MMO addiction

[caffe_macchiato]

Idk why I find it so much harder to make friends in this game. Is it cuz im older? who knows lol.

The game might have some flaws, but the people themselves have changed far more than the game has. People have been drifting into isolation and sociopathy since the pandemic. They intentionally seek out games that don’t have other players. And in times like these, people need to be cattle-prodded into engaging in a multiplayer environment. The shutdown of DC travel didn’t help, but DC travel didn’t exist for most of the game’s history. Every other problem—raiding on Aether, FCs turned into sub farms, no one wanting to play the game, an over-reliance on plugins instead of gameplay—is 100% created by the players. They did this, not Square Enix. People have become weak and have no soul or personality besides consuming the latest slop and being shepherded around by billion-dollar corporations. And if a company doesn’t try to control them, they’ll leave for one that does (e.g. moving from XIV to WoW). It’s cattle mentality. FFXIV can only be saved by a deliberate community.

[Raraka]

That I think the game is in bad state/going in a bad direction doesnt make me automatically not enjoy it

I still enjoy hanging out with friends
I still enjoy messing around with my house
I still enjoy doing random content trough roulettes
I still enjoy slowly raising my ilvl and doing extremes, savage or (miserably attempting) ults
So, yeah, I still enjoy what a lot of the game has to offer

But I will continue to speak about how the game is in a bad state to put pressure in SE, because we all know, they can do better. If we all were to say "the game is still alright" instead of voicing discontent, we would be getting a patch every 6 months, no collabs, no side quest chain, maybe even less trials and dungeons... all untill players start voicing discontent and anger. So before we get there, we are voicing it now as things slooooowly head into that general direction.

Also when they say "take a break and play other games" its usually because they want you to play other SE game. The lastest Live letter had the fantashon videogame ads sprinkled all over it. No thanks, im not playing a product of yours if the current one im paying for is declining in quality.

[genuine_stranger]

Those things might make you angry and anger can be motivating but not sustainable. Eventually anger drains you and all that you are left with is not caring anymore.

Alright, let’s get a little philosophical about this.

Compassion, when it’s not deserved or given despite obvious problems being ignored (like CBU3 with FFXIV), just ends up enabling bad habits. For FFXIV, that means oversimplified gameplay, reused assets, and content that feels half-baked.

And that’s why people complain—because they care. But here’s the thing: people only complain for so long before they stop caring and just leave.

Compassion should only go to someone who’s actually trying to do better. Look at Hello Games with No Man’s Sky or CDPR with Cyberpunk 2077 v2.0. They put in the work, turned things around, and earned back goodwill. That’s the kind of effort that deserves compassion.

CBU3? Not so much right now. If they actually worked on things the community has been asking for forever—like Viera and Hrothgar hats, a proper glamour log, or instanced housing—people would probably be a lot more forgiving. At least then it’d feel like they’re listening.

But instead, we’re getting half-finished systems, mediocre writing, and gameplay that keeps getting dumbed down. Compassion shouldn’t be an excuse for letting them get away with that.

[TheGrimace]

Do you think CS3 is still coasting on the goodwill of A Realm Reborn's launch? I think they are, atleast a little. During the Rising, they always say they want to continue to innovate and make an enjoyable world for the players, but it feels much less genuine recently. I know it takes effort to start a new multi-expansion storyline after the ten years leading to Endwalker, but the slow release period for major updates is causing me increased concern, especially given the lack of midcore content. It has begun to feel as though behind the scenes they're not taking Quality Assurance checks despite the increased time between updates and I as a player have become continually unimpressed.

I am playing other games now, CS3. I'm not doing it because Yoshida recommended it, but because there is nothing engaging for me now. CS3 NEEDS to innovate if they want to retain players and a community. This is the biggest danger. This could be a one-off bad update situation, but only if they listen to the playerbase, like they say they do.

[Jeeqbit]

Do you think CS3 is still coasting on the goodwill of A Realm Reborn's launch? I think they are, atleast a little.

Among newer players, definitely. They often read the context on wikipedia or watch the Noclip documentary and so they start fresh with that context, whereas older players may have had time to let that wear off.

During the Rising, they always say they want to continue to innovate and make an enjoyable world for the players, but it feels much less genuine recently.

It doesn't feel like it's not genuine. It's more like they are just flat out slow at certain things and don't necessarily define these things the same as everyone else does ie. an enjoyable world would mean more instances, not changes to the open world.

the slow release period for major updates is causing me increased concern, especially given the lack of midcore content.

Their response to that has consistently been that we'll get it "soon" ie. in the 7.2x patch. People may not like that it takes until then, but they have been consistent in saying it (not to mention it was predictable due to their formula).

It has begun to feel as though behind the scenes they're not taking Quality Assurance checks

You are aware they have over 100 QA testers according to their credits (and I've seen them recruiting even more) and that they spend those months squashing bugs from thousands down to a few hundred or less? And the ones that remain of note are listed in "Known Issues" at the bottom of the patch notes. This was all explained in one of their development panels - it's not as if I'm making it up.

