We covered hopes for 5.0, but what are your fears?

[KageTokage]

I'm afraid they're just going to follow the same cycle without introducing any engaging new content.

Heck, they don't even need to have entirely new content and could just build on what already exists with things like more dungeon difficulties. even tougher hunts then S ranks, etc.

[Soraki-Muppe]

I fear that we instead of better and more dungeons will get 1 dungeon per patch without any improvements to the formula, have to make less dungeons so resources can be used for something else.
I fear that the savage raids will become even easier, got to listen to those that want to be able to pug it all week 1 you know.
I fear that the next version of PotD will just like HoH only bring minimal changes, no change to the templates of the rooms.
I fear that we will see them do less trials, 1 every other patch so they can move those resources to work on something "new".
I fear that they have not learned anything from Eureka, that they will make the same sort of content again, and when players do not want to do it they will throw in a bunch of rewards like hairstyles, housing, glam, gil, mounts, pets, emotes. When in reality the relic itself should be enough of a rewards, that the content itself should be good enough to draw players to do it without a warehouse filled with carrots.

[Gemina]

I fear the same thing every expansion, and it's that changes are so drastic that it rips the fun and enjoyment right out of the game for me. An example of a change of similar magnitude is putting the relics inside Eureka. I really enjoyed obtaining my relics in ARR and HW, and I still do these quests with new jobs I level. But since they put these things inside content I have no interest in, there goes the enjoyment of obtaining relics in 4.0.

This was basically my own endgame for expansions as far as PvE goes, and that's gone now in 4.0 for me. I don't even need to try it. When I heard it was basically a rehash of FFXIs old school leveling grind, I immediately wanted no part of it. I can't believe someone actually signed off on that being a good idea to bring into FFXIV. But players kept asking for concepts from XI to be brought into XIV. Echoes of a more dangerous world, and do relics differently was all too rampant around here in 3.0.

I'd be careful about the desire for longer lasting gear, and changing the style of progression. With SEs track record, they will over complicate it and spend the entirety of the expansion making adjustments to it.

It things like this that I fear.

[MicahZerrshia]

I do not want to derail this thread because there is a lot of good thoughts come from ppl. But I just want to take a moment to say...

But players kept asking for concepts from XI to be brought into XIV..

I wish ppl would stop blaming XI for Eureka. Yes ppl wanted concepts from XI to be brought in, there were many many good concepts, content and designs from XI they could have used. But it was the dev teams decision to bring in the worst of the worst parts of XI, things they even got rid of and no longer exist in today's FFXI because the XI team knew they were bad. But XI was not Eureka and Eureka is not XI, anyone who bothered playing XI for any length of time could tell you that. All statements like this do is tell those of us who played and still play FFXI that you never played it for the long term but heard things you want to rehash on the forums because you have no other argument or are looking for someone other than the development team to blame.

If they actually brought the good concepts from XI into XIV in 5.0 it would breath some much needed life into this game. So please stop using FFXI as a scapegoat for poor development decisions.


/endrant


/carryon

[Acidblood]

TLDR; I fear that 5.X will be little more than a re-skin of 4.X, rolling out the same content (dungeons, raids, PotD, maps, hunts, etc.) for a new level cap with no significant improvements or additions to core features.

I fear that the 'keystone' content of 5.X will simply be Eureka v2, with the relic once again locked behind content designed to be a mindless and redundant grind (all in the name of 'keeping players busy').
I fear that more and more RNG based systems will be introduce in an attempt to keep players on a less and less rewarding treadmill.
I fear that content will be made 'easier' (read: nerfed numbers) in the name of accessibility without addressing any other issues the content design may have (such as being 100% predictable and repetitive = boring).
I fear that classes/jobs (see: WHM, DRK, MCH) and systems (see: cross-role) will be poorly designed and once again ignored for an entire expansion (or longer).
I fear that existing side-systems that could be so much more (e.g. Triple Triad; making ALL cards useful) will continue to be ignored.
I fear that Blitzball will be implemented, and like LoV, be overly complex and add nothing to the main game.
I fear that content will continue to be designed in a way that makes it redundant beyond the current patch, leaving FFXIV with no more (and possibly less) 'relevant' content than it has had for the past several years.

I fear that any / all of the above will lead to players leaving the game and that SE's response (to keep revenue up) will be to add more and more items (and additional services) to the cash shop.

I hope I am wrong.

[Tharnor]

My biggest fear is that they will keep adding content that does not interact with the rest of the game and use strong arm tactics to get us into it. They have done this with almost every new idea they have had. We should want to do the new thing not dread going to get one or two items from it and never revisit it.

[Gemina]

I wish ppl would stop blaming XI for Eureka. Yes ppl wanted concepts from XI to be brought in, there were many many good concepts, content and designs from XI they could have used. But it was the dev teams decision to bring in the worst of the worst parts of XI, things they even got rid of and no longer exist in today's FFXI because the XI team knew they were bad.

No, no! I'm not blaming XI for Eureka, or even the requests for XI concepts to be brought in. This is solely the FFXIV dev team's responsibility. What I am saying though ties into my last comment about being careful about asking for different progression, longer lasting gear, or pretty much anything really. Just look at mannequins for example. All we wanted was to be able to have mannequins in our homes that we can fashion with some of our glamour choices, but SE turns around and makes a totally convoluted system with it tied into the MB, available retainer space, etc. NO ONE asked for this!

But I played XI for 5.5 years. What my statement should tell you is I have little to no Eureka experience, which I admitted to. However, I will disagree about using XI as some kind of well to draw ideas from to bring into XIV. I would much rather see completely new ideas implemented. And I struggle to understand why this is so difficult for them when I see tons of awesome ideas I would love added to this game on these forums on a daily bases.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Like many here, I fear 5.0 will be Heavensward with a purple coat of paint. Stormblood has been an ever growing disappointment for me. While there are plenty of aspects I like, many have proven fleeting, and I find myself struggling to find more content to keep busy. I've even started progressing through Pagos, finally, but it certainly isn't a fun experience. Not nearly as terrible as when it released but it's difficult to be worse than zero. I used to alarm clock patches and eagerly await what came out. Perhaps that were because I was a newer player throughout Heavensward but I still had those moments initially during Stormblood. They just... stopped after I found most of the content lasted little more than a week. 4.1 was particularly brutal since I hadn't yet stepped food into UcoB. There simply wasn't anything to do. I keep thinking to myself "if I didn't raid..." And given my static has been far more casual this tier, that question comes up more. The game feels incredibly hollow.

Now I still have stuff I want to get caught up on, but a lot of it is one and done activities like side quests and finishing up job quests. By the time 5.0 rolls around, I'll have exhausted everything. If the formula doesn't change, I'll have even less to work with once the expansion hype dials down.

This is going to be an odd analogy but I'll liken FFXIV to WWE; stale and predictable. But this week, WWE did something unpredictable for the first time in ages. I won't spoil for those who are fans, however podcasts are lit up and everyone is giddy for the simple fact what looked like a cut and dry prediction for the upcoming PPV just got turned on its head. FFXIV needs a similar shake—something that makes me look at the patch notes and think "Holy shit! That looks awesome!"

[hynaku]

That whole main story quests will be in Eureka.

[Kogasan]

I fear them getting rid of Eureka because of all these hateful people. That don't realize its optional content and that if they don't want to do it they don't have to. I myself love Eureka and hope it stays around for the long haul.