Does 14 Promote a Culture of Mediocrity?

[MiaShino]

Phase 1.) The game is new, it has some complexity coupled with much jank but promising start.
The community has yet to grow consisting primarily of mix of dedicated members and newcomers searching for new stuffs. Tis more of wild wild west as social groups begin to form.

Phase 2.) Jank and awkwardness is steadily removed as developers become more knowledgeable and confident about what they desire.
Community size begins to stabilize, some have left while others remained. Those that remain become passionate about this new world that they are falling for. Social groups have formed and play style is established. As game is no longer new expectations for performance arise, baseline is set for such performance.

Phase 3.) Budget has increased thus development team is free to do bigger and bigger things. Wishing to not only maintain previous growth but experience accelerated growth the priorities shift. Complexity is one of first things deemed "reason for lack of explosive growth" and is summarily gradually removed. In effort to attract more players "gatekeeping" is seen as issue. The great dumbing down has begun though not enough to draw complete ire from games dedicated following. More new players join into the community and pre-acclimate to these changes as it is all they have known. The first signs of a schism begin to form within the community. With so many new ones the bar must be lowered and so it is, and so it is. New baseline of acceptable performance is established much to chagrin of others but they acquiesce.

Phase 4.) Growth was not sufficient, it never was. No for the investors have seen the potential and now they desire more. Because these ones lack proper understanding of game development they assume it was the reduction of complexity that made the game more approachable. They do not understand. They assume wrongly. Nope! Surely it could not have been the bigger budget, the voice acting, the larger areas and spectacles. They fail to understand the nature of organic growth so attempt forcing it. The paradigm shifts massively towards complete reduction of the complexity that kept players sticking around. Previous schism in community further widens as it nears the boiling over point. So many new ones have joined as the game experiences explosive growth. Stockholm syndrome sets in for those that have been around from the beginning, those who invested much much time. Players new and old seeking challenges conflict with others who simply do not care. All parties grow increasingly jaded.

Phase 5.) More of the same commences for aforementioned reasons. Yet more complexity is vanquished in favor of higher and higher profit margins. The community reaches the breaking point as fighting amongst different social groups peaks. The bubble will burst soon, and this is where we are now.

Phase 6.) The future. Nothing changes, again yet more complexity is removed. The game becomes easier to play, the grind grows worse, a downward spiral into oblivion doth commenceith. Past content is now so irrelevant that not even new players care for it anymore. The rush for end game overtakes the community and is positively reinforced by the development team. With everything the old community loved stripped and burned away the first major exodus begins. Now only the more casual players remain. The players who assisted in lowering the bar are all that is left, with possibly a handful of jaded veterans clambering for the good'ol times.

Phase 7.) The publishers notice steady decline in subscribers, they commence operation "Try random things, try everything! Get them to come back please! The investors will not leave us alone!" So.. the development team tries only to be silenced by the executive staff. More of the the thing that worked the first time they cry out! Dumb it down more! Make it more accessible, you did not make it accessible enough! Now not only is there conflict within the community but also within dev team. At this point developers begin leaving the project or are contemplating such. Many casual players abandon the game as they were only here for the story, or for the experience of something new and all that end game stuffs it is just too hard. Something new and shiny just released so away they go.

Phase 8.) Several conclusions are reached about why the project failed when it had been doing so well. Just two no three phases ago it had so much to gain and nothing to lose. What happened to the explosive growth? Why did it forsake us? Ultimately it is decided that people just did not wish for more FF14. Traditional mmos or traditional mmos wearing the Final Fantasy moniker are no longer profitable.

Phase 9.) Announcing Final Fantasy Mobile Edition! Now more casual then ever, it even plays its self. Come one come all for all are welcome here!

Phase 10.) Final Fantasy Mobile Edition is not meeting expected margins. Final Fantasy XIV Classic has been announced.

You are welcome.

[IdowhatIwant]

SenorPatty has the best piece of advice on this thread

"If one is perpetually disappointed with the playerbase in general, do you recluse yourself and finally decide to only do content with your peers of similar talent?"

