What SHOULD a relic step be?

[Cidel]

For me, a good relic step is one that forces you to, or, at least encourage you to participate in content you might have put down to help you in completing the relic weapon...

*snip*

...Collecting tomes is nothing special and whilst it can be part of a step, there has to be something else to accompany that grind.

I'm also largely of this opinion, excluding the old "Light steps."

Conceptually, the Book steps give us a reason to tackle several different content ranging from a specific dungeon/trial to a specific FATE in a sort of checklist. I wouldn't want a 1-to-1 copy-paste repeat of the Book step (what with the hard-to-spawn FATEs), but the concept is there; between asking us to revisit several dungeons and normal mode trials we maybe haven't seen in years, maybe killing mobs like a hunt log, or completing certain FATEs. Heck, there's no reason why they couldn't have added OC FATEs /CEs and trash mobs to that; it would have made sense here.

And yes, the item collection steps utilizing various currencies would have been preferable. Not only did it give you a variety of ways to collect what you needed, but it made some dead/dying content relevant again. Beast tribe quests feel largely useless once you've hit penultimate rank; I don't feel motivated to keep going for what is essentially a glorified "thank you" cutscene. Why not put something worth spending their currency on in there? They could even consider using Cosmic Exploration tokens as an outlet to buy something for this step as well. Heck, even PvP wolf marks could purchase one of them. One of the items could be sold for the Hunt nut currency. They seemed to approach this type of relic step with the bicolor gemstone and gil vendor being involved, but then decided to shoehorn omnicrafters in for the rest of the way because why not?

I just remember the old Light steps such as the Nexus relic for example, as people mind-numbingly farming whatever trial PF found to be the most time-efficient level of light ad nauseum, not unlike EX farming. That was even more boring to me than a tomestone grind, because you would repeat like some random Alexander raid 10 times or so until you had enough or the party disbanded.

People are calling this current DT step a "Light" step, but I don't find it at all like previous Light steps, and in fact appreciate the randomness of doing roulettes I normally don't even have to bother with and seeing dungeons/fights I forgot existed. Time will tell if I still feel that way about Alliance roulette, got lucky with a Jeuno this morning. I haven't done Crystal tower/LoA in over a year, so I'll be immune to the burn-out longer.

Doing each roulette a day each is fine with me, but if people want to grind these roulettes out, the option is there for them. I much prefer this method over their God-awful RNGatma, because I can see tangible progress to my goal and everyone's effort is rewarded the same for the most part.

[Nero-Voidstails]

two thing one could be related to LVL the other LV 100 stuff because well right now we are forces on synced thing. again

[Striker44]

Doubt it, I'm sure there is a common thread within those hundred responses. Wouldn't it be funny if the majority of the answers are just the same thing worded differently, lol?

Okay, maybe you wouldn't get 100 completely different answers, but I doubt you would get anywhere near just one single "common thread" among those responses. You'd probably get several, and at least of few of those would be complete, polar opposites of each other.

[Wasselin]

There has never been a relic step that some portion of the community hasn't hated.

[Ajantisz]

Firstly, it should never be player crafter/gatherer requiring max level and certain special lore books and a bank of mats, or needing to go to the Market Board and getting gouged. Sqex as seems to be their playbook lately are out of touch with their players and how the game plays communally. First step of 7.31 relic is terrible and shows how little they know their own game. It literally is harmful to casual or weekend only players who don't/can't craft with the time available, and dont have large wallets of gil. It is a completely foreseeable bottleneck that will only get worse as time goes on or if new players join and want to make a DT relic and get c*ckblocked by no mats on MB or having to level DoH jobs. Just utter lack of future consideration...

On to what a relic step should be, let's disregard the awful first step and imagine Sqex weren't so stupid as to have implemented that one look at it in teh context of the current content.

