Difficulty of normal content.

[LilithKha]

I don't know how you come to the conclusion that I "haven't figured it out" from that I said, you must just be looking to be toxic on the forums. I have learned everything, am looking of nothing from the community and I am able to pay this game at what most would consider a high level. Being said, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy the way enemy encounters are designed and how core mechanics works, especially when I see room where massive improvements be made. If you enjoy the way everything is currently and wouldn't change one thing, then I'm happy for you. Personally, I'm happy when people share opinions that counter my own, it allows a community to understand a larger picture and most of the time drive successful and fruitful changes. Maybe you just like picking on people who share a different opinion than your own, might want to look into that pal. Cheers!

You know what, rereading your post, you are correct. You have largely "figured it out", it's just that the core design of the combat content - puzzle encounters and dance fights - do not appeal to you. I do not know why you haven't accepted that and moved on. I stand by everything else I said.

[FlorineC]

The issue with mechanics and encounter difficulty in FFXIV is that, at its core, all mechanics are flawed. When I first started playing, I couldn't wrap my mind around how if you are still in the orange circle when it disappears, but before the actual damage animation happens, you are dead. To me, this was just so dumb and still is. I should not be dying to a mechanic before the animation occurs, this is the 1st giant flaw and is really at the base of everything.

This isn't necessarily directed only at you, because I've seen this sentiment from several people in this thread, but the fact of the matter is that that's just how the game is. It's weird and un-intuitive, but it's consistent and has been for 10+ years, and at this point you either gotta accept it or accept that this game's combat system isn't for you. Once you know how it works, which is that damage snapshots at the end of the cast/when the aoe disappears and not when the animation plays, it's really not that hard to work around. For better or worse, it's a part of the game.

[Hafu]

This isn't necessarily directed only at you, because I've seen this sentiment from several people in this thread, but the fact of the matter is that that's just how the game is. It's weird and un-intuitive, but it's consistent and has been for 10+ years, and at this point you either gotta accept it or accept that this game's combat system isn't for you. Once you know how it works, which is that damage snapshots at the end of the cast/when the aoe disappears and not when the animation plays, it's really not that hard to work around. For better or worse, it's a part of the game.

Yep.

People asking for them to get rid of snapshotting with mechanics doesn’t seem to realise the enormity of effort that would require, and just how deeply rooted into the game and general XIV encounter design it is. It's a flaw that the game works like that, sure, but they can’t really do anything about it now, when there’s 10+ years of battle content that have deliberately been designed with it being like that in mind.

[SamanthaSong]

Normally I would not weigh in on a subject but felt I needed to. I have been playing this game since 1.0 and have seen my fair share of difficult mechanics and have also seen them nerfed to oblivion because the ppl cried out..."THIS IS TOO HARD!!!!". (I remember the bees in Amdapor Keep and if you don't know what I am talking about then pls consult youtube).

Now, understand where I am coming from, I am NOT a Savage raider and I just run normal content (msq dungeons, optional dungeons, and raid series normal mode). I am just the normal average run of the mill player that has been around a long while. Now, with that being said, I floor tanked the new series and I died in the dungeons for msq. My outfit was getting dirty because i was struck down so much. But here is the thing, I dust myself off and get a determined glint in my eye and I try again. While I was lying on the floor for comfort, I watched, I saw, I learned and I understood a little more. I was reminded that I was still weaker because my clothing and jewelry had not been upgraded to very high levels like I was used to before this "vacation" but I was determined to not let that stop me from trying again with the newly realized knowledge I had gleaned. And I was so praying that people would be kind and not yell at me for being on the floor so much. But then i looked around, outside of my fear and saw others that were providing comfort for the floor as well and then I realized they are going through this process as well and we are learning together. Next time will be better. Next time will be not be so scary. Next time might just be that time the light bulb goes on and I get it figured out!
I am not dismissing what you are saying or how you feel. I want you to understand that it's okay if we are not the best and have everything figured out on day one. It's ok to fall but you gotta dust yourself off and pick yourself up and march back in with that glint in your eye. You've got this...I believe in you and you are not alone.

PS Just remembered forum is registered under my alt account and I have not taken Sam thru msq yet as I have been busy with my main character. So pls don't discount my post because you looked at my character data.

