Community Health?

I used to play during AAR then took a break for a while.

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run, and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes. Now there doesn't seem to be any of that, and a lot more bad. Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

I dunno, I think ya just ran into an arsehole. Ya get those sometimes. Random folks in dungeons don’t seem to be gettin’ much saltier ta me, an’ they usually been quiet. This expac’s been goin’ a while so some people’s brains’re in maintenance mode, so ya might see it a little more. The only major change I noticed is everyone callin’ me O-Slash instead of sayin’ hello.

Hmmm... alright. Perhaps its just been a bad day then. Maybe I'm remembering things a little rosier than they were? The "o/" thing doesn't bother me, it's supposed to be someone waving right? Good point about the expac being going a while as well. I'll keep an eye out.

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Originally Posted by D_C

The only major change I noticed is everyone callin’ me O-Slash instead of sayin’ hello.

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o/

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

I used to play during AAR then took a break for a while.

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run, and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes. Now there doesn't seem to be any of that, and a lot more bad. Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

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dungeons are not much different now then before and with the cross-server being more prominent people are generally just lazier now.

i watch stuff doing dungeons too but i can dodge just fine and i'll put things on pause for harder bosses.

Just a random idiot. Sadly, you will get those. I wouldn't read too much into it and just kick them once you're able to if they're legit not going to dodge things.

yeah sorry, there are some rude people, just like anywhere you go. but for the most part most people you'll meet here are kind or respectful.
i'm in couerl, but let me know if you need help with something.
Valkorian#1567

I have been playing since 1.0 and barely took many breaks (most were during 3.0) and yes the playerbase has drastically changed over the years.

1.0 was close knit (had to be) and people talked. Then as the influx of new players came in the playerbase turned more towards How the game is currently made (queue up with randoms and get rewards) so there is little to no reason to chat.

I personally enjoy doing things like maps and hunts and that is a much more “social” environment.

But yes dungeon randoms are not going to act much different from your squadron.

I guess because I still play Wow:

People in this seem generally friendly, more patient with me (it always says, "rewards increased because one or more party members are here for the first time.")

All I ever hear them say is stuff like, "No, stay on the boss this one" or "GG."

Then they usually give a commendation, which I still don't know how to do (it is a challenge log thing, I found out!)

FFXIV generally has a "carry me" mindset that is reinforced by

1) Not allowing Parsers and as such not being able to call people out on extremely poor DPS/General Play.
2) 90-95% of all content being extremely casual friendly. For reference you can basically sleep through 24 mans, considering half the raid usually does anyways...
3) Not having any sort of "Gate" to get into higher level content. You wouldn't even begin to believe how bad your average Normal tier Raider is.
4) The "you don't pay my sub" argument.
5) Better players not necessarily ever being rewarded for it, since all rolls on loot is random and as long as your team clears, even if you were on the floor the entire fight, you still have an equal shot at getting stuff.

While the parser topic is not for this thread, and I would prefer the arguments for or against it be brought up in the thread it already has going, none of the rest of these are potentially subjective. FFXIV caters specifically to an extremely casual audience. It is just the type of MMO it is.

The community is generally polite and patient, but there's no avoiding the bad apples. It's only a matter of time before you bite into one the more you run stuff in PUGs. But no, you cannot expect the community to be as you remembered in back in 1.0. That was five years ago. That was when the game was fresh for everyone playing, along with the experiences shared. The only way to get that again is when another FF mmo is released. Veteran players eventually standardize fresh content making it stale for them, but awesome for newcomers.

What you get now is a bunch of players either catching up, or staying caught up as new content is released. There are a lot of players in both endgame and leveling content. A social experience in this game often just requires speaking up yourself instead of hoping someone like-minded does it instead. The 'dreaded' MSQ roulette (cut scenes are now mandatory in case you did not know already) is actually one of the most social events in the game. Chances are low that you will meet a long term friend who is going to go the distance with you step by step (rare for anyone really), but there is no shortage of playful banter during these roulettes as players desire to pass the time. It also rewards stupid amounts of exp, especially Prae.

To the point though the community is very healthy atm. We all have our gripes with the game, but for the most part this is one well-oiled machine and a good time to be playing FFXIV.

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run

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I still get this.

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes.

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I only see this in main scenario roulette, other than that people just wait quietly or pull without you.

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

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Never seen this. Hopefully it's just a rare thing you happened to come across. What instance was this in? I can imagine it happening in alliance roulette as some people play as if this is what they're doing.

