This patch dropped the ball hard

[Colt47]

3.1 won't change ESO and Alex Savage gear as the top tier. That would be 3.2. 3.1 & 3.15 will introduce the new 24man i200 gear as another method of gearing up. XIV History would state that, unless SE has other plans, but I doubt they would change the general idea of what has made it the only successful sub MMO in the past 5 years outside of WoW

It's still seems like a crime that success doesn't always equate to the most enjoyable way to spend ones time.

[ZemusM]

It's still seems like a crime that success doesn't always equate to the most enjoyable way to spend ones time.

True for some, Not true for others. but numbers speak louder than words and what SE is doing is making more and more money every quarter, You don't change the way something that makes you money on a chance that it MIGHT do better. Thats bad business. You make changes when sales start to decline and at this pace that change isn't going to happen. FFXIV brings in so much cashflow to SE it has essentially saved many projects and has kept them functioning at a profit.

[Fendred]

True for some, Not true for others. but numbers speak louder than words and what SE is doing is making more and more money every quarter, You don't change the way something that makes you money on a chance that it MIGHT do better. Thats bad business. You make changes when sales start to decline and at this pace that change isn't going to happen. FFXIV brings in so much cashflow to SE it has essentially saved many projects and has kept them functioning at a profit.

This is laughably absurd. The gross income of the entire company doesn't mean jack when talking about the health of a specific game in their roster. FFXIV:ARR used to be advertising how it had so many active players, but after a while they stopped doing those advertisements. Why? You can guess why just from looking at any game that uses this model. Their subs performed the usual roller coaster ride. Right now they're getting some people back plus bonuses temporarily, but it will predictably nose dive again shortly after the bulk of the player base consumes the main story of Heavensward. They are literally using the same end game model that caused them to lose subs. Why pretend it will turn out different when we have years of graphical data on other games using the same category of end game?

You have to keep in mind they've released a lot of different games under the Square Enix banner that account for a lot of their profit. Deus Ex, for instance, was very successful. FFXIV:ARR was built to be predictable. They know when to expect financial slow and high times with FFXIV:ARR and that's what the company wanted, but the model doesn't build loyalty because it does something to irk everyone by trying appeal to everyone.

[Colt47]

True for some, Not true for others. but numbers speak louder than words and what SE is doing is making more and more money every quarter, You don't change the way something that makes you money on a chance that it MIGHT do better. Thats bad business. You make changes when sales start to decline and at this pace that change isn't going to happen. FFXIV brings in so much cashflow to SE it has essentially saved many projects and has kept them functioning at a profit.

Well, if comments in game are any sign I think people are getting very tired of the continuous crunch end game is presenting. People are still happy to play together and do the content with one another, but there is that ever creeping sense that one is doing something as a means to an end rather than for the enjoyment of doing so. You end up feeling fulfilled, but you didn't really enjoy the journey getting there. That is something Yoshi P. and Co need to address more than even the Housing and server issues. Those later two things are annoying, but livable.

[Kaedan94]

It's still seems like a crime that success doesn't always equate to the most enjoyable way to spend ones time.

What you don't seem to grasp is that "enjoyment" and "fun" are subjective. What you consider an "unenjoyable way to spend one's time", others consider enjoyable.

Success is the ONLY metric is which we can objectively measure how "good" the game is.

[Colt47]

What you don't seem to grasp is that "enjoyment" and "fun" are subjective. What you consider an "unenjoyable way to spend one's time", others consider enjoyable.

Success is the ONLY metric is which we can objectively measure how "good" the game is.

We all grasp that what we say and feel are subjective. That is what makes it important to pay attention to and what makes conversation worth engaging in.