[Aveline_V]

I came from the end of the Heavensward era into FFXIV (but been playing mmo's since the old Ultima Online and Runescape hehe). This has honestly lit a fire under my backside, when it comes to dungeons. To be honest, I was surprised FFXIV wasn't ramping up the difficulty for every expansion. Heavensward dungeons were meh, and Stormblood dungeons felt lackluster. Then came Shadowbringers and I was like, "OOOOH!! These fights are getting more hectic." It makes you FEEL like you are getting stronger when you die and have to go through it again. This is just giving me that same feeling. When you die and come back like, "Ok that was a warm up, let's do THIS!" only to get smacked down again lol. But it's learning. I find it fun when games ramp up the difficulty.
I mean, guys, we level 100 now, we NEED that kind of tough challenge. By now, several of us should know the game and be able to handle this.
Now if you just bought a job leveler and skipped everything, I don't know how to help except say a certain phrase that is spoken when someone can't do certain content. (get good)
But, joking aside. I feel that we should have expected the game to start ramping up in difficulty. It's been a long time coming. As I said earlier we are level 100 now and many MMO's rank up their difficulty insanely, well before that.
I mean the content is at least doable and not some crazy thing like a boss fight that takes 3 days to beat (ff11), or a dungeon that couldn't be cleared for several days without a serious static.
These challenges feel small (especially if you regularly run extremes and savages, these are a cakewalk) and I for one am happy for the change. Even though I will be kissing that floor more then once xD

[nirvaphreak]

Honestly, I feel like a majority of players at level 100 who still can't handle basic mechanics are probably those who queues for crystal tower everyday so they can only press 2 buttons and think they're playing the game. If they get anything past void ark they complain about having to actually use their brain and kits and leaves. Things might be better if they just removed crystal tower from roulettes or make all the raids mandatory, at least they can see mechanics other than a orange circle that you can stand in it and still survive.

[TDawnstar]

Honestly, I feel like a majority of players at level 100 who still can't handle basic mechanics are probably those who queues for crystal tower everyday so they can only press 2 buttons and think they're playing the game. If they get anything past void ark they complain about having to actually use their brain and kits and leaves. Things might be better if they just removed crystal tower from roulettes or make all the raids mandatory, at least they can see mechanics other than a orange circle that you can stand in it and still survive.

You can no longer ilvl cheese to fish specifically for CT. Other than that, it's a simple answer: the goal of an Alliance roulette is to gain XP and get tomes. CT takes 15 minutes and Nier3 takes ~40-45 for a similar amount of XP. Even a lalafell born yesterday can see that one is a lot more efficient per time spent than the other.

[KinDranex]

You can no longer ilvl cheese to fish specifically for CT. Other than that, it's a simple answer: the goal of an Alliance roulette is to gain XP and get tomes. CT takes 15 minutes and Nier3 takes ~40-45 for a similar amount of XP. Even a lalafell born yesterday can see that one is a lot more efficient per time spent than the other.

People are getting sick of CT because its boring to redo the same thing a thousand times, people want diverse choices and to have FUN, not forcing monotonous grinding in the simplest 24 man series.

[LilithKha]

You can no longer ilvl cheese to fish specifically for CT. Other than that, it's a simple answer: the goal of an Alliance roulette is to gain XP and get tomes. CT takes 15 minutes and Nier3 takes ~40-45 for a similar amount of XP. Even a lalafell born yesterday can see that one is a lot more efficient per time spent than the other.

You are admitting that you are the type of player that would like to press the queue button and collect rewards instantly. Go play an idle game if you want free dopamine for zero effort. People like you ruin games for everyone else because you demand an experience that very few people are actually interested in.

[Jinglypockets]

You can no longer ilvl cheese to fish specifically for CT. Other than that, it's a simple answer: the goal of an Alliance roulette is to gain XP and get tomes. CT takes 15 minutes and Nier3 takes ~40-45 for a similar amount of XP. Even a lalafell born yesterday can see that one is a lot more efficient per time spent than the other.

"Have you heard about the new Mass Effect game that just came out? It's the most time efficient one yet!"

It's genuinely fascinating to me that someone would value time efficiency so much more than fun that they would intentionally cheese to get Crystal Tower.