Like veterans coming back to help strangers and new players to do events they already got everything they wanted?
The way the game is designed, once you acquired what you wanted in a determined area you will only return there for friends.
So what's the point of new players coming to FFXI with a shrinking playerbase that faces an impossible gap to cross?
Though the game has been made much more casual friendly over the years it never addressed the greatest bane of FFXI, the lack of cooperation.
We players realize that unless a system is created where player A helps player B to get things done and get a reward for it, the gap between veterans, mid ranged players and newbies will spread out so much that eventually the game itself will implode with lack of players to do anything.
So, Square Enix, how about thinking of a system that makes players have any incentive to help others, because free will isn't enough. Create a token system or something like that that lets those who help players with determined events to keep their progression.
Things like getting a single +2 set in abyssea nowadays is impossible. It requires at least 3 people to help you with determined jobs that are willing to stay with you for a long while because probably none of them wants those things or anything with Abyssea anymore.
And thats only Abyssea example. So i find myself lately back to the year 2004, seeing shouts for things over and over that just don't get done because ppl don't give a damn about it anymore and are not willing to spend their precious time to help anyone besides a guildmate in a stablished Linkshell.
Please Square Enix, do something about it. As a returning player, the idea of being impossible to get a single +2 set in abyssea makes me wonder how bad thing will become in the future.
Will this first tier of Delve Bosses be only accessible by that 5-10% of the game community that are in endgame Linkshells? Isn't it sad that even now 2013 the huge majority of the playerbase never saw the face of Absolute Virtue or Pandemonium Warden or Jailers in Sea?
Do you really want to keep this trend going where 300.000 subscribers pay you monthly so 5.000-10.000 are able to see the whole content of the game? I think this worked well back then but not anymore.