A detailed criticism (the good, meh and bad) of Endwalker thus far

[Zairava]

The title basically explains the purpose of the post. Do note I will express frustration in some points here, because I focus a lot more on those in MMO's. I'll list the good first. For the love of the twelve go in with the mind that some points are going to be subjective, and that there will be spoilers for 6.X MSQ. I cannot comment on savage raids above a surface level because I haven't completed the savage tiers, but I did watch those along with ultimate prog. I can't really comment on Island Sanctuary beyond what I know from my sibling, because the content isn't to my taste.

The good:

The MSQ: I don't remember everything, but I do know I enjoyed 6.0 fairly well. I'm not a lore nut and I don't focus on what may or may not be a plot hole (like being able to teleport to elpis freely even after everyone's memory gets wiped except for ours. This is probably just for gameplay reasons).

• My main criticisms of 6.0 is that I really didn't like the final boss's execution. I liked the fight, but I didn't like how the big bad to end of the Hydaelyn-Zodiark storyline was just thrown to us.
• My other main criticism is to stop with the fake deaths. I get it appeals to people, but after a certain point, it stops to mean anything when you can just assume or guess they are going to come back so it's meaningless to get upset about it. Looking at you Y'shtola.

The music: Does this really need explaining? The music, par for the course, is fantastic. Loved it!

Variant Dungeons: Excellent side content with reasons to go back. Glamour, emotes, etc. Whether it's profitable or you just haven't got it yet, or both. Scales with the amount of people so it's good to go in solo OR with a group. I would like to see the actions perhaps expanded upon in the future, but what we have now still feels nice when they need to be used.

• My only criticism of this is that you can only small pull. I can guess some reasons why this is the case, but it should at least be an option to pull 2 packs.

Hildibrand Quests: This is hit or miss depending on the person, but I personally enjoy the Hildibrand quests because of the absurdly goofy humor. (yes, somehow Hildibrand being in the ground for the nth time via X method is still funny for me). And honestly, this is the most I've enjoyed Hildibrand since I believe...the ARR quest chain? I hope we get a continuation in the next expansion!

The meh:

Patch MSQ: The story itself feels like filler, because it is. This is why I didn't expect that much from it from the getgo because we knew this beforehand so I knew what to expect. It serves what it's supposed to be pretty well. It took a while, but I feel like Zero is growing as a character as of 6.4. I can't stay I cared for her until this point, but that was probably the point.

?Island Sanctuary?: From what I can tell, it's good content when your progressing at your own pace, but there isn't much to do with it once you're actually done getting to the max rank, and as of 6.4, decorating with the outdoor furnishings. Though that alone can vary for longevity depending on how often people redecorate it.

Normal Raids: With this current tier of normal raids being the best on by far in my opinion, they didn't really captivate me that much otherwise. They were servicable, and I'll get deeper into the encounter design topic shortly.

The Bad:
As they say, it's easier to point out flaws where they are than it is to see the positives. Unfortunately, for some of these, the negatives outweigh the positives.

Encounter Design and damage intake: The same mechanics with different cast bars and names. Nothing feels that unique anymore that makes us go "Woah! I've never seen that before!". I understand there's a limitation to the amount of different mechanics people can come up with, but it doesn't feel like there's been anything fresh in story content for a while.

• The damage intake in normal mode content is too low even for first go-throughs, despite healers having a LOT of healing tools at their disposal. When you start power creeping it, it gets even more apparent. There needs to be better scaling, or something, that makes up for this. Vulnerability stacks on paper should cover this, but when you need to mess up for that to even be a negative, it does nothing to actually remedy this.

Normal mode difficulty: This might fall on deaf ears because the want is to appeal to as much as the casual playerbase as they can, but dear Halone it does not have to be so mind-numbingly easy. A good middle ground, I feel, was way back during Ridorana Lighthouse. Current level cap content should not be a complete cakewalk on launch to the point you can just be falling asleep at your keyboard and still complete it, especially the alliance raids. Current content doesn't need to be EX or savage level, but it needs to be harder, it just doesn't feel fulfilling to complete right now. The power creep makes this problem worse.

• Why bother putting in dps checks that you would actively need to go out of your way to even see? Why put them in if we can just plow through it? Making it easily beaten when people are alive but grueling when people aren't doesn't make it a dps check, it makes it a body check.

Job Design and the 2-minute meta: No, the 2-minute meta has NOT helped anything. There is no problem it actually solved. Players who do not care about it, will not conform to it. They will not press it on cooldown, they will not do it properly. They will play the job they like playing as they like, pressing abilities when they like.

