Hypothetical Question

[strawberrycake]

I've had several friend groups over the last several years and they hve all quit due to community based issues or due to SE being how they are making them lose faith in the company as a whole. I have a few friends who still play but unless they really match up with how I approach the game, I'm happy to know I know people who play, even if we don't always play together.

As of right now I've been playing alone again due to work and am looking forward to making new friends in DT, but if the content isn't great I may takea well deserved break from XIV until 8.0.

[Jeeqbit]

if your friends/community in 14 suddenly decided to quit the game tomorrow would the game itself (i.e. the content) be enough to make you stay?

Yes, because I don't rely on a single friend or community. I communicate in an abundance of discord servers with different people or friend groups, random PF groups and PUG discords, random DF parties I'm matched into including alliance raids, hunt and FATE /shout chats, PF map parties, linkshells, CWLS, novice networks, my FC and the forums, to the point where if any single one were removed, the others would make up for it. I also just consume FF content occasionally via YouTube or Twitch which can also be social.

A lot of people struggle to find social interaction in the game. But I am not one of those people. Those people just lack all the ideas I mentioned, as well as ones I didn't mention such as RP and venues.

[Brynne]

I'd continue to play for the content but queueing for anything would be nerve-wracking for me without friends to queue together with. I'd try to make new friends in the game ASAP.

[Ath192]

Yes, because I don't rely on a single friend or community. I communicate in an abundance of discord servers with different people or friend groups, random PF groups and PUG discords, random DF parties I'm matched into including alliance raids, hunt and FATE /shout chats, PF map parties, linkshells, CWLS, novice networks, my FC and the forums, to the point where if any single one were removed, the others would make up for it. I also just consume FF content occasionally via YouTube or Twitch which can also be social.

A lot of people struggle to find social interaction in the game. But I am not one of those people. Those people just lack all the ideas I mentioned, as well as ones I didn't mention such as RP and venues.

Here is the thing about these things you have mentioned, they are completely impersonal and I wouldn't consider this an actual meaningful socialization. Of course you can participate and discords and novice network and twitch but none of these people are your actual friends, or maybe some are (and this here is the key, those are the ones that matter), for example if you leave those discords or stop interacting noone will notice you are gone, if you need help, unless they have nothing to do they won't drop what they are doing to come help you out.

So it's not that we don't lack these ideas, its that when we talk about friends, we mean FRIENDS, not random people you interact with on occasion. There is such a thing as being alone in a group, and you shouldn't confuse that with a community that personally cares about who you are and what you are doing.

Like these forums, sure, we interact, but its not like we're gonna hang out together or wonder about each other is doing. When you lose good friends, or they move on to something else they aren't easy to replace, because the relationship was built over a long period of time, the personalities have to mesh well, and generally it requires activities in game that strengthen those bonds, such as hard to beat content. So I'm pretty sure this is the kind of community we are discussing and not the random discord groups, twitch channels and Novice network where you merely talk with others.

[Antharaes]

I am too old to care tbh. I turn 65 this year, I play to have fun and for the most part, that means solo. I did the same in WoW for 15 years. I play for myself, not others. I enjoy the company when they are around, but I enjoy being on my own just as much.

[LianaThorne]

I think there's a very important thing to clarify:

• Are you asking about whether FF14 would be worth continuing to play if it were single-player?
• Or are you asking about whether FF14 would be worth continuing to play even if the players I'm
  familiar with all left, but there are still plenty of other players playing the MMO?

Because if all my friends left, well...most of them already have. But there are still plenty of others to play with, even if they're strangers. And with strangers, there's always the possibility to make new friends.

But would I keep playing FF14 if it was a single-player game? That's a much more complicated question due to the fact that it's structured like an MMO, which loses a lot of what it has going for it if you're literally the only person playing.

Another way of phrasing it, I suppose would be: Is the game's content good enough/engaging enough on its own that that's all it needs to keep people subbed?

Or is the social aspect (having friends/a community) providing a large amount of motivation for keeping people subbed that, if it was removed, they wouldn't find the game (content) as fun and then stop wanting to play?

[LianaThorne]

Here is the thing about these things you have mentioned, they are completely impersonal and I wouldn't consider this an actual meaningful socialization. Of course you can participate and discords and novice network and twitch but none of these people are your actual friends, or maybe some are (and this here is the key, those are the ones that matter), for example if you leave those discords or stop interacting noone will notice you are gone, if you need help, unless they have nothing to do they won't drop what they are doing to come help you out.

So it's not that we don't lack these ideas, its that when we talk about friends, we mean FRIENDS, not random people you interact with on occasion. There is such a thing as being alone in a group, and you shouldn't confuse that with a community that personally cares about who you are and what you are doing.

Like these forums, sure, we interact, but its not like we're gonna hang out together or wonder about each other is doing. When you lose good friends, or they move on to something else they aren't easy to replace, because the relationship was built over a long period of time, the personalities have to mesh well, and generally it requires activities in game that strengthen those bonds, such as hard to beat content. So I'm pretty sure this is the kind of community we are discussing and not the random discord groups, twitch channels and Novice network where you merely talk with others.

Yep, the community/friendships you personally built up over x amount of time (not just people you randomly chat with on occasion but actual bonds).

[Canadane]

I was the one who got most of my group into the game, so it was hard to say.
I was indeed enjoying myself alone before they came along. But this was 1.0. It was a different game and a different time.
If everyone I knew stopped... it'd be hard to keep going.

[Jeeqbit]

Here is the thing about these things you have mentioned, they are completely impersonal and I wouldn't consider this an actual meaningful socialization.

You're absolutely right! You have identified why I play an MMORPG. For the impersonal natural of communication.

Maintaining a personal friendship with someone is effort. Scheduling around them, doing everything you can to be their "best friend" only for them to consider someone else their best friend that they don't talk to as much.

You can grow too attached to these friends and become dependent on them. And if something happens to them, it could affect you in a big way.

So eventually I felt it would just be a whole lot easier to allow my interactions to be fleeting. I have conversations with people as if they are my friends. In some cases, I will have another conversation with them weeks, months or years later. Sometimes they will just "see me around" (sort of like on these forums).

But none of them will truly know me so I won't have to deal with the emotions that come with that too much, nor will I carry the burden of being available for them always.

That is the strength of an MMORPG. You are exposed to people and conversations and community constantly. It can remove your loneliness to the maximum extent, without the need to deal with actual friendships.

Whether it removes your loneliness depends on your mindset. You can be surrounded by people constantly (like a celebrity) and be lonely, or you can have a small group of friends with rare interactions with others and feel like everyone you've ever met is your friend and feel socially fulfilled. It's all about mindset and who you consider a friend, really.

Discovering that made me happy and content. I literally rely on no single person to make me happy. Like an investor, my eggs are not all in one basket.

noone will notice you are gone

I think some of them would because I ponder that sometimes when people vanish.

[Infindox]

I pretty much already play while everyone else goes and does something else. They'll be back around DT when their hyperfixiation wheel goes back to XIV. If everyone quit, I'd still play. I just like being in the world and doing stuff.