I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one but I still feel the need to speak up. I'm not trying to sound all "boo-hoo the fights are too hard". I'm talking about accessibility to quite possibly a large chunk of the player base.
It feels like every major fight has adopted this high-speed, unforgiving design model that is primarily twitch-reflex tests with no forgiveness for mistakes. Fights have abandoned tactical variety in favor of massive "record and playback" sequences. It can be visually overstimulating for one thing (even with spell effects turned down/off), but missing or misreading even one part almost always results in death (little to no chance of survival or to recover & not die).
As a neurodivergent player this is incredibly overwhelming for me. These fights cause severe sensory overload, and make the game incredibly stressful because I just can't process the constant barrage to my senses fast enough. It is not just the speed of individual fights; it is the sheer volume of telegraphs going off in quick succession, combined with memory-heavy sequences (which is why Eulogia didn't feel overwhelming at release but Enuo does). I don't mind if some of the fight is like this and speed is treated as just one individual mechanic type, but it feels like most fights are entirely built around speed tests for the majority of the encounter with no forgiveness for mistakes, rather than a mix of speed-based and logic/puzzle-based mechanics (both in individual fights and across casual endgame content as a whole). I miss the variety; it feels like every new trial, every new raid, even the new dungeons have largely abandoned the variety of mechanics in favor of primarily lightning speed/reflex tests.
Some example of enjoyable mechanics for me personally:
- The Math Mechanic from Ridorana Lighthouse or Mustadio's Maintenance in Orbonne Monastery (where you face the opening towards boss).
- Kefka's "?" Bluffs and similar mechanics where you have to do or NOT do what's shown.
- Coils Mechanics like hiding in the ditch for divebombs in T5, the Stardust mechanic (spacing the meteors apart) in T9, or petrifying the Renauds to hide behind in T7.
- Ramuh's Chaotic Strike mechanic where you purposely hit people with lightning to break them free from the charm.
- Dancing Green in Arcadion is a good example. There's a lot going on visually & it can be overstimulating but doesn't trigger a sensory overload. The snaps can be tricky if you miss part of it, but you can sometimes recover before the final snap. But the rest of the mechanics give you a chance to think & react like Riding the Wave, the spotlights, the various Backup Dancers mechanics. It's a balanced fight that combines logic and speed mechanics and more importantly, spaces out all the visual stimulii.
Continue reading...
It feels like every major fight has adopted this high-speed, unforgiving design model that is primarily twitch-reflex tests with no forgiveness for mistakes. Fights have abandoned tactical variety in favor of massive "record and playback" sequences. It can be visually overstimulating for one thing (even with spell effects turned down/off), but missing or misreading even one part almost always results in death (little to no chance of survival or to recover & not die).
As a neurodivergent player this is incredibly overwhelming for me. These fights cause severe sensory overload, and make the game incredibly stressful because I just can't process the constant barrage to my senses fast enough. It is not just the speed of individual fights; it is the sheer volume of telegraphs going off in quick succession, combined with memory-heavy sequences (which is why Eulogia didn't feel overwhelming at release but Enuo does). I don't mind if some of the fight is like this and speed is treated as just one individual mechanic type, but it feels like most fights are entirely built around speed tests for the majority of the encounter with no forgiveness for mistakes, rather than a mix of speed-based and logic/puzzle-based mechanics (both in individual fights and across casual endgame content as a whole). I miss the variety; it feels like every new trial, every new raid, even the new dungeons have largely abandoned the variety of mechanics in favor of primarily lightning speed/reflex tests.
Some example of enjoyable mechanics for me personally:
- The Math Mechanic from Ridorana Lighthouse or Mustadio's Maintenance in Orbonne Monastery (where you face the opening towards boss).
- Kefka's "?" Bluffs and similar mechanics where you have to do or NOT do what's shown.
- Coils Mechanics like hiding in the ditch for divebombs in T5, the Stardust mechanic (spacing the meteors apart) in T9, or petrifying the Renauds to hide behind in T7.
- Ramuh's Chaotic Strike mechanic where you purposely hit people with lightning to break them free from the charm.
- Dancing Green in Arcadion is a good example. There's a lot going on visually & it can be overstimulating but doesn't trigger a sensory overload. The snaps can be tricky if you miss part of it, but you can sometimes recover before the final snap. But the rest of the mechanics give you a chance to think & react like Riding the Wave, the spotlights, the various Backup Dancers mechanics. It's a balanced fight that combines logic and speed mechanics and more importantly, spaces out all the visual stimulii.
Continue reading...