This game is on a terrible state right now.

[Immut]

Frankly the game is already dead, and it just hasn't noticed yet.

The problem can be summed up pretty simply, FFXIV is designed like a single player game.

In FFXIV, you are expected to do everything and be everything. If you want the reward for content, you MUST do that content. This also means that once you have done that content, or once most of the community has done that content, that content is DEAD (see: V&C dungeons). This isn't the case in older MMOs, where the game is designed around the community and community interaction. You can do the content multiple times and sell the reward to people who don't want to do the content. Or you can do the content and sell the materials needed to progress in that content to other people so they can progress faster. In this way the entire community works together to progress.

Firmament Restoration was actually a fantastic example of this. Gatherers gathered things in the diadem, and sold them to crafters, and everybody not only progressed PERSONALLY through exp and scrips, but worked together to progress as a server. Also all the rewards are tradeable. Island Sanctuary is the opposite of this. Everything involved is untradeable. You can visit a friend's island but you can't gather for them or assist them in any way so it's kind of pointless. Deep Dungeon is also like this, you can't sell regen potions to other players, so players who are trying to do solo runs MUST do many throwaway runs to stock up, where players who only do it for the exp have a surplus of potsherds. Eureka and Bozja allow you to buy and sell lost actions and SOME gear, which is great, but not any relic materials, despite them simply being drops from FATES. Because the dev team wants every player to progress more or less in a vacuum. Single-player game design.

There is only one endgame goal, and that is savage raiding. This is the design of a single player RPG, where your only goal is to defeat the final boss. Why did Critereon dungeons not reward savage-level gear if they were savage-level difficulty? Why was Elemental Gear +2 not savage level? Why was augmented law's order gear not savage level? This is all equal difficulty content, but the development team sees it as "Side content". In an MMORPG there should be no "side content". Physeos gear makes you the best at Eureka, and lets you carry your friends through the content. Augmented Law's Order gear and merit suns make you the best at Bozja, and lets you carry your friends through content. Raiding gear makes you the best at raiding and...for some reason you aren't allowed to carry your friends through this! As soon as you clear once, you screw any other group you join over! So if your group raids on Saturday, your hands are tied. And back in ARR, you couldn't even re-enter the instance at all! This isn't just single player game design, it's overtly hostile towards the idea of "massively multiplayer".

[MonteCristo]

Frankly the game is already dead, and it just hasn't noticed yet.

The problem can be summed up pretty simply, FFXIV is designed like a single player game.

In FFXIV, you are expected to do everything and be everything. If you want the reward for content, you MUST do that content. This also means that once you have done that content, or once most of the community has done that content, that content is DEAD (see: V&C dungeons). This isn't the case in older MMOs, where the game is designed around the community and community interaction. You can do the content multiple times and sell the reward to people who don't want to do the content. Or you can do the content and sell the materials needed to progress in that content to other people so they can progress faster. In this way the entire community works together to progress.

Eureka and Bozja allow you to buy and sell lost actions and SOME gear, which is great, but not any relic materials, despite them simply being drops from FATES. Because the dev team wants every player to progress more or less in a vacuum. Single-player game design.

There is only one endgame goal, and that is savage raiding. This is the design of a single player RPG, where your only goal is to defeat the final boss. Why did Critereon dungeons not reward savage-level gear if they were savage-level difficulty? Why was Elemental Gear +2 not savage level? Why was augmented law's order gear not savage level? This is all equal difficulty content, but the development team sees it as "Side content". In an MMORPG there should be no "side content". Physeos gear makes you the best at Eureka, and lets you carry your friends through the content. Augmented Law's Order gear and merit suns make you the best at Bozja, and lets you carry your friends through content. Raiding gear makes you the best at raiding and...for some reason you aren't allowed to carry your friends through this! As soon as you clear once, you screw any other group you join over! So if your group raids on Saturday, your hands are tied. And back in ARR, you couldn't even re-enter the instance at all! This isn't just single player game design, it's overtly hostile towards the idea of "massively multiplayer".

This resonated in ways i have never thought to consider and makes alot of sense as to why ffxi was scratching itches that i have yet to scratch in my 10 plus years here /salute