Are You Enjoying XIV For The Game? Or Are You Enjoying XIV Because Of The People.

[strawberrycake]

Something that crosses my mind often with many fads now a days, but especially MMOs, are you enjoying this because you like XIV, or are you only here because your friends are here.

Recently a friend of mine stopped playing XIV due to their friend group dissolving, from what I know, their friends had been playing from various points in the MMO, but the majority started back in ARR. They got pulled in around Shadowbringers Release and since then had been having a blast, they are now from what I can tell done with the game now that they have no friend group to play it with.

So how many of you are here simply because your friends are here and got you to play vs playing because you actaully like the game and wanna see it grow and where it goes.

[Eraden]

For Mao is little bits categorys (A) and little bits categorys (B). If game stopped addings new contents or friends leave, Mao would stop playings.

[Iscah]

I'm here for the game. I enjoy the story and I like the characters. I'm a big fan of the art style for the character designs and glamours, and the flexibility of being able to wear an assembled outfit. I enjoy the spectacle of the fights.

[Neoyoshi]

Mostly for the people; i probably wouldn't be playing if it weren't for the people in my FC who i've known for awhile now; some of them 'years'.

I'm at the age were i value friendship and bonds more then the game itself, though the journey came with memories of those bonds, so that does carry an importance.

[Burmecia]

A lotta-bit of both. Gameplay content is super entertaining and fun and exciting at it's best, and good people are the glue which keeps it all together.

[MitsukiKimura]

I enjoy being edgy with reaper. Playing with friends makes the game in the hardest content makes it better. Though the combat is boring as hell and I blame the people who wanted simplified things.

[Carin-Eri]

I guess a bit of both. I mean, I love the game although am really not very good at it. And I'm not someone who really seeks friendship or company but have nonetheless found that said friendships and company have found me.

[Jeeqbit]

I am playing for both. I started playing because I wanted the social interaction as well as the distraction and I thought that a Final Fantasy MMORPG would draw the people I wanted to interact with.

The game:

• I like the combat. Yes, people will say lots of things about it but I still enjoy tanking and all of the content that I do on them. Utility such as Shake it Off, Nascent Flash and Reprisal content me. Contrary to some people, I like the "simple" tank gameplay as some people believe it to be. 3.0 DRK was fun but excessive. It wasn't necessary for me personally.
• Nothing lasting too long. Duties last 20 minutes or less. I'm not kept around for hours wanting to eat in real life, but unable to due to being busy.
• A variety of grinds to occupy myself with.
• Dungeons are a good stress relief. In, speed through a dungeon, exit, stress relieved.

The people:

• If I am lonely, I can queue into a dungeon and have 3 friends for 16 minutes or so. This was really useful to me when I started the game in ARR, because I was younger and going through young-person stresses. The ability to magick 3 friends to travel with you for a bit is actually amazing. Sometimes I'd form a connection with my team on an ability-usage level, while in other parties there was a disconnect and I was on a completely different planet of thought. Either way, that social experience happened just by clicking the "Join" duty button. To be able to just wave a wand and now you're playing with 3 people is something non-gamers only dream of. All those lonely people at home during covid who don't play games didn't know what they were missing.
• Talking in other channels such as FC, novice network, CWLS, linkshells, PUG party chats and discord.

Recently a friend of mine stopped playing XIV due to their friend group dissolving, from what I know, their friends had been playing from various points in the MMO, but the majority started back in ARR. They got pulled in around Shadowbringers Release and since then had been having a blast, they are now from what I can tell done with the game now that they have no friend group to play it with.

Friend groups are a common reason people keep playing an MMORPG. Always have been. If an MMORPG doesn't effectively build friendships then it is hurting its revenue because in the tough moments, where there's no content in any MMORPG, it is the social connections that keep people around.

That isn't to say there aren't solo players and achievement hunters that are content to do everything solo and stay forever. There are many such players - just look at all the single player FFs. But it's part of the draw for a portion of players.

It becomes even more the case if you didn't start playing because of the game, but because someone dragged you into it and said "try this game with me". Because unless you actually like the game, you'll probably only stick around for as long as your friend keeps pressuring you to login.

[Archeron]

The game for me is the driving force behind me playing it. It's not particularily good at any one thing, quite honestly mid at most things. It has its moments, and thats better than most other MMORPG's at the moment, amoung other reasons that make the game stand out in its category.

The community is actually not attractive to me. I don't appreciate the fakeness behind all the "We're so kind" people. This community is no more or less toxic than any other MMO, it's just masked by a fake charade of kindness because people are scared of getting slapped with account penalties for speaking their mind, or being seen as mean. It's not hard to see that if you've been playing long enough.

[Turnintino]

The game. I love the friends I've made through it, but I rarely actually play with them to begin with (we mostly just talk on Discord or through linkshells/FC chat), and I'll continue to play the game with or without their presence as long as I'm still enjoying it, the same way I play single-player games. The friends and whatever transient social interactions I have through DF/PF or what have you, that's icing on the cake.