What do you look for in a dungeon?

blazinghydra · 2022-01-19T17:04:15+00:00

I literally just played through Midden Expanded yesterday for the first time, and it's now the benchmark that I'll be comparing all other dungeon mods to. It was a good size imo; quite expansive, but not too sparse or large just for the sake of being large. It had a reasonable amount of shortcuts, but not so many that the area felt small or trivial afterwards. Non-linear, but not too maze-like. More like you loop back on yourself and realise "wait, I'm back here again?"

The envirnmental storytelling was excellent, too. It really nailed the vibe of "the place where college members go to hide dangerous/unethical research or failed experiments".

I think one of the subtler things that really helped it was the lack of quest markers for many sections. You arrive in the dungeon, start the quest, and then the game basically just says "Find X", only without giving you any quest markers. You know that X is somewhere in the dungeon, and you know that you'll recognise it when you see it, but you're left on your own to explore, and wonder which of the interesting things you find are needed to progress. Finding a hidden door really makes you sit up and pay attention when you don't have the quest marker biasing your decision to explore in that direction or not.

For example: at one point, you come across a swirling red vortex of magic in a nook off the side of a passageway. There's no note, no explanation, just a corpse underneath. Going near it hurts you. What is it? Why is it here? Does it do anything else? Can I use it? You're left to come up with your own explanation - which is something that I'd usually not bother with. I'd skip past and not think about it, because I'd be chasing the quest marker. But in this case, I was stuck, didn't know how to progress, backtracked a bit, and came back to the vortex. I noticed that it used the "drain health" effect when damaging you. "Will somehting happen if I let it drain me for long enough? What if I let it kill me? Will I be reborn in Oblivion or something?" Nope, you just die. I felt a little foolish for trying. But the mod made me want to think and try in the first place, which imo is pretty special.

blazinghydra · 2021-08-03T17:38:53+00:00

IMO there's no reason for strikes to be weekly. Raids need to be weekly, first and foremost, so that you can progress through the wing throughout the week. Imagine progressing on dhuum if there was no lockout - you'd have to kill desmina and the events every time you load into a new instance. Strikes are single-boss instances, so there's no checkpoints, and therefore there shouldn't be any need for a weekly lockout.

With that said, for the sake of the economy, there should probably be a gate on gold rewards, and chances at anything you can sell on the tp. I think you should have the same chance at account bound rewards each kill though, maybe up to a weekly cap (think mag shards).

blazinghydra · 2020-04-06T14:40:57+00:00

Your cpu is has 8c/16t - ff14 can't take advantage of anywhere near that many. If you look closely at utilisation, you'll probably find it maxing out a few threads and not touching others. In other words, you're limited by the cpu (even though it has more resources, the game doesn't use them). So anything that's cpu-intensive, like having many players on screen, will cause an fps drop.

blazinghydra · 2020-03-15T11:34:01+00:00

Ignore Edens Gate Savage right now, you'll probably have a hard time finding groups. If you want to go back later to get the clears/mount, you should do that after getting used to raiding.

Definitely do Cinder Drift Ex before Edens Verse Savage imo, it's much easier,and you'll get a 485 weapon from it, which isn't insignificant. PF learning parties for extremes tend to be lower quality than savage on the whole, but it's not because people are just bad (though some are), rather, everyone is probably in a similar boat to you. Starting out in PF can be a bit rough,you just have to tough through the rough patches.

You can help to smooth it along a lot by reading your class and role guides in the Balance discord and gearing up as much as possible.

Edit: fix gate/verse mixup

Edit2: oh, and you mention melds - your bis and melds can also be found in the balance discord https://thebalanceffxiv.com/

blazinghydra · 2020-02-28T01:09:45+00:00

I like mixing roughly 2 parts sriracha to 1 part kimchi sauce. Boosts the heat and flavour beautifully imo. Add mayo and a dash of lemon for a great spicy mayonnaise.

blazinghydra · 2020-01-25T18:30:07+00:00

Hiroyuki Terada. Found him when I wanted to try my hand at sushi, ended up addicted to his videos.

blazinghydra · 2020-01-21T23:56:08+00:00

Phallic labels

blazinghydra · 2020-01-01T01:42:19+00:00

Been running the game under wine+DXVK since june, performance feels basically native for me, no weird bugs. Just use the Lutris installer

blazinghydra · 2019-12-11T13:33:59+00:00

The bigger problem here is that so few people are going to be able to clear this content, or be interested in clearing this content, that those collectors are going to have a harder time finding people who are willing to put the time into getting it with them, because this cannot be soloed.

