Why do you still play FFXIV?

I'd 100% be unsubbed and not playing right now if I wasn't helping some late-to-the-party friends get geared in time for the new Ultimate. Currently shelling out $15/mo to raidlog twice a week and it feels bad.

The game is fine when there's new content, but with the increasingly long gaps between patches and extremely limited amount of worthwhile content within them, I just can't really justify staying subscribed between patches anymore. Island Sanctuary and Variant Dungeons fell completely flat in all of the communities I participate in (most of which are casual believe it or not), and I basically don't see anyone engaging with either system any more. Heck, I see more people doing Eureka right now two expansions later than I do using any of the new 'content'.

Island Sanctuary honestly encapsulates a lot of what is going wrong with the game right now. I remember Yoshida periodically talking about what would eventually go on to become Island Sanctuary (I could have sworn he mentioned "farm" content as far back as Heavensward!), and it seemed like a kind of pet-project of his that he was genuinely passionate about eventually having included in the game. Island Sanctuary is finally implemented during a time where Yoshida is taking more of a back seat due to being busy with other projects, and the man admits he hasn't even gotten a chance to personally play it. I remember when he used to seem really passionate about performing his personal quality checks of all the content in new patches but it seems like that era is over. :(

• Very enjoyable MSQ & easter eggs. When I run dry of contents that I want to do, NG+ is always an available option. It’s fun when I’ve noticed in every single playthrough I always managed to miss -something-!
• I got friend groups to play with. They doubled the fun.
• No elements of FOMO. Quite possibly the worst element that I’ve ever experienced in any other MMOs.
• I simp real hard for my WoL lol. No shortage of gpose moments.

Cause I’m still waiting for the Garlean armour and gunblade to release.

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Originally Posted by LittleImp

Island Sanctuary is finally implemented during a time where Yoshida is taking more of a back seat due to being busy with other projects

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The other things you mentioned might have a point, but someone else is overseeing the day-to-day of FFXVI. He just oversees the logistics and employment if anything and is the person that the director reports to and gives updates to. Developers from FFXIV have been moving over to FFXVI since the end of Heavensward from what I remember reading. So a lot of content since then has already been made by people who replaced them. He said the only person who is being stretched between both games is Soken.

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the man admits he hasn't even gotten a chance to personally play it. I remember when he used to seem really passionate about performing his personal quality checks of all the content in new patches but it seems like that era is over. :(

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Personally doing the content on his personal character and doing a quality check are separate things. He also live streamed himself doing Island Sanctuary and he knew how it worked inside out. He still does quality checks of all the game's content on a business character before it's released. That doesn't mean he has done it casually on his personal character.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

Not being facetious, Im genuinely curious to hear why people still play FFXIV despite the myriad of problems.

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Because same reason as #1, my friends are playing the game, FF14 is honestly not as bad as it sounds (it just sounds that it is because people only talk about the flaws in the forums). And also because it's fun?? Like :I I wouldn't be playing a game that wasn't fun. Nor would I quit every single game that had flaws.

I can enjoy a flawed game, and FF14 isn't even the worst one. I enjoyed Dirge of Cerberus and Type-0 of all things.

But just bc a game is good doesn't mean I have to pretend I'm blind to its flaws. Just as much as how it having flaws it doesn't mean it sucks and I should stop playing altogether.

It really isn't rocket science. Game has flaws, people point out that the game has flaws in the hopes that the people making the game can improve on said flaws. Not to quit like a loser over every single thing.

This is going to sound corny af but aside from liking the story and characters, I got to know and/or befriend lots of people that play the game, and even when I don't play with them, there's some sort of....warmth? knowing that we're all somewhere in Eorzea, as opposed to the-mmo-that-shall-not-be-named where I've felt lonely, if not straight up unwelcomed for a long while.

I still find the world interesting and the gameplay entertaining for what it is, though my confidence in the game's story/writing has been a bit shaken after Endwalker and the current MSQ isn't doing much to alleviate that.

