Discussion about the longevity of the game

As we all know the game has been going strong for the past 9 years and with each expansion a whole standalone games worth of content is added, which makes me wonder about the concern of new players trying out the game and being scared off by the sheer amount of content to go through.

Its natural for older players to move away from the game and eventually stop playing but there's always new players that replace them which has been even more the case recently with the surge in popularity leading up to Endwalker, but I can't help but notice that there are those that shy away from even trying the game because its an MMORPG; I understand that CBU3 is addressing some parts of this issue by making MSQ duties soloable but the fact remains that content will only pile on top of itself until at some point it could create a wall preventing new players from coming in and the game slowly loses its player base.

If they plan on keeping the game going for another 10 years I was wondering if there are any ways they can mitigate this because I can't see - however appealing the content may be - for players to want to start playing the game a few years down the line or even now when there's so much content; I mostly relate this to when people shrug off watching shows like Game of Thrones or One Piece no matter how much people say how good they are just because they don't want to dedicate so much time to watching it all, and I understand that in the case of shows it may not necessarily apply to a game like FFXIV because people may see the mediums as different in how people consume them but at the very least its an example of how people can feel about the game at a point when content is so stacked its daunting for new players to get into it.

So in general I'm asking for peoples opinions on the matter, maybe I'm overthinking it or misunderstanding something or people could lead me to think in a different direction but this has been on my mind for a while and I just want some takes from others.

People still play FF11. Do whatever you want with that information.

I think they are laying down the blocks to make the whole game a solo-friendly experience through the use of Trusts. Much like it happened with FFXI; where the whole story and leveling can be done with NPCs.

If I had to guess, they are future-proofing for when the game falls back into maintenance mode while they work on a different - and more modern - project. But if that's the case, we shouldn't hear about that until much, much later.

I don't mean retaining any player base but rather maintaining it at the scope it is now

One of the biggest ways they can mitigate this issue is by giving lower-level players, particularly those later down the line to actually have something to strive for, particularly in the open-world content area, this could be by trying to develop open-world dungeons. I'd love if they could innovate or expand on the long and forgotten Emergency Missions from Diadem, or even by expanding systems like the Shared FATEs over to ARR/HW/SB.

They have already made starts with the duty support feature, but they definitely need to do more otherwise.

I think its silly to think players would be scared off by having things to do, Especially when the game is designed for you to be able to do it at your own pace.
You ruin your own experience and journey by being scared to commit to it. MMOs, Movie Series, Book Series, TV Shows & Anime Series, and even other Game Series are a time sink. If you want to get to the end and see what the fuss is about, you need to be willing to put the time in, like everybody else before.

I dont personally think FFXIVs longevity is at risk because of New Players having ALOT to do. Its more dependent on if the game Continues to be fun and exciting and offer a good time overall. Either in Content, or MSQ Story. For me...so far, I think this game has a Bright 10 years ahead, as long as they dont make any GRAVE mistakes that would turn off their community as a whole.

Never underestimate how many people there are who are not rush to endgame and LOVE the fact that they have enough content in front of them to last years. I for example seriously started playing about 4 years ago. I just finished 4.0 content for the first time last month. Now I have been bitten by the solo POTD bug. I figure that is good for a solid 6 months of playing. Eventually I will get more of the MSQ done.

The people that are put off by huge amounts of MSQ to be done in my own observation are those that think endgame is the only part of the game worth playing. For them there are skips that can be used.

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Originally Posted by Raskbuck

But if that's the case, we shouldn't hear about that until much, much later.

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If SE survived into the far future, we're definitely will get a new Final fantasy MMO but right now I don't see any coming up any time soon. Probably 8-13 years later.

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Originally Posted by Mokawic

snips and syrups

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Well, I think about it a little sometimes.

This makes me wonder if they decide to change their game engine (which will never happen as it is very demanding). But I imagine all that could be fixed about the issues we see today - like housing, head parts for vieras, etc all them fixed! Yep, it's a dream... :)

But, when I put my feet on the ground, I know they will not make such big changes and will work only inside the limitations the actual engine has. So that lend me to a conclusion: I don't need to expect this game to have a "next-gen" quality of game, as it's limited by its old engine. So I need to get used to all the stuff already made and just chill out and keep playing along with those limitations. What I mean is: "as I dream about what could be, I stop dreamming and accept the game as it is understanting it's limitations".

And as for the new player stuff, well, I always encourage them not to skip any cutscenes, any dialogue and to click to talk to the NPC that doesn't give quests around. And why so? to put the player inside a world so well made that it will last almost 20 years (maybe more?), despite any lack of major transformation in this engine or all the limitations we see nowadays.

