I guess it's time

[Claymore65]

That's uhh... I don't even know the right word to describe it. Only ones I have are close minded and ignorant, but I don't think either one fits.

The world is burning around you, but unless someone tells you, you think the world is fine?

I think it's moreso that we don't have any access to accurate subscriber numbers or "active player count" (which can be hard to define but I digress). Only the developers have access to that information so assuming the game is "dead" or growing substantially can't be verified. The data we have regarding that is spotty at best. If subscribers have really dropped that low, however, I think SE would probably be a lot more concerned and be actively recruiting players as much as they can. It's just tough to make a judgement on subscriber numbers without valid data.

Back to the main topic. I fully agree the game isn't perfect, but I also disagree with a lot of the suggestions made in this thread. I, for one, don't want this game to become so focused on hardcore content that more casual players get left in the dust. We can see from example that when games cater too much towards one audience, it can have drastic consequences. For example just look at Wildstar. While not a bad game, it failed because it focused too heavily on the hardcore crowd. Ideally, MMOs try to design a variety of content that can satisfy casual, "midcore", and "hardcore" audiences. Things like Palace of the Dead are clearly designed for the more casual audience, while content like Savage Raids are built to test the mettle of hardcore raiders. Is the game perfect at satisfying those players? No. Is there room for improvement and gameplay diversification? Certainly. Diadem, if drastically improved, could satisfy the sort of "Difficult Open World exploration" itch a lot of people need to scratch, especially if it had some level synching so that challenge can be maintained. I think there'd definitely be an audience for "Difficult" or even "Savage" four-man dungeons, or more randomly generated content like the upcoming Palace of the Dead. There are certainly improvements that can be made to the itemization structure. For example, Relics should probably come out with the Even patches so players can use them for a longer period of time. Secondary stats could probably use a revamp, since players don't feel their effects enough. As a tank, stacking the Parry stat gives little noticeable effect. However, considering the amount of work required to modify something as fundamental as secondary stats, I wouldn't expect any change on that scale until at least the expansion.

I just think people have unrealistic expectations of what can get done in a single three month patch, especially when it comes to changing gameplay fundamentals like how items work in-game. Players in general (myself included), oftentimes have a difficult time estimating the amount of time, effort, and money going into developing new content. For example, new Dungeons are probably quite expensive to design. Even seemingly "simple" changes can be incredibly difficult from a coding perspective, especially if the code wasn't designed to accommodate that sort of change. For example, UI changes are notoriously difficult to do in a wide variety of programs. Database changes can have incredible, unintended effects if not handled carefully. You'd be surprised how difficult it can be to handle a "simple" change depending on the code around it. For example, I'm sure the current code around queuing for dungeons with a party makes the "cannot queue with a chocobo out" issue significantly harder to solve than it seems.c

Basically, we'll have to wait until October (at the fanfest) to see if any major changes are coming for the game. It's still valuable to post some negative feedback on the game right now, but be aware that sinking into endless negativity won't make you feel much better, and that you can't expect rapid change to fundamental aspects of the game.