I think I'm finished; a new player's final thoughts

[Bukota]

I started playing alongside a few friends. One came back to the game, the other started fresh with me. I had another friend who wanted to play, but he quit during the trial. The friend who started fresh with me quit after playing for one month; he does not want to re-sub. He's a dedicated MMO player, and I was driving him/trying to push him to do various things, and telling him how important they are, but he didn't end up completing them.

-Level 99 THF, didn't go to Abyssea until 75
-Nation rank 2
-Got to Aht Urhgan to unlock Corsair, did not touch the missions
-Did not touch Chains of Promathia
-Did not get ANY AF, not even the low level
-Did not max Gobbiebag, no other important achievements to note
-Never touched Adoulin

... and he quit. Why? Cause a lot of this is boring. It's work. New players do not want to, and should not have to, go through all this. I was dedicated, and drove myself to do it to be a good SMN. If he isn't willing to do any of that, do you really expect any other new players to do it? It doesn't help that the entire thing is NOT friendly at all unless you alt tab and know where guides are to things. Most of the quests or missions don't even tell you where to go next. It's nice when you can actually think you know where to go, but that's honestly not that often, especially when they say things like "go get me this item" and offer NO EXPLANATION as to where to get it (limit break quests you are the best). There are some quests that they don't even tell you the item names, you seriously just have to guess or something (evoker's ring quest is ONE example). There is almost NO WAY I would be able to convince anyone else I know to play if they know they're gonna have to go through any of this.

I'm going to say that the old players need to stop looking at this game through nostalgia goggles. Times have changed. The game is not the same as it was before. You need to accept change, and move forward, or this game is going to suffer. There are a LOT of things that could be changed, and should be changed, for the game to move forward and prosper for years to come. However, it doesn't help when the majority of the community is straight up rude to new players, or thinks that it's right for them to "suffer the same way they did in the past." The response to practically anything I say is "YOU KNOW IT WAS SO MUCH HARDER IN THE PAST, YOU SHOULD STOP COMPLAINING." I spent a lot of time arguing/discussing various topics (mythic weapons, mission requirements, etc) with people on this forum, and boy, it's been an uphill battle. So many people want all the requirements to stay, and if you don't like it, "too bad this isn't the game for you." I still think this quote is hilarious:



I find it mind boggling that there are actually people, players, on this forum, that are telling newbies they should quit because they're finding it difficult. You guys are not doing much for your community, or your game, and yet you complain all the time that the servers are lacking people. This does not help. It also doesn't help that everyone in game is extremely quiet and does not want to talk to anyone unless you're already friends with them, and finding a group for anything is really difficult. Rarely do I see shouts for PUGs, and when I tried to join, yeah, you know what happened. I ended up making my own linkshell and shouted recruitment to try to get other new players to join so I could help them out and we could all talk. It worked for a while, I got about 6 other members; only 1 still plays (the others quit I assume, they haven't logged in for weeks).

It's almost as if the people commenting in this thread haven't even read the original post.

This isn't about one player, one job, one mission, or even a wiki.

It's about the fact that recruiting friends to play this game is a lost cause in the current state of the game. The average player will probably spend at most a month here, because, as Crevox pointed out, they will be expected to jump through multiple months worth of hoops to even have a shot at joining the worst possible shout group of players that will have almost no chance of success anyway.

Meanwhile, they will be asked to endure all of this under the derision of players like Afania.

I honestly don't know why you have such extremely unrealistic expectation toward this game that you have to keep posting complains after complain. Half of the complain wasn't even legit. Complaining about the lack of pt and lack of new player tutorial may be a bit legit. Complaining about the long term goal MAYBE can be legit, since long term goal is kinda unique to FFXI. Complaining about forum users reply your negative post with negativity AND not knowing every term in a MMORPG? Unless you can convince me that negativity attitude never exist in another MMO, or you can understand every MMO mechanics as a new player in another AAA title, you're just complaining for the sake of complaining. Can't blame other people for replying with something negative.

You digged your own grave.

The thread isn't about one persons complaints.

It's about the systematic failings of the game that make it repugnant to new players.

NEWS FLASH, with server populations dwindling, the answer is to get new players or go out of business.

If you don't believe this can happen, please google for City of Heroes.

Hopefully you will come back when you have "digged" something up, lol.

[Bukota]

No, pop-up window and ! on the map in ANY RPG is terrible, no question asked. ARR annoyed the hell out of me with that pop-up window while I'm killing stuff.
That giant ! on every NPC and the map is the same. The best way should be providing hint through dialogue. You don't NEED silly pop-up window nor ! on the map to guide you to next goal if dialogue is done properly. Whoever can't tolerate a RPG without pop-up window and ! on the map would already quit and play WoW/ARR ages ago.

I don't want anything that reminded me I'm playing a game. This is a roleplaying game(aka life simulator/virtual world), I want game design that would create an illusion that I'm not playing a game.

Does not even come close to solving the problem outlined in the original post. Not even worth debating, but if you must, start your own thread.

The problems detailed here are far more grave than the lame-duck solution you are debating would solve.

