Atma farming...Follow

For me it's hard to get excited about getting any atma drop because I know it's merely one segment of merely the first step in the upgrade process, a step which doesn't even actually reward you with anything at the end other than a reskin.

To each their own, I guess.

Have never gotten close to even winning the former (and it's pretty hard to get practice when most groups have people that bail after 1-2 tries, even from "learning" parties, which usually results in the whole group disbanding... nor can you even try using the DF for it), and the latter is inaccessible to me.

Edited, Apr 26th 2014 10:49am by Fynlar

You seem to be the gambler type. Given the choice you would probably spend your time at the casino hoping to get a big pay off while I prefer a steady 40 hours a week job with a garanteed pay check every week.

As for one system being better than the other, I think we can all agree that "boring" is a very subjective term but we can also all agree that one system is fair and give the same reward for the same time commitment and effort while the other is 100% luck based. When I run a dungeon I get x myth the same as you if you run the same dungeon. When you spend 10 hours farming atmas you get your 12 and I still have only 1 after spendind twice as much time. It objectively makes the luck based system worst.

Or.... *gasp* You could actually let the cat catch the string now and then, and the cat will actually play longer and be happier. But how dare that cat be happy, eh? How dare that cat actually feel the sense of accomplishment when he/she catches the string now-and-then?

How dare an MMORPG gamer meet their goals in a reasonable time-table without having to play the lottery or be at the mercy of strict PUG rules.

The cat already has caught the ribbon/string because he's a @#%^ing cat. Maybe you should go play with your kitty more.

Leave your poor analogies that defeat themselves at the door.

Edited, Apr 26th 2014 11:55pm by HitomeOfBismarck

Then you guys have odd cats; none of the four cats I've ever owned have ever attacked my fingers instead of the string.

But then I usually use a plastic wand, that has a string with a bell + feathers on the end of that string. If I ever get scratched or bit, it is because the cat missed what it was aiming for and my hand was too close, not because the cat was actually aiming for my fingers.

This is, of course, not counting times I'm trolling this latest cat I have which is kinda funny sometimes, tickling the hairs on its back while its trying to watch the birds outside the window. Every now and then she'll try to nip my fingers but I'm usually fast enough to pull them away before she can.

My cat plays fetch.

She also likes to watch me shower.

I think my cat is a dog reborn.

Having finished my Atma's last weekend, looking back on it, i have to say it's not -that- bad in retrospect.

Did i grind nothing but Fates since it was implemented? Yes.
Was it mindnumbing? Definitely.
Was it a good way to obtain a new level of your weapon? Yeah, i actually feel so. It's a nice threshhold people have to step over. And then there's the 13.500 myths still to go.

In the MMORPG Model, RNG needs to be there in some form - otherwise, there would be a "feeding frenzy" on the content. As was noted earlier by Hitome, when the players leveled all characters to 50 with relics etc. Unless there is a gate or some element of chance in this type of game - people will grind it out quickly and get bored quick. Then they will complain to SE saying there is not enough content to do - when there was plenty to do.

I would say that even if SE decided to increase the drop rate on ATMA, that there would still be those unlucky to get the drop - even if it was much higher - so I doubt that would help matters.

As a developer, you are asked the question: "How do I maximize Sub fees?" and the answer is most certainly RNG / Gated Content. Granted, some will be so pissed they will quit and leave, but others will take a break and come back for more. It's all about the carrot and stick here.

Since so many people are against RNG - I guess I won't expect to see many of you in the Gold Saucer when it comes out :) That place may finally answer the question: "What do I do with all this GIL I have stockpiled??"

All SE needs to do is add some rare/shiny gear pieces in there to win for .. some random games of chance? GIL will be pumped into that place like never b4 :) It's that basic human need of acquiring "things" that never gets old right?

So, we are all in this together. I can't see how leveling the playing field in the Atma quest should/could be exclusive. RNG is apart of the whole game - whether it's trying to get a BIS piece from COIL or Levi Mirror. There is even RNG when using the DF - you get good groups and bad ones. It's everywhere, you cannot escape it or fix it without changing the whole concept of an MMORPG.

Do we want our players full too fast and run the risk of them leaving? Or give them a trail of breadcrumbs to follow?

Edited, Apr 28th 2014 4:33pm by blitz004

The real issue is that spamming FATES is not fun.

No matter how you cut it, the current system makes upgrading your Relic not fun.

And players are stopping playing because of it.

Edited, Apr 28th 2014 5:17pm by Gnu

Are you saying upgrading Relic is not important?

Are you saying grinding FATES is fun?

What I hear you saying is that this part of the game can be not fun, because it's not important and other parts of the game are fun.

There really is no reason to play FFXIV other than to have fun, so things that are not fun are fair game for criticism.

I dunno, the RNGness is still slightly better than collecting 1500 metal plates, which is still my gold standard of Meanest Thing Square Enix Ever Did. At least with Dynamis currency, you know you'll walk out of a run with SOME coins. With Salvage runs, you know you'll walk out of the dungeon with SOME alexes.

With Voidwatch, you could spam the same NM for hours at a time and never see a single plate, let alone any pouches of plates.

Imagine instead of 12 Atma... you had to get 1500.