SE, no effort anywhere lately.

[Jojoya]

T;DR - I think they just need to reconsider their development philosophy - For whom are they developing the content, and to what end? - There's a bit of a paradigm shift, in that they're shifting too far away from any form of time sinks, which to a degree is a bad thing if they stray too far from it. Equally, I do think they need a larger team. Again, newer content shouldn't necessarily come at the expense of expanding on older content.

That is something that players also need to consider. It could some of the unhappy players fall outside of the group that SE is trying to please.

Not everyone enjoys long grinds. There aren't that many still around that appreciate the old school MMORPG style of design. Not everyone can devote the same hours to a game that they devote to their jobs and families. Young adults are also more used to mobile style gaming, where the game is played in short bursts to get the dopamine hits from frequent but trivial rewards.

How many players are still out there that actually enjoy and have the time for the long grinds?

[ReynTime]

Incindentally I read somewhere they're planning to start REMOVING old battle content like Guildhests? Even if they don't work as teaching content anymore, it was more option low level battle content. I for one don't look forward to them removing more content of this type only to keep adding more garbage chore simulators like Island Sanctuary instead.
Speaking as a player who does the 10 guildhests a week challenge, someone less obsessed with turning XIV into second life with raids would have added more Guildhests as they at least had potential to be quick DF 1~5 min long battle content with unconventional mechanics just for minute fun.

[R041]

How many players are still out there that actually enjoy and have the time for the long grinds?

Luckily for them, the MSQ already makes XIV the longest grind in any MMO to date.

AND it lacks dopamine, how cool is that!
I'm celibate and don't do drugs, so the XIV MSQ is right for me! Can't get me too excited, or I might actually start to enjoy life. lol

[AnnRam]

I could not have said it better. Been meaning to get the new WoW Xpac. Haven't played in years but I do need a change from this rinse, wash, repeat of a game.

I came back to wow (After quitting since Cataclysm) and I have been subbed in FFXIV since ARR, but I think wow at least to me its more fun to play by x200 than actual FFXIV.
-Big maps without invisible walls and loading screens every 2 minutes of gameplay, super.
-Rewarding exploration? perfect.
-Enemies drops money and sometimes gear, instead of "ugh a mob hit me in FFXIV, better to lost the aggro, what a shore, seriously why bother even killing anything in this game, let me go".
-Questing its more simple; talk to a NPC(almost all of them fully voiced, even side quests something that FFXIV doesn't) -> chat window opens - >accept , go to the point, kill, recollect, interact with an item, return. In FFXIV ; Talk to a NPC ->chat window opens,next,next,next,next,wall of text,next,next,next - > go to point X -> talk to another NPC (non voiced again) -> text,text,text,text,text,text,text wall of text - > teleport to another country -> talk to another npc-> next,next,next -> move and kill 3 mobs that doesn't drop anything -> return to the first NPC that you spoke.
-Playing as a low level DPS, dungeons queues are less than 5 minutes, in FFXIV crystal server? that gonna be 15-20 minutes because everyone its afking or doing erp or using their sub as a poor version of Second Life Viewer.

[Rolder50]

By all means to me for £32.99 which is what it costs me here I’ve paid that for games with a fraction the playtime. Even if we compare it to say ESO which is the same cost for their ‘chapters’ you get far far less content. Im not by all means defending the game and there is a lot I would change or introduce but the content release is generally up there as the most per your money.

Conveniently ignoring the monthly sub fee, I see.

[GTK0HLK]

I came back to wow (After quitting since Cataclysm) and I have been subbed in FFXIV since ARR, but I think wow at least to me its more fun to play by x200 than actual FFXIV.
-Big maps without invisible walls and loading screens every 2 minutes of gameplay, super.
-Rewarding exploration? perfect.
-Enemies drops money and sometimes gear, instead of "ugh a mob hit me in FFXIV, better to lost the aggro, what a shore, seriously why bother even killing anything in this game, let me go".
-Questing its more simple; talk to a NPC(almost all of them fully voiced, even side quests something that FFXIV doesn't) -> chat window opens - >accept , go to the point, kill, recollect, interact with an item, return. In FFXIV ; Talk to a NPC ->chat window opens,next,next,next,next,wall of text,next,next,next - > go to point X -> talk to another NPC (non voiced again) -> text,text,text,text,text,text,text wall of text - > teleport to another country -> talk to another npc-> next,next,next -> move and kill 3 mobs that doesn't drop anything -> return to the first NPC that you spoke.
-Playing as a low level DPS, dungeons queues are less than 5 minutes, in FFXIV crystal server? that gonna be 15-20 minutes because everyone its afking or doing erp or using their sub as a poor version of Second Life Viewer.