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

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I think you maybe had a bit of a weird day. I don't find the in-game community to be particularly toxic or annoying on a daily basis.

The community is a cancer! And I am the barber's blade.

this is unaccaptable! if someone ever told me, that he/she/it would not dodge any aoe, because he might miss a single second of his favourite tv series, well, this would definetly hurt my feelings, and I would rankt about it everyday on all socials I got.

Really, what a mess. :(

I think there is a bunch of different things that can be said about the community. I would say that the greater majority is great. Something that I would consider would be that dungeons specifically are repeated and used and tossed content. They are easy to throw away because it's the same repeated instance over and over. Most people just want their tomes/gear/music and etc and to be done. There is a lack of open world community based content as well. Fates are a joke. One and done for a completion or there is zero reason to go back to them. They also severely basic in design and that makes those too awfully annoying.

To sum it up:
1) Lack of community based content.
2) Lack of proper incentivization.
3) Lack of open world connections.

Diadem/Eureka was an attempt to fix some of this. Pagos was a terrible variant.

That's not to say there aren't great parts, because there are... But there isn't much forced interaction which I think could help but it may not be marketable.

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Originally Posted by Speaks

FFXIV generally has a "carry me" mindset that is reinforced by

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Another one is near infinite rezzes in casual content combined with a very forgiving dps requirement. In WoW if half your party wipes on lfr, as faceroll as it is, you might actually wipe. You get 1, maybe 2 revives total. In ff14 your entire group can individually die 3 times over, then nearly then entire group die again only to be raised by a healer lb3, then kill the boss about 5 minutes slower than average. The only way to really wipe is if both healers and all RDM's die.

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

I used to play during AAR then took a break for a while.

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run, and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes. Now there doesn't seem to be any of that, and a lot more bad. Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

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Was that person a black mage? healers gotta adjust you know! more seriously I still find the community to be mostly very nice and friendly.

I have some good parties, some bad parties. Sometimes everyone is mute, others people joke around. So, it really just depends on who you get.

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

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Honestly, if that happens with me, that guy wouldn't be healed at all. I guarantee that, because I would be the healer.

And on the 5th minute, I would issue a vote kick on him. After all, he must focus on the netflix show he's watching and that dungeon/trial will be on his way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NikolasCalypso

I used to play during AAR then took a break for a while.

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run, and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes. Now there doesn't seem to be any of that, and a lot more bad. Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

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Most content is so easy that people watch netflix if they don't want to put in effort, its not nice but no one of them cares.

Also the FF com is far away from toxic. You may have a handfull of jerks but thats about it.

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Originally Posted by Liam_Harper

Another one is near infinite rezzes in casual content combined with a very forgiving dps requirement. In WoW if half your party wipes on lfr, as faceroll as it is, you might actually wipe. You get 1, maybe 2 revives total. In ff14 your entire group can individually die 3 times over, then nearly then entire group die again only to be raised by a healer lb3, then kill the boss about 5 minutes slower than average. The only way to really wipe is if both healers and all RDM's die.

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This is very true, and actually the difficulty jump from normal to Savage is a stark contrast of itself. If you have average DPS you may actually need nobody to die just to clear the content.

So it goes from a "carry me" mindset to a "If you are bad early enough in a patch cycle World First Proggers might not being able to carry you" mindset.

If someone ever said that in a dungeon I was in I’d vote kicked them in a heartbeat. To blatantly say your not going to dodge aoes makes you a liability

People are lazy and the game lets them be lazy..

Half the time in dungeons i don't bother dodging aoe attacks I just don't need to. They're weak as hell. One of the more prominent examples in memory is the second boss in scaella. I have no clue how that fights mechanics work nor do I care... just stand there and throw fire 4s all day long.

Oh hey ive got 6 stacks of whatever this rdebuff is meant to do. Vulnerability up by like 0.006% stood in some circle aoe move or eat the loldamage and continue casting... boss be dead long before I am even with no healers. (tank & 3 dps runs)

There's times you can have like 5 stacks of poison or some other dot eating away at your up but they can't even break your passive regen....

It's a joke

9 times out of 10 I either greet and others respond in kind at the start of the run, or others greet and I respond. Some people are queueing up for roulettes to get in, get their glamours/tomes/gil/etc and get out asap and see no need for small talk. I don't think that's really toxic behavior. The whole Netflix and refusing to dodge anything...yeah, that could probably be viewed as such. Such players are hardly the majority though.

Cant say ive not seen people greet and chitchat. As said by the people above, there are bad apples and there is always a small chance to get one of them