Is there a future?

[Secondplanet]

Simple enough question.

With this new director coming in like a storm announcing a new age to the game and yet fails as hard as the one before him, how long will this game last. I've seen countless posts about people wanting to quit or cancel for a duration in hopes things will get better.

My main point of this post is, Are you trying to make this game so unappealing to new players and current players in a hope to cut down subscriptions so you can pull the plug on it?

You claim balance must be kept but this is selective in choosing. Ex. Astral parties are considered RMT activities and where banned, but FC parties are ok to do when its the same thing but able to be done longer.

You go on about stopping RMT by changing values of items to NPC yes you don't actually go after the RMT itself to stop the damage before its done. Ex. Chocobo blinkers where cut down in value to NPC's yet trumpet rings which fishing bots farm the materials for are still being made by the 1000's.

You say that the now out of date roadmap which most looked forward things were delayed cause the team is divided between XI and the new expansion. If our fee's are going into making the new expansion then we should get it for FREE. You will be charging i'm guessing the normal $30+ for this expansion since its a full one so you will be making a large amount of money off of that, The current team of XI should be for the game in its current state not something we have to pay for again.

I know this won't change anything nor will it be heard but it is nice to vent this frustration I'm feeling currently towards the game's bleak future.

[Llana_Virren]

The one thing I won't miss when FFXI is done: All these "OH NOES FFXI IS DEAD!!!" posts who constantly try to sound journalistic by asking if the game is doomed just because of some disagreeable decisions.

To be honest, Choco. Blinkers HAD to change; there is no bleak future except for players who can no longer manipulate a system oversight which allowed the direct "creation" of currency. And of all the things to be upset about, that? Really?

[Arcon]

You claim balance must be kept but this is selective in choosing. Ex. Astral parties are considered RMT activities and where banned, but FC parties are ok to do when its the same thing but able to be done longer.

Astral Flow parties were never considered RMT activities and no one was banned for them.


You go on about stopping RMT by changing values of items to NPC yes you don't actually go after the RMT itself to stop the damage before its done. Ex. Chocobo blinkers where cut down in value to NPC's yet trumpet rings which fishing bots farm the materials for are still being made by the 1000's.

Where do they go on about that? I haven't heard SE even mention RMT in years. Legit players were the ones that abused Blinkers, not RMT. RMT are pretty much dead.


I know this won't change anything nor will it be heard but it is nice to vent this frustration I'm feeling currently towards the game's bleak future.

The "bleak future" thing has been spewed by various doomsayers for longer than the game was around.

[Mirage]

Yeah, seriously. There have been some nerfs after the new director stepped up, sure. However, Embrava is really a bit overpowered, so a nerf was appropriate, even if the currently planned nerf is too big. This could still change before the final implementation on the real servers. The perfect defence change isn't nearly as big as the embrava change, and you can use it twice as often in return. While this isn't any good for legion, it is for ADL, where you have two hours, and therefore have time for the ability to cool down and be used again before you get kicked out. Bringing two summoners to dynamis before gave you two 90 second PDs, now it gives you 4 ~50-second PDs.

Other than that, there's been the cruor nerf, which seriously was needed anyway, and probably saved the game more than it doomed it.

In my opinion, there's one really big nerf, one moderate nerf, and one thing that was absolutely needed anyway. Not really enough to brand the new director as the spawn of satan.

[Secondplanet]

Astral Flow parties were never considered RMT activities and no one was banned for them.

My friend got a 2week suspension on his account for being in these parties, At the time the GM stated that by gathering all the mobs of the zone and killing in one big blast was considered RMT activity by using the drops for gil.


Where do they go on about that? I haven't heard SE even mention RMT in years. Legit players were the ones that abused Blinkers, not RMT. RMT are pretty much dead.

And thats why i see trains of characters with names like asdfg running through towns and receiving 2-3 /tells a week from them offering me gil at amazingly low prices. Yeah really sounds dead to me.


The "bleak future" thing has been spewed by various doomsayers for longer than the game was around.

I'm not saying it as a "doomsayer" i wish to know why SE keeps working against themselves lately and even more so with these boards that were made to listen to us on a better field being ignored now more then ever.


To be honest, Choco. Blinkers HAD to change; there is no bleak future except for players who can no longer manipulate a system oversight which allowed the direct "creation" of currency. And of all the things to be upset about, that? Really?

Then they should change more then just that then, trumpet rings still NPC for a fair amount and i always see the same few people crafting them for hours nonstop by a NPC and that has been abused more then chocoblinkers by use of fishing bots, So if i'm right your saying legit selling of items to NPC's shouldn't be allowed but using 3rd party programs to make money is ok then?

[Rezeak]

I think the question is can FFXI survive 6 months it takes to release SoA.

I've stopped automatically renewing my account simply cause there isn't enough content so at the end of every month i don't play for 1-3 weeks saving me a few £.

My issues are these....

payed for 3 months (£30) then got new content that was for 15 min every 20 hours (RIP OFF!)
SE now wants to fix the game it broke in and in a quick half assed way when it should either commit to fixing it completely or just make content easier and focus on the social and fun side of the game instead.
SE wants to add small pieces of 18+ pple content when most of the game is 3-12 pple making organizing such content a huge pain.
Finally, they treat everyone one the EN forums like we played content for 10 mins half drunk and they know better (at least this is how i feel)

Just wanna say this doesn't include the community team since i know they try there best and i'm sure have to follow a strict set of rules it's the producer/devs which are annoying me.

