"In from the Cold" Scenario, any way to skip it?

[HyoMinPark]

My complaints don’t have so much to do with the difficulty of the instance. Although, the dark atmosphere and dark grey on dark grey did make things a bit hard to see. I found navigating the zone a bit difficult because of that. My eyesight isn’t the greatest, so maybe I will try adjusting brightness and contrast settings on my monitor when I do it on my alt. The time limit was no different from regular solo instances: they all have them. There was a lot of uncertainty about how to proceed and fulfill the objectives, but I believe that was likely intentional to fit in with the desperation and powerlessness we’re supposed to be feeling there.

I just dislike the lead up to it. There was a very…dark and violating theme to the entire scene that really unsettled me. And I get that’s what the writers are going for—that I felt such proves it was a well-written scene (from an emotional standpoint, even if said emotions were abhorrence and straight-up horror). How could it not be to make me feel the way I did afterwards? But it was just…a line crossed in the vaguest of ways possible to maintain the game rating—but still crossed nonetheless. At least, in my interpretation of it all.

[Loonies]

Well i like to play mmo but i hate survival games. Please put content like this in to the gold saucer, for optional use.

[EverQuest]

It's basically the same mechanics as Eureka. It's a joke really just sleath the entire thing basically

[Clicked]

I thought this scenario was great. We were supposed to feel powerless and desperate to save everything we love. We were supposed to feel like we didn't know how we were going to make it. Instead of seeing this all through the eyes of the Warrior of Light who is essentially a demigod, we are seeing what it would be like to live through this hellish nightmare as a normal solder. And if it sucks, that's exactly why.

I was more annoyed with the other scenario before this one. That one was just plain annoying thanks to those spiders or w/e running in circles. Also the Sorrow of Werlyt solo duty was more annoying too.

Finally, easier difficulties are there for a reason. You never have to do this again if you don't want to (at least on that character). Use that and move on.

[Atreides]

Man so many people hate this duty... I actually loved it, it just showed us how the world feels like as a normal dude and the struggle they go through. I never felt so powerless in this game and thats exactly what they wanted to do.

[Batbrat]

Unbelievable, I can't believe that this game had the nerve to have unhappy and actual nerve wrecking intense and emotional moments in it's final expansion of a 10 year story-what I ask in my mmos is one thing and one thing only, and that is to press as little buttons as possible while my character smiles and everyone smiles back and I am the hero at all times even when all the time no matter what. THIS should have been a walk in a park and yet there I was. Sweaty, stinky, in an ugly outfit-no g'raha at my side. Despicable. YOSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly went into cardiac arrest, I almost slid down my chair farting and passing away over that battle scene. NEVER do that to me again. I don't log in to think or feel-I'm not paying you to activate any neurons, who do you thinks in charge here. I pay like TEN dollars a month, don't you forget it. Ronald Mcdonald misses me, don't you forget that.

[MilkieTea]

I thought it was great. I hope to see more situations like it in the future. Feeling powerless from time to time is neat.

I found it very engaging and it quite honestly put things into perspective for me.

I was me in mind but not in body, and thus I could feel the weight of what I was doing. Overall it wasnt hard (I finished it in 13 minutes my first try, and I am most definitely going to keep doing it using NG+ ASAP because I want to whittle that number down.) But it was annoying in all the right ways. Garleans are the closest approximation to actual humans- humans don’t autoheal out of battles, they can’t cast a spell to give them extra health or mend broken bones. And for once, I felt… human. I’d never felt that ingame, even from the beginning. I’d always felt “fantasy.”

Granted, the entire Garlemald questline itself was very humanizing but this tool the cake. In Nazi Germany (which given imagery I’m assuming Garlemald is based on.) families hid the weight of the war from children, while those who were deemed subhuman were forced to work mere miles away. In fact Jullus’ childhood story reminded me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

The girls who died over trusting us, the enemy in their eyes, reminded me of hearing in school about how so many towards the end of WW2 offed themselves even when they might not’ve faced retribution because they werent even involved in the war.

And finally, the 1st Legion Legatus’ death… woof… that reminded me immensely of Hitlers death as troops were moments from storming his bunker.

The entirety of Garlemald was a step out of fiction and into the cold, harsh reality that fantasy cannot always be fantastical, and this instanced battle really sealed the deal. Being ‘normal’ for once made me really happy for what I have outside of that, and really sad for Garleans.

[SturmChurro]

I found it very engaging and it quite honestly put things into perspective for me.

I was me in mind but not in body, and thus I could feel the weight of what I was doing. Overall it wasnt hard (I finished it in 13 minutes my first try, and I am most definitely going to keep doing it using NG+ ASAP because I want to whittle that number down.) But it was annoying in all the right ways.

I don't see this. The timer is there just to give you a false sense of urgency. They give you way more time than is necessary, in an overly large area with a bunch of (literal) junk in the way, to try and obfuscate the singular correct path, and it relies on finding things - in order. I see no reason to even try to beat a previous time on a mission. After the illusion is broken, it's just another scripted story mission.

[Varilyon]

I liked the instance very much. Its wasnt that hard on normal. There are way harder tasks in this game.

Maybe I am different, because I am playing with many new and not skilled players.

[LaylaTsarra]

I found it frustrating personally. Now that was after having been on for hours and pushing though a host of side quests. i'll find it more fun to do now that i know what to do when i take alts though story but was not one of the highlights of my game thus far.