Post reason why you are stopping/quitting to help the devs improve FFXIV

I didn't want to quit but I cant pay for it via click and buy so I guess that's the reason I am leaving..

[Reason why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]
A few:

• In my country I have only one option of payment (guess which one) ,which is very frustrating for me to do. So I kinda got cut off on payment options (WebMoney, PayPal anyone ?)
• I've reached the point in the game where I don't have anything else to do (this applies to classes I don't want to level up because of my personal opinion). That's why I decided to wait untill the patch with the jobs or 2.0 itself
• Majority of my friends are no longer playing and this is kind of pushes me to stop (for now) as well, because it is less fun without good people

[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]

• For the first 3 months of playing I enjoyed pretty much everything, xept frequent lack of skill points recieved after defeating the enemy (this was only in parties and not during solo). Strangely I had no grief at the slow UI or disconnects or even frustration to grind crafting classes because it was a very small reason for me to stop playing
• Big zones is also something I llike about FFXIV, I even had big travel through the world zones before the actual retail been launched.
• Other part and IMO very important was that the game was still fresh for everyone, so it was very interesting to advance through the ranks and see other people creating something new, that still nobody had created yet

[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]

• This thing popped up only during recent summer. But the more I think about it the more it bugs me. I'm talking about copy/pasta landscape and the overused texture of a rock. It wasn't a big problem during first months though.
• Level cap, when i first found out about it my mood went down drasticaly because of knowing that when i hit 50 it will be the end of the 'purpose' to play FFXIV (not everyone wants to grind every class to 50, many players want to keep something holy about his character and choose things 'they' want to do)
• My personal disappointment was about how FFXIV concept of leves and quests was handled. Basicaly what it is even today, is that you read a wall of text from NPC, accept the quest which sends you to the other side of the zone/world just to kill something, then return back to NPC for another wall of text with reward of only 1,000 exp points or 1,000 Gil. Same applies to local and regional leves

[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?] (optional)

• Ishgard for crying out loud, more than a year the most wanted place but yet closed forever. I was so hyped when I heard about rank 30 quest which some people were saying was concerning entering Ishgard (''See you in Ishgard'') but unfortunately it was a lie (lol)
  I understand that this is not planned because of 2.0, but can we players have at least something that we were hoping for so long, even if its temporary ?
• I want to see Eorzea living, not idling daily. What do I mean by living, it's when you enter, let's say one of the major cities and hear the ambient voices of citizens talking; selling stuff and such; lagguage carriers; big market areas and whatnot. Other is about Adventurers Guild filled with alot more NPC's who talk with each other; drink and eat (need more tables for that); bartender serves drinks and waitresses delivers them.
  For the sky panorama how about adding more than one airship, let's say 4 airships landing or departing to other cities, to make atmosphere more chaotic and feel more busy
  Something like this (FFXII bazaar concept) http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy...ar_concept.jpg
• Want all Yoshida san's gil (笑）

[Last comment]
I'm definitely not going to leave forever, just waiting for the right time. There are also other games that attract far more of my attention at the current time, like Guild Wars 2 or ArcheAge Online but it's not gona make me stop playing FFXIV. To everyone who knows me, hope to see you after jobs patch or 2.0 (no i won't give you my stack of Uraeus leather, jk)

Reasons for leaving:

Oh boy where do I start.

Lack of content, clunky combat system compared to modern current gen MMO's, crafting is terrible, Linkshells are dead and hardly anyone on the servers besides the leetist LS groups, skill animations are so 2007, party search function is worthless as no one uses it, no jump feature, grand companies don't feel very grand, markets are dead so sales are terrible, no jobs available, combat pace has slowed WAY down to sheer painfulness, no chocobo customization, leves feel pointless, and i'm sure I could think of several others...

MAJOR REASON WHY I"M LEAVING

It's become apparent to me that the average FF fan that still plays this game wants Yoshi P to keep adding elements of FFXI into XIV. This kind of backward, non-innovative thinking is not something I support. If the average player of this game is so unimaginative that the only ideas they can give the devs are from a 9 year old game, then this MMO is headed for doom in the long run. So until Yoshi starts thinking outside the box and listening to what the players want less, I don't see any reason to invest money here.

With all that said, i'll be checking back periodically to see how things are progressing and I will more than likely sub for a month to test out playing the jobs come 1.21 and give my feedback. 11 months is a long time for a dev group to turn things around, so I do have high hopes for this game come 2013.