FFXI - 2012 has felt like the year of "lets make a little content as possible so we can make money from the subscribers".

All of above is just how i feel nothing more.

While i hope for SoA i do know all it is an idea they had "why make content from just what people pay every month, when we could call new content a expansion and charge more money for it."

As for the blinker thing, it should of been done ages ago when the commuity were making topics telling SE about not some ninja nerf which hurts they paying customers in the crusade against RMT.

[Mirage]

Ninja nerf is when they do it without telling is about it even afterwards, so this was no ninja nerf.

And again, we can't be certain that it was done to stop RMT more than paying customers.

[Demon6324236]

It was fairly ninja, no warning, from behind, boom, your screwed, but then they tell you about it. More like a polite ninja, enough of a ninja to cut you down before you know it without a second though, but nice enough to walk over & say sorry right after, as your bleeding out & dying from your wounds.

[Mirage]

Had they told us about it, tons of people would have converted all their 20 gazillion cruors into gil instantly, which is what they wanted to stop.

[Luvbunny]

I think the question is can FFXI survive 6 months it takes to release SoA.

Six months? lol I think it is more like a year minimum. They will release a content with 10% activities to do with barely any quests or story missions implemented. WoTG, which is their last expansion lasted over 6 years, where you actually able to finish the last missions and get your reward. SIX whole years to finish a mission. They really cannot operate like it is still 2004 anymore, otherwise just make the game free to play and let players buy any new add ons that they see fit. I can guarantee you that the majority will buy Abyssea, Neo Dyna, and Voidwatch only. The rest of these so called new contents will be dropped in a heartbeat and will be considered failure at launch.

[Arcon]

My friend got a 2week suspension on his account for being in these parties, At the time the GM stated that by gathering all the mobs of the zone and killing in one big blast was considered RMT activity by using the drops for gil.

Either your friend or you are lying, I suspect the latter.


And thats why i see trains of characters with names like asdfg running through towns and receiving 2-3 /tells a week from them offering me gil at amazingly low prices. Yeah really sounds dead to me.

Whether they're dead or not is not measured by the fact that they're playing, but by the fact how much gil they're actually selling. Evidence I have supporting my statement is reason for one, because I find it hard to believe that anyone is dumb enough to buy gil anymore with so many easy and quick ways available, and especially on a game at this late stage. Also, I don't know about Asura, but I didn't get a single tell in years. Also, character names mean shit.


I'm not saying it as a "doomsayer" i wish to know why SE keeps working against themselves lately and even more so with these boards that were made to listen to us on a better field being ignored now more then ever.

Only they never did anything else. SE have been pushing idiotic moves, one after another, ever since the game was released, and they never listened to anyone at all before these forums (although I agree that it seems like they still don't, I think I'd attribute their "listening" to players' requests to coincidence at this point). Hence, you proclaiming that suddenly everything got worse and they're evil or stupid or whatever, is nothing more than doomsaying.


Then they should change more then just that then, trumpet rings still NPC for a fair amount and i always see the same few people crafting them for hours nonstop by a NPC and that has been abused more then chocoblinkers by use of fishing bots, So if i'm right your saying legit selling of items to NPC's shouldn't be allowed but using 3rd party programs to make money is ok then?

While I hope they adjust that as well, nothing was even nearly as bad as cruor in that respect, not by a long shot. This needed to be addressed asap.


WoTG, which is their last expansion lasted over 6 years, where you actually able to finish the last missions and get your reward. SIX whole years to finish a mission.

It was three years (November 2007 to December 2010). Which is still very bad, and one of the two reasons WotG failed as an expansion in my eyes (the other being lack of rewarding endgame content).

[Luvbunny]

It was three years (November 2007 to December 2010). Which is still very bad, and one of the two reasons WotG failed as an expansion in my eyes (the other being lack of rewarding endgame content).

WoTG has many great ideas that lift invisible walls and offer players events that can be joined by many. Unfortunately, SE did a real poor implementation on WoTG ideas, and still yet refuse to adjust it and acknowledge many great ideas that players have contributed in the forum. Zilart has relic, ToAU has mythic, Abyssea has empyrean, and yet WoTG was given a lackluster downgrade of Empyrean. A lot of things they did make absolutely no sense...

[Nala]

Not to mention the premise of the WoTG storyline was heavily recycling pre-exsisting lore in 11 when there are many many many other locations that they could have used/expanded to that'd been way more interesting like the far east or mithran homland, now we are getting SoA based off 2 very minor and obscure references to it one being from WoTG itself.

[Arcon]

I don't think Campaign would have taken off, ever, regardless of any changes. Half of the changes people suggest are just for EXP, skillup or rankup purposes, but none of them has any WotG specific rewards. It wasn't like Limbus, which had AF1+1 and Homam/Nashira gear, or Dynamis with currency and AF2/+1, sky with gods gear and abjurations, etc. Sea, sky, Limbus, Dynamis, Einherjar, Salvage, Nyzul all had relevant endgame gear that kept people playing those events, WotG had nothing comparable, hence people gave up on it.

