My suggestions to improve FFXIV

[MelnaMilos]

Most of these suggestions are just aesthetics. Some are good but not really necessary.

For the combat animations, I don't think the more fluid animations of 1.0 will work with the current combat system because it functions with a 2.5 second GCD, so they have to be pretty fast or else we'll suffer clunky animation locks. It can be less flashy but I think most people prefer the flashiness of the combat.

I kind of agree with the zones. If you ignore 1.0's copy-pasted terrain/settlements and barren-ness, the world was more relevant...mostly because you level up via leves or behests than instanced dungeons like it is now. It had a sense of danger and there's a sense of adventure and discovery about it. Even the monsters have a unique AI that made them react differently instead of bule = neutral, red = hostile like it is today. Although I like how ARR areas look more than any other version, I wish they were more expansive and relevant.

Yes, I read an article about how some of the environments were a bit copy and pasted, but when I played, nothing stood out that bothered me. Also reusing assets is a stable of practically every game. I do remember reading about how guild wars 2 was boasting that they crafted every single zone to be completely unique, and how they didnt reuse much of anything at all. Anyway, Yes! You get my point exactly, I feel the zones should be larger, dangerous, and bring back that element of exploration. What we have now was a product of trying to overly optimize the game to ensure it could run on the PS3 at the time. Thats not a factor anymore, and computers are way more powerful. I see no reason to not bring such a feature back if a massive graphical overhaul were to happen.

[Krotoan]

Many of your suggestions were dropped not only out of revamp requirements but because many people didn't like them. You point this out as well. Your post could viciously be condensed down to "these are the things I miss about 1.0 and FFXI" and while I can appreciate there are aspects of those games that were fun for you, lots of them are very much not fun for the predominately "casual" playerbase that populates (and funds) FFXIV.

For one particular point day and night affect gathering and Vista logs. If I wish to complete these I shouldn't have to ruin my actual personal schedule to play a game.

There are logging in and out animations for your character if you do so in an inn room. Your character goes to sleep or wakes up depending on what is happening. Maybe it'd be nothing to implement , maybe not but I can imaging logins after patches and big server hiccups might be affected if 200 people in a city login in the same place, some people might instantly crash if their machines cannot handle it, loading in the city pop is pretty stressful already without immediately having to load the animation and effect as well.


From what I've experienced character customization really never works in MMO's. There are the accepted "builds" that are optimal and then there are the weirdos with the "fun" builds. You can still putter a bit with your materia slots but I'd say it seems the dev team have found more people just want to change playstyles with class rather than individual stats/skills.


Just a few things. Interesting suggestions overall, and I can agree that better graphical enhancements are always nice but most of what you've proposed are things I'll happily leave behind from an age of heavy time investment and dependence on others.

[MelnaMilos]

Many of your suggestions were dropped not only out of revamp requirements but because many people didn't like them. You point this out as well. Your post could viciously be condensed down to "these are the things I miss about 1.0 and FFXI" and while I can appreciate there are aspects of those games that were fun for you, lots of them are very much not fun for the predominately "casual" playerbase that populates (and funds) FFXIV.

For one particular point day and night affect gathering and Vista logs. If I wish to complete these I shouldn't have to ruin my actual personal schedule to play a game.

There are logging in and out animations for your character if you do so in an inn room. Your character goes to sleep or wakes up depending on what is happening. Maybe it'd be nothing to implement , maybe not but I can imaging logins after patches and big server hiccups might be affected if 200 people in a city login in the same place, some people might instantly crash if their machines cannot handle it, loading in the city pop is pretty stressful already without immediately having to load the animation and effect as well.


From what I've experienced character customization really never works in MMO's. There are the accepted "builds" that are optimal and then there are the weirdos with the "fun" builds. You can still putter a bit with your materia slots but I'd say it seems the dev team have found more people just want to change playstyles with class rather than individual stats/skills.


Just a few things. Interesting suggestions overall, and I can agree that better graphical enhancements are always nice but most of what you've proposed are things I'll happily leave behind from an age of heavy time investment and dependence on others.

