So... This is the "improved encounter design"?

[CaedemSanguis]

Funnily enough, Alarm Pheromones is the one mechanic I keep seeing tons of complaints about specifically because it's so different/more reactive. I love that mechanic as well.

those kind of mechanics are "wow style" mechanics (look out and adjust)

[Raikai]

those kind of mechanics are "wow style" mechanics (look out and adjust)

Not saying the grass is greener there because I quit around BfA, so Idk how WoW is nowadays, but I personally think that those mechanics are more interesting because they encourage thinking on the go and reward good improvisation skills, as opposed to the very cemented way that the usual mechanics are solved.

Puzzle like mechanics also have such a short shelf life, because once solved all that matters is remembering what goes where, and then after a few rounds, it becomes autopilot because there's usually just a few set patterns that stuff can go (many times just 2 patterns tbh)... ln a reclear scope, it gets either stale or annoying (in a PF setting) when somebody else fails repeatedly on stuff they shouldn't.

[AmiableApkallu]

Puzzle like mechanics also have such a short shelf life, because once solved all that matters is remembering what goes where, and then after a few rounds, it becomes autopilot because there's usually just a few set patterns that stuff can go (many times just 2 patterns tbh)... ln a reclear scope, it gets either stale or annoying (in a PF setting) when somebody else fails repeatedly on stuff they shouldn't.

And that is what I find least satisfying about FFXIV encounters.

[Valence]

Not saying the grass is greener there because I quit around BfA, so Idk how WoW is nowadays, but I personally think that those mechanics are more interesting because they encourage thinking on the go and reward good improvisation skills, as opposed to the very cemented way that the usual mechanics are solved.

Puzzle like mechanics also have such a short shelf life, because once solved all that matters is remembering what goes where, and then after a few rounds, it becomes autopilot because there's usually just a few set patterns that stuff can go (many times just 2 patterns tbh)... ln a reclear scope, it gets either stale or annoying (in a PF setting) when somebody else fails repeatedly on stuff they shouldn't.

I don't like FF Encounters for this reason as well because it feels more like rehearsing for a dance or playing DDR than actually using my brain and think what tool to use for it on the fly. But I guess that M2S first Beats shows that perhaps there is room for an in between, with some amount of chaos, within the current system.

But that would be asking them to make the game into a whole different game and seriously review how difficulty is weighted on every facet of the game and how every mechanic is actually designed, because solving current mechanics without any kind of "trick" to do them within 5s of reaction would just not work at all.

[Raikai]

I don't like FF Encounters for this reason as well because it feels more like rehearsing for a dance or playing DDR than actually using my brain and think what tool to use for it on the fly. But I guess that M2S first Beats shows that perhaps there is room for an in between, with some amount of chaos, within the current system.

Honestly, hitting a balance like you suggests is like a very good goal if you'd ask me. M2S, imagine if the beats were all like that, but the "not beats" phases were more formulaic, you'd get a good balance between the two of them. I wouldn't even mind if some particular fights would lean more into one aspect than the other, as long as the big picture is balanced.

I don't necessarily think it's making a whole different game, is just taking what they already have and reaching a better harmony between aspects "It's a test of your muscle memory" versus "a test of your wits".