[Secondplanet]

Either your friend or you are lying, I suspect the latter.

You must have missed out on a lot of the game, you do know the game has been going on for more then the limited time its obvious you have been playing for.


Whether they're dead or not is not measured by the fact that they're playing, but by the fact how much gil they're actually selling. Evidence I have supporting my statement is reason for one, because I find it hard to believe that anyone is dumb enough to buy gil anymore with so many easy and quick ways available, and especially on a game at this late stage. Also, I don't know about Asura, but I didn't get a single tell in years. Also, character names mean shit.

In the LS i'm in we're always joking over all the tells we get and to see who can get more in a certain time frame, the way it looks like it works is they go in alphabetical order cause someone with a name starting with L will get a tell and about 30mins-1hour later i'll get one. Also with the character names mean shit you mean to say if you saw a whole party of characters with names like asdfg, qwert, zxcvb and tyuui all on anon doesn't seem a bit off to you? or are you one of the ones employing them?


Only they never did anything else. SE have been pushing idiotic moves, one after another, ever since the game was released, and they never listened to anyone at all before these forums (although I agree that it seems like they still don't, I think I'd attribute their "listening" to players' requests to coincidence at this point). Hence, you proclaiming that suddenly everything got worse and they're evil or stupid or whatever, is nothing more than doomsaying.

I would say that everything is starting to get worse, with the lack of new material, expansions, decent time sinks its easy to see that all they have been doing lately. I have all expansions finished and mini expansions and with VW and legion etc... nothing more then a waste of time for gear with no relevance to any form of a story. I have been seeing more and more changes to abilities and other aspects of the game with little to no positive effect on the game itself.

[Kriegsgott]

I don't think Campaign would have taken off, ever, regardless of any changes. Half of the changes people suggest are just for EXP, skillup or rankup purposes, but none of them has any WotG specific rewards. It wasn't like Limbus, which had AF1+1 and Homam/Nashira gear, or Dynamis with currency and AF2/+1, sky with gods gear and abjurations, etc. Sea, sky, Limbus, Dynamis, Einherjar, Salvage, Nyzul all had relevant endgame gear that kept people playing those events, WotG had nothing comparable, hence people gave up on it.

/sigh.....
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Iron_Ram_Hauberk_Set
lots of pld had few pieces or even the full set if you had to deal with Tiamat and different stuff

[Luvbunny]

I don't think Campaign would have taken off, ever, regardless of any changes. Half of the changes people suggest are just for EXP, skillup or rankup purposes, but none of them has any WotG specific rewards. It wasn't like Limbus, which had AF1+1 and Homam/Nashira gear, or Dynamis with currency and AF2/+1, sky with gods gear and abjurations, etc. Sea, sky, Limbus, Dynamis, Einherjar, Salvage, Nyzul all had relevant endgame gear that kept people playing those events, WotG had nothing comparable, hence people gave up on it.

I totally agree with you on this. I think they drop the ball on WoTG contents, really really badly!! There is hardly any endgame gears, Walk of Echoes is actually a fantastic idea, but as usual, they are implementing it in the most horrible ways possible. Adding more WoTG BCNMs with exclusive gears would works wonder. Adding more gears at 99 you can purchase with AN would revitalize campaign. Adding WoE points for specific gears or augmenting current gears would be fantastic. So many things they can do but none they do.

To be honest WoE do have specific gears that are good. But the overall feel was just not great in comparison to all the others endgame from other expansion. When Voidwatch and Abyssea become the defacto gears, there is something clearly wrong with their game design...

[Luvbunny]

Perhaps we should consult Madam Cleo and ask her if there is a future in this game? Caller? What's your name?

[Sarick]

If we want a voice about this SE could just do something like the FTC is doing now for robo calls.

See this link (http://robocall.challenge.gov/submissions?page=1) is how to get the community involved.

Then make a voting system for those suggestions so that everyone can vote on it.

[Arcon]

/sigh.....
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Iron_Ram_Hauberk_Set
lots of pld had few pieces or even the full set if you had to deal with Tiamat and different stuff

Including me. But it doesn't qualify for several reasons:
a) It wasn't endgame. I started EXPing in campaign when no one invited PLDs to parties anymore (which was around Lv60), and I had the full set before I hit 75. It requires neither high level, nor high skills, nor good gear, nor strategy. It was mainly an EXP alternative.
b) It could be done solo, and required no group efforts. It was done by people on their own, whenever they had some time off from regular events, not as a LS. In fact, with competition you sometimes made less, because I remember waves dying too quickly and people not getting enough EXP.
c) It was deterministic (no randomized drops), you could calculate exactly how long it would take you to complete, and there was no way of making it faster or slower, which means you weren't motivated to put any effort in, other than keep hitting mobs in campaign. At some point you simply had enough points and could buy it.
d) That point was not very far away. Aside from the wait time for rankups, it took very little farming to get the necessary points for it. Like I said, I got it just from EXPing regularly when I got the chance.
e) That set for PLD was literally the only good thing about it, and only if you did care enough for some additional magic defense and enmity items. It was only ever useful for high end Paladins who had everything else capped. There was no motivation for anyone else to get their respective sets, as such a large part of the community was not interested in doing it regularly, and the ones that did didn't do so for the items.


