Quote Originally Posted by whiskeybravo View Post
It could be that you're at a loss simply because it doesn't exist. My interpretation is that they make most of their decisions based on mass appeal, which would make the target audience potentially everyone.

I don't know how accurate it is but I heard this savage tier's clear rate is somewhere between 4-10%. There was no discussion about participation rates, but assuming this is close to true that would indicate the vast majority of players aren't looking for a challenge at all, and that at this point XIV is pretty much a casual/social MMORPG. There is a small carve out for the people seeking more of a challenge, but it's very unlikely that those extra components ever establish a prominent role outside of savage/ultimate content. (dps checks, mit checks, etc).
Tbf, it can also have a lot to do with the source or manner of that difficulty. I love challenge when it comes from tanking, coordination, twitchy adaptation, etc. I just don't care for script-memorization or DDR.

And so I'll use WoW for challenge and here for story, visuals, and maybe the occasional PuGed Savage or some Extremes. Because, with brief outliers like pre-nerf Pharos Sirius, certain Extremes, and healing the more eventful of past Alliance Raids on their launch days with weirdly few (thereby overgeared) raiders, the types of difficulty I enjoy just scarcely exist in this game.