4gamer Interview

[Jeeqbit]

He's referring to Yoshi-P's comments in recent interviews. Yoshi-P has cited many of the game's recent changes as an attempt to appeal to 'younger gamers'.

Indeed, we have lots of players in their 30s and 40s (and consider, many of those people would have been in their 20s-30s in ARR or while playing other MMORPGs like WoW).

So he wants to appeal to today's 18-30s. But I do see plenty of people that age playing already. A strength of this game has been how it grows by word of mouth. A friend brings in a friend. A partner makes their partner play.

And what even puts people off usually? Are they even complaining about relics being too hard to get? What they usually complain about is the MSQ and how long it takes, too much story and not enough fighting, or difficulty forming social connections (which Endwalker's solo content doesn't help with).

Are their interests different to the older generations? No, because anywhere that people look for friends and mention their age, they all say the same thing regardless of age. Whether people are 20 or 35 they either do extreme/savage or gpose.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Are their interests different to the older generations? No, because anywhere that people look for friends and mention their age, they all say the same thing regardless of age. Whether people are 20 or 35 they either do extreme/savage or gpose.

Strange false dichotomy there.

[Jeeqbit]

Strange false dichotomy there.

Well yes, they can do both, but these are the most common things I see consistently and often it is one or the other that I see mentioned.

I don't know what people see in gposing, but objectively I see it coming up as as a main thing someone does in the game...

Yes, the MMO boomers who have nostalgia for ffxi, everquest, or ultima online have entirely different expectations from people who didn't play those. People without nostalgia for those see long pointless grinds as just that, a time waster that you aren't really enjoying for 10-30 hours just to get a shiny weapon.
If you aren't particularly enjoying a game and are just doing mindless overworld grinds what's the point? That time could be spent in another game or in other content you do enjoy. Doubly so if it's like Bozja/Eureka and making a mistake means you lengthen your grind by a significant amount for each mistake, undoing progress.

The relic grinds in this game are nothing compared to the timewaste in those games though and they departed from the RNG they had in Pyros. It is not about making them waste your time as much as that.

It's about making them not just handed out for nothing, and being something that drags you into social content in what is supposed to be a social game. Even the Heavensward relics were social because you would party up to farm fates, you would party up to light farm A1S or A9S, you would party up to go through all the trials it asks you to and in those parties you would have a whole conversation with people since the content itself was obviously mindless.

It just seems strange to me to believe that any gamer wants to magic themselves to the end or to go through it while invincible so they can't lose. If they want these things they may as well watch films on netflix and keep skipping to the final scene.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Well yes, they can do both.

Or neither. That would be the category I fall in. I'm just a casual with a lot of playtime doing casual content.

[VerdeLuck]

It's about making them not just handed out for nothing

Oh damn, really? I didn't know you worked so hard to hit 1-1-1-1-1 on your AOE button for 30 hours on synced fates while netflix was on the other monitor. That's definitely more work and more deserving than someone who ran dungeons or hunt trains to earn the items.

[aveyond-dreams]

Oh damn, really? I didn't know you worked so hard to hit 1-1-1-1-1 on your AOE button for 30 hours on synced fates while netflix was on the other monitor. That's definitely more work and more deserving than someone who ran dungeons or hunt trains to earn the items.

Are you implying that people doing dungeons and hunt trains don't have netflix on another monitor? Because that seems to be a common thing especially when it comes to players arguing over pull size/wall2wall etc.

[Jeeqbit]

Oh damn, really? I didn't know you worked so hard to hit 1-1-1-1-1 on your AOE button for 30 hours on synced fates while netflix was on the other monitor. That's definitely more work and more deserving than someone who ran dungeons or hunt trains to earn the items.

You're doing that content already to cap weekly tomestones. So essentially it is giving you the relic for free. If there was no other reason to do expert or hunt trains except the relic, then it would be content but there are other reasons we do them.

And as I said, it is not all about the grind but about the social interaction it brings. Which is part of the point of an MMORPG.

[ZephyrMenodora]

And as I said, it is not all about the grind but about the social interaction it brings. Which is part of the point of an MMORPG.

This point can't be stated enough. The catering to solo content and content that removes us from interacting with others is not a great trend.

[ty_taurus]

Oh damn, really? I didn't know you worked so hard to hit 1-1-1-1-1 on your AOE button for 30 hours on synced fates while netflix was on the other monitor. That's definitely more work and more deserving than someone who ran dungeons or hunt trains to earn the items.

No past relic grind was exclusively FATE grinding. That was not the entirety of the relic, and even for those that did involve a FATE grind, you're describing a problem with healer design. If you don't want to mash 1 until your fingers bleed, don't play healer. It would be nice if that wasn't the case and healers were actually fun to play all the time, not only during day 1 Alliance Raids and blind Savage prog, but alas, healers are only allowed to have a level 2 rotation and nothing more. Healer brains aren't strong enough for anything else apparently.

[OgruMogru]

No past relic grind was exclusively FATE grinding. That was not the entirety of the relic, and even for those that did involve a FATE grind, you're describing a problem with healer design. If you don't want to mash 1 until your fingers bleed, don't play healer. It would be nice if that wasn't the case and healers were actually fun to play all the time, not only during day 1 Alliance Raids and blind Savage prog, but alas, healers are only allowed to have a level 2 rotation and nothing more. Healer brains aren't strong enough for anything else apparently.

Need a healer strike like GW1 Thunderhead Keep monk strike lmao