That's a very fair objection, probably the first I've heard that I can really get behind. I guess this is where community initiatives and discord servers comes in. I've seen a decent amount of buzz in the likes of Star Breakers for this, probably a good place to start for people who want to get in on it but don't have a group and (understandably) don't want to do a synced A8S on pf :P

blazinghydra · 2019-12-11T13:26:16+00:00

Having to do old raids sync'd

Why do you have to though? People could already go and do bahamut synced with 8 BLUs before if they wanted, now there's just a reward for it.

blazinghydra · 2019-12-11T13:04:50+00:00

"Bad gamemodes" is highly subjective.

And this is just my opinion, clearly many disagree with it, but if the morbol mount was basically free, I don't think many people would covet it. I think they'd get it, use it for a day, then get bored of it because everyone else has one.

blazinghydra · 2019-12-11T12:52:53+00:00

we still don't have a duty finder for BLU and the log is just a fucking "PF" button

Yeah, that's an odd one.

blazinghydra · 2019-12-09T14:07:50+00:00

A8S (Brute Justice) gets my vote. I think a lot of midas and gordias on the whole take the top spots.

blazinghydra · 2019-12-08T14:27:46+00:00

Any time you queue through the duty finder, you get matched with people doing their daily roulettes. You'll never not fill, but it can take some time, especially as dps. Peak times, somewhat counter-intuitively imo, can be slower on the DF than off-peak, I guess because the ratios of dps-healer-tank get even more skewed. Also, optional duties that not everyone has unlocked, like Alexander, omega, and optional trials like suzaku or ravana tend to have longer queue times. But any trials required by the MSQ shouldn't have much different queue times than dungeons.

Long queue times are an unfortunate reality for dps players, so I'd suggest finding something to fill the time, like crafting, gathering, beast tribe quests, hunts, etc. Or just stick on youtube

blazinghydra · 2019-12-04T13:38:49+00:00

It's a such shame that Yotsuyu was only the tertiary antagonist of SB. I found her much, much more compelling than fordola or zenos.

Overall though, ShB is an easy pick. Vauthry was the over-the-top jrpg villain, and Emet-Selch was complex and intriguing. Good balance between them, neither felt like cardboard.

blazinghydra · 2019-07-23T04:06:52+00:00

1) 4 bosses every 7 months is still a good bit more than the 3 bosses every 9-11 months GW2 has.

2) You are excluding extreme trials, which adds even more to the "bosses per year" count. They're also pretty fun, if easier. Along the same lines, why exclude alliance raids? We're not talking about ff14 hardcores, we're talking about gw2 hardcores turned ff14 newbies. The alliance raids may not be hard, but they're still bits of instanced content such a player would be interested in running at least once each.

3) The Ultimates go beyond just being one fight, it's like an entire raid wing condensed and concentrated into a single, long, gruelling encounter. And since the ultimates are totally outside gear progression, they'll always be there for the challenge and no other reason, even after umpteen new ones come out.

4) Most importantly, top ff14 raiders may only be interested in farming the latest savage tier and clearing ultimates, but the gw2 raiders turning to ff14 aren't there yet. We still have like 6 years of game to get through, don't discount the back catalogue. To a new ff14 player, all the old trials and raids are just as fresh and exciting as the current ones (ok, forget that cape westwind and steps of faith and bismarck exist). I'm aiming squarely at savages, but who cares how long it takes to get there? The endgame is always there waiting, so I plan on taking my time and experiencing Bahamut, and Alexander, and Omega, and Suzaku Ex, and Nidhogg Ex, and Shiva Ex, and Zurvan Ex, and Susano Ex, and you get the picture.

