Feedback: Dawntrail MSQ dungeon difficulty

[Ori]

So I just wasted an hour in the Alexandria dungeon. I say wasted, because I spent most of that hour wiping with my NPC party on the first boss and then force closed the game mid-fight on the second one out of sheer frustration. Never before have I literally dreaded seeing a dungeon pop up in the MSQ the way I have in Dawntrail, but each one has gotten progressively more frustrating. I, like many others I imagine, play this game primarily to enjoy the story. And while DT's story hasn't exactly been my favorite, I have been enjoying the way it unfolded in the later half of the game yet having to struggle through increasingly difficult dungeons, I find myself questioning whether it's worth completing at this point.

I am admittedly an older gamer. My days of hardcore mythic/savage raiding are behind me, in part because I recognize that I just can't keep up with the increasing pace of fight mechanics. I'm completely capable of learning and reacting to mechanics, but there needs to be time to react. By the time you see the telegraph on the ground in these fights, it's already too late to get to where you need to be.

I have ZERO interest in playing Dark Souls or Elden Ring, but it feels like that's the direction the devs are pushing with these new dungeons. And while I recognize there is a portion of the playerbase that wants that, locking MSQ behind dungeons with that kind of difficulty punishes the rest of us.

I suggest that if these new fast-paced dungeons are indeed the direction Square Enix wishes to go with the game, that they add another difficulty setting to dungeons. By all means, give the hardcore action game folks their twitch reaction difficulty, but also make a normal level for the rest of us. You don't need to remove any mechanics, just increase the reaction time for them. Hell, I'd be happy if at least the NPC groups were altered to fit this, because right now, even the damn NPC's are struggling to keep up!

Agreed on every point. I am the same way.
It is not too difficult. But the way they want me to learn is extremely frustrating and un-enjoyable.

They could have done a much better job.

As well there is no reason to lock themselves behind 1 difficulty setting. Why not just have a story mode? As well. Why not offer extreme/hard right away for those who want it? They are creating all of this discourse over difficulty for no reason. They could make everyone happy at once and they literally choose not to by believing they have to have 1 difficulty for all.

[Alluneve]

Agreed on every point. I am the same way.
It is not too difficult. But the way they want me to learn is extremely frustrating and un-enjoyable.

They could have done a much better job.

As well there is no reason to lock themselves behind 1 difficulty setting. Why not just have a story mode? As well. Why not offer extreme/hard right away for those who want it? They are creating all of this discourse over difficulty for no reason. They could make everyone happy at once and they literally choose not to by believing they have to have 1 difficulty for all.

My brother in Hydaelyn, Normal mode dungeons ARE the story mode.
it's why Extreme and savage exists, because SE does not expect everyone to be able to do Extreme or savage