We don't know exactly what they will do in the next years, but this is a very competent team. So, let's just enjoy the game today and leave the future for their brains :3
And for new players, just encourage them to see this game like a really and well done storytelling which is most enjoyed if you go step by step ignoring the end. Sometimes, in good stories, the middle of the path is as good as the destiny.

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Originally Posted by Renalt

People still play FF11. Do whatever you want with that information.

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It's some telling insight.

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Originally Posted by Mokawic

As we all know the game has been going strong for the past 9 years and with each expansion a whole standalone games worth of content is added, which makes me wonder about the concern of new players trying out the game and being scared off by the sheer amount of content to go through.

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That's a concern for a lot of us but I have seen recently how quickly some people get through the story. If people are serious about getting to the end of the story and have time, they can get through it fast. Most people seem to take it slow and enjoy doing so though.

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I can't help but notice that there are those that shy away from even trying the game because its an MMORPG

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This is being addressed by making it soloable and rebranding the game out of the MMO genre. There are a lot of games that behave like an MMO but are not considered an MMO, where they have online play, regular updates and DLC (expansions), but because they don't have the stigma of the MMO genre they get a lot more players.

if you pay attention to every single dialogue line, read everything in the msqs, watch all cutscenes, you'll take around 3 weeks to finish 2.0, and more 2 weeks to enter Heavensward. Then, after something around a month you are able to enter StB. After entering this story, you will take something close to a month to finish it and start ShB. If you go through it very slowly, it will take something like 1 and a half month to finish it and then you reach the last xpac.

So, if you go very slowly through msqs, you will take around 20 weeks (5 months) to enter the last expasion. Give or take 1 to 2 weeks.

Compared to other games, this is a fair amount of time.

And if you rush it (in order to reach end-game content fast) you can skip every reading and cutscene and this time can be reduced drasticaly. I met ppl that finished HW in only 3 days (including post 3.0 content). So, all depends on what you are looking when you start playing this game:

A relaxing and emotional story to stick for months... or a fast paced rush in order to reach the "top content" and enjoy the challenges there.

All new players always have both options no matter how many expansions are released. And they always adjust leveling in order to keep it that way.

At the start of the game back in 2013 or so, I remember all those FATES we had to farm at Coerthas in order to get lv49 to continue msqs after reaching lv 44 or so. It took me days farming them back there...

Now, you have PoD, pvp matches, more roulettes, exp bonus and the exp base given from quests increased significantly. If you start a new char, probably you never will need to do any fate at coerthas to reach lv50...

The game isn't exactly starved for new content, at least if you're a newer player.

If you're an older player, then you might be worried but I don't really see the big deal there. The bigger issue is FOMO, since this games player base seems to come and go as the current expansion grows older. Newer players might feel the need to rush through content out of fear that the endgame player base is constantly dwindling and that they won't have anyone to do current endgame content with.

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Originally Posted by Myrany

Never underestimate how many people there are who are not rush to endgame and LOVE the fact that they have enough content in front of them to last years. I for example seriously started playing about 4 years ago. I just finished 4.0 content for the first time last month. Now I have been bitten by the solo POTD bug. I figure that is good for a solid 6 months of playing. Eventually I will get more of the MSQ done.

The people that are put off by huge amounts of MSQ to be done in my own observation are those that think endgame is the only part of the game worth playing. For them there are skips that can be used.

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I truly believe that the MSQ is the part worth playing, and the 'endgame' stuff is simply filler until more story is released.
I do not think that I am alone.

Kupo <3 folks still playing Everquest (I miss the old days sometimes 1999) lol but still I would not write off ff14 for a good while kupo <3

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Originally Posted by Mokawic

I don't mean retaining any player base but rather maintaining it at the scope it is now

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It's inevitable that the player base will get smaller over time; it's simply the natural progression of these games. Given the recent posting of Steam log-in info, the baseline average amount of play has been fairly steady since HW. What we've seen more of are larger amplitude peaks and troughs which amplify the sense of gain and loss as people come back for new content and leave shortly after. Is this sustainable in the long term? If we go off the data shown, possibly; we'll likely see a reduction in peak/trough amplitude with a slow decline in regular players once we get past the final expansion.

If they make a new MMO, all bets are off.

I think you are over thinking it in some ways.

will it always have the same scope, no. thats how things go. if they come out with another MMO or as time goes on, the game ages and it is inevitable SE will put less resources towards it. thats what happens.

its a game, if you have fun playing it, then enjoy the ride. thats why we play games after all.