Your measuring stick is high. You want the devs to change the game to exclude and gatekeep people who don't meet your measuring stick. Instead of taking actions that are in your power to take to surround yourself only with like-minded people.

I disagree, I don't think his advice is good at all. The player base deflects criticism consistently and that is a fact. People try to turn criticism into some sort of attack on who ever makes it by saying they are rude, trolling, or in your previous example a frequent thread maker. People don't criticize the game cause they want it to fail, they criticize the game because they enjoy the game but want more out of it.
If you look at the progression of this game we have lost much more than we gained with each expansion. So yes I want the devs to change the game but it has nothing to do with gatekeeping people or any sort of measuring stick. This formulaic BS is lacking.
I think having content that requires a little bit of effort from the players is better for the community as whole, not every one wants copy pasted dungeon design and class skills. Who wants to tank when there is no engaging mechanics to manage threat, you are basically playing a bad dps with a lot of defensive cool downs... Give it a couple more expansions DPS will just replace tanks, like warrior has replaced healers in some content if we continue down the path the game is going.

Given that 90% of the players are more likely mediocre players, it makes sense to make the game more accessible and enjoyable for them. There is still high end content if you want it.

I don't know, maybe I am being selfish when I ask for a little more than just four eight man boss fights every 6 months and a possible ultimate fight once an expansion for challenging content. It may take WoW a year to release a patch but hell they get an entire FF expansions worth of bosses per new challenging content patch.

[Kaurhz]

Objectively speaking it only makes logical sense that they pander the majority of the player base. Both in their design decisions and their philosophies behind classes and jobs. They want to narrow the skill gap, not increase it, and it only makes more sense for them to do so.

[linayar]

The player base deflects criticism consistently and that is a fact.

The player base is not homogeneous. One player having criticism doesn't mean another player cannot disagree with the criticism.

It may take WoW a year to release a patch but hell they get an entire FF expansions worth of bosses per new challenging content patch.

It seems they are two different games catering to two different desires.

[Krotoan]

Yet another "you are all plebs" thread by Caurcas.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a game having broad appeal.

I don't know, maybe I am being selfish when I ask for a little more than just four eight man boss fights every 6 months and a possible ultimate fight once an expansion for challenging content. It may take WoW a year to release a patch but hell they get an entire FF expansions worth of bosses per new challenging content patch.

Walk that back a little and read what you just typed. Yet again.. just because it's not the content YOU want.. doesn't mean it's not content. Also in a year of FF patches, we probably get about the same amount of encounters in 1 yearly singular WoW patch... AND IN ADDITION.. that being a different game entirely we probably shouldn't try to compare them as if the encounters are 1:1 in equivalence.

[MistakeNot]

I am simply disappointed in the direction they went, when they had a perfectly serviceable mid point 2 expansions ago. My favorite job got dumbed down time and time again, and ultimately turned into a mess, because the original and best iteration of it was "too hard".

The game wasn't significantly different or more difficult back in Heavensward compared to now. Slightly more complex and convoluted in some aspects that nobody liked back then, which is why those aspects have been streamlined so there are fewer hoops to jump through.

[Sarnai]

I don't ever want to return to SB DRK when I needed to try and keep my mana up while also spamming Dark Arts every time I can and also fighting for aggro with that one samurai who refuses to press Diversion. Tanking in SB was my bane and I'm so glad it's gone and I can finally enjoy tanking.

[Caurcas]

I don't ever want to return to SB DRK when I needed to try and keep my mana up while also spamming Dark Arts every time I can and also fighting for aggro with that one samurai who refuses to press Diversion. Tanking in SB was my bane and I'm so glad it's gone and I can finally enjoy tanking.

HW DRK was the best, but atleast tanking and SB DRK was far more engaging that what we have now.

[Aurikai]

If what you say is true, shouldn't the % of savage completions for EW be much higher, I mean after all everything's easier, yet there's no evidence of this.

[Caurcas]

If what you say is true, shouldn't the % of savage completions for EW be much higher, I mean after all everything's easier, yet there's no evidence of this.

Savage completion, and floor completion and engagement has gone up every expansion. Which, is a good thing if there is a silver lining.