Letter to SE Development Team: Tanka I hope you read this

[Cursed]

I pretty much decided to quit the second I saw the legion test stream.
not a drop in the ocean of what needs to be done with FFXI to keep subscribers paying.

For those that think SE doesn't care if you quit or not, you're very wrong. They are always seeking investments, but this year we've been contacted by them 7 times since the start of 2012. Last year they contacted us once before a game expo. Before that, we used to contact them and get ignored.
Yeah boat is sinking.

in the past I've posted some rants and gone on and on with my complaints of what is wrong with this game and the direction the dev team are taking it, I just don't care anymore. If I delete my character today or tomorrow, the sentimental value that it might have once have held will no longer be a factor. The event itself (deleting my character) will be far more casual than I would have imagined/assumed 3-5 years ago.

SE has just bleed every bit of love I had for this game out of me.
Whats funny is, I played every FF game from childhood up until FF12 and loved it. Since then, its just been 5 years of constant disappointment. Might have something to do with the fact that the old Square that gave us those games, and the staff, are no longer with SE for the most part.

[Aldersyde]

Always such a pessimist lol

I'd say he's realistic in this case. You only have one chance to make a good impression and SE blew it with FFXIV. Even when V2 comes out, I'd say a lot of people are going to see "FFXIV" and say to themselves "Do not want". It will always have the stigma of being the mmo that was so bad, it had to throw away its original scenario world to make a fresh start. A game so bad, not even making it free to play for an extended period prevented people from leaving in droves. A game that was described by its own corporate higher-ups as doing immense damage to the FF brand itself. People won't forget that. It will be an uphill battle to get those who experienced and quit within weeks to even come back to try it. A few mediocre or bad reviews will kill it. Do I think that it will get a niche audience? Of course it will because there's no accounting for some people's tastes. Do I think it's going to be the mmo that SE wanted so it could build on the success of FFXI? Hell no.

[Meyi]

I agree with Karbuncle.

Thanks for making a game I grew up loving. And thanks for destroying it before my eyes. It's cool if you don't want my money Square Enix. No hard feelings on my behalf.

[Tohihroyu]

Heh... I bet you all that this so called "The Last Stand" is the day they shut this game down "Thank you for playing! all your characters will be deleted & transferred to FFXIV"

I pretty much play to get what I can out of it, there's a few quests that have nice little storylines (Saga of the Serpents & Babban Ny Mheillea.) The Relic I'm *hoping* to get is a pipe dream, not cause of the bst pet TH "gimping" more so...not having the desire to spend 2 hours slashing, punching, stabbing & jabbing demons slowly to get "procs" :/ yes its "easier" but...its so boreing. I think the last "exciting moment" I had in game was going to Castle Zhval in the past the day it opened with a jp group, climbing all the way to the top, dodging or fighting agro, was just like my first Shadow lord battle but I didn't have to cast sneak/invis on lazy ppl on my drg/whm thus resting every few mins just myself ^^;

I used to think "Hey maybe they'll finally open up those other parts of Vana'diel, let us visit present Graberg & Vunkerl" but newp...they day that'd happen is the day it shuts down or at least kicks out all non Japanese players...thats probably why! they wont open those areas cause they don't want us filthy Gajin messing it up!

[hideka]

As i Explained at some point before...

Theres nothing we can do. Literally. This late in the game, SE is doing what they think will net them the most money. They're banking on the idea we're pretty much Addicted to FFXI like an Old Gambler (compliments of GG), They bank that we'll keep doing these events with the idea we'll eventually be rewarded.

They are, for all intents and purposes, Banking on the idea we're so addicted to FFXI We won't quit no matter how insane their new content is. No matter how ludicrous and luck based it is. No matter how badly implemented it is, or no matter how blatantly obvious it is that the content being released is designed to keep us enraged/doing it for long periods of time, based simply around dumb-luck systems, Random-Number-generators, and 1% Drop rates.

But the problem is, Even if we call them on this, and cancel our accounts for the bullshit? They'll probably just drop the game instead of putting in the effort to turn it around or actually listen to their customers.

