SE: Holding back information won't stop criticism, it will only delay it and is bad.

[Nedkel]

Peeps are not always right.
5.0 DRK was criticised and war changes praised, people were lamenting over drk and loved war changes before expansion release. It turned out to be complete the opposite, drk is in best spot right now 1 or 2 most played tank and war is pitful shadow of its former self played way less than any other job.

[Razard]

Possible, the most uninformed often shout the loudest but mixed in with those shouts are other people who are legitimately informed and want the best for the game.

So who is going to determine what is legitamate criticism, and what is the insufferable shrieking of the banshee squad?

It's unfortunate, but sometimes this forum is like diving for pearls in a sea of Urine. Sure, you might find something valuable. But you are more likely to come out of the experience empty handed and smelling like pee.

[LolitaBansheeMeru]

Well consindering how summoner/sch played through at first 1-70 I don't think even they know how the jobs are suppose to play like so shoudln't say we don't either.

[frostmagemari]

While a PTR would help find bugs and such before content goes live, it's also more servers and more resources being tied up, which would mean SE would have to put money down first. Good luck.

They do seem reluctant to actually put more money back into XIV; They're much more willing to siphon it off to fund other things. It's their choice, but it's been pretty clear how XIV has suffered from those kind of decisions. Right now, they're still riding out all that good-will currency that they built up during ARR and HW.
Though really, a public PTR is by-in-large a standard part of the development process on multiplayer games; I think SQEX could handle it.

Even if they had a PTR, like they had for FFXI, they would still ignore concerns just as they did on that game's PTR. That's just how they roll.

Be that as it may, that doesn't mean that it's not smart to have one. Right now, they don't even have the option of getting actual feedback for their job changes. They get the feedback of a small in-house team that may or may not be completely honest or frank with their feedback; or worst-case, the team that play tests believes that they need to tailor their expectations of the job to be in line with it's new changes and now how good those new changes actually are.
I'm not in the corporate offices and can't accurately criticize the process of the in-house testers... but i do know that those in-house testers are one part of the decision making process that changed the healers to what they are now (and people seem don't seem to be happy with the changes by-in-large).

So who is going to determine what is legitamate criticism, and what is the insufferable shrieking of the banshee squad?
It's unfortunate, but sometimes this forum is like diving for pearls in a sea of Urine. Sure, you might find something valuable. But you are more likely to come out of the experience empty handed and smelling like pee.

That's why they should have a PTR for the changes; and if they wanna go full SQEX about it, have a survey for people to fill out after a dungeon. Would they need people to sift through good advice and critiques and poor ones? Sure; but it'd be worthwhile to have a large sample size of opinions on the class changes (or other notable things) instead of a strictly in-house team.

[Razard]

That's why they should have a PTR for the changes; and if they wanna go full SQEX about it, have a survey for people to fill out after a dungeon. Would they need people to sift through good advice and critiques and poor ones? Sure; but it'd be worthwhile to have a large sample size of opinions on the class changes (or other notable things) instead of a strictly in-house team.

I mean, when has PTR EVER been used as a "I get to play the new stuff before everyone else for bragging rites and for the leaking". Also I seem to remember, despite the(Ugh I don't know any other word. forgive me) Influencers saying "this build is many months old and things'll be different at launch, there was still misinformation floating around for people to get up in arms about.

*looks out at the Ocean of wizz*

Nope, still not seeing it chief.

[frostmagemari]

I mean, when has PTR EVER been used as a "I get to play the new stuff before everyone else for bragging rites and for the leaking". Also I seem to remember, despite the(Ugh I don't know any other word. forgive me) Influencers saying "this build is many months old things'll be different at launch, there was still misinformation floating around for people to get up in arms about.
*looks out at the Ocean of wizz*
Nope, still not seeing it chief.

So it's your own bias and lack of vision as to what can be done with a PTR is what makes you think nothing can or would be done.
First, a PTR isn't just giving players a playground to do everything included within the patch. If they decided to not initiate the story quests that would unlock new dungeons/trials/raids/features, then no one would get 'bragging rights'. A PTR is simply the testing ground for what a company wants to have tested by a user-base; So if they wanted to limit what users could do to current content with updated balance changes, they could do that.
Second, it doesn't matter what influencers say online. What would matter is if the company gets feedback for changes, not what someone may say on youtube or twitch.
Third, all SQEX would need to do to counter the supposed misinformation is be forthright with the players; If a change will be made on the PTR, give the change and the reasoning behind it.

