Massively Multiplayer Games like Destiny or Final Fantasy XIV are designed to have some level of mass appeal; they try to appeal to skilled, dedicated gamers with a lot of time to spend as well as the more casual, social sort of gamer. Unfortunately, gamers can’t be crammed so neatly into such a dichotomy and players who fall into the middle ground end up alienated by a design philosophy that largely ignores their existence. Players who know their way around a controller, enjoy a challenge, but don’t have the time to treat a game like a full time job receive little consideration within the MMO genre.
There are three primary forms of content in Square Enix’ MMO, Final Fantasy XIV . First, there are the story missions that everybody has to clear at some point. These missions are, for the most part, very easy and attractive to long term fans of the series who want to experience the writing and references the game has to offer. Then there are pieces of content, like twenty-four player raids, where most of the group can be carried through so long as they follow a few simple instructions. Many eight man raids are like this too, and for the effort, players are rewarded with a currency that allows the purchase of some of the game’s best gear. The catch is that they have to grind out this content for weeks, bit by bit, until they have enough. Daily bonuses to each run indicate that the developers really only want players running content once a day so they don’t burn out.
Regardless, it is easy to burn out on that content when it isn’t challenging enough. For that aforementioned middle ground of players, running 90 percent of the content available is just a matter of going through the motions, mechanically and mindlessly. As the content gets older, and players get better gear, things become even easier than they already are. It makes sense to let everybody through, eventually, but there doesn’t seem to be enough variation in battles for players who like to think on the fly and periodically dip into treacherous situations without irreversibly being doomed for their mistakes.
Then there is the content designed exclusively for hardcore players; the most elite MMO players in the world. The current hardcore content in Final Fantasy XIV is called “Alexander Savage.” The word Savage is affixed to the end of it to indicate that it is much harder than regular Alexander; a raid that suffers the same fate as the content listed above. The rewards here are better than the grind-able gear, but require an absurd amount of commitment to clear the four floors of the raid. Players practice multiple times a week with their preformed groups, memorizing attack patterns and perfecting their movements. A single mistake will, in almost all instances, trigger a wipe; a word used in MMO’s to indicate that everyone in the party is thoroughly dead. They are unforgiving, and newer players are asked to familiarize themselves with the fights through online guides and Youtube videos before even entering the content; how exciting! Especially when these fights can take upwards of 10 minutes, only to end in failure during the final phases.
In the case of Alexander Savage, the entire player base took a couple of months before a single group was able to clear it. Prior to that, players spent weeks figuring out what they needed to do, and then more time memorizing the patterns. Most of us do not have time for that.
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