We have Occult Crescent and the outside world content. The "Light" farm itself is not a big deal, tedious though, it very much could have been improved. For example if I had have had design oversight for it I would happily leave the current roulettes method available for those who don't want to do OC. In Occult Crescent for those on the 7.31 relic step taking on CE/Fate's on the 3 base skills having Phantom jobs Knight, Bard, Monk - I havent forgotten Treasure Hunter - (so that it is available for everyone even if they didn't farm atmas from OC and are completely fresh and has future availability) would reward perhaps 33% of basic reward (eg if you aren't doing roulette with daily bonus) of 3 out of 4 of the anima types and for a specific attuned job would reward 100% anima and the bonus when in particular area's of the map (similar to the Atma regions). So for instance of the 4 types in the wheel the north Orb could when on Phantom Bard generate 33% for the west, south and east animas and 100% for the north as it is attuned. Similarly for the other phantom jobs (Knight perhaps west, and Monk east) with the exception of Treasure Hunter which generates 35% for all 4 but the treasure sense (or an anima sense?!) can detect anima nodes around the zone which can be tapped for extra South type anima (may require slight upgrade to TH to unlock anima sense skill or something in place of Treasure Sense). This N/E/S/W break up with the jobs would also apply to the bonus CE/Fates for each job. These nodes pop up after clearing CE's at perhaps 25-35% spawn chance (hell they could be from pots, carrots of silver chests instead when opened on Treasure Hunter). Killing Forked Tower final boss rewards 500 of each anima (although this could be too onerous and perhaps having each boss give out ~100 anima of each type instead so groups can farm first boss only if they want and corridors for sanguinite). After the Light farm sure, the 1500 tomes is the final and repeated step. This way at least makes Occult Crescent see some life other than degens after the extreme pots achieves etc.

I could also as a more off the wall option have seen, give Treasure Hunter at rank 10 a new skill "Mime" that let's them copy a skill from a legit phantom job so a full party of Treasure Hunters with proper planning and job rotation in the entrance of Forked Tower could create a set up where they can clear forked tower as a full TH party and get bonus anima

[Dastan]

What someone will hate, another person will enjoy it. Which is why you can't ever win.

And I don't mind what the steps are now. It's just time consuming, which is the entire point of them.

I have one ARR relic and I'm not going for any others because of the way it's designed. At least with this, I'm passively gaining progress by doing what I was going to do anyways. Play the game.

But then again, I've also mostly enjoyed Dawntrail so far. It's been the most fun I've had in this game. Especially the dungeons and raids. So I don't mind doing them.

[Curisu]

I really liked the SHB relic but without having to hoard a lot of Inventory space and the need to have multiple quests open.
If I want to, I could actively farm specific steps and Items. Or I just play the game and get all items passively.

Thats why I was kinda happy about seeing a Task for the current relic step. I hoped it was a permanent thing that I have to charge by playing the game and then use charges for relic weapons.
Yes, I know it is just like a Tome grind, but it does not feel fulfilling to farm a currency you would have farmed anyway.

[Yuella]

Stormblood's was my favorite, so my answer to this question is....relic for that expansion should be tied to that expansion's contents. Doesn't have to be exploratory zones but others like Deep Dungeons, V&C, maybe even the 8 and 24 man raids. But only that expansion's contents.

[Taranok]

My personal ideal relic would be the HW relic storytelling, but with the very first step of the ARR relic as the actual 'grind.' Not necessarily the killing 30 monsters part where only 3 are on the map at a given time bit like launch ARR, but the things like finding a weapon component just for that weapon, doing battles just with the weapon in a prototype form. It added a lot of flavor. ShB/Bozja weapon's first step having a custom quest made it interesting as well, and a lot less soulless than 'lol rng grind get rekt'

A relatively simple, short, but diverse grind like the very first step of ARR is amazing when done right. ARR didn't do it right, but it still is a good test case on how to do it well outside of some nitpicks (E.G. kill 30 mobs, 10 of 3 separate types, only 3 up at a time, also everyone wants to kill them. IIRC the first step and books had this step.)

A little bit differently, I'd look to WoW artifacts, especially legion artifacts. The weapon basically was the class in that expansion. Now, there were a lot of problems, including time-gated XP and the fact that if you ever fell behind, you were never catching up. Nevermind the daily login requirement to keep the darn thing leveling at all times. None of that is good. But having a weapon that basically was your class, that you put everything into. That captures the idea of a relic weapon well, doubly so when you pair it with a quest even slightly tailored to the class.

I've always wanted FFXIV relics to take a page from WoW artifacts. Not a copy, there's so much wrong with the legion iteration. But a page.

Taken a step to the extreme, Lord of the Rings Online artifacts also come to mind. They're much closer to a mix of WoW artifacts and FFXIV relics, and it very much is a weapon that is yours, that you keep with you, and make your own. There's something deeply satisfying about that style of system. Just augment it with the glamour system and skin drops from places like dungeons for variety.

Hell, the ARR->HW relic basically was kind of like this. The HW relic could be a direct lore upgrade of your ARR relic. And I think it's a thematically better system than disposable cosmetic weapon no. 278,000.

[SyferU]

You know how each of the roulette has a specific element tied to the Aetherwell Array? Why not assign elements to specific duties and have us do those instead?
Like Ifrit and Hells' Lid giving fire, garuda and Xelphatol giving wind. Depending on what kind of duty it is it could give more or less aether.