be displayed in big, bold letters on a flashing neon sign which reads "OMG STAND HERE NOW!" (The game already does that by the way in most parts of the game). There is nothing wrong with having to use one's brain a bit. I'd argue that it is actually quite healthy. lol

Nobody has talked or so much as paused in any of the runs I've been in. Like I said in the OP, I read up on the strats, but it was a far cry from seeing them. I imagine most people don't even do that much the first time.