the normal content is too easy

[Poporito_Popoto]

[TaleraRistain]

Don't forget players who actually play games to enjoy a challenge. Don't leave them out to dry because many other people cry when something isn't spoon-fed to them.

They haven't. There are Extremes, Savage, and Ultimate. You realize that group of people have entire levels of content only they will ever experience, right? The normal content isn't going to challenge them. It's not made for them. This is a game that accommodates a wide variety of experience and ability levels. It has something for people who just want to enjoy a fun game to those who strive for the hardest challenges. We all have the do the normal content, so it's going to be designed to be accessible to that entire spectrum of players and it's not going to challenge all of them. And that's okay. There is challenge for those who want to look for it.

[KizuyaKatogami]

They haven't. There are Extremes, Savage, and Ultimate. You realize that group of people have entire levels of content only they will ever experience, right? The normal content isn't going to challenge them. It's not made for them. This is a game that accommodates a wide variety of experience and ability levels. It has something for people who just want to enjoy a fun game to those who strive for the hardest challenges. We all have the do the normal content, so it's going to be designed to be accessible to that entire spectrum of players and it's not going to challenge all of them. And that's okay. There is challenge for those who want to look for it.

For the last time, sure, there is harder content in the game, BUT OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF JOBS AFFECTS EVERYONE. Also, let’s be real here.The harder content is pretty minimal in comparison to the normal content. But i digress, trusts exist now, very easy instance battle mode exists now. There’s no reason to continue dumbing down the game for lazy people who refuse to learn their job properly. But yeah, simplifying the jobs affects everyone, not just casual players or hardcore players, EVERYONE.

[DrWho2010]

hey here's an idea. if you don't like something, there's the door. go do something else.

[Kaurhz]

For the last time, sure, there is harder content in the game, BUT OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF JOBS AFFECTS EVERYONE. Also, let’s be real here.The harder content is pretty minimal in comparison to the normal content. But i digress, trusts exist now, very easy instance battle mode exists now. There’s no reason to continue dumbing down the game for lazy people who refuse to learn their job properly. But yeah, simplifying the jobs affects everyone, not just casual players or hardcore players, EVERYONE.

Trusts aren't nor should they become a system that enables a multi-tiered difficulty. It shouldn't really go beyond the extent of facilitating other players to have a solo experience if they so wish. There are players in the plenty that aren't necessarily as talented but also seek a multiplayer experience. Besides, this completely ignores the simple fact that typically trusts are largely meant to enable initial completion, and maybe the completion of alt jobs where queue times aren't as friendly. Plenty of people still does roulettes. Unless you're also going to propose that players also do their roulettes via the trust system and just further diverge from a multiplayer experience.

If they're ever going to have this overabundance of time and resources, personally I'd rather they spend it on something a little more meaningful than an approach that could potentially fragment players away from a multiplayer experience.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Trusts aren't nor should they become a system that enables a multi-tiered difficulty. It shouldn't really go beyond the extent of facilitating other players to have a solo experience if they so wish. There are players in the plenty that aren't necessarily as talented but also seek a multiplayer experience. Besides, this completely ignores the simple fact that typically trusts are largely meant to enable initial completion, and maybe the completion of alt jobs where queue times aren't as friendly. Plenty of people still does roulettes. Unless you're also going to propose that players also do their roulettes via the trust system and just further diverge from a multiplayer experience.

If they're ever going to have this overabundance of time and resources, personally I'd rather they spend it on something a little more meaningful than an approach that could potentially fragment players away from a multiplayer experience.

I mean, i agree with you on that. I dislike the direction their taking the game and spending resources towards making it a solo game, however that’s the reality. But as it is now, msq trials are going to be trust runnable. Hence, there’s no excuse to make story trials purposely easy because of simply being msq, it takes away from the story when they make it beyond easy like for example, Thordan.

As for the poster above, this forum is for critiquing. If you don’t like it, there’s the door. But to try and gatekeep is just a bad look and just makes you look like a horrible SE simp and white knight. Are you going to go into the hrothgar thread and tell them if they don’t like the half assed upcoming hairstyles to leave as well simply because the devs are being lazy? I would really love to see you do that.

[Jeeqbit]

As far as normal content goes, this has been the case since (and inclusive of) Heavensward, excluding the major story trial. E.g. Shinryu, Hades, Endsinger on launch. I don't really see why they should maintain or gravitate towards incremental difficulty curves for normal mode content. From experience, at any point we've had 'difficult' normal content, people have only ever generally avoided it at all costs. See the number of people trying to avoid anything beyond Weeping City by shafting their own item level. Also referring to Shinryu here where people would go as far as either AFK on entry, or duty leave for a 30-minute penalty on release. Granted, the community has come a long way, but personally, I don't really see many people standing by this directive beyond just platitudes.