• The two minute meta actually makes it harder to conform, which may be a possible intent. However, if you die, it makes it impossible to get yourself back in unless you purposefully delay your strongest cooldowns which results in a net loss, so you are perpetually no longer able to use your abilities when everyone else uses their raidbuffs. The consequence of death should not be forever screwing you out of timed raid-buffs. This wasn't a huge problem before Endwalker, since we had raid-buffs off of the 1 and 2 minute, but now EVERYTHING lands there in that time-frame during the 2-minute burst. Which makes another problem..crit reliance and variance.
• If the good direct crits or not can be the difference between clearing or a wipe, that is an issue. Spread out, it isn't as big an issue as the reliance on them is reduced, but when the most potent of them is in one strict window every two minutes, you've basically restricted all of that dps into that one single time-frame, so it ultimately feels worse. You get stuck between feeling good because you got big hits or terrible because your most potent GCD's hit like a wet fart and you know that can be a problem later. The only solution to this if remained is to make every single big hitter ability perform a direct crit automatically, and that's inherently boring because it makes the ever growing problem of jobs beginning or already feeling far too similar, MORE similar.

Job Design itself: Who are you actually trying to cater to here? Misshapen chair put it best. https://youtu.be/1d_fMH9Lwvs
I would put a timestamp but ultimately the entire video is worth watching.

The players who do not care about the rotation, will NOT care if they perform it right. No amount of simplification to any system is going to change that. The players who cry about things being too hard to optimize will not stop until that job cannot be simplified any further, leaving absolutely NOTHING for the players who enjoy some sort of complex design and choices that actually matter.

You are sacrificing job identity and removing systems the players love about jobs in the name of balance, which the 2-minute meta seemed to make harder, and will always need some form of rectification over the course of an expansion. You are making the jobs feel worse to play, and for what? You have received an insurmountable amount of feedback against the removal of Kaiten from people who enjoyed samurai with it because it added, if minor, nuance to the job. To list one thread that lists many a thread:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...Kaiten-removal

And we in turn received nothing. What is the entire point of asking for this feedback from us if you will not respond to this feedback? Are you reading it but are just deciding to charge full ahead with your changes that some people didn't ask for to begin with?

Criterion Dungeons: Did you not see any of the feedback and suggestions provided when so many people listed that the rewards are lackluster and don't allow longevity? Not everyone is a mount farmer and Materia is a beyond lackluster reward, we already have a surplus of method to get it with hunt trains being a far superior and easier method to gain said materia. The actual dungeons in themselves seem to receive good praise, but the rewards, again, don't bring longevity or much reason to continue running it.

Relics: I like the look of a lot of the current stage's weapons. Kudos to the design team on those!
However there is the runt of the room...the acquisition method. I cannot express enough how incredibly lackluster it is that, yet again, it is still just a glorified tome weapon. I don't even dislike the fact that you can get it with tomes, I dislike the fact it is the only method of receiving the weapon. Like with some Bozja steps, you should be able to get them via another method. Otherwise, it's mostly just a side hustle while from doing your daily roulettes.

I get it, it is irritating and tiresome to see a surplus of people posting in bad faith, but those people will always jump at the opportunity too. Those people will always exist. It is an unavoidable truth that these people will post to troll. I don't know how it feels on your end, but if you can steamroll through the feedback and suggestions provided and say nothing, I'd say you can ignore those people.

I don't post this massive wall of context because I hate the dev team or the game. It seems to continue to grow with every expansion, and I want nothing but to see this game thrive, but this expansion, while it has some good things in it, gives me room for concern.
Right now, as a veteran player, it just doesn't feel like the game gives me a reason to actually keep playing it, even as someone who plays mostly solo (though I enjoy Eureka and Bozja-type content). It feels more like it doesn't want me to, frankly. Not even past my daily roulettes or weekly resets. Thats just...it. I'm not going to pay for something I'm going to spend a majority of my time talking to people is Limsa on, I can do that for free on virtually most apps and in person.

And before I get told "then just unsub and play other games", I already have. Currently enjoying Dragonflight on WoW.

[Ath192]

The title basically explains the purpose of the post.

And before I get told "then just unsub and play other games", I already have. Currently enjoying Dragonflight on WoW.

Youd be shocked to find out a lot of people who post in bad faith here have done similiar posts to what youve done here and they just get berated over and over until they just make cynical snippets in support of the topics they side with.

Sometimes people just weren't around back when they were you at this moment.

I agree with your criticisms.

[Jeeqbit]

I didn't like how the big bad to end of the storyline was just thrown to us.

