Devs Want Behest Feedback

[AleanRae]

Various suggestions, in no particular order:

Make the mobs more interesting.
I'm tired of being told about the dangers of Eorzea, then having to fight a bunch of stupid goats and bugs. Implement more dangerous mobs that are tougher to beat. Put in more beatsmen, and packs of mobs like we see on the faction leves.


Make the Behest Boss more interesting, too.
It's very anticlimactic to get to the end of a behest, here the epic boss music start, then find out that you the boss is....a pair of coblyns that die in 3 seconds.

Make them huuuuge. Bigger. Different color. Put horns on them, I don't care, just make them more interesting and worthy of the boss music.

I agree with Rent's suggestions. I really think it seems more appropriate to introduce the beastman mobs of Eorzea to Behest rather than the typical mobs found throughout the regions. The storyline emphasizes on the dangers lurking in this world and we are attacking mobs that don't even aggro. It would really be nice to see this change.

I also think that the end boss should be more difficult. It should not be something that is killed before everyone has even taken out their weapons. Make it something of a challenge - an easier version of a typical NM, if you will.

V/R,
Alean

[Leelya]

I think if Behest was catered moreso towards the # of people attempting to participate the battles would be more enjoyable. You would also get more player buy-in due to it serving as a possible past time for players who are looking for some large scale fun until various battle changes are made.

[Overdrive]

I think behest mobs need to give at least double the SP they currently do. You can earn 1000 sp a mob with proper opt rank and links on a guild leve, but only about 100-200 in behest. The reason no one is doing it now is because the SP is bad compared to leves.

[Harvester]

different behest areas should need different tactics to succeed, or at least different behest enemy groups would need different tactics, lending to a more besieged feel of battle and I think most people enjoyed besieged. good experience points better loot and a better party building system will make a big diffence in my opinion.

[Davorok]

Many very good ideas here, esp. the OP's. I would be very happy to see all those ideas implemented.

I think the main 10-20-30 camps should remain at current difficulty levels, so casuals can use them (less time spent traveling), but open up several more Behest Areas. I see many Aetherites on the main maps that don't seem to be used for anything so set up some 30-40-50 camps in harder to reach places with harder mobs. Encourage us to do some exploring (with chocobos). (I am only R25 so I dunno yet what other camps already exist but I have been to several lonely places.)

Increase each Behest to allow as many people to join as want to. Auto-group them if not in a group already. (max 8)
Allow the Party Leader (of an LS/friends group)to sign up for the whole party. (max 8)
Have as many groups of mobs appear as there are parties, then go off in different directions to fight.
End with 1 Big Nasty NM that everyone needs to team up on (even if it is a zerg-fest it would still be fun).

Just increase the Behest Mobs HP so fights last longer and we actually get to use our WS's.

Put Lvl Caps on the camps but add Lvl-Sync to make up for it.

Crack us off a few Guild-Points for our efforts.

More exciting mobs to fight. More variety.

Borrow from Campaign but please no Ramparts or Stone Slabs to beat on (that was extremely Lame).

I just had a brain fart while smokin' a cig' outside...How about after all open-world mobs are killed, the Party(s) warps into an Instance for an NM Fight (kinda like the old Promy's..but improved, of course). When that Group warps into the Instance/Dungeon, the next Behest can start. Forget 30 min / 60 min schedules...have them player influenced.

That's all I got for now. More will surely come tho...good or bad.

[Seif]

"Thanks for your various feedback. We changed a bunch of stuff in path 1.17, and will continue to do so in the future, so please give us more feedback regarding behests."


Various suggestions, in no particular order:


Activate behests for the Rank 50 camps.
Even if you don't have time to create guildleves for the rank 50 camps, at least activate the behest there. Too many people of too disparate a rank range have no choice but to crowd in to the rank 40 behests, and this lowers SP for all involved.

