Endwalker is the most controversial expansion

[Ranaku]

I'm very curious what you're basing the bolded on, since you've admitted reddit and Twitter, the usual sources of gushing adulation for this game, are just a tiny minority. Do you have insight into this that the rest of us don't? What might that be?

How about you and the rest who are still playing the game (while being so unhappy), not protesting at all? I can't see a decline in any way regarding the playerbase of XIV nor it's scores from critics and players alike on sites like metacritic.

If people would be really unhappy, if you would be so unhappy with the game you would unsubscribe but you don't. And that says a lot about these people in my opinion, a lot of tears and morals but no spine to actually take action.

[Amenara]

How about you and the rest still playing the game and not protesting in action but just in words? I can't see a decline in any way regarding the playerbase of XIV nor it's scores from critics and players alike on sites like metacritic.

If people would be really unhappy, if you would be so unhappy with the game you would unsubscribe but you don't. And that says a lot about these people in my opinion, a lot of tears and morals but no spine to actually take action.

You are acting like there are 2 options, you love everything about the game or you hate everything about the game. There is a vast majority of space in between those two opinions that I imagine the entire player base resides in. Just because I find aspects of the game unenjoyable doesn't mean that there aren't other things I like. The reason you don't see many posts about people liking things in the game is because it accomplishes nothing to praise it. The thing is fine, nothing to report about it. If there is something you don't like or think can be improved then you provide that feedback to the devs so they can hopefully see it, discuss it, and either deny it or come up with a plan to implement it.

I'm glad that you adore everything about the game and really enjoy playing it. It doesn't mean the game is perfect though, and I think most of us providing feedback or complaining in your eyes just want the game to be the best it can be.

[Ranaku]

You are acting like there are 2 options, you love everything about the game or you hate everything about the game. There is a vast majority of space in between those two opinions that I imagine the entire player base resides in. Just because I find aspects of the game unenjoyable doesn't mean that there aren't other things I like. The reason you don't see many posts about people liking things in the game is because it accomplishes nothing to praise it. The thing is fine, nothing to report about it. If there is something you don't like or think can be improved then you provide that feedback to the devs so they can hopefully see it, discuss it, and either deny it or come up with a plan to implement it.

I'm glad that you adore everything about the game and really enjoy playing it. It doesn't mean the game is perfect though, and I think most of us providing feedback or complaining in your eyes just want the game to be the best it can be.

I am tho in no way against feedback. And even i don't like everything about the game, heck i would love a glam log and my feet still look like bricks cause we obviously can't have toes in the game and why are our characters born with sandals on our feets?

My problem is that most of the players providing "feedback" are thinking just cause some mad people come together in a thread means the whole world is outraged about something. Up to the point where players like in this one make statements like "Why is EW so controversial" when it is actually well received by players and critics alike. Heck it got scores on sites like metacritic other games can just dream about.

Feedback is great, screaming about a doomsday and how FFXIV is now like WoW is not great. It is projecting your own feelings about the game on the general community. But neither me nor them can really know how the entire community feels about this so my problem is with people using rhetoric like they speak for the entire community.

While i admit to use some of the same rhetoric by saying that most people are actually fine with the game, this is actually supported by official critics the game got and scores by private players plus the fact that the game isn't seeing a huge decline in its playerbase. Which tells me that if people would be really so unhappy they would leave but they are not leaving. So it is again just people crying about the latest hot takes again.

tl:dr:

XYZ will destroy XIV!!! Players are outraged!!! = Bad

I am unhappy with XYZ and would like to see it changed = Good

[aveyond-dreams]

plus the fact that the game isn't seeing a huge decline in its playerbase.

Watch what happens when FFXVI releases and those of us who are the single-player RPG fans this game (allegedly) tries to cater to decide our time is better spent in Valisthea with Clive and his revenge story than slurping tea with the Scions.

[Ranaku]

Watch what happens when FFXVI releases and those of us who are the single-player RPG fans this game (allegedly) tries to cater to decide our time is better spent in Valisthea with Clive and his revenge story than slurping tea with the Scions.

If that is the case then this is also great, i like it when players show how they feel through actions. If they all leave for FFXVI then this will show the devs that something is wrong with XIV. But maybe people will play both games or maybe FFXVI will just be a flop, we can't know that but i am in no way against any of the possible outcomes. I will play both XIV and XVI when it comes out so either way i am happy with what is to come.

I would disagree with the argument the game isn't seeing a huge decline in its player base when I remember how amazingly terrible queues were in December, granted I think that was just the hype of the expansion, not an indication of the game's content.

That is actually something all games, every single one, has to deal with. The first weeks/months will always be the ones where the game just skyrockets and then plunges down again. Many players also just play to get BIS for the coming raids and don't care about other content so they go after they have everything just in hibernation.

