Suggestion: Break the game, SE

[llello]

I actually agree rune, I think balance has been too much of the focus lately. But its also very important for a mmo model like this.Wouldn't it "kill" FFXI faster if everyone could steamroll any (relevant) current content? I don't think the dev team, especially the current reduced dev team, could even come close to pumping out abyssea like content at a rate to keep high tier players busy. If players think this is good idea, post some reasons. No offense to OP but you post just says "because it would be exciting".

[Haldarn]

Once you get all jobs to 99, enable the character to change race into a Moogle.

The last endgame event, reclaiming Tavnazia proper, resulting in the reward of a suit of Magitek armour.

The ability to play up to six characters simultaneously without having to have multiple accounts or instances of the game running (like in single player RPGs).

An armoury where you can store/collect all gear and use it in macros out on the field.

The ability to have a castle of your own. With laser turrets.

[Sagagemini]

The greatest problem is that Square Enix keeps the formula "let's reward the hardcore gamers for their lack of social life" while punishing heavily the majority made from casuals. FFXI was a spetacular niche game 9 years ago but these ppl grew up and their reality is completely different today.

Though some endgame linkshells are still ruled by ppl whose lives are entirely devoted to a game, the majority that are still paying subscriptions and keeping this game alive for so long, even the fresh players, are losing interest day by day with so many events relying so much on others to acquire stuff.

While it might sound nice to promote cooperative gameplay, the way events were designed in ffxi since 2003 promotes a lot of elitism and the masses are left out. One example? Try to get a af3+2 item. It's an item for your job that basically nobody else wants to do anymore since they are trying to get their 10th empyrean weapon (endgame ls leaders of course, the rest will slave-whore themselves for one empyrean.

What happens to the new players that are the breath of air that MUST be flowing inside the game? They see impossible to reach objectives unless they destroy their social lives like endgame shells require (honestly, who in their sane mind stays 5 days a week during nights at home unless you have no family or friends?) and lose interest. With games rewarding them so much faster, trying to get even a single af3+2 item seems a herculean task. You have to rely on ppl to get your Atma, then you have to rely on more ppl to get +1 seals, then you have to rely on more ppl to get +2 seals.

And you only finished 1 item. Let's not even talk about weapon trials. While hardcore gamers might see this as a perk from the game (leaving the best gear to a handful of them) its clear that this system isn't the one that keeps players logging in nowadays. The average player mentality changed.The most rare item in the world is TIME and with less and less time to play games a company that still requires you to devote so much for so little is bound to suffer from hemorrhage till it becomes a F2P.

Abyssea never made the game easier. It just created another carrot in the end of tunnel for us to hunt. The problem is, while in other MMORPG you can go on your own way to the carrot in here your pathetic character still needs the help of others to accomplish his own adventures. This worked perfectly in 2003. But not anymore.

It doesn't matter if hardcore players agree with this or not. FFXI must become more solo friendly. There is so much content in this game that even being more solo friendly it won't ruin the endgame. This is the only game where players have characters that are not tied to one class. They can farm 20 different jobs for gear. This is the only MMORPG where story matters and they can go through each one of them in their own time.

Its SE move now. FF14 will sink soon and without making FF11 an appealing game for new starters with a social life (job and family) the future is really bad towards Square in the MMORPG market.

[Elexia]

FF14 will sink soon and without making FF11 an appealing game for new starters with a social life (job and family) the future is really bad towards Square in the MMORPG market.

If 14 was to sink it would have done so in 2010 and not exist today, not during nor after a major overhaul 2 years later. SE will do just fine if they play their cards right.

Abyssea never made the game easier.

Most of us who played XI for at least more than a year prior to abyssea or ToAU can safely say, Abyssea made the game easier. Period. How often did you in 2002-2009 open a chest and got 1250 exp? Let alone open 10 chests back to back in a span of 20 seconds for 1250 exp?

How likely were you to go to a NPC and buy a full set of armor with Haste on it? Let alone how likely were you to have a weapon that beat out most Relics and Mythics for only weeks work rather than years?

[Sagagemini]

If 14 was to sink it would have done so in 2010 and not exist today, not during nor after a major overhaul 2 years later. SE will do just fine if they play their cards right.



Most of us who played XI for at least more than a year prior to abyssea or ToAU can safely say, Abyssea made the game easier. Period. How often did you in 2002-2009 open a chest and got 1250 exp? Let alone open 10 chests back to back in a span of 20 seconds for 1250 exp?

How likely were you to go to a NPC and buy a full set of armor with Haste on it? Let alone how likely were you to have a weapon that beat out most Relics and Mythics for only weeks work rather than years?