Furthermore, even for a party of all rank 45 players at a rank 40 behest, the behest mobs will be no higher than rank 50 or so. That means the optimal dlvl of 10 is not met, and SP gain is still not optimal. (For more info about the current flaws of SP gain, go here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-How-to-Fix-it )

To alleviate these problems, open up the behests at the rank 50 camps, and have the mobs that spawn there be at least rank 60.


Auto-group everyone who accepts the behest into a party.
Too much time is wasted by people having to form their own party in a behest.


Have all behest mobs start off as claimed.
Too many times have SP gains been less than optimal because some monsters are too packed together and unclaimed mobs get damaged by AOE. Or, if they aggro a player, and then get damaged due to shockspikes. Just have all mobs be claimed and eligible to reward SP from the start. It'll be easier that way. Besides, AOEing large groups of mobs is fun.


Make the mobs more interesting.
I'm tired of being told about the dangers of Eorzea, then having to fight a bunch of stupid goats and bugs. Implement more dangerous mobs that are tougher to beat. Put in more beatsmen, and packs of mobs like we see on the faction leves.


Make the Behest Boss more interesting, too.
It's very anticlimactic to get to the end of a behest, here the epic boss music start, then find out that you the boss is....a pair of coblyns that die in 3 seconds.

Make them huuuuge. Bigger. Different color. Put horns on them, I don't care, just make them more interesting and worthy of the boss music.


If over 8 people are trying to get into a behest, create a second instance for the extra people.
It's very frustrating to wait for a behest, only to find out that it's full. This is not fun and is a waste of the player's time.

I agree with all of the above ideas. In general the mobs should be a LOT harder too and have a ton of HP. How often are you running fast in effort to get just ONE hit in (after a hassle moment with targeting) before the mob is already dead.

Also people don't stick together as only a couple of guys are needed to kill one mob anyway. Also how are the boss-mobs bosses at all?

[Iron]

"Thanks for your various feedback. We changed a bunch of stuff in path 1.17, and will continue to do so in the future, so please give us more feedback regarding behests."


Various suggestions, in no particular order:


Activate behests for the Rank 50 camps.
Even if you don't have time to create guildleves for the rank 50 camps, at least activate the behest there. Too many people of too disparate a rank range have no choice but to crowd in to the rank 40 behests, and this lowers SP for all involved.

Furthermore, even for a party of all rank 45 players at a rank 40 behest, the behest mobs will be no higher than rank 50 or so. That means the optimal dlvl of 10 is not met, and SP gain is still not optimal. (For more info about the current flaws of SP gain, go here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-How-to-Fix-it )

To alleviate these problems, open up the behests at the rank 50 camps, and have the mobs that spawn there be at least rank 60.


Auto-group everyone who accepts the behest into a party.
Too much time is wasted by people having to form their own party in a behest.


Have all behest mobs start off as claimed.
Too many times have SP gains been less than optimal because some monsters are too packed together and unclaimed mobs get damaged by AOE. Or, if they aggro a player, and then get damaged due to shockspikes. Just have all mobs be claimed and eligible to reward SP from the start. It'll be easier that way. Besides, AOEing large groups of mobs is fun.


Make the mobs more interesting.
I'm tired of being told about the dangers of Eorzea, then having to fight a bunch of stupid goats and bugs. Implement more dangerous mobs that are tougher to beat. Put in more beatsmen, and packs of mobs like we see on the faction leves.


Make the Behest Boss more interesting, too.
It's very anticlimactic to get to the end of a behest, here the epic boss music start, then find out that you the boss is....a pair of coblyns that die in 3 seconds.

Make them huuuuge. Bigger. Different color. Put horns on them, I don't care, just make them more interesting and worthy of the boss music.


If over 8 people are trying to get into a behest, create a second instance for the extra people.
It's very frustrating to wait for a behest, only to find out that it's full. This is not fun and is a waste of the player's time.

I like all the suggestions.

[Velelu]

Players Want Game Feedback.

[Sephrick]

Here's something I wrote up on ZAM.com a while back. Thought I'd post it here too for a little more official attention.

