The FF14 community does not understand SE's design choice

[AnimalsALot]

You also can’t ignore the fact that there is a strangely large amount of people in 14 who will white knight anything. You see it on the forums anytime a topic comes up that is even mildly discussed or discussed across multiple threads

Inevitably someone will come in and make a thread like “I want to thank the devs for being so good to us” or “I like x change because the devs know what they are doing” and oftentimes haha no idea about the actual ins and outs of the topic and it just reads like they are defending square

That “viper changes are good actually” thread is an example of this

Randomly pulling thread names out of the aether that seem to align with the point that it people do agree with changes while ignoring these threads exist won’t go anywhere

Actually you are wrong because the vast, vast, vast majority of players liked the Viper changes and only a tiny minority of players that constitute the forum cabal are complaining. They are utterly bitter and venomous and they are an infinitesimal minority. Minority minority minority! Minority! You will respect the silent vast vast vast vast majoritah!

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

I mean lets be real... the devs do not tread into the heeping garbage pit that is the English forum. 50% of it being troll threads and posts with the other half having dozens upon dozens of samey threads. If they really want to take feedback serious they should prolly toss out some kind of survey with every patch...

At best they'll just toss us a survey so they'll know what new item to add in mogstation lol.

[Aravell]

There is also a fact there is a strangely large portion of players in FF14 will accuse others being White Knights when they unable to present a valid argument but really want to shut up those who do not agree

Let's be real, a lot of people are guilty of trying to dismiss other people's opinions. It's not just one side or another.

"You're just a white knight/SE defender/bootlicker/shill"
"You're just a doomer/negative nancy/hater"
"From my extensive research of searching up your name in a certain website, I can deduce that you do not do a certain type of content, so um, shut up"

All very common things to see on here, all used to dismiss arguments out of hand.

[Ramiee]

I mean I even saw people on YouTube and tell twitter complaining about the viper changes so it wasnt just the forum. It just feels very ill conceived and more like the Devs didn't like playing it and decided to make it easier for themselves (dots are hard I guess)

[Saraide]

Something something we are missing all the data, SE has much more DATA, they know much better because of all the DATA(!) they have.

[MonsutaMan]

SE does not understand SE's design choice......Otherwise their sales would not be in decline.

[Divinemights]

Let's be real, a lot of people are guilty of trying to dismiss other people's opinions. It's not just one side or another.

"You're just a white knight/SE defender/bootlicker/shill"
"You're just a doomer/negative nancy/hater"
"From my extensive research of searching up your name in a certain website, I can deduce that you do not do a certain type of content, so um, shut up"

All very common things to see on here, all used to dismiss arguments out of hand.

The main problem with FF14 player community is we have developed a "Customer is always right" complex.
Also due to rise of cancel culture, anyone trying to explain the fact will labeled as "White Knight"
Are players always right?

[Voidmage]

Actually you are wrong because the vast, vast, vast majority of players liked the Viper changes and only a tiny minority of players that constitute the forum cabal are complaining. They are utterly bitter and venomous and they are an infinitesimal minority. Minority minority minority! Minority! You will respect the silent vast vast vast vast majoritah!

Vast vast majority of players probably doesn’t really care about those changes because they don’t even play viper and of those players that play only a portion goes deep enough for it to matter for them.

So I don’t know where you think you get these “numbers” from.
Fact is only that there are people happy and unhappy with the changes and that many don’t understand them so there was a problem with communication.

So because only a fraction actually cares or has the knowledge and in that fraction apparently enough actually liked the old state for it to be worth a comment from the producer himself, why then make changes at all?

It’s the same thing that happened with SMN, BLM, DRK and others.
Unnecessary changes to the existing things that had a playerbase only because the devs wanted to or in the desperate try to make something for everyone or because they actually don’t know what they themself want.

Don’t design the game for those that don’t want to play it but for the other side.
Everyone has the same chance to get better with a job they want to main so don’t take the fun from those who actually put in the effort.

I still like the devs but here I say to them:
“You are no longer on the same eye level as your dedicated players. Relearn how communication works.”

[LyraShu]

Someone have the "This is bait" meme ready?

[Valence]

The main problem with FF14 player community is we have developed a "Customer is always right" complex.
Also due to rise of cancel culture, anyone trying to explain the fact will labeled as "White Knight"
Are players always right?

The idea that being right in game design as a binary concept between the players being right OR the devs being right is a fantasy, especially since depending on sides and the lens through which every individual gauges "right" and "wrong" is as subjective as it is nebulous. This isn't about being right or wrong, this is about the dev team presenting the playerbase with a finished product with clear design choices, and being faced by a certain amount of backlash. To various degrees, the playerbase will be either satisfied or not satisfied with certain designs, and it's on the dev team to make sense of what went wrong or right, and what to keep or change or discard.

On the player side it's exactly like politics and it's about pushing for specific changes or directions, and exactly like politics, not everyone agrees on things in the playerbase. It's not about being right or wrong, it's about bringing the devs closer to your side/view. And like in politics, whether they deliver with the product or not, especially regarding their own constituency they tried to please, is another story.

However, there is one metric where the player will always be right, and it's about how they do feel and what their tastes are through their feedback. Nobody can take that from you, and having anybody saying they know better for your own sake and that they should take over instead, I already know where this leads, no matter if it's a game or real life.