The Current Status of FFXIV Patch 3.1 and How to Address it Moving Forward

[Alahra]

It isn't hard and there is no satisfaction beyond knowing you don't have to do this awful, tedious task anymore.

There is no satisfaction for you. I find it immensely satisfying, and you seem to have entirely missed the point of my post, which is that not everyone thinks the same way that you do, which results in some things in the game catering to their interests instead of yours.

[Velhart]

There is no satisfaction for you. I find it immensely satisfying, and you seem to have entirely missed the point of my post, which is that not everyone thinks the same way that you do, which results in some things in the game catering to their interests instead of yours.

So their interest is not having fun content? Also when I say challenging content, it is subjective. Chimera/Hydra were challenging, but they certainly were not raid level bosses. They were just hard enough that you needed to put in some effort to get it done. If proper grinding quests and things like that were mixed in, it adds variety and doesn't get sickening as easily.

[Alahra]

So their interest is not having fun content?

Some people actually find content like Dungeons, FATEs, and Hunts fun even if they aren't challenging. For some players, the content is fun intrinsically, and for others, they can find fun from them extrinsically if there is suitable incentive to revisit the content. I'm in the former category for Dungeons and in the latter category for things like FATEs and Hunts. I enjoy the opportunity often presented through the weapon questlines to visit content I haven't seen in awhile, and while I naturally cannot speak for the population as a whole, there are more than likely other players that can find fun in the older content just as I do.

Fun is subjective. Just because you don't find it fun doesn't mean it is by necessity unfun to someone else.

[Velhart]

Some people actually find content like Dungeons, FATEs, and Hunts fun even if they aren't challenging. For some players, the content is fun intrinsically, and for others, they can find fun from them extrinsically if there is suitable incentive to revisit the content. I'm in the former category for Dungeons and in the latter category for things like FATEs and Hunts. I enjoy the opportunity often presented through the weapon questlines to visit content I haven't seen in awhile, and while I naturally cannot speak for the population as a whole, there are more than likely other players that can find fun in the older content just as I do.

Fun is subjective. Just because you don't find it fun doesn't mean it is by necessity unfun to someone else.

You are actually missing the point. If people find this stuff fun, then good for them. It doesn't mean an ilvl210 weapon should pop into their hands for just doing that content alone.

[Alahra]

You are actually missing the point. If people find this stuff fun, then good for them. It doesn't mean an ilvl210 weapon should pop into their hands for just doing that content alone.

That is your opinion, one that is not shared by the developers of this game or by some fraction of this game's population. All players want the ability to progress their character's power to new heights, and allowing the widest variety of players to do so maintains interest (and accordingly) subscription levels. Game's like WoW or FFXIV could not maintain the subscription levels that they did if only raiding players were allowed to get top level gear. Accessibility breeds interest and ultimately allows more players to enjoy the game than would otherwise.

The larger subscription levels become, the larger revenue becomes, and the more resources (theoretically, anyway) the team then has to create new content. The smaller subscription levels become, the smaller overall revenue becomes, and the less resources the team then has to create new content.

Games that do the things you're describing have historically lower subscription numbers than games that do what FFXIV does. You talk about the "proper" structure, but the only measure that we can use to decide whether the overall structure is "proper" or not is the overall appeal and success of the game in terms of revenue and subscriptions because Square Enix is ultimately a business. What you're proposing would at best most likely have a neutral effect on subscriptions in the long term, and would be seemingly more likely to result in a loss of subscriptions, since by all appearances, the portion of the playerbase that is ultimately not interested in particularly challenging content is larger than the portion that is interested in such content.

[Velhart]

snip

It can not be determined by looking at charts and graphs alone. That is the problem. You can't accurately determine if what you built is successful unless you truly get down to a player level to get a good idea. SE bases their content on how many people they can cram in there without thinking much on how to make it fun. Alexander(Normal) comes out and they say its a success because everyone and their mother beat it and a lot went in there. Well of course people did, it was items needed to have a chance in getting something done in Savage. Its the same with relic. You can't determine if it is something the general base approves of, but has to anyways because its something people believe they need to get AS4 done. There is a difference between fun content and content you feel obligated to do. That is why things like charts and graphs don't work.

Do the mass majority actually like how the relic quest works? Color me surprised if people say yes. Is it a fact that a lot of people do it? Yes. People will do content that is imbalanced, poorly made, and not fun if there is still a reward at the end. I can't pull numbers out of no where, but I am more than willing to bet that the majority of players do not completely approve on how the quest works.

In your statement about WoW, most of what I said is based on their ideals on how an MMO should be built. Last I recall they do pretty well for themselves, even in their tougher times.

[Alahra]

It can not be determined by looking at charts and graphs alone.

That's the only metric that's going to matter to Square Enix as a business, though. They do indeed look at player engagement with content and listen to player feedback in efforts to create content that will appeal to a wide variety of players (though it should be said that not all content is meant to appeal to all players), all in an effort to maintain (and presumably grow) their subscription base.

[Ibi]

In your statement about WoW, most of what I said is based on their ideals on how an MMO should be built. Last I recall they do pretty well for themselves, even in their tougher times.

The legendary ring currently available in WoW (and the legendary cloak that was available during the last expansion) can be upgraded to have the highest item level of any item in the game, and can be completed without ever setting foot into any content more challenging than Raid Finder.