Feedback: Dawntrail MSQ dungeon difficulty

[Lamarcy2699]

1) A lower difficulty for trusts I agree could be implemented, but I personally do not feel it necessary just yet and, should it be implemented, I feel it should remain a simple option for Trusts for those who are struggling, like how "very easy" solo instances work. It should not creep its way into Duty Finder as the increased difficulty of dungeons is very welcome. Dungeons throughout all of Endwalker were so very easy, so much so if you just used TBN as a DRK you could just negate all damage coming your way in every big attack in some dungeons. I don't want to return to that, the damage is much a step in the right direction of making the game less boring. The way the game is going it is lessening the reliance of the orange ground AoEs and placing that burden on telegraphs - the first boss of Alexandria shows you in a moving line what mechanics are happening in what order. You don't need to react; you need to memorize and learn timings. Trying to react to the ground AoEs will definitely not give enough time.

2) This is nothing like Dark Souls or Elden Ring, you can stop what you're doing completely and look at the telegraphs and you can usually take a few hits (unless they're at the exact same time) and still live. The game isn't pushing you to play perfectly, it's getting you to understand that not everything will show as a ground AoE and will rely on telegraphs.

3) It's nowhere near twitch reaction level difficulties if you pay attention to the telegraphs. This design decision was active throughout Endwalker as well, the only change was that they increased the damage they deal so you can't just face tank everything. As for NPC trusts, they react to how well you do a mechanic (usually at least, there are a few exceptions as to when they'll act strange but that's rare) so if you're in the wrong spot so too will the Trust members. If you're truly struggling you could try queueing with players who could give you guidance or advice if you're struggling or are stuck. It is an MMO after all.

[ShinyChariot]

The community shouldn't be forced to play at gaming journalist difficulty because some people are unironically skill issue.

[Molecular]

Okay, I have a lot of grievances with the posts in this thread, as a lot of you don't seem to engage with the fights in this game besides "orange floor bad." Before you read any further, I think if you aren't looking to play with or at least reach out to other players to help you through this content already if you have these issues with it I think you should. if the didn't teach you something correctly to the point that you can't clear this content, then we need to fix that. the design philosophy behind the new content differs from what it used to be, and if you don't understand how the new sandbox works, you won't have fun playing it.

If you are really having issues learning and understanding how any of these dungeon mechanics work and how they're telegraphed, feel free to ask, as it seems like a lot of you are walking into these dungeons expecting to see slow punches that you can dodge with no effort. ALL of the new dungeons have the fundamental structure to be capable of reading the telegraphs they give and solving the puzzle, and there isn't a penalty for stopping damage to solve the mechanic. orange puddles aren't your only telegraphs, much of the new dungeons make use of alternate methods of reading mechanics that they have been using regularly since Endwalker other than reading the floor puddles. Checking the title of the spell the boss casts and observing the boss/arena are some of these other telegraphs that are most common.

That is not even to mention that by the time you're this far in the game, it is by no means unreasonable for the devs to expect you to understand your job, or at the very least, for the telegraphs and mechanic conventions you that you have been shown for upwards of 4 years now through 2 expansions worth of content plus dungeon/trial reworks. if you play the game the devs are offering you, it is easy and rewarding. but if you choose to ignore what pieces of the puzzle it gives you and face-tank every part of the game, well, you see where you are right now, don't you? the dungeons are engaging and intuitive this expansion is if you choose to engage with them.

[LalaLumi]

I'm going to preface this with a forward apology. I'm a very calloused and blunt person, and talking about topics I feel to be benign tends to incite a greater-than-usual lack of empathy/sympathy. It's not my intention to be rude, truly, but there's frankly no "nice" way I can think to articulate this.

