I am a "casual" player. I like housing, and crafting, but I also can skillfully complete all the "normal" difficulty content. I've played off and on since ARR, but have been consistently subbed since SHB-ish.

Yesterday I decided to let my sub lapse, and my houses demo. (FC and personal, on a few different worlds, mostly dynamis where they aren't in short supply. Not that supply is an issue now, with my home world having over 400 empty homes as we speak.) Not because I "can't" do the content, but because I realized doing it isn't FUN. I play games to relax and unwind, but fast paced "gotcha" mechs aren't that. FFXIV was made and billed as an MMORPG, not an action game, and so I think a lot of us who came for an MMORPG experience are sort of losing interest. My class fantasy is being killed off, as we no longer have class quests to explain our new moves, and the fast-paced nature of the fights no longer feel like the game I signed up for.

We can call for accessibility, which is desperately needed, but let's also just admit that this game no longer appeals to the crowd that it was made for. FF as a series seems to be embracing a more "action rpg" feel, and its core playerbase will also change as a result. I'm sad to leave, but if I'm not having fun, why stay?