Quote Originally Posted by Turtledeluxe View Post
Elden Ring caters to lots of different gamers because it's just straight forward enough that anyone can get it, but it's diverse enough that build crafters can get very creative and challenge runners can really sink their teeth in. If it's too hard, there are tools in the game to get help. It's hard for an MMO to replicate this kind of game on a mechanical level but it's worth considering conceptually. A lot of MMOs, including XIV, undo a lot of the things (like killing job complexity) basically because of endgame, to be as nonspecific and non accusatory as possible. Jobs are not being simplified (in general) because of ultra casual players. It is to make it so nothing non-standard and non predictable exists for the sake of endgame.
Yeah I completely agree with you. I also don't think it's possible to really translate Elden Ring into FF14. I just think it's an interesting counterpoint to the prevaling narrative of many gaming companies that games with inbuilt failure mechanisms can't be popular.

(I do think the way you write about how ER manages to cater to different players is a very good description. It sounds like the game managed to implement a bit of that "theme park" mentality, that FF14 strives for, quite successfully.)

I think FF14 can definitely go its own path in the way it approaches things and as you say make it suitable for an MMO on a conceptual level.

As mentioned above for me that means having a proper difficulty curve and guiding inexperienced players through this curve to give them positive exposure to challenges instead of associating them with fear and avoidance.
Both of which are currently completely lacking imo.