It's a shame that forum privileges will be suspended however. I feel that this is seriously a bad idea if SE and Yoshi are looking for as much input from the community as possible.

Reason for leaving: I'm being forced to leave as I am given only one option for payment, and that is c&b. I've tried several times setting up payment and even calling them and it's just beyond frustration. I have reoccurring subscriptions in WoW and SWTOR and both work fine. SE I guess just doesn't want my money and is forcing me to leave.

I wish they would update us on the so called "other payment options" they talked about.

[Reason why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]
Other than the amazing graphics there was nothing too innovative with the battle/story/quest progression. The battle mechanics were dull in general where actions had ambiguous consequences and didn't capture the thrill of casting spells or special attacks. My biggest drawback was how unresponsive the UI is and the "looking at the world through a glass window" approach to interaction.

[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]
Some of the nicest people on video games anywhere. I've met some awesome people at the start of WoW some years ago, but the people you find on FFXIV are the most helpful and considerate lot. I really love my server Wutai but it too is becoming barren. I hope to see you again come the end of the year!

[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]
Old system of skill learning (the armory was fun for a moment but it causes more betrayal than anything), uninspired character development, lack of story.

[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?] (optional)
There is always some repercussion to any action of desired outcome. A very crooked sense of cosmic justice in this game (if that makes any sense) I found it to be very discouraging that I had to be so reliant on others to be a better player. If they fixed this I would come back.

[Last comment]
I hope that the folks at SE really start pouring their hearts into new ideas and talent to become again the beloved purveyors of rpgs.

[Reason why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]
Can't justify spending more time and money on this game when the majority of it is content that I've played in the past since Collector's release.

[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]
The FF ties to the line; Moogles, Chocobos, Primals (Eventually). The graphics were nice and the almost seamlessness of the world. The being able to level up as many jobs on one character as you please, unlike other MMOs. Cut scenes were awesome, just few and far between.

[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]
~Main Storyline was not a story, but a introduction of a game a couple years in the future.
Not being able to RIDE chocobos or cast summons from the start. Hearing summons may not be an individual action but one of a group of people, making the whole concept interesting, but discouraging as well.


[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?] (optional)
Server population, maybe a merge. I know its not 100% the Dev's fault, but when I log onto a game that needs a lot of people to do stuff but not a lot are on; It becomes tricky to quickly forming a group and getting 1-2 things accomplished before logging off in 2-3 hours.

[Last comment]
I've loved the Final Fantasy line for as long as I can remember, and sadly I was never able to experience 11 like how I wanted. I really look forward coming back somewhere between 1.21 and 2.0 to be able to be part of what will be an awesome experience. I'll miss all my friends of Palamecia, but until I see some sort of reasonable cause to pay for this game, I'll return in due time. Best wishes to the Devs, I know they'll turn this empty canvass to an extravagant adventure awaiting all.

[Reason why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]
There are a plethora of reasons why I am not supporting the subscription fee. A few primary ones should be highlighted though for SE to understand.

1. SE took our "ideas" for how to create a better MMO, and then doesn't implement them until 2.0, but starts charging anyway. This is kind of a slap in the face saying "thanks for your ideas, but we're going to squeeze money out of you anyway, even though very little has changed."
2. Animation locking and server side issues are reason alone to not subscribe. These issues will not be fixed until 2.0. Sadly, these are two of the most serious issues plaguing literally everything in XIV.
3. Billing options. I don't want Click and Buy. I want to put my credit card information and have SE directly deal with it. The fact that SE had an entire YEAR to fix billing and failed to do so, is just blasphemerous.
4. "Stationary mage syndrome" from XI. Being completely still to regenerate MP is a ridiculous mechanic that I cannot believe you're carrying over from XI. This makes mages feel extremely dull and left out of combat because we're required to stand still. Get rid of this immediately.
5. Excluding classes from fights, and excluding players because they don't have everything leveled. These two go hand in hand. Don't pretend like this is a mediated issue, because every new fight it always happens. We had archer only Darkhold groups, Lancer only Ifrit groups, and Archer only Moogle groups. This is stupid and completely counter intuitive to the armory system. If you want people to play one class, why even bother with an armory system? Furthermore, there are plenty of people who do not want to spend pointless time grinding away on class they don't enjoy. Yet many fights require almost all of the abilities up to 35 from every class. Having one class at 50 is really all you should need to experience end game content. Currently you're telling new players to "level up every single class to 50, and then you'll be able to be invited to end game content." This happened in XI, and it apparently is happening again in XIV. This is a terribly broken UNINTENDED mechanic of the armory system, and you need to fix it before 2.0 occurs or you're going to see more of the same complaining that you did as in this thread. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...586#post413586

[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]
Its hard to actually identify anything about XIV and say I truly "enjoyed" it. There are some things that I think SE should note as good ideas, but still need a lot of work.

