Quote Originally Posted by Sarantserel View Post
But I do agree that I like that they're trying to make fights with more room for non standard, situation specific strats. M5S is maybe the one I have the most gripes for cause it feels way too fast paced as a caster. I'm more stressed doing Arcadey than I am in a lot of ultimates.
M5S is also an exercise in my favorite mantra of modern FFXIV: "Tested at 0 ping." A friend of mine in australia has done the fight at 4ms, 200ms, and 300ms, and claims it's a completely different fight between 4 and 200. I was trying to clear earlier and had someone complain about a mere 60ms ping in the fight, implying their ping fluctuated and they could really easily tell the difference. The fight is simply proof the devs don't actually test the fights in any condition other than a direct connection to the server from their office. If they simulate ping, it doesn't even begin to replicate the real world.

It's easily one of the worst designed fights in the game since gordias. The problem is some players think it's great, completely ignoring the ping, pace, and multitasking nightmare it is. I also think that entire fight is basically an ultimate unto itself. Even DSR feels easy in comparison to the nightmare of BS thrown at the player. And DSR was already a giant middle finger to casters, especially black mage. Doubly so with ping.

On arcady specifically, I love having to try to find a 1 yalm triangle that's an identical color to the giant flashbanging donut. It doesn't quite hurt my eyes, but it does make my eyes glaze over as the color blurs into everything. And even a single mistake by a couple people is enough to sink a run. Doubly so when you fail the entire arcady section and don't get a perfect groove because your randomly assigned partner messed up. That buff is vital, and the mechanic is cruel. It's bad enough I'm considering just taking a break from the tier or unsubscribing, because it feels like it was designed by sadists, for masochists.