There is no reward for playing well.

[Azuri]

I play PvP in FFXIV for the thrill of the fight, competitive play, and the self-satisfaction that I get from playing well and doing my best, for which there are several metrics that I can easily look at: how many kills did I get, how much damage did I do, how well did I play to the objective given my class (I primarily play bard, btw). Then I ask myself some critical questions: what did I do wrong? what can I do better? how did that other guy kill me so easily (don't assume cause they cheated as the first answer)? when fighting class X, what sorts of things do I need to be looking for? In addition, I put in time pounding the dummy in Wolf's Den to practice my rotation and figure out ways I can better burst on whichever class I'm playing (which, as I said, is primarily bard, but I occasionally play dancer or machinist). The self-edification I get from this is reward in itself because I feel that it builds me, personally, as a person and as a player. I don't need to be constantly handed some trinket of instant-gratification to feel rewarded; that just leads to addictive Pavlovian style playing. I can reward myself with the feel of self-satisfaction I get from having fun playing with others, enjoying the fight, and knowing that I did my best, win or lose.

I mean, you can enjoy your win or lose challenge in a dead queue then.

[DioK]

I mean, you can enjoy your win or lose challenge in a dead queue then.

Queues haven't been dead at all on Primal, as far as I've seen.

[IDontPetLalas]

If you need instant gratification, or you play because you know that you will get exclusive rewards , that's fine. I also understand your point, some people will agree with you and if they can't exchange Trophy Crystals (for example), or the ranking system doesn't change, they may give up entirely.

I agree more with DioK in the sense that I want to have a well-designed experience - good PVP balance, well-designed maps, and I want to challenge myself and improve on whatever job I'm on. That's what I find fun and rewarding, the rest is far less important.