MSQ Difficulty and Exclusion

[Reinha]

The MSQ should not be designed to kill you; this game's focus is on it's story, whether or not you like a given line, and all content is set to "Easy Mode" by default.

Bosses and mobs shouldn't be able to kill you? Then why do we have a healer role at all? It's ridiculous that two party members out of four can lie dead in the corner start to finish and it will literally have no impact on success. We are players, we are supposed to play not do f all.

[Amenara]

Genuinely difficult content (Extreme, Savage, and Ultimate) is there for players who want it. The MSQ should not be designed to kill you; this game's focus is on it's story, whether or not you like a given line, and all content is set to "Easy Mode" by default. Besides which, you don't have a full toolbox below the level cap - and because of that ever growing toolbox, even simple 6.X bosses can be more complex than high difficulty 2.X ones.

Difficult story bosses can be incredibly rewarding (hello pre-nerf Shinryu!) but it's not the wisest course for drawing in and retaining non-hardcore players, and as an MMO there needs to be as wide an audience as possible.

The thing about it is that the story doesn't teach you how to play the game or how to play your job correctly. It doesn't encourage you to get better or even bother trying. Soon all of the MSQ outside of trials will be soloable, which I imagine those will follow shortly thereafter judging by the level 89 trial. If you teach players or encourage players to play their jobs better, you can naturally ramp up difficulty without really making it feel like the game is becoming so difficult it is unplayable for new players. You can make things a bit more punishing, make DPS checks a bit harder or more prevalent, make healing more engaging by slowly ramping up the difficulty and having a progression of it vs the upside down bell curve that we have in EW when it comes to the dungeon difficulty. Tower of Zot should be the norm, not the exception when it comes to dungeon design with bosses and even the last couple trash pulls that can be punishing if you don't understand how to play your job.

[Packetdancer]

The thing about it is that the story doesn't teach you how to play the game or how to play your job correctly.

While I tend not to think the MSQ needs the difficulty ramped up -- I think it's fine to leave the story accessible to people who play more casually, even if I would definitely like more content that had some bite to it -- on this point, I agree entirely.

Even leaving aside more complicated things, there are some fundamental bits of the game that, so far as I can recall, are not actually explained anywhere in the game itself. I still run into healers sometimes -- in Endwalker content, even! -- who were not aware that a debuff you can cleanse with Esuna will have a white bar at the top of the debuff icon. I have run into tanks who do not realize that Arm's Length is a viable mitigation in trash pulls (especially in conjunction with Reprisal) by slowing the attack speed of anything that hits you with a physical damage attack. Stuff like that.

So while I don't think the MSQ needs the difficulty dialed up on folks, I do think the MSQ -- or the game in general -- could definitely stand to do a better job of informing people about various aspects of the game's own systems.

[TaleraRistain]

I still run into healers sometimes -- in Endwalker content, even! -- who were not aware that a debuff you can cleanse with Esuna will have a white bar at the top of the debuff icon

I think a big part of that is because it didn't used to have a bar to indicate it could be cleansed and when they added it, they didn't make sure the game told you. I can't remember if the Hall was out by then or not. You were just supposed to remember if you could cleanse or not or try it and see if it worked. It was just as annoying as I'm sure you're imagining. Especially when it wasn't consistent.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Even leaving aside more complicated things, there are some fundamental bits of the game that, so far as I can recall, are not actually explained anywhere in the game itself. I still run into healers sometimes -- in Endwalker content, even! -- who were not aware that a debuff you can cleanse with Esuna will have a white bar at the top of the debuff icon.

Wait thats a thing??! My god, Ive been missing that. Im gonna pay extra attention from now on, I had no idea that was a thing.
Yeah, Creative Business Unit III, I love ya'll, but ya'll need to work on this.

[monochrom]

I want everything to stay the same, except AST more cards so i can give more paper cuts pls

[DiaDeem]

Difficulty is subjective and there's way to many variables.

For example, here's subjective thought:
The Ivalice raids weren't ever hard, but the bosses were massive HP sponges that just took 10,000 years to die at the time. That's not a hard(er), that's just bloated.

[Gullis]

Seems like most problems comes from high ilvl. If they made the max item level synq closer to the minimum req, for lower level trials ans dungeons, it would help a bit I think. Right now you skip entire mechanics because bosses die too quick.

Also I feel vuln stacks could get upped a bit. Right now it feels like you need 3-5 before they start mattering. By that point the boss is dead.

Story is story okay, but this is also a game, not a interactive book/movie. Having some form of challenge should not be unthinkable

[monochrom]

I think MSQ difficulty will stay how it is but i have no qualms or issues about it increasing in difficulty. I've started EW and the first dungeon as a healer gives me vertigo with all the aoes I gotta dodge. #NerfTowerofZot pls

[Amenara]

#NerfTowerofZot pls

Please no