The developers discussed in depth and agreed that the final boss must not be someone that we previously knew. This sentiment is common but for whatever reason the developers considered it and disagreed with you. Maybe they did not want it to be predictable. It is a bit too predictable if the last boss is the one we all expected.

stop with the fake deaths

This is a common sentiment but the deaths in this situation specifically were necessary to make you feel despair in a land of despair. I went into the final area feeling hopeful and excited to kill the last boss, and SE succeeded at making me at least worry and feel despair, even if I had hope they'd come back again like usual. Had they not done that, I'd have been happy and excited when I'm supposed to be feeling despair.

The story itself feels like filler

I agree, but it's mainly because they have to throw out a larger-than-life boss every single patch so that we have an extreme trial, whereas previously they distributed that into sidequests. The result is that we know exactly where it's going like we do with trial sidequests ie. we knew once we had ruby weapon that we would get emerald and diamond and I think the Four Lords in Stormblood were spoiled ahead of time.

It's also just not an expansion so the patch stories aren't as much of an adventure.

as of 6.4, decorating with the outdoor furnishings. Though that alone can vary for longevity depending on how often people redecorate it.

I'm hopeful for indoor decorating in 6.5, but I don't know if SE will do it. They should really try to find a way though. They are almost there.

I understand there's a limitation to the amount of different mechanics people can come up with

I think that is probably it. But usually the more interesting mechanics we've never seen end up in savage, because story-only players would never manage them. They wouldn't manage to play football in P9S or High Concept in P8S, but these were pretty cool mechanics.

The damage intake in normal mode content is too low even for first go-throughs

Often if you do normal raids at the minimal item level, they can be really hard-hitting. There have even been soft tankswaps in normal raids which a good tank can mitigate through, it's just that once you increase your gear a little, you don't even need to worry about them.

I agree that most normal content should hit harder even at minimum item level, but I think part of what you are experiencing is that content is designed for a lower item level than everyone is.

No, the 2-minute meta has NOT helped anything. There is no problem it actually solved.

My guess is it solved a single problem for the developers which is being able to predict the maximum possible damage a party is likely to be capable of, so they can scale DPS checks to exist for players who optimize and coordinate raid buffs and those who don't evenly, by taking away the need to coordinate them. But yes, it's nice for jobs to be different and their rotation to be given the time they need to flow well.

Job Design itself:Who are you actually trying to cater to here?

I feel like if you've met some people in this game or watched them play on youtube you would see how poor some people play. SE wants to make it intuitive. I think a really good example is how Dancers used to be able to press Flourish and overwrite all their procs. Now they are separate.

The players who do not care about the rotation, will NOT care if they perform it right. No amount of simplification to any system is going to change that.

However that is a good point.

doesn't feel like the game gives me a reason to actually keep playing it

It's not intended to (unless maybe you raid). It's being designed around the idea that people play a game whenever it has DLC or a patch, then stop after a few days. But at least they release some mount grinds for people who want to give themselves a reason to play more.

[Absurdity]

The developers discussed in depth and agreed that the final boss must not be someone that we previously knew. This sentiment is common but for whatever reason the developers considered it and disagreed with you. Maybe they did not want it to be predictable. It is a bit too predictable if the last boss is the one we all expected.

Just because the devs decided that it was necessary doesn't make it good, "subverting your expectations" has become a meme for a reason.

This is a common sentiment but the deaths in this situation specifically were necessary to make you feel despair in a land of despair. I went into the final area feeling hopeful and excited to kill the last boss, and SE succeeded at making me at least worry and feel despair, even if I had hope they'd come back again like usual. Had they not done that, I'd have been happy and excited when I'm supposed to be feeling despair.

For me it had the exact opposite effect. Because Thancred was "killed off" in such a nonchallant way right at the start of Ultima Thule I knew immediately that he wouldn't stay dead. So when Estinien "sacrificed" himself and the crew acted all shocked I just rolled my eyes.

It didn't make me feel despair, it just made me annoyed that they thought they could get an emotional reaction from me with such cheap tricks.
Then again I also didn't go into Ultima Thule hopeful and excited to kill the last boss due to the previous point, the last boss was some nihilist bird woman that I had never even heard about until 5 hours ago.

[CelestiCer]

They took my " Kaiten ", s-so there D:<

[remiff]

Personally I found the instances of endwalker 80% of the time insipid,
I didn't particularly appreciate the trials, the battle mechanics were as basic as possible and without any real charm apart from barbariccia which was different in terms of the speed of the mechanics.

The dungeons nothing changes, it's a straight line that we want to rush, and which don't involve any challenge, the difficulty is at its lowest, and that's a shame,
they can be done with your eyes closed.

Raid 8 I found the first two levels really catastrophic, especially the first,
uninspired because it is clearly a copy of the low-end castlevania universe,
and fights like that boring to do,
the last tier is the only one I like, even if it's rather easy.