I do think a lot of it also has to do with feeling personally invested in my character as others have mentioned, too, but at this point I'm feeling pretty ready for 7.x already.

Hilda's hairstyle! No joking aside I have played for over 12 years so I stay. I have spent way too much money to stop and all the memories I have made those can't be bought ^O^

The story was, and still is, the main thing for me personally, especially being able to experience it using my character(s) (in lieu of keeping up with it via streams or what have you)! The music is top notch, I've ended up actually enjoying the gameplay (which I didn't think I would) and dress-up with my characters is quite fun... if frustrating, at times. Damn you, Glamour restrictions!

I saw the thread this morning, and started thinking why I play. The one thing compelling me hard to play nowadays is levelling all the Jobs and enjoying their gameplay, but I feel like I don't love it so much that I'll take them to Savage. Then... I started to complete my level 80 short-story Job quests for all the Tanks, and I realized. It can be at times a very wholesome game. Every character has something to say, some sort of story to them. It feels like the exact sort of escapism I've been craving lately, with the stresses of IRL.

Not to mention, I've loved all iterations of my WoL. I wouldn't go so far as to say s/he's my self-insert, but I see him/her as an entity I cherish. It's just a game, I know, but there's visible effort to try to grow our attachment to our character. I for one have fallen for it.

I love the characters, the music, the story... it is the world i enjoy to be part of. When I want social interaction then i do something with other people. Sometimes i just wander alone. It is relaxing and calming place.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

Not being facetious, Im genuinely curious to hear why people still play FFXIV despite the myriad of problems.

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On this specific statement, the big thing is that every game has some degree of flaws and I think it would be near impossible to find one that does everything you want it to do in the way you want it to be done.

You can't choose to play a game purely based on a lack of flaws, but have to base it on what you do enjoy about the game and whether its inevitable flaws cut into your enjoyment of the good parts.

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Originally Posted by RobynDaBank

Not to mention, I've loved all iterations of my WoL. I wouldn't go so far as to say s/he's my self-insert, but I see him/her as an entity I cherish. It's just a game, I know, but there's visible effort to try to grow our attachment to our character. I for one have fallen for it.

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I like any option that gives me the ability to be a snarky jerk.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

Not being facetious, Im genuinely curious to hear why people still play FFXIV despite the myriad of problems.

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Because I don't see a "myriad of problems." I see a game I have a ton of fun playing, with gameplay I really enjoy, an amazing story, amazing music, and - quite frankly - nothing that I personally view as any meaningful "problem." The game rocks. Plain and simple.

Well, I'm having fun. Crafting, hunting, roleplaying, raiding, leveling, doing my own little project.

Bought new house this week, and thinking of what to do with it. Got some ideas, which are bit on time consuming side but that's just perfect.

+ I'm very hyped about the upcoming Starlight event mount, been wanting to ride reindeer since I saw the enemy model in EW preview pix.

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Originally Posted by Renalt

I like any option that gives me the ability to be a snarky jerk.

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Ever since ShB(?) the WoL can be either of the 3: honorable, sassy, and lovable idiot. Even when the responses are largely redundant gameplay wise, I love how much they can affect immersion.

You years I would say what else is there to play, but more recently I've been playing my PS5 games I get with PlayStation plus extra.
But my hubby wouldn't let me quit.

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Originally Posted by RobynDaBank

Not to mention, I've loved all iterations of my WoL. I wouldn't go so far as to say s/he's my self-insert, but I see him/her as an entity I cherish. It's just a game, I know, but there's visible effort to try to grow our attachment to our character. I for one have fallen for it.

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Similarly, while I will not say my main is the "me" in the game, but after 10 years of playing it gets to a point where she has a unique "unchangeable" identity. That's why I roll several alts when I want to do character change instead of fantasia. 'Cause I can not bear making any change to my main or I'm afraid she would stop being the WoL I have always know. I'm not saying it's the only that manage to do it, but it's still a rare thing for the story to give your character a truly unique identity in the world. The only other MMO I can think of that managed the samething would be SW:TOR.

