People that say this game is too easy

[Ivellior]

I think when most people are saying that the game is easy, they are probably comparing to the same game in the previous expansions.
The game changed a lot and become much more simplified each expansion.

Dungeons used to be harder in the base game. There is a reason everyone hates aurum vale. And some other leveling dungeons tend to be lethal as well. Especially when the game launched and everyone was undergeard when doing dungeons. It's not like today that you have 3 people on max ilevel carrying a new player during a dungeon. In a lot of dungeons back in 2.0 if you pulled 2 packs you could wipe. Dungeon difficulty started going down when they decided to streamline them during the 2.0 to 3.0 period when most of the level 50 dungeons were just a straight line and you pulled wall to wall.

Classes also got really simplified. For example to unlock jobs you needed a class to be lvl 30 and another class to be 15 (for example for PLD you needed GLA 30 and CNJ 15). When you were using a job (PLD) you could only pick 5 cross class skills that belonged to the 2 classes your job originated from (For example PLD could pick 5 cross class skills for GLA and CNJ). If you were using a base class you could pick 10 from any other class you had (For example as as GLA you could pick 2 skills from MRD, 2 from ARC, 1 from WHM, 3 from MKN etc). It was a nice idea of having to pick between a specialized job with more restrictions and extra job abilities or a more general class with a wider selection of abilities. The problem with that was that the base classes were kind of underpowered at 50 and instead of buffing them they decided to simply transition them to the step before you get your job.

Stats also mattered during 2.0. Not only could add stat points when leveling up but a lot of stats could directly affect gameplay. For example DEX increased PLD block rate a lot, so some people placed point in dex (at least until it got nerfed). Those were removed as well in the next expansions.

In Stromblood they started simplyfing jobs. For example Tanks used to be very distinct in 3.0 (Heavensward). PLD was the simple tank, WAR had the rage meter and DRK has the mana management. WAR had bigger HP pool but less defensive cooldowns. Nowdays tanks are pretty much the same cookie cutter defensive kit with a different attack rotation.

Finally they made raids easier as well. During 2.0 they had one raid tier (which was around the savage difficutly we have today). Later on they added the Savage raids for 2.0 (But most people don't remember those since they were much harder than the normal raids and you only got a title after completing them).

In 3.0 (Heavensward) they changed raids again. They added a very easy version (normal version - which was easier than today's normal version) and the savage version (which was about the same level of the 2.0 savage raids - harder than the now savage raids). They almost killed raiding during this change since there was no middle difficulty level. In the next expansions raids got easier (the difficulty we have today).

So most people who say the game has gotten easier / is easy compare it to the game they had before. They lost class complexity, customization. They lost dungeon complexity/difficutly, materia got changed/nerfed (no more adding base stats).

In my opinion they probably made those changes in the name of balance/streamlining, but they did kill big part of the game that people knew/loved.

[Renato]

It's funny how majority of people here are saying that normal conetent is easy...that's the whole point. Dungeons are used mostly to progress the story and supply gear for those who don't raid or craft. They aren't meant to be overly difficult, otherwise people would be complaining about not being able to progress due to being stuck on a dugeon.

If you want a challenge, go do Savage/Extreme or Ultimate stuff. Go try some of the 24-man stuff. Sure, the game still comes down to massive memorizaton of the trials but one wrong mistake or lack of DPS could result in a wipe. That's the whole point...This game has something for everyone.

[Eldevern]

It depends. Ilvl changes a lot of things. How you are comfortable with the job you play too.

COIL without echo with minimal ilvl was clearly challenging. But you have to invest time and to be motivated. Not everyone is interested.
CT2 was challenging (how many wipes because of Scylla Flare?).

Some contents become fairly manageable as soon as you know how to dance (and that's probably why some people say the game is "easy")...

In 2.0 even Brayflox could be hard with unstuffed tanks.

[Renato]

Some contents become fairly handable as soon as you know how to dance (and that's probably why some people say the game is "easy")...

That's my biggest issue with the game honestly. Once you've done the fights enough and memorized everything, that's where it becomes easy. And that goes for content of any difficulty.

[kujoestars]

Honestly, I realized just last night how simplistic my WoW rotations are compared to my FFXIV ones. Even Feral Druid isn’t anywhere near as involved as literally any of my classes (MNK/DRK/AST/DNC). Tanking on WoW.....less buttons to push but boy is it hard to hold aggro even then when you’re a Bear or Vengence Demon Hunter. T_T

As for AoEs being marked....to be fair, while WoW doesn’t have it built in, Deadly Boss Mods does (and more) and as such is practically mandatory if you want to run endgame content decently. Just be glad FFXIV at least isn’t airhorning out what to do when the big attack comes or when you have to switch boss to adds.

[Kalise]

Oh, you mean like how SAMs rotation currently relies on incredibly tight timings of your rotation or you risk losing tons of dps due to skills not lining up? That's not just a Wow thing lol. Maybe actually play some of xivs jobs at a high level before spouting this nonsense.