To be honest WoE do have specific gears that are good. But the overall feel was just not great in comparison to all the others endgame from other expansion. When Voidwatch and Abyssea become the defacto gears, there is something clearly wrong with their game design...

I'm actually a bit embarrassed that I completely forgot about WoE. Although that fact alone hints at its significance. WoE did indeed have some situational nice gear, and especially expensive gear, but due to its setup and its lotting rules it was never popular to be done as a LS event, but instead it became a pickup event (sometimes involuntarily).

[Luvbunny]

I'm actually a bit embarrassed that I completely forgot about WoE. Although that fact alone hints at its significance. WoE did indeed have some situational nice gear, and especially expensive gear, but due to its setup and its lotting rules it was never popular to be done as a LS event, but instead it became a pickup event (sometimes involuntarily).

There is nothing wrong with large scale events where everyone can participate regardless of their skill levels, knowledge or gears. It's democratic, in a non judgmental way. Everyone can have the same level of fun without too many invisible walls and depending on LS for helps on every single thing. I like WoE, it's fun grinding diversion, it's somewhat rewarding, and it requires not much of effort. Well hopefully they will revamp Campaign and Walk of Echoes. Looking at the way SE works, all they do is giving you half baked new stuffs, do minimal tweak, then move on to the next thing, instead of actually do a full on revision. Whoever designed the battle system and reward system of Abyssea need to get back working on FFXI. I know you don't like Abyssea, but for some reason it is one of those add ons that you just cannot get rid of, no matter how many times you wish that people just abandon the area.... there are still people camping everything over there.

[Winrie]

Simple enough question.

With this new director coming in like a storm announcing a new age to the game and yet fails as hard as the one before him, how long will this game last. I've seen countless posts about people wanting to quit or cancel for a duration in hopes things will get better.

My main point of this post is, Are you trying to make this game so unappealing to new players and current players in a hope to cut down subscriptions so you can pull the plug on it?

You claim balance must be kept but this is selective in choosing. Ex. Astral parties are considered RMT activities and where banned, but FC parties are ok to do when its the same thing but able to be done longer.

You go on about stopping RMT by changing values of items to NPC yes you don't actually go after the RMT itself to stop the damage before its done. Ex. Chocobo blinkers where cut down in value to NPC's yet trumpet rings which fishing bots farm the materials for are still being made by the 1000's.

You do realize you have to level bonecraft and fishing to even do rings right? RMT dont even bother to craft or fish anymore, you need to get with the times. While i agree blinkers was bullshit, and so are these nerfs, but the crybaby trying to dick over everything decent for gil is getting old. When rmt start lvling crafts with the GIL THEY SELL, and start fishing with THE TIME THEY SPEND CLEAVING, then complain about it. As for the dude who said rmt are inactive, you must not be playing a lot lately, they been active for years and are getting heavily active again, gils even been marked up i hear, so yes, they are around, they are active, and i myself have seen them lined up at the blinker npc on many occasions.

[JohnGotti]

Yeah the op is starting to come across as a crybaby who wants gil making to be stopped just because hes to lazy to level fishing or indeed as Winrie said fishing and bonecraft to do those rings, a very jealous horrible person who im glad to say isn't on my server.

[Demon6324236]

It might just be me but I haven't leveled fishing, not because I'm lazy, but because it just seems boring as shit, and without bots, I just cant see it being worth boring myself for. The same goes for any craft actually, my Goldsmithing has hit 48 currently I believe, and really I hate leveling it, its just me hitting the same few buttons for a few hours getting a skill up every now & then, nothing fun in the least.

[Secondplanet]

You do realize you have to level bonecraft and fishing to even do rings right? RMT dont even bother to craft or fish anymore, you need to get with the times.

I don't know whats it is like on your server but i know several more secluded spots where there is a character on /anon crafting these rings for hours and yes they did stop once choco blinkers were around but now it seems like they are pickup up pace, You do know that back long ago RMT did do crafting to increase profit margins by turning high gil items into more money with no middle man.


Yeah the op is starting to come across as a crybaby who wants gil making to be stopped just because hes to lazy to level fishing or indeed as Winrie said fishing and bonecraft to do those rings, a very jealous horrible person who im glad to say isn't on my server.

Where id i state i want gil to be hard to make or not make any at all, Just cause i don't bother with fishing doesn't mean anything, i have no issues in the game with gil and if there is that pricey piece of gear i want i can get in a week no problem. Also have you ever traveled to the far off are known as Nashmau? once you get off the boat all you see is the whole area of bluenames like ghjkl fishing nonstop, i don't think they doing it for charity.

Also JohnGotti i wish to point out the fact of how can you even talk about most things when you have just joined the game and don't know the damage RMT has done in the past? I think i'm the one who's glad i'm not on the same server with someone who thinks so little of others for an opinion.

All i was pointing out is that SE will ban/change something but not do the same for others which doesn't make sense.

[scaevola]

And thats why i see trains of characters with names like asdfg running through towns and receiving 2-3 /tells a week from them offering me gil at amazingly low prices. Yeah really sounds dead to me.


