The new player experience and how FFXIV fails as an MMO.

[Mawlzy]

Yeah, I agree but I don't think that's a good approach to game design. The game has two distinctly separate groups of players. Group 1, who are so incompetent that they don't even know what they don't know, and group 2, who know how the game works and feel like they don't get to play the game when they engage with content that's designed for group 1.

IMO the game should ask more of players and do more to teach them how to do what it's asking of them. It would create a more fun and engaging experience for everyone.

I think "incompetent" misses the point. In NA/EU I suspect Group 1 is the majority, and I'd suggest their ignorance of one facet of the game (PvE) is a legitimate choice.

Maybe I'm just projecting, but I think a large chunk of Group 1 does know that they can do more damage in a dungeon if they studied one of Wesk's or Caetsu's guides and memorized the optimal rotations. But why on earth would they? PvE does not interest everyone, particularly when it approaches rotation optimization. This is particularly true in FFXIV because the PvE is just plain bad.

I'd agree with you that this is a choice on SE's part. What the game "teaches" you in MSQ dungeons is that if you run out of the bad fast enough and hit the flashy buttons occasionally, everything will work out. Why do you suppose SE has made that choice? It's because they recognize that those interested in optimization are a minority. If this were not the case and the intent, would we not have in-game damage meters? The game is like this because the only optimization SE cares about is sub-count.

As to creating a "more fun and engaging experience," manifestly no. People are leaving because DT has raised MSQ dungeon difficulty to a point that a part of Group 1 doesn't want to deal with.

I wish this game had playstyles. What I do mean is that how you play the game in normal mode should somewhat translate in how you play in Extremes+, but it doesn't and there are no in-game tools for you to get there, so from a newbie perspective it feels extremely hostile to get into that type of content.

An oft-repeated myth IMO. Sure there is hostility from raiders as is so evident on these boards, but the content itself doesn't put up a wall of hostility. The barrier is one of tedium. Or more generously, it's just a choice.