What is up with this toxic community

[Ama_Hamada]

I think it has to do with the time period.

When the game was late 50, like the stage of this game now, getting ready to increase the cap of the final tomestone, the 275 stage, making the relic stages easier, it was the same thing. It just seemed like there was a higher amount of toxic people, just like what happens on weekends.

But yeah I def seen an increase lately, and it was no different then late 50, though i think late 50 was worse.

[Keikun]

The "ME>you" is the core problem, elitist people, sarcastic people over here, such a toxic community indeed.

[Belhi]

Hey, not need to typecast. I am a WoW immigrant myself. Getting all 'those WoW players!!!!' isn't really any less toxic. That said I think popularity will have effected the community dynamic somewhat.

Still, that isn't to say its all gone to pot. Admittedly I am on a JP server but I very much enjoy my community and find it pretty friendly. I personally try and facilitate that by trying to friendly myself and if I run into a jerk just ignore them. I tend to find getting angry at them just ends up feeding them and putting more people off. Your always going to have jerks in any community. Its the norms the community as a whole choses to take which really shape it. SE has done a number of things in game to promote this but in the end at is core its the players which drive it.

Yeah there is some... tension I guess, in the tank and healer community at the moment due to them being disappointed and unhappy on the lack of details but that will pass eventually when either SE gives tanks and healers something of meat to sink there teeth into in regard to the combat changes and once Stormblood hits. Ironically I suspect we will see more irate DPS at that point as I expect the queues will be somewhat unpleasant at launch.

[bass9020]

Hey, not need to typecast. I am a WoW immigrant myself. Getting all 'those WoW players!!!!' isn't really any less toxic. That said I think popularity will have effected the community dynamic somewhat.

I think a lot of the issue is non regular FF fans come here demanding changes because so and so game did it that way! Its not just WoW either so the whole blame the WoW people only isnt right. But people cant deny how other game fans come here and complain. I blame the devs though since they create the game and dont do or do things just to please certain crowds of people to try and keep them playing. Then the toxicity comes in.

[Shougun]

I'm sure it's just personal experience but I found WoW players more playful, except in circumstance of PvP in which case they'll playfully hunt you till you spawn far far away lol. Feels like a lot more sensitive people in FFXIV, parties disband faster, someone was literally triggered, stuff like that. Not that it's hard to find cool people, just felt like I had an easier time with random people in WoW, but once you found your niche group both felt good.

WildStar has an excellent housing community (working together, help each other, visit each other), was a very strong pillar of that game - probably why I want it so bad over here / don't see FFXIV's house system as that impressive.. but that game had a lot of other issues that disinterested me lol (also wasn't a fan of the graphic style, to each their own but imo FF graphics are lovely :3).

I think some of the things SE does may unintentionally encourage a negative community, how certain boss mechanics work (Soar is a really stupid thing I keep seeing the community divide over for example), awkward half banishment of certain tools, poorly designed housing (the haves and have nots), badly designed rank system for FC promotion (game killing levels of disappointment possible in this silly promotion issue), certain QoL changes that should exist but encourage people to not try as hard (all MMO's problems these days), but I think mostly it just an internet thing. Also just because I said a few harsh things in a row, don't take that as a dislike of the game as a whole, I think SE has something special with FFXIV and I hope they continue to pour love, and money, into it - just that for example your FC being robbed via the promotion issue is something that could make you want to quit and that SE has it set up as is, especially compared to other MMOs, is quite silly.

Sometimes on the internet you just meet a string of jerks out in the open and you have to find the shelters that good people have made- that'd be all games and interactions with people.. just got to keep looking up

[Tsunenori]

Signal to noise ratio, vocal minority, whatever you want to call it. Normal people who get home from work and want to relax and have a quiet evening playing with their friends aren't on the forums discussing things much, aren't putting up party finders trying to find waifus cross-server, or whatever else. The most vocal players are always the ones in the bubble, and the problematic players are always the minority. As the game grows, so will the number of jerks, but it's ultimately up to you whether or not you choose to focus on that or not.

MMOs are in a weird spot anyway, and have been shrinking for a few years compared to other genres. Most of the active population across the genre at this point I'd bet has been around for a while and been through multiple games including WoW, and XIV is probably the one MMO that's really appealing to non-MMO players what with the Final Fantasy branding and everything. You'll have a clash of playstyles, populations, whatever when that happens, especially with how min/max focused many other MMOs are.

Of course I can't go linking statistics or whatever, so if you feel like I'm talking out of my butt here feel free to say. It's just my personal experience over the years. You see these same threads on the WoW forums, trying to harken back to the old days when it was smaller and better and there weren't as many jerks, but the ratio I feel like has always been the same. It's a people problem, not a game-specific community problem.

I blame the devs though since they create the game and dont do or do things just to please certain crowds of people to try and keep them playing. Then the toxicity comes in.

I'm not sure this is a healthy way to look at things either. Diversity is important for growth and for fostering an active community, and developers will try to cater to that yes, but ultimately they have their own plans/goals as well for what they wish to create. Again, I stated this earlier today in another thread, but please try to remember (given your start date I'm sure you know this already) that this game exists today because it was built on the back of player feedback and developers trying to please their players. It's a healthy process on the whole, even if slight missteps can happen along the way.

I guess what I'm getting at is that design is an iterative and messy process when you boil it down and to not dwell to much on what might be creating "toxicity" because the devs have shown in the past they crack down on things that create negative attitudes in the community (such as Dark Devices in early 2.0). Not that I'm trying to discourage leaving feedback, but I think a lot of people are quick to try to blame developers and other communities for a problem that isn't really a problem, and isn't really "fixable" to begin with.

[Recaldy]

Well when content is short...and people wanna go fast cause its short...I'd be fussy too if it took too long when it doesn't have to. 1.0 was a slower game from what I've seen so the gotta-go-fast mentality wasn't as prevalent.

[TheBoat]

Most of the bad experiences I've had with people have been in POTD, but that's not really surprising. I just wish people would communicate more. Loading into an instance and it seems rarer and rarer for people to even say hello anymore. I don't have a problem with rushing things, but I do have a problem when people just expect things to be done their way and don't bother to let the group know what they want. A little communication beforehand can go a long way to avoiding problems.

All I can suggest is keep being positive, and remember that not everyone is like that. Negative people can really get you down but coming across them is a bit like stepping in a dog turd. Just wipe it off your feet and move on.

[SilkaN]

I don't expect to meet reasonable people in a Final Fantasy game.
That being said, I have no problems with the players on my server.
It's mostly people in the DF / PF that are trying to ruin my fun.

[Dualblade]

Honestly its about the same here as it is in just about every other MMO I've played, slightly better than most IMO but still not as good as a couple others.

Also still better then online FPS games.