Because I dun goofed and spent 10mil on I think 20 general purpose jet black dye so I have to whore myself to regain it to hire a decorator who can do a goth pastel cafe.

https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qi...d1db7792a79-lq

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Originally Posted by Raven2014

Similarly, while I will not say my main is the "me" in the game, but after 10 years of playing it gets to a point where she has a unique "unchangeable" identity. That's why I roll several alts when I want to do character change instead of fantasia. 'Cause I can not bear making any change to my main or I'm afraid she would stop being the WoL I have always know.

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That's how I feel about my characters, though I don't know if that's down to the game or just my natural mindset from being involved in creating them. I haven't played many other "create your own character" games to compare. (Pokémon, I guess? Can't get a character created there without spending at least half an hour with a naming dictionary. They're rather more interchangable from game to game, though, and the single save file per cartridge stifled any chance at creating multiple character designs.)

I really love having the widely different options for character designs here, and they do feel like individual characters. I like having the springboard of lore for the various races to get ideas for character concepts.

I think I've always been wired to playing with different character designs though. Winding waaaaay back to being five years old playing DOS games, if there was a choice of character models I think I tended to play through with each one.

Not much was keeping me after a bit of a fallout with some former friends, was pretty much ready to drop the game until a couple of IRL friends showed interest so I'm back again.
To be honest, watching them & doing things with them as they progress made me more happy than I was before.

I don't play it as much as most.

I played the beta of ARR as my Roe female and enjoyed it.

I just completed the mission were you are on what looks like a castle bridge fighting some dragon hordes......Yeah, not a hardcore XIV player by any means considering I played for about....9-ish years now.

I actually ask myself the polar opposite.....

Why don't I play more?

...Oh...right....I can't level the job I like unless I complete the story to open up more leveling areas for the job I like......

Then my Gamepass or Steam library are staring at me, so I play something else instead even while still subbed to XIV.....LOL.....

Mostly play XIV during XI burnout, or waiting for a huge XI campaign which is coming up btw. I also join XIV during campaigns.

I don't think XIV is as flawed as most may think.......I do feel the devs are a bit out of touch with what the players want. It is almost as if they are living out their FF dream, while neglecting what the players actually care about......

I got a house and I like to raid Ultimates. I want to go back into TEA though for some reclears.

There a lack on competition on the MMO markets. The genre basicly dead, since MMO don't give lots of money, less dev want to put effort on the genre, while they could just make another Battle royal or something for quick bucks

Turn out I like playing MMO and FFXIV the only serious one that up rn.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

Not being facetious, Im genuinely curious to hear why people still play FFXIV despite the myriad of problems.

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I like to see 7'3 dommy mommies.

I play it because it's fun.

That's it. It's really not more complicated than that.

I still play FFXIV because it pleases me to do so.

I can take a break to binge watch a 50 episode Chinese Drama and come back to pretty much where I left off without feeling lost or left behind.

Story dungeons are not optional, unlike WoW, Rift, GW2, SW:TOR, etc.

It is fun to watch people hang out, run around with minions, and create new glamour combinations.

The story line is engaging for an MMORPG, where story line is frequently an afterthought.

I'm currently on a forced financial break to line up my sub to a more convenient date, and I find myself not really missing the game. I was losing interest just before the break anyway and had already taken a three month break. I finally finished the MSQ (apart from patch but I just can't be bothered), levelled up all my jobs to at least 50 and hands and lands to 80, so everything is at least more engaging and I have some versatility. Dark Knight is my favourite job, and I love the class fantasy. It's just a shame that the Darkness abilities aren't particularly interesting and TBN can't be broken in the overworld because everything does so little damage.

I also played to finish the MSQ, which has been my absolute bane, and catch up with friends, but now I don't really play with my FC very much. There's just too many people on the periphery for me to feel invested within the group again, which is why I quit last time. The social aspects are the one thing that keep me coming back, and while I enjoy shooting the shit in the Discord, I just don't think there's a place for me in game.