Mmhm. Thanks for your insight and feedback. 'Tis what I thought. Many of you are very happy with the game the way it is, which I can appreciate and respect. Hell I like it too. However I, and I know theres a great many others out there, that do enjoy the heavy time investments, rewarding difficult challenges, and dependence on others too. If not, wow classic wouldn't be doing so well right now. ( and I dont wanna get up my head in the clouds and sound arrogant either, but my original post is getting some thumb ups too, so apparently more people than I thought think these suggestions are good too.) Also, I want to raise the question, if a medium could be found for both crowds...why not take it? I tried to make suggestions that wouldn't disturb the gameplay you enjoy as much as possible, while giving us hardcore players some stuff to enjoy as well. I'll concede the day and night point to you, but some of these other suggestions, would you mind terribly if some of them made them in? I think they'd add more to the game and expand the audience. Lemme ask, would you enjoy the larger zones for example?

[Krotoan]

Lemme ask, would you enjoy the larger zones for example?

I don't feel they'd add anymore to the game for me. As it is now it takes a fair amount of time even with flying if I need to get from one side of the map to the other. Progression on the maps during initial exploration takes a significant chunk of the time since you are not only limited by ground mount speed but map geometry. ... I don't feel like the maps are "tiny" like you do . They feel appropriate and since I don't know what we would have to sacrifice to make them expansive (every change will have a price, the technology is not unlimited) I do not have a need for unnecessary additions.

Also, I want to raise the question, if a medium could be found for both crowds...why not take it? I tried to make suggestions that wouldn't disturb the gameplay you enjoy as much as possible, while giving us hardcore players some stuff to enjoy as well.

I will raise a counter question: Why should the current playerbase compromise at all if they enjoy the game the way it is? Why spend developer resources (quite a limited commodity it seems) on content we will never play and features we don't want?

[TwiibieTwuu]

I like the idea of the mobs being unique and more dangerous ai. all of them kinda feel the same. Auto attack for a few seconds then do an aoe attack then return to Auto attacking. I've always liked those big dragon things when i first encountered them, you know the ones that act a bit random on who they attack and you have to read their body language to avoid the attacks?

[DynnDiablos]

They won't do a graphical overhaul if it is going to gate other players who play on other platforms. It's not all about the PC players, you have console players to consider. I am sure when a PS5 edition comes out they might consider doing a graphical overhaul, but they aren't going to abandon people who play on PS4/PS4 Pro which DO make up a significant portion of the player base.

This game isn't just for the PC elitists.

[MelnaMilos]

I don't feel they'd add anymore to the game for me. As it is now it takes a fair amount of time even with flying if I need to get from one side of the map to the other. Progression on the maps during initial exploration takes a significant chunk of the time since you are not only limited by ground mount speed but map geometry. ... I don't feel like the maps are "tiny" like you do . They feel appropriate and since I don't know what we would have to sacrifice to make them expansive (every change will have a price, the technology is not unlimited) I do not have a need for unnecessary additions.

I will raise a counter question: Why should the current playerbase compromise at all if they enjoy the game the way it is? Why spend developer resources (quite a limited commodity it seems) on content we will never play and features we don't want?

Zones can be bigger and there can be more teleport points, for those that dont care to explore or adventure.

Because there are people, like me, who do enjoy those things. When more people play the game, theres more money. More money to add more content. Why does it matter to you if its added into the game if you dont care about it at all? Im shocked that some of you think your game is perfect.

I like the idea of the mobs being unique and more dangerous ai. all of them kinda feel the same. Auto attack for a few seconds then do an aoe attack then return to Auto attacking. I've always liked those big dragon things when i first encountered them, you know the ones that act a bit random on who they attack and you have to read their body language to avoid the attacks?

Me too! I feel the exact same.

They won't do a graphical overhaul if it is going to gate other players who play on other platforms. It's not all about the PC players, you have console players to consider. I am sure when a PS5 edition comes out they might consider doing a graphical overhaul, but they aren't going to abandon people who play on PS4/PS4 Pro which DO make up a significant portion of the player base.

