Are you happy with FFXIV PVP and its current direction? Yes or No?

[Dimitrii]

I would like them to fix the queue times, I dont mean removing the GC restrictions, but yesterday I queue up for only shatter and was in queue beyond 90 minutes during prime time and no shatter pop. Some players can be thrown into these really bad queue slot that makes no sense.

The GC restrictions is a big reason why you are experiencing that though. Iirc correctly you are also a fellow Maelstrom on primal. I also queued for shatter last night and got into 3 matches while an adder friend of mine got into double the matches during the same span. Maelstrom is way too overpopulated atm. And as long as the GC restriction remains in place the GC with the highest winrate will always be overpopulated and suffer from exceptionally bad queues (compared to the other 2 GCs) which unfortunately atm is Maelstrom.

Even though this thread seems rather pointless in asking if you are currently happy with FFXIV PVP, since all you have to do is look at the front page filled with all the "get rid of GC restrictions", "fix my queues", "pvp is dead" threads (not to mention the threads complaining about shatter being too PVE oriented) to figure out where this thread is ultimately gonna lead and that the general consensus is that the community is in fact generally not happy with FFXIV PVP and its direction right now (in fact there are no positive threads regarding PVP in there at all), I'll at least add that I do appreciate SE trying to keep PVP alive by putting out new modes even if the changes are only enough to keep pvp on life support.

At this point I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that the reason they haven't already removed GC restrictions has more to do with some technical hurdle we just don't know about or understand rather than something silly like lore or the fear of win trading in front lines. I do not believe they are completely ignoring player input otherwise monk would still be stripping sch/smn aetherflow stacks, blm and healers would still be getting interrupted from auto attacks, DRK would have never been touched, etc. And even though I find shatter boring I still appreciate its inclusion and attempt at making a mode that plays with a different mindset and strategy than the others. I'm just more miffed at the fact that I'm forced to play this mode instead of secure/seize which I like better simply because its the only mode thats active atm, but thats a community (or lack thereof) problem not necessarily SE's fault. So in summation no I am not currently happy with FFXIV pvp right now as I do not enjoy the current iteration of frontlines (and Feast while entertaining is almost completely dead atm and still needs further tweaking) but that being said I dont feel the situation in PVP is hopeless for the future either.

[Cynric]

Honestly I've just stopped queuing because it takes too long to get a game for anything and refocused what I do in game away from pvp until its less of a chore. When I pvp I don't feel like im getting my moneys worth from the game. Shatter isn't very fun but seize was. Feast was fun but too stressful after I hit gold and then it died. If they improve feast and shatter id love to play again. Till then however im probably done with pvp. The last adjustments post kind of clinched it for me that currently this is a waste of my game time.

[Februs]

IDK, I'm sick of Shatter and I haven't even played that much of it... Any dumb idea sounds better than what we currently have...

Agreed. I wanted to give that game mode the benefit of the doubt, but it has been out for a while now, and it's really difficult to see a silver lining. Even as far as "casual" PvP goes, I'd much rather spend my time in 8 vs 8 Feast than wade into the swap water that is Shatter.

As for WD Pier, I'm up for anything at this point. I really would prefer to see it function as an actual PvP haunt, rather than just a place you went to once or twice to finish a quest. I'd be happy to see things like PvP weekly quests, expanded challenge log entries, currency/token exchanges, and an upgraded, relevant, vendor selection. It would also be useful for generating a more welcoming PvP environment to new players. In PvE, players typically start to gravitate towards Mor Dhona and later Idyllshire for their end-game needs, so there is always experienced players hanging around if someone needs guidance or services. PvP doesn't have that, so it would be great if SE gave players a reason to actually linger in the Den instead of just pass through it. They already have a lot of systems in place that they could emulate in PvP, if they chose to. Though, it would be a lot of work ... With their history, I'm not sure I can picture SE putting in that much effort.

[FunkYeahDragons]

I took a break from FFXIV, quit PVP in FFXIV, and started PVPing in other games. That about sums it up.

[Eorzean_username]

Straight up: I don't like that I'm so negative in this post. Because, in general, I am very happy with FFXIV, and I enjoy my time in Eorzea. This is a very nice world, I like being here. But the jarring PvP transition from 3.2 → 3.3 has placed me in a similar position to Solace Fey — 3.2 made me get over my fear of PvP, but 3.3 has motivated me to find other games to keep exploring it.


I went from being terrified of the thought of PvP (3.0 → 3.2), to being surprised to find that I really enjoyed it (3.2 Seize and Feast), to losing interest and drifting away — not because of fear, or failures, but the fact I'm just... not having fun any more (3.3 Shatter).

I have tried very stubbornly to find redeeming aspects to Shatter, but ultimately my feelings are that the map is just wrong as a PvP offering, in so many ways that I don't have the time or energy to keep analyzing it (and the seemingly-oblivious dev 'response' in the Shatter thread kind of deflated my enthusiasm for further feedback, as well).