That reads more like a preference type, rather than something for people to Dissect and hVe a thought provoking conversation..,

Specially since people joke around that most of the quests you end up glossing over in wow, just click, click, click, click. Tell me what to do, so I can leave and then go idle in a map like every other mmo.
[and then say there is nothing to do in another mmo, despite the fact that it's not entirely like that. Though it can. be better in both.., in ways that benefit them in the ways that they need. which are different.]


Many Forget when it comes to Quest or story, or MSQ that the games a different.
It can be improved, but the two games are just so different when it comes to that topic, you cannot tout one as better than the other. when both are right and wrong at the same time for the game, and different people.

Game just needs more Experimentation on new things to get people interested.
[Things like rewards only go so far.]

Tldr: lots of subjectives.., While true, they aren't the whole story, or anything that helps people find a specific solution for a specific game, tailored for it.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

It's more like having the realization that MMOs can actually have fun gameplay in 2023. When we've basically been conditioned to believe this is what an MMO is supposed to feel like and AFKing 95% of the time is just a part of the experience.

So yeah, a lot of us play a lot of different games. And even when we DO find another engaging MMO, it doesn't mean we need to be playing that 24/7. But it's mostly about just finding engaging content within the MMO space for once that doesn't entirely rely on you as a player to make the fun by socializing or pressing 1, 2, 3 until exp go up. Some MMO players find that engagement by being RP creepers in Limsa, others try to actually play the game part of the game.

So what you are telling me is times have changed and people use MMos for socializing outside of content? As for the fun gameplay aspect, I still enjoy most of the combat content XIV puts out. Sure I have my issues but I haven't seen another MMO do it better yet. I've just heard a lot of pining for Ashes of Creation (a game that is never going to release at this rate lol). The gaming populace has changed in the last 10 years. I would wager most of those "AFKers" aren't old school MMO players, but the younger gen first getting into them, and finding their own way to enjoy it. The game didn't turn into second life because it lacks content, it turned into second life because thats what those players wanted.



I spend very little time in game AFK, and almost none of it in major cities. This just sounds like a lot of "back in my day" lol.

[R041]

So what you are telling me is times have changed and people use MMos for socializing outside of content?

What? I mean you are joking - But usually when the MMO turns into an AFK Chatroom and nobody runs content, it starts to die. That's the sign of a game that just has it's skeleton core players sticking around because their friends still login as if it's an AOL Chatroom.

But it can't really be helped, when we incentivize players to play the game like it's MyCoke or Club Penguin because the housing system is fun but FOMO and the content outside of it is dull.

Just replace everything in this screenshot with Chocobo and Moogle items instead of Coke. lol

Many Forget when it comes to Quest or story, or MSQ that the games a different.
It can be improved, but the two games are just so different when it comes to that topic, you cannot tout one as better than the other. when both are right and wrong at the same time for the game, and different people.

You really can though, XIV hasn't even attempted to innovate with MSQ questing in the last 10 years. We still have the same old purple glowy, back and forth text. The whole game is just "Pray return to the Waking Sands" for 300 hours.

It's almost insulting that they promoted Quest NPCs following you around town as some kinda innovation for Endwalker in 2023 as if that hasn't been a cliche thing in MMOs for the past 20 years. They actually out here thinking they innovate. lool

WoW MSQ/Questing is objectively better at basically everything except for the actual writing. Which.. After Endwalker. I don't even know anymore.

XIV has gone full KoreaMMO with the story. We even have the fairy, angel, and devil wings now.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

What? I mean you are joking - But usually when the MMO turns into an AFK Chatroom and nobody runs content, it starts to die. That's the sign of a game that just has it's skeleton core players sticking around because their friends still login as if it's an AOL Chatroom.

But it can't really be helped, when we incentivize players to play the game like it's MyCoke or Club Penguin because the housing system is fun but FOMO and the content outside of it is dull.

Just replace everything in this screenshot with Chocobo and Moogle items instead of Coke. lol






You really can though, XIV hasn't even attempted to innovate with MSQ questing in the last 10 years. We still have the same old purple glowy, back and forth text. The whole game is just "Pray return to the Waking Sands" for 300 hours.

It's almost insulting that they promoted Quest NPCs following you around town as some kinda innovation for Endwalker in 2023 as if that hasn't been a cliche thing in MMOs for the past 20 years. They actually out here thinking they innovate. lool

WoW MSQ/Questing is objectively better at basically everything except for the actual writing. Which.. After Endwalker. I don't even know anymore.

XIV has gone full KoreaMMO with the story. We even have the fairy, angel, and devil wings now.

You just aren't interested int he content then. Again, you don't raid, you don't do EX fights.


What content do you want? No one I play with plays the game like your screenshot but with moogles lol.

[Atelier-Bagur]

You just aren't interested int he content then. Again, you don't raid, you don't do EX fights.


What content do you want? No one I play with plays the game like your screenshot but with moogles lol.

He only cares for stuff like Eureka and Bozja, which sadly isnt that long lasting as people believe it to be. Any single player can get through the entirety within a week or 2 tops