Legit players sell gil to websites which in turn market it back to players.

This has been going on a while, as even though there comes a certain point where gil flows like water, SE has done a fair to decent job of keeping that out of the reach of throwaway RMT accounts; the only other way to keep the flow of cash going without the contributions of high-level players at a low risk of being banned is account-hacking, which SE has done an AMAZING job of combatting simply by incentivizing the purchase of authenticators to the point where you really can't justify not getting one.

[Mirage]

If legit players sell gil to websites, they aren't legit players. By breaking the EULA they are illegitimate players, they just haven't been discovered by SE yet.

[Vold]

To be honest, Choco. Blinkers HAD to change; there is no bleak future except for players who can no longer manipulate a system oversight which allowed the direct "creation" of currency. And of all the things to be upset about, that? Really?The problem wasn't the gil, it was the more or less "free" cruor being generated which then could be converted into gil. It took out the whole "stop what you're doing and farm gil to work for nice things" aspect of the game which SE has always put a high value on. Nothing more or less. We're meant to create gil by selling junk to NPCs, and whether we like it or not SE reserves the right to say, yeah that's okay to do or whoa whoa whoa we didn't intend for people to fund relics via cruor. Better to nerf the gil than the cruor.

Thing is, cruor did what SE couldn't for many years: Kill off RMT. Oh sure they still exist but really, who's still buying gil? The level 52-99 casual RDM that plays a hour a week struggling to catch up? Insignificant.

[Alerith]

I've seen at least 5 people get in trouble for using Diaga on a group of mobs held for SMN burn parties. I've NEVER seen or heard of the actual burners getting bansticked.

[Zagen]

I've seen at least 5 people get in trouble for using Diaga on a group of mobs held for SMN burn parties. I've NEVER seen or heard of the actual burners getting bansticked.
I heard rumors about getting banned for selling the items to NPCs, I didn't participate heavily in them back then but I sold drops whenever I did go and never got sent to jail, temp banned, or even a tell from a GM. Come up with your own conclusion but to me it was people who were jealous they couldn't get into astral burns making crap up.

[Camiie]

Does FFXI have a future? Sure it does. I don't subscribe to the theory that SE is actively trying to sabotage the game to manufacture an excuse to shut it down. I think if they really wanted to shut it down they simply would. If they thought that shutting the game down was in their own best interest they'd have zero qualms about doing so no matter who would be angered.

But see, that's their philosophy with content as well. They're going to do what they want to do above all else. Oh, they may compromise here and there when it suits them, but they are going to give us the content that suits their interests. They're going to make the game they want to make, not necessarily the game we want to play. If we happen to like it, that's good. If not, we just didn't get it.

So, yeah FFXI has a future. It's not a particularly bright future unless you're in lockstep with the devs, but a bad future is still a future.

[Luvbunny]

Totally agree, they can shut it down and care nothing about what we think. Though in light of recent changes in the gaming world and how consumers consuming and playing game content, they kind of have to evaluate their stances. You see this happened with FF13. FF13-2 was their effort to address many of the complaints they received with FF13. With the rise of social media and mobile gaming, sooner or later they will have to change their attitude. FF14 pretty much took them down a peg and gave them a very nice long hard lesson for not ignoring your customer base.

[Mirage]

We can only hope that when (if?) FF14 actually starts bringing in some money, they will be able to free up some resources to work a bit more on FF11. Maybe this is why we haven't heard much more about adoulin yet? Could just be that they're currently spending so much on FF14 that they don't have a lot of spare resources to work on adoulin.

As I understand it, they have two separate development teams for FF14. One for the current version, and one for the new version. Hopefully, the people working on the current version could be reallocated to work on FF11 when they finally pull the plug.

And before someone goes all "but the current version sucks, i don't want them working on ff11", keep in mind that the first FF14 version didn't suck simply because everyone involved were poor employees. A lot of the issues were design choices by a person who is no longer working there. There would be no risk of FF11 becoming worse if they take one of the graphics artists who was working mainly with textures and bring him to FF11, for example. With a new expansion and whole new areas, there is probably a lot of texture work to be done. Same with audio related work, area design, NPC dialogue, etc.

[Teraniku]

Maybe this is why we haven't heard much more about adoulin yet? Could just be that they're currently spending so much on FF14 that they don't have a lot of spare resources to work on adoulin.

As I understand it, they have two separate development teams for FF14. One for the current version, and one for the new version. Hopefully, the people working on the current version could be reallocated to work on FF11 when they finally pull the plug.



With XIV going into maintenance non save mode at the end of the month, that should free up some people for XI and SoA.

[Camiie]

With XIV going into maintenance non save mode at the end of the month, that should free up some people for XI and SoA.

I highly doubt it. They're going to be working on ARR harder than ever I would imagine. Let's face it. It's all hands on deck for ARR and skeleton crew for XI for the foreseeable future.

[Mirage]

They still won't need two separate dev teams anymore.