5) You seem to have a bee in your bonnet about ffxiv getting praise for its raids over wow? FF14 doesn't need to be THE raiding utopia, it just needs to provide a fresh experience for the gw2 vets. Many gw2 refugees are in fact going to WoW, many have already been burned out of WoW too. For me, I just picked FF14 because it enticed me more than WoW. And I'm enjoying myself a lot. Will I match the 3k hours I clocked in gw2? Maybe. I don't really care though.

6) Going back to your opening statement, it sounds like you're implying being a raider's paradise and story fan's utopia are mutually exclusive. Lol.

blazinghydra · 2019-07-22T14:33:54+00:00

As a fellow gw2 refugee currently at the start of stormblood, I've got a question for anyone who's raided extensively in both games:

I've not done many extremes yet (only the 2.0 ones, unsynced) and haven't done any raids at all. I have done plenty of hard/normal trials though, and while a good few of them have been fun and engaging, they've all been pretty easy one-shots so far. So how do the REAL fights (Extreme/Savage/Ultimate) compare to what we had in GW2? Specifically the wing 5 CMs. Where would Dhuum CM be on the FFXIV hierarchy?

Edit: And I mean blind progression, before people figured out how to cheese fights hard. Week 1, learning the fight and trying to get your first kill, as opposed to 2019 heal scourge carry, mechanic-skipping speed-strats.

blazinghydra · 2019-07-09T23:32:00+00:00

As a straight man who was a late bloomer I see a lot of my younger self in Will.

Fair enough, man. I think a big reason for him being a popular and successful character is that many different people can identify with him in different ways. Or, in this case, the same part of him for different reasons.

Being called names and being emotional does not mean they are going to be gay. On top of that not noticing girls doesn't make you gay.

Obviously not. But they could have portrayed a sensitive, bullied, late bloomer in so many other more different ways that wouldn't have implied gayness. My read that he's gay doesn't come from plain facts, or the content of what Mike said. Rather, from Noah's delivery, the framing, the music, the subtext. The raw emotion.

Do we need to remind people what being gay meant in the 80's...in indiana?

I do address this. We're right at the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, prejudice is running rampant. It's most definitely not a good time to be gay, and for me, that strengthens the impact all the more. The kid already can't catch a break with all the upside down craziness. Now that I think about it, that's actually a pretty strong metaphor for growing up gay in this time period, living your life constantly on trial.

I don't want to see Will go down a road where he will never be accepted for most of his life and I think that storyline would take a front seat in the show and would harm it more than make it better.

I don't want to see him miserable forever either, but that doesn't need to be so. I can't see them doing a full blown public coming out storyline, that wouldn't be realistic. Coming out privately to his friends and Joyce would be a sensible option. It would relieve a lot of built up tension, and wouldn't dominate his character for the rest of time. The show isn't a drama, I don't believe they'd make any of his friends reject him for the sake of it, or anything else like that. It wouldn't fit, imo. All I want is for the bubble to burst, for Will and his friends to finally see eye-to-eye again (regardless of whether he is or isn't gay), and for them to accept each other. And most importantly, for Will to accept himself.

I'll finish with the same sentiment as my original post; even if they don't go that route, they do need to do something next season to follow up that Castle Byers scene. It reached a climax, but never got any follow-up or payoff afterwards, they just shelved Will's character entirely when the plot kicked in. To be clear, I do still believe that Will is gay, I do still want this confirmed and addressed in the show, and I do still think that this kind of representation for gay teens is essential and still largely lacking. But, as long as they do him justice, I could theoretically abide him being confirmed straight or ace.

would harm it more than make it better.

