What makes you keep playing?

[Destinye]

i have some doubts on this, do they really want to turn Alex Normal into Bismarck EX already?

Virtually no reason to do alex normal as a casual player and if you were on the up and up when it was the only content, you have your main with a full set by now so it is basically bismarck. But according to some forums..you're supposed to ignore people who play the game with progression as their goal so no worries about alexander ever being worthless - GLAMOURS ARE WHY YOU PLAY XIV SO IT WILL ALWAYS BE RELEVANT CONTENT!

[Niiro]

Eh, Alex normal is more comparable to Ravana really, it was good for the first few weeks of Savage but at this point has been almost entirely replaced by Eso gear and Alex drops.

Comparing it to Bismark implies it was never useful at any point.

[Ratatapa]

I think he compares it to Bismarck at how bad people are in alex normal, jus tas how people are bad in Bismarck EX

[Destinye]

It's funny too..aside Ravana's stoneskin Bismarck had the higher dps check. Another reason I wonder if they're only doing end-game content out of obligation to the genre.

[Lokus]

The entire endgame in general needs a lookover. It obsoletes itself way too fast and one event just cannibalizes another. All the shit they add needs build on what's already there. I'd much rather have all the events drop equal ilvl gear with only upgrade items coming from the harder stuff than the shit we have now where we end up getting funneled into The One True event that matters.

[QuinnMartin]

I must admit I did take a two month break, but that wasn't the fault of FFXIV, just RL stuff had to take precedent for a bit.

I keep playing because it is still fun for me. I'm not particularly hard core and not dying to get to end game or dying to get BiS. I want to have fun with people in my FC, help people in DF, and fish. When and if those things are no longer fun and begin to feel like a chore, then I won't continue my sub.

[layoneil]

Virtually no reason to do alex normal as a casual player and if you were on the up and up when it was the only content, you have your main with a full set by now so it is basically bismarck.

if Casual players are not doing Alex Normal what are they doing?

and it is the best gear that doesn't cost Eso or drop from Savage. so yea, right now it is Ravana still.

[gaira]

i'll admit, void ark will be fun just because of all the (often rage inducing, but still funny) shit that goes on when you get 24 randoms together. unfortunately even that amusement is too short lived to keep my attention for months until something else is added.

[Deuce]

if Casual players are not doing Alex Normal what are they doing?

and it is the best gear that doesn't cost Eso or drop from Savage. so yea, right now it is Ravana still.

Doing their weekly and daily quests that are supposedly "fun content".

Until SE fixes the problem of an over-simplified combat system the game will continue to become boring for plenty of people. So, be sure to check back in 4.0 for more disappointment.

[agrotc]

if Casual players are not doing Alex Normal what are they doing?

I might not be a super casual player, but I'm not really interested in the commitment/skill level required for Savage, and most of the people I know that are in similar positions to myself are either just plain not logging in much at all hoping 3.1 will give us something half-way fun/rewarding to do for longer than a few weeks when the newness wears off like I am, or leveling stuff a couple hours a week hoping it'll be useful for anything eventually.

[Raldo]

Same position, same answer here. Not sure what I'll do once I run out of things to level. I've also been collecting minions.

[Hiryo]

The easy way to keep Alex Normal relevant is to tune Void ark correctly. If Void Arc had an ilevel requirement of i190 - You would need a mix of eso gear and Anormal gear to enter Void Ark for i200 gear(Just about everyone already had this). New players won't have as many esoterics so Alex Gear would be in higher demand to get into Void Ark.

My assumption is that Void Ark may have an i180 Requirement which would really put Anormal in a bad spot.

[Neon_Sea]

It will only be relevant to alts, most players will be i200+ when it comes out anyway. I just hope the gear looks good (no fucking caster robes or im choking the first lalafel i see) and is fun. Most of the 24 man raids have been a blast to dick around in so there is at least that.

[Kaisha]

iLvl blockades don't keep content relevant. It just makes it harder for late players to catch up/go on alt jobs and nothing more.

[solracht]

I imagine the Alexander Normal lockout will just be removed in 3.1, really no reason for it to exist when they add the next welfare raid

[Niiro]

I very much doubt they will.

They absolutely should, of course, but I wouldn't expect it.

[Kirbyprime]

3.1. Assuming that that new Golden Saucer mini-game comes in, might give like 2 weeks of play? I highly doubt Void Ark will give any meaningful shit, and even if it did, it'll still have that once a week lockout bullshit so who cares.

[Kiarax]

If it's i200 it will have upgrades (or at least sidegrades) for a huge amount of the playerbase, so people will care. I'm just in it for alt gear, since the job specific eso gear screwed over my WAR and PLD I'll actually be able to gear them again with relics and welfare 24 man gear coming in.

[TheDirtyHobo]

The easy way to keep Alex Normal relevant is to tune Void ark correctly. If Void Arc had an ilevel requirement of i190 - You would need a mix of eso gear and Anormal gear to enter Void Ark for i200 gear(Just about everyone already had this). New players won't have as many esoterics so Alex Gear would be in higher demand to get into Void Ark.

My assumption is that Void Ark may have an i180 Requirement which would really put Anormal in a bad spot.

Except that would just be the worst of two worlds for people who are new/returning. You'd be locked out of timed catch-up content for several weeks because you're stuck building up multiple weeks of tokens to get outdated items so that you can start farming outdated items.

[Hiryo]

Except that would just be the worst of two worlds for people who are new/returning. You'd be locked out of timed catch-up content for several weeks because you're stuck building up multiple weeks of tokens to get outdated items so that you can start farming outdated items.

Sorry I should have mentioned removing the Alex Normal lockout.