FFXIV's Future

[Rufalus]

I was super positive for the first 5 years. All I really ask is that they experiment more, not in side-content silos but in the core of the game. The core of main scenario quests, fates, tomestones, hunts, gear progression, etc. There's no way that the ARR game design they came up with in 2013-15 is still the best that they can do in 2023 and beyond, on infinite repeat.

I know they are very successful and they have waves of new players coming in who aren't going to be burned out for a while. Unfortunately there's no business reason for S-E to drastically overhaul anything and there's virtually no competition, no exodus of players for greener pastures. It's too expensive and risky to build a legit exciting contender with this much content.

I just find it a bit sad for a game in the FINAL FANTASY brand to be serving up such a predictable content cycle. Outside of MMOs, FF is known for innovation and new technology. We've been eating the same meal for so long, they just change the spices a little sometimes. I was in my mid-twenties when I tried version 1.X, now I'm 37. That's why I've grown so tired of a lack of mystery and adventure, a lack of new core systems to learn.

[Striker44]

But that relative ease of the game is exactly what people here complain about. The very things that have made FFXIV the current market leader are the things people here would like to see changed. Which honestly makes me very grateful none of you are running SE

But what would you change that would honestly help the game overall? Not just for a subset of hardcore players?

I think this is the crux of it. The people most likely to go to the forums of a video game, make an account, and post are the "serious" or "hardcore" players, and FFXIV frankly isn't designed much for that audience. You hear those select few complain, meanwhile the million other more relaxed/casual gamers that the game is designed for are just - well - having fun playing the game.

Overall, there are a few small things I wouldn't mind seeing changed, such as the glamour system, but nothing significant. I'm more than content with the game design the way it is now, having plenty of fun and plenty of things to do whenever I log in.

I just find it a bit sad for a game in the FINAL FANTASY brand to be serving up such a predictable content cycle. Outside of MMOs, FF is known for innovation and new technology. We've been eating the same meal for so long, they just change the spices a little sometimes. I was in my mid-twenties when I tried version 1.X, now I'm 37. That's why I've grown so tired of a lack of mystery and adventure, a lack of new core systems to learn.

I don't find it sad at all. In fact, I like the predictability. Speaking frankly, when I want a "new and innovative FF game", I...play a different FF game. I don't replay FF6 over and over expecting the core design to change every time. I replay FF6 when I want to try new character combos, new approaches, etc. in a system I'm already very familiar with, or when I just want to experience the story again. If I want a change from the Esper system and "everybody can learn anything," I go back and try a new party combo in FF1 (where, again, the system itself is known and predictable). I don't want FFXIV to reinvent itself or overhaul the classes or gameplay every expansion (in fact, that's one of the more frequent complaints other MMO's such as WoW get - drastically changing the way classes play and forcing people to relearn them too often). When I play FFXIV, I want to play the FFXIV I know, and just either have new story to experience or a new class to level up, etc..

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Now that you mention it I don't think I've seen an aveyond dreams post in a little while, hmm

Either they are hiding under another name, or more then likely we can expect to see them next patch when they create something else to complain about (With some luck they might finally make good points and not ruin it for once) OR, they might have finally found something better to do.

[VelKallor]

Either they are hiding under another name, or more then likely we can expect to see them next patch when they create something else to complain about (With some luck they might finally make good points and not ruin it for once) OR, they might have finally found something better to do.

He better not.

I have a bet with a mate on my server says he wont post one of his diatribes for 24 hrs. If he does it before then, Im out 100 gil.

[ReynTime]

I was super positive for the first 5 years. All I really ask is that they experiment more, not in side-content silos but in the core of the game. The core of main scenario quests, fates, tomestones, hunts, gear progression, etc. There's no way that the ARR game design they came up with in 2013-15 is still the best that they can do in 2023 and beyond, on infinite repeat.

I know they are very successful and they have waves of new players coming in who aren't going to be burned out for a while. Unfortunately there's no business reason for S-E to drastically overhaul anything and there's virtually no competition, no exodus of players for greener pastures. It's too expensive and risky to build a legit exciting contender with this much content.

I just find it a bit sad for a game in the FINAL FANTASY brand to be serving up such a predictable content cycle. Outside of MMOs, FF is known for innovation and new technology. We've been eating the same meal for so long, they just change the spices a little sometimes. I was in my mid-twenties when I tried version 1.X, now I'm 37. That's why I've grown so tired of a lack of mystery and adventure, a lack of new core systems to learn.

Except XVI, which of course is being produced by the same producer as XIV. DMC with FF skin and QTE summon battles in 2023... Just chasing trends.

[RitsukoSonoda]

Except XVI, which of course is being produced by the same producer as XIV. DMC with FF skin and QTE summon battles in 2023... Just chasing trends.

That kind of follows one of my trains of thought that lately they've been using the FF name to sell games directed towards gamers that rarely or have never played an RPG. Which might stem from Yoshi-P apparently viewing the term JRPG as a racially discriminatory term rather than a sub genre of games.

[KageTokage]

Now that you mention it I don't think I've seen an aveyond dreams post in a little while, hmm

Oh, don't worry.

I can guarantee he'll be back with a scathing criticism of the Loporrit tribal quests, which I personally have little to no interest in aside from it just being something to do for completion's sake.

[Rufalus]

Except XVI, which of course is being produced by the same producer as XIV. DMC with FF skin and QTE summon battles in 2023... Just chasing trends.

I was concerned about it through the first few trailers. It was hard to tell if it's just flashy stuff and no substance.

But they recently let the media play a whole chunk of a chapter and release the unedited footage. They finally won me over. It's not what I would have asked for but the quality is there.

I don't want FFXIV to reinvent itself or overhaul the classes or gameplay every expansion

I'm ok with the classes and flow of battle. To me the problem is the whole framework around it. The first expansion was exciting because it had some new concepts and we didn't know at the time that every expansion thereafter would be a copy.

Here's some examples of repetition to an absolute fault. Before you even play an expansion, you know for sure it has (1) six field zones and two big boss fates with tokens, (2) a dungeon every 2 levels with the same corridor design, (3) three trials with two extremes at launch, one gives accessories the other gives weapons, (4) hundreds of sidequests that mostly give nothing, some give HQ crafted leveling gear in-between the levels of dungeon gear.

A lot more examples could be made but you get the point of how they push new content through an old cookie-cutter template to an extreme degree. That decade of déjà vu was a big chunk of my life. I would hope that, some day, they try anything new. Offer up surprises to all players regardless of how long we've been around. Not just narrative surprises but actual game design choices.

[DiaDeem]

And here's the point. I read a lot on here about how the game is too easy, how SE isn't really trying anymore, etc. Yet on the forums and subreddits of other MMOs, such as WoW and ESO, they consistently praise FFXIV's accessibility. They do complain about features being locked behind the story, but they give the game high marks for not being raid-focused and for having dungeons that are relatively easy to complete.

This forum is usually the same 10 - 20 people complaining about how the game isn't exactly what they want. There's a few good arguments that pop up here and there, but for the most part, these forum should not be taken seriously, and the devs know that.

[True-to-Caesar]

I don’t know about the future but SE will have to innovate and offer interesting content soon with all the new MMOs on the rise like AoC, Pax Dei, Riot’s MMO, Throne & Liberty, Blue Protocol for the weebs, Archeage 2, Palia and many others…