The game is more dead than it was pre-3.1

[RiceisNice]

At this point because of hte mass server transfers, smaller severs dwindling and super servers getting larger, some are in an unrecoverable state of having a very, very weak raiding scene. No amount of updates is going to bring transferred players back to their original realms.

Of course it doesn't help that this expansion in general, as well as the patch, feels really weak coming out of the gate and lasting after-the-fact.

[Kosmos992k]

At this point because of hte mass server transfers, smaller severs dwindling and super servers getting larger, some are in an unrecoverable state of having a very, very weak raiding scene.

OK, you've posted more or less this at least twice today. So I'll ask, where are you seeing this evidence of mass server transfers? Where are you seeing small servers actually dwindling, or 'Super Servers' getting larger? I'd just like to see the information you're referring to myself, I've not heard mention of mass server transfers happening before now.

As for the raiding scene...IMHO the raiding scene is suffering more from the self inflicted wounds of infighting and burn out than anything else, and to quote a friend of mine who left the raiding scene, he left because most raiders "have their heads up their ass about things" and he simply could not deal with their crap any more, too much stress, not enough actual raiding. My understanding was that raiding should be fun for all concerned, but is it?

Sure, the amount and type of content is partly responsible, but so too are the players involved, and if the raiding scene is dwindling, it's not simply because of the game, there is plenty of stuff to do between content patches. If the raiding scene is fading it's also down to how the players handle the content, and each other. If my friend's experience is an indicator then it seems that the players in question are not handling it well enough and are alienating their own.

Of course, it's also true that people like to come to official forums, pronounce things as dead or dying and go on to be doomsayers. that kind of thing can become a self fulfilling prophesy if enough people buy into the negative mind set and continually repeat the same thing. I just don't find doom saying or posting about servers dying to be helpful or constructive at all.

[RiceisNice]

OK, you've posted more or less this at least twice today. So I'll ask, where are you seeing this evidence of mass server transfers? Where are you seeing small servers actually dwindling, or 'Super Servers' getting larger? I'd just like to see the information you're referring to myself, I've not heard mention of mass server transfers happening before now.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1891972249 This is only over a period of roughly a month, and I've first hand seen at least 2 FCs and 4 statics on my realm transfer off. I honestly don't consider this game to be overly big or populated, and on my realm there's never more than 10 PFs at one given time (including spam PFs, if there was any to begin with). Losing around 50-60 people is actually quite a lot when you're looking at the scale of smaller servers can't get enough people for S ranks to have it die within 2 minutes (1 for 2.0 S ranks) of being pulled (sans pale rider)

Perhaps the biggest problem with the game faces is a two fold problem; SE is trying to satisfy two very different audiences with content for the end-game raiding scene and content for the more casual or mainstream players who are not heavily into end-game. So they produce a broad range of content.

Even if broader range of content was the goal, there's definitely very little content that's fitting in the middle. Content that statics can get together to progress and clear the entire tier within 2-3 weeks of attempts (1+ month on one floor). Fights like the EX primals and thordan EX hit the mark well, but that's all there is. to tied over the launch of 3.0 and 3.2 (as far as the raiding scene is concerned). If we're using broad strokes, you have the likes of Diadem, void ark and nerfed EX primals for groups who can't get a static together, but can still get up bodies with a hit/miss rate of sucess (in other words, Duty Finder). 2.0's Coil (before echo and nerfs to SCoB) was the to-go content for people who formed statics to tackle it with the same 8 people. It was a step up from the former content, and you needed communication if you wanted to clear it before the nerfs came inbound. Then there was Savage SCoB which went beyond that, and at the very least A3s is serving as the same, except the aforementioned "normal" mode is already tuned for DF instead of a typical static.

My understanding was that raiding should be fun for all concerned, but is it?

Skill problems aside, I don't think anyone finds it fun to be doing the same floor for the past 3 months because they don't want to can't commit more than 3 raid days/week for 3 hours/day. The design of A3s requires progression to stick, and that requires time commitment above all else. But this also comes into play when that this is one of the few raid content that's available (since normal mode is loosely tuned to be done through DF).

SE is stuck between a rock and a hard place, when they do something to satisfy one group, it annoys another, and vice versa. SE can't really win in that situation. To be honest I think that Yoshi and team should stop trying to patch and develop the game by focus groups or popularity contests, and stick to their vision of the game. I think the game would be stronger if they did.

At this point, I feel that they need the time to design good content, rather try to beat the dates and release it half cooked. Diadem could have been so much more than a grind-fest. They have the environment and no-fly zones for special triggers and exclusive resources, but didn't take advantage of it. And honestly the same could be said for the expansion in general; there's so much room to add innovative elements to the game like an actual FC crafting (crafts that take more than 1 person to accomplish, rather than hand-ins), espesically the introduction of MCH as a direct comparison to BRD, and the dynamics of gathering (their collectible is a step toward the right direction, but it's not used for anything other than turn ins). The things I felt they did right was the evolvement and additions to some of the jobs; they feel stronger compared to their 2.0 or otherwise are capable of minimizing their downfalls such as MNK downtime. The story and track is also outstanding, but hell, this is a final fantasy game and I expect them to at least get that right. Failing that would be like a modern Sonic game having a bad OST.

[Alahra]

OK, you've posted more or less this at least twice today. So I'll ask, where are you seeing this evidence of mass server transfers?

Most of my server's top raiding guilds are gone now. I think all but one or two of the several we had during ARR either left or transferred (most of them to Gilgamesh, from what I've been able to gather). And when the entire FCs didn't go, prominent members among the raiding talent went by themselves looking for a raiding community better suited to Savage. That's only one server but many smaller servers seem to have experienced similar emigration.

[MStowastiqVahlshdeh]

At this point because of hte mass server transfers, smaller severs dwindling and super servers getting larger, some are in an unrecoverable state of having a very, very weak raiding scene. No amount of updates is going to bring transferred players back to their original realms.

Of course it doesn't help that this expansion in general, as well as the patch, feels really weak coming out of the gate and lasting after-the-fact.

I just wanted to say you made me blow at my monitor screen for a while trying to get the gnat off of it.