I am getting a very interesting vibe about 6.0 ...

[Novae]

Time and scaled in comparison, then anything Savage is easy content, you walk in... you murder x thing, you get a reward at the exit for doing 1 thing.

Then why crying about the ilvl 515 relic when you can get the ilvl 535 weapon now, ez pz for free since it's braindead content?

[van_arn]

I, much to the chagrin of many, go back quite a ways with the MMOs.

And I recall an "out of nowhere" JP-based showcase for XI where they basically blew the lid off of XI with Abyssea, an (incremental) level cap increase to 99...

Consider the following:

* The game is Free To Play 1-60, within some limitations.
* 1-70 has become a joke -- and really, all of it on the crafting and gathering end 1-80 could be said the same way (for example, when you finish the 70 quest and start ShB crafter/gatherer, that quest gets you an entire level).
* There has been a move (since, I want to say, about 4.3) to stiffen the game rather significantly, especially in 24-man and up content.

The explanation given for Abyssea in XI was that the game was now going to try to cater to the high-level content player, etc.

Are we about to have our Abyssea moment on Friday? And wouldn't that probably mean more "mitigation efforts" on the number of high-level players (running MSQ dungeons for clears in Trusts, etc.)?

Thoughts...

I'd find Promathia more likely than Abyssea given the current storylines. That and I want to see the XIV version of Promyvion.

That aside, Crystarium is going to be huge expanse of nothing if they don't just skip new players to 5.0 alongside a platform launch (like xbox.) That place is too big to be left behind like Kugane.

[Lauront]

?

The Ivalice raids were a bit harder than expected, but "stiffen" is overkill. Shadowbringers has reverted any MSQ difficulty to abysmal low actually. If anything, 5.X has opened the game to a broader, more casual audience. And I kind of expect them going on in that direction, much to my personal dismay but I guess it keeps the numbers up.

Or perhaps I'm missing entirely the point of your post!

Yeah, the MSQ stuff has become very easy. They hit the right balance in SB, and yes, Ivalice was perfectly doable with some coordination. I think it's good for normal trials (including MSQ ones), 24 man and normal raids to begin upping the ante a bit and to expect (as well as develop) decent competence. You have dungeons and solo duties for the easier stuff. Though I'm expecting you're right and it'll continue in that direction. It does bug me a bit because this is supposedly "canon" content, whereas the extremes, savages etc. by and large tend to be simulations, fictional etc.

I'm already dreading how they're going to make any Zodiark fight live up to the challenge it ought to pose, unless they're going to use some clever thinking to link it to the raids, or something, or just bite the bullet and make it harder than usual trials, including anything from SB.

[Hyperia]

I’m starting to think it’s time for more horizontal progression and less vertical. At this point in the story, our character is nearing Demi-god level of power. Any more power and we will be going around Thanos snapping everything.

[Lauront]

I’m starting to think it’s time for more horizontal progression and less vertical. At this point in the story, our character is nearing Demi-god level of power. Any more power and we will be going around Thanos snapping everything.

To a considerable extent, that's due to the Blessing of Light - maybe this will be the expansion where it goes bye bye for good (and not just a period of time a la HW) to redress that somewhat.

[MoofiaBossVal]

You have to remember that when Abyssea came out (2010), WotLK had happened. FFXI's time in the limelight was undeniably OVER. The MMO market was about WoW clones, period. FFXI looked graphically dated and the very nature of the game - menus and menus, obtuse game mechanics and quests, etc - simply did not conform to the standards of the day. FFXI had virtually no hope of bringing in large amounts of new players. Thus, the shift in focus was an acknowledgement of reality as the devs tried to instead retain their existing playerbase and milk them for as long as possible.

FFXIV isn't in that predicament. It conforms to modern tastes, still looks pretty good by modern standards, and the design of the game is very newbie friendly. It continues to bring in tons of new players (just look at the surge in new players with the release of Shadowbringers). And, going by the developer's design decision to incentivize older veteran players to run FATEs in old zones and rerun old dungeons for Blue Mage spells and old alliance raids for relic weapons, it seems that the developers are focusing on the experience of new players.

[Absurdity]

And, going by the developer's design decision to incentivize older veteran players to run FATEs in old zones and rerun old dungeons for Blue Mage spells and old alliance raids for relic weapons, it seems that the developers are focusing on the experience of new players.

Which is just as bad imo.



Trying to make the experience for new players decent is all fine and dandy (although I think that the low level experience is rather terrible due to the ability pruning over several years tbh) but unfortunately I have no interest in running the same old content again and again. I'm not buying an expansion to do the exact same content I did 2 expansions ago.

The fact that "veterans" get completely ignored in favor of getting their numbers up with new players doesn't exactly make me optimistic for the future, 6.0 will probably be the last chance I'm giving them.
Not necessarily a fan of using the term veteran here since even new players can quickly get bored out of their mind depending on how much time and effort they put into the game, having experienced the previous expansions simply gives you a slightly different perspective and something to draw comparisons to.

Maybe I'm the only one who feels that way, I'd like to think I'm not alone.

[Hyperia]

The fact that "veterans" get completely ignored in favor of getting their numbers up with new players doesn't exactly make me optimistic for the future, 6.0 will probably be the last chance I'm giving them.

Think of it this way, new players are worth more to them as they do not have all of the goodies we got by playing the game for a long time. If they want the goodies, they will have to pay cash for them.

Veterans are worth a subscription, new players are potentially worth much more. It’s simple economics really, after all, SE is a business and their goal is to make money. So... follow the money.

[Seraphor]

How are veterans ignored in favour of new players exactly?
We're still getting all the same new current content we always did.

12 Raid fights, 7 Trials, 3 Alliance Raids, more Ultimates, etc. We even got 2 additional Alliance Raids via Bozja, and a Savage version at that.
The only thing that's been reduced is the number of dungeons, and there's already so many as it is.