Really am disappointed in the direction this game is taking. They're making all the same mistakes they made with FFXIV's release. Ignoring all feedback, and doing whatever the fuck they want. This company doesn't learn, and they seriously need to take a good hard look at the common factor between both failures.

We all know who it is.

Regardless, They're either too stupid or too proud to admit their mistakes.. Surprise surprise.. Whatever the outcome, I know Come March this account will be deactivated. Even if it does nothing, If this game is going to continue to be nothing but a broom-rape of ass-backwards content designed to be more work and frustration than Fun and Enjoyment? its time to move on with my life, Hell, Its time to move on with our lives.

There are plenty of new MMOs coming out that might actually be FUN to play, theres single player games that you'll enjoy for long periods to come. But really, Its about time to abandon ship. The Titanic is sinking, and The captain(hint: SE) just looks down at us, and throws us a Raft with a leak in it every couple days, just to keep us afloat long enough to not get hypothermia and die.

Done with the frustration of this game. Nothing about it is fun anymore. No longer asking the Evil Genie to grant me any more wishes. You all should follow suit if you're not having fun anymore. 9 years later and its clear they won't listen to us. The only glimmer of hope was Abyssea, Which they promptly decided to "fuck that" and move back to Old school time sinks with artificial challenge.

if people really wanted to make a point, they would write the stock holders of SE a letter entailing the dissatisfaction of the populace of this game. theyre the ones tanaka is out to please. not us. we get them up his butt, then things will change. im sure the stock holders wouldn't like the prospect of loosing the millions of dollars a year this game rakes in, in pure profits if we all decided to boycott this game. hell if we all cancled our accounts for ONE month, and notified the Majority stockholders of this, they would be ALL OVER them to get the issue fixed.

think of it this way... you are all complaining about a problem, to the source of the problem.... this is where you deviate from the chain of command, and go ABOVE the developers heads and piss THEIR bosses off. remember kids #$%^ rolls down hill, and thankfuly were off to the sides.

[Oscar71]

Please hurry up and quit. The more that quit, the more room on servers. Really people get over yourselves, if you are playing it for your own sake and not because you like "fantasy" and playing with other people, then by all means there is the door. I hate seeing threads like this. Ya'll acting like a bunch of 3 year old kids that just got told its time for you 15 min nap.

[Karbuncle]

Please hurry up and quit. The more that quit, the more room on servers. Really people get over yourselves, if you are playing it for your own sake and not because you like "fantasy" and playing with other people, then by all means there is the door. I hate seeing threads like this. Ya'll acting like a bunch of 3 year old kids that just got told its time for you 15 min nap.

First off, Allow me to thank you for voicing your opinion on this matter, Even though It was against the popular opinion of the thread. Now, As for my response.

Not many, if any, people in this thread are complaining because of the game pushing toward newer Team-oriented events, or complaining they can't play for their own sake. I for one, am not "full of myself" when i say Square is turning this game to hell. I started this game back because it was fun, and frankly, a Final Fantasy title, It was interesting.

Still, back then the game was a grind... But they turned it around about the time of abyssea, Now its back to Grinding and even worse content than pre-Abyssea (Looking at you Neo-Nyzul). I know its far-fetched, but there are ways to make Events Challenging and team oriented without relying on Random Number Generators to make artificial challenge.

Also, a Small tid-bit. your "3 year old" comparison is Irrelevant. Square Enix isn't a mother, They aren't a Father. Parents do have control over their children. However, Square Enix are not parents, They're a company. Companies need to listen to their customers. Companies who ignore of their customer sink and fail. Hint: FFXIV.

honestly, I hope you are not suggesting that us, as a customer, Should sit back and accept anything SE throws our way with a Smile on our face, thankful they're even paying attention to us anymore? No, I don't think we should.

The only thing left is Grinding Random-Dumb-luck Events with bad drop rates. In true Old-School FFXI Style, an Age the majority of us who got lives and grew up in the last 9 years, Were happy to leave behind.

Its obvious the Dev team is trying to keep us entertained, That i'm sure every one of us is thankful for. But they're being forced to work with such a small skeleton crew they can't really do anything but pump out rehashed content with Low Drop rates, or Dumb Luck involced (R.N.G Nyzul) to keep us busy until they can design the next event.

