Future direction of FFXIV

[Liam_Harper]

In the event that Yoshida does leave, we need someone to follow his disposition toward the game. And not fall into the same mistake ActiBlizzard made of replacing all their roster with uncaring money-makers. To me, Yoshida and all the others should stay (assuming they want to, of course). Because for better or for worse, they're the ones who have made the game what it is, and they aren't the rest of Square Enix.

I don't think Yoshida needs to leave. His mindset on the game as a developer is amazing, he doesn't fill it with endless treadmills, FOMO, WoW tokens, reinvent the wheel every expansion or put the story as a second priority. That's the main reason I play this game over other MMO's on the market.

But he needs to back away from the game design. Badly. I have a strong feeling he's getting involved in pretty much everything lately, from the Story to Crafting and Gathering to testing dungeons, EX and Savage to class updates and reworks, to Housing and so on. As a result, many parts of the game feel watered down. For example the crafting system alone won awards in ARR for being so indepth, nowadays the DoH forums are dead and it's just bot infested. He needs to assign experienced designers to each feature and let them do their own thing without interfering. He can't design the entire game.

I've honestly given up on ff14 after the recent LL and interviews. I still like FF14, but I've accepted the game will never be something for me to invest in, they're not ever going to make it engaging. I enjoy the raids enough to pay a sub, it's not a "bad" game, but similar to how I ended up in WoW, I'm just waiting for a better MMO to come along, then I'll move on.

Seconding this. People think that their personal opinion of what something "perfect" is should be the universal norm, and the game should change and adapt to their personal wishes, otherwise it's a bad game, its future isn't looking bright, and Yoshida should consider leaving. Meanwhile, the rest of us are excited about 6.1.

This is 110% the attitude they had over in WoW. Almost word for word. "The game is fine, you can't expect the game to change just for you, vocal minority, the rest of us are just enjoying it". That game is a shell of what it used to be. I don't think most players even realize that big spike of players from WoW and the hype over ff14 has already died out.

[Midareyukki]

snip

This. I've been playing since Sophia came out and while Crafting was a pain, it was still very rewarding once you've set your mind to it. Now it's just as easy as pressing a macro, all the depth is gone. Even the MB is a joke. Just make the item a guarantee at this point and keep the rotation just for quality, it's no different than what we're doing now.

Dungeons are literally just corridors with bosses, and we're losing the flavour on the early ARR dungeons because they couldn't keep the concept engaging. They spared almost no thought in designing BLU as a serious class. Eureka was just mind-numbing with Bozja being a slight upgrade. Deep Dungeons will always just be the same reskinned concept with less floors. PvP is just bad, but that seems to be changing... you know... for the 3rd time. Reminds me of Diadem.

But the worst for me is them simplifying older, challenging content. Content that was popular because it didn't treat players like children. Even stuff as simple after a while like Thunder God Cid just became a case of "if you wipe, it's because people try to brute force things". When Stormblood came out people complained Shinryu was hard! It's why we have people defending lowering your ilv for Alliance Roulette and force ARR content.

But every time you had those who felt okay with that and didn't want complexity. You have people complaining that others are complaining. Even for content they themselves will never play, look no further than Hrothgars. Not even casual players are okay with how muted the game is. People have lives, I do get that. But it's also an MMO. Not everything will be quick and easy. People should be realistic about what they can or cannot do. Not everyone is going to want to do Savage on-content with a limited life, just as much as how not everyone wants to do the same boring dungeon every darn day even if they have time for it.

This is 110% the attitude they had over in WoW. Almost word for word. "The game is fine, you can't expect the game to change just for you, vocal minority, the rest of us are just enjoying it". That game is a shell of what it used to be.

Ah yes. "Stop complaining, no one will listen to you because you're just 2% of the playerbase". Been hearing that A LOT this weekend. For those you white-knighting the hell out of a dev team that honestly won't even remember your names, when the dipping quality of the game hits you, don't say the 2% didn't warn you.

Humanity is weak and a disgusting species letting such things cloud them from the real truth and facts of things

Psychology's moved past Decartes's logic. Welcome to the 21st century, we know better now. Even the most logically-sound argument can be grounds for sheer disaster. Plus, name one animal capable of similar thought process, it'll be just as gross.

[DPZ2]

This. I've been playing since Sophia came out and while Crafting was a pain, it was still very rewarding once you've set your mind to it. Now it's just as easy as pressing a macro, all the depth is gone.

I've been crafting since ARR, enough to be able to self-repair and make the occasional fun item myself. Crafting was indeed a pain, ameliorated by pressing a macro or two for which you could find examples on all sorts of websites and youtube channels. Eight years ago. I suspect you just weren't able to find them.

Dungeons are literally just corridors with bosses, and we're losing the flavour on the early ARR dungeons because they couldn't keep the concept engaging. They spared almost no thought in designing BLU as a serious class. Eureka was just mind-numbing with Bozja being a slight upgrade. Deep Dungeons will always just be the same reskinned concept with less floors. PvP is just bad, but that seems to be changing... you know... for the 3rd time. Reminds me of Diadem.

