I wouldn't mind FFXIV becoming a WoW clone in the casual/hardcore appeal if...

...The hardcore aspect was more like XI's view on hardcore. IMHO, XI's endgame was viewed much more difficult (see: timesink) than that of WoW's, however XI didn't have the appeal that WoW did for the general public. I wouldn't mind making the first 80% of the game casual friendly, but that last 20% should be painstakingly tough, and really provide a challenge to the hardcore players/XI enthusiasts (which there seems to be a decent amount of).

I do think making the game a lot of the game casual friendly (questing exp, content solo-able) is a fantastic idea to get new players who normally wouldn't play to join, however in that same aspect the game's content shouldn't be sped up to accommodate. Leveling shouldn't take a long as it did in XI (considering how vastly different they play) but it shouldn't be as hasty as it is now. If content can be done at a casual pace, than the progress should reflect that.

I fear that in an attempt to get people to enjoy the game in the short-run (have a good launch, high number of subs), the game will be designed exactly for that; no long-run enjoyment. There will be a focus on having fun now, instead of spreading it out (which XI did a great job of, albeit it took a certain type of player with dedication to actually appreciate the system).

TL;DR Make content casual accessible, but not easy/short. Make endgame content exceedingly difficult to keep players in long-run; like WoW but harder.

TL;DR: Some people have more free time than others, and want to feel special because of it.

IT'S CRAP LIKE THIS THAT IS KILLING GAMING!

Edit:
Since nobody is picking up on it, I'm being sarcastic here.

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Originally Posted by KiriA500

TL;DR: Some people have more free time than others, and want to feel special because of it.

IT'S CRAP LIKE THIS THAT IS KILLING GAMING!

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This post is pretty ambiguous, I can't tell which side you're on.

Confession time: I thought WOW's end game was more difficult than FFXI's.

What about making content accesible, but making raids and special bosses actually hard ? As in not only Insane HP, but cool and well developed fight mechanics.... that can kinda work too. It has worked for wow :)

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Originally Posted by Wolfie

Confession time: I thought WOW's end game was more difficult than FFXI's.

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FFXI's endgame was never hard, it was either easy (everything) or impossible untill they nerf it (AV/PW) lol

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Originally Posted by Wolfie

Confession time: I thought WOW's end game was more difficult than FFXI's.

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Technically it was, as far as boss fights and mechanics where concerned, what XI people call hard is time consuming content or 0.00001% drop rates to pop bosses etc etc.

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Originally Posted by XxOstiaxX

What about making content accesible, but making raids and special bosses actually hard ? As in not only Insane HP, but cool and well developed fight mechanics.... that can kinda work too. It has worked for wow :)

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I don't mind it being accessible, but it should become more difficult as the game progresses. Yeah it might mean that you have to invest more time to get where you want, but that's how anything in life works.

SE can slow down the players with specific quest. You want to get in a dungeon? Make first the quest (party). You are in the dungeon but a closed door is in the way to the end boss? do a quest (party).You want to use a 2nd class? Do first a quest to unlock the armory system (solo). You need more gear sets? Do a quest (solo). You want to craft a good gear but the recipe is only obtained though a quest? Do the quest (solo).

New players are only new players for so long. Need content that makes you want to stay, but not mind-numbing repetition.