What happened in the last week to make people so vocally against the current state?

[Absimiliard]

I see people talk an awful lot about the vast majority of people playing the game and not on the forums as being ultimately satisfied with it. Has nobody ever considered the possibility that there are just as many dissatisfied, who come here to visit the forums, see how their critique would be responded to, and instead elect to quietly back away instead? It's far and away from being beyond the realm of possibility. I daresay it's even something some here ought to put more thought into.

As for myself, Endwalker's content thus far simply hasn't felt nearly as enjoyable and/or actively played as what came before it in previous expansions. It just hasn't, and I struggle to see just where the arguments that it has come from aside from anecdotal experiences which cannot be relied upon on a statistical basis. Take Variant, for instance. Once you get all the rewards for it, that particular Variant is all but through. That isn't to say that nobody does it for the simple fact that they enjoy the dungeon, but by and large people play MMO content due to what they can earn by completing the content moreso than the joy they get from the content itself.

I have no hard numbers with which to definitively prove who is in the majority and who is not, but I can speak from what I've witnessed firsthand. Nearly every linkshell I'm in, on all four of my characters, is now dead. All of the FCs I'm in are also dead now, and two of those started out absolutely massive. The people I raided with are gone, the people I PvPed with are gone -- even the people I engaged in trade with are gone. The few people I do know who still play the game are mostly sitting on the verge of quitting. The few that aren't on the fence about it are all fairly new.

Very soon the last of my friends will be gone. I'm not even sure if the person I've been holding onto one of the aforementioned near-dead to dead FCs for will come back. Fact is, that favor is the only reason my account is even active now.

[TowaIsBestGirl]

You know, for someone supposedly against all the back and forth in the forums, you certainly seem to be posting a good amount in the most controversial threads.

What does that even mean? I'm not against the "back and forth" so much as I'm against the way they devolve into trash-flinging. I'm not exactly going to refrain from putting my thoughts out there, why would I do that? I can simultaneously be weary of the way the forums get, but also wish to remain so that my voice is heard. I'd like to believe I'd been relatively fair and courteous in my dealings as well, so I'm puzzled as to what precisely the insinuation being made is here. If I am to be frank, it feels oddly petty in nature.

[Theodric]

What does that even mean? I'm not against the "back and forth" so much as I'm against the way they devolve into trash-flinging. I'm not exactly going to refrain from putting my thoughts out there, why would I do that? I can simultaneously be weary of the way the forums get, but also wish to remain so that my voice is heard. I'd like to believe I'd been relatively fair and courteous in my dealings as well, so I'm puzzled as to what precisely the insinuation being made is here. If I am to be frank, it feels oddly petty in nature.

For what it's worth, I think you've been perfectly civil and I've enjoyed reading your posts both here and over on the lore sub-forum. It's always good to see some new faces around these parts!

[TowaIsBestGirl]

Well, I have no large or pressing gameplay issues to discuss or bugs to seek squashing so General Discussion is the only place I can be. Would sure be nice to know just what it is I'm being accused of here, can't exactly defend myself of a crime I'm not aware I've committed.

[Kickwars]

Would sure be nice to know just what it is I'm being accused of here, can't exactly defend myself of a crime I'm not aware I've committed.

No point in civility when they just resort to attacking you the moment you make a SINGLE negative comment anyways!! Burn them all!

[TowaIsBestGirl]

It's not as if the game is gonna actually die anytime soon, if it was WoW would be a distant memory by now. I do think that newer players provide much more reliable income than long-standing ones at this point, which would ordinarily be surprising but I don't consider it to be here. By the time they catch up to where some of the older players are at right now, more content will undoubtedly have been released and perhaps the status quo will also have changed by that point? Who's to say, really?

As for myself, it's not as if I despise the game's very existence. I'd give it maybe a fifty-fifty or a sixty-forty skew right now, as to what parts I enjoy and what others I do not. As for which part skews where, well for now I think I'd rather keep those details to myself. Maybe I'll be more inclined to share later.

