The Formula won't change

[Valence]

I did up to Savage before and nowadays only do Ex fights.

I only speak for me but maybe others also see it like that.
The problem I got with Savage (and Ex if it wasn’t just faster and more forgiving) is that there isn’t really much “skill” involved. It’s just know where to stand and keep the gcd rolling.
No positioning the boss as the tank mostly, no usage of any other things like “sleep” for mobs and so on. Just know the mechanics to a T.
I honestly stopped having fun in Savage.

Add to that every strategy tilting towards melee players even in EW (very annoying on BLM sometimes) and unnecessary body checks even in Ex and it will be annoying.

What I’m trying to say is that I think it’s not just the difficulty letting casuals hesitate with Ex but also the design itself.
Not everyone wants to look up a guide. Many casuals actually like to do dungeons blind for example.
The modern raiding scene though is almost completely “follow guide to a T”. Blind prog is usually only found at the very beginning.
Many PF groups also often have extremely high ilvl requirements just so they don’t have to waste any time.

To be fair even blind prog to me isn't fun in current models. It's all about figuring out the DDR patterns. It's not like if it was figuring how the boss gets damage stacks when something happens, or how to juggle resources or different enemies with different plates going and making choices about it. It's just figuring out a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces are all donut, point blank, stack, spread, partners.

No matter how many topics and how much feedback is given, devs/ corporations understand only one language, money. As long as there are enough people that fuel them and that are content with the changes there will be no incentive to change the formula.

I honestly wish I could vote with my wallet on the menu, you know? Pick up the content I like, and give the middle finger to the content I don't by not paying for it. That way the game would probably cost me like thrice less and the "corporation" as you say would understand what I hate with my money, but alas, the only thing I can do is whine on those forums. Trust me, I'd like nothing more than to waste less of my time with more efficient wallet solutions.

[Voidmage]

To be fair even blind prog to me isn't fun in current models. It's all about figuring out the DDR patterns. It's not like if it was figuring how the boss gets damage stacks when something happens, or how to juggle resources or different enemies with different plates going and making choices about it. It's just figuring out a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces are all donut, point blank, stack, spread, partners.

Yeah, I think I agree.
Tbh what is the answer to that or better asked, how acceptable would the raiding community be to a different approach from time to time.

Something like CLL final fight where your party splits (one fighting one boss while the other one fights a second) or simply the gimmicks from coils where the environment like towers also had a role.

Or an “evolution” of old mechanics.
For example I really liked how the tankbusters in Valigarmanda worked.
It gave tanks a reason to swap and the party also had to do something.

Just more then know your spot in the party and where you have to stand.

[Voidmage]

Incorrect answer.

If the gear is the main motivator for doing this, there is nothing keeping you from unsubbing and returning when there is an echo and the tier is unlocked.

The main motivator is the fun and enjoying to the fullest what the new expansion/add-on has to offer.

Side note, you can already complete every piece of content out there with just the crafted gear that has been available and needs no tome farming nonsense. (well it does need some tomes but not near to what you need in order to be BiS)

They are correct though.
The Tomestone cap is pure stretching of content same as the weekly raid lockout. Every Raider will tell you this.
It’s just there to have you subscribed longer because no matter what you say people WANT the tomestone gear even if they don’t do the harder content amd the devs WANT you to be subscribed as long as possible.
The normal playerbase gears up slowly without stress but they absolutely do gear up without spending ingame money for crafted gear.
It’s the same as the system in gacha games, just there keep you from completing everything too fast.

Money is the answer.

[Kohashi]

They are correct though.
The Tomestone cap is pure stretching of content same as the weekly raid lockout. Every Raider will tell you this.
It’s just there to have you subscribed longer because no matter what you say people WANT the tomestone gear even if they don’t do the harder content amd the devs WANT you to be subscribed as long as possible.
The normal playerbase gears up slowly without stress but they absolutely do gear up without spending ingame money for crafted gear.
It’s the same as the system in gacha games, just there keep you from completing everything too fast.

Money is the answer.

Incorrect again.