1. Although the graphics engine is terribly optimized, burns video cards, and makes me scared to play XIV for extended periods of time... I really do enjoy the graphics and aesthetics of XIV though.
2. The King Moggle Mog music and its integration into the fight is something I adored and would love to see more of for 2.0
3. The market wards in general were a cool idea. They were just poorly implemented. They really should have been something for linkshells/guilds to unlock and upgrade. Player owned communities/stalls/vendors would have been a significantly more impactful design, with a lot more organization than the cluster of death that the market wards were and still are. I hope you can improve on the market wards in the future, even with a functioning auction house.
4. The depth of the crafting system is something that I haven't seen since the days of Star Wars Galaxies. With that being said, the physical motion, repetitious nature, and horrible implementation of the crafting system being so monotonous and full of grindish masochism is just idiocy.
5. Chocobos and the mount system overall. I was actually pretty impressed with the chocobo system and the quick summoning/use of it. This is something that SE did really nicely, and the fact we'll soon have more mounts and customization options for some (magitek armor and chocobo armor) is an even more impressive feat that hasn't been touched on in many (if any) mmos.)
6. Continual changing of music on holiday events. I love this. It made the game seem fresh and sparkling again, even if it was only for a day or two. But again, with most of the things in XIV there are a lot of downsides. The holiday events weren't what I expected... even XI had better holiday events. The decorations in XI honestly look better in many ways (aesthetically and style wise) than XIV's. I appreciate the work that goes into holiday events, but I really do want more substance to them. The ringing bells for the first few holidays were atrocious, and the falling snow filter looks really really low quality. Overall, lots to be desired on holiday events -- but I think they are moving in the right direction.
7. The materia system, while itself is just a fancy jewelcrafting/gem/rune socketing system... was actually a great idea that could have used just a bit more development time. The system itself is a welcome sight and I think it is on the way to becoming a really neat system (minus the tiers within tiers). In any case, I would have liked to see a bit more customization with it rather than just stat enhancements... or at least more creative ones. I would also love to see the inclusion of learning spells/traits/abilities via materia in the future --- sort of like how FF3(6)'s materia worked, and the FF8 junction system. Otherwise, why call it the materia system when all it really amounts to is a jewelcrafting/socketing system. Materia used to be something really special in FF... lets keep it that way and make better adjustments to it please.
   

[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]

