“Everything is amazing and no one is happy.”

[Xaruko_Nexume]

The forums are meant for feedback, and while it often seems that feedback is negative, which is perfectly fine, I feel it’s important to sometimes express happiness about the state of the game, else it would seem to an outside that everyone hates everything and everything is awful always. So if overly optimistic, satisfied posts are not your thing and you are here for anger pron, this thread is likely not for you, but please feel free to participate, regardless.

I have been playing games almost 4 decades. Many of my earliest memories as a human being are playing games like pacman and ET on the Atari 2600. I remember Donkey Kong on the Commodore 64.Oregon trail. I played Diablo 1 from free CD in a PC gamer magazine. Ive played Doom and countless FPS games dialup modem to modem before I ever had Internet. I crossed the ruins of Kunark, was one of the first dozen Jedi in the world in SWG. Ive raided in WoW and ive RP’d in Goldshire and everything in between. Ive been to Blizzcons. Ive had dinner with my entire raid team. Ive had every good and bad experience you could think of with gaming. PC, console, you name it.

Now that the background stuff is over, I love Final Fantasy XIV. But that wasn’t always the case. Yes, I was part of last summers Asmongold exodus. I tried the game FOUR times in the past before that and it just never stuck with me. “Im not playing that weeb game.” I don’t like anime and Ive never played another FF game before. No way could this game be for me. If you had told me this time last year that I would have quit WoW in the summer and play Final Fantasy XIV every moment I can, I would have said you were crazy.

But after I met the first Scion in this fifth attempt at the game, something kinda stuck with me. ARR had characters, and story. A story I could follow and enjoy. New landscapes and vistas and a WORLD. Was this “ARR” that everyone said was so hard to get through so bad? *laughs in OG SWG Jedi grind*

I had a feeling of excitement to play a game that I had not felt since vanilla WoW. I wasn’t just “playing a game” where people were worried about spreadsheets, ladders, and leader boards. The sun rose, and it set. The wind blowed, and it rained, and snowed. I was developing a true investment in this world, and protecting it and saving it, and the NPC characters around me. The music was always changing, and fit. For the first time in years, I stayed up too late playing a game, looked forward to rushing home from work, to play a game. And it felt great to have that again. Just one more quest. Just one more cutscene.

[Xaruko_Nexume]

“If you like ARR, it only gets better from here.” And oh did it ever. A few months in, I met a great FC in Gridania. A place I still consider home, despite not being able to find a house there. We would hang out and chat and play music and do roulettes together. I could try different jobs, and roles, all without ever having to make a new character. Those who haven’t had that experience, of being able to change jobs on one character really don’t know what they are missing. Sadly, that FC broke up due to drama but I keep in touch with some of them and we still hang in Gridania.
The post after this kinda turned into a review of each expansion afterwards, and that’s not what im trying to do so I changed it up.

I love how in this game, every single villain always ends up either misunderstood, or tempered, and redeemable in some way. Its very drastically different from what I was used to in most other games. And I love it. The redemption arc of so many villains in this game really came into my life at a time that I needed to experience a story of forgiveness. It is not an understatement to say these tropes have changed my outlook on life. At the rist of a possible spoiler, I identify heavily with Fordola.

This game really is the best of both sandbox and theme park mmo. There is endless spoon fed content, but the game also makes it so easy to make your own and just enjoy the company of others. It has such amazing single player and group based experiences. Like, I get emotional just thinking about how my life would be different if I had not tried this game. I played WoW for 16 years. I played the wrong game for 16 years. But im home now in the Twelveswood and I will never leave.

Speaking of others, the community in this game is not a meme. It really is great. There are millions of people so of course it isn’t perfect. There are bad people everywhere. But never before in my life have I made friends and relationships so easily, where someone just comes up to me and asks how my day was, and if I need anything or want to run something. Not just a one off experience either. THAT is the life blood of Final Fantasy XIV. Not wall to wall pulling, or spreadsheets, min-maxing. The people that play it are what make it special and magical. And yes, I have fallen in love in this game, though the person will probably never know it. I never expected to meet someone as patient with me as they are, having me do fights and see content I would never have otherwise experienced. Great community by the way.

I can’t help but think of a Louis CK quote often when I come to these forums. “Everything is amazing and no one is happy.” I think a lot of people on these forums are playing the wrong game. I know I was, for many many years and there is no shame in it.

Anyway, if you made it this far, or if anyone at SE happens to read this, thank you for making and maintaining this beautiful world. It changed my outlook on life and other people. Please don’t ever stop.