Idk why I find it so much harder to make friends in this game. Is it cuz im older? who knows lol.

It's not because you're older. People of all ages make lots of friends in this game. At the end of the day, you either know how to make friends in this game or you don't - age has nothing to do with it.

I made a post recently about ways to find social interaction. I've written such posts occasionally through the years https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post6626688

[genuine_stranger]

Do you think CS3 is still coasting on the goodwill of A Realm Reborn's launch?.

In a way, yes.

This is just my personal take, so take it with a grain of salt.

I think the most goodwill came during Shadowbringers when FFXIV’s popularity exploded during the WoW exodus. That’s when the NoClip documentary gained traction, and content creators were praising the game to the skies. It felt like FFXIV was everywhere, with both big and small creators talking about it. With the track record of FFXIV’s earlier expansions and Shadowbringers’ quality, the dev team and direction looked incredibly promising. People bought in—and honestly, I think they were right to.

Then came Endwalker. While it was financially successful, it was also divisive and burned through some of that goodwill. The lackluster patches that followed only made it worse.

Now we’re at Dawntrail. Again, it’s financially successful, but it’s burned even more goodwill. At this point, I think most of it is gone. Sure, people will check out new expansions and return for patches, but unless CBU3 makes some big changes, the player numbers are likely to keep declining.

If you look at the SteamDB stats (which is really the only accessible source for tracking player activity), the player count is more or less the same as it was four years ago.

It seems like SE might have found a “happy medium,” where they can toss out mediocre expansions, churn through what’s left of the player base, and rely on that core group to sustain their income. Eventually, they could shift to maintenance mode with minimal updates while keeping the online store alive.

[Jeeqbit]

I think the most goodwill came during Shadowbringers when FFXIV’s popularity exploded during the WoW exodus. That’s when the NoClip documentary gained traction

Before that documentary, a lot of us had goodwill already, just because we ourselves knew the history anyway. The game had just been remade and the answers trailer played upon launching the game as a constant reminder of that, and from my perspective in ARR, every story patch was better than the last and that continued right up through Stormblood, culminating in Shadowbringers, where it hit diminishing returns.

From there, the sort of dungeons we get like Ghimlyt and Holminster Switch with garleans parachuting and villagers fleeing is just the norm and continues to be. It's amazing, don't get me wrong, but it hit a point where it's hard to particularly say the next dungeon with events happening in the background and top tier fantasy music is a big improvement. But I'd like to believe it's just due to diminishing returns.

I think the Noclip documentary was just useful for teaching newer players about the history and giving them the same feelings towards the developers that I had in ARR.

[Jangles]

Compassion is a better measure for carring than anger.

I complain about this game because I'm compassionate about it. Acting like everything is fine and cool or ignoring the state of the game when there is glaring problems and a noticable drop in quality is not compassion, it's what kills games.
If I wasn't compassionate about this game and didn't want it to be better I would just ignore it and move on.

[genuine_stranger]

Before that documentary, a lot of us had goodwill already, just because we ourselves knew the history anyway. The game had just been remade and the answers trailer played upon launching the game as a constant reminder of that, and from my perspective in ARR, every story patch was better than the last and that continued right up through Stormblood, culminating in Shadowbringers, where it hit diminishing returns.

From there, the sort of dungeons we get like Ghimlyt and Holminster Switch with garleans parachuting and villagers fleeing is just the norm and continues to be. It's amazing, don't get me wrong, but it hit a point where it's hard to particularly say the next dungeon with events happening in the background and top tier fantasy music is a big improvement. But I'd like to believe it's just due to diminishing returns.

I think the Noclip documentary was just useful for teaching newer players about the history and giving them the same feelings towards the developers that I had in ARR.

Yeah, I should’ve clarified that I was talking about newer players who didn’t experience the journey the old guard went through, but -> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve had a similar experience, though, as I slowly made my way through the game. The story and world kept growing on me as I progressed through the expansions, culminating in ShB. I started playing around 5.1 or 5.2 (can’t remember exactly), but I took my time with everything and ended up catching up close to or right during the WoW exodus. Diamond Weapon was actually the first EX I farmed. Good times, lol.

The NoClip documentary made me appreciate FFXIV even more.

Then EW happened, and honestly, it just frustrated me with how they handled the story. The silver lining, though, is that it pushed me into a new hobby: writing stories and creating my own worlds. It’s a steep learning curve, but it’s super satisfying to figure out concepts, religions, societies, and how they all interact.

So... yay?

On the downside, the more time I spend writing, the more I notice some of the asspullery (or retconning?) writers use to justify new MacGuffins, plot armor, or other nonsense in stories, lol.

[Azurarok]

How many threads have we had now telling people to unsub and whatnot since DT's dropped?