1. Spell animations and casting animations were and still are completely lack luster. Magic should have a profound "look" to it. Currently it feels just like circles, blobs, and waves of light. The magic animations mean nothing are leave a lot to be desired.
2. Crafting is horrible and monotonous, one of the worst I've seen in any MMO.
3. Grind, more grind, even more grind, and then we'll grind some more on top. Grinding is not fun, and most MMOs are looking at ways to REMOVE the grind from their games. If you remove the horrible monotony of grinding, you can focus on more implementation of actual story content rather than worrying about when you increase the level cap if its going to take 5000000000000 hours or not to keep people "happy." Just face it, grinding is terrible and XIV needs to remove even more of it.
4. The UI interface was garbage, and even with the recent improvements it still is garbage. I was so disappointed when I logged onto the game the first time because it literally ruined my expectations of XIV that instant. The fact that the game launched with a software mouse is indication that the development team had no idea what was going on. Furthermore, PC users want to be able to use a keyboard and mouse on a PC, not a pad. The one skill bar with limited options, the AOE toggle, lack of functional tool tips, lack of pertinant information on tool tips; its all just a cluster of death and a PC interface nightmare. I am aware this is being redone, but I need to reiterate the fact that the UI is literally, no holds bar, the worst UI in any game I have ever seen.
5. Terrible loot distribution methods. The primal loot is easily the worst methods of loot distribution I've ever seen. The totems and kupo nut charms did not add any improvement to the system.
6. Primal loot itemization for mages is still vastly underwhelming compared to the melee and archer classes. This is another horrible case where SE hates mages...
7. Guildleves were supposedly removed from the "central aspect" of the game, but they are still one of the best ways to level up. Furthermore, "company leves" are even worse because you actually NEED to do those to gather company seals to progress in the main storyline. The horrible fact of the matter is you have to wait 15 minutes for a timer to complete on the company leves. All around, guildleves need to be REMOVED from the game... not tweaked or added, but REMOVED PERMANENTLY.
8. Crafting and gathering "mini-games." Hot and cold is not fun, it never has been. It has a place and time to be implemented, but for tasks that you are required to do repeatedly, tens of thousands of times over the course of the life of the game... this is not something you want to have. I hope to see these "hot and cold" mechanics redone into something more appropriate.
9. Non regional servers. I really hoped this time around that I could freely send a tell to someone without the anxiety or disappointment of "[I don't speak english]" being returned to me. Region servers simply work better because it allows people to gather for groups quicker, communicate efficiently, and overall perform better. I have nothing against other languages, but I want to get past this frustration of not being able to speak to people.
10. Not being able to alt tab. Like really? This is something every other game can get right but somehow SE cannot? Blows my mind really.
11. The game is incredibly sterile and silent. By this I mean there are no objects that have animations on them. NPC's do not move around at all. You cannot go inside buildings, and if you do, they are all repeats of another building.
12. Lack of guild/linkshell management options.
13. No mail or delivery system. Really? (Credit to: Zanfire, thanks!)
14. Only four trade slots... again... really? (Credit to: Zanfire, thanks!) (Forgot to include earlier!)
15. Being timed on everything is tedious and creates unnecessary anxiety (and waits... grand company leves...). Instead, look for soft enrage game mechanics that allow flexibility in time.
16. Targeting system is made for consoles. Again, as a PC users this is horribly frustrating and completely ruins my enjoyment of the game. I want to click something, maybe even right click something, and be able to interact with it. This has gotten better, but it needs to be fundamentally improved.
17. No global chat or functional regional chat whatsoever. /shouting is not an effective means of mass communication.
18. Jumping and swimming. I understand sometimes it seems stupid to be in a full suit of armor and be able to jump/swim efficiently. But these movements really do make the game a thousand times more accessible. Being able to jump over a small ledge, to get to a higher altitude, is significantly more important than the supposed "immersion" factor you get from not being able to jump.
19. Copy/paste world designs created a stale and repetitious environment everywhere. Clearly this is being fixed, just including it in why I also don't want to PAY at this current time because none of it has been fixed.
20. Greatly disappointed with the airship system. I figured we'd at least fly over the world and be able to see stuff below us. Currently its just a warp, I probably would have been more satisfied if they just called it a warp.
21. Poor social networking options. No "looking for dungeon" option, a terrible player search option, bad chat log management, etc.
22. No buyback feature.
23. Materia tiers in general are a bad idea. Furthermore, disenchanting a level 48 item only to be rewarded with a level 2 mind, is just insane.
24. The main focus of the game is grinding, when it should be focusing on a grand and epic story. Currently cutscenes are too short and the story is convoluted and broken up too much.
25. No "optional" or "side villages" with meaningful content. You have the three main cities, and then the outposts which do nothing, and then places like Aleport and Hyrstmill which are only utilized for holiday quests. There should be more than THREE CITIES in the entire game. Take a hint from FF6, FF7, FF8 with cities that didn't mean much, but added SO MUCH to the game.
26. No summoner, only two mage classes, and no pet classes. I really hate melee, so this was a huge disappointment to me being restricted to only two mage classes.
27. Stats are still largely broken or completely unknown as to what they "really" do. Stats need to have an impact, even with just 1 increase to a stat. Furthermore, the more impactful stats are, the better you are in the future to avoid putting obscene values like +2700 spell power on items like World of Warcraft.
28. Lack of character customization options during character creation. I see copy cat players everywhere, and that is really sad.
29. Rewards and incentive for completing the current quests are pretty much garbage and need to be completely redone.
30. The lack of inclusion of a FF card game (Tetra Master/Triple Triad) in the game was so disappointing to me. I think a card game would add a tremendous amount of optional content if implemented appropriately. Crafters could make blank cards that could be used to capture monsters/primals essences. Some monsters could randomly drop their own card. Hell, you could even go so far as to make an optional profession of card capturing. An appropriate card game implemented into the XIV game itself (WITHOUT ANY PAYMENT OPTIONS BEING ADDED TO IT), would make a lot of people happy.

[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?] (optional)
I'd argue that everything on my "disappointment" list needs to be fixed for me to come back, but there are some that need to be fixed immediately and for 2.0.

