Suggestions based on what many players have been asking for on other websites
(please transfer this to the forum for game suggestions, can't find)
First off I want to say the auto-attack update is NOT what players meant when they would enjoy a complete "revamp to game mechanics". Look the combat is totally fine as it is, it's unique and it stands out. What it sounds like you all are doing is trying to make this game much more akin to it's predecessor FFXI, which I hold dear to my heart. I love that game and it is a wonderful game. A move towards making FFXIV more like FFXI is not completely a bad move, but only in some respects. FFXIV is a different game set in a different world, it is not a sequel. Every FF game has been given it's own treatment in regards to combat and flow, and the games current combat system was actually quite attractive if a bit slow. The only thing that I've read complaints about on the combat system is the flow seems to be tedious and uninteresting, but everyone quite enjoyed the stamina bars from what I had seen, I know I did. But alas what you all decide to do with the game is up to you in the end.
Anyways I digress from the point of suggestions on what I have seen players ask for, and here is a list.
.More expansive content including variety of zones, towns, quests, and dungeons (which some of this has been addressed in the patch notes). I completely agree that the lack of variety in zones is utterly dreadful considering the repetitiveness of the current areas, most likely due to the copy and paste format used. The world of Vana'diel in contrast with Eorzea is much larger and varied in scope, there was even variety in the areas with what you would see which added to the great sense of exploration which should always be present in an MMO. When I walk through the Black Shroud, La Noscea, or Thanadiel I just feel like I'm having frequent attacks of Deja Vu and my interest quickly fades to even explore, which is one of the greatest contributors to the games monotony. The game lacks color in the area of variety. Also the lacks of actual towns and just camps was an utterly terrible choice in game design, I'm not asking that you eliminate the camps but maybe add variety to them and make each more of a town setting that is unique to each area--this alone would add a great deal of interest to the game. Also making use of towns currently place in the game that seem purposeless, like the Golden and Silver Bazaars would also be a smart move. Although those changes may not seem so dire, they are. That for me was a game-breaking issue.
.Better zone design
To touch on a previous topic, I also suggest that you add varied landscape features to the zones that currently exist to reward exploration, maybe even add unique areas within zones that AREN'T copied and pasted. i think it is important to learn from the response to the current zone design and grow from it. From an artistic stand point the zones are gorgeous and awe inspiring but from the view of world creation and zone planning they are massive, boring, and repetitive, i implore that you all not make that mistake again. Take notes from the actual world around you, when have you ever seen a mountain top, canyon, or cliff ever repeated? The varying landscape is what makes it interesting!
.More substance to the world beyond fighting, crafting, and traveling
This is an issue that I've seen people complain about in different forms. "There are no quests", "There is no point except kill this and level", etc. I've really been wanting to address this issue, because it's ever so true. The world that has been created is a world that has no goal. So I got to 50...now what? There is no end game to really speak of, there are NMs like in FFXI, but that is about it. You have no raids, no special gear to acquire, no pvp, the world feels empty because the player feels they lack purpose. There is no way to ascend in the world. Now I am not asking you to mainstream your MMO and throw in PvP maps and gear grinding, because that is NOT the point of the game that currently exists. But yes the acquisition of new gear is at least something to push a player to level and work through end-game content. So having some sort of gear grind + another several goals at end game may not be so harmful. The thing that made FFXI so special was that if I didn't feel like fighting I could go look at chocobo racing (although I always wished I were the one involved in the racing), go play pankration, gamble, raise my chocobo, or go make my mog house just look awesome. It's almost as though the game designer decided that these were useless add-ons and added nothing to the game, but I will tell you they are what added the nuance to the game. The world felt full of options which is not something I feel FFXIV has at all.
.Chocobos
That is all, we need chocobos + chocobo raising.
More classes that can be unlocked through quests
This is a feature that is greatly missed from FFXI, the ability to unlock a class was very rewarding for me as a player and the grand variety of classes that were available in FFXI made the game seem unique.
More quests with storylines and unique rewards
I remember in FFXI I was constantly doing some sort of quest to unlock or acquire something--I loved it. I always felt busy and full of purpose, and that was what made the game so great.
Varied item appearances
The current armor sets lack variety and that too makes the game aesthetically boring, I love the armor design but the reward one feels when upgrading a piece of armor is completely lost when you realize that every piece looks the same minus a few added alterations. And yes, FFXI did have varied armor appearances.
Quicker pace to the storyline
The story seems disjointed and uninteresting because of an apparent lack of flow, so if the story could be condensed and lengthened to last the duration of the players leveling experience that would be an excellent move.
Varied mob appearances
The mobs also seem very copied and pasted, and the lack of mob variety makes for a lackluster gaming experience on top of all the other repetitiveness.
Quickened pace of promised features
Some of these including Ishgard and airships.
Beyond what the game was lacking from it's predecessor here are things I think the game could do with that were not in FFXI or other mmos. These are pure suggestions and not things as necessary towards a functioning game.
Okay this is wishful thinking, but a co-operative sport akin to Blitz would be nice. :P Not to say it would be blitz but something of equal entertainment.
A political system within Companies that will allow for elections. Along with the political systems possibly new zones that can be fought over in a quasi-PvP sort of format and allow for some sort of reward for holding certain zones or bases. Although PvP was never the focus in FF it would be nice to have some sort of option. It would create political tension and that alone always adds intrigue.
At the moment these are all the suggestions I can muster out of myself for the moment although I guarantee I have a myriad of them beyond this.