I believe that everything this game needs already is in the system. It's just that a few more tweaks are needed to make it the content for which players are looking.

There are a few potential boons to taking Behest out of the open world and placing in an instanced style event. As it stands Behest and Guildleves are the only reason for players to gather as a party. Blending these two activities and making them more frequently repeatable will give players a reason to group together more often and for longer periods of time that can benefit not only Disciples of War and Magic, but those of the Hand and Land as well.

Behest is used by many players as a main means of gaining Skill Points to attain higher ranks. The current limits, however, will be crippling as a larger number of players bottleneck at higher levels.

That's why I believe instancing Behest and slightly changing the rules to it will be the best option for promoting party play in Final Fantasy XIV. Below is a detailing of these changes I would like to suggest.

Rules:

1) Parties must be formed prior to entering Behest. Once Behest is initiated, no other players may enter that party's instance. However, there is no limit (unless needed from a technical stand point) to the number of possible instances that can be created at a given camp.

2) Upon speaking with a camp's battlewarden, the party leader may select a difficulty of one through five stars – much like when initiating Battlecraft Guildleves. One star will offer the easiest challenge, but minimal rewards. The difficulty should scale up to the most difficult, five stars, offering maximum rewards for a challenge requiring a great amount of teamwork.

3) When a Behest is initiated, the party is given thirty minutes to defeat a set number of foes. At the same time, a thirty-minute cool down timer begins. Should the party complete their objective before the time limit ends, they will have to wait the remaining duration of the cool down timer to begin a new Behest.

4) If a party is incapacitated, the Behest is failed and players are ejected from the instances. If, however, an auto resurrection status like that granted from Reraise in Final Fantasy XI is applied in-game, then the party will have a set amount of time in for at least one player to be revived, at which point the 30 minute timer will resume.

5) Once all foes have been defeated, the Behest ends and players are ejected from the instance.

These changes to the mechanics of Behest will allow pre-formed parties of adventurers to gather and gain Skill Points together on their own schedule while still allowing the game to cap potential SP gained per hour.

The thirty-minute cool down timer will encourage players to plan accordingly so that they maximize their potential SP gains instead of spamming the easiest options.

It will also satisfy any potential bottlenecking that might occur at higher levels due to the current participant limits. This effect already is present at Rank 20 camps. Once more players reach higher levels, it will become increasingly difficult to participate in Behest as it currently functions in the game.

While an open-world solution could be devised, it would likely be based on camps and a finite number of targets to kill. This would result in a similar bottlenecking effect present in many other games. Instances would allow parties to gain SP at camps appropriate for their average rank without interfering with other parties. Also, these changes would allow for a fun way to work through the ranks rather than subjecting oneself to a grind killing the same mobs in the open world ad nauseum.

As for the content of the instances, there are numerous possibilities for an opportunity to bring DoW/M and DoL/H classes together in one event in order to give DoH/L a chance to break away from the monotony those classes are plagued with and the drastic shortcomings of their ability to net skill points at the rate DoM/W classes are able. In these events, necessary supplies would be provided similar to local Guildleves.

Some examples are:

- Mending the Front Lines: DoM/W classes fill in the holes left by soldiers leaving the front lines of a skirmish with beastmen due to wounds and broken gear. While the battle-focused classes fend off waves of beastmen, Disciples of the Hand fix weapons, feed the ailing and mend wounds with poultices.

- Come Sail Away: With no DoW/M classes available to assist them, Disciples of the Hand must craft the necessary items needed to fix a beached boat to escape a pursuing enemy. (The enemy would appear only when the timer runs out or the materials were exhausted). This could even be extended to include DoL classes who have to gather the materials needed before the DoHs can craft.

- Heroes of a Half Shell: Groups of Amateur Footpads have been killing off a rare species of turtle in order to use their shells for armor. DoW/M classes must occupy the villainous vagabonds while Fishers gather enough turtles for experts to be able to repopulate the species.