Flatly, 3.3 PvP has been very much a let down for me, especially after I gave in and sac'd my Immortal Flames RP/headcanon just to swap to a minority GC so my queues would pop and I could even try the new map. (blah blah GC restrictions blah blah serious queue issues blah blah Roulette rewards blah blah blah no one is fixing this, transfer to Mana or give up)

I like the core PvP design in FFXIV, I find it fun. I think the Job balance is surprisingly good for a PvE-focused MMO. I think the PvP abilities are well-designed complements and support tools. I like Secure, I don't mind Slaughter, I loved Seize and Feast. I will definitely try PvP more when Feast Unranked returns, or a better Frontline map comes out, or something is done to make all (Not Shatter) maps viable again.

Until then, I hate admitting this, but I find myself hugely relieved to just blow off my daily Shatter Roulette and PvP time (which will inevitably be... more Shatter Time). I found myself trying way too hard to pretend I'm having fun in most Shatter matches, and it's not worth 3 hours of queues to maybe get the 1 in 10 matches that's aggressive and actually fun, instead of the Avoid Eye Contact → Stone Sky Sea meta.

Which even still, wouldn't be nearly so disappointing if the devs would stop intentionally killing every previous mode with the new mode, denying players options for their playstyle preference (made further frustrating by how hard Yoshida apparently struggles to give players of all styles and personalities ways to enjoy and approach PvE).

Also, being totally candid, while I have a lot of fun with the core PvP sparring and tactics — objectively, this side of FFXIV is a mess. Way beyond Shatter's problems, there's a huge pile of issues with FFXIV's PvP design, implementation, presentation, environment, logistics, accessibility, reward structure, prestige, etc that have been beaten on and discussed in circles ad-nauseum — and blown off and ignored — in other threads for months (if not years). And I'm just a tourist newbie; for the dedicated core PvP community, this must be very discouraging and demoralizing.

And for all that, I would still be having fun if I could just get some simple, actual PvP going again. Like duels. A free-for-all region. A World PvP zone. Year-round Unranked Feast Skirmishes. Incentives for queuing older, better-designed maps... (and now I'm going in circles)

[Canadane]

Feast could use a couple updates (degrading rating score over time) but it has been super fun.
I also do enjoy the other PvP modes, but nothing as much as I did the Feast.

So I guess... yes!

[Nalien]

They already have a lot of systems in place that they could emulate in PvP, if they chose to. Though, it would be a lot of work ... With their history, I'm not sure I can picture SE putting in that much effort.

Thinking about Morale gear... They could perhaps just slap a Sanction style effect on it and have it boost item level everywhere, then Wolf Marks would suddenly have constant value... Morale gear could act the same as catch-up gear in PvE, with the PvP Sanction providing a constant use for Wolf Marks.

That's probably the best I can imagine happening with Morale... I'd be going out of my way to farm the gear for multiple Jobs and I'd constantly need to farm up a bunch of PvP Sanction scrolls in order to boost it to the proper item level in PvE... That would have me farming Wolf Marks fairly consistently, the only extra effort I can see SE needing to put in is perhaps making new PvP sets somewhat more frequently... Might need to adjust costs and the final item level, drop the current set down to i230, maybe i225 given we're still limited on i230 PvE sets... That's still better than Midan, and the stats selection on PvP gear is generally much nicer anyway (f*ck you Parry), and I think the Sanction style requirement balances it out nicely while also giving Wolf Marks a constant purpose...

[loreleidiangelo]

Super minority opinion here, but I hagent enjoyed PVP since Slaughter. I feel like it was the only mode that actually forced PVP, for the most part. Individual LBs and caster-stacking made it a type-F cluster, but instead of trying to balance around that they basically just gave us a huge map with an inordinate amount of focus on completing PVE objectives. Ugh, nty.

Admittedly, placing the focus on PVE objectives does allow for a certain ease of access to new PVPers, so there's that. In Slaughter they were just kind of cannon fodder...

[FunkYeahDragons]

Super minority opinion here, but I hagent enjoyed PVP since Slaughter. I feel like it was the only mode that actually forced PVP, for the most part. Individual LBs and caster-stacking made it a type-F cluster, but instead of trying to balance around that they basically just gave us a huge map with an inordinate amount of focus on completing PVE objectives. Ugh, nty.

Admittedly, placing the focus on PVE objectives does allow for a certain ease of access to new PVPers, so there's that. In Slaughter they were just kind of cannon fodder...

Trial by fire is the best kind.

[Dimitrii]

Super minority opinion here, but I hagent enjoyed PVP since Slaughter. I feel like it was the only mode that actually forced PVP, for the most part. Individual LBs and caster-stacking made it a type-F cluster, but instead of trying to balance around that they basically just gave us a huge map with an inordinate amount of focus on completing PVE objectives. Ugh, nty.

Admittedly, placing the focus on PVE objectives does allow for a certain ease of access to new PVPers, so there's that. In Slaughter they were just kind of cannon fodder...

Just play ranked feast if you wanna kill and limit break all day. At least that requires some skill instead of slaughter where you hide behind your team casting and throwing out caster AOE's all day. Slaughter was worse than shatter.