Your biggest fears for 4.0

[RobbieH]

End game tomestone grind repeated identically to 2.0 and 3.0

I haven't mentioned any fear yet, but this is the biggest problem i have with the game.

[Katana190]

Snip

I see your point, and it's also of some concern to me. But Yoshi said he would bring PLD/DRK up to WAR standards, which can easily be done with new skills in 4.0. I also somewhat disagree, the Utility PLD/DRK bring is really good! And the likes of double WAR is an OKAY comp, but it's nothing special or compares to PLD/WAR or DRK/WAR. Obviously with the addition of a new Tank it would also bring more Utility to the table. We'll just have to see how SE balance things!

[Lufir]

I haven't mentioned any fear yet, but this is the biggest problem i have with the game.

One of my issues I have with the game currently as well. I really hope they find a way to spice things up for 4.0

[FinalWolf]

The new tank will feel the same and hardly any utility.

[Welsper59]

The new tank will feel the same and hardly any utility.

You're asking for a lot there. Balancing and tradeoff, combined with a somewhat strict following of the holy trinity, are powerful tools that prevent unique design that isn't simply different visuals and minor playstyle differences. Even with mechanical differences, if it's too convoluted or management heavy, then it's too difficult and not something the devs want.

[Rhaja]

That Eureka is going to be a let down =\

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

My biggest fear? That there will be no way to condense early-game experience. I want to get people into the game, and the early ARR MSQ is a huge, bloated obstacle to that. It's especially complicated with this game because of the story - a "leveling potion" is only the answer when levels are the sole thing that players need to progress through, but this game has its story, which takes a significant time investment in a part of the game that doesn't find its groove until dozens of hours in. And then grinds to a halt for a few dozen more quests! Say what you will about Heavensward being "the same game" (a statement I feel is a gross simplification), it really managed to refine and improve upon ARR's bloated narrative. The ARR narrative should be offered as a digest (with episodes maybe broken up by needing to do the dungeons and instances?), as should the 2.x story.

I suppose a secondary worry is over-simplification of combat roles.

That said, I'm not really all that pessimistic about Stormblood. Aside from increasingly-simplified dungeons, FFXIV has gotten pretty consistently better, with the dev team demonstrably learning from past mistakes. Even the return of the Tome Grind (which I think likely) doesn't especially scare me, since recent patches have offered so many different ways of acquiring them at endgame that I rarely need to do more than two or three Expert Roulettes. Give me enough ways to work towards a goal, and I'll be happy; just PLEASE don't completely reset available content to "two dungeons and a raid" like Heavensward did.

[dinnertime]

If they didn't do anything different or game-changing at all even though they have triple the budget now.
It's been about 3 years now since ARR, 4 when Stormblood is around. It's time for big changes.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

If they didn't do anything different or game-changing at all even though they have triple the budget now.
It's been about 3 years now since ARR, 4 when Stormblood is around. It's time for big changes.

Except the MMO market is volatile, and exceptionally difficult to achieve success in. They may not have the luxury to try wild experimentation; I imagine there's quite a lot of pressure from those above to "not fix what ain't broke" (and they'd need hard numbers to demonstrate "broke", not the clamours of the online masses), and any major changes they make would have to be just as possible of engaging the same number of people to be worth the investment.

[dinnertime]

Except the MMO market is volatile, and exceptionally difficult to achieve success in. They may not have the luxury to try wild experimentation; I imagine there's quite a lot of pressure from those above to "not fix what ain't broke" (and they'd need hard numbers to demonstrate "broke", not the clamours of the online masses), and any major changes they make would have to be just as possible of engaging the same number of people to be worth the investment.

By change I meant improvements, not really fixing something that's not broken.
ARR was a huge success even though it still felt half-baked. It's still half-baked even now and still successful, but there has been a decline. They should make improvements at this point.