4.25 and beyond

[Vhailor]

you are in no way required to like ff14 or think it is a great game i don't wanna seem like i am saying you have to.

what i am saying is FF14 isn't trying to be the game you want, and its succeeding very very very well despite not being what you want, it won't change any time soon and anything they add that sounds like something you would like would be butchered to cater to the casual full time life player who can't play well or often ruining it for you.

I think this highlights well a key point that most people don't seem to understand: I don't accept this current state of the game, will be vocal about wanting it to change, and do not want to yet resign myself to the idea that SE's flagship MMO (in the past FFXI, currently FFXIV) will be an ongoing pile of mediocrity. I think a lot of people fall into this group. We're not going to simply lie down and 'accept' SE's current vision for FFXIV. It's changed once before, and it can change again.

The whole argument about butchering content for 'casual' players is also nonsense. There are two distinct groups of people you referred to: those who don't play well, and those who can't play often. For the former, most of the FFXI content I listed - Assault, Nyzul Isle, Abyssea, Campaigns, maybe Besieged - none of that content was remotely as difficult as The Royal Menagerie. Battle content that feels different to what came before it, that offers a different experience, does not intrinsically require increased difficulty. It simply requires SE to be creative, something which they appear to be utterly incapable of these days. And for the people who cannot play often, the pace of content development in the game is already well beyond their playtime. So why does it all need to be focused on them, or even mostly? I got slammed with work a month ago, as an example; I was playing from my laptop maybe 30 minutes a night to unwind before the grind continued. I picked up Triple Triad. TT alone could have occupied me for a few months at a low play rate, and that's not even considering Crafting, Gathering, Gold Saucer mini-games, casual Tomestone farming, Vistas, Housing, and, oh yes, the entire main storyline. Where, exactly, does a problem arise if SE creates content that actually has some variety to it?

This argument about "oh but the casual players" needs to be killed off, buried in a shallow grave, and the earth around it salted. It is complete and utter nonsense, and effectively amounts to a giant excuse of SE's inability to design creative, fun, fresh-feeling content. I consider myself a casual player. I don't raid, I don't bother with the insane grinds, I don't level every job, I don't play 10 hours a day. And it really bothers me when 'casual' content is equated with 'shit' content.

[Arcari]

At least SE hasn't tried to sell us lootboxes yet!

But on a serious note, I'd like to echo many of the sentiments in this discussion. I have been an active player since the beta; my sub hasn't dropped once. As much as I want to continue to support this game, even I have to admit just how stale it's become. I'm truly hoping Eureka will be able to give me even the slightest reason to stick around. Otherwise, I'll be making someone happy with a Shirogane Plot 38...

[Marcellus_Cassius]

Battle content that feels different to what came before it, that offers a different experience, does not intrinsically require increased difficulty.

I can't disagree with that Ayer2015. Also I think Vhailor brings up a good point.

[AmemeAmeklin]

Background on me: I'm still something of a newbie to FFXIV but I come from playing EverQuest (waaaay back when, first handful of expansions), where you absolutely have to cooperate with others to get most stuff done.

From what I've seen, the elite hunts are the most MMO experience in this game so far. You find friends at these hunts, get invited to the linkshells, show up, kill, and move on to the next one where you see the same people and get to know them. A close second is just hanging out at the aetheryte plazas for the main city-states and willingly interacting with other players.

Duty Finder is all well and good when trying to get things like the MSQ or tomestones, but it's hard to start cross-server friendships! I have macros to push, no time to chat!!

I think I'd be interested in more puzzle-like mechanics - like Qarn, but less rage-inducing bosses (do we have to have bosses?!). I'd also like more quests that don't spell out where to go every single time. Of course, I basically grew up with quests that had to be solved, completely sans help from maps and quest indicators. Didn't even know which NPCs had quests - you had to hail them all to see if they said anything interesting. Devs put in fun easter eggs, too: little silly interactions, like this one NPC on the docks in EverQuest who responded to players who told her "I love you" with something along the lines of "We'd make a fine couple".

I feel like the sylphs should dance with you if you ever emote /dance to them, and Haurchefant should get excited if you tell him you love him, and Lyse should /box with you if you do it to her, etc.