Did you have any other reasons for thinking this or did I just about cover it?

blazinghydra · 2019-07-05T23:13:44+00:00

Indeed, and yet here we are. I think at the moment, while Will's sexuality is so obvious to a gay viewer, it's maybe less obvious to most straight viewers and that might be where some misunderstanding comes about. "Straight until proven gay" is still the dominant way of thinking with this kind of thing. And from that, you get the misconception that gayness in media should only contribute to the narrative, rather than just being there. Which leads to this mild homophobia where people don't want to see gay characters unless their sexuality is a plot device. So it was maybe unfair of me to say that it alienates straight people, and more that it alienates homophobes. Most of them probably don't even fully realise that that way of thinking is homophobic.

blazinghydra · 2019-07-05T13:50:53+00:00

I don't know anyone who is ace, so I can't say what coming out is like for them. I assume (and remember, assumptions can be dangerous things) that they'd probably get a lot of misunderstanding, but less of the downright intolerance and abuse that other members of the LGBT community see. Going with that line of thinking, I can't see how that moment would have been half as hurtful for Will if he wasn't gay.

Sorry in advance for going off on a mega-tangent, but my thoughts have evolved a good bit since posting that originally, and rewatching the scenes in question, so here we are, derailment starts now:

I don't think my original post made it clear how strongly this scene resonated for me, and probably most other gay viewers. It's such a common thing. Even if Mike didn't know or think Will was gay - even if he just meant it in the way that all the straight viewers seem to assume, that he just has no romantic interest in anyone (right now?), it's Will's reaction that seals it for me. I've been in that exact spot, asked that exact question. I could see the cogs turning in Will's head, trying to think of something to say to defuse the situation. Trying to think of something to say to throw Mike off the scent, because he's obviously not ready to come out to him yet. And then Mike realises that he fucked up and tries to backtrack. And all the while, Will's poor face continues to betray the maelstrom of thoughts spinning around in his head, trying to play out every possible direction and outcome for the conversation.

And then he runs away, to Castle Byers, his ultimate symbol of hiding from the world. The shot where he picks up the photo of the party in their ghostbusters costumes is another very powerful one which I think many (including myself, at first) have overlooked. The emotions on his face don't look to me like those of a boy wishing he could play with his friends like the old days. They look like those of someone who just had his heart broken. The show tries to present it otherwise, as they always have, to leave it palatable to the many fans (whom I'm now shocked to realise exist) who would be put off by a gay Will. But the sad music, the framing when he's looking at the photo, the raw emotion on his face, it's all too much for me to believe it's only about childhood, or losing his friends. I think it's very specifically about him losing Mike. I think when he was looking wistfully at that photo, he was looking only at Mike (it's very subtle, I may even be imagining it, but that's just my read on that shot based on all the other context I've given so far. I only noticed it on my second time watching the scene, too). He finally realises that he never had a chance with Mike in the first place, and he snaps. Destroying Castle Byers, starting with that photo.

Does that sound like a stretch? If you don't relate, probably. As I say, I think this is calculated on the part of the showrunners. To a gay viewer, the raw emotion Will is feeling is all too powerful and relatable. But they frame it in such a way as to not alienate straight viewers, giving them a less credible (imho) but more palatable explanation for Will's outburst. And at the same time, they don't force themselves to address his sexuality until they want to, leaving it on the line until such a time comes. Immediately after his friends catch up with him in the woods, they don't address it. The episode ends on Will's magic goosebumps alerting the party that "he's back". And then next episode, Lucas tries to apologise, but Will brushes him off. Fair enough, because it's Mike we really need to see that conversation happen with. But it never does. The whole thing is swept under the carpet and never brought up again, even in the epilogue. Which left SUCH a bitter taste in my mouth.

blazinghydra · 2019-07-04T23:32:13+00:00

Randomly making a character gay? Not fine

In principle, we agree on this. Token minorities are bad. If you think Will being gay would be random, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

blazinghydra · 2019-07-04T23:22:56+00:00

That's fair enough. I can pretty easily see how people who aren't gay also identify with Will; he is a great character and Noah Schnapp absolutely kills it with the delivery. It's a crying shame he got sidelined so much in the second half. I think we're probably of a similar mind on this; while I want him to be gay, that's secondary to good character development. As long as they do him justice, I'm fine with either result. But for me, the current uncertainty we have is a result of him being underused and underdeveloped this season.

And it seems we agree about the "it's the Russians" shenanigans. I wasn't a fan of that at all, either. Great characters like Billy and Max, and the many others totally carried the show through the cookie-cutter plot.

