Can any WoW refugees explain the exodus to XIV to me?

[Elamys]

Can someone explain WoW lootboxes that I see ppl complaining about?

I'm unsure of what they could be complaining about with "WoW lootboxes," unless they mean the boxes that come from things like the Assaults.

[TheMightyMollusk]

It's less about actual boxes and more just mocking WoW's layers of RNG.

Imagine if all loot was Pyros.

[Adrestia]

Imagine if all loot was Pyros.

You monster.

[Poisonous]

It's fascinating to watch, it seems to come down to the unavoidable realization that Blizzard is no more and has become the cash crab monster Blizzard Activision was always meant to become.

Blizzard's behavior towards the Diablo and Heroes of the Storm fanbases can't be ignored, on top of that you have the disaster that is their latest expansion. Others have explained the issues with BfA as well, but I think what we're seeing is WoW's base feeling irrevocably hopeless and bitter about the culture of the game and the company itself, which is something that can't really be fixed with a patch.

[Poisonous]

Terrible storylines, forced plot that makes no sense. The alliance continuing to be made fools while being told "this is your moment"... meanwhile the Horde is a bunch of genocidal lunatics. Oh and quests are boring and the necklace mechanic that replaced the evolving weapons is garbage. Essentially, terrible story, terrible quests, terrible systems.

Yeah the sense I'm getting is that the beloved characters of this frankly ancient franchise are being sort of thrown around and doing things that are dramatic but don't really match their character anymore. It seems like the writers have been replaced or just checked out or something? The writing has gotten worse over time rather than better, while FFXIV has gotten considerably better at its story.

[ApolloGenX]

Yeah the sense I'm getting is that the beloved characters of this frankly ancient franchise are being sort of thrown around and doing things that are dramatic but don't really match their character anymore. It seems like the writers have been replaced or just checked out or something? The writing has gotten worse over time rather than better, while FFXIV has gotten considerably better at its story.

Yes, characters do idiotic things that make zero sense to push a narrative that is half baked. The term "poorly written" has been splattered all over the forums since launch...for good reason. It seems that fans have more tolerance for disrespect of players than they do the subject matter and the lore.

(I mean it's cringey bad writing)

[Derio]

It's less about actual boxes and more just mocking WoW's layers of RNG.

Imagine if all loot was Pyros.

That sounds like a Calamity

[TheMightyMollusk]

You monster.

[Liam_Harper]

It's less about actual boxes and more just mocking WoW's layers of RNG.

Imagine if all loot was Pyros.

Huh... I hadn't looked at it like that. Their loot basically is.

[BiffWellington]

I don't know if I'd count as one of these WoW refugees; I actually left WoW several years ago, during Cataclysm. They were just introducing change after change after change at that time, and they were pretty much all annoying to me, so I just left. I tried coming back a couple of times, mainly because I missed the good times with my guildies, but the game just wasn't the same; it was no longer fun.

A couple of months ago, I randomly happened to stumble across this video on YooToob...

https://youtu.be/XqQzshaBlwI

... and I thought, wow, FF14 actually looks like a lot of fun! It had been a while since I'd played an MMO, and I really used to enjoy Final Fantasy games, so I decided to give it a try. I'm having a great time so far!

Incidentally, playing MMOs is not like riding a bicycle. You do sort of forget how to do it after a while. I'm working on redeveloping those skills, though. I was adequate once, and by Grabthor's hammer I intend to be adequate again!