Just... No

http://www.mediafire.com/view/va9jrf.../Just...No.txt

Because SE apparently doesn't like educated, long discussions, where people who can fully, and adequately explain their line of thinking logically, which happens to usually take several more lines than just one, type of discussions and limited it to just 1000 words. I created a doc online for you to read instead.... Sorry for the inconvenience.

Just to let you know... you can edit your post as soon as you have posted it, so you can now copy and paste the text from that link into the forum.

i started reading.. got to the part where you said the game was for brain dead people.. i was like wow this dud thinks the high level fights and dungeons are for the brain dead..?? then checked your character and the answer was there... your achivements and levels show you need to play more endgame content. now go out there explore and conquer!

Yeah, it's true. The core game design is fast and loose. It obviously pisses you off, but you seem like one of the hardcore XI players. Hard to say whether this casual appeal will actually appeal to casuals. I'm a hardcore gamer myself, and Dark Souls / Demon's Souls is my fav type of gameplay but I'm also having so much fun doing the quests in this game. So for me it works. I'd prefer it to be more involved but I'm ok that it isn't. I wonder what the type of people think who aren't likely to even stop by the boards?

I actually read through the entire rant ....

and what I got was you crying to go back to the days of old. Yes I miss the difficulty of EQ and FFXI just as most of the old hardcore players do. I would love to see things be harder, travel take longer, etc but the fact remains that no company will make those games anymore. Either get with what's current and be happy about it or just stop playing MMOs. Hell take a look at SOE's new EQNext, it's being pushed out to cater to that obscenely large casual crowd as well and if anyone was going to go back to those days it would've been them.

Fact is there is too much money in MMOs now to cut out the majority (casuals that can't spend 6-10 hours a day playing) and from a business standpoint it would be the dumbest idea you could ever have.

While my post is not all negative, I do agree with alot of what you said. That doesn't mean things will change because I can assure you they won't. In order for your points to make it into game they would have to start over, again. That just won't happen.

Basically you have 3 choices; be content with what you have and make the best of it, create your own game, or go back to the older games that had the challenge. Personally I'd be happy with just a hardcore server on a good game that gave mobs increased stats and health with other things added in (IE no fast travel, corpse runs, etc) but the population would probably be pretty small on that server

Those games you want this game to be? Yeah.. they're still there.

Off ya go.

Got through a few lines and saw this:

"[FFXI] was still immersive and engaging from levels 1 to max"
- Make a party and spend hours pulling the exact same type of monster over and over again. No events, no dungeons, quests dont give exp, no change of pace.

Then...

"after finishing hundred mindless, stupid easy quests [in ARR]" you are then stuck "grinding.. Behests, Levequests and dungeons, over, and over, and over"

I believe you may be experiencing what we call "rosy retrospection" wherein your long past experiences are remembered as far more positive than they actually were.

XI wasn't difficult, just time consuming. Time sinks do NOT equal challenge or difficulty.

I got to the point where you were complaining about having to grind because there aren't enough quests. This came right after you complained about leveling being too easy and that you wish it was more like FFXI....

And OP, you didn't hurt my "more delicate senses" as you put, and you also weren't "speaking truths," you were straight whining because the game isn't exactly how YOU want it. You're free to whine all you want, just don't expect the rest of us to tell you how brilliant your whiny rant is.

I played FFXI for many years and 1.0 as well. I see where you're coming from. It bothers me too. BUT:

Games evolve.

I loved the days of Wizardry and Might and Magic where I had to draw my own maps on paper and write down quests so I wouldn't forget. I loved Maniac Mansion and Police Quest where you had zero help and figuring even the most basic quests out was a major accomplishment. I loved the early shooters like Delta Patrol and Sanxion which were completely unforgiving from the first level.

However, games progress.

Helps are added, journals, maps and logs. Gameplay is simplified but also kept fun. Focus shifts from making things completely unattainable for all but the few to making more accomplishable goals for everyone.

My point: The old days of (Insert any genre here) gaming were great in so many ways for the time they were in. But as great as those games and game philosophy were, things change and you just have to deal with it and find the fun. The fun hasn't left. Its still there! Final Fantasy XIV is still a fun game! Its a great game, actually. It just doesn't adhere to the old style of gameplay that is now, well, OLD.

I enjoyed all those old games and I miss their style and difficulty but game design shifts with time. FFXI was great but it reflects a completely different style and philosophy of gaming that is now terribly dated. I am sad to leave it behind but happy for FFXIV and the promise it has. You really should be too!