Shadowbringers starting to feel like a budget expansion

[AnimaAnimus]

The White Knights people who want to defend a game no matter what decisions are made (someone got offended) are strong in this thread. I knew they could come out more and more after 5.1 dropped. Because any criticism of the game they love oh so much, is taken as a personal attack. Which is ridiculous because all it does is hurt what they love oh so dearly.

But, criticism is good for a game. You can't blow rainbows up someone's backside all the time and then expect them to produce quality work. And this expac has actually been lacking in anything outside the original 5.0 msq, which was amazing even if it did end on a sour all-too-expected note, since we it's been well established we cannot have any well done villains that last beyond a handful of patches, its only the cringy ones that make the cut. And Zenos is the most perfect example of that.

But there are issues with this game that simply "taking a break" will not solve. I stand firm by my belief that Yoshida did an amazing job at rebooting the game but doesn't seem to know what to do with it beyond that. Nor does he seem to have an idea of what an mmo is and how ppl interact with them, a problem I see with a lot of the defenders we have here in this thread.

An mmo is actually something you live in. It is a world that you want to spend your time in every day and build relationships. An mmo is just as much about the community and the relationships you form, as it is about the game. But when the game doesn't give you enough to do to stay in it long enough to build those relationships you are missing a critical aspect of the game. This is why FFXI, EQ and WoW have been around 20 years. XI doesn't even get major updates anymore, just some adjustments and its still profitable enough to keep running. If they would do this same thing here, make a few tome adjustments and that's it, do you really think there would be enough to hold ppl for an extra decade? Of course not. Not only are there still things to work on in XI, but having relationships with others is still critical to your success.

FFXIV has been an amazing reboot and its great if you just want to stick your hand out and be given things, like nearly any mobile game. And yes it has a huge following, like mobile games. But the moment that hand isn't there anymore, what reason would anyone have to keep coming? There are no long-term goals outside glam and achievements, there is no reason to make friends and once you are done, you are so done you can literally walk away and "take a break". That is a horrible mmo design. And whether you want to admit it or not, its what is going to be the eventual death of FFXIV.

So, if you love this game soooooooooooo much. Maybe its time you take off you fan-goggles and take a closer look. Because if you want this game to keep going, you need to stop blowing those rainbows.