1. Animation lock, server issues, better client: these all roll into the same category and SE knows it needs to be fixed. Just mentioning it here.
2. More mage classes/jobs. At least two more mage classes, one ranged, and one to two pet jobs should be added before another melee class is even considered. Suggestions (Class/Job): Arcanist/Geomancer -- Mystic/Time Mage -- Sage/Summoner -- Flayer/Beast Master -- Musketeer/Gambler
3. The grind needs to be removed. I don't care how SE does it, but it needs to feel like I am progressing throughout, and not just mindlessly grinding to get that extra level. This can be achieved through MEANINGFUL quests and activities.
4. I think there needs to be a significant increase to all EXP from optional quests.
5. Mages still require a lot of fixing in several areas. Mage itemization on nearly everything needs to be examined appropriately; especially primal weapons. MP should regenerate regardless if you're standing still or not (what an archaic mechanic, get rid of this immediately). Spell animations need to be improved upon greatly, both casting animations and the spells themselves. Furthermore the type of spell being cast should be able to be distinguished by other players from where it is coming from (Ie; magic projectiles rather than appearing instantly on the target) and the casting animation should be unique to the property of the magic. Ie: enhancing, enfeeble, healing, damage, all should have a unique casting look.
6. Social options need to be fixed; linkshell management and chat log options.
7. UI needs to be PC friendly for PC users, and console friendly for console users. This means PS3 and PC clients need to be developed separately. Better right click functionality, better camera viewing / look options via mouse control (Just copy World of Warcraft's camera.. seriously it is perfect), drag and drop functionality. Multiple actions bars shown on the screen at one time. Macros executing instantly rather than a convoluted 30 seconds. Allow us to fully keybind everything. My ventrilo push to talk is middle mouse, and everytime I use it I auto run because you won't let me bind or rebind mouse keys!!
8. Redo your naming of NPCs, so they aren't so... {face smash against keyboard, IE: Wsr'efh..........}
9. Get rid of the character fee. This is stupid and archaic.
10. Click and Buy needs to go. I won't register at any point if Click and Buy still remains as the only source of payment.
11. Rework stats, and get them right this time. I want to feel the importance and impact of one single statistic. A tiered stat system like the current enfeeble/enhancing magic works (5 to 1) is just garbage.
12. A test server. You need a test server so things don't go live (like the power leveling abuse) without proper testing. I get that you have a QA team, I get that you want to keep things secret... you still can... but understand that with a test server you not only get the QA team's testing, but you also get hundreds and thousands of comments and constructive feedback from people who play the game from all different types of playstyles.

[Last comment]
This post may seem like a huge debbie downer, but I truly wish for XIV 2.0 to succeed. I don't feel XIV is worth paying for right now, because not enough has been done to improve the game to warrant a subscription.

Ultimately I think SE and XIV need to make a strategic goal. Do they want XIV to be "just like every other successful MMO (WoW/Rift/ToR/etc) or do they want it to be a unique creation. How do they achieve becoming unique? The answer is actually pretty simple: a compelling story. Current MMOs are turning into end game fests of "kill x dungeon for x loot" to progress your character. The new patch/dungeon comes around, and the process repeats itself. This method of gaming was fun for a while, but for people who have been continually in the MMO scene, its actually getting really stale. The FF series has always been known for great stories and character development, but XIV really doesn't have any of that. The story (or remaining arc until 2.0) has been really lack luster and too convoluted to attract any emotional attachment. XIV needs to make a strong story that is continually updated on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Not only does this remove the necessity to continually develop dungeons (and reward for that matter), but it gives players something to consistently look forward to -- rather than an insane and lengthy development time for new dungeons/new bosses/new loot.

In closing; I think many of the things on the 2.0 PDFs look stunning and wonderful. XIV has much promise, and I really do hope it succeeds in the long run. Unfortunately, I hope SE, Yoshi, and the XIV development team realizes that they need to start sending out player polls to people both playing and not playing in order to gauge further opinions and work done on the game. XIV needs to attract the people that left, not the people who are staying. And now that billing has been implemented, there are even more people who are leaving due to principle alone. Not because they can't afford it... the game just isn't fun. So for all the good work that has been done on XIV's future concepts, I just hope they continue gauging opinions from people outside the game in some way... since our voices will be squelched by the restricted forum access.

Tibian... pretty much hit the nail on the head right there. [+]

Tibian listed many of the problems with the game, and still some that we just cant have fixed until 2.0...basic things like a damn mail system, more trade slots, Voiced CS's that pretty much lasted all of 1 or 2 CSs...a big promise that made me wet my pants for this game before it came out, more then 8 person group content, pets...ect.

the list is just incredible. Things lots of us are used to from their past game, that they got correct day one on a nearly 10 year old MMO, just arent here or done even worse. How people are excited to pay and support this until 2.0 is baffling, enjoying the game or not, dont give your money to something that should be in working order NOW, not a promise for it later. Im not getting burned again on promises, already did that the first time.

