Zepla: Endwalker is the Worst FFXIV Expansion I have played

[ZephyrMenodora]

I wish the game did more to cater to roleplayers. Actual roleplayers, mind you, not 'venue goers'.

Back in the days of ARR there were a lot of roleplayers eager to immerse themselves in FFXIV and take on the roles of bandits, adventurers and various other character concepts that piqued their curiosity.

The game has historically done very little to appeal to them. Commonly requested NPC outfits for Garlean soldiers and Ala Mhigan Resistance fighters were ignored or deflected. Same goes for more variety in terms of character customisation options - particularly for male characters.

There's some who remain but most roleplayers (myself included) have sought out other MMO's to scratch that itch to get something a bit deeper than 'YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE' or 'teehee do u wanna come to my venue and /beesknees lol xD'.

As someone who created and led a successful RP guild in ESO, I think the limited housing system really hurts XIV on the RP front. A lot of RPers are not really great at earning tons of cash for the lottery system - half my RP guild were all level 3 to 5 and barely played content at all outside RP.

I was in a normal (non club/non erp) RP guild here many years ago but it never really took off.

[FenyxRising]

I think this, at the very least, shows that everyone that is upset at things, a lot of which is justified, they can't agree on what they're upset about. Some people want more 'midcore' content, whatever their definition of that is. Some want field content, but only very specific field content. Some simply want more opportunities to be social with others, whatever that might look like. Some want more challenging content in general. The casuals like me don't want to sub forever to have a house.

Also, as for the older content not really being content, or some having simply finished everything there is to do, mmos simply cannot keep up with the hardest of hardcore players. It's simply not possible. Unless they throw in a crazy grind just for the grind, or something like pvp which can be played repeatedly just for the fun of it, there's going to be a disconnect. Honestly, that's why I love coming back to ffxiv every few months for a month or so, that way I'll never run out of stuff to do, and why I encourage others to do the same. For some reason though, a lot of people look at mmos as if it's a game they have to play constantly, and I've never seen them as such.

I think Zepla can teach you a thing or two because these stupid takes have already been addressed in the video ^^

No one says they want hardcore grinds, actually it's ironic because you just scolded people for not hardcore grinding everything and now you about face and write this. So which is it now ? Hmm ? Anymore takes you want to share with the class that Zepla already destroyed ?

[Blossoming]

Are we really at the point of arguing “if you don’t have every physeos relic, every set of +2 elemental armour, Cassie, the speed belt, the OH the 7 magecite, copycat, conditional, great/regular zentuksuken, Sam barding, shiver, ellvann, petral and eld you can’t complain about the current state of the content

The level of cope is off the charts, what will the arguments be in June next year when we will have been going almost 18 months like this

I thought people finally stopped using this ridiculous argument. “But did you get all achievements hmmmm?! Didn’t think so! Got ya!”

[VerdeLuck]

mmos simply cannot keep up with the hardest of hardcore players. It's simply not possible. Unless they throw in a crazy grind just for the grind, or something like pvp which can be played repeatedly just for the fun of it, there's going to be a disconnect.

Something to also be aware of is no matter what the grind is like, MMO players will stop running the content once they finish the grind. Longer grinds extend the life of the content but it only does so until the people finish the longer grinds.
I struggled with getting enough players together to complete DRN for story completion when I ran it last, and that has an entire step dedicated to it in the SHB relic that everyone has to do. All it did was extend the life of it a little bit but it eventually ended up drying out.


Aside from that it feels a little disengenuous to act like there is no FOMO or that content in this game is evergreen, it really isn't. There is a steep drop off once content reaches the end of its life that patch/expansion, and there is pushback every time nerfing old content comes up.
Criterion is an example of it IMO, it was asked for harder 4 man content, and we got it, then it jus died out after each patch. Adding extra rewards really wouldn't keep it alive, it would just push back the time before it dies out.

[remiff]

As someone who created and led a successful RP guild in ESO, I think the limited housing system really hurts XIV on the RP front. A lot of RPers are not really great at earning tons of cash for the lottery system - half my RP guild were all level 3 to 5 and barely played content at all outside RP.

I was in a normal (non club/non erp) RP guild here many years ago but it never really took off.

While the housing system is cool, and the customization is extremely well done, it's true that the 45-day demolition system is quite challenging. It forces players to return regularly without a real break. They should consider removing the demolition feature from the houses and addressing requests by adding more plots. Alternatively, they could double or even triple the demolition time, especially if Yoshi-P encourages us to play other games. There should be no issue with that, but for it to work, the game should fully accommodate it."