[Calysto]

never used the blinker method, but voidwatch droping mass logs and gems to npc doesn't sound a lot better...

yet it's still there with 90% of the drop over more "trade friendly" and not currency creating (and rare/extremly rare) hmp, cinder/dross, pulse cells, etc...
the rarity make them expensive and push players to use others methods to gain gils.(ie blinker and the likes)

as for rmt, yes they are still here, i get up to 2 tells/day, the fell cleave party are still there(even if some action seems to be taken against them)

[Jaberwocky]

Everyone crying about the Cruor nerf and PD/EM nerf need to quit, give me their gil, and go play another game.

I don't understand the agony in learning to adapt to the game. Both abilities were overpowered.

I agree with tying PD to skill (quit with the gimps and just raise the damn skill, not that hard), but there needs to be a way to get to the 600 skill cap.

Embrava was just rediculous when it first came out. It was nice and was great for my SCH to be used, but that's it was used for..just to Embrava, nothing more. Its not a one trick pony, its a job that has extreme utility.

Players and groups that whine and gripe after their "routine" to kill off mobs and gain rewards is backward thinking and quite honestly sad. Adapting and change is natural and should be in a game.

The cruor nerf needed to be done. Sucks to be you if that's all you knew to make cash. It shouldn't be that easy to make gil out of nothing. Inflating the servers with bunches of gil didn't do anything expect create lazy, dependent players.

This game has a lot to offer and if you play to obtain individual goals and gain virtual shinies, you're better off just playing Skyrim or something. This shouldn't mean a lot to people who play for fun, to help friends, and be part of a community. They will find a way to adapt. SE and even before when it was SquareSoft with the old SNES FF titles did wonders with their games. Deal with it or quit.

[Sarick]

Legit players sell gil to websites which in turn market it back to players.

What an oxymoron statement! Legit players can't be legit if they are selling gil. Why?, They aren't legit they are Real Money Traders.

I think this sounds better fixed below :

Regular/average players sell gil to websites which in turn market it back to players.

[Winrie]

I don't know whats it is like on your server but i know several more secluded spots where there is a character on /anon crafting these rings for hours and yes they did stop once choco blinkers were around but now it seems like they are pickup up pace, You do know that back long ago RMT did do crafting to increase profit margins by turning high gil items into more money with no middle man.



Where id i state i want gil to be hard to make or not make any at all, Just cause i don't bother with fishing doesn't mean anything, i have no issues in the game with gil and if there is that pricey piece of gear i want i can get in a week no problem. Also have you ever traveled to the far off are known as Nashmau? once you get off the boat all you see is the whole area of bluenames like ghjkl fishing nonstop, i don't think they doing it for charity.

Also JohnGotti i wish to point out the fact of how can you even talk about most things when you have just joined the game and don't know the damage RMT has done in the past? I think i'm the one who's glad i'm not on the same server with someone who thinks so little of others for an opinion.

All i was pointing out is that SE will ban/change something but not do the same for others which doesn't make sense.

I'm well aware what RMT have done in the past, and what they are doing lately. But reading your responses, while I sympathize with your anti rmt attitude and agree it needs to stop, you keel using words and examples of PAST rmt actions and events, stuff they did LONG AGO. I'm not sure what fishers are doing in the mire or anywhere outside nashmau but I'm callin bs on it, rmt pick the fastest methods for money, crafting and fishing aren't fast, I can't recall the last time I saw an rmt outside abyssea or port jueno or a gov zone leveling to 30. Relax bro

[Nala]

We can only hope that when (if?) FF14 actually starts bringing in some money, they will be able to free up some resources to work a bit more on FF11. Maybe this is why we haven't heard much more about adoulin yet? Could just be that they're currently spending so much on FF14 that they don't have a lot of spare resources to work on adoulin.

As I understand it, they have two separate development teams for FF14. One for the current version, and one for the new version. Hopefully, the people working on the current version could be reallocated to work on FF11 when they finally pull the plug.

And before someone goes all "but the current version sucks, i don't want them working on ff11", keep in mind that the first FF14 version didn't suck simply because everyone involved were poor employees. A lot of the issues were design choices by a person who is no longer working there. There would be no risk of FF11 becoming worse if they take one of the graphics artists who was working mainly with textures and bring him to FF11, for example. With a new expansion and whole new areas, there is probably a lot of texture work to be done. Same with audio related work, area design, NPC dialogue, etc.

Not according to the last interview of he who shall not be named, he claimed he let the 14 team make their own choices, man has no shame.

[Miiyo]

I think the question is can FFXI survive 6 months it takes to release SoA.

I've stopped automatically renewing my account simply cause there isn't enough content so at the end of every month i don't play for 1-3 weeks saving me a few £.


This about sums it up. The stagnant content in 2012 is probably due to the lack of manpower if they're working on a full expansion. They've released enough to keep the majority content. The game isn't in too bad shape. The fact is the majority of players, who is the targeted crowd, have plenty to do. The "hardcore" players that eat content up as soon as it come out, are just out of luck when they run out of stuff to do. It's not that they're not listening. The goal of SE's business is to have ffxi turn in a profit as long as possible, not immediately cater to those who clear content the fastest.

[Secondplanet]

This about sums it up. The stagnant content in 2012 is probably due to the lack of manpower if they're working on a full expansion. They've released enough to keep the majority content. The game isn't in too bad shape. The fact is the majority of players, who is the targeted crowd, have plenty to do. The "hardcore" players that eat content up as soon as it come out, are just out of luck when they run out of stuff to do. It's not that they're not listening. The goal of SE's business is to have ffxi turn in a profit as long as possible, not immediately cater to those who clear content the fastest.