There seems to be this myopic focus on the smaller issues, when the issue here is much bigger and more simple:

Only a microscopic percentage of the people that pick this game up today will find a reason to play it longer than a few months.

As Draylo pointed out, he has all but stopped helping people, because whenever he does, they just quit anyway.

[Lithera]

Maybe someone should report you for the please don't post in any thread I post in attitude. Not saying I agree with who that is pointed to as one can see in the QoL thread lol. Maybe you shouldn't set your self up so easily for them to try and bring in some common sense? Also now you complain about them after they have already had maybe a page and a half debate with others in the thread? Or did you somehow not see those and just this one? Unless they get perma band from the forums good luck with them not posting in a thread you either started or already posted in.

[Afania]

It's almost as if the people commenting in this thread haven't even read the original post.

This isn't about one player, one job, one mission, or even a wiki.

It's about the fact that recruiting friends to play this game is a lost cause in the current state of the game. The average player will probably spend at most a month here, because, as Crevox pointed out, they will be expected to jump through multiple months worth of hoops to even have a shot at joining the worst possible shout group of players that will have almost no chance of success anyway.

Meanwhile, they will be asked to endure all of this under the derision of players like Afania.



The thread isn't about one persons complaints.

It's about the systematic failings of the game that make it repugnant to new players.

NEWS FLASH, with server populations dwindling, the answer is to get new players or go out of business.

If you don't believe this can happen, please google for City of Heroes.

Hopefully you will come back when you have "digged" something up, lol.

But half of Crevox's complains, such as bad community and not understanding every term, applies to other MMO too, what'd you say about it?

Every MMO would die at one point of time, new player friendly or not, no MMO can retain player forever. What's your point? Every MMO would have fans/haters, no MMO can please everyone, so what's your point again?

[Afania]

Does not even come close to solving the problem outlined in the original post. Not even worth debating, but if you must, start your own thread.

The problems detailed here are far more grave than the lame-duck solution you are debating would solve.

There seems to be this myopic focus on the smaller issues, when the issue here is much bigger and more simple:

Only a microscopic percentage of the people that pick this game up today will find a reason to play it longer than a few months.

As Draylo pointed out, he has all but stopped helping people, because whenever he does, they just quit anyway.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with new player experience needs more streamline.

But pop-up window isn't the best solution.

[Crevox]

Maybe someone should report you for the please don't post in any thread I post in attitude. Not saying I agree with who that is pointed to as one can see in the QoL thread lol. Maybe you shouldn't set your self up so easily for them to try and bring in some common sense? Also now you complain about them after they have already had maybe a page and a half debate with others in the thread? Or did you somehow not see those and just this one? Unless they get perma band from the forums good luck with them not posting in a thread you either started or already posted in.

I've argued with this person time and time again in multiple threads. They harass me, and even after saying I have absolutely no interest in what they have to say, they continue to post and harass me. I figured ignoring it would make it go away, and yet, here it is, still posting to me despite me just straight up ignoring it.

I've taken all the correct steps to avoid harassment: asked them to stop, told them I have no interest in speaking to them, and ignored them: and yet they continue.

Now please, I would like to get back on topic.

[Afania]

Started a controversial thread on a forum, and don't want to listen to any different opinion or else it's "having an attitude/harrassment". Humm.

Get back to the topic, I disagree with your opinion. This is not a harassment, this is the right of any forum user.

[Crevox]

Started a controversial thread on a forum, and don't want to listen to any different opinion or else it's "having an attitude/harrassment". Humm.

Get back to the topic, I disagree with your opinion. This is not a harassment, this is the right of any forum user.

You see, you don't get it. I care about everyone's opinion except for yours. I don't care about anything you have to say. You can post and talk to them all you want, but stop harassing me.

It's that simple.

[Lithera]

Which is what exactly? That you don't ask questions in game because of one time you were ignored? That you get upset after a group gets on you for doing something wrong or didn't understand something because you didn't again ask things or speak up when the group was still forming? Or is it that your fave job isn't wanted by many groups for certain things? Or the short hand that is used in game because the game only allows us so much room per post to convey what we want to do and what jobs we are looking for, can be confusing to new people specially if they don't ask what all of it means, before the game thinks we are spaming? That somehow it's bad game design to make people use their brains or use another site or the mini sights the company has put together and breaks in game believability?
Please tell me what exactly is the topic of this thread after people started to poke holes in your complaints and counter arguments long before she even joined the thread.

[Afania]

You see, you don't get it. I care about everyone's opinion except for yours. I don't care about anything you have to say. You can post and talk to them all you want, but stop harassing me.

It's that simple.

I don't care if you care about my opinion or not, you're presenting your opinion to all the forum reader and dev, I'm presenting mine. This is how the forum works. If I find flaws in your logic, I will present my opinion.

I don't think all my opinion are based on calling you "something", but entirely based on the logical flaw in your post. This is not "harassing" you, this is against your opinion but not you as a person.

If you can't tolerate your opinion being challenaged by opposite opinion, don't post.