The Relic Grind: Replayability missed

[TomsYoungerBro]

The new relic step has created quite a bit of controversy within the community. The copy/paste from Step 1 to Step 2 of just "grab 1500 tomes" has left players extremely disappointed with the hope of a new relic grind! Some players contribute it to "Well players complained so this is what we got!" or "I hate grinds so this is great!", but in reality it is just lazy design.


I believe the concept of the relic should be to bring replayability back into the patch/expansion it is built for. This can be achieved with/or without a new exploratory zone. Funneling players into current content is, in my opinion, a vital piece this game has been missing. Give the player options, but not endless options like a simple tome grind (Which to some was login, turn in tomes already passively gathered in previous patch, done).


How can this be achieved? Lets take this step as an example with the hildabrand format.

Option #1: Since a new exploratory zone is not a thing, instead make this option GATEs from the Golden Saucer. This will give X amount of a particular token we need for the relic step. If this was an exploratory zone, make this option the most optimal to entice players to do the content. Since it is just the golden saucer, balance it around the other options normally.

Option #2: Unlock Savage tier in 6.3 for players to farm. Once 6.3.5 hits, also add an option in this relic step to grab X amount of tokens from the savage fights. Balance them around the other options and the fights themselves (give more tokens for the 4th floor as opposed to the first floor for instance).

Option #3: Current Alliance Raid (Euprhosyne and/or Aglaia) gives X amount of tokens toward the relic for completion. This gives players a reason to go into the raid more than once a week.

Option #4: Criterion/Criterion Savage gives X amount of tokens for completion (more from savage of course!) This gives a reason to go back in if you can do the content

Option #5: Deep Dungeon (for this patch specifically. Just depends on what comes out around the relic step) has a % chance to grant X amount of tokens per floor completed. Give players another incentive to try the new Deep dungeon!

Option #6: Zone X FATEs give % chance to grant X amount of tokens per FATE completed with a Gold rating. Bring players back out into specific zone(s) inbetween queues and PF fills for relic grinding!



All of these options are within the current expansions content, and all are accessible ways of grinding toward the next relic simultaneously. This allows for both replayability while also mixing things up for players who grind out multiple relics. Also, with multiple options outside of an expansion's exploratory zone (in this example swapped out for gold saucer), Relics are more future proofed as many of the options will be unsyncable/soloable/queueable.

Bring replayability to your content!!

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

But you can literally do any content you want that gives the required tomes.



So... Infinite replayability.

[TomsYoungerBro]

But you can literally do any content you want that gives the required tomes.



So... Infinite replayability.

Not necessarily. When it is extremely open ended you stretch out the playerbase. When its a tome grind, dailies are prevalent which is already the norm. Would you rather farm tomes doing Crystal tower once a day from your daily alliance raid, or Euphrosyne? The option is quite obvious. Funnel players into current content

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Not necessarily. When it is extremely open ended you stretch out the playerbase. When its a tome grind, dailies are prevalent which is already the norm. Would you rather farm tomes doing Crystal tower once a day from your daily alliance raid, or Euphrosyne? The option is quite obvious. Funnel players into current content

Well, I can just farm euphrosyne if I want. It's not in alliance raid anyway. And farming CT wouldn't get me the right tomes.

[TomsYoungerBro]

Well, I can just farm euphrosyne if I want. It's not in alliance raid anyway. And farming CT wouldn't get me the right tomes.

Read again. Doing your dailies would though. And doing your daily alliance raid gets you crystal tower almost 99% of the time. Dailies pick from a wide variety of content and you don't get to choose.

Again, it stretches the playerbase thin and does not funnel players into Endwalker content

[NekoMataMata]

But you can literally do any content you want that gives the required tomes.



So... Infinite replayability.

The problem with "doing any content you want" is most people will either find the easiest content to constantly replay and/or the fastest.

That means there's no variety at all, even if you have all the choices in the world. This means that content that people dislike or don't normally queue into is going to remain that way even if it's an option.

[Iyrnthota]

The problem with "doing any content you want" is most people will either find the easiest content to constantly replay and/or the fastest.

That means there's no variety at all, even if you have all the choices in the world. This means that content that people dislike or don't normally queue into is going to remain that way even if it's an option.

This happens anyway, people will always optimise the grind.

Remember last relic when one of the steps was to run six Level 60 dungeons, and literally the only one anyone ever did was Antitower.

[Kaurhz]

The problem with "doing any content you want" is most people will either find the easiest content to constantly replay and/or the fastest.

This is basically every relic ever. Every relic has always been a false sense of variety as players will always go for the fastest and most efficient route.

[Themarvin]

The new relic step has created quite a bit of controversy within the community. The copy/paste from Step 1 to Step 2 of just "grab 1500 tomes" has left players extremely disappointed with the hope of a new relic grind! Some players contribute it to "Well players complained so this is what we got!" or "I hate grinds so this is great!", but in reality it is just lazy design.

How can this be achieved? Lets take this step as an example with the hildabrand format.

Option #1: Since a new exploratory zone is not a thing, instead make this option GATEs from the Golden Saucer. This will give X amount of a particular token we need for the relic step. If this was an exploratory zone, make this option the most optimal to entice players to do the content. Since it is just the golden saucer, balance it around the other options normally.

Option #2: Unlock Savage tier in 6.3 for players to farm. Once 6.3.5 hits, also add an option in this relic step to grab X amount of tokens from the savage fights. Balance them around the other options and the fights themselves (give more tokens for the 4th floor as opposed to the first floor for instance).

Option #3: Current Alliance Raid (Euprhosyne and/or Aglaia) gives X amount of tokens toward the relic for completion. This gives players a reason to go into the raid more than once a week.

Option #4: Criterion/Criterion Savage gives X amount of tokens for completion (more from savage of course!) This gives a reason to go back in if you can do the content

Option #5: Deep Dungeon (for this patch specifically. Just depends on what comes out around the relic step) has a % chance to grant X amount of tokens per floor completed. Give players another incentive to try the new Deep dungeon!

Option #6: Zone X FATEs give % chance to grant X amount of tokens per FATE completed with a Gold rating. Bring players back out into specific zone(s) inbetween queues and PF fills for relic grinding!



All of these options are within the current expansions content, and all are accessible ways of grinding toward the next relic simultaneously. This allows for both replayability while also mixing things up for players who grind out multiple relics. Also, with multiple options outside of an expansion's exploratory zone (in this example swapped out for gold saucer), Relics are more future proofed as many of the options will be unsyncable/soloable/queueable.

Bring replayability to your content!!

Before bursting your bubble new player... then they did the same in shadowbringers, first few steps easy... then you got to hit the wall more with the other content that came up, such as bozja and more to it... so you are not missing out on anything, and I assume they are doing the same road this time, as it worked rather well the previous expansion, without making it a too die hard grind.

[TomsYoungerBro]

Before bursting your bubble new player... then they did the same in shadowbringers, first few steps easy... then you got to hit the wall more with the other content that came up, such as bozja and more to it... so you are not missing out on anything, and I assume they are doing the same road this time, as it worked rather well the previous expansion, without making it a too die hard grind.

I know my join date of the forums is rather recent, but I did play in ShB. They did not do something to this extent in ShB. If a step has a secondary outside of the exploratory zone, it was old content like Crystal tower . The only step they had that put you in level 80 content outside of Bozja was the one time raid grind of Alexander, Omega, and Eden. The options for each step were not as vast as this proposal either