Im not an investor in the game, im a damn customer.

Very constructive post, Tibian. So far the best i've seen during the whole year of playing FFXIV

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tibian

[B][U] (Ie; magic projectiles rather than appearing instantly on the target) and the casting animation should be unique to the property of the magic. Ie: enh

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YES. It bugs me that no one else seems to comment on this, it just seems so half-assed the way there's no actual contact between the caster and recipient. The worst thing is it's so obvious for just about every ability in the game, it never feels like you're actually making contact with just about anything.

Also, the new casting spell effects aren't good enough to be the final versions, the ones in the 2.0 screenshot look better so I'm hoping there's more to be fun.

Not to single this out, the whole post was great and I agree with it all, it's good to be critical for feedback.

[Reason why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]
I'm not stop or quit , but if i do then maybe of these following terms

1.I don't know if other feel like me or not but lately
I thinking about the lack of Rare/Ex gears (include seasonal event gears) unique stat.
If future Rare/Ex gears are going to be like currently that has no interested stat at all ,
It's no meaning to keep or collecting it. You'll discard it after get the achievements.
As you guys already knows Sipahi , Mercenary , Warlock and Darkhold gears (some parts)
can't match up the craft gear with affixed with materias , and that even make it less interested.
Even Moogle's weapons now are not as interested as Ifrit's ( for most DoW ).
So please SE use your imagine create some more interesting gears that worth to keep , worth to collected.

2.Botters. I think i can't say much about this one since it will effected so many people,
Event it's against the Term of Service , they're still at large and SE didn't even make a move.

3.If you can't do as you're promised. We see , We hope and We believe when you released your patch note.
Everytime you released the patch note , I think every player who's read getting excited and starting discussion.
Then don't let their hope down. ( mostly about some bugs )
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[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]
I think i don't know what it is now , I can't state it in a words.

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[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]
Already said in the first question.

[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?] (optional)
Already said in the first question.

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[Last comment]
Little suggestion. IMO, I think players can toggle on/off Chocobo's theme would be nice.

I don't wish to derail this thread into a discussion, but I did wish to respond to a couple things and add one or two points I wish I had included in my original feedback.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OJtheLIONKing

I paid up for now as a show of support, but considering upcoming things in my life (fingers crossed, I might get a job in Japan soon, but I'll need money to move) I may have to cancel. This is something I'd endeavor to avoid if I was fully enjoying the game, but right now there are some issues.

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OJtheLIONKing, your post really reflected my dissatisfaction with how undisguised grinding has taken over this game, as well as the need to re-evaluate how well they're supporting solo/duo content in the lower levels. I was glad to see someone else shared my views in this regard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tibian

There are a plethora of reasons why I am not supporting the subscription fee. A few primary ones should be highlighted though for SE to understand.

{SNIP}

Unfortunately, I hope SE, Yoshi, and the XIV development team realizes that they need to start sending out player polls to people both playing and not playing in order to gauge further opinions and work done on the game. XIV needs to attract the people that left, not the people who are staying. And now that billing has been implemented, there are even more people who are leaving due to principle alone. Not because they can't afford it... the game just isn't fun. So for all the good work that has been done on XIV's future concepts, I just hope they continue gauging opinions from people outside the game in some way... since our voices will be squelched by the restricted forum access.

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Tibian, you are my hero. This is quite possibly the most epic post ever to grace these forums. There were multiple times where I was nodding my head in agreement.

Your closing remarks also really hit home with me. While SE definitely needs to keep its diehard fans happy, they need to be even more concerned about why an overwhelming majority of players were unhappy with the game. And now, after subscriptions have begun, I'm afraid those opinions will be even harder to reach. If SE wants to poll responses from their now current subscribers separately, that's fine, but they would be remiss if they did not still find a way to collect feedback from those who can no longer post on the forums, as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kiara

Hi Rowyne,

Great post and well-stated reasons why you're leaving. You've provided valuable feedback to the Dev Team time and again and you'll be missed.

I definitely agree with your biggest requests about needing more Story-based Content. In a way, it's really tough for Yoshida-san and company right now...

