Why is there so little information on this game?

[Videra]

I've only ever heard the "this game's community can't take any criticism" line

It can't tho.

On topic, SE just generally withholds information from the public eye. They're very heavy-handed about outside tools like ACT and FFlogs, when they want to be, and compiling an actual workable database on FFXIV is very difficult. And of course, the data mining ban. It's an incredibly strange decision on SE's part, as sharing information would garner greater trust with the playerbase. Knowing exactly what my stats do without having to dig through the game's files would be nice. Taking stock of something like WoWhead, I'd love to see FFXIV actually get access to a database like it, but it's not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

[Saix027]

Honestly, i couldn't care less for numbers, it is to much math people put in such, eather enemy dies fast or slow, end of story for me, saem for healing, it does its job, not care how much i heal at the moment and not run out of mana due anything. People want ot much details on a game forgetting it is a game to have fun with mostly and not do a math project on things. Potency means onyl for me it is higher, AoE has potency as example and a little math i allow here seeing that AoE always more potency then single target when there are at least 3 enemies normally. But thats it for me, it gets its job done, i not see why people seem to possesed wtih numbers and details honestly, highest DPS ranks, or calculating the perfect starter combo.

[Videra]

Honestly, i couldn't care less for numbers, it is to much math people put in such, eather enemy dies fast or slow, end of story for me, saem for healing, it does its job, not care how much i heal at the moment and not run out of mana due anything. People want ot much details on a game forgetting it is a game to have fun with mostly and not do a math project on things. Potency means onyl for me it is higher, AoE has potency as example and a little math i allow here seeing that AoE always more potency then single target when there are at least 3 enemies normally. But thats it for me, it gets its job done, i not see why people seem to possesed wtih numbers and details honestly, highest DPS ranks, or calculating the perfect starter combo.

That was painful to read, but it's simple: some of us care about optimization.

[Sephrinxx]

Also do NOT under any circumstances critisize this game. The one thing I've learned about this so called 'best' community is that they do NOT like any logical critisism about this game. You cannot bash square or yoshi P about anything.

Oh trust me, I'm well aware of this. I've had 3 accounts perma banned from the forums as well as Reddit simply because I disagree with something or voice a dissenting opinion. It really be the Gulag up in here. It's insane.

I even had a beta account banned because I posted a negative review on MMORPG.com in the beta.... yes, for real. That's it. This is the review - https://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion...houghts#latest

It's funny going back and reading it, as all the same things in that review still exist today. Most harshly glaring points as the absurdly monotonous MSQ stuff and constant teleporting around.

[Saefinn]

It can't tho.

On topic, SE just generally withholds information from the public eye. They're very heavy-handed about outside tools like ACT and FFlogs, when they want to be, and compiling an actual workable database on FFXIV is very difficult. And of course, the data mining ban. It's an incredibly strange decision on SE's part, as sharing information would garner greater trust with the playerbase. Knowing exactly what my stats do without having to dig through the game's files would be nice. Taking stock of something like WoWhead, I'd love to see FFXIV actually get access to a database like it, but it's not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

As I understood their stance on this is more to do with people using those tools to harass players, from what I recall that is their main concern in them endorsing or adding such tools to validate certain kinds of mentality. And you see it in games where they are more transparent about the minutia. I don't think they're against the idea of people using the tools for self improvement, this impression is based on how they've talked about these issues before, but of course the official stance has to be 'no'. I've yet heard of anybody to get banned for using them unless they've made it blatant that they are.

I think their main worry is creating an environment that just gets really toxic about people's stats and their DPS. And I don't blame them. I'm all for improving myself and doing better, but I'm not for a toxic community, so on that front, they could probably offer better tools in game, not necessarily a DPS meter, or very specific data to min-max on, but some kind of feedback on your performance that maybe even other players don't see that allows you to build and get better. I think some kind of useful personal feedback would be the right way around it, and actually, if that ends up drawing people away from third party tools even better.

I can see how the minutia of information can be useful, but I don't think it is essential. And the tools people /are/ using currently are helping them optimise, sure they're not allowed, but Windower was never allowed in FFXI and yet 90% of the community still used it.

Unfortunately people who are being a-holes towards other players or harass them tend to think they're just offering helpful criticism. It was turn off in my experience of playing World of Warcraft, it gets tiresome after a while dealing with elitists trash talking players over their performance. In my experience, it's rarer here and it feels like a more fun community to be a part of.




And I am waiting for my bans for offering criticism, for the people in the thread saying they've been banned for it. I feel kinda left out. From offering helpful criticism in parties to players who I think need help to all my criticisms about updates, the game, decisions made and so on. I'm waiting for all the people I've ever deal with in the Final Fantasy XIV community to come after me for criticising this game. Or people in my FC or some of the great community I communicate with who do the same as me.

Often when I see people make this claim, I always wonder if there is more to the story, because my years working customer complaints tell me "most likely".

[Jandor]

I can't say I'm too bothered about not being able to see the underlying formula. However, one thing that does annoy me is all the pointless and misleading information you are given instead.

Healing magic potency is an example that has come up in this thread. You'd think, rather logically, that it effects the potency of your healing, but for the majority of jobs it has nothing to do with your healing abilities at all.

Attack magic potency as well, I'm on DRK right now and my attack magic stat has a potency of 207, absolutely pathetic compared to my physical attack power of 4468, yet my clearly magical attacks (use MP and everything) work just fine. They work just fine because as most of us know, DRK uses physical attack power regardless of how magical the ability is.

To sum up, the game doesn't just hide information, it actively provides misleading information as well. If everything is going to scale from main stat and weapon strength, why have all these different ways of saying the same thing?
IMHO pointless, redundant and misleading stats should be consolidated, something like this:



Looks so much cleaner without all those tiny and irrelevant numbers littering it.

[Navnav]

Tbh it's downright stupid that you can't see how much you are shielding for on the buff icon. I can only see my shields in group content, but i cannot see the amount I am supposed to be shielding for...

No one here can tell me that this is by any means good design, to omit such important information, just because. When I mouse over my Galvanize icon on my screen, I should be able to see how much the damn thing is shielding for. Not whip out the calculator and so some math. For the life of me I just do not understand the thinking.

[Deceptus]

Seriously. What is so hard about updating tooltips taking gear into consideration.

Cure II: Heals between XXXX and YYYY.

I shouldn't have to apply math to try to determine how much I'm going to heal for. I understand potency makes things relatively simple across the board but C'mon.

If I see a potency of 450, I assume it's 4.5 times as strong as whatever 100 potency is. But that's the problem, we have no baseline.

[Kabooa]

If I see a potency of 450, I assume it's 4.5 times as strong as whatever 100 potency is. But that's the problem, we have no baseline.

Divide it by 4.5

Trust me, no one's going to stop, look at health bars, then scan their tool tips for the mathematically most optimal heal.

You're already given that with the categories the healing is put into.

450 potency vs 100 potency is no different than 22,000-28,000 vs 4,888-6,222.

[Sephrinxx]

Trust me, no one's going to stop, look at health bars, then scan their tool tips for the mathematically most optimal heal.

I'm sorry but why do you say that?

It makes 100% perfect sense to use an appropriate heal based on the incoming damage and current health level of the target being healed. Why would I use a 7k hp heal for 380 mana when the target is only missing 2200 health, when I could just use a 2.5k hp heal on them for 220 mana?
Takes 0.08 seconds to calculate that sort of thing. It's the difference between a Greater Heal and Heal for example and I do it all the time in other games.