Player Drop Off and Accessibility/Diffculty

[Underscore]

If a normal dungeon is too hard for some people, then what do they want? To stand still and do nothing?

We are not going back to Endwalker. I like having fun in my video games.

[Atreus]

Homie really dropped this thread and never came back to elaborate.

Game doesn't need to be easier. We could use measures for people to make it through MSQ with trusts, for sure, but that's it.

[Ellona_Andrivari]

Every single bit of difficulty out of DTR has been "players are required to watch their screen not their hotbar" and people just cannot seem to handle that. That's it, that is the difficulty increase.

[RajNish]

The problem isn't even that; the problem is the scripted, lazily designed fights. The problem is the "survive damage" or "don't take damage" pattern instead of "cancel damage."

They could have created fights that were challenging and fun enough for any players to complete (turn a lever, move the boss to a specific position at a specific time so it takes damage from the outside, press a button, carry special item, kill the adds' to avoid a fatal debuff), but no. It's easier for them to speed up the pace of AoE attacks and bombard players with damage and flashes of light, rather than properly develop interactive elements in the fights.

There were fights like this in ARR and HW, but they reworked them so that now everyone is forced to just run away from AOE, or memorize their pattern, and if someone considers this an interesting challenge, I feel sorry for them, because it’s just boring to be a trained monkey, dependent on ping or reaction speed, and not on thinking with your brain and knowing the way in which the mechanics should be solved.

[Valence]

The problem isn't even that; the problem is the scripted, lazily designed fights. The problem is the "survive damage" or "don't take damage" pattern instead of "cancel damage."

They could have created fights that were challenging and fun enough for any players to complete (turn a lever, move the boss to a specific position at a specific time so it takes damage from the outside, press a button, carry special item, kill the adds' to avoid a fatal debuff), but no. It's easier for them to speed up the pace of AoE attacks and bombard players with damage and flashes of light, rather than properly develop interactive elements in the fights.

There were fights like this in ARR and HW, but they reworked them so that now everyone is forced to just run away from AOE, or memorize their pattern, and if someone considers this an interesting challenge, I feel sorry for them, because it’s just boring to be a trained monkey, dependent on ping or reaction speed, and not on thinking with your brain and knowing the way in which the mechanics should be solved.

In my opinion over this topic, we've been seeing a consistent crack in the community between the old design and the new and it's not going to get better over time. That's on them for changing the game's genre halfway through.

[Myotis]

In my opinion over this topic, we've been seeing a consistent crack in the community between the old design and the new and it's not going to get better over time. That's on them for changing the game's genre halfway through.

at this point from an MMO they are making some action-rpg game where action is overtaken by insta deaths during the fights.
It's boring to learn those patterns where to stand all the time over and over again each time something new comes out.

[Miradelle]

I think that it's not only the lack of content, diffuculty of content or whatever ... I think alot of older and/or disabled players that enjoyed the game and invested a lot of money through subs and/or online store purchases, have now decided it all too much and cancelled their subs.

It's not disabled/old people that can't do mechanics. It's people that are just bad at the game.

This game doesn't incentivize you to learn anything about the combat, and neither does the community, that's why you're left with some very astoundingly bad players at max level content.

However, considering I still see these players in expert roulette, it's safe to say even they can get through the MSQ by being carried as a dps. It's also very easy to ask people in novice network to help, or put up a PF asking for help (assuming you're not on a dead server, lmaeow)

WoW also doesn't have this issue that the game is too difficult for casuals, and it is far more reactive and fast-paced than FFXIV is when it comes to dungeons and LFR. The difference is that in that game, people don't give you a free pass for having 0 idea how to play--often even being toxic toward them for that.

However, for people with no friends and crippling social anxiety, I suppose they could add a feature like they do for solo instances, where the fight gets progressively easier with each wipe when doing trusts.

[Supersnow845]

Which came from the original massive change that was the jobs

You aren’t going to see them change from this current encounter formula until the jobs are changed because the current beige slop jobs cannot support any other design without being unbelievably boring

[Xapapetsu]

I know there has been a lot of chatter about player drop off recently, and it has mostly been attributed to lack of content. However, I think there may be another factor at play here, and this is coming from a personal pov, so please hear me out.

There is a player base in this game that likes to do stuff at max level and ins't doing the latest difficulty dungeon ... they enjoy housing, glam and a myriad of other things, which has been the attraction of ffxiv in the first place ... and this for a long time has been the draw of the game for many players, including older players, disabled players, those who may play for themselves, with their children, or even grandchildren in some cases. They happily made their way through the MSQ, making mistakes and learning, not burdening other players with their lack of speed and reactions, and making their way via duty support to end game.

However, come DT and things changed.. The speed with which aoe's are chucked out is ridiculous for some players except almost professional players. Yes, we can work out our mistakes, yes, we can move when need, but not at that speed. Not as an older/disabled player.

I think that it's not only the lack of content, diffuculty of content or whatever ... I think alot of older and/or disabled players that enjoyed the game and invested a lot of money through subs and/or online store purchases, have now decided it all too much and cancelled their subs. They cannnot progress any further, especially if, as Yoshi has said, it will get even more difficult.

I know my post is coming from only one part of the fandom, but I also know that many other parts are unhappy, so what should they do ... or will they go down the Blizz route and not listen to anyone?

I hate saying these things, but we need to quit using old age or disabilities as an excuse for not learning how to properly play. We're playing an MMO, let's be honest, 90% of us are old 40+ and I have inattentive ADHD, so realistically I fit that category of not being able to do high-end content because I'm old and I can't catch on to mechanics quickly because of lack of focus, but here I am running savage an ultimates. There are FFXIV players with multiple missing fingers or even missing arms that run high-end content. It's not a lack of ability we're talking about when it comes to difficulty it's a lack of willingness to adapt and grow. If people worse off than us can do high-end content why can't casual players learn normal content.

[Masha_Awandah]

I hate saying these things, but we need to quit using old age or disabilities as an excuse for not learning how to properly play. We're playing an MMO, let's be honest, 90% of us are old 40+ and I have inattentive ADHD, so realistically I fit that category of not being able to do high-end content because I'm old and I can't catch on to mechanics quickly because of lack of focus, but here I am running savage an ultimates. There are FFXIV players with multiple missing fingers or even missing arms that run high-end content. It's not a lack of ability we're talking about when it comes to difficulty it's a lack of willingness to adapt and grow. If people worse off than us can do high-end content why can't casual players learn normal content.

Because not every disability is the same. I'm personally lucky enough that the worst I have to deal with is hands going numb while gaming, but when it does happen I have no choice but to endure the pain until the end of the duty or stop playing entirely.

Learning is a lot harder when your hands don't move properly, and that's just my example. I'm sure there's plenty of other people with different issues than yours or mine.