Its much more harder for me nowadays to get a group going for VV Atma than it was to defeat Promathia back in 2005. I understand that with empyreans and 3 atmas you can basically do anything in Abyssea but first you need to get those. It was so much easier to find groups for Ouryu or any other part of COP even if you were not in a static and you could keep your progression. Now 7 years later its basically impossible to get some atmas and af3+2 items with random shouts.

How easier the game has become?


Honestly i came back to do the trivial and im not even bothering anymore about the bandwagon i lost. But you can't ask for a new player to be motivated as i am, due to my 2003 nostalgia, having to be satisfied with crap from AH or lose his social life to whorehimself in an endgame ls where he is going to complete leaders and officers gear 10 times before anything else.

This is just not the way the MMORPG market works anymore. Online gaming is becoming more and more casual. While i applaud that FFXI stays true (sort of it) to its old formula of randomness drops and devotion to get stuff (i took 3 years to get my duelist chapeau+1 back then) i also see it dying with it.

Im talking about SE future as an online gaming company. They almost destroyed their franchise with FF14 with their stubborn attitude of always being right . They have the tools to make an AAA online product BUT they must start accepting the fact that gamers now are more casual than ever and they won't devote themselves to any game that doesn't reward them fast.

Like it or not. Its money that keeps this business going and these casuals are the ones with it. Much more than the 1-5% of hardcore players.

[Anapingofness]

Its much more harder for me nowadays to get a group going for VV Atma than it was to defeat Promathia back in 2005. I understand that with empyreans and 3 atmas you can basically do anything in Abyssea but first you need to get those. It was so much easier to find groups for Ouryu or any other part of COP even if you were not in a static and you could keep your progression. Now 7 years later its basically impossible to get some atmas and af3+2 items with random shouts.

How easier the game has become?


Honestly i came back to do the trivial and im not even bothering anymore about the bandwagon i lost. But you can't ask for a new player to be motivated as i am, due to my 2003 nostalgia, having to be satisfied with crap from AH or lose his social life to whorehimself in an endgame ls where he is going to complete leaders and officers gear 10 times before anything else.

This is just not the way the MMORPG market works anymore. Online gaming is becoming more and more casual. While i applaud that FFXI stays true (sort of it) to its old formula of randomness drops and devotion to get stuff (i took 3 years to get my duelist chapeau+1 back then) i also see it dying with it.

Im talking about SE future as an online gaming company. They almost destroyed their franchise with FF14 with their stubborn attitude of always being right . They have the tools to make an AAA online product BUT they must start accepting the fact that gamers now are more casual than ever and they won't devote themselves to any game that doesn't reward them fast.

Like it or not. Its money that keeps this business going and these casuals are the ones with it. Much more than the 1-5% of hardcore players.

There is a lot of truth in what you say Sagagemini. Most of us with established groups don't think about the players without those groups. I'll be the first to attest to that. Like it or not, the sad reality of FFXI is that it is not a very newbie friendly game. So I can totally see where you're coming from.

Although, I will say that the Abyssea has made the game easier in certain respects. Mainly the leveling aspect. Back in the day it was a good party if you could get 5k - 10k exp an hour. I'm glad that SE lessened the grind in that respect with Abyssea, FOV, and GOV.

[BurnNotice]

I am not going to fake the funk with you guys. I personally lost interest in the game. stopped payment and all. I can't say if it's total interest, but that excitement you get when you log in with friends to do events/missions/quest were intense, exciting, fun, and rewarding is no longer there for me. Now, should I, could I, blame the development team for this? I am sure there are a number of people that feel this way. I mean, honestly SE, what are your plans on bringing the people that left the game back and what are your plans to keep the current player base? From what I am reading on this forum, I can predict a handful of people will finally resign from the game for good by the next update do to an overwhelming amount of disappointment. Sad to say, but it's true.

[Tezz]

I am not going to fake the funk with you guys. I personally lost interest in the game. stopped payment and all. I can't say if it's total interest, but that excitement you get when you log in with friends to do events/missions/quest were intense, exciting, fun, and rewarding is no longer there for me. Now, should I, could I, blame the development team for this? I am sure there are a number of people that feel this way. I mean, honestly SE, what are your plans on bringing the people that left the game back and what are your plans to keep the current player base? From what I am reading on this forum, I can predict a handful of people will finally resign from the game for good by the next update do to an overwhelming amount of disappointment. Sad to say, but it's true.

I've played since NA launch, yada yada coolStory, and recently re-subbed after taking a break for FF14.

Admittedly, it was annoying staying with FF14 at launch, but overall i'm glad i have over this game.


