Server Population

[Daemon]

Sort of half-agree on this one. Waypoints are useful, I don't have a prob with them at all. Level-synch was a great idea too.
But the reason FFXI is in free-fall is the total erosion of 'goals' post-2010.
Goals being 'level up' and 'skill up' and 'obtain power weaps'. Those three things died in that order. You can sleepwalk to 99 now, in your lvl 1 pyjamas. You can use rings/earrings/food/martial master to cap your skills in a few days. And you can obtain the most powerful ffxi weaps in a day or two of SOA events or just buy one from the AH.
One example that always stays true in my mind. People used to do crafting while they were looking-for-party. I myself got fishing lvl 100 in 2004, clothcraft 70+ in 2005, and I had my 'invite to join party' flag up the entire time I was fishing/weaving. I got BLM75 that way, I would be catching fish or weaving, and get a /tell like "nobody else is LFP, do you want to party." As you know, blm didn't get invites back then, but if you had your flag up all day while fishing or clothcrafting or whatever, you got invites eventually. So many people did that and discovered they enjoyed weaving or fishing or w/e, they learned those trades while looking-for-party. Since nobody needs to LFP anymore, you would only do crafting inbetween rieves or delves or w/e, it would never be something you do for hours because you are waiting for xp invite.
That is relevant to declining server populations, because both xping and crafting were long-term goals, and because it took so long to get to lvl75 and cap your crafting, those goals were like a real incentive to log in tomorrow, and the next couple of years too lol. If you can get lvl99 in a day, wearing your new-adventurer pyjamas, and mega uber weaps & armors the next day, why the hell would you want to log in on day 3. You have no goals left. You might hang round for a few months smashing mobs up, but thats not really a goal is it. I still remember how thrilled I was when I got lvl 50 the first time, and like totally racing home from work to start LFP to get lvl 55. And being mega-happy when that pt-invite came through to me. It was a burning desire lol, a real goal. All this is gone now for new players.

What I mean by convenience killing the game. I don't mind way points. But then look at Adoulin. Instead of 1 or 2 way points, you have a way point everywhere.

In my opinion? Overboard.

Leveling in Abyssea was fine.

FC to 99? Overboard.

Delve rank items then Auction house craft items that replaced Delve rank items? Overboard.

But I agree with all of your posts Stompa.

SE makes it harder to earn Gil, then release Delve crafted weapons. Of course if the entire server is poor. These items will drop to low price because no one will give in to buying them for millions of Gil.

Then once something like Atinian staff cost 2mil or less then its like why put in the time and effort to earn Delve weapon and rank it to 15?

Hard to say but it just comes off as 2 things. Either Matsui was in panic mode and rushed the idea or it was done intentionally so players could speed past the game and quit so everyone will move on to 14.