Fan Fest announcements will determine my future in this game..

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

So the story writing was superior to the story writing we have now? They could at least get the old team members back on board so their ideas could help.

Um... If you were even tangentally paying attention you'd know that we've been in the middle of a war for pretty much the entire game, though? I mean, the only exception I can think of is maybe 2.1 but we've been pretty much constantly embroiled in war. O.o Constant fighting is also bad writing, due to the lack of juxtaposition. If we don't have anything to compare to the constant battle, then the fighting becomes dull because it's the new 'normal'. A good story needs it's moments of peace and calm as well as it's hi octane action.

Edit: Admittedly I started skipping the story after 2.X because I was getting tired of the constant struggle and I'd gotten burned out on all the action. I started paying attention again in 2.5 or so because the intrigue was interesting.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Um... If you were even tangentally paying attention you'd know that we've been in the middle of a war for pretty much the entire game, though? I mean, the only exception I can think of is maybe 2.1 but we've been pretty much constantly embroiled in war. O.o Constant fighting is also bad writing, due to the lack of juxtaposition. If we don't have anything to compare to the constant battle, then the fighting becomes dull because it's the new 'normal'. A good story needs it's moments of peace and calm as well as it's hi octane action.

Edit: Admittedly I started skipping the story after 2.X because I was getting tired of the constant struggle and I'd gotten burned out on all the action. I started paying attention again in 2.5 or so because the intrigue was interesting.

Yes and no. It only constitutes bad writing if we aren't given a reason for being in "constant war." We've had plenty of momentary breaks in between the action bits. Unfortunately, the writers are limited by expectations. If we had a whole patch cycle where we're completely stationary and just "relaxing," people are going to whine how boring the MSQ was.

[Balipu]

Yes and no. It only constitutes bad writing if we aren't given a reason for being in "constant war." We've had plenty of momentary breaks in between the action bits. Unfortunately, the writers are limited by expectations. If we had a whole patch cycle where we're completely stationary and just "relaxing," people are going to whine how boring the MSQ was.

This. Like it or not, the game is about killing things for XP, gear, pets and triple triad cards. And orchestrion rolls. And Wondrous Tails seals. So we need some sort of conflict. We can have dinners with Aymeric, but that's the closest we can ever get to peace.

[FyrmurlFloerasksyn]

Let's be honest here.. even if you do drop your sub, i can guarantee you will be back. Even with the game's flaws, its still one of the best MMO's out there. It just has so much going for it.

[Ayuhra]

I am hardly a well seasoned player but I kind of agree with OP. I won't completely drop my sub (I tend to let it go off and on anyway) but the game does feel very rigid. The gameplay is rigid, the release cadence is rigid, gearing is rigid...

I would love to see more opportunities for lateral progression, ways to customize our characters (gameplaywise) if it can be done well, and some crazy world events.

I really like this game but with some fluidity and exploration it could be really phenomenal.

[ADVSS]

I am hardly a well seasoned player but I kind of agree with OP. I won't completely drop my sub (I tend to let it go off and on anyway) but the game does feel very rigid. The gameplay is rigid, the release cadence is rigid, gearing is rigid...

I would love to see more opportunities for lateral progression, ways to customize our characters (gameplaywise) if it can be done well, and some crazy world events.

I really like this game but with some fluidity and exploration it could be really phenomenal.

yeah i mean were too far now but i could have seen some potential if theyd have kept cross class a thing, its a bit silly now though, but some form of customization in the future would be great. I mean we're all special snowflakes, at least I know I am

[Chiramu]

Let's be honest here.. even if you do drop your sub, i can guarantee you will be back. Even with the game's flaws, its still one of the best MMO's out there. It just has so much going for it.

For now, have you seen the MMORPGs coming out next year?

[Shai]

Basically, what you're saying is Square Enix fired their lead developer and spent tens of millions to overhaul the entirety of their game... for shits and giggles?

Actually, what Lia Shan was saying is ...

People who enjoyed 1.0 (around the 1.20-1.23 time frame when the game actually felt like a finished product) and people who enjoyed XI, are going to think back on those games and tell you these amazing stories of personal accomplishment and camaraderie. That is because the things they did, the challenges they faced felt real and rewarding. The friendships you forge overcoming adversity are typically more visceral than the relationships you form (for example) running Snowcloak in the duty finder.

Lia Shan's point was - even though 1.0 was a failure - it provided an experience that Reborn will likely never provide in any meaningful way. Now of course results may vary. If this is your first MMO ever you may be having that wide-eyed, stary experience we all crave from our first MMO experiences. The point remains, though. Easy face-roll content with people you don't speak to and will never statistically see again isn't the same as forging your path in a game on the shoulders of your comrades with blood, sweat and tears. This game doesn't and won't ever provide that kind of content.

I speak of things I've done in some MMOs (1.0 and XI included) as if they were real experiences. As if they actually happened to me and not some made up character, because I was that invested in the character and the outcome due to the length or difficulty of the challenges faced. I'm not making an argument for or against it. I know why XIV is not going to be this way. SE is following the money. I'm not stupid. I'm just saying that regardless of 1.0's financial success or failure - the people who enjoyed that game got something from that game that ARR cannot reproduce in its current state. The expectations of those players that they will get something like this in some future content patch or expansion is vastly unrealistic and they will always be disappointed.

That is what Lia Shan was trying to express, I believe.

[Duelle]

The four factions make Eorzea seem like it's lovey-dovey though. The Garlean threat doesn't seem large with those four factions all together. If the factions were warring AND you have to deal with the Garleans at the same time then there is some conflict.

The problem with this is that you then make your antagonist look like a chump. Which is what happened when Blizzard tried to start the Alliance-Horde war right in the middle of the Wrath of the Lich King storyline. Instead of implying that the Lich King and his forces were so powerful that you needed all factions banding together just to take him down, you ended up with "well, that guy got lucky the guys that were gonna fight him started killing each other instead".

Sure, you have immediate conflict, but you also wash down the power of your enemies when you use infighting.

[Chiramu]

The problem with this is that you then make your antagonist look like a chump. Which is what happened when Blizzard tried to start the Alliance-Horde war right in the middle of the Wrath of the Lich King storyline. Instead of implying that the Lich King and his forces were so powerful that you needed all factions banding together just to take him down, you ended up with "well, that guy got lucky the guys that were gonna fight him started killing each other instead".

The Horde/Alliance conflict in WoTLK was really good however. Raiding wasn't available for all sorts of players back then as well, it was a good idea of Blizzard to put the ending cutscene viewable for all players in Dalaran(this would've been a good idea for Final Coils instead of nerfing raids).
For most WoW players in this time I think the faction fighting was the best part because not everyone was a raider .