In a way, I really doubt its the Dev teams fault we keep getting stall-for-time Content with Stale battles, No progression at all, and relying Randomness instead of introducing a real challenge. They've got so few Devs because of Final Failure XIV Draining everything.

So to End, I Can't really Blame the Dev team for this, I'm sure they're just doing the best they can with the time they have. But that doesn't mean we should sit here and accept everything we're given. These forums exist for the purpose of giving feedback. Understanding and taking to heart that feedback is what Square needs to do. Obviously, Not everyone is correct, not all complaints are relevant. But a lot of complaints, in this thread and many others, are very valid concerns.

So please, Learn to recognize the difference between crying over spilled milk, and justified complaints about the direction a company is taking. Its not that we're(I'm) against team oriented events, Its that, Those of us who are playing because we like the "Fantasy" part of the game are complaining because there's no Fantasy left, any hint of fun is drained away when you open the voidwatch chest to find you're now 0/300 on something, And your reward is 4k worth of synth mats.

[Oscar71]

Haha, okay you made your point Karbuncle. There is a difference though between feedback and the blame game. Customers do have a right to voice what they want and how they want, but I'm sorry, its irritating to see these threads over and over.

[Karbuncle]

Haha, okay you made your point Karbuncle. There is a difference though between feedback and the blame game. Customers do have a right to voice what they want and how they want, but I'm sorry, its irritating to see these threads over and over.

I admit after about the 30th one I get a little annoyed too. So don't worry.

i just miss when i enjoyed this game. But truthfully, thats because of many reasons... one, I've grown up in the last ~8 years or so... And also because of the direction the game is taking. Me, and a lot of us, Just really don't have the time or energy to put up with these ludicrous trials.

So its not really all the Devs fault. Hell, I'm sure almost none of it is the devs fault. Not their fault they're basically a skeleton crew forced to work with little/no support on the game.

[Cursed]

Please hurry up and quit. The more that quit, the more room on servers. Really people get over yourselves, if you are playing it for your own sake and not because you like "fantasy" and playing with other people, then by all means there is the door. I hate seeing threads like this. Ya'll acting like a bunch of 3 year old kids that just got told its time for you 15 min nap.

I fail to see any logic or point in this post.
1."The faster people quit the more room there is on the server"
There's already PLENTY of room on all servers. Perhaps you're new or you just don't have many friends. But those of us who's money funded this game over the last decade have seen numbers dwindle rapidly in the past 1-2 years. Our friends have quit, our servers no longer exist, and as either a result or as was "intended" the resources and human capital that caters to FFXI and its development have decreased as well.
The more friends that quit the more the social pull and aspects of this game suffer.
So in reality, what should be said is "the faster you quit the more server space is wasted the less resources will be used to cater to this game's player base or lack of. Which means, you too, YES YOU, will suffer in the immediate future. Even if you end up playing by yourself, it will be on a free to play server where the only friends you would have are NPCs.

2. "if you are playing it for your own sake and not because you like "fantasy" and playing with other people, then by all means there is the door"
See point 1. When 1 friend quits, it often leads to another person at least taking a step back and playing less. Many of us have lost the friends we once used to do things with. When they are gone, we often look for alternative games to play together. At the moment, there is an abundance of them, and even more coming out. FF14 is actually not even on the list. This also causes a chain reaction. Other people who were not looking to quit, now do consider quiting as a few of their friends have set up shop on another MMO. The movement and trend is to leave FFXI, and it is accelerating.

From your statement you imply that you play for the social aspects and then go and contradict yourself by asserting that if people leave its more server space for you.

Take some time to think things over the next time you post.

If you hate seeing these posts, then "there's the door, don't let hit you on the backside when you leave". No one is forcing you to read things you "hate". And unless you like inflicting suffering on yourself, then just don't read these posts.
If you do or do not like them has nothing to do with if they are valid or not.
Gravity sucks, step off a building and it will kick your ass. you might hate being limited to this physical fact, but that doesn't invalidate it any less.

And if you hate seeing these posts, you should blame SE as they are the custodians of their player base's interest and are utterly shitting on us.