Make FFXIV more like FFXI and less like WoW!

[Sandpark]

I've yet to find what people thought of as fun in FFXI. The combat was generally a mess (between TP dynamics to the bastardization of several of the in-game systems by the players). Class balance was a mess (god-tier jobs, junk jobs, exacerbated by overt focus on niche design). World presentation was a mess (the world being barren of civilization outside of the three main cities, though this I chalk up to game engine limitations and the PS2). Nevermind the plethora of unintended things done in-game that diminished my enjoyment (I can attest to this as someone who hates gear-swaps, staff-wielding PLDs and refresh botting).

Go to youtube and watch most player reviews. The combat is the last thing people sing cheers about in XIV. Where as most player who did play XI usually recite how much they enjoyed the combat system. Class balance was not as tuned as it is here, but you also have more ways to play each job than you do here. The world being barren I would also chalk up to ps2 limitations but it wasn't that barren. You could go into areas connected to others and stumble upon a tribe or something else of interest.

The difference is that XIV at least lets you see some sort of progression. Which is nothing like, say, camping a named monster for a drop you "needed" to get into exp parties or doing Dynamis for the billionth time for your Duelist's Chapeau.

If I had the money I would buy a new car every 3 months and replace it every 3 months. However if money came that easy to me I probably wouldn't appreciate that new car for long.Same thing here.

Here you're ignoring the fact that people who spend a lot of time on something are very reluctant to entirely drop it, regardless of how shitty the experience is. Aside from that some will stay because they have friends in-game.

I drop something quicker than Doc Holliday can pull the trigger in Tombstone when it isn't something I enjoy. I can't speak for others.

I'll call this into question. To name some examples, we've had people asking for extra stats on gear, often citing FFXI's stats and not realizing the balance issues those would cause progression-wise and gear design-wise (before even getting into how such stats would affect actual gameplay). We've had people asking for Dynamis and Nyzul Isle clones, gotten them and had one (Diadem) shit on for not being a source of raid gear and the other (PotD) labeled as repetitive (despite following almost the exact same structure as Nyzul Isle sans the floors with bullshit lamp placements).

What else is there? Pankration? A horribly-designed pet battle system that with some major tweaks could have been decent but was abandoned.

Moblin Maze Mongers? A decent system that was abandoned too early and then was implemented a second time (see: Meeble Burrows) because reasons.

Campaign? We already have that via FATEs, and the only difference between the two is that FATE mobs don't one-shot you the way Campaign mobs could.

Besieged? An unsustainable model, since that (along with the original implementation of colonization) assumes a continuously high in-game population.

Assault? We have this already in the form of dungeons, just without the classisms.

This all said, I'm willing to discuss things we could actually learn and improve from XI that don't mess with progression, but such examples are few and far in between.

PS: Before anyone mentions Delve and the several hundred other events with a single word for a name, those are all pretty much the same thing, just with different names and currencies. Collect gimmick (either items or currency) => pop and kill mob => get loot or get nothing depending on RNG => repeat.

And Vermillion is so much better than Pankration? How many people play that?

The difference between campaign and fates is you played a role in an alliance vs beast war. Not just fought beast because they happened to be at a blue icon thing on the map with no story tied to their circumstance.

At least Besieged was an fugging actual public system for more than 20 players that you could see other players participating in from the server having varying level ranges from low level to the BiS people. And it was crazy fun, and had a branching quest line depending on who won or lost. You make it seem insignificant, but after effects do add immersion and encouraging someone to care about what happens to the world.

Assault and Dungeons are nothing alike except that they take place in an instance. There were dynamics there that are not present here like awareness, enemy tendencies and AI that make or break runs.

Just because someone doesn't like something doesn't mean everyone does. So if you didn't like it that's fine. I like most I see in this game, but the combat and closed-ness of content makes me feel like The Man in the Bubble sometimes.