Montsegurnephcreep wrote:
FilthMcNasty wrote:
The more direct fix for players finding groups is for them to just suck it up and look for other people to raid with. If you really want to raid, you should already understand that it's going to take some amount of effort on your part. Coming to that realization, you also shouldn't have a problem understanding that you are going to have to take some knocks learning encounters. It just comes with the territory.
Not to be offensive, but the game is streamlined enough that players shouldn't need too much more 'hand holding' type of additions. Assuming you're really ready to raid, you should already know enough of the basics that you don't require color coded maps. Something like WoW's maps with an icon representing boss location should be more than enough. A cutscene showing you what to do is way too training wheels for players who are seeking challenge.
Not to be offensive, but the game is streamlined enough that players shouldn't need too much more 'hand holding' type of additions. Assuming you're really ready to raid, you should already know enough of the basics that you don't require color coded maps. Something like WoW's maps with an icon representing boss location should be more than enough. A cutscene showing you what to do is way too training wheels for players who are seeking challenge.
I don't think most are opposed to the challenge. It's finding 7 other players of similar skill, who are on time and won't bail after 2 weeks. It's always been the issue with these fights on release, one meh player and you're toast. Then someone has to have the balls to call them out, which usually doesn't go well. People leave, you try to replace and the cycle just keeps repeating itself. My FCs statics have had so many replacements I'm often amazed they even keep the thing going all together.
This is why I will always love fighting games for competitive challenges. It's all on you, you lose, it's your own fault, no one else.
That's why...XIV I find isn't in the best position it could be. Despite XI being "niche" the only problem arised when you were looking for parties because the sought after jobs (BRD/COR/RDM) were in short supply because it takes someone dedicated to actually play them, so sadly your server likely passed around the same couple lol. But when it came to end game, you had ENTIRE linkshell(s) full of people you could gather and do events to the point some events overflowed and even then you could swap people in and out depending if it was open world or instanced.
Hell, you even had Dynamises where you could even invite outside people to get a win or something..just a community you know? XIV doesn't really have that and really, many modern MMOs in general. I guess that's why people feel "find static or bust!" is the name of the game when really, Fith is correct - the game gives you endless amount of tools to do it so if you TRULY wanted to do it, you have everything available to you.
Skill level is a different story...but when a game largely doesn't challenge you and all of a sudden you get challenged, of course you'll have very very few who can handle it. I mean, a good comparison is say..are megaman games. For the most part, some quirks aside, they're fairly straight forward and easy levels...
Then comes the Wily Stages/Sigma Stages/Cousack Stages etc.. It's a complete turn of what you had to deal with before, so if you're good, you go in and have no trouble, but if you struggled even on the easier stages, chances are you despised the last set of stages in megaman games..let's not even talk about X5 virus stages without abusing time stop.
This game, unlike even XI, doesn't ease you into end-game because there's just..not a lot of content in this game that isn't one time. You could argue EX primals..but you don't see those mechanics in other content. That's why I said before the most perfect dungeon design in this game is the final story dungeon because it tosses mechanics found throughout the game's end-game scene. Yet there's no reason to touch that awesome dungeon, ever after you finish the story.
This is why the Japanese refer to XIV's "challenging content" as "team jump rope", that one DRG who doesn't know how to properly jump can end your entire raid. Yes in XI a missed stun could be the death of you, but it's recoverable because you could have someone kite a boss or sacrifice someone to the gods while someone else recovers. In XIV? Nope, good luck recovering without your tanks up. I mean, in XIV 1.x you could recover (I've recovered from virtual near wipes by kiting on drg and tossing revive potions on people) but in ARR you're punished more by other people than you are the content.
I'm a-ok bending over accepting Bahamut as my savior, but not doing so because one person simply refuses to learn the content.