Zepla about FFXIV Relic and Square Enix not taking any Risks

[Kaliesto]

Zepla gained my respect back when she was the only influencer to actually have the balls to go off script and push Yoshida about the steadily growing unrest over endgame healing. Perhaps it was a byproduct of the impending burnout but she seemed much more willing to burn her chances of getting future interviews than Mr Happy who was as spineless as ever at the time.

A friend of mine never did like the changes made to WHM, various reasons behind it from what I understood.

[Supersnow845]

As much as I still whine about it I’ve honestly given up any hope for any change to healers though I respect the hell out of Zepla for jeopardising her position to basically say “yo what the hell”

As of now I’m basically of the opinion that when the job design finally scares off the last of the savage healers squares response will be to use that as an excuse to dump savage rather than attempting to fix healers

[Hyperia]

If I recall, not a single streamer / influencer was invited to Fanfest this time which surprised me. It makes me wonder what the marketing department is up to or if they know that they do not have much substance to offer and are trying to manage the situation. It would make sense as I have not really seen much hype for the NA Fanfest. We will know in a week but I am concerned.

[jameseoakes]

If I recall, not a single streamer / influencer was invited to Fanfest this time which surprised me. It makes me wonder what the marketing department is up to or if they know that they do not have much substance to offer and are trying to manage the situation. It would make sense as I have not really seen much hype for the NA Fanfest. We will know in a week but I am concerned.

I'm really curious to see how the fan fest goes, there's a a hefty disconnect that seems to building with the devs and it will be interesting to see if this continues at the fanfest or if they are going to try and get a handle on the cracks that seem to be building.

[OdinelStarrei]

I'm really curious to see how the fan fest goes, there's a a hefty disconnect that seems to building with the devs and it will be interesting to see if this continues at the fanfest or if they are going to try and get a handle on the cracks that seem to be building.

Likewise. I've seen feedback given over the years consigned to the void. And I'm not even talking about just the forums. There's no feedback surveys, there's no community pulse check, there's no activity on the forums, there's...nothing except interviews and Live Letters with Yoshida. And I'm sorry, but I cannot trust that that man alone anymore to give acceptable and in-depth responses to the community on really nuanced topics that dramatically affect gameplay, which is my primary avenue of enjoyment. Not after how long it takes to get things worked on, and the sledgehammer approach they have to all design decisions as of late.

I'm not exactly sure when this happened, maybe a little bit after the Shadowbringers Media Tour? But there was some serious WTF moments going on over the last four years or so in development, and it cannot be all chalked up to Covid, because the Media Tour non-answers and handwaving happened before that. We only have one person we can really look at who really reaches out on common channels, and that's only during live letters, in Japanese. with none of us being allowed to put in direct feedback. Can anyone point out any community managers or SE presence? If you're posting here on this forum, you know the answer to that question. We used to get interviews from the fight designers telling us how they designed fights, what challenges they had in development, some really interesting reads, but now...We only get "This is impossible" until modders do it, and then it's suddenly "possible by next patch. Check in on the Live Letter! No, we won't answer any real questions." But your reasoning for some of the changes... "NO QUESTIONS"

Yoshida doesn't MAKE all of FFXIV. He literally can't. So for those people who are on the ground floor, making the game we love, where is their voice? Those FOUR poeple on the Job Design Team, that ONE person in the STF, what are their struggles? What are their challenges? Why is some feedback like healers completely and almost maliciously ignored, while something like Sleepo strat in a SINGLE fight leads to an entire rework on the waymark system and changes to the arena of a encounter almost instantly? How is feedback even processed? Is it literally all just metrics and everything we say is pointless? Why is there such a growing disconnect between the players and developers mentality? Do the devs care that some communities are breaking down entirely right now in EW?

The developers CANNOT and WILL NOT make everyone who plays this game happy, and that's okay. People leave, and that's okay. But it literally feels like the developers are SHOVING me and others like me away from actually playing the game, unless I'm absolutely willing to go back into Ultimates. And I don't have the mindset for another 2-4 month prog. I've been subscribed for less than half of EW's length, and half of THAT time was me just going into my house to refresh, the other, DSR. I probably put more time into a 4.55 or 5.2 themselves that the entirety of Endwalker's expansion cycle. That's...wrong, right?

When I'm at Fanfest, it's not just to celebrate the game I LOVE with my friends, some who subbed for a single month just for a shot at the ticket, it's also to see if it's even worth continuing with this game in 7.0 for myself, in person. I doubt there's gonna be a QA session for stuff like this, but I can't NOT ask this stuff. I'm the only person left out of a dead Free Company running since ARR, out of a 150+ greyed-out friendlist, all of it this expansion, I'm essentially speaking for people who can't post here or offer any feedback at all anymore. If my experience and the experiences of those who are just fed up with the current situation are not valued, then at least I'll bookend my time with the game at a convention with loved ones. I do not want to fight anyone. I just want to have fun again.

[Neoyoshi]

I do sometimes miss the journey that the old relic steps took me on. I'm okey with what they've chosen to do now, but.. i know that the old relic grind will always be there if I'm looking for that, i do wonder if there could have been a way to find a balance between what they are doing now and what they've done in the past.

For a game designer it does begin to feel like this has become a series of choices where they can only pick a select few each time they do this; and i don't envy them.

[Mostly_Raxus]

I dont know what square is thinking, wow basically handed ffxiv its fan base, and they chose to do nothing with it at all, you would think they would of invested that boom in to their team or product, but instead they are focused on making such wonderful flops as forspoken and avengers..

hey square, youre not to big to fail, nothing is, stop being greedy and stubborn

[Kaliesto]

Likewise. I've seen feedback given over the years consigned to the void. And I'm not even talking about just the forums. There's no feedback surveys, there's no community pulse check, there's no activity on the forums, there's...nothing except interviews and Live Letters with Yoshida. And I'm sorry, but I cannot trust that that man alone anymore to give acceptable and in-depth responses to the community on really nuanced topics that dramatically affect gameplay, which is my primary avenue of enjoyment. Not after how long it takes to get things worked on, and the sledgehammer approach they have to all design decisions as of late.

I've said this in another topic something happened right before EW came out, but its just a rumor for the moment until something factual pops out.

[grinkdaboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gocvyuEUtK0

Love it when people are finally waking up to Endwalker being a terrible expansion, and not just a terrible expansion but the continuation of a terrible design ethos in this game starting from Stormblood.

Also, Bozja had a far better story than EW Relic lol, so it's not even decent as a "story-based" relic.



MrHappy: "EXPANSION OF DISASTERS"

casuals complained about eureka and bozja. "what do you mean i have to do content to earn my relic!!! square enix this is acceptable! i'll have you know i only sub to this game just to afk in limsa/uldah and use the game as a chatroom!" etc so they just shrugged and just made it tomestones only. blame the casuals, as per usual

[Kaliesto]

casuals complained about eureka and bozja. "what do you mean i have to do content to earn my relic!!! square enix this is acceptable! i'll have you know i only sub to this game just to afk in limsa/uldah and use the game as a chatroom!" etc so they just shrugged and just made it tomestones only. blame the casuals, as per usual

Didn't one of the Bozja Devs briefly chimed in why Bozja stopped like it did on twitter?