The game is more dead than it was pre-3.1

[Magis]

Like most of the posts, my feelings about the game are exactly like other posters and the OP. All rewards seem worthless or are given out for nothing, and the predictability and repetitiveness crushes any motivation to play the game. On top of that, the game is the most bare-bones bland MMO you could think of. You know what makes me real sad? The fact that it didn't start like this. The fact there WERE some innovative ideas in 1.0, but it was bogged down by it's launch as a buggy client released way too early before it was ready. Things like the elemental wheel, monster weak points that broke off when you use specially abilities on em, and other interesting mechanics were scrapped because some brain dead player wouldn't be able to use basic problem solving to perform, or because SE couldn't be hassled to balance it. It's funny when they say "we didn't do X because of balance". A game designer should balance the mechanic not avoid it because they have to balance it lol! Imagine if Valve remove all heroes in Dota 2 except a ganker, support, and carry (the MOBA trinity, like how SE does it with the MMO trinity) because they couldn't be hassled to balance the 100+ heroes (WHICH THEY DO ANYWAY!). The game would be simple and easy sure, but would also be utterly garbage.

And what is the biggest issue for SE's "target audience"? The fact that the new dance is slightly different for females or that SE isn't milking their money off of the cashshop for pointless item X. Why isn't this game F2P again?

But hey, this game is being relaunched from 1.0, they will change stuff in the next expansion, this expansion is only six months old, the dev team is small, ps3 limitations, casual vs hardcore rabble, blah blah blah ,[insert what ever excuse you like]... This game is careening down the pipes and anyone trying to defend the current end game at this point is just some white knight with their helm on backwards, because they are having a very hard time seeing the truth, this game is an inch deep and miles wide and nobody seems to like it.

Hah, I remember when the go to reason to the game's content being repetitive was "they had to rush and rebuild from 1.0". Then it turned into "wait till the expansion". Now it's either "it's 3.0/3.1, ARR was just as bad in 2.0/2.1" as if that is even an argument, and "this is XIV's first expansion". The goal posts have been moved so many times they are now on the moon.

Edit: You know what? For all the sniffing up his own ass and grindfests Tanaka did, he did one thing right: innovation. All those interesting mechanics both FFXI and FFXIV 1.0 had were under him. A lot of stuff that was attributed to Yoshi in 1.0 were planned things not released yet due to the game being unfinished. Heck, putting in Crystal Tower might have been Tanaka's invention as well... why? HE PRODUCED FINAL FANTASY III. Course that is just my guessing and could be a coincidence.