1500 Hours Player Feedback - It is time for FFXIV to take Dungeons seriously in 6 Steps
Hey FFXIV community. I would like to share my views on the current dungeon system FFXIV has to offer, especially from a Healer perspective. My point here is to give feedback for further improvement of the system. I apologize in advance if I make any grammatical errors, I'm Brazilian :)
First, I wanted to say I'm coming from a variety of MMORPGs and MMOs. I played World of Warcraft (WoW), Guild Wars 2 (GW2), Lost Ark, Runescape, Maplestory, Ragnarok, Elder Scrolls Online and others.
When I think of the most fun I had playing a dungeon in a MMORPG I often think of WoW, probably because of the non-linear design it has and the challenges it offers. I love to hear at the end of the dungeon, "GG Heal", "thx for carrying heals," and "great heals". THIS is the kind of excitement and satisfaction I seek when playing as a Healer [even if I don't get a great loot/BIS, those comments make the run worth it]. Do you know when you get 4 - 5 commendations in a Raid for saving the whole group when things got messy? When that happens you know, you, as a Healer, were relevant for the group to succeed.
But unfortunately, this kind of satisfaction as a Healer in dungeons in FFXIV is pretty much lacking, as we are rarely required for the success of dungeons, especially in roullete dungeons - which is FFXIV main product for Dungeons.
So, what are the actual problems for Healers in FFXIV in a dungeon setup that prevent us from feeling rewarded/needed?
1. Damage Pattern. I think this is the most obvious problem. We are often not needed to heal twice after a damage event comes up, or when it comes up we have a pretty long window to heal until the next big damage. Most of the time when the damage happens, it lowers the HP bars to approximately 40-50%, which is not a lot. Healers can then just spend a single GCD heal or not spend GCDs at all and use oGCDs to heal while keeping DPSing.
2. AOE Unavoidable Damage. It is very rare to find AOE unavoidable damage during packs of mobs that would require more than 2-3 GCD heals. There are very few dungeons in FFXIV that actually have them, and the ones that DO have them, I get so much excitement, but unfortunately they don't represent a real threat to the group; you can just use a GCD heal one single time, and the group wouldn't die if you don't spend anymore heals. Even for the most unused player with the role, that is a very, very low healing requirement for a Healer with a bunch of GCDs/oGCDs in his toolkits.
3. Different kinds of damage combination. Think of Ticking damage, for example; this one should be a lot more present in FFXIV, especially since we, as Healers, have a bunch of Healing Over Time GCDs/oGCDs. It just doesn't make sense we have those buttons if we get so few opportunities that they would actually shine. They could combine AOE unavoidable damage with ticking damage to make Healers actually use GCDs with oGCDs, that would be awesome! Even in Raids I can't remember any damage events that would combine AOE unavoidable damage with ticking damage - it probably must have, but it is definitely an exception. This kind of damage pattern is very common in WoWfor Healers in a M+ setup, for example, every boss encounter has this kind of blend of burst damage + ticking damage, and it is VERY rewarding to heal them as a Healer, because if you don't deal with ticking damage, your group may wipe, so you are actually needed.
4. Casts of enemies don't represent a real threat to the group. This is also a very common thing in WoW, and the DPS are pretty much used to observing enemies casts and using their tools to stop it. This is great because you make the group work as a whole, not just separate functions, so DPS "help" Healers, and of course, AOE unavoidable damage should come despite these so when DPS doesn't use their tools, Healers are heavely needed - If the healer manages to have a quick reaction, they may save the group - which is very rewarding. I don't think this should be in every kind of pack, but it would be nice to have at least 1-2 packs that COULD represent a real challenge if the tools are not used.
5. Esuna is a GCD. Why is that? I can't think of any good reason Esuna should be a GCD. You already have so few moments you do need to use it. Esuna being a GCD makes it an even worse button to press, and besides that, most of the time when Healers do use Esuna that wouldn't make any difference for the person that had the debuff - lack of a threat.
6. Creativity. Ways to use the tools we currently have. I don't know, think of a BIG enemy while you are running through the next pack of mobs that would just completely wipe the whole group, but you could put it to sleep and just pass it normally/avoid it so the tank would wait for the healer to put it to sleep... This is just an example, but there are some old dungeons in FFXIV that have spikes and rocks that you need to avoid; otherwise, you fall and die, and every time I see this dungeon, I smile. Why are old dungeons so much more creative/interactive than the current ones?
