How do you define (meaningful) choice?

[LilimoLimomo]

For example, when I think of player choice/meaningful choice, in my mind, that means "multiple right answers" where one may be more efficient in one way and another in another etc. One may be more MP efficient while another may be more efficient in number of casts (Cure 1 vs Cure 2 is, in theory, this kind of choice) while another may be more efficient in some other way (e.g. Tetra not taking a GCD).

I think it depends on what you mean by "choice". If I give you a choice between drinking poison and lemonade, there are some contexts in which some people would consider that a choice because technically, you do get to choose. But from a less technical perspective, only one choice is sensible to pick, which functionally makes it not a choice at all. So first we need to clarify which framework we're using. I'm going to refer to the former as "choices", and the latter as "Choices". My best guess is we're talking about "Choices"!

And in that case, FFXIV doesn't generally offer Choices in combat.

But a requirement is, that they're all viable. In FFXIV's "damage >>> all" system, this means, in my mind, they need to allow for comparable amounts of damage output. It's why I'm a fan of damage neutral heals. Because if they aren't, then they're (in most cases) "wrong" answers, which means not a "choice".

I think this is the context that really brings it all together: in FFXIV, damage is the only game in town.

In a game like Monster Hunter, there's a lot more flexibility. Like in FFXIV, the end goal is to damage the monster until its HP is depleted, but there are just so many different ways to get there that don't seem invalid. You can bring weapons or tools to try to induce status effects that could give you an edge, you can try to break certain parts of the monsters' bodies to debilitate them or create new weak points, you can try to lure monsters to locations that offer certain strategic advantages, you can try to use traps or well-timed hits to interrupt the monsters' movements for a brief period so everyone can just wail on it, you can try risky maneuvers that have a high risk and high reward, or you can play it safe. There are a variety of different and interesting journeys that lead you to your destination.

In contrast, fighting an FFXIV boss is more restrictive. The only way you can impact the boss is to lower their HP, and the optimal way to do that is to perform your government-mandated rotation. There are minor opportunities for risk/reward play that generally just mean waiting until the last second to move so you can get one more tiny attack off. Conceptually, an FFXIV boss is the simultaneous playing of two games: the left hand plays the "stand in the right place" game, while the right hand plays the "do your rotation game". It's rare for these two games to meaningfully interact, though it does happen on occasion.

Now here's the really big thing. In theory, you could take all that stuff I said about Monster Hunter and convert it into pure math, and then you could find the optimal strategy to beat the monster in the lowest time possible. Speed-runners do this! But normal players don't, and I'd hazard that's because the wide variety of different ways you could fight the monster lead to meaningfully different experiences that are fun.

But in FFXIV battle doesn't branch or change based on what you do; you can only determine when the pre-determined phases change by dealing more optimal or less optimal damage. And because there's no way to do anything interesting, it becomes incredibly easy to hyper-focus on the only thing players can control: DPS. And that's why the line between "normal play" and "speed-running" overlaps in FFXIV to the extent that it does: because it's the only game in town.

(Now, that's not to say that FFXIV is bad or anything. I genuinely love the "stand in the right place" game! It's fun!)