Quote Originally Posted by Answa View Post
The point is that when you mix together different players with different levels, you can't just adjust content to that party. It's unworkable. There's a ton of quests between Lv. 1-50 that give you EXP, as well as guildeves, etc. Grinding is just faster, and not really a bad thing. I see so many people talking about FFXIV being a grind fest. But really, what MMO isn't?
Despite knowingly heading down a rabbit hole with this question, I must counter with: what says they should be?

I believe the genre has boxed itself in with its thinking that grinding = playtime = revenue. I further believe that the model has become tired, and there is an excellent opportunity now to move away from it; maybe not with FFXIV, but with the next-big-title. I see "achievement" systems being used more and more as a means of measurement, and will likely one day be used for character progression instead of the levelling tread-mill, which itself hinders and prohibits new sales unless significant investments are made to hardware/infrastructure to support "brand-new" or "from-scratch" servers.

Revisiting the drawing board with a focus on achievement-based progression is the bright future of gaming.