Please grow the MMO part of the game. End game is lousy.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Ah yes, the company that suspended auto-demolition on multiple occasions due to server congestion or a pandemic is truly "predatory". I for one think it's a fantastic idea for people who haven't logged on in months to occupy a house that someone who actively plays could reside in. True. True. The fact that they even added houses to what a trash heap 2.0 framework was isn't astounding at all. It's not like they have been putting in sub-optimal additions to a busted framework just cause players asked for it since 2.0 or anything close to that. I would like a source on "then quickly went back on their promise never to require sustained subscriptions just to keep said houses."

Does the housing system need rework, yes. Could they implement it better, yes. Is it "predatory" - "seeking to exploit or oppress others"? Highly doubtful. The entire lifespan of the game has been an adventure of "add a thing, issues with the thing, patch the thing until we can rework the thing". Of course the original housing is faulty, it was added in 2013? Almost nothing in the game from 2013 still exists, housing is just a bigger item to handle.



You can cap current weekly tomestones in like 4 hours. The Relic is SUPPOSED to be a grind, literally designed that way. Not to mention modern relics aren't nearly as bad as ARR relics. "massively slow-to-reach achievements" This is an MMO right? First of all, there is not a "massive" amount, 2nd even if there was, oh no, SE added a goal to reach while I have been playing this game for years. Like what even is there? Hunts? FL wins? Commendations? Sure some might take a while if you are brand new, but most you just end up getting passively by just playing the game.

Considering enough people have been arguing against the system for this many years i’m inclined to believe it’s pretty predatory. If not predatory then at the least just…shows how incredibly irresponsible the company is. Either way this discussion is getting derailed. The whole point is asking for more and diverse endgame, which this game definitely could use. Unfortunately though i don’t see it happening considering where they’ve decided to now pour time and resources…making the game less of an mmo and more of a single player visual novel sadly.

[Ixon]

Considering enough people have been arguing against the system for this many years i’m inclined to believe it’s pretty predatory. If not predatory then at the least just…shows how incredibly irresponsible the company is. Either way this discussion is getting derailed. The whole point is asking for more and diverse endgame, which this game definitely could use. Unfortunately though i don’t see it happening considering where they’ve decided to now pour time and resources…making the game less of an mmo and more of a single player visual novel sadly.

I think it's just not your taste. This game has had the almost same exact structure for a looong time. I am perfectly content with my 3 days a week raids with my static, and pushing more when we feel like it. I like that I can take a days off and not log on and not miss a thing. I'll be happy when the Ultimates drop to tie me over till the next EX to tie me over till PVP to tie me over till new Heaven on High to tie me over to the next raid tier and repeat. YoshiP himself has even stated that this is not an 24/7/365 game, and when you feel bored they want to play something else and come back when you want to.

[Misplaced_Marbles]

As I've always said: if multiplayer "dies" in an MMO just because we have a choice of playing with bots, then the multiplayer part was just a facade. Let them pull away the veneer to show the joke that MMOs are.

I'm sure people who like interacting with others have already made a circle of friends to play with and/or joined a free company, and they can still play with them. Those who don't and won't do that won't do that no matter how far detached from reality the devs are who believe they will if they strongarm it enough (I mean, reaching this epiphany took them only a decade! Sheesh). The former lose nothing, the latter gain a more enjoyable game.

Also, it can only be considered a "visual novel" if they continue to fail at making the combat engaging.

[KizuyaKatogami]

As I've always said: if multiplayer "dies" in an MMO just because we have a choice of playing with bots, then the multiplayer part was just a facade. Let them pull away the veneer to show the joke that MMOs are.

I'm sure people who like interacting with others have already made a circle of friends to play with and/or joined a free company, and they can still play with them. Those who don't and won't do that won't do that no matter how far detached from reality the devs are who believe they will if they strongarm it enough (I mean, reaching this epiphany took them only a decade! Sheesh). The former lose nothing, the latter gain a more enjoyable game.

Also, it can only be considered a "visual novel" if they continue to fail at making the combat engaging.

Which is exactly what has happened. Look at how they’re treating healers and how they continue to gut and simplify jobs each expansion.

[DPZ2]

Which is exactly what has happened. Look at how they’re treating healers and how they continue to gut and simplify jobs each expansion.

You're upset that SE has chosen not to change your particular playstyles as much as you think is needed, not that they're adding Trusts to the main story line dungeon instances. The need to describe this game (or any game with a battle system, really) as a 'visual novel' is pretty telling.

