Expansion is only temporarily enjoyable. Fails to fix all main flaws.

[Jonnycbad]

There are character builds in FFXIV, it's just that they're called Classes/Jobs, and each one has a different play style. Think of jobs as fighting game characters. You learn the move list and combos the same as you would for a fighting game character but each has pros, cons, mechanics, properties, etc.

Don't be fooled into the 'illusion of choice'. FFXI, for those who never played it, has somethng called the "Merit" system for players to continue their character's growth once the level cap is reached. Upon reaching the level cap (used to be 75), additional EXP was converted into Limit Points which after accruing 10k, gave you 1 "Merit Point". Merit points could be used to purchase bonuses which are either universal (+HP/MP, +Base stats), or job specific bonuses (new trait, spell, or ability). The illusion of choice in that system was each category had a cap, so you couldn't unlock and upgrade everything for your job, only a few (i.e. unlock the Lv.1 version of all 5 things for your job..or unlock 2 things but upgrade them to Lv.5). The issue was...there was ALWAYS a best option. Some of the traits/spells/abilities were worthless, some were amazing. You *COULD* unlock the weird ones and claim it helps 'your build' but you would be ostrcized when you were invited to a raid and were expected to have a certain skill. Example 1: You purchase all the +STR upgrades for your character, but when you played a mage job, you missed out on potential INT/MND bonuses. This reduced your job's efficacy, albeit very slightly. A more pertinent example: DRG in FFXI had a merit ability called "Angon", which reduced the target's Defense by 20% for 30 seconds. Maxing out Angon cost 5 out of the 10 category points and increased the duration to 60 seconds, which was amazingly valuable. A DRG that forgoes maxing out Angon in favor of some other ability, despite having a 'choice', would result in a kick or not being invited. ILLUSION OF CHOICE. A third example was Red Mage which had 5 spells with merits: Dia 3 (-15% defense down), Bio 3 (-15% attack), Paralyze 2 (chance to interrupt a target's spell/auto attack), Slow 2 (reduce a target's auto attack), Blind 2 (reduced a target's accuracy). With that merit system, a Red Mage could unlock each of those spells and upgrade them all to level 2, but that build would have been considered worthess compared to a player that had Dia 3 and Slow 2 maxed out, with the other spells not even unlocked.
ILLUSION OF CHOICEEEEE

[KoujiMoreno]

There are character builds in FFXIV, it's just that they're called Classes/Jobs, and each one has a different play style. Think of jobs as fighting game characters. You learn the move list and combos the same as you would for a fighting game character but each has pros, cons, mechanics, properties, etc.

That's not what a character build is....

[SlurpTasty]

All your complaints hold little to no merit. I just came back to a FFXIV after a 5 month hiatus and wow am I glad to be back, I forgot how much better this game handles everything compared to other MMOs like WoW and others. Not to mention the games actually a challenge at times, don't worry if you leave just pretend I took your spot! :3

[Brian_]

I agree wholeheartedly with the loot progression. It is boring grinding the same 2 dungeons for law tomes and then joining a Hunt LS and zerging all the A ranks for a few days. The most challenging thing is dealing with baddies in DF and getting into the right instance before the hunt mark is dead. With Alex, progression is based on how many times you can face-roll the content before RNG lets you win a token.

As for the skill tree debate, whether you go with FFXIV's current skill system or a skill tree, there is no difference. With either, an optimized set-up will arise. But, a skill-tree has more longevity than what we currently have because you can expand it indefinitely. I don't look forward to having my entire keyboard mapped for 1 opener. Something needs to be done and HW just punted the problem down the road.

As for the other QoL stuff, I don't know how you can complain. Where the hell is our third free retainer?

[Aeyis]

Go compared Heavensward to Blizzards Warlords of Draenor... you will see just how good you actually have it. Heaps of WoW players have quit to join Eorzea.

As is evident by the large decline in forum post quality.

[Havenae]

The only two 'cons' I'm inclined to partially agree with are

Linear gear progression and no character building.

I've said for a long time here and other games that there need to be more variety for obtaining gear than "ZOMGLETSRAIDGRIND!" But people are narrow minded and don't want to hear it. they're happy with their simpleminded mindnumbing grind, so be it.