So to answer the question, why did I still play FFXIV? My FC, and setting certain goals for myself. I want to do Eureka and Bozja but the barrier for entry is locked behind the StB raids. I'd like to do them, but I don't really feel as if it's worth the money to play it at the moment. I'm displeased and disgusted by the story (I despise time travel and expected better from them), and honestly I just really hate seeing everyone look exactly the same in the jackets they paid £20 for. I thought I was going to stick around after a three month break, and I wanted to, but I'm just feeling like this isn't the game for me. I just can't place it. I think it's the streetwear and casual glams that are everywhere that feel like a visual representation of me not being their audience. I'm a Highlander in a full suit of wild armour, joined in duties by Miqo'tes in the bloody cropped jacket dyed pastel pink. It makes me feel extremely out of place.

I don't know when my forum access is going to be revoked, it's been a couple of weeks now, but oh well. I do enjoy reading the forum.

To hang out with friends and do a little RP here and there. No real reason otherwise. Gameplay has become pretty stale and unfun for me so I haven't been doing too much of "playing" the game. Thankfully WoW is doing some good things and making me have a lot of fun gameplay wise and I can use FFXIV for some social interaction with friends which I guess works out for me in the end.

Probably going to pick up FFXI again in the near future again for a different kind of gameplay fun.

I still play because I get at most 2-3 hour at most to play the game a day so I am slowly chewing on older content and delving deep into gathering and crafting since I have a switch with CFW so I treat it like a glorified tablet at this point. It's real cozy to gather and craft while laying down in bed before going to sleep. I have to wear headphones when if I stay up too late since I don't want to wake anyone up though. :/

Because I'm not done with it and probably never will be. I work 10 hour shifts and have to take care of a sick roomate, so I don't have time to do everything everyone else gets to do. It may sound like a copout, but it is what it is. Maybe in 5 or 10 years I will be able to join the chorus on how there is nothing to do.

No other MMORPG comes close.

-FFXIV has fun content that can be soloed or done in group, which gives me the chance to play with friends sometimes and have a very nice time.

-Very good graphics and very good looking characters. This is important to me. I've never played games like WoW for a reason.

-Tons of fashion options that can be combined in creative ways (which is a lot of fun to me), and obtained without spending an insane amount of money or time. Even games where you have to spend a lot of money in outfits (BDO) still don't have this huge variety that FFXIV does. They barely have anything.

-Lots of creative features like gpose, which are an endless source of entertainment for someone like me. I love creating scenes and seeing my characters alive. It might seem silly, but this gives me a purpose for having, caring, and leveling my characters.

-Characters seem to have a soul because they can actually interact with other characters and the surroundings. Just being able to turn your gaze to other characters is a world to me, instead of staring into nothingness without so much as a single small interaction. Being able to sit on places is also a must for me.

-The story is actually interesting and worth watching, unlike other MMORPGs where I just end up skipping it because I'm bored to tears.

-I can play with the original Japanese voices without having to use risky mods, unlike my previous game where I was banned for illegally replacing the terrible dub. This is the first game that lets me choose JP voices legally and without stupid trouble, so it's a dream come true *laughs*.

So the question would rather be, why wouldn't I still play FFXIV? No other place feels like home or half as fun. This is a world I can live in, and I appreciate that.

I don't play as much as I used to, but some reasons I still play couple of hours a week are:

1. Sunk cost fallacy and there's no other mmo that I'm interested in.

2. I'm still very much attached to my WoL, and despite my problem with how the scions act in EW, I still like their interactions with us. I do want new characters, but I also don't want them to bench the scions completely in the next expansions.