I just find the game itself is getting boring, all the senseless grinding of the same mob over and over to be given logs wears a player down from enjoying a game and being down right bored of the same thing every night. I personally loved how abyssea made it that EVERYONE could get nice gear, it wasn't just to the lucky and the ones who spend their whole life on the game. I have never done nyzul isle at all when ToAU came out cause no one wanted any of the jobs i had or demanded i have experience doing it (how can i get experience if i was never given the chance to experience it.)

I think more content like abyssea would do great for the player base due to low party sizes and everyone can get rewarded. Also before anyone says it i'm not asking for everything to be handed to me. I have player many other MMO's and they deploy a similar method where everyone can have awesome gear without spending 27hours a day 8 days a week on the game.

[Kristal]

Legit players sell gil to websites which in turn market it back to players.
That was the case in the old days, when RMT started in EQ as a mom&pop middleman thing and quickly blossomed into the hackfest it is today. While some RMT do buy gil, it's at fractions of their sell value since they can do it cheap themselves. Almost all gil sold by RMT comes from bots, with some account hacks when it was possible. It is in the RMT's best interest to cause massive inflation in economies, so that players cannot make enough for their own daily expenses and are forced to buy gil just to play. (A couple of years ago, prices of expensive goods tripled overnight, coinciding with a triple gil sale at a major gil seller... goods sold by accounts belonging to that same RMT)


I've seen at least 5 people get in trouble for using Diaga on a group of mobs held for SMN burn parties. I've NEVER seen or heard of the actual burners getting bansticked.

That was before cleave parties. It's even explicitely allowed in the EULA. But now you can get in trouble if you PREVENT Diaga or similar gather-stealing practises.

[Rezeak]

The "hardcore" players that eat content up as soon as it come out, are just out of luck when they run out of stuff to do.

To a point that's true but i would of considered myself a hardcore player till meeble came out.

Honestly i'd still do Legion, Einherjar, Limbus, Meebles, Neo-Nyzle and Dyna, if it wasn't such a huge hassle.

Examples.

Neo-Nyzle while I have 15/15 i do like helping out other ls members/friends with it the problem is cause of the luck factor combined w/ need people that are skilled, you need at least 4 people experienced with NNI or your chances are near 0. Then the other side of having to get people on to a chat program so that we can communicate fast is a large headache.

Odin V2 and Legion are 18+ people events training and keeping a crew for this is alot of effort basically every time you get 2-3 new members until your ready u can't even try mul or Odin, either way the organizational pain that these 18 man+ event bring is something me and alot of my friends keep away from. Legion is easy but for the leaders it's hard lol.

Meeble, 15 mins a day sucks all there is to it.

Limbus/Dyna, i like these events.

Simply put, the all or nothing events like Legion, Odin V2 and NNI while i enjoy them the organzational side of these events are a pain, if there was a different versions like 12 man legion/odin and NNI rewards that scaled linearly with player skill i'd play them easily and be a hell of alot more willing to help newer players.

Edit : As a small side note for more casual players I'm sure the case is even worse since all you really have is Dyna, Aby and Meebles.

Cool thing about FFXIV alot of endgame is linked with story content as well for example w/ Ifrit there is a story mode version (no drops) + Hard mode version (with drops) + Relic challenge one too.

Meaning SE got 3 peices of content out of 1 peice of content.

If Legion has a easy/story mode tied to it then casual players could at least enjoy it and even learn how to play legion making it easier for leaders for the hard mode.

Honestly, that's how SE should be fleshing out it's content rather than using timers/low drop rates.

[Sapphires]

I highly doubt it. They're going to be working on ARR harder than ever I would imagine. Let's face it. It's all hands on deck for ARR and skeleton crew for XI for the foreseeable future.
As someone who has worked on multiple games at different studios this tactic is a common practice and with games getting larger+risky+more expensive its pretty common to grab your best devs and throw them on the next thing that needs to ship.
Given the lateness on delivering the items on the XI roadmap and the millions SE has to throw at FFXIV to make it become relevant+get some subs to recoup the costs, I expected XI to get even less updates until the expansion comes out (and it will be probably late)

[Winrie]

SE prolly wondering why we are still on XI, I mean it's coming on 11 years old. Sorry to say but even current version of XIV is better than XI in a lot of ways barring endgame content and has a great producer who directly communicates with his playerbase, and he actually has a brain. It's profitable for SE to revive XI and run them both, each having a dedicated playerbase, most playing both games off and on, sadly tho they will hold til they see ARRs launch success I'm betting, but for some of us like me who have been around since NA launch on XI, I'm quite fed with how XI has turned out and what it is becoming, the lack of a real dev team and intelligent decisions, and lack of proper communication and content that isn't complete time sink crap.

[Luvbunny]

So the future is bleak? New expansion is coming but it does not look that exciting. Current contents are rather bad, with bad design revolved around RNG and 20-24 hours cool down, some even take 3 days. Nothing major is going to happen in the next 3-4 months I am afraid, if you are the type of people who consume contents so fast, you won't have much to do. For the rest of us who consume them at snail pace, the current contents are meaty enough for another good 6-12 months at least, for some even longer.

