Summary
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail’s Arcadion raids are noticeably harder, and the hike in difficulty might be too much for casual players. Released on schedule only a couple of weeks following the expansion, the normal raid features several painful tank busters and raid-wide AOEs, some pretty nasty damage-over-time effects, and more than a handful of unique mechanics that trigger in rapid succession. After a decade of reusing several of the same mechanics for new fights, however,the introduction of new gimmicks was a welcome change for many players.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy XIV]However, one thread on theFFXIVforums has spawned hundreds of pages after a portion of the community voiced their concerns over the direction of the MMO’s difficulty. The expansion’s MSQ hinted the Warrior of Light should expect some interesting challenges, with dungeons and trials introducing both new mechanics and identifiers to adapt to. While the vast majority of battles in FFXIV are scripted, the new raids may appear chaotic to some players – especially given how frequently teammates tend to die while learning. Yet,just because new content needs to be learned doesn’t mean it needs to be nerfed.
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FFXIV’s Difficulty Needed To Be Tweaked
Endwalker Was Too Easy
WhileEndwalkerwas a critically acclaimed expansion, many complained that much of its more challenging content felt formulaic. For example, more than a few extreme trials could be steamrolled so long as a player who knew the mechanics was marked and followed – even for players who’d never seen the fight before. The issue was further exacerbated by the homogenization of the MMO’s roster of jobs and the two-minute burst window that all classes must adhere to for optimizing their DPS.
In response to comments onEndwalker’s difficulty during an interview with Famitsu,YoshiP acknowledged SE might have overdone itwhen they took steps to makeEndwalker“stress-free.”The previous expansion was lackingin this department, and while it may take time for SE to find the sweet spot that agrees with most players, the underlying motivator of these tweaks is that games should incorporate some level of stress so that content requires forethought and practice to clear. Despite following a battle script,SE still needs to find ways to ensure bosses feel like bosses.
Dawntrail’s Content Is Noticeably Harder
Players Have Less Time To React
Compared toEndwalker, the increase inDawntrail’s difficulty can be seen throughout MSQ, fromthe expansion’s normal dungeonsup to extremes. Bosses hit harder, and in addition to exhibiting unique mechanics, they resolve a fair bit quicker than expected. There are also several mechanics that circumvent the party’s ability to respond comfortably. For instance, several bosses love to stack multiple DoTs on the party before hitting them with a massive AOE, meaning that shields are rarely at full power by the time the attack lands.
In a similar vein,Arcadion gives players little time to breathe between mechanics. Given that boss attacks already hurt, each boss uses a slew of DoTs, vulnerability debuffs, and heavy AOEs, along with mechanics that force the player to move almost constantly. Previous normal raids also introduced spicy mechanics, buttheir pace granted players several seconds to think and adjust. As a result of the tweak, however, dying is more common, and it is more challenging to make it through each instance unscathed.
Bosses Are Harder But Dawntrail Is Still Casual Content
Video Games Should Be Challenging
While the hike in difficulty has made bosses harder,normal content should still be considered casual difficulty. This is because it still allows players to jump into the instance via Duty Finder with a reasonable expectation to clear before the lockout timer reaches zero. For some, researching guides might be useful, but none of the dungeons, trials, or normal raids will require days or weeks of practice in order to clear.
By comparison, unless competing for server- or world-first clears, most savage raids require weeks of practice before they can clear even a single fight. For those competing to clear in the first week after release, they need fully pentamelded gear along with raid food just to survive unavoidable damage. Even without competing, clearing savage or ultimate raids require lots of practice and a strong handle on how a player’s main job works. WhileDawntrail’s bosses are certainly harder,to say they’re even a little close to the time and effort required to clear genuine high-end content is simply inaccurate.
Mostgear can be fitted with one to two pieces of materia, depending on the type of gear in question. This allows players to improve their stats beyond what the gear itself provides. Pentamelding is only available with crafted gear, and it allows the owner to force up to five pieces of materia onto a single piece of gear.
Failing Against A Boss Is Okay
Defeating A Challenging Boss Feels Better Than Beating An Easy One
With the tweak toDawntrail’s difficulty, it is important to remember that failure is not the end of the world inFinal Fantasy XIV.It is okay to die to a boss as players learn their mechanics– and learn to synergize with each other. By extension, there is also no reason to expect others to know mechanics perfectly – especially for new content. Mistakes happen, and dealing with the resulting vulnerability stacks and dead teammates is a part of the challenge that is baked into the new dungeons and raids. Also, it won’t be long before players have had enough practice with these new instances as well as better gear to survive them.
Even without a nerf, players will clear these bosses faster and faster the stronger they get. In fact, despite the outcry for a nerf,even players who wish for a nerf are clearing this harder content within a few days of it being released. If it is being cleared so quickly, it doesn’t need a nerf. Moreover, by restoring some difficulty to bosses in the game, casual players may be afforded a glimpse of why beating a challenging boss drives others to engage with harder content.
