Variant & Criterion Dungeons

[Jettinson]

Imo another problem with Criterion is that it only has the 3 main bosses (left to right order path) and Thorne Knight is Variant only...

Maybe instead of reworking Criterion, they could add a Variant (Hard) which is something that some posts suggest in terms of difficulty.

[einschwartz]

I have a question about a route though.

After solving the Malachite Portico puzzle, there is an optional thing to interact with in the next room, but it only became interactable on one of the two runs I took through that route.

Is it connected to whether or not you interact with the culvert switch early in the level, or does the optional door not get triggered if you go to the exit first?

The optional door won't be triggered if you immediately follow Nanamo to the exit, correct.

Also I had a blind run at the Criterion version and it definitely feels like a step too far up from the basic version. I think we could have had a medium difficulty level with a few more attacks and faster-paced versions of the variant mechanics.

It appears that SE, yet again, is unable to deliver a medium difficulty content just right. As I've said in another thread, the boss on criterion could be tone down a notch. An idea that I have is they could increase the pacing and mechanical difficulty for each boss the further in you progress. For example Boss #1 would be like Hydaelyn, Boss #2 like Endsinger, Boss #3 like Barbariccia. This way, a more casual player can farm silver at the first boss if they find next ones too hard; instead of abandoning the content altogether. Of course, to incentivize people clearing the entire dungeon, each subsequent boss drops more Silver. So people who just farm the 1st boss will take longer time to get enough for the rewards.

On the subject of rewards: As the content poses zero challenge, Variant level rewards don't need to be anything other than cosmetics. Criterion as it is presently really ought to be giving us upgrade material for the tomestone gear at the very least...

Agreed. I don't do Savage and most people would say normal tome gear is sufficient for what I do. But gear progression is still something enjoyable for me. I'm sure some people would be open to form a 4-man static for Criterion since it's more accessible and easier to manage compared to 8-man static.
For those who do savage raiding, it's a good alternative to gear alt jobs or mains that have no luck in PF loot.

[MisterNublet]

A little over a week and Criterion is already dead content. Which comes as no surprise considering how much of a disappointment it was.

There are so many other games and MMOs to pull ideas from to make an interesting dungeon+ system, and we get another ffxiv dungeon #85 with slightly harder bosses.

If this is the best they can come up with, I don't know how they think they'll push another 10 years with this game when there are other MMOs coming out and a WoW expansion.

[kukuchan]

Hello, i cant switch between the dungeon and criterion tabs in the VC dungeon finder even though i meet all the requirements. I did the quest "a key to the past" i talked to osmon afterwards, got a high enough item lvl, did already all the paths for silkie mount but the tab at the top is just grey i cant swap between them. I already asked a bunch of ppl and they all had no clue where the problem could be.
I would be very thankful if someone could help me.

https://gyazo.com/ef6eb466f08d7d1df81b797cf10ad883
https://gyazo.com/f5a864f3a8148c88dd490880bb79aa7e

[Moomba33]

Hello, i cant switch between the dungeon and criterion tabs in the VC dungeon finder even though i meet all the requirements. I did the quest "a key to the past" i talked to osmon afterwards, got a high enough item lvl, did already all the paths for silkie mount but the tab at the top is just grey i cant swap between them. I already asked a bunch of ppl and they all had no clue where the problem could be.
I would be very thankful if someone could help me.

https://gyazo.com/ef6eb466f08d7d1df81b797cf10ad883
https://gyazo.com/f5a864f3a8148c88dd490880bb79aa7e

Well that's odd. What does Osmon say if you talk to him now?
Long shot, but were you exiting the Variant dungeon through the DF menu instead of the exit portal? I remember some players having trouble unlocking guildhests when they used the DF menu instead of talking to the npc at the end.

[elioaiko]

I love that they added their answer to Mythic dungeons but it fell pretty hard.

The rewards are just too lacking. Materia? That is not worth the grind for something that's pretty easy to get.

I think they went about it the wrong way past the rewards. It just feels like a mini Savage raid. I think some people were hoping it was more of a survival run than dps check type of experience.

I like the aspect of different paths but locking a mount behind them is punishing if no one is around to do said content.

I personally wanted an extension of deep dungeons and the more I think about, deep dungeons is a better answer to Mythic dungeons concerning 4 player content.

Not saying they should kill the idea but just rework it to be more like deep dungeons without the long crawl. It would be nice if it was a half step to Savage gear like how Extreme is to Savage weapons.

Another thought would be tokens to get remixed mounts like the Gil themed Namazu mount.

[RyuDragnier]

I like the aspect of different paths but locking a mount behind them is punishing if no one is around to do said content.

That's Variant that has the different paths and can be solo'd, Criterion is the Savage mode with one path.

[hydralus]

That's Variant that has the different paths and can be solo'd, Criterion is the Savage mode with one path.

In fact it's arguably way faster just soloing it. Any time I try and do it with a group it takes longer than soloing even if people are doing decent DPS. And if you get a "healers only heal" type? Just forget about it.