Which is also a topic where i would like to see change in the game, something that gives hardcore players more reason to stay active (not borrowed power and upgrade systems tho). The deepdungeons were a nice concept giving players something to explore. I would also like to see really hard dungeons again, something that makes healers sweat their mp. ^^' But either way, as a filthy casual i am fine with any content that comes out.

[TaleraRistain]

Watch what happens when FFXVI releases and those of us who are the single-player RPG fans this game (allegedly) tries to cater to decide our time is better spent in Valisthea with Clive and his revenge story than slurping tea with the Scions.

I'm one of them. I plan to split my time between both. Some others will go play that and then come back. Some will hold off on it for a bit and then play it later. We're a large genre with a lot of different preferences.

[sorawild34]

Watch what happens when FFXVI releases and those of us who are the single-player RPG fans this game (allegedly) tries to cater to decide our time is better spent in Valisthea with Clive and his revenge story than slurping tea with the Scions.

Considering Im a huge fan of the Atelier games, I like both options.

[Amenara]

I am tho in no way against feedback. And even i don't like everything about the game, heck i would love a glam log and my feet still look like bricks cause we obviously can't have toes in the game and why are our characters born with sandals on our feets?

My problem is that most of the players providing "feedback" are thinking just cause some mad people come together in a thread means the whole world is outraged about something. Up to the point where players like in this one make statements like "Why is EW so controversial" when it is actually well received by players and critics alike. Heck it got scores on sites like metacritic other games can just dream about.

Feedback is great, screaming about a doomsday and how FFXIV is now like WoW and that it is just bad is not great. It is projecting your own feelings about the game on the general community. But neither me nor them can really know how the entire community feels about this so my problem is with people using rhetoric like they speak for the entire community.

While i admit to use some of the same rhetoric by saying that most people are actually fine with the game, this is actually supported by official critics the game got and scores by private players plus the fact that the game isn't seeing a huge decline in its playerbase. Which tells me that if people would be really so unhappy they would leave but they are not leaving. So it is again just people crying about the latest hot takes again.

tl:dr:

XYZ will destroy XIV!!! Players are outraged!!! = Bad

I am unhappy with XYZ and would like to see it changed = Good

I would disagree with the argument the game isn't seeing a huge decline in its player base when I remember how amazingly terrible queues were in December, granted I think that was just the hype of the expansion, not an indication of the game's content.

I agree there is some doom and gloom about the game in the forums, I consider myself a doomer about the game because I am losing faith in the Dev's ability to put out a quality product, however I think most of the wow comparisons are along the lines of "we remember cataclysm in wow and are starting to see the signs in FF14 and want to avoid them" moreso then the expansion is unsalvagable, it's the worst game ever, etc.

As for topics like "Why is EW controversial" it is like youtube videos, you come up with clickbaity titles to get views. I am more likely to click a topic with a clickbait title then I am one with a vanilla title. It is just how the human brain works. If you read through all the comments in a lot of the threads instead of focusing on the individuals that might be exaggerating or be hyperbolic on purpose to give a point you will probably find more meaningful discussion and reasonable takes that you might agree with.

[Lauront]

How about you and the rest still playing the game and not protesting in action but just in words? I can't see a decline in any way regarding the playerbase of XIV nor it's scores from critics and players alike on sites like metacritic.

But this site is also a tiny sample of players, and plagued with reliability issues, so what point are you possibly hoping to make here? I asked what insight you have; your answer, since you already ruled out reddit and Twitter: nothing. Metacritic can be dismissed for the same reasons.

Your post is basically guilty of the very thing you were accusing Anhaato of - sweeping proclamations which you have no real data to back up. No, we've not got any real sub figures for EW, other than its Steam figures, which are settling at about the level they were at various points during SHB... this is not particularly granular data and remaining subbed, as below, does not imply complete satisfaction with the product.

If people would be really unhappy, if you would be so unhappy with the game you would unsubscribe but you don't. And that says a lot about these people in my opinion, a lot of tears and morals but no spine to actually take action.

Yeah, real little forum tough guy. So scawy. The problem with this sort of mentality is that it's either/or. If the product reaches the point where it's not worth the sub fee? Absolutely, I'll unsub. At the moment, it's still entertaining enough for me to play, mainly due to the PVP revamp - that certainly does not mean its free of flaws, and with the MMO market being as bereft of competitors which interest me at the moment, I will do the devs the courtesy of offering feedback on the aspects which I think could be better. But your sort of mentality does this game zero favours and is one the devs themselves, and any business with any awareness of the value of customer complaints, have repudiated, as per this.

[OhNooo]

If people would be really unhappy, if you would be so unhappy with the game you would unsubscribe but you don't. And that says a lot about these people in my opinion, a lot of tears and morals but no spine to actually take action.

Ikr! Should just do like Yoshi P said and unsubscribe - better yet cancel service accounts! That'll show em. All these people crying on the forums could just protest with their actions by quitting the game instead of being on here complaining, cause there's literally no other reason people would still be playing besides the story haha. There's literally no other content someone might like doing if they don't like the story.