Yoshida telling players to go play other games is very damaging to FFXIV

[Avidria]

The vs. WoW debate is kinda interesting to me personally because the last few times I played WoW I actually spent very little of my time even doing current content. Like, WoW does have a TON of things to do, but most of the things I actually enjoyed doing were stuff the game's already had for years. Like, WoW still has what, 9 years on FFXIV in terms of how long it's been around? Not counting 1.0, but even that came out like 7 years after WoW did.

Like sure there's more bosses and more variety in challenge content, but how many of those bosses are actually all that interesting or unique or stand out on their own anyway? SE isn't the only one who re-uses mechanics and concepts after all. I dunno. It's like, there's a difference in design philosophy between the games, so it feels like debating purely quantity or quality isn't gonna really be a straight comparison either way. They're different games that offer different experiences.

I played WoW on and off for 15 years but I can safely say there's very little now that could convince me to go back. I'm having a great time playing 14 though, and still feel like I have a ton of things left that I want to do. So to each their own I suppose.

[ReynTime]

FFXIV has plenty of content... all which is fluff for someone who only cares for the combat. And because the entire MSQ and 90% of unlockables are behind the cycle of [Talk->Watch->Fight->Repeat until mandatory PvE instance->Repeat] the game attracts plenty of people who like and would not complain if there was more pve content to do. Saying "well there's minigames, and fishing, and dress-up" is a total non-answer.
Imagine telling someone a game doesn't need more content based on its core gameplay because the development team keeps adding side activities that may or may not appeal to people who joined for the... core gameplay of its genre (in japanese rpgs it's story and combat).

Moreover saying more pve content would be bad because you'd feel "pressured to play more" is an even worse argument. That's like saying raiders are pressured to complete all achievements in the game, even for things like sightseeing and fishing, because they're content that exists and has rewards tied to it. You're not supposed to do content you don't enjoy doing. And if you enjoy doing said content then there's no logic in complaining about it.

The vs. WoW debate is kinda interesting to me personally because the last few times I played WoW I actually spent very little of my time even doing current content. Like, WoW does have a TON of things to do, but most of the things I actually enjoyed doing were stuff the game's already had for years. Like, WoW still has what, 9 years on FFXIV in terms of how long it's been around? Not counting 1.0, but even that came out like 7 years after WoW did.

Like sure there's more bosses and more variety in challenge content, but how many of those bosses are actually all that interesting or unique or stand out on their own anyway? SE isn't the only one who re-uses mechanics and concepts after all. I dunno. It's like, there's a difference in design philosophy between the games, so it feels like debating purely quantity or quality isn't gonna really be a straight comparison either way. They're different games that offer different experiences.

I played WoW on and off for 15 years but I can safely say there's very little now that could convince me to go back. I'm having a great time playing 14 though, and still feel like I have a ton of things left that I want to do. So to each their own I suppose.

And models. And animations. I lost count of how many BOSSES recycled the same models with their respective animations expansion after expansion and it's baffling they're not called out on it.

[Windwalker]

Not everyone can play 24/7, some people actually have jobs, family and stuff. The reason he keeps telling people to take breaks is because, in Asia some people play themselves to death in internet café.

[Fellgon]

Not everyone can play 24/7, some people actually have jobs, family and stuff. The reason he keeps telling people to take breaks is because, in Asia some people play themselves to death in internet café.

Thats very true, i once heard about a girl who gives birth in cafe, and about a boy who didnt stop to sleep and rest, and died playing.

[CGMidlander]

Noaki Yoshida in one interview told that if players are bored with the game or if they have completed all PVE content then they should take a break and come back in the next patch. Frankly speaking this is very damaging to the game and to square enix as a whole because its an mmorpg and players play mmorpg to commit long term. Look at the WoW director, Ion Hazzikotas. He never told players to take a single break from WoW. Infact he gives players new ideas on how to play WoW differently when they get bored or during a content drought but never once he said to take a break.

When I play an mmorpg I play it non stop for 10+ years without taking breaks and I am sure there are millions of players like me who think the same way. Majority of mmo players have no interest in single player games.

I had a blast playing ARR -> SB and quit for almost 2 years at the start of ShB for various reasons both related and unrelated to the game. Sometimes stuff happens and stuff needs to be addressed. Yoshida's being pretty realistic about it.

I saw EW's trailer and some livestream material and it piqued my interest, so recently came back and I'm having a pretty good time catching up on content.

I'm sure a lot of people who step away never come back, but there are some like me who remember having fun and do eventually come back when circumstances allow.

[DragonLordX]

Quality vs Quantity.
This whole idea is the downfall of the genre. Devs either spread themselves too thin trying to please everyone, or keep churning out low quality grindy content to keep people playing. I've seen many games get turned into one big mess because they kept changing direction to please players like GW2.
FFXIV's consistency in direction and quality is always what keeps me coming back. They have Savage and Extreme tiers when they come out, and just might be me, but...I really don't see the appeal for MMO PvP. 9/10 times it is just poorly a balanced mess that just isn't fun. I'd rather just got play Halo or LOL for my PvP fix.
I also play a lot of AAA releases, so for me at least having a ton of content in just one game isn't needed.

[Thoosa]

I think for people who like battle content, a solution might be to add a version of m+ - scaling dungeon content which offers unique rewards and maybe gear (as an alternative to just doing savage), which would, give more variety and more choice of challenging battle content.

Sadly, to implement this technically probably requires budget busting development, hence “go play other games”

[Akiudo]

I think for people who like battle content, a solution might be to add a version of m+ - scaling dungeon content which offers unique rewards and maybe gear (as an alternative to just doing savage), which would, give more variety and more choice of challenging battle content.

realism concerning development costs completly aside, rewards in the sense of unique glamour or maybe something like the new chests you can buy from your GC for random pets and stuff is fine, but not actual endgame level gear. at the point where it starts offering better gear than you can just easily buy it stops offering variety and choice and instead turns into a chore you have to do if you want to be on top (or even just "be a little better to help your struggling static)

[Thoosa]

Well right now savage gear will be better than any gear you can buy (except some upgraded tomes pieces, but you will need the upgrade material) and if you don’t want to raid savage there’s no reason to need better gear - crafted gear will be all you ever need.

So therefore I don’t see anything wrong with adding additional things for the people who want a variety of challenging content where the gear would actually be used on something.

[Akiudo]

Well right now savage gear will be better than any gear you can buy (except some upgraded tomes pieces, but you will need the upgrade material) and if you don’t want to raid savage there’s no reason to need better gear - crafted gear will be all you ever need.

So therefore I don’t see anything wrong with adding additional things for the people who want a variety of challenging content where the gear would actually be used on something.

you don't "need" m+ gear in wow either, go there and tell your raidgroup you don't want to equip your character as you don't "need" it, have fun. if any kind of content offers gear that is better than what you can just buy than either you get it OR you slow your group down by value of being "lazy". it's actually not about people that don't care for harder content at all but for those that do.

imagine by doing "m+" you could get just one piece of gear a week that is as good as savage (or even inbetween tomestone/savage loot). if 8 people make sure to grab one piece a week this are 8 items a week so now raid prep if you are even semi serious went from "show up on time, have food/pots, farm your tomestomes" to "do the things you 'had' to do before, and also make damn sure you pushed your "m+" this week, don't want you to miss out on some nice extra piece there".

sure, the raiding portion of the game is not that big % wise, but realistically while there certainly are people that never raided that want harder content for say 4 man groups there actually is a big overlap on that demand. offering dungeon gear on savage or even close to savage itemlevel would effectively just make it so that a good 50% of the people asking for "harder small group content" now feel effectively forced to do said content.