Difficulty of normal content.

[caffe_macchiato]

"worst reviewed" doesn't mean the expac is bad, dawntrail is still a relatively well received expac due to its gameplay being far better than endwalker. this argument of "IT'S THE WORST REVIEWED!" means nothing to what the actual argument is about, especially when most negative reviews of dawntrail are criticizing the writing & voice acting, not the difficulty. dawntrail is also the most recent expac, give it time & i bet it'll be higher than ARR & heavensward.

Game's been out for less then a month, also isn't even fully "released". Remember how good Endwalker 's msq was and then how dull and boring a lot of the patch content was? (24 man story felt rushed and the raids were piss easy, the relic weapons were a joke, barely anything else to do, patch msq I liked the characters but it also felt like a rushed afterthought).
Also legitimately, who cares if it was, if people are still playing and enjoying it.
This wasn't even the topic of this post.

The reviews have nothing to do with the actual battle content anyway. Any negatives mentioned have to do with the MSQ which, at the time, was all there was except for 2 EX Trials.

The mixed reviews is because the MSQ is kinda mid. Don't be disingenuous.

This entire thread is just a hivemind at this point.

I said that endgame content was the good part of Dawntrail, and that's why it's going to have trouble attracting new players. Because when they see this mess on the forums, Reddit, in-game chat, and elsewhere, do you think they'd want to deal with this? No one's going to put up with Wookie Lamat for 40 hours just to be barked at by everyone online. This attitude is why new people avoided WoW like the plague. You realize this has an actual, real-world impact, right? This makes FFXIV look bad.

[Astronema]

This entire thread is just a hivemind at this point.

I said that endgame content was the good part of Dawntrail, and that's why it's going to have trouble attracting new players. Because when they see this mess on the forums, Reddit, in-game chat, and elsewhere, do you think they'd want to deal with this? No one's going to put up with Wookie Lamat for 40 hours just to be barked at by everyone online. This attitude is why new people avoided WoW like the plague. You realize this has an actual, real-world impact, right? This makes FFXIV look bad.

It's wow cataclysm 2.0 in every respect.. history repeats.

[TDawnstar]

It's wow cataclysm 2.0 in every respect.. history repeats.

Yup. Except WoW devs drew conclusions from the whole Cata launch debacle. I do not know if SE will do the same.

[Kiurt]

Yup. Except WoW devs drew conclusions from the whole Cata launch debacle. I do not know if SE will do the same.

It was the heroic dungeons that were considered too hard, which I agree was a bit overtune at the time. Normal mode was fine. Also the tuning of the classes at that time was terrible (looking at you 4.0 ret paladin) which didn't help.
After a while normal mode was facerolling and heroic dungeons became that too thanks to the nerfs (way overboard imo). People got better gear, everything was easier (unless... BREAK YOURSELF UPON MY BODY shenanigans).

WoW (raid) normal mode today is probably harder for first timers than FFXIV, given of how the games are designed.

I'm pretty sure people like OP just want a LFR type of thing, with 1 to 2 mechanics on bosses and be done with it. In/out/spread mechs. Endwalker basically.

[jdtuggey]

Yup. Except WoW devs drew conclusions from the whole Cata launch debacle. I do not know if SE will do the same.

I don't feel like SE made a mistake here, I feel we're witnessing a kneejerk from a few individuals in a community of 26+ million players.
If anything, SE learned from their past mistakes and they're course correcting.

I think Square Enix expected that. As far as I can tell, even Yoshi P mentioned he was getting sleepy in EW content, so this direction is what the team wants and feels is best for the game.
They've been saying for a long time that they want to reintroduce tension in the gameplay. No matter what they do, there will always be people left behind.

Many mistakes were made with the launch of Cata.

[Lizvette]

This entire thread is just a hivemind at this point.

I said that endgame content was the good part of Dawntrail, and that's why it's going to have trouble attracting new players. Because when they see this mess on the forums, Reddit, in-game chat, and elsewhere, do you think they'd want to deal with this? No one's going to put up with Wookie Lamat for 40 hours just to be barked at by everyone online. This attitude is why new people avoided WoW like the plague. You realize this has an actual, real-world impact, right? This makes FFXIV look bad.

it is a hivemind, one that you don't like cause it doesn't share yours or op's opinion. the hivemind wanted more engaging content for a while now.

if it was the other way around, you'd be out here sticking these screenshots into anyone's face and screaming "UhUh, LoOk, ReViEwS sAy Me RiGhT".
the only thing that wouldn't change, is the fact you don't give a toss about anyone else, you're simply too disingenuous and self-righteous in your doomsaying for that.

[Feosingame]

This entire thread is just a hivemind at this point.

I said that endgame content was the good part of Dawntrail, and that's why it's going to have trouble attracting new players. Because when they see this mess on the forums, Reddit, in-game chat, and elsewhere, do you think they'd want to deal with this? No one's going to put up with Wookie Lamat for 40 hours just to be barked at by everyone online. This attitude is why new people avoided WoW like the plague. You realize this has an actual, real-world impact, right? This makes FFXIV look bad.

No

It's people correcting your dogwater opinion. What do reviews from game journalists who have written their reviews BEFORE the raids released who have to rush all the content to review it on time have ANYTHING to do with the difficulty, as a matter of fact it stands against your point because unlike the op and several other people here, they actually managed to finish the mandatory MSQ dungeons to write this review on time. Think about it, you guys are being outpaced by game journalists, I did not think a lower point in gaming existed.

[Kiurt]

This entire thread is just a hivemind at this point.

I said that endgame content was the good part of Dawntrail, and that's why it's going to have trouble attracting new players. Because when they see this mess on the forums, Reddit, in-game chat, and elsewhere, do you think they'd want to deal with this? No one's going to put up with Wookie Lamat for 40 hours just to be barked at by everyone online. This attitude is why new people avoided WoW like the plague. You realize this has an actual, real-world impact, right? This makes FFXIV look bad.

The % of players, and especially, new players, going to check reddit and EVEN MORE the forums is incredibly low. People won't randomly bark in-game to someone unless that person doesn't care to learn/doesn't want to or gets defensive with poorly made comments or arguments like OP.

It's a god damn MMO. It's supposed to evolve.
Besides, every game isn't for everyone.

You seem to talk about WoW a lot, have you played it ? Do you really know why it lost popularity (and gained it back with Dragonflight) ? Also yes, the population in World of Warcraft PUGs is toxic af, that's one point I can agree on (other than netcode).

Also, journalist opinions isn't something you can use as a fact. It has been a while since they're not trustworthy anymore.

[BradyWard]

The % of players, and especially, new players, going to check reddit and EVEN MORE the forums is incredibly low. People won't randomly bark in-game to someone unless that person doesn't care to learn/doesn't want to or gets defensive with poorly made comments or arguments like OP.

It's a god damn MMO. It's supposed to evolve.
Besides, every game isn't for everyone.

You seem to talk about WoW a lot, have you played it ? Do you really know why it lost popularity (and gained it back with Dragonflight) ? Also yes, the population in World of Warcraft PUGs is toxic af, that's one point I can agree on (other than netcode).

Also, journalist opinions isn't something you can use as a fact. It has been a while since they're not trustworthy anymore.

this is true , no one since like the 2010s has trusted mainstream with reviewing games, in a world of you tube and easy accessable media , you can find a reviewer who shares your personal tastes more and will be a much better barometer if a game will be to your style (example is how you would not go to a videogamedunkey channel for a review of an FPS shooter)