If you truly believe this game is becoming a 'visual novel', then you must have really disliked World of Warcraft/Star Wars: The Old Republic/Rift/Guild Wars 2/ArcheAge/Blade and Soul (those are the icons I can see on my desktop at the moment, there are a number of others out there as well), since one can solo-level (i.e. experience the non-raid-oriented story lines) in those particular games without ever engaging with another person in-game. It's not optimal, and some of the fun you can have is definitely tied to group interactions (guilds/FCs/Parties). But you can do it.

I play visual novels. The dynamics are quite different. The end-game is extremely different. There is no "rapport" system in this game. You can't Romance any of the Scions. You can RP to your hearts content, but it isn't part of the base game.

The reason these games are classified as MMORPGs is the same reason FFXIV is an MMORPG. There are instances where players can group up; there are persistent, distinct worlds to play on, you can interact with other players to your hearts content. Or not.

[KizuyaKatogami]

You're upset that SE has chosen not to change your particular playstyles as much as you think is needed, not that they're adding Trusts to the main story line dungeon instances. The need to describe this game (or any game with a battle system, really) as a 'visual novel' is pretty telling.

If you truly believe this game is becoming a 'visual novel', then you must have really disliked World of Warcraft/Star Wars: The Old Republic/Rift/Guild Wars 2/ArcheAge/Blade and Soul (those are the icons I can see on my desktop at the moment, there are a number of others out there as well), since one can solo-level (i.e. experience the non-raid-oriented story lines) in those particular games without ever engaging with another person in-game. It's not optimal, and some of the fun you can have is definitely tied to group interactions (guilds/FCs/Parties). But you can do it.

I play visual novels. The dynamics are quite different. The end-game is extremely different. There is no "rapport" system in this game. You can't Romance any of the Scions. You can RP to your hearts content, but it isn't part of the base game.

The reason these games are classified as MMORPGs is the same reason FFXIV is an MMORPG. There are instances where players can group up; there are persistent, distinct worlds to play on, you can interact with other players to your hearts content. Or not.

It’s not about my particular playstyle. They have objectively been simplifying jobs since Shadowbringers. They have made healing incredibly simplified, they gutted sch dots, gutted ast cards and abilities, have continued to make healing more and more easy while doing nothing for the dps side of things on healers. Their stance on this was because the casual playerbase would find more dps abilities too difficult to manage, but that rings rather hollow at this point now that they’re specifically working on making the game entirely solo. It’s not about a particular playstyle it’s about engagement, and yoshi p quite literally showed he doesn’t care about healer concerns in the recent QnA.

Yes it’s effectively becoming a visual novel to me, considering how much easier dungeons are thus expansion and yoshi p going on record saying he wants to streamline them even more. Dungeons being streamlined even more at this point just means a visual novel where you hardly focus on the mobs and bosses and focus on the pretty lights in the background. The problem with devoting so many resources to making the game soloable is what about the people who aren’t invested or don’t care for the story? Endgame is the only thing for them and if that’s lacking then what’s the point of even playing?

[Shurrikhan]

I think it's just not your taste.

Isn't it precisely when there's nothing that quite clicks sufficiently (is to one's taste) that people ask for diversity in choices?

Imagine if XIV had never extended beyond dungeon, raids (of the slightly more classic, trash-filled variety), trials. Do we just go and tell anyone who wants open world content relevant beyond MSQ pathways, FATE grinds for the brief period a zone is relevant for leveling, and its few gathering node loops per zone to just go play something else rather than expanding the game itself?

[DPZ2]

Do we just go and tell anyone who wants open world content relevant beyond MSQ pathways, FATE grinds for the brief period a zone is relevant for leveling, and its few gathering node loops per zone to just go play something else rather than expanding the game itself?

Do we just go and tell anyone who wants a platform-style mode in game to go play something else rather than expanding the game itself?

Do we just go and tell anyone who truly want a Romance mode in game to go play something else rather than expanding the game itself?

Do we just go and tell anyone who wants to turn this game into <insert favorite MMORPG here> to go play something else rather than expanding the game itself?

If SE thinks the investment in time and money on such projects would both enhance the game and return a profit, they might consider it. If you're asking to turn FFXIV into your idea of what WoW, or even FFXI, brings to an MMORPG, and they don't think it's worth the effort, their answer will be no.

Personally, I think World of Warcraft should ditch the end-game Raiding in favor of massive 100-person open world Raids. I also think they should ditch their unique graphic style and replace it with photorealism.

Would my request be met with anything beyond derision by the development team? Absolutely. WoW has a unique feel, and unique gameplay, and those things provide a reason for WoW players to continue playing.

Turn Game X into Game Y sounds oh so reasonable if you give no heed to why you actually ended up playing both, and why the two will never be homogenized.