Character building could be as much of a negative detractor as it could be a godsend. I think SE could do it well and beat the issues other games face when implementing similar systems. But again it's one of those things that hasn't really been done right yet.. so the narrowminds step in and say it can't/shouldn't be done.

[Ronzeru]

They make it too hard, players make threads about it being too hard. They make it to easy, players make threads about it being too easy. Players are like a overly picky child/woman. I wouldn't want SE's job for the world.

[Rumpelstiltzkin]

The linear progression and tome grind is the worst of it and it does not seem like something Yoshi wants to change. He thinks it is okay that people play for a couple of weeks and then unsubs until the next patch. It is so lolworthy there are no words, but what can you do. Can't wait for EQN.

[Havenae]

They make it too hard, players make threads about it being too hard. They make it to easy, players make threads about it being too easy. Players are like a overly picky child/woman. I wouldn't want SE's job for the world.

I used to develop on small projects. Tiny games most people have never heard of for the most part, mainly text based games but on larger scale than your common basement ran MUD. Believe me when I say that players generally don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Not about what a game needs or even less on what they want in a game. It's the big picture they lack. They can't see the game as a whole, only their chosen focus at any given time.

Can't wait for EQN.

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. If Landmark is any indication of what to expect from EQN, this game and a couple others will still be the goto games. While they were still SoE and Dave Georgeson was still on board.. MAYBE. Not now.

[Fatshine]

I will try to be as unbiased as possible. These are my opinions and experiences, so if you care to read OP, or anyone else, I am not trying to change the game to cater to only myself. I actually have no concrete suggestions that are long thought out. I will just throw out ideas and share what I think about this game.

I have been playing actively since April 2014. So I have a year and 3 months playing FF14. In that time I grew to love this game. The only other MMO I have ever played in my life is DC Universe online. In my time playing FF14, I made cool friends, met assholes, played various battle classes/jobs, raided, etc. The only thing I have not delved into is crafting/gathering (yet). I loved most things about this game. Then came Heavensward.

The story, new huge areas, flight, new job skills, excitement of new dungeons, new gear (some re-skins that are available to more jobs), made me so happy and giddy. Shortly after I beat the story, I started hunting and looking for new statics to be raid ready. As soon as this happened, I started to enjoy the game a lot less, and see what I actually didn't like about ARR. It hit me like a truck. I was now doing the same shit as before. I was failing at hunts (even in a party actively hunting, I would miss A's and S ranks. People were relentless on my server with early pulls), and I was grinding tomestones (Myth, Soldiery, Poetics) in order to gear up again so that I can run EX primals for a weapon (like Shiva's Diamond weapons), to then raid. Huh, felt familiar. Let's see hunts still blows (grinding for new sands, oil) and the only time hunts were awesome were in patch 2.4 I believe, basically the patch when most were not hunting anymore, I don't remember which). Law is Darklight 2.0, and I was in a rush to be at the top again. It felt so awful that I decided to become a "casual". I decided to play at my own pace, I decided to stop hardcore raiding.

I admit, it stung hard seeing people with Hive weapons and max geared while I wasn't. My competitive nature urged me to do the same shit again, but playing the story at my own pace made me see how free I was playing. People in my LS and free company were farming Ravana EX by like the 3rd day of early access. Now I see how SE played it real safe. No I am not calling them lazy. I know they worked their asses off, but I already got through the best part of the expansion in my eyes. Soon we will get a new Crystal Tower, Syrcus Tower, World of Darkness with more of the same formula, and a new relic weapon to go through hell with. There is no real fundamental change.

What can they do? I honestly don't know seeing how my MMO experience is limited. Perhaps like a base defense/horde mode? Open world PVP? Further character customization? 2man dungeons? (Like DCUO duos mode and no not overgeared lv unsync), raids that involve environmental interactions? (No not just pressing 1 button to active a shield like in Leviathan EX or Bismarck), I really don't know. I can't really put my finger on it, but take away the shiny wrapping paper, and 3.0 is more of 2.X. This is why I will have a different approach to playing because it works for me. I can only suggest the awesome things I loved in DCUO, but that MMO is vastly different. SE said it themselves that ARR was more about building a foundation. Now is the time to gamble with new ideas. Do I really want to go through 3.X and then do the same in 4.X?