I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of hard to take this seriously given a few factors. Firstly, you allege to have been an avid savage/mythic raider. If that's the case, you should be able to do these dungeons on full autopilot blasting Payphone in the background on Spotify. Nothing about these dungeons is remotely comparable to savage, or even extreme content, so even if we're accounting for a 10-15 year period of accumulated rust, you would still need to be without hands to have trouble running these dungeons - especially on a non-DRK tank. Which leads me to my next point.. Brother...you (presumably, based on your profile) play WAR. I really hate to say this but your job isn't balanced...like, at all. And I don't even think that's even a luke-warm take. You're actively playing the game, more or less, in creative mode with that one-man-army class, and you're still on here talking about difficulty? That's wild to me.

With the abrasive stuff out of the way, let's talk about what I feel is *actually* the issue here. Simply put, EW spoiled you guys. And by "you guys", I mean people, usually casuals, who have an adamant refusal or lack of inclination to learn basic concepts of the game. Back in EW, you only needed to use your 25s mit and a reprisal to wall-to-wall. Guess what? That's not the case in DT anymore. You actually have to properly cycle and space out your mits - as you should've been doing from the beginning. The execution of basic tasks and a foundational level of understanding of how to both interact with the game as well as your job is not a "hardcore" concept nor should it be. You should be watching for visual cues of the boss, not just indicators. You should be spacing out cooldowns. You should know your rotation. Etc. The fact that the game now forces you to have higher than 15 APM doesn't make the game hard. People are just spoiled from a 2.5 year vacation where EW provided little to no challenge whatsoever and now people have confused that with the norm. No. If you can't be bothered to learn the basics or have a rootimentary understanding of your job and the core game mechanics quite literally at the level cap, that's fine, but I would respectfully urge you to reconsider if this is the game for you. Having something to do other than pressing my AoE spells and/or a single mit a total of 6 times in a dungeon is a breath of fresh air, and folks need to understand the game, even in MSQ content, isn't designed to be cleared via a participation trophy. Do the work, learn the basics, and relish the opportunity to grow and become something better. That is the true RPG experience. You start at level 1 for a reason.

[Necrofang17]

I'm completely capable of learning and reacting to mechanics

Well, that's a lie.

[Jinglypockets]

Plus, if you want to trivialize a dungeon why even play it at all? Watch the cutscenes on Youtube and you don't need to play anything.

To be fair, I play plenty of story-heavy games on the easiest setting when the type of challenge presented isn't one that's enjoyable for me. Pretty much any tactical turn-based or pause-and-play RPG, for example. There's no part of me that wants to watch a Let's Play of some random jerk playing Dragon Age.

[JaxTelmorrow]

Just.. wow. I suggest just not playing at all if you think the DUNGEONS are too hard. C'mon. If you can't beat them.. maybe play something else that fits your no-effort style of play. The story is absolute crap most the time and the only excitement a good number of us get ARE when things are hard. Ask for super duper easy mode trusts if you want a story-only mode. Don't ruin the game for the rest of us.

[KBlacck69]

Why is your skill our problem? Git good or find another game to play.

[Mondschnee]

No offense but... the NPC party literally tells you where to stand if you don't want to figure out the mechanics on your own. My first run also took a while. That's normal, it's a new dungeon. Difficulty wise, it's not that much of a step-up from previous dungeons, but the tells make you think a little more which I personally very much appreciate.

[Teyata]

I qued my first Strayborough run in DF,we wiped to the last boss,we had a good laugh, regrouped and agreed to play safe to understand what we did wrong, we figured out the mechanic and we communicated in chat, we killed it and had a blast, i haven't felt this satisfied from dungeons in a long while, it threw me back to when i was really new at the game,it felt fresh and rewarding,and no it wasn't difficult at all, this is a cooperative game, you're supposed to ask for help when you're struggling, no not everyone is a rotten apple, just because you had a bad experience a few times doesn't mean nobody is willing to explain mechanics, so please for the love of this game, don't ask to dumb down these dungeons and learn to communicate with others.
Last but not least... IT IS OK to wipe a few times, IT IS OK to struggle, the very same MSQ that you play for tells you so... only trough some minor struggles you'll improve and realize that in the end it really wasn't that difficult.