Random observation

[Jojoya]

Heavens forbid I expect more engaging mmorpg elements that are aligned with the standard set by Ishgard restoration last expansion.

I’m quite firmly opposed to the frontloading of non-combat content but seriously, they need to do better than Island Sanctuary. Defend it all you like, those of us who see it for what it is are unmoved by your arguments.

This combined with a story that flew off the rails and has no direction anymore has left FFXIV in the worst state it’s been in since, arguably, 1.0.

Ishgard Restoration was intended to add both an alternate leveling path and an end game for crafters and gatherers.

Island Sanctuary was intended to be low demand relaxing content for players looking for a brief break from other content. It was not supposed to be this expansion's version of the Restoration. It was supposed to be something different for the game.

You're comparing apples to Chicken Cordon Blue. We know you're unmoved by what others say because you're not interested in discussion of what the content is. You're only interested in discussion about what you personally want.

Same with people having rose tinted glasses for shadowbringers when it was originally considered the worst expansion in terms of content

So was Heavensward at its release. It was very much hated by a lot of the player base.

What did you think was so terrible about the content in Shadowbringers.

I know some players felt like they were getting less in terms of quantity of dungeons but as SE said, they put that effort into the boss level encounters designed for Bozja/Zadnor. There's going to be disagreement on how that effort would be better spent.

I don't remember seeing a lot of complaints about overall quality, though.

I'd argue it's not a matter of players wearing rose-tinted glasses once the expansion is gone. I think it's more players being hyper critical when content is released looking for things to complain about instead of relaxing and enjoying a game for what it is. If they truly hated the newly released content as much as they say, they wouldn't stick around and wouldn't come back for the next expansion.

Huh, Island Sanctuary was advertised as a mammet sweatshop? I could have sworn it was advertised as a cozy place where you could raise animals and crops, guess I was wrong.

It is a cozy place where you can raise animals and grow crops.

If you want rewards for doing those things, you only need to talk to the Exporter to sell your Leavings and excess crops not needed for the animal feed, and Hoarder to buy your rewards. You can ignore the other mammets.

It's up to you on whether you want to turn it into a mammet sweatshop. Nothing says you have to put them to work. Personally I don't mind doing it - I hate mammets so I'm happy to abuse those rusty machines..

If people who are into these sort of games are who this was supposed to be for, I cannot see them choosing FFXIV's island sanctuary over any of these titles. It just wasn't done well or fleshed out enough.

Perhaps you should stop trying to compare very casual side content in a story-driven theme park MMO with a full fledged farming game that's only about farming.