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Thanks for the kind words, Kiara. :)

I do understand that Yoshi-P does have a vision for the future, and wants to make changes to how the story is presented in this game, as well as giving us more of it. I'm hoping that means tightening up the main storyline so it's not so disjointed, voice acting in cutscenes to give us the well-crafted Final Fantasy style quests that raise these games to the top of the genre. Additionally, I'd also like to see WoW style quests.

I understand why a lot of the restructuring can't happen until 2.0. But that also means I don't have much of a reason to play until then when other MMOs can satisfy my need for quest and story driven leveling.

That said. I wish I had included this small positive point in my original post - that I'm definitely going to be keeping a close eye on development and that I am hopeful about what 2.0 will bring. The efforts of the current dev team are not lost on me. I will be giving 2.0 a try, and I do want to stay with the game, if it can give me what I'm looking for in an MMO.

See you then!

[Reason why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]
Theres very few things that I can say that haven't been said before. Players keep asking for specific things that just aren't given to us i.e. an Auction House, bare bones content, big wide empty maps. I mean for a world that is absolutely open and gorgeous its empty. Aside from crafting and grinding (crafting itself is grinding) theres not alot to do. Sure there are a few side quests and the main quest is something to follow. But without a linkshell or anyone to socialize with your pretty much on your own to find anything to do. When you compare this to a game like WoW when your put in a starting area there's a quest giver immediately in front of you and you pretty much instinctively know "Hey that guy will give me stuff to do". There's so much this game does wrong that older MMO's don't have that problem. I mean it seems that they are just too stubborn to do things their way that they forget we aren't actually enjoying this game. The menu navigation is just aweful... I mean I have to go trough 3 selection screens before I can check my journal to see where I am in a quest. The quest (npc given quests not leves) themselves are hard to follow, the map offers no arrows or indication of how to get from one point to another. EX: In the "Cut throat prices" quest the NPC tells me that I should take an airship to another nation and talk to a different NPC there. Ok simple enough... only I don't know where the airship station is. And I don't know where the Ruby Way is in Ul'Dah. It took an hour and some change before I carefully check both map and journal and find that the ruby way is a merchant strip in Ul'dah and the lift to the airship station is at one of the corners. Well that was a pain but whatever Imma ride an Airship! So I get on the airship and I have to find the sea ship that the other NPC is so I can turn in the quest but... I have noooo Idea where the ship is and I've never been in LL so i had to actually look online for a quest guide to figure out where to go. Note to developers: When a player has to go to an outside source to figure a quest out... you need to rethink that quest. SO anyway I get to the NPC and turn in the quest... then the NPC starts talking first off he has like NO vowels in his name so and he is scripted to talk like a pirate. Pirate talk is easier to listen to then read so every 'L' in a word is replaced with an apostrophe -->' (one of those) and he uses weird metaphors and phrases so I'm spending 5 minutes on each paragraph just figuring out WTF he's saying. No joke. And another thing, as smooth as everything looks in the game... NOTHING IS SMOOTH. Like why do I have to teleport to the airship docking area... why cant I just talk to an NPC to board? It seems kind of redundant that I have to teleport to an area that pretty much transports me to another area... I mean WTF. And who thought is was a good idea to have the leve quest system? Repeating the same slaying/gathering quest over and over to level is tedious!


[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]
Its hard to say... When you have other people to interact with and do leves with it becomes fun. but eventually the fun factor wheres off and you remember that your actually grinding.


[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]
I bought the collectors edition of FFXIV so I got the making of DVD, the nice key chain authenticator and the cool journal to hand record my characters chronicle. I played this game a week before everyone else did only to find out that I am not enjoying anything I'm putting into this game.

[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?] (optional)
Auction house. a better UI and simple menu system. improved game fluidity. no more crafting minigame thing... it gets boring after the first dozen times.

[Last comment]
Srsly Square its a little insulting that your making us pay for what is technically a beta and for a product that is infirior to what Square is generally known for. This product has problems that other and much older MMO's have figured out and it seems that as advanced the presentation quality is of FF XIV it is actually behind the times in terms of it's gameplay. The fact that my character can be any class I want is starting to be your only gimmick. Please do a little market research and have some of your staff play other MMO's just to get an idea of what approaches to take to remedy the short comings of FFXIV. I'm not saying straight out copy other MMO's but dammit it doesn't look like your staff can find the right solutions on their own.