[Gethard]

I am thoroughly enjoying this game and yes, I haven't been this excited to actually play a MMORPG since the early days of WoW. The dungeons I've done with my Summoner and Archer have been fun and successful, and my co-players have been friendly and complimentary, something I haven't seen in game since the WotLK days. The storytelling is excellent and engaging, on the same level as SW:TOR, which up until now has been my gold standard for a story-driven MMORPG. And yes, I had tried FFXIV once in the past and something just didn't click, but now it very much does.

In Wow, the first real guild I was in was called Shadow Allegiance - it was a magical time, we became great friends, but it did not last very long - I think the rest of my WoW career was spent trying to recapture that experience but it wasn't meant to be.

But I'm getting those same good vibes again in FFXIV. And I have my eyes and heart open for that right opportunity to again be part of a friendly online community.

Oh I should also mention how much more enjoyable the leveling process is - it feels effortless when you're enjoying yourself.

[ApolloGenX]

For me, it is everything is not great, but I am happy.

You can generally love a game and still point out where it can improve. While there is a lot of room for improvement, it's still the best MMO, imo.

[Xaruko_Nexume]

For me, it is everything is not great, but I am happy.

You can generally love a game and still point out where it can improve. While there is a lot of room for improvement, it's still the best MMO, imo.

I get that. I tried very hard to not sound like I am dismissive of those with valid concerns and negative feedback. After so much time in other games though, many of the complaints I see here feel so much like "first world MMO problems" though, that they are hard to take serious. At least this game isn't falling apart at the foundation.

And I wanted to put up a positive experience. "Happy customers rarely post, but unhappy ones rarely stop."

[Raoabolic]

Eh, it's just the modern western mentality where if it's not perfect then it might as well be flawed to the point it's not worth it. There is some room for improvements (fixing class homogenization, instance housing, shrinking amount of content per patch, paying for power via cash shop, ect.) but it's far from bad. Though the next few patches and next expansion will really tell what direction the game is going.

[Izar_Chillen]

What you're seeing, as it was happens with very popular games with which you can sink hundreds if not thousands of hours into because its a good game , is players becoming disgruntled because they are terrible at managing their time here . They should put the game down and give themselves the break their well being needs.

Its the same for everything, enjoy it in moderation or it becomes a needless dependency in which your enjoyment is minimal.

They come here to troll , moan or berate the game or others, more from need to find self satisfaction where its is missing whilst playing the game because they have turned entertainment into a chore.

[Xaruko_Nexume]

Eh, it's just the modern western mentality where if it's not perfect then it might as well be flawed to the point it's not worth it. There is some room for improvements (fixing class homogenization, instance housing, shrinking amount of content per patch, paying for power via cash shop, ect.) but it's far from bad. Though the next few patches and next expansion will really tell what direction the game is going.

I suspect it has something to do with upbringing too. I was raised to be thankful for what I had and to appreciate that I could very easily have far less. I don't think as many others had that experience.

[Snorky]

I get that. I tried very hard to not sound like I am dismissive of those with valid concerns and negative feedback. After so much time in other games though, many of the complaints I see here feel so much like "first world MMO problems" though, that they are hard to take serious. At least this game isn't falling apart at the foundation.

And I wanted to put up a positive experience. "Happy customers rarely post, but unhappy ones rarely stop."

I happen to identify with many things the OP has stated, I also met and married someone from inside a MMO back in the early 90s. We were married for 12 years both gamers and played all MMOs together. Sadly he passed away in 2010. It was an awesome experience. I miss playing with him. Unfortunately my current partner is not a gamer but that's okay my generation grew up with out games and cell phones. Like the OP I have played every major and some minor western MMOs but have found this one special the story grabbed me and like the OP I rushed home to play it just one more cut scene. I know this game has faults and there is always room for improvement. What bothers me is seeing the nasty complaining, the insults. If people would state their problems without insulting I would respect their opinions but some here make it a mission to post complaint after complaint. So I would like to say I am enjoying myself and don't really have much to complain about. I hope to continue to enjoy myself thank you Yoshida P and the team for a great experience.

[Raoabolic]

I suspect it has something to do with upbringing too. I was raised to be thankful for what I had and to appreciate that I could very easily have far less. I don't think as many others had that experience.

I'll agree with that one. I love delayed gratification and when I try to explain it to others they look at me like they are seeing something so foreign they can't comprehend it. That said, if you are looking for instant gratification then why are you playing an MMO of all things?