It's strange how for a game where the MSQ literally showcases multiple civilizations falling apart because they either have full understanding of all that is and will be without deviation (meaning there is no uncertainty in life) or because they have so thoroughly eliminated suffering that success feels meaningless, and yet these are the very design philosophies that have piloted this game increasingly more and more since Shadowbringers' launch.
The unifying trend in every single change is that this game is TERRIFIED you might feel something negative, ever, at any point, for any reason.
Every single DPS change reflects this. Monk in DT is designed so that you can't mess up or drift your rotation anymore, therefore the possibility of failure is removed. SAM doesn't have a 20 gauge costing buff anymore because what if you had messed up gauge management when it was time to hit that iaijutsu button? BLM would hate for you to risk making a mistake in your rotation, so they lock-step in exactly what your rotation should be and make sure you can't misread what to press at any time ever. Viper doesn't have a debuff because people sometimes actually messed up juggling that mechanic, and GOD FORBID! Positionals are being removed en masse because GOD FORBID someone have to reposition and mess it up.
This extends out to healers and tanks, to dungeon design, to EVERYTHING in this game. Why is Frontlines forced random matchmaking? Because it feels bad if anyone has consistency and YOU don't. Why can't you talk in Crystalline Conflict, where finer detail communication would be absurdly helpful? Because what if someone gets toxic? You might have a bad experience. God forbid!
I am so sick of meaningless "wins" that come at the cost of the possibility of failure. I have played a lot since DT launch and in that time I have wiped once in an alliance raid, once in a dungeon (it wasn't a DT one btw) and once in the first trial of DT. And that's all.
Victory only holds meaning because defeat is possible. Success holds meaning only if failure is possible.
Continue reading...
The unifying trend in every single change is that this game is TERRIFIED you might feel something negative, ever, at any point, for any reason.
Every single DPS change reflects this. Monk in DT is designed so that you can't mess up or drift your rotation anymore, therefore the possibility of failure is removed. SAM doesn't have a 20 gauge costing buff anymore because what if you had messed up gauge management when it was time to hit that iaijutsu button? BLM would hate for you to risk making a mistake in your rotation, so they lock-step in exactly what your rotation should be and make sure you can't misread what to press at any time ever. Viper doesn't have a debuff because people sometimes actually messed up juggling that mechanic, and GOD FORBID! Positionals are being removed en masse because GOD FORBID someone have to reposition and mess it up.
This extends out to healers and tanks, to dungeon design, to EVERYTHING in this game. Why is Frontlines forced random matchmaking? Because it feels bad if anyone has consistency and YOU don't. Why can't you talk in Crystalline Conflict, where finer detail communication would be absurdly helpful? Because what if someone gets toxic? You might have a bad experience. God forbid!
I am so sick of meaningless "wins" that come at the cost of the possibility of failure. I have played a lot since DT launch and in that time I have wiped once in an alliance raid, once in a dungeon (it wasn't a DT one btw) and once in the first trial of DT. And that's all.
Victory only holds meaning because defeat is possible. Success holds meaning only if failure is possible.
Continue reading...