You mean, you simply look at what your GCD is and then put in X amount of Y filler combos based on that? Since, people have posted guides that will tell you your rotations because they're easily predetermined.

Compared to maintaining multiple DoTs and a Buff where many things require Combo points and thus depend on generating the required combo points, at the right times without overcapping Energy, without overcapping combo points, without clipping any DoTs, without buffs dropping off or being clipped too much. Oh and without instant dashes on a low CD to mitigate forced downtime from movement and without 2 charges of a skill that lets you mitigate positional requirements (With skills that have positional requirements to USE the skill, not just extra resource generation)

When you're talking about SAM being "Oh, if you don't press things right, they don't come up nicely for you to push them as they come up"

Like, really? Job isn't smash your face on your keyboard to win. That means it's the most difficult thing to play in the world?

Is SAM so difficult that even simulations in a perfect scenario of having no mechanics can be difficult to achieve maximum DPS? Since various expansions of WoW had that for Feral Druids.

Heck, FFXIV has jank mechanics like server tick rates that sometimes eat the last tick of your DoT effects, that means DoT clipping isn't always an actual punishment.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

You mean, you simply look at what your GCD is and then put in X amount of Y filler combos based on that? Since, people have posted guides that will tell you your rotations because they're easily predetermined.

Compared to maintaining multiple DoTs and a Buff where many things require Combo points and thus depend on generating the required combo points, at the right times without overcapping Energy, without overcapping combo points, without clipping any DoTs, without buffs dropping off or being clipped too much. Oh and without instant dashes on a low CD to mitigate forced downtime from movement and without 2 charges of a skill that lets you mitigate positional requirements (With skills that have positional requirements to USE the skill, not just extra resource generation)

When you're talking about SAM being "Oh, if you don't press things right, they don't come up nicely for you to push them as they come up"

Like, really? Job isn't smash your face on your keyboard to win. That means it's the most difficult thing to play in the world?

Is SAM so difficult that even simulations in a perfect scenario of having no mechanics can be difficult to achieve maximum DPS? Since various expansions of WoW had that for Feral Druids.

Heck, FFXIV has jank mechanics like server tick rates that sometimes eat the last tick of your DoT effects, that means DoT clipping isn't always an actual punishment.

Yeah, it's not that simple, other than in a vacuum. But keep on thinking what you want to think.

[NessaWyvern]

Compare literally any jobs rotation to Feral Druid in WoW.

Pffft. Maybe feral Druid was easier in legion (I didn’t play BFA), but I found its rotation easier than SMN (at least in HW, or ShB, have not played it in stormblood yet)

I can simplify classes too! Feral is just “line up yer dots with your buffs, and try not to let them fall off” (wow, just like most FF jobs!) and if you don’t need to use combo points for a dot, use it on ferocious bite, gg.

[Omedon]

Question. Have you ever seriously played any other Western MMOs?

...

what makes you think this game is too easy?

People that say this game is too easy take their seniority and their habits and muscle memory for granted, full stop.

Modern WoW would never, ever, give you a personal quest, that friends can't help you with, that actually tests your reflexes considerably, that gates the main story and features. The ShB role quests do all of that. Anything you are forced to solo in WoW is optional or a given, because they want you to get through it and play with your friends.

Now, yes, FFXIV does use this difference as a clear filter of players that maybe don't belong grouping with other players, but WoW hasn't dared to do something like that in two expansions, and even then only for optional late game content. FFXIV does this in the MSQ that gates content and features, at an "access level." That felt crazy to me the first time I encountered it. Now this does allow a higher degree of "surface friendliness" in the community because the game is telling the player to "get gud" for them, but the argument "by level X you should know what you're doing" doesn't work when you can buy your way to or close to level X. Those purchases should still exist, by the way, in a modern MMO, and they do indeed kill the "you should know what you're doing by now" argument.

But yeah, as a veteran MMO player of many games, I was floored that the core story of FFXIV deigned to ask me "ok so you've paid your sub and you've leveled to this point... are you, the player, actually good enough to see the next chapter of the story and have all the features?" I mean I was, so it was fine, but the question was just insane to me in this market of gaming.

[Frosthaven]

I played WoW the most during The Burning Crusade as a progression hardcore raider. I later transitioned into Wildstar while it lasted. I picked up FFXIV and stuck with it for the story and the community.

FFXIV - compared to my previous experiences - is an absolute cake walk.
FFXIV - compared to MMOs as they currently are - is pretty well balanced with challenging content if you go out of your way to look for it.

MMOs in general have gotten easier over the years. Thankfully FFXIV still offers enough variety that it is my staple currently (even if I would love some more challenging content in the day-to-day activities)

And of course the obligatory disclaimer that easy vs hard has a lot to do with your own MMO and general gaming experience.