Quote Originally Posted by Okamimaru View Post
I\\\\'m really not sure what people want when they say innovative especially when they just really want a ffxi or wow clone
Speaking personally, I want things that alter how my jobs play in a fundamental way. This is something SE hasn't achieved. Putting it another way, as a White Mage, there is virtually no difference in how I approach a 4-man dungeon at level 50, and how I approach one at level 70. I've got a few more toys, but they don't fundamentally alter my job - they just make certain things easier. This issue arises from two key failures on SE's part:

(1) Instance-specific mechanics are shallow. They are virtually all movement-based. Stack here, face this way, move out of the AoE - all of it boils down to movement. There are few exceptions that I can think of off the top of my head; the Void Ark encounter in which a pair of bosses will swap immunity to ranged or magic damage, say, or certain creatures requiring tank-swaps. The net result of this is that most fights (certainly anything below the Extreme / Savage / Ultimate tiers) feel quite boring after one has mastered the mechanics. It's same old shit, different models and movement. Hashmal doesn't feel much different than Behemoth used to back when Labyrinth of the Ancients was the only 24-person Raid available - move according to patterns, kill adds as they come up, and pound on the boss as you can. It's boring.

(2) Core game systems have not evolved / grown in any way whatsoever. The only major changes to core game systems have aimed to simplify and streamline, not to grow. This extends even to DoH and DoL jobs; why is Mining at 70 literally the same f***ing experience it was at 50? Why is Weaver? My rotation changes, but there's nothing new about the experience. Fishing got Spearfishing, but even that wasn't very new. Where are the changes to the underlying system, changes designed to really engage people who are tired of feeling like robots? And the combat jobs are even worse. There's still no real decision-making in how to gear your character; not much decision-making in how you select your Role skills; no customization, no skill trees, a minimal amount of synergy between abilities and secondary stats. Hell, there aren't even Merit Points from FFXI.

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This is a large part of why SE is struggling to release fresh-feeling content. Eureka, to pick on a relatively current example, introduced the elemental affinity system - but it was easily cycled through, and, once set properly, again fails to bring anything new to the table for us in combat. Hell, they didn't even structure it so that people had to choose whether or not they were prioritizing defense or offense; specifying the right element grants both. It introduced a new map, a new XP system, new items... but it didn't grow core combat systems in any meaningful way. So, the only thing 'new' about the experience is getting to run around panicked until you eventually level up to the point where you're helping fuel the FATE train, rather than just trying to catch a free ride. The dungeons and such released every patch are even worse.

The funny thing is, SE has been quite successful when it comes to non-Job content. The Gold Saucer, chocobo racing, Triple Triad, Housing - there's a lot of depth to the non-Job content in XIV, and new content is actually that: brand new content. Each of these things is quite unique. Say what you will about Lord of Verminion, but it's unlike anything else in the game, too. The quality varies, but the experience is fresh every single time. Could you imagine if, for three years straight, the only real addition to non-Job content was new furniture, new Gold Saucer mini-games (that are reskinned versions of existing games), and more Triple Triad cards? I suspect we'd see more casual players getting annoyed, too.

That's what it's like for Job content though. It's been years since the release of ARR and the first couple of content cycles. And we're getting the same old shit still, just re-skinned, with bigger numbers, and more complex movement patterns. There has to be more.