- Don't Break the Yolk: A group of Disciples of Magic happen across the egg of a wyvern as it's hatching. But the hatchling is unable to push through. It's mother slain by spelunkers for her scales, the hatcling will perish unless the magi can penetrate the egg's thick shell. Using the power of battle regiment, they must work together to find the proper combination of their abilities to free the young wyvern. (This would be like a puzzle. With some sort of hint system, the combination would be generated randomly based on the talents of those entering. Depending on difficulty level there could be more than one successful attempt required with each level giving increasingly cryptic hints).

- Defense of the Aetheryte: A group of Archers sent out on a scouting mission happen across malcontents preparing to destroy a key Aetheryte in the wilds. From their vantage point high on a cliff, the Archers must defeat the Aetheryte assaulter before they reach their target. (Each star higher in difficulty brings more waves of mobs)

- To Be, Ore Knot to Be: Similar in concept, a Miner or Botanist is called upon to harvest a rare material and it's up to their battle-hardened friends to see them through the treacherous territory fending off baddies until they harvest the required amount of the material.

In these examples, each DoH classes would have it's own item to satisfy the mission. That way anyone can participate and the missions can see regular use since it wouldn't need any one specific class.

I believe that these can be available at various ranks, beginning at 20, to give some sociable content earlier in the game. These are all fun, team-based activities requiring communication and concentration to complete that ultimately would take a player's mind off the grind. The challenge of the event becomes the focus, rather than the fact that it's just another way to net skill points. Skill points can be awarded per kill and per successful synth/harvest as well as a set completion bonus.

I know some of my examples are exclusive to certain types of classes. But as long as there's something for everyone, and players are free to choose whichever at any time, I don't see a problem with designing fun content around some basic parameters.

[RahJah]

"Thanks for your various feedback. We changed a bunch of stuff in path 1.17, and will continue to do so in the future, so please give us more feedback regarding behests."


Various suggestions, in no particular order:


Activate behests for the Rank 50 camps.
Even if you don't have time to create guildleves for the rank 50 camps, at least activate the behest there. Too many people of too disparate a rank range have no choice but to crowd in to the rank 40 behests, and this lowers SP for all involved.

Furthermore, even for a party of all rank 45 players at a rank 40 behest, the behest mobs will be no higher than rank 50 or so. That means the optimal dlvl of 10 is not met, and SP gain is still not optimal. (For more info about the current flaws of SP gain, go here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-How-to-Fix-it )

To alleviate these problems, open up the behests at the rank 50 camps, and have the mobs that spawn there be at least rank 60.


Auto-group everyone who accepts the behest into a party.
Too much time is wasted by people having to form their own party in a behest.


Have all behest mobs start off as claimed.
Too many times have SP gains been less than optimal because some monsters are too packed together and unclaimed mobs get damaged by AOE. Or, if they aggro a player, and then get damaged due to shockspikes. Just have all mobs be claimed and eligible to reward SP from the start. It'll be easier that way. Besides, AOEing large groups of mobs is fun.


Make the mobs more interesting.
I'm tired of being told about the dangers of Eorzea, then having to fight a bunch of stupid goats and bugs. Implement more dangerous mobs that are tougher to beat. Put in more beatsmen, and packs of mobs like we see on the faction leves.


Make the Behest Boss more interesting, too.
It's very anticlimactic to get to the end of a behest, here the epic boss music start, then find out that you the boss is....a pair of coblyns that die in 3 seconds.

Make them huuuuge. Bigger. Different color. Put horns on them, I don't care, just make them more interesting and worthy of the boss music.


If over 8 people are trying to get into a behest, create a second instance for the extra people.
It's very frustrating to wait for a behest, only to find out that it's full. This is not fun and is a waste of the player's time.

I agree with Rentahamster. Mobs in Behest should be more challenging. The mega-boss at the end should be more menacing in appearance and difficulty. There should be a separate instance for extra people. We should be auto-grouped according to the order in which we sign-up for the instance. I would also like to see a behest reward point system implicated.