FF14 has abandoned their mid core players and thats why its failing.

[Raikai]

attempts at new combat still aren't really bringing people back.

What new combat...? Honestly, it feels almost insulting that the reason we didn't get a better job design is because of what we got in Dawntrail (supposedly after 7.2).

Combat still looks the same to me. Better than Endwalker? Sure is, but still adheres to the same old formula of over-scripted fights with mirrored mechanics and symmetrical spots matching the ground tiles. Cleave left, then right? You got it! I may be told naive, but from what was hyped during the Fanfests, I truly expected big changes and not some occasional moments like the M2S beelines or M6S adds.

That's the real truth behind everything. This company has a tendency to double down on dubious designs to a point where they corner themselves into completely lopsided systems like we have today.

And that's an issue directly related to shelf life.

Jobs being interesting have much more than encounters being interesting, because in XIV's formula, reclearing high end fights is the epitome of boredom because almost nothing challenges you anymore. So reclears become just a chore to get the weekly item you need, and after that you just stop doing that specific fight at all. Reclears would be much more engaging in the current paradigm if jobs had more meat on their bones and were more distinct from each other, especially the healers.