It's the longest break i've had from 11 since launch & after coming back, WOW, i forgot how slow & convoluted this game is systematically & socially.

A Few recent observations.

FF14 population usually sits around 200-400~ (this is towards the end of patch life)
FF11 population 1200~

Both games almost feel the same socially though. It's usually just 1-3~ people ever doing anything. Both have these dull, dead moments where you're just standing around (FF11 far worse though).

It's all about linkshells & VoIP to keep things active, but in FF11 its usually the same thing. Even if there are 10~ online, its usually 1-2 off doing their own thing & ignoring or too lazy to do anything with others.
In FF14 this happens, but usually its little cliques of 8~ that run events together(which is sad considering FF11 supports alliances & hardly gets used anymore).

The best highlight of FF14 has been it's accessibility a few modern designs over many of the things that really make FF11 drag.


But this isn't about FF11 vs FF14, it's about wanting to enjoy both games. In the past, every time i reactivated FF11 i was never this bored. I eventually got around to really enjoying myself.



The very 1st day of reactivating i was have some major doubts. There's just no community or atmosphere to make it worth playing. I won't pretend to sugarcoat the core of how both games present themselves by suggesting it's better with "friends" (ANYTHING is better with friends(esp. RL) & worthwhile).

I used to be against the auto-grouping for content, but sadly both these games need it, desperately amongst many FAR more important things.
There's practically no community worth fighting for anyway, so they might as well embrace it...

......^

So, yes OP, they really just need to "break" the game and let loose. Announce a new expansion & a more revisions/revamps.
It's like they still design & distribute Lv.99 gear with Lv.75 closely in mind (its horrible). It would be nice to see more 9999 up in here (with content lolBaranced for it).

Above ALL else, i should NEVER been standing around in town in either games bored out of my mind (& NO, the answer is not to go out Solo!). Either from LFP or just nothing to do. There shouldn't be lines for events & standing around waiting on event timers that take forever to reset (multiple relevant endgame events would help this too...)

They say that "they always come back" & it's somewhat true. But the more & more i come back, the worse & worse this game keeps getting. After this month is up, i probably won't be back unless a thrilling expansion & real linkshell content is shown.




tl;dr
FF11 & FF14 have been critically boring lately, yet FF14 is going in a direction of more promise & dynamic battles/content(going, not there yet).
Announce a new roadmap & expansion.
Keep reworking/revising existing content.
I don't want to stand around & be bored (in town or events), until then, i won't be re-subbing after this month. It was a mistake.

BREAK THE GAME!

[Aquilla]

tl;dr
FF11 & FF14 have been critically boring lately, yet FF14 is going in a direction of more promise & dynamic battles/content(going, not there yet).
Announce a new roadmap & expansion.
Keep reworking/revising existing content.
I don't want to stand around & be bored (in town or events), until then, i won't be re-subbing after this month. It was a mistake.

BREAK THE GAME!

I agree with everything in your post, Tezz. They need to let loose, they need to add new stuff, not move in increments.

Everyone here on this board has seen people who quit because of tedium. Yeah, it's funny when they come onto the forums with bad spelling and bad attitude. But for each one of those, there's a hundred that just quietly stops coming. There was a reason why Aby was a much needed breath of fresh air -- and they should've headed in that direction, not bass-ackwards.

An MMO needs an active populace. I don't want to play alone. I'm not even against large group content -- I would *love* to see large-group content if it was managed right. The game has desperately needed a better system for getting people together since the get-go, and now it really shows.

Isn't it silly that in a MMO heavily based on PvE and the community, our linkshells are practically prehistoric in their utility? No linkshell ranking or ranks, no in-game calendar, no way to manage membership, nothing.

The LFG system was bad back in the day. Now it's even more laughable. No way to flag up for a specific event, other than relying on /seacom. Once flagged up, no way to get anything else done because of the time it takes to get to places/shuffle gear.

Break the game!

[Aquilla]

I think what's going to kill FFXI is lack of new players, not the desperate clinging-on of old ones. Yeah, I do want an exciting game. I don't really apologize for it, mainly because I'm not queen of the universe and SE doesn't have to do anything I want.

I don't think that being able to 'steamroll' is the answer, but is the answer 'here's another sidegrade/another event that you've already done'?

Look at this board. Underneath the jaded sarcasm and outright trolling, you'll find a ton of great suggestions by people who probably know more about games than I do, about how the game could be made more fun *without* retitling it World of Mogcraft.

Yeah, I do want something exciting. There was a lot of stuff in XI that was exciting. A lot of it could be made exciting, without 'steamrolling'.