Playing an expansion as current content has been a lacklustre MMO experience

[R041]

This is a point I have been repeatably point out close to half a dozen times in this thread and others, but never once I see anyone want to seriously address it. Each and every time they just want to deflect this particular point with meme post, probably in hoping it will just be fluffed over. (i.e post #393 on the previous page)

The game's success both in term of commercial and accolades speak for itself how many people enjoy it. People are free to warp thing in their own head, but that doesn't affect reality.

What are you talking about? I've repeatedly - WE have repeatedly discussed this. Saying it has not been addressed does not make it true, this whole thread is in regards to the 'MMO' portion of the MMORPG called Final Fantasy XIV.

IT IS A LACKLUSTER MMO

I meme, because it's all I can get across now. You forget what thread you're in, and keep talking about how great of a Single Player game XIV is, when we just want the MMO back.

I've stated multiple times that MSQ was not something I was interested in when I started playing. Even back in ARR almost everyone complained about the MSQ. It was never really seen as the main focus, and it's only recently become the main talking point for the game's 'content'.

Before Shadowbringers, most people didn't give a shit about MSQ, nothing made sense, it was going nowhere, and the writing was 90% awful. They didn't even have Ascians and the Arc as a whole figured out until then.

Are you talking about the fact that XIV is still breathing? It's barely breathing, we had a surge from the WoW exodus, don't pat yourself on the back so hard - That doesn't mean we're the GOAT. When your talking point is saying XIV is the best MMO out there, while simultaneously congratulating the 'MMO' for only being entertaining 3 months every 2 years, then it's no better than every other MMO out there barely hanging onto a playerbase all the same. This one just so happens to have the Final Fantasy title on it, so people naturally seem more interested when they go "'MEMBA CHOCOBO?!"

It's gotten to the point where the MMO portion is no longer fun outside of RPing or decorating your house. Nobody runs the actual content, if they did then we wouldn't be bleeding players to every other MMO currently.

You say that XIV is successful because of it's formula, but forget that the formula has changed significantly every expac cycle before Endwalker. It's only now that Shadowbringers and Endwalker are basically the same, and the combat and content model outside of MSQ continues to wither. It's become what you so desperately want, a Single Player VN with RP housing.

We stopped being an MMO in Stormblood, the design philosophy has slowly been creeping into instanced single-player. We're frogs, and we've been successfully boiled. Congratulations.