Am i saying that SQEX would do all of this? No, they probably wouldn't; but you not understanding the point and usefulness of a PTR does not make a PTR a bad idea by any measure.

[ReiMakoto]

More information is always a good thing. Sometimes that information is correctly interpreted and problems are identified early, sometimes people shriek because they dont understand how stuff clips together. Removing the information because of the shrieking is a net loss for everyone

[Razard]

So it's your own bias and lack of vision as to what can be done with a PTR is what makes you think nothing can or would be done.
First, a PTR isn't just giving players a playground to do everything included within the patch. If they decided to not initiate the story quests that would unlock new dungeons/trials/raids/features, then no one would get 'bragging rights'. A PTR is simply the testing ground for what a company wants to have tested by a user-base; So if they wanted to limit what users could do to current content with updated balance changes, they could do that.
Second, it doesn't matter what influencers say online. What would matter is if the company gets feedback for changes, not what someone may say on youtube or twitch.
Third, all SQEX would need to do to counter the supposed misinformation is be forthright with the players; If a change will be made on the PTR, give the change and the reasoning behind it.

Am i saying that SQEX would do all of this? No, they probably wouldn't; but you not understanding the point and usefulness of a PTR does not make a PTR a bad idea by any measure.

And It's your own Naivete' and short sighted thinking that prevents you from seeing how this idea would, and has been, exploited in the past. Tis not my lack of vision so you can get the heck out with thast nonsense. I can just see this going south. for example we've saw the recent hammering down they have been doing on leakers as of late and you wish for them to send over to Johnny Random an entire test realm with a note attached saying "please don't hack this".

And This doesn't even come close to not only the so-called good and bad feedback. There's the ocean of No Feedback with "I want my class to be buffed so I'll say whatever in an attempt to get it buffed".

Am I being a bit harsh, maybe. I just wan't to put across that this idea is not the all healing Panacea some think it is.

More information is always a good thing. Sometimes that information is correctly interpreted and problems are identified early, sometimes people shriek because they dont understand how stuff clips together. Removing the information because of the shrieking is a net loss for everyone

Honestly who would you blame for this. The Banshees shrieking in the garden, or the houseowner who shuts his windows to lessen the noise.

[MomomiMomi]

Honestly who would you blame for this. The Banshees shrieking in the garden, or the houseowner who shuts his windows to lessen the noise.

When they're shrieking that the person's house is on fire? I'd blame the one who shut the windows when he dies in the fire.

[frostmagemari]

And It's your own Naivete' and short sighted thinking that prevents you from seeing how this idea would, and has been, exploited in the past. Tis not my lack of vision so you can get the heck out with thast nonsense. I can just see this going south. for example we've saw the recent hammering down they have been doing on leakers as of late and you wish for them to send over to Johnny Random an entire test realm with a note attached saying "please don't hack this".

I'm sorry, but in one paragraph, you've shown that you don't actually know how a PTR works or what the company can choose to push out into a test realm. If SQEX truly wished to keep some things secret from its player base, they could; it would take a little more effort to go the extra mile, but it is easily doable.
And even if someone "hacked an entire PTR", so what? You would choose to punish the people who would benefit from a PTR because there are people who break the rules in the world? If that's how you think about things.. i got some news for you buddy, and you won't like it.

And This doesn't even come close to not only the so-called good and bad feedback. There's the ocean of No Feedback with "I want my class to be buffed so I'll say whatever in an attempt to get it buffed".

Yes. There will be useless feedback, but there will also be good feedback. It's up to the company to sift through that and see what is useful and what is not.

Am I being a bit harsh, maybe. I just wan't to put across that this idea is not the all healing Panacea some think it is.

And you have entirely missed the point. A PTR isn't a panacea, but it is a better tool than close-minded in-house testing. The feedback of an in-house team can never come close to speaking for a user base this large; more feedback is always a good thing. It doesn't mean that it all has to be taken into consideration, but more feedback is never bad.