What are the largest issues plaguing XIV currently?

[ZattanaWen]

I just started a few days ago and I'm already not planning on re-subbing;

"Thoughts from a new player":

The main quest.
I've read all the dialogue so far and the coolest parts are also so few like the tempered stuff, the bulk I've done is run around for reasons I'm still unsure about doing things for people that feel SUPER side-questy. It just feels like a really big tutorial rather than a campaign.

The community.
Is there one? No one talks, and if they do it's not to you, even when you ask questions. No one talks in dungeons and I had to watch youtube videos to figure out how to do fights because everyone went from 0-60 no matter what. Dungeons are my least favorite part of it because of this. I've avoided the duty finder like a plague since I got past the "forced" ones. I've already considered transferring to a more popular server but I don't feel like that's going to change how cliquey this feels.

Dungeons.
My least liked part; which is crappy because dungeons are my most favorite part of any other game. I learned the hard way that you have to know the dungeon beforehand or you get kicked, so I started watching videos. I wish they would just put the videos in the game with the tactics for new players because this easily the most frustrating part of the game, due to lack of socializing and "gotta get it done yesterday" mentality.

That's all I've got; I can't comment on the expansions I bought because honestly I doubt I'll even be finished with the main quest by the time my subscription is over and I just can't justify another month with no one to talk to.
Sorry for the rant, I hope you all have good nights!

Did you join a Free Company? That's where you're going to get your social interaction. It's true nobody really talks in dungeons, because they're just getting through the fight, and they'll usually be from another server, and you'll never see them again.

So join a Free Company. See who's recruiting (shouting messages in towns), talk to the people recruiting, find out what they're like. And if you join an FC and it's not what you hoped for, leave and join another. Free Companies are all about trial and error. There are definitely good ones where you'll find what you're looking for.

You shouldn't really need to watch videos for any of the ARR stuff. Most of it is relatively straightforward, and most people doing them now have done them before. If you're getting kicked, you shouldn't be. Are you telling the people it's your first time in? I've found people to be very forgiving if they know you haven't done the thing before.

The main quest is LOOOOOONG. There's a lot of filler. A lot of "quests" that are effectively just cutscenes. And a lot of weird little fetch quests. But the story is good. The dungeons and trials are great.

[Absurdity]

The community.
Is there one? No one talks, and if they do it's not to you, even when you ask questions. No one talks in dungeons and I had to watch youtube videos to figure out how to do fights because everyone went from 0-60 no matter what. Dungeons are my least favorite part of it because of this. I've avoided the duty finder like a plague since I got past the "forced" ones. I've already considered transferring to a more popular server but I don't feel like that's going to change how cliquey this feels.

Yeah, you're not really getting any social interaction in dungeons.

Just like literally any other mmo that has a "press button the get into dungeon with random people" feature you're just there to get through the dungeon and be done with it, that feature is what slowly killed social interactions in dungeons for WoW back in WotLK after all...and that was in 2008. There is no "dungeon talk" in ESO, WoW, PSO2 or pretty much anything else with the same system of just putting random people together in a group.

[Barraind]

. Zephla and a few other youtubers talked about how horrible the RNG loot rolls and everything is in current WoW. We have it so good here, we know what to grind, how to grind it and how long it'll take to grind it

Yeah, we know exactly how long.
A night or two for a couple weeks.
4 hours a week for a couple weeks.
2 hours a week for a couple months.

Congrats, you have BIS by now.

Waiting 3-4 months.

WOO THATS CERTAINLY EXCITING.

And every other bit of content that only exists for gear or tomes is completely worthless.

[DrWho2010]

yeah and you use those 3-4 months to do other things in the game or play other games instead. but if all you want to do is raid and that's it, well you're going to be disappointed.

[Gameovers]

Yeah, we know exactly how long.
A night or two for a couple weeks.
4 hours a week for a couple weeks.
2 hours a week for a couple months.

Congrats, you have BIS by now.

Waiting 3-4 months.

WOO THATS CERTAINLY EXCITING.

And every other bit of content that only exists for gear or tomes is completely worthless.

So you want horrible RNG on top of RNG and run the risk of NEVER getting the drop ever? Because that's the other option. And people don't want that.. see all the videos and topics screaming at Blizzard for doing that to their endgame. Or Ubisoft for never sticking to anything and pissing off everyone because things change every other patch. D2 is literally unplayable because of this. So yes... I'll stick to what works then wanting rng on top of rng with more rng to add spice for more rng. Thanks.

[Absurdity]

Yeah, we know exactly how long.
A night or two for a couple weeks.
4 hours a week for a couple weeks.
2 hours a week for a couple months.

Congrats, you have BIS by now.

Waiting 3-4 months.

WOO THATS CERTAINLY EXCITING.

And every other bit of content that only exists for gear or tomes is completely worthless.

Being able to work towards a specific piece of gear and knowing exactly how long it takes is great.


The problem is that the item itself isn't very exciting because it's just another piece of "has more stats than what I'm wearing" but this has nothing to do with how loot is acquired in this game. WoW players wish they would have our loot system back because they had it from 2004 to 2016 (arguably 2013 because the last raid in MoP already had Warforged items).

[Esmoire]

Feels like every day there's something about the UX that makes me die on the inside. For example, it would be cool if you could select multiple items at once for desynth or GC turn-in or whatever. The game has a lot of really stupid prompts in all the wrong places. The crafting UI disappears when you most want it to stay open. That kind of thing.

I didn't see anybody in the credits in charge of UX, which makes me wonder they just got UI designers to figure it out or worse programmers. Feels like it was designed by aliens and is constantly setting new players up for failure. I'd love to have some of the core interactions of the game made more smoothly. Maybe a small team comb old dungeons and make it less ?????. Like don't need to drop a key for a door a goobbue's spit away.

[Powercow]

Being able to work towards a specific piece of gear and knowing exactly how long it takes is great.


The problem is that the item itself isn't very exciting because it's just another piece of "has more stats than what I'm wearing" but this has nothing to do with how loot is acquired in this game. WoW players wish they would have our loot system back because they had it from 2004 to 2016 (arguably 2013 because the last raid in MoP already had Warforged items).

See, this guy gets it. The loot can be interesting and exciting and, most importantly, *memorable* without being super RNG.

If I say, oh... Ochiudo's Kote, Leaping Boots, Emperor's Hairpin, Byakko's Haidate, Sulfuras, Hand of Justice, Ashkandi, Talisman of Ephemeral Power... anyone who's played FFXI or WoW can probably look at that quick list and think, "ah, I remember that!" even if they haven't played that game in years.

Now let's look at... just about anything in FFXIV since the first tier. Heck, even the Relic weapons aren't particularly notable because they're just the same thing as every other weapon. The only distinct thing is how you acquire it, and not since Heavensward has even *that* been notable.

[Helbara]

"Did you join a Free company?"
Yes, it was the only one I've been invited to and it had 10 players. 4 left over two days until finally I left as I was the only person logging in.

And that's really the only social interaction? That definitely settles my urge to not stick around.
Appreciate the replies though! <3

[ElazulHP]

A few thoughts:

Not enough content for mid-core gamers. Got three kids and a spouse. No time to form a static these days and do the raiding scene. That said a lot of the casual content doesn't really last all that long. Which ends up in me leaving after a few weeks to play other games until the next patch.

Crafting and Gathering are basically pointless due to the bot infestation on the MB. This is great for people buying at lower prices but really sucks for those of us that focus on crafting. It's impossible to compete with bots that are running 24/7.

The housing system is absolute garbage. I get that they want a neighborhood feel, but I don't even see my neighbors more than once a month as it is. Might as well just be completely instanced.