3. Still holding on to hope that they will finally give us proper ilsabard and garlean expansion

4. Not necessarily strong reason, but I'm waiting for mystic knight and chemist/combat medic job

I have many reasons, and while I don't play every day once we hit the 'droughts,' I still log in quite a bit, because I do love the game

1. Aymeric
2. My FC
3. My house - I can spend many, many hours having fun redecorating
4. My gang of thieves... ahem, my retainers would miss me sending them to fetch things
5. The story keeps me engaged, wanting to see the next part
6. Glamour, I'm always getting ideas for a new look
7. Aymeric :P
8. I can always find something to do. If I am in the mood to be antisocial, I can find lots of solo things to do, if I'm int he mood for people, I can find plenty to do with other people

When I don't have anything else I want to do, I New Game+ through Heavensward again

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Originally Posted by Clover_Blake

No other MMORPG comes close.

-FFXIV has fun content that can be soloed or done in group, which gives me the chance to play with friends sometimes and have a very nice time.

-Very good graphics and very good looking characters. This is important to me. I've never played games like WoW for a reason.

-Tons of fashion options that can be combined in creative ways (which is a lot of fun to me), and obtained without spending an insane amount of money or time. Even games where you have to spend a lot of money in outfits (BDO) still don't have this huge variety that FFXIV does. They barely have anything.

-Lots of creative features like gpose, which are an endless source of entertainment for someone like me. I love creating scenes and seeing my characters alive. It might seem silly, but this gives me a purpose for having, caring, and leveling my characters.

-Characters seem to have a soul because they can actually interact with other characters and the surroundings. Just being able to turn your gaze to other characters is a world to me, instead of staring into nothingness without so much as a single small interaction. Being able to sit on places is also a must for me.

-The story is actually interesting and worth watching, unlike other MMORPGs where I just end up skipping it because I'm bored to tears.

-I can play with the original Japanese voices without having to use risky mods, unlike my previous game where I was banned for illegally replacing the terrible dub. This is the first game that lets me choose JP voices legally and without stupid trouble, so it's a dream come true *laughs*.

So the question would rather be, why wouldn't I still play FFXIV? No other place feels like home or half as fun. This is a world I can live in, and I appreciate that.

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So much this!

Don't need to add anything to your wonderful post, though I will say that - for the reasons you stated - this game makes me care about my character in a way that no game I played previously ever could.

Roleplaying

There's no content drought when you roleplay.
There's no end of the story when you roleplay.
There is no boredeom when you roleplay.

There are some real weirdos tho.

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Originally Posted by Carin-Eri

So much this!

Don't need to add anything to your wonderful post, though I will say that - for the reasons you stated - this game makes me care about my character in a way that no game I played previously ever could.

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Oh! So we feel the same! That made me very happy ( * - * )
I know what you mean about caring about your characters. After FFXIV, I feel I can't care about my characters in other MMORPGs half as much. They just give me no motivation because they feel like soulless pixels -sweatdrops-.

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Originally Posted by PeaTearGriffin

The Lalafells sent another meteor our way, but this time we're ready. Defenses against the Lalafells are better than ever. To ensure the safety of our city, the Lalafell menace must be eliminated!

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Our good friends The Lopporitz joined our side in the war & reprogrammed Omega to fight for us, plus Sir finally came online & gave the Omnicrons a new mission, destroy all bigs, fight alongside the Lala.

I'll personally see to it that pipin executes u in court of Ul'dian law.

Same reason I still talk to my drug addicted brother. To see him improve and tell him he needs to improve by not drinking so much, talk about his feelings and maybe consider healers are inorganic to 90% of the content.

If this were a non MMO game then it’s set in stone but it’s ever changing

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Originally Posted by Clover_Blake

Oh! So we feel the same! That made me very happy ( * - * )
I know what you mean about caring about your characters. After FFXIV, I feel I can't care about my characters in other MMORPGs half as much. They just give me no motivation because they feel like soulless pixels -sweatdrops-.

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Absolutely! Agreed with everything you said, but your comments pertaining to our characters having a 'soul' really resonates with me for all the reasons you outlined. It's an interesting point actually - I doubt many of us connect with our characters immediately upon their creation and I guess we 'connect' with them during the journey the story takes us on, and that connection persists. I don't want to speak for anyone else and I know it may sound daft but, for me, this was why the emotional moments in the game were so heartbreaking - my character was hurting, therefore... so was I.