In 12 