Alliance raids, the story is nice and the visual atmosphere too, but besides that they are really much too easy and even if they are nice to discover for the first time,
they are very boring to reclear because mechanically are much too basic , they are the most easy/boring alliance raid series in the game.

Sanctuary Island:
Nice but much too minimalist to be interesting, the buildings are presets, the interactions with items/mobs are banal,
it's nice for the few garden items from the housing,
but in the end it takes 5 min per day to farm, quickly boring.

BLU:
Like Shadowbringer BLU, the content is much too minimalist, The Masked Carnivale has one very easy fight every expansion, and of the 20 new spells only 6 are not a copy/paste of existing spells and have a real utility.

I wonder what this content is really for apart from farming fates/memogs
it's a shame that the content of the limited jobs is as limited as the name they chose, that's why I hope they won't come out of it anymore because if they do the next limited job will be like the blue mage (visuals) but not much to do in the end.

Relic:
It's a total fraud,
Nothing more to say.

Criterion: Bad rewards, no reason to farm.

Battle system/jobs:
Homogenization/casualization, catastrophic 120s meta, no listening on the jobs changes which were perceived in a negative way by the players,
and very uninspired rework like the summoner one.

I do not hide it I did not appreciate endwalker, it is the first time in 8 years that I am drastically bored on an extension.

I found the extension extremely lean and minimalist overall,
although they have shifted the patches from 3.5 months to 4.0 months for devs rest.

We had to wait 4.4 months on average from 6.2 to 6.4 for patches with a lifespan and a quality much lower than what was already done at shadowbringer, while this extension was affected by the covid,
where did the resources go in ff16 maybe?.

[SieyaM]

This is a common sentiment but the deaths in this situation specifically were necessary to make you feel despair in a land of despair. I went into the final area feeling hopeful and excited to kill the last boss, and SE succeeded at making me at least worry and feel despair, even if I had hope they'd come back again like usual. Had they not done that, I'd have been happy and excited when I'm supposed to be feeling despair.

This would have worked if there was any believability to it. Once Estinien did his thing I immediately knew that this was all theatre and nothing of consequence was going to happen this entire run up to the end. There is simply no way they would allow all of these very marketable characters with plot armor that has kept them from real danger for 10 years now to eat it here. Whatever despair or tension they were attempting fell flat for me and bordered on ridiculous as I sat there watching each of them monologue themselves to death.

[Theodric]

This would have worked if there was any believability to it. Once Estinien did his thing I immediately knew that this was all theatre and nothing of consequence was going to happen this entire run up to the end. There is simply no way they would allow all of these very marketable characters with plot armor that has kept them from real danger for 10 years now to eat it here. Whatever despair or tension they were attempting fell flat for me and bordered on ridiculous as I sat there watching each of them monologue themselves to death.

It also assumes that the player, specifically, cares for the Scions. They've long since worn thing for me and I'm not even convinced that they're that marketable - it's been the Ancients who have consistently dominated character popularity polls ever since Shadowbringers. With a few Scions managing to score rather highly, certainly, though there's very much a sense of the development team holding back instead of leaning into merchandise for 'antagonists'. Despite how popular they've proven to be across other Final Fantasy games. Even Roche got a statue made of him and the likes of Sephiroth, Rufus, Gabranth and so on have a lot of fans/merchandise.

Then again, this is FFXIV. I've never encountered a fandom with so many players being so keen to police the likes and dislikes of players and that goes right up to the development team itself at times.

[Jeeqbit]

This would have worked if there was any believability to it. Once Estinien did his thing I immediately knew that this was all theatre and nothing of consequence was going to happen this entire run up to the end. There is simply no way they would allow all of these very marketable characters with plot armor that has kept them from real danger for 10 years now to eat it here.

This was marketed as Endwalker. The end of the story arc that we'd had for the last 10 years. It actually made a lot of sense for them all to eat it here. And that is why it was half-believable. Only half. I didn't think it was very likely once a lot of them started dying, but I couldn't be certain when this was Endwalker, until Y'shtola dropped the thing about being able to summon them back half-way through.

But at that point we had progressed through the area a lot and were supposed to be starting to feel hope, and that was to help you feel hope that they survive.

[AwesomeJr44]

Other than the 6.0 story being absolute braindead filth, yeah this is about right.

They took my " Kaiten ", s-so there D:<

Kaiten wasn't a good button. There, I said it. Shinten spam is dumb too, but so was Kaiten.

Then again, this is FFXIV. I've never encountered a fandom with so many players being so keen to police the likes and dislikes of players and that goes right up to the development team itself at times.

The RWBY fandom is very similar in a lot of ways when it comes to policing opinions. Both fandoms have portions of them that cancers on the rest of their fandoms.