Random observation

[aveyond-dreams]

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.

Yes. And it didn't work out all that well now that have people have blitzed through the content and have no reason to return to it unlike Restoration, where I could at least grind out and sell its rewards.

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'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.

Almost as if people wanted to see their feedback responded to by battle-oriented content being released earlier on in the expansion as opposed to this late on top of an already extended patch cycle that has amounted to little benefit for the players. The loss of a relic zones will also be felt during this expansion, since if Island Sanctuary is any indication I can’t expect anything too stellar coming out of Criterion Dungeons, especially when they led with a princess Minnie mouse mount as a reward.

How much clearer do I need to be that what people want is for things to get better rather than being told to leave whenever they go against the state of things?

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

Forgive me for holding this game to the standards it should be held to if its going to compete for people’s attention, and in Island Sanctuary’s case the success of that attempt is questionable. They already took the compelling parts of the story out of the story and filled it full of slice of life and ill-fitting humour combined with a messianic lets-save-the-void plotline whose only redemption would be a catastrophic failure of that quest in favor of a global demonic invasion of the Source. Bar Pandaemonium, which is notable for being the only current questline where I can find the characters likeable or believable, there’s scarce else to keep my interest. Trying to appeal to everybody in this manner was a mistake – they should’ve focused on what they do best instead of mounting controversy upon controversy with the lackluster state of Island Sanctuary, “the winning number is 0,” Hildibrand 2.0/3.0 relics instead of relic zones, along with pizza, hamburgers, and god forbid burritos if they ever take us to the New World.

Someone has to say these hard truths, because I would rather not see FFXIV fail. I want it to be the best it can be, and it isn’t going to get any better when people can’t see stuff like Island Sanctuary for how hollow it is. All they had to do was listen to the people who, for 10 years, have directly told them that they just want a house. Put that on an island and call it a day. But, no, have whatever this is instead I guess, while players tell each other to leave. And people wonder why FFXIV is painted by others as little more than a visual novel these days.