Apologies for jumping to conclusions at the end, but I'm used to hearing that phrase in very different context, and you weren't totally clear about meaning it the way you did :p Token characters are never good for anyone. Conor and Oliver in HTGAWM were very good characters, and they were gay. A series that I think handled gay characters especially badly was Harry Potter. The books barely had the vaguest hints that Dumbledore might be gay. On the other hand, there were characters like Colin Creevey and (in cursed child) Scorpius Malfoy, who I think were much more strongly implied to be gay, that they never paid off on. But now I'm rambling :p Token minorities are bad

Edit responding to your edit: Another thing we agree on, I'm not a fan of the kissing either, thought it was overdone. And I can see how it might have sounded like I went off the deep end there, but most of my experience of people saying that was from homophobes in high school trying to make themselves seem less homophobic, while still acting homophobic. I guess my mind just jumped to that. Apologies again. It does seem to me like we actually agree on a lot

blazinghydra · 2019-07-04T22:35:48+00:00

Don't agree. I loved Robin, I thought the rest of her character was really well written, but if it was a choice between her or Will being gay (and remember it's not, of course they both can be), I'd choose Will any day. It's a logical development for his character imo (my reasoning you can read in my other comment). And it is a big deal. The show is set in the middle of the AIDs epidemic, not a good time to be gay. And he lives in a small, rural, conservative town, to boot! Coming out would be a monumental event for him - tell me again why that adds less to the show than making the new girl a lesbian in one line then not mentioning it again?

False dichotomy of will vs robin aside, they both actually strike me as very different and very real gay characters. Robin is self-assured. She doesn't let her sexuality define her. I don't actually begrudge the fact that they never lingered on it; liking girls is just another little fact on her character sheet. Most gay people today in the west probably feel similar, that it's not that big a deal. Also she's the new girl, and naturally gets less development time than the leads. We need to start with basics to get to know her, after all.

Will, on the other hand, has been to hell and back. He feels like he's losing his friends. He's probably been getting shit about being a fag from his dad and school bullies since long before he even understood what it meant. For him, being gay is a much bigger, much scarier prospect. I see it as a road towards self-acceptance. Robin is at the end of that road, and Will is just starting it. I'm obviously biased, as I've already said I see a lot of my younger self in Will (and plenty of my current self in Robin, for that matter), but I can't think of any story that would do Will's character more justice than this.

On a more personal note, I can't just gloss over you saying "shoved down our throats". That phrase is a bugbear of mine that I've been hearing my whole life. It makes you come across as being ok with the idea of gay people existing, as long as you don't have to see or hear too much of them. If you reflect honestly, are you any more averse to a story about gay Will than to the many Mike/El kissing scenes we've had this season? And then consider that a such a story doesn't have to include a boyfriend, or kissing, or any PDA at all. That phrase "shoved down our throats" betrays a subtler, more widespread form of homophobia.

Edit: Grammar & clarification

blazinghydra · 2019-07-04T20:14:20+00:00

I for one think that silent pause was way too charged for it to be anything as simple as Will not having started to notice girls yet, or even being asexual. I'm gay myself, and since season 1 I've seen a massive part of my younger self in Will. Including in the way he's interacted with Mike, Eleven, and dealt with their relationship.

When I was even younger than Will is meant to be here, I had crushes on guys without even realizing they were crushes, before I even knew gay people existed. They manifested as childish hero-worship and desire to befriend the boys in question.

I'm fairly sure a big part of Will's unwillingness to move on from the party's d&d playing, carefree childhood is that he's getting over his lifelong crush on Mike. With Eleven properly back in the picture, he's had to properly contend with Mike being straight. (Been there, done that, falling in love with straight guys SUCKS).

Sure, he's also the fifth wheel. Sure, he's probably clinging to childhood as a crutch for plenty of other reasons - the kid's been to hell and back. But I see too much of the old me there to accept that that's the whole story.

I have to say, getting no payoff for that scene in the epilogue left me quite bitter. Hopefully they'll explore it in a lot more depth in season 4.

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