I vote this thread best among all threads - thanks Reinheart ! I have not stopped yet my gaming, but danger is big. This game is not bad, it is almost good. There are still many skillful gamers who already have wounded knees and own space ships with companions as well as looong FF history behind - still reading these postings. Listen them even there's the language wall. I would keep this forum open to previous customers also, with small flag non-paid customer or vice versa. That way they would come back.
[Reason why I'm stopping/quitting FFXIV maybe]
There are much better games now available and even more coming before summer. And this seems to be forever beeta changing all time.
[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]
I'm open to new ideas. *I liked the idea of shopping centers even it would need some changes. There you can have 3d "window shopping" ie. see clothes and weapons and compare what to buy. *I valuated the solo-playing possibilities, but TOR is even much more better in this. *It is hard thing to get different cultures like east and west play together on same servers and even in same ls. This was good try anyway. Translation is difficult. But it gives so much. *I liked the 3 stories, it was good beginning. Future needs more and more short video clips with alternatives. *Sounds and music was best, except that textual speech is old-fashioned. Sea-shore feeling, wind sounds, nature very nice. *Characters best in the world. *Free class changing was nice.
[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]
*Animal personal behaviour was taken away. It was cute. *Fighting is far from natural ie slow. Magic is better in that because it's slow. *Too hard to get chocobo for solo players, it is important tool. *More content for soloers and couples, like player with computer aided group in dungeons and ifrits... Try TOR dear designers. *Fishing so that u cannot see fish. *Grinding would need some random shocks, video, bonus weapons etc. Now boring. *Bugs are not corrected. Crashes or keyboard connection lost when server stressed or even not stressed, and also your keyboard is not listened so often as earlier, that is you must press button many times before you can hit enemy once. *Difficulty is changed all time.You feel like beta tester even you sd be a player...*Maybe system that you don't see your black list persons and vice versa in game so you need not change server or own personality all time...The list would be long.
[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?]
FF need not be the best because it is FF with it's feeling and music. But it must have some contents more. In all phases you must have the feeling that there is something interesting to come. And fair play. With help of friends you now go in few days to 50. Not good. In 2.0 everybody sd start from beginning and it sd be totally new game. Not beta. I really hope that 2.0 will be success.

My Response:

[Reasons why you're stopping/quitting FFXIV]:

When I began playing FFXIV, it was directly at the heels of the end of my FFXI career. I guess I expected this game to carry over much of what really appealed to me in that game. I respect the fact that this is supposed to be something different, but it's just the major differences that contrast a bit too much for me. Although my first 2 months ingame were plagued with many random disconnects, a highly unresponsive UI, seemingly random skill point gain, a repressive transport system, among many others - I stayed optimistic that these problems would be addressed. For the most part, they have.

However, the direction this game has been going since 1.18 had started to make me question whether this would ultimately turn out to be a game I would enjoy. The fact that Powerleveling has gone almost unchecked when leveling up was (is?) the majority of the experience that existed makes me seriously question the motives of the dev team. As well, when you fairly reach the end of efficient PL, (~Lv40), you move straight into Natalan where the last ten levels can be completed in just hours. The only logic I can derive from it is that SE intends to race everyone to Lv50 as fast as they can because the only content that will be released from now until 2.0 will be NM fights and instanced battles like Ifrit.

Before the implementation of the linking system and the explosion and abuse of powerleveling, I was fairly happy with the game. I could have gone on and dealt with the general lack of content. But it seemed more and more that with every passing patch FFXIV was and is turning into something just a bit too mindless for me.

[Parts you enjoyed about FFXIV]

I really enjoyed the graphics, although I couldn't enjoy their full splendor with them set to low. I met my wife ingame shortly after launch. :)

[Parts you were disappointed with FFXIV]

Very little content. What content there was, it was hardly challenging and that isn't going to change soon. The game is too easy. Battles are uninspiring and are lacking the cohesive effect that truly engaging fights bring about for what I believe is due to a lack of job depth. Every patch seemed to negate any and all equipment gained in the previous patch. That's fine, but not every 3 months - it barely has time to get dirty! Stats still seem to be broken, as players have demonstrated that a boss such as Ifrit can be killed without wearing any defensive equipment. While some might, I still don't see the need for a repair system and have loathed it from the beginning. While the market wards system works in most regards, it is still restrictive to those wishing to sell HQ items for an adequate price. Farming mobs as an income has been further restricted by the new recipe system, the fact that NPCs now sell many crafting materials (Aldgoat Skin, Toad Skin, Sheepskin, etc.), and because much of the best gear is U/U.

[What kind of changes do you want to see for you to come back and play?]

I'll come back at 2.0 and see how much of the above has changed for me for the better. If it's not challenging, it's not fun, and I will leave again just as I am now.