Normal Raids need dps check and enrage time

[Remember_The_Name]

I am both hands up for this.

More DPS checks, soft/hard enrages, as long as they are woven nicely into the fight.

Deathgaze Hollow from Dun Scaith has it done perfect. He slowly "contaminates" the arena, until there is no more safe squares and his next "explode all black tiles" wipes out everyone. Yes, you can delay raise through it, but it is akin trashing in agony before the next explosion.

All players can clearly see the arena getting less safe, the fight stakes rising with each square "blackened", game pushes you to perform better with adds that fills your LB gauge, the desire to pump your DPS efficiently is met with satisfaction of defeating boss before the "enrage".
(well, unfortunately, with power creep and retarded Ilvl sync, it dies insanely quickly without doing anything, but that's the story for another time)

Enrage doesn't need to be strict or anything. Accounting said Item Level bloat that eventually turns all Normal fights into players punching a fancy target dummy, people won't even see one for years. But the simple thought of the fight actually having a "bad ending" at the back of player's mind would be nice.

And more stuff for DPS checks in the fight, PLEASE. Break stuff to prevent raid-wiping ultimate attack, breaking party members from jails, killing adds before they snowball - I will gladly take all of that. Attacking one single target dummy for entire expansions getting a little bit boring, not going to lie.

[Ardeth]

To me, if you can queue for it and have little to no communication outside of text chat, there is a difficulty ceiling. Regardless of how much you want to flex about how hard of a thing you can do, it's about the whole.

Also, it's the chill factor. Some people want low pressure raiding, and that's what this is. You take that away if you jack up the difficulty.

I'm just saying. It's the duty finder with random players. Use your brain.

I think back to Stormblood and people abandoning Orbonne. Hell, people still leave it when I get it in roulettes. And it's much easier now. It's a snoozefest, but people still remember how hard it was before. Shoot, I still take the 30-minute penalty if I got Weeping City.

[Shikiseki]

Those threads recently have become really hilarious. People got used to auto-win while spamming 1 or 2 buttons these days. No challenge to overcome, no reason to practice or to improve to get better and immediately give up whenever you stumble or let alone fall down...

Final Fantasy games aren't really considered hardcore by game standards but what they always did well is to test the player at certain intervals if they are ready to push on through their journey and see if they improved throughout the times. This game already just feels like an afk-arena and if you ask for bit more engaging difficulty outside baby mode, you get backlashed to go play darksouls difficulty - it's either easy modo or very hard lunatic mode but all most ppl ask is for a "normal difficulty"

[lolnotacat]

Those threads recently have become really hilarious. People got used to auto-win while spamming 1 or 2 buttons these days. No challenge to overcome, no reason to practice or to improve to get better and immediately give up whenever you stumble or let alone fall down...

Final Fantasy games aren't really considered hardcore by game standards but what they always did well is to test the player at certain intervals if they are ready to push on through their journey and see if they improved throughout the times. This game already just feels like an afk-arena and if you ask for bit more engaging difficulty outside baby mode, you get backlashed to go play darksouls difficulty - it's either easy modo or very hard lunatic mode but all most ppl ask is for a "normal difficulty"

I'm starting to feel like the XIV developers need to make clear distinctions about the difficulty of content, along with retooling it to meet said expectations. Everyone goes into content with their own expectations, and if they aren't met, they get mad. Instead the content has to be made with a clearly defined difficulty and if someone isn't up to that level, then they need to be told by the development teams that the content either isn't for them, or to git gud. They do this for Ultimates and to a lesser degree, Savage. I wish they'd do it for other difficulties as well so like other games, we'd have a clear path to raiding. Instead we go from babymode dungeons, trials, raids, and ARs, to actually difficult Extreme and Savage with no intermediate difficulty, which the 8m raids realistically should fill.

And this is coming from someone who doesn't savage raid. I don't have the time or patience to find a raid group and progress for hours a week in my anime catgirl game. Most I'll bother with are Extremes, and usually that's a couple weeks after they come out so I can just watch a video and muddle my way through with a PF.

[TheRealQuah]

I'm starting to feel like the XIV developers need to make clear distinctions about the difficulty of content, along with retooling it to meet said expectations. Everyone goes into content with their own expectations, and if they aren't met, they get mad. Instead the content has to be made with a clearly defined difficulty and if someone isn't up to that level, then they need to be told by the development teams that the content either isn't for them, or to git gud. They do this for Ultimates and to a lesser degree, Savage. I wish they'd do it for other difficulties as well so like other games, we'd have a clear path to raiding. Instead we go from babymode dungeons, trials, raids, and ARs, to actually difficult Extreme and Savage with no intermediate difficulty, which the 8m raids realistically should fill.

And this is coming from someone who doesn't savage raid. I don't have the time or patience to find a raid group and progress for hours a week in my anime catgirl game. Most I'll bother with are Extremes, and usually that's a couple weeks after they come out so I can just watch a video and muddle my way through with a PF.

Extreme fights are the intermediate difficulty. They have an very generous enrage and simple mechanics. I cannot remember the last time an extreme fight was difficult. (shinryu?)
Savage can argue is also intermediate-ish. It's midcore content for sure, especially the first 2 floors and often the 3rd isn't a stretch.

[TheRealQuah]

Having enrage timers in DF content is pointless. If you are in a party that is hitting those timers, you're just gonna disband and then the people looking to be carried and not contribute will just queue again and get carried by someone else. Enrage timers in content that you queue for with randoms is pointless. Enrage timers are only pertinent in PF where you can pick and choose members.

[GrizzlyTank]

Eh. The difficulty is fine this time arround, no enrage needed.

The heart phase and chaotic bees for M2 will wipe people.

For M3 the boss really puts a strain on the healer once you enter phase 2. Not to mention that healers will die if only 6 are in the stack.

M4 and M1 are mid. Once you know their gimmicks it's fairly straightforward.

Extreme fights are the intermediate difficulty. They have an very generous enrage and simple mechanics. I cannot remember the last time an extreme fight was difficult. (shinryu?)

Golbez with a pug... /cry

[Tidia]

I think DPS players should mostly get punished for not staying alive instead of judging their ability to push buttons correctly, since optimization/uptime is more of a EX/Savage thing.
DPS checks are rarely reached on NM content and would only create frustration after an already much too long fight.
I'd rather we get mechanics that can't be solved with too few players where everyone simply goes boom, like towers.