[Boblawblah]

Aside from that it feels a little disengenuous to act like there is no FOMO or that content in this game is evergreen, it really isn't. There is a steep drop off once content reaches the end of its life that patch/expansion, and there is pushback every time nerfing old content comes up.
Criterion is an example of it IMO, it was asked for harder 4 man content, and we got it, then it jus died out after each patch. Adding extra rewards really wouldn't keep it alive, it would just push back the time before it dies out.

Phrased like that, I can respect that for sure. I think for me, content is content, as long as it's doable, but as you said, the way mmos are designed seem to push everyone to the newest content (WoW in the past was awful for this, not sure if they've changed), the older content becomes harder to do.

I still have to wonder though, if a lot of players simply refuse to play the older content just because it's not the newest thing. Some few will do literally everything, but I doubt the majority do even close to all the content. Once the new patch rolls out, they simply move on to the newest stuff and the old is forgotten. I wonder if SE could do more to encourage that older content as a way of helping to stem the inevitable drought that happens.

[ZephyrMenodora]

While the housing system is cool, and the customization is extremely well done, it's true that the 45-day demolition system is quite challenging. It forces players to return regularly without a real break. They should consider removing the demolition feature from the houses and addressing requests by adding more plots. Alternatively, they could double or even triple the demolition time, especially if Yoshi-P encourages us to play other games. There should be no issue with that, but for it to work, the game should fully accommodate it."

And that's also sadly if you are lucky enough to win a house to begin with. A lot of the best houses are kept indefinitely, and even if a RPer manages to get the funds to bid, it's possible they just may never get the house they want due to supply and the lottery system.

I lost my house back in the day due to demolition, along with all my furniture in it. I was on a break after losing my job due to a mass layoff. When I returned and saw everything gone, I almost quit forever. Such an awful system.

[Jeeqbit]

wonder though, if a lot of players simply refuse to play the older content just because it's not the newest thing.

Beside having done it, yes, new content is important.

When you have been flying around expansion areas for 2 years, a change of scenery is nice. It's for the same reason that I don't go back and watch films or shows that I've already seen. I don't want to be stuck in a repeating loop of the past. I want to do something new.

I wonder if SE could do more to encourage that older content as a way of helping to stem the inevitable drought that happens.

They could, but the best they have really managed is Unreal and roulettes and they could do much better in this area.

[remiff]

Something to also be aware of is no matter what the grind is like, MMO players will stop running the content once they finish the grind. Longer grinds extend the life of the content but it only does so until the people finish the longer grinds.
I struggled with getting enough players together to complete DRN for story completion when I ran it last, and that has an entire step dedicated to it in the SHB relic that everyone has to do. All it did was extend the life of it a little bit but it eventually ended up drying out.


Aside from that it feels a little disengenuous to act like there is no FOMO or that content in this game is evergreen, it really isn't. There is a steep drop off once content reaches the end of its life that patch/expansion, and there is pushback every time nerfing old content comes up.
Criterion is an example of it IMO, it was asked for harder 4 man content, and we got it, then it jus died out after each patch. Adding extra rewards really wouldn't keep it alive, it would just push back the time before it dies out.

On this point, you are correct regarding content of this nature. However, the issue lies in the fact that the rewards for such content are quite meager, which further diminishes its longevity.
While it's indeed an artificial lifespan, it would be more satisfying if the content offered more than a mere 3-4 hours of gameplay, especially for those who are driven by a desire for rewards.

[Theodric]

As someone who created and led a successful RP guild in ESO, I think the limited housing system really hurts XIV on the RP front. A lot of RPers are not really great at earning tons of cash for the lottery system - half my RP guild were all level 3 to 5 and barely played content at all outside RP.

I was in a normal (non club/non erp) RP guild here many years ago but it never really took off.

Yeah, I do a lot of RP in ESO these days simply due to how easy it is to just log in, teleport to a random part of the game world and piece together an event with a friend or two. Not to mention not having to worry about losing my houses there.

I'm not afraid to admit that I only log in lately to keep my house in FFXIV. I'd happily 'take a break' if not for that and just ignore the game for a year or two. I imagine a lot of people are in a similar position - whilst also knowing that even if the game itself did improve if it meant not having a house to come back to they wouldn't want to. Mine's a large so even less likely to be replaced if I lose it.

Plus housing is one of the parts of the game to be updated every single patch.