To add to this, everyone used to abandon Steps of Faith as well. When I did it for my first time after a 40 minute queue, everyone abandoned and I had to queue up again. After a further 40 minute queue, everyone abandoned once more and I was forced to beg the remaining 3 to stay and let it refill. Once it refilled, it was easy and I could not understand why everyone was so afraid of it.

For almost all of the content with any sort of difficulty, most people wait until it can be done unsynced and farm it then. If you setup a synced party, most of the people who join were expecting it to be unsynced and don't understand what synced is. You have to try to explain what synced is and that it actually requires them to think.

Most people just seem to avoid anything hard. They like turning off their brain. Makes it easier and more efficient to farm whatever they are after.

[Kaurhz]

I mean, i agree with you on that. I dislike the direction their taking the game and spending resources towards making it a solo game, however that’s the reality. But as it is now, msq trials are going to be trust runnable. Hence, there’s no excuse to make story trials purposely easy because of simply being msq, it takes away from the story when they make it beyond easy like for example, Thordan.

As for the poster above, this forum is for critiquing. If you don’t like it, there’s the door. But to try and gatekeep is just a bad look and just makes you look like a horrible SE simp and white knight. Are you going to go into the hrothgar thread and tell them if they don’t like the half assed upcoming hairstyles to leave as well simply because the devs are being lazy? I would really love to see you do that.

So your narrative is to succumb to the reality and propose solutions that arguably by your own admission are bad? - I don't think they're trying to develop the game as a solo experience versus just trying to facilitate players being able to do so if they wish. There is a stark difference between making these systems optional and essentially mandating them, especially when they arguably have their own benefits.

Many of these trials are not really a matter of simple ease versus a product of a poorly designed syncing system, wherein many encounters just simply become slugfest due to out-gearing them by almost double their required minimum item level. Not even A4S was spared this gruesome fate by the end of the expansion. They should look at redesigning how this works before they elect something else. That being said, your approach of essentially it being inexcusable due to the trust system is just inflicting the self-same sentiments on other players as those who have been subjected to oversimplifications. All you really do is flip the coin from:
- Well the game should accommodate to the lower common denominator to ensure everyone can complete the content - Over to:
- Well if you can't keep up go do trusts and exile yourself from the multiplayer experience.

Things like these work great as 1-off experiences if the duties are to be treated as such. But I would argue that whilst many people would appreciate some more difficult encounters, they would not appreciate it to be the norm. People could barely handle getting Shinryu in their roulettes.

To add to this, everyone used to abandon Steps of Faith as well. When I did it for my first time after a 40 minute queue, everyone abandoned and I had to queue up again. After a further 40 minute queue, everyone abandoned once more and I was forced to beg the remaining 3 to stay and let it refill. Once it refilled, it was easy and I could not understand why everyone was so afraid of it.

For almost all of the content with any sort of difficulty, most people wait until it can be done unsynced and farm it then. If you setup a synced party, most of the people who join were expecting it to be unsynced and don't understand what synced is. You have to try to explain what synced is and that it actually requires them to think.

Most people just seem to avoid anything hard. They like turning off their brain. Makes it easier and more efficient to farm whatever they are after.

Editing you in:

Call me pedantic or whatever. But this example in addition to many others is why I personally don't necessarily buy into this platitude. Regardless of whether the content is too easy or not. Historically when players have gotten something that isn't necessarily efficient, or quickly then they've often resorted to avoiding it altogether. Personally, I recall Shinryu getting so bad at times that people would just sit and AFK essentially holding the duty hostage until they got kicked.

[Krotoan]

*Points to all the threads that say MSQ shouldn't be gated with difficult encounters and/or whateverinstance is too hard *

Those people disagree with you.


For every person who "can play this while half asleep" there are those who can barely pass the content when carried.

[Equitable_Remedy]

MMOs that make the base content too difficult die because they can't sustain a large enough player base to cover development costs and make players feel like there's a thriving community. ("OMG this game only has 100,000 active players it must be trash I quit!")

With MSQ essentially required to progress and unlock all side content (hard or easy), the MSQ itself must remain easy.

You can't keep incrementally raising skill cap as the story progresses because not every player has the same skill potential (especially if there are physical limitations). Players tend to quit when they reach a roadblock to their skill level that prevents them from progressing farther.

There also has to be the desire to improve when those obstacles are met. Someone without that desire isn't going to rise to a challenge.

In the end, this is a game for entertainment purposes and not a self-improvement course. Look for it to be designed for those who want entertainment, not those who want self-improvement. If you're looking for a constant flow of increasingly harder challenges to overcome, this may not be the game for you.

QFT

(That's Quoted For Truth for you youngsters out there.)