[Sarick]

Should we forget the past or have high hopes for the future. This old email for FF14 may have brought hope to some and dread to others.

Hope can be bad to those who see through ruby shaded glasses. Dread can be just as bad to those looking through a microscope full of flesh eating bacteria.



Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.

After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.

To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company’s top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group’s most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.

We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV’s new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.


President and CEO, Yoichi Wada

The development and management teams would like to make an announcement regarding personnel changes.

[Organizational Changes to the Development Team]
To improve the service of FINAL FANTASY XIV, Square Enix has made the following changes to the development team:

Managerial Changes

Producer/Director
Naoki Yoshida

Section Leader Changes

Assistant Director
Shintaro Tamai (FINAL FANTASY X, Front Mission 5: Scars of the War)

Lead Game Designer
Nobuaki Komoto (FINAL FANTASY IX, FINAL FANTASY XI)

Lead Combat System Designer
Akihiko Matsui (FINAL FANTASY XI)

Technical Advisor
Yoshihisa Hashimoto (Next Generation Game Engine Development)

Lead Programmer
Hideyuki Kasuga (FINAL FANTASY XI, DIRGE OF CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII-)

Senior Concept Artist
Akihiko Yoshida (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

Lead Artist
Hiroshi Takai (FINAL FANTASY XI, THE LAST REMNANT)

Lead UI Designer/Lead Web Designer
Hiroshi Minagawa (FINAL FANTASY XII, Vagrant Story)

These members will make up the development team’s new core—a core dedicated to ensuring we achieve a level of enjoyability that will more than satisfy our customers. Under a schedule of more frequent version updates, the new leaders and their respective sections will strive for continued improvements to FINAL FANTASY XIV service operation and development.

[Extension of the Free Trial Period]
As stated above, the newly restructured team’s top priority is to bring about improvements to the game’s enjoyability, and therefore we have decided to extend the free trial period until we can provide a plan that outlines a level of enjoyment that will satisfy both us and our customers. When we are confident that we have reached that goal, we will notify our customers immediately.

[Future Version Updates]
At present, the development team is putting the finishing touches on the previously announced version update, which is still slated for release in mid-December. In addition, there is one more version update scheduled for release before year’s end. Details on the content and dates of these updates will be released in the near future.

[Delay of the PlayStation 3 Version Release]
Although the release date for the PlayStation 3 version of the game was previously announced as late March of 2011, we regret to inform that this date has been changed.

The PlayStation 3 release will be delayed until we are confident that the game has reached the level of enjoyability and service befitting the FINAL FANTASY name for users on all supported platforms. We offer our sincerest apologies to any fans anticipating the PlayStation 3 release, and humbly ask for your continued patience and understanding as both the development team and Square Enix as a whole strive towards making FINAL FANTASY XIV a truly enjoyable and unforgettable adventure.

[New Development Team Policy]
I would like to take this opportunity to greet all of you—those currently playing FINAL FANTASY XIV, those who have taken a respite from playing, and those awaiting the PlayStation 3 release—and offer a brief word by way of an introduction.

No doubt there are very few, if any, among you who have ever heard the name Naoki Yoshida. To be sure, I have never been in the fore on any of the titles I have worked on in the past. I am, however, honored and privileged to work alongside many talented and inspiring colleagues, and with their support have enjoyed making games for a number of years. I am aware that a great many people will think the responsibility of leading FINAL FANTASY XIV is far too large a task for someone so unknown. After all, even my very best may seem no more than a drop in the bucket when considering the sheer scope of FINAL FANTASY XIV. But working together with me are the very talented and very capable development and management teams, whose dedication and motivation are unwavering. I would like to ask you to please put to rest uncertainties that you may have.

Now, more than ever, myself, the development team, and Square Enix as a whole, are committed to furthering our efforts to provide a quality service.

Everything we do will be for our players and customers.


FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer/Director, Naoki Yoshida

First of all, I would like to apologize for our inability to fully satisfy our users with the initial release of FINAL FANTASY XIV. I take full responsibility for the game’s current situation, and have therefore made the decision to step down from my role as producer. A number of concerns that have been voiced by users, such as the design of the user interface, availability of tutorials and game content, and battle system functionality, represent key issues that must be addressed. While improvements are already well underway in many areas, we were unfortunately not able to incorporate player feedback as quickly as we would have liked. We are aware, however, that in many cases, addressing these issues will call for a reworking of game elements. As these changes are our first priority, they will be commanding our full attention and efforts. It is to that end that we have put a new organizational structure into place for the development team. Under this new system, FINAL FANTASY XIV will see changes and additions in line with the desires and expectations of players. Though no longer producer, I will be continuing to support the development team in other capacities, and personally hope that you will continue your adventures in the realm of Eorzea.


Hiromichi Tanaka


Will FFXI die? Do we have a future? The true answer is everything dies it's just a matter how and why it dies.

The FF14 was a prime example of what not to do and what to do. Lets not forget.

[Alerith]

http://i.imgur.com/1G27P.jpg

Everything dies. Sometimes slowly.