While any company requires money to function (wow, big surprise) if money was their sole motivator Yoshi-P would never say it's acceptable to take breaks.
What SE is doing is not motivated primarily by money, but SE likes to self-impose as your "parent" and tell you how much you can or cannot play so you don't burn out. It's a practice that SE should drop since their player base is spinning around 30 y.o on average.

As for crying that SE held you, hostage, against your will, it's the equivalent of stubbing your toe and then blaming the furniture for being in your way..

[Conroy]

Time Gating is what SE is really good at.

It's incredible how many people have expressed their concerns about the topics in this thread and others, yet they haven't taken any action in years, and Yoshida himself won't listen to us. Will Tome Cap increase? "No," Yoshida responded. Yoshida refused to make any changes to the gear system. Even though this is their own source of income, they don't want to listen to us or jeopardize their "safe" path. They make absurd accomplishments and time-consuming things because they clearly think that TIMEGATED content will keep people hooked. Don't get me wrong, there are some situations where this is acceptable, but even game veterans are running out of content, achievements, etc. Recall that they promised to provide more achievement awards to the NPC, but that hasn't happened. (I'm sitting on 374 Achievement Certificates) as of post. If they actually made decent content, and made content where I actually want to interact with players rather than get "Solo" Duty Support (This is fine imo when the game dies) However, it appears like they're getting ready for it. To be honest, the game feels like a hollow shell of itself, with almost any interaction between players and the content.

Improving glamour in this game? "Nope"
They are focusing on housing which is their big money maker, it's quite obviously when the housing update is coming rather than anything else, giving players more reason to pay for a sub, and keep their homes so they can keep that cashflow coming.

[Supersnow845]

When did “play other games” become a catch all for “even if you have only played a few hours this month you are 100 complaining because you are burnt out there is literally zero other possible reason other than you are burnt out”

I’m at the point of taking enforced breaks simply because I literally have nothing to do. I can’t be burnt out since I haven’t played in 3 months, the game simply won’t let me play it

[Katish]

When did “play other games” become a catch all for “even if you have only played a few hours this month you are 100 complaining because you are burnt out there is literally zero other possible reason other than you are burnt out”

I’m at the point of taking enforced breaks simply because I literally have nothing to do. I can’t be burnt out since I haven’t played in 3 months, the game simply won’t let me play it

Same. That is what I want to know, I have been on and off "breaks". I have finished this tier savage and have been on "break" again, the game feels like it has no content being released (and the content being released is a combination of just not being enough and/or lacking longevity).

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

Y'know, I kinda hope more and more people will keep parroting the "go play other game lol"-mantra so Yoshi-P will have to do more of these in the future. :P

[kiotsukete]

There is absolutely no reason for the tome cap even to exist in the first place. So what I want to farm 24/7 and gear all of my roles with BiS that has actually no 'real' value beyond fun and doing the fights using different roles.

How is it different from logging in 1 day/ week vs being active and not logging in after for a time? I would very much like the developer not to treat me like a child who needs their hand constantly being held and told what I am and not allowed to do with my own damn time and money.

Well, isn’t the main reason for weekly loot lockouts and tomestone caps rather self-evident? As others have already said in this thread, they’re there to artificially prolong content and keep people subbed and paying longer.

But I think another big reason is that without hard brakes on weekly progression, there is concern that some people (not saying you or anyone else posting here) would no life this game to the point of literal death. Which has actually happened with other online games. Source: https://www.thegamer.com/15-people-w...g-video-games/

Even if you and 99.9% of adult players have self control, it only takes one gamer who doesn’t to make the news and no game publisher wants that kind of negative publicity or a lawsuit alleging a family member died while playing their game.

I remember FF11 and FF14 1.0 had a disclaimer on login to not forget your family,friends, school, work etc. IIRC that disclaimer went away in ARR with the advent of weekly loot lockouts and tomestone caps.

[Kohashi]

Even if you and 99.9% of adult players have self control, it only takes one gamer who doesn’t to make the news and no game publisher wants that kind of negative publicity or a lawsuit alleging a family member died while playing their game.

Natural selection is what I call it.

WoW had multiple instances where people died from playing too much. Did that affect the popularity or the brand? Not really. Blizzard did get into hot waters but not over people overdosing with their game.