This game isn't just for the PC elitists.

Thats true. However, the consoles are getting pretty dang powerful these days. I mean, they figured it out back in the day with XI on the xbox and PS2. Im not a technical person in anyway, so correct me if I am wrong, but if it was possible on the older platforms and PCs, why is it such a problem now?

[RoyalBeef]

This game isn't just for the PC elitists.

Wait, gaming on pc makes you an elitist now, too?

[Kisshu]

A small thing I would like to see is a change in the combat stance of the different races. One thing that kinda annoyed me with the rogue/ninja cutscenes were having two NPCs and the MC on screen all draw their weapons, and then stand in the complete same way. Looked so unnatural.

I understand the idea that everyone was trained the same way/style and would hold their weapon the same way, but it's a thing that I would love to see changed.
For example a Miqo'te ninja would have a stance based on their speed, a Lalafell would have a stance designed for their small size and lack of reach while a Roegadyn would be based more on strengh.

[Krotoan]

Zones can be bigger and there can be more teleport points, for those that dont care to explore or adventure.

Because there are people, like me, who do enjoy those things. When more people play the game, theres more money. More money to add more content. Why does it matter to you if its added into the game if you dont care about it at all? Im shocked that some of you think your game is perfect.

I apologize if I gave the impression I thought the game is perfect. there are hundreds of improvements I would like for the game. I too would like a graphical improvements as well as inventory expansion and expanded capacity for housing so that all can participate, but while more people does equal more money, changing the game or spending development time (once again a very limited resource which has been cited time and time again by the devs) on something we don't want would cost us content that could expand the things we like. This isn't an unlimited well we are drawing from. If they make something for a certain crowd beyond the usual scheduled updates, it means something else wasn't made for another crowd. In a perfect world where their budget, staff, and resources increased dynamically with the income of the game I would be all for anything to draw in all the players possible, but that's not how to online persistent games work in the world. They have to concentrate their efforts on the largest crowd they can and please them as much as they can. I have no animosity for "hardcore" gamers (used to be one.. now i have responsibilities), I just don't want the things they do and would prefer to have the kind of content we have been getting.


I Played 1.0 for quite a while trying to convince myself it was what I wanted but after all my friends left and I found I was simply grinding because I paid for it.. I stopped. I also Played FFXI for quite a while, but once I realized I was actually unhappy with what my "gaming" had become: hours of partyfinding, then hours of grinding the same mobs to level along with needless XP loss for mistakes made by other party members and overly dangerous areas surrounding leveling areas and objectives, I stopped immediately.

The developers themselves have specifically said the problems they're encountering now aren't a matter of "throwing money at it". They need resources like committed and talented workers who are ready to be in it for the long haul. They also need the permission from their uppers to acquire these people. YES I would love it if this happens and sure once they have a huge team pumping out all the content we can possibly stomach then yeah.. make stuff for outlying groups, but right now there is no reason for the currently barely satisfied customer base of FFXIV to say "sure.. make stuff we'll never use".

Thats true. However, the consoles are getting pretty dang powerful these days. I mean, they figured it out back in the day with XI on the xbox and PS2. Im not a technical person in anyway, so correct me if I am wrong, but if it was possible on the older platforms and PCs, why is it such a problem now?

Because they need to keep the game playable for people who use the bare minimum hardware requirements. Just because the higher end PCs and PS5's can handle it, doesn't mean they're willing to alienate the people using lower end old PS4s and cheaper PCs.
It has been suggested to make the graphic overhaul optional like a texture pack but that's again a huge development investment which won't benefit all players. So while Yoshi-p and his team have expressed interest in it in the past, they're careful to say they're unable to fit it into their current schedule.

There's quite a long discussion about adding more "endgame" content here:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...d-Game-Content

if you have some time you can read through a lot of peoples opinions on "additional" content. ... as well as some weird arguments for no reason.