DESIGN AS A WHOLE - The current formulaic design of 2 packs of enemies and 1 boss, and then repeating the same pattern over and over again in every kind of dungeon, NEEDS TO STOP. This makes the beautiful dungeons you are currently developing feel like they are just there to be completed for the MSQ and actually not made for any kind of replayability; they are not unique in paths or number of enemies, and they are not memorable because of this choice of design. Some old past dungeons from level 50 were not like these, for example. Tanks could gather more than 2 packs of mobs, and they could even choose not to pull some of them - which is pretty cool.
BOSS DESIGN ENCOUNTER - In Dawntrial, boss encounters in dungeons got better; some of them feel somewhat challenging, which is great - but most of them just don't have any kind of healing requirements/healing checks.
It's time for FFXIV to stop treating its players as if we're incapable of dealing with frustration, because without it, the sense of accomplishment doesn't come and the fun ends up being compromised. That said, moments of frustration can occur normally in a dungeon environment, and are even desirable at an appropriate level. Normal Raids are so much more challenging in the game compared to dungeons and people still DO clear them, even the most recent ones (level 100 normal Raids/Trials).
FFXIV also already has a DUTY SUPPORT for most dungeons, so you wouldn't keep people from progressing in the MSQ - I heard this argument a few times, and it doesn't make any sense when the game has a system for those who are absolutely not familiar with games as a whole. So let the ones who are less skilled/unfamiliar with games do the Duty Support and let the ones that appreciate MMORPGs to have actual FUN with a more engaging combat in the main product of a dungeon in FFXIV - which is roulette Dungeons.
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I also would like to share my experience and suggestions after playing the other kinds of modes for Dungeons - Deep Dungeon; Criterion/Savage Criterion, and the likes.
First, the music and the environment of these modes are pretty nice, especially the soundtracks for the current Deep Dungeon [Pilgrim's Traverse]. I think it's right on track. I pretty much appreciate the remix soundtracks; they are great.
I also think around floors 70-80 and 80-90 is when things started to get a lot more interesting for me at least, with luring traps of enemies that represent real threats when not dodged; and the group also starts to walk the floors together instead of splitting in the early ones. The enemies are tankier, and you choose with more care which ones to aggro/not aggro. Also, you should be careful with which items you choose in the Boss Floors - which makes pomanders a lot more interesting to manage.
Having said that, I would say that healing in these modes is a lot more enjoyable, as you are required more, though I think I would prefer we had a more steady damage pattern/more frequent with a combination of AOE unavoidable damage with ticking damage instead of a bunch of one-shot mechanics all around the dungeon. Healers have more fun when they get to recover the group after unexpected damage.
Suggestion: Instead of implementing a bunch of one-shot mechanics as a way to increase difficulty, try to implement damage increments OR shorter windows to recover; for example, after a big damage event, allow Healers to recover in a tiny (2-3 seconds) window, and then damage spikes come again. That way, Healers will be rewarded for fast/quick reactions - we already have that in the new level 100 Raids/Trials, so just bring those to the dungeons as well; they are very nice moments where Healers get to shine, and it would be nice to have those moments in Dungeons.
Now, one of my biggest gripes with those modes: WHY ARE THEY NOT IN THE DUTY FINDER? I would absolutely appreciate it if someone explained to me why they are not in the Duty Finder - this make these modes a lot harder to find people to play with. For Deep Dungeons specifically, you need to teleport to a specific map. This is unbelievable, really; the game should at least make a tab in the Teleport menu just for the Deep Dungeons; that alone would make it a lot less worse to actually find it. Also, in order for me to play Pilgrim's Traverse, I had to Google it so I could find where to take the quest to unlock it... The game definitely does not do a good job of informing the player of new content arrivals. It would do wonders if there was just a simple pop-up menu after big patches when you log in showing the latest implementations of modes, for example, "New Ultimate" and "New Deep Dungeon", similar to what WoW has when a new season comes up...
What would you like the developers to change or implement?