Dungeons in almost every single MMO I've played over the last 15+ years are corridor runs. Even the early ARR dungeons quickly became corridors for those entering Leveling Roulette. WoW dungeons were corridor runs, with the exception of the not-so-exciting Wailing Caverns and Maraudon, with their "you have to backtrack to get to where you want" mechanics. Don't get me started on Sunken Temple ...

Blue mage is not a serious class. It is a side-class for those who want to enjoy the power of Blue mage without the responsibility of actually needing to balance that power as a regular job. There's a reason you can't just join Leveling Roulette as a Blue Mage. I get it that some players wish it were a serious class. I can only guess how underwhelming such a class would be in reality.

I enjoy the current crafting methodology, since it enables me to create HQ gear while leveling alts, rather than paying ridiculous prices on the Market Board. I leave the high-end crafting to those who want to make gil, and gladly contribute to their efforts when it suits. Eureka, Bozja, Deep Dungeons, PvP ... not your cup-of-tea. Got it. They're not mine either, but probably for reasons different from your own.

But the worst for me is them simplifying older, challenging content. Content that was popular because it didn't treat players like children.

Having played since ARR, I don't find that older, challenging content has been simplified. I simply grew better at playing the game, potencies have increased over the years, and the iLevel of gear is never completely eradicated even when it is supposedly 'leveled down'. The actual content is challenging enough for those who haven't dedicated themselves to this game body and soul.

But every time you had those who felt okay with that and didn't want complexity. You have people complaining that others are complaining. Even for content they themselves will never play, look no further than Hrothgars. Not even casual players are okay with how muted the game is. People have lives, I do get that. But it's also an MMO. Not everything will be quick and easy. People should be realistic about what they can or cannot do. Not everyone is going to want to do Savage on-content with a limited life, just as much as how not everyone wants to do the same boring dungeon every darn day even if they have time for it.

The simple solution: Don't do the same boring dungeon every day. Find other games to play in addition to this one. As an example, I currently have Guild Wars 2, Genshin Impact, Final Fantasy 1 (remastered), Blade and Soul, Lost Ark and ArcheAge icons on the right side of my desktop (and the free World of Warcraft loaded on my hard drive, although that Free Trial is as disappointing as one can get. I removed my paid subscription WoW from my hard drive back in, um, early BFA?) Right now I play FFXIV every day because I wanted the replicate Late Allagan Armor set from the Treasure Hunt. I'm also finishing up some crafter stuff that I've ignored since mid-2021. Real life does indeed mean you have to cut down on playing the games you love.

[Midareyukki]

Snip.

Oh I did find them, I'm just impatient really. But it wasn't a total bore-snore like it is right now, let's face it. Back then it meant something if you could craft high-tier stuff, because it did take effort to get there. Now anyone can do it with low effort.

The thing I meant with Dungeons is that there isn't much variety or anything to explore further in them. In other MMOs they are corridors as well, just like how any dungeon in any game is a corridor with bosses. But they have stuff to explore and search around regardless. They have flavour. FF14's latest dungeons are worse than FF13's Cocoon segments.

Yes, BLU is not a serious class, that's literally the point. You have BLU depicted as a serious class in other games, you even have people with frankly valid ways to implement it into the game. Everyone memes on Self-Destruct, but HP aside we have other resource bars. It being a minigame is obvious, it's why it's a minigame that actually is the problem. Or did you skip that part of the text?

"Eureka, Bozja, Deep Dungeons, PvP ... not your cup-of-tea. Got it.", oh they are. To some extent. I have the Seal Rock coat, I have completed Eureka and Bozja weapons, I've gotten to the final floors of Deep Dungeons. But I can say that there are flaws with them, and this is the problem: no one ever addressed those flaws. And when people pointed them out they were met with vitriol. That's the whole point of what I wrote.

"I don't find that older, challenging content has been simplified", I'm sorry but when certain content would once one-shot you and force you to get better no longer does that, yes, it has been simplified. Aurum Vale's Coincounter boss has telegraphs, Orbonne Monastery is no longer punishing. It's not "just skill", the game no longer actively pushes you to develop it outside of Extremes.

"Don't do the same boring dungeon every day." Ok. Then stop giving me Syrcus Tower on Duty Roulette. And before you say "but it's a roulette", yeah, the other numbers should be just as valid, not just those landing on Syrcus Tower. And when the system is designed to only land you these, it's not really a roulette. And before you defend it saying that it's because ARR ones are mandatory, you have runs where there isn't a new player in sight, but someone starts out naked.

...frankly, did you skim the text? Or are you that willing to white-knight the devs? You know it's okay to admit there are flaws, yes? And that when people pointed these out there was nothing done, and the community's take on it is to try and stamp comments out? Then people wonder why the game keeps having less and less effort put into it... "Play other games", gee, MAYBE I want to play this one and NOT feel like the game isn't taking itself seriously?

Guess what. It's by giving FEEDBACK that stuff gets done as well, not stamping it out and saying people protest too much. A lot of the content honestly has minor flaws, and that could be okay... if they weren't outright ignored and subsequently exacerbated.