As I run The Arm of the Father--or A3, as it's known--for the eighth or ninth time attempting to get a token for the gloves, only to roll another number below 20, a curious thought fluttered its way through my head in the same way that a semi-truck going one hundred and twenty kilometres per hour with a severed brake line flutters through a traffic jammed freeway.
So, Square Enix. We--or rather, I--have been asking, for a while, for a token system for loot. The reason I've been asking because while RNG is rewarding on very rare occasions, most of the time all it does is reduce the experience to a tiresome slog wherein a player's efforts for playing the content is rewarded with absolutely none of the things they wanted, and more often than not things they can't even use. A token system wherein a token is a guaranteed reward at completion that can be used to purchase select pieces of loot depending on the content that is completed--like tomestones but less prevalent and more specialized--sounds lovely.
And you graciously listened. "We're implementing a token system," you said. And oh, though your information was vague I made the foolish assumption that you knew what you were doing. How I rejoiced. Oh, how I praised you. At last! A token system! No more suffering through RNG. The grind might be there, true, but at least that grind would have meaning! Players would be rewarded for the simple act of playing the game by receiving the things they wanted, or at the very least definite, unambiguous progress towards the things they wanted! All was well.
Not so.
Let's imagine the conversation that hypothetically took place between Developer A, who we'll assign the humble, wholesome name of Matthew for the sake of convenience, and Developer B, who we will also assign the name of Pissant for the sake of convenience.
Matthew: "The players would like a token system for loot because they're tired of RNG. Let's implement a token system."
Pissant: "Okay! Let's make the token an item where they'll have to roll for it!"
Matthew: "Erm...no, I was thinking it would be more of a guaranteed drop."
Pissant: "Okay, the token drop is guaranteed, as long as they have to roll for it!"
Matthew: "Okay, also, why don't we make it so all the classes can use the token so players don't have to grind for specific drops that may only be seen rarely?"
Pissant: "Okay! That way more players will have to roll for it and thus the chances of an individual player winning the drop will be reduced!"
Matthew: "No, didn't you hear me? The point of tokens is to remove the factor of RNG from loot so that the act of completing content feels more rewarding."
Pissant: "I hear you, and I agree! So when are we rolling out this system which only solves half of the issue of RNG loot and exacerbates the other half?"
Then Matthew begins to hide under his desk and contemplate his life choices and Pissant begins to sing "What A Wonderful World" off key.
As I enter The Burden of the Father again for the eleventh time, hoping for a chest piece token that I am unlikely to win, I perfectly understand that I don't really have any right to be miffed about this. First and foremost, Square Enix is a company, and as a company their main goal is profit, and with an MMO the main way to secure that profit is with these kinds of skinner box mechanics meant to drag out subscription fees for as long as possible. I get that. Really. I'm still here, playing the game and paying for it, so despite my bitching, Square Enix wins.
But really.
You couldn't have made the duty finder drops guaranteed?
You couldn't have given us that much?
I know and understand why you did it. Everyone would knock out what they needed on a single day in a week and then nobody would be playing the content. So yeah. Guaranteed drops for every member of the party are a pipe dream. Really, I get it.
But RNG. You just had to foist RNG upon us. Sure, you reduced the problem by removing the concept of individual drops, so players don't have to worry about even seeing the piece they want, let alone winning the roll for it. But then after taking that step forward you immediately took another step back by making the tokens useable by everyone but still making everyone roll and compete for it.
I am now on attempt #7 of Fist of the Father. Nevermind the other wings. I have yet to win the piece I would like.
And I know. I'm the one inflicting the grind on myself. I'm the one who feels compelled to do something that annoys me. I'm whining about nothing. I absolutely 100% acknowledge every single thing wrong with the point I'm trying to espouse.
But this is the goddamn vent thread and RNG is NOT the way to extend the relevance of content, because it makes me feel like shit.
So, Square Enix. We--or rather, I--have been asking, for a while, for a token system for loot. The reason I've been asking because while RNG is rewarding on very rare occasions, most of the time all it does is reduce the experience to a tiresome slog wherein a player's efforts for playing the content is rewarded with absolutely none of the things they wanted, and more often than not things they can't even use. A token system wherein a token is a guaranteed reward at completion that can be used to purchase select pieces of loot depending on the content that is completed--like tomestones but less prevalent and more specialized--sounds lovely.
And you graciously listened. "We're implementing a token system," you said. And oh, though your information was vague I made the foolish assumption that you knew what you were doing. How I rejoiced. Oh, how I praised you. At last! A token system! No more suffering through RNG. The grind might be there, true, but at least that grind would have meaning! Players would be rewarded for the simple act of playing the game by receiving the things they wanted, or at the very least definite, unambiguous progress towards the things they wanted! All was well.
Not so.
Let's imagine the conversation that hypothetically took place between Developer A, who we'll assign the humble, wholesome name of Matthew for the sake of convenience, and Developer B, who we will also assign the name of Pissant for the sake of convenience.
Matthew: "The players would like a token system for loot because they're tired of RNG. Let's implement a token system."
Pissant: "Okay! Let's make the token an item where they'll have to roll for it!"
Matthew: "Erm...no, I was thinking it would be more of a guaranteed drop."
Pissant: "Okay, the token drop is guaranteed, as long as they have to roll for it!"
Matthew: "Okay, also, why don't we make it so all the classes can use the token so players don't have to grind for specific drops that may only be seen rarely?"
Pissant: "Okay! That way more players will have to roll for it and thus the chances of an individual player winning the drop will be reduced!"
Matthew: "No, didn't you hear me? The point of tokens is to remove the factor of RNG from loot so that the act of completing content feels more rewarding."
Pissant: "I hear you, and I agree! So when are we rolling out this system which only solves half of the issue of RNG loot and exacerbates the other half?"
Then Matthew begins to hide under his desk and contemplate his life choices and Pissant begins to sing "What A Wonderful World" off key.
As I enter The Burden of the Father again for the eleventh time, hoping for a chest piece token that I am unlikely to win, I perfectly understand that I don't really have any right to be miffed about this. First and foremost, Square Enix is a company, and as a company their main goal is profit, and with an MMO the main way to secure that profit is with these kinds of skinner box mechanics meant to drag out subscription fees for as long as possible. I get that. Really. I'm still here, playing the game and paying for it, so despite my bitching, Square Enix wins.
But really.
You couldn't have made the duty finder drops guaranteed?
You couldn't have given us that much?
I know and understand why you did it. Everyone would knock out what they needed on a single day in a week and then nobody would be playing the content. So yeah. Guaranteed drops for every member of the party are a pipe dream. Really, I get it.
But RNG. You just had to foist RNG upon us. Sure, you reduced the problem by removing the concept of individual drops, so players don't have to worry about even seeing the piece they want, let alone winning the roll for it. But then after taking that step forward you immediately took another step back by making the tokens useable by everyone but still making everyone roll and compete for it.
I am now on attempt #7 of Fist of the Father. Nevermind the other wings. I have yet to win the piece I would like.
And I know. I'm the one inflicting the grind on myself. I'm the one who feels compelled to do something that annoys me. I'm whining about nothing. I absolutely 100% acknowledge every single thing wrong with the point I'm trying to espouse.
But this is the goddamn vent thread and RNG is NOT the way to extend the relevance of content, because it makes me feel like shit.
