Quote Originally Posted by Jojoya View Post
The best thing to do is move on instead of trying to deny and fight the divergence. Sticking around won't accomplish anything. The developers are going to make the game they want to make, not the game that players think they should make.
This is objectively false. Almost every major implementation has been in direct response to some measure of player feedback. Job changes, the introduction of Party Finder, cool down resets and all the way to the now maligned two minute meta. If you want a recent example, look no further than the glowing tome weapons. They were a rather desperate last minute addition to Criterion due to dismal participation rates and near constant criticism over lackluster rewards. Now whether they're listening to the right demographic or making good changes is where we're open for debate, however they absolutely are adjusting the game based on "what players think."

A successful game series need to both listen to its playerbase while parsing that information accordingly. Plenty of ideas people think they want, be they hardcore raiders or casual gposers, aren't actually good idea. On the flipside, they might have a decent concept which needs fleshing out from someone with genuine experience: i.e. a developer. A prime example of how important player feedback and communication is would be Baldur's Gate. Even when they openly deny adding features or ideas players have requested, they typically do so with an explanation why it won't work or how difficult those changes might be. Which is why fans have been much more understanding amongst that community.

Catering to either side will inevitably cause backlash. And if you think the midcore playerbase isn't sizable enough for the devs to care. Well, the Chinese producer certainly disagreed. In his interview, he outright stated Yoshida wants to emphasise group content in Dawntrail as a direct response to the litany of criticism towards Endwalker solo focus. He goes on to mention how they feel, in retrospect, doing so much behind the scenes work (Trusts and such) took more time than they expected. If this all winds up being the case, then this is yet another case of player outright having an impact on the direction of FFXIV's "vision."