[Lunaxia]

Nice attempt at "how dare you point out the bad arguments used by the naysayers" - but it falls flat. I play a bit, I post here a bit. It's healthy to do a variety of things. Quite telling, though, that you would cease to silence the people who call out the echo chamber for its many flaws.

I'm pointing out the hypocrisy that permeates every post you make that you seem painfully unaware of. Continually making the same disparaging, personal attacks from your limited stock of insults towards anyone criticising the game, all while affecting to maintain some sort of bizarre moral high ground because you take a "positive" stance towards it, as if that makes up for the fact that your posts are void of any actual substance beyond "bitter naysayers lol" on repeat and add nothing to any discussion you join. And now you're hilariously going onto claim you're merely doing one thing amongst many in your day by being here making the same bland assumptions and tossing out vague ad hominem babble rather than playing yourself (which is what people who enjoy the game do, by our own words), while everyone else is either obsessive or unhealthy. Rules for thee and not for me, apparently, but far from surprising at this point.

For what's it worth, I have no problem with people disagreeing with various criticisms of the game or expressing how they enjoy EW's story/ content, but unfortunately there are some posters who use their perceived "positivity" as a sort of safeguard against the possibility that their own views - or the way they are put forward - may be blinkered or flawed in some way.

[AwesomeJr44]

For what it's worth, I think you've been perfectly civil and I've enjoyed reading your posts both here and over on the lore sub-forum. It's always good to see some new faces around these parts!

It is nice to see some new blood around here, in addition to some returning faces. Now you've got me tempted to see what's going on over in the lore forum... is it less of a mess than it was before I wonder...

As for myself, it's not as if I despise the game's very existence. I'd give it maybe a fifty-fifty or a sixty-forty skew right now, as to what parts I enjoy and what others I do not. As for which part skews where, well for now I think I'd rather keep those details to myself. Maybe I'll be more inclined to share later.

Same here. I don't hate this game, there are parts of it that I love and some I really don't. I reserve the right to share what I want to on the forums, and I definitely have opinions that I've refrained from sharing here. I don't feel like I'm obligated to give a nice opinion for every negative one I give like others seem to imply.

You know, for someone supposedly against all the back and forth in the forums, you certainly seem to be posting a good amount in the most controversial threads.

What thread isn't controversial right now?

[SturmChurro]

It is nice to see some new blood around here, in addition to some returning faces. Now you've got me tempted to see what's going on over in the lore forum... is it less of a mess than it was before I wonder...



Same here. I don't hate this game, there are parts of it that I love and some I really don't. I reserve the right to share what I want to on the forums, and I definitely have opinions that I've refrained from sharing here. I don't feel like I'm obligated to give a nice opinion for every negative one I give like others seem to imply.



What thread isn't controversial right now?

The forums, or general discussion at least, are pretty.... bad.. right now. I actually don't think I have ever seen so many.. blatant personal attacks (?). I really question where moderation is, because, well, I mean people always used to joke that it was non-existent, but like now... And I think they actually are deleting some posts lately, which makes it even weirder that there doesn't seem to be any bans, thread closures (that I am aware of), or generally just more cleaning being done.

Don't get me wrong, I have been reading a lot of stuff for the past few days, and it has sated some morbid curiosity, but wow! I'm going to have to collect some people on Discord if they ever do get around to banning. Unfortunately, there doesn't really seem to be a lot to actually... discuss.

Oh yeah, same. I have refrained from sharing A LOT of opinions of my own on here.

[Rhysati]

I think most are happy. The forums are a severe minority and the Discord isn't official and it's run by a lot of bad people.

I mean sure. You can think whatever you like without citing any evidence at all. Denouncing any available evidence as somehow wrong or slanted is a bit silly. I agree that most of the player base doesn't use the forums or discord, but I'm unsure how that points to them all being happy. My friends list is basically a dark void of nothingness these days.