Quote Originally Posted by Dreamer View Post
I simply do not like the direction the game is going. Every blurb they've given us says that they want this game to firmly follow the Western model for MMORPGs. Auto-attack. Quest hubs. Instanced dungeons at all levels. Solo-focused gameplay. I realize that I don't speak for everyone, but I'm playing Final Fantasy because I'm looking for a Final Fantasy style JRPG MMO experience. SE, you cannot compete with Blizzard on their own turf. You're essentially trying to beat them in a genre they created. If you want this game to be successful, then you need to capture a segment of the market that is relatively untapped. Trying to scrape players from Blizzard's plate may work in the short term, but over the long term it simply will not work. If you're always copying, you're always one step behind.
This. Really, this.

In general, I'd say what makes people ballistic at every hint of new stuff (other than maybe the easter egg event, that was a real good one!) is the lack of confirmed word on where they're intending on taking the game. When there's no certainty about this, it makes the possible and impossible failures of every new addition and change loom that much larger. Not shutting out the ghosts of peoples' minds by stating a clear direction for their development can only make them worse off.
Example: if they stated they're not going to make a carbon copy of Wow, people wouldn't worry so much with every hint of Wow-like additions. Granted, they could also be a bit more clear in the update hints themselves, instead of presenting them in a way that does make them seem like carbon copies of Wow content. And really, how many players who're in it for the long term want to play a copy of another game?