Interview - Cost, Hiring, FT, Hardcore and Casual, Ultimate, Cosmic, Future of FFXIV

[TaleraRistain]

The problem is entirely in the entry system setting up expectations that it was going to be a CLL/Dalriada equivalent, rather than a BA/Delubrum Savage equivalent. If it WERE a CLL/Dalriada equivalent, i'd agree with you. But as it stands, it's a BA/Delubrum Savage equivalent and entirely optional, and can be ignored if you're just after the story, unlike what seems to be the plan with Forked tower magic.

It's not entirely ignorable. You will never be able to finish your Triple Triad collection without it now. There will always be a missing spot. So if they add another mount reward that needs it, whelp, anyone that doesn't go find a Discord to do it in is screwed. Same if they add a reward to getting all the notes. Neither of those things should be tied to content like this.

[Rencith]

Unless the last boss of pilgrims traverse drops decent loot, it won't be worth doing. This scares me considering the developers thought gil as a reward in Crescent was "generous".

[Seraph_Variel]

It's not entirely ignorable. You will never be able to finish your Triple Triad collection without it now. There will always be a missing spot. So if they add another mount reward that needs it, whelp, anyone that doesn't go find a Discord to do it in is screwed. Same if they add a reward to getting all the notes. Neither of those things should be tied to content like this.

As someone who only collects cards when I get them, this really doesn't affect me, personally. I also had no idea there was a TT card behind blood. Admittedly, did also forget about the all notes reward we're likely to get come north horn.

Besides that, doesn't actually change my point, as ignoring it was with the idea that you're only after the story, as neither TT nor the (presumed) achievement reward are 'story'.

Again, is it good design? No, it's not, and only exacerbates the issues behind the design of Forked Tower Blood in its intent and execution being so poorly thought out that it's leaving me wondering if QA touched anything within Occult Crescent.

People looked at me as if I were crazy to say I disliked phantom jobs and wanted logograms back in the one prog run of FT I did due to the versatility of being able to build around the job I play, and if Phantom Freelancer could fill that niche, it probably wouldn't leave me so confused. What's the one people are hoping for to fill that niche? Phantom Mime or something? I only know FF11, 14, and 16 so I genuinely have no idea. Either way leaves me with little hope for south horn as it stands. I still find Eureka to be more engaging and the last things i've been doing there was bunny farming for 6 hours straight.

[Jeeqbit]

Underpaid developers

Is there evidence of this somewhere? They deck them out with every insurance and company perk imaginable.

recruitment restricted to national territory

This needs to change for sure.

Current developers don't even have the expertise to implement a proper blacklist system

I think that's the bigger issue than "dated engine" tbh. A developer can fix engine issues given an odd 12 years in which to do it. It's also partly that they are not even assigned to fix it, otherwise things would have been fixed over the course of 12 years.

it's reasonable to conclude they've been designing the game for people who spend most of the year unsubscribed.

This is honestly the truth. Their perspective is that people lack time, but it essentially forces people to lack time on purpose if they have the time, by way of unsubscribing.

[Gwenkatsu]

First of all, thanks for the summary, Jeeqbit.

They previously had tried to handle this by making different content types aimed at different types of players, which made sense.
However, Yoshi-P has decided it will now be better to try and make all content work for all players where possible.

This here really worries me, as it sounds like a one-size-fits-all approach.

The DD mentioned here does not concern me (I can't even enter since I never finished PotD). But when this extends to "all content" I have no idea how this should work at all. The forums are full of complaints that the game is already too easy, so making dungeons easier seems out of the question. But when they raise the dungeon difficulty, they will no longer be doable by the people that already struggle with normal trials.

So how is this even supposed to work?

[brinn12]

Is there evidence of this somewhere? They deck them out with every insurance and company perk imaginable.
This needs to change for sure.
I think that's the bigger issue than "dated engine" tbh. A developer can fix engine issues given an odd 12 years in which to do it. It's also partly that they are not even assigned to fix it, otherwise things would have been fixed over the course of 12 years.
This is honestly the truth. Their perspective is that people lack time, but it essentially forces people to lack time on purpose if they have the time, by way of unsubscribing.

It's widely known that the international market offers more and better opportunities for developers with vast experience. For this reason, restricting hiring to Japan can hinder development, especially when combined with other factors such as money offered and a lack of professional growth opportunities. FFXIV's engine is far from modern or robust, and this impacts how developers perceive potential for innovation or advancement. Also, if Square Enix truly offered competitive salaries for the best talent, they wouldn't be struggling to hire them during the game's peak.

Regarding time, the issue is that most players who lack it can still manage to log in and play FFXIV regularly each month. Yet SE treats them as if they couldn't stay subscribed or engage with the game for several weeks, with most new content being short-lived. In contrast, we have the FOMO housing system, and seasonal event gear costing money later. It feels more like an attempt to mask design issues they are trying to hide.

[Mawlzy]

First of all, thanks for the summary, Jeeqbit.



This here really worries me, as it sounds like a one-size-fits-all approach.

The DD mentioned here does not concern me (I can't even enter since I never finished PotD). But when this extends to "all content" I have no idea how this should work at all. The forums are full of complaints that the game is already too easy, so making dungeons easier seems out of the question. But when they raise the dungeon difficulty, they will no longer be doable by the people that already struggle with normal trials.

So how is this even supposed to work?

Without skill sliders/options, it will not work. If the intent is a one-size-fits-all approach to a remarkably diverse player base, this might as well be FFXIV's suicide note.

[Exmo]

Without skill sliders/options, it will not work. If the intent is a one-size-fits-all approach to a remarkably diverse player base, this might as well be FFXIV's suicide note.

Isn't it clear from the latest live letter that they don't plan to make the game one-size-fits-all, but rather allow for customisable and variable difficulty on a gamemode-per-gamemode basis?

[Shinku_Tachi]

First of all, thanks for the summary, Jeeqbit.



This here really worries me, as it sounds like a one-size-fits-all approach.

The DD mentioned here does not concern me (I can't even enter since I never finished PotD). But when this extends to "all content" I have no idea how this should work at all. The forums are full of complaints that the game is already too easy, so making dungeons easier seems out of the question. But when they raise the dungeon difficulty, they will no longer be doable by the people that already struggle with normal trials.

So how is this even supposed to work?

That's why much of the decision making is also based on player data and what players are actually doing. The fact that a vast majority of the playerbase won't touch hardcore content with a barge pole is why MSQ dungeons need to cause as little friction as possible, and it's the reason we got "story mode" tier of 8-man raids.
Back in 2.xx there was only one mode of BCoB (basically what we consider savage mode today), and only a small percentage players cleared, so we got "story mode" versions if 8-man raids from Heavensward onward.

Back when Yoshi-P was on tour doing one of his live talks 10 years ago or so, when difficulty was brought up, he pretty much outright stated that even though players were asking for harder content, the player data showed the opposite, basically that most players either couldn't complete it or wouldn't bother with it.

I imagine that's mostly still the case today.

[CidHeiral]

But when this extends to "all content" I have no idea how this should work at all.

It doesn't extend to all content. Obviously Ultimates aren't going to get an easy mode and Island Sanctuary isn't getting a raid boss. They're being a little vague with their plans but from what he's said so far it seems like their main goal is to move away from each patch being "the raiding patch" or "the casual content patch" so each group isn't twiddling their thumbs for months on end until their turn comes around again. He keeps mentioning "large scale content" so I assume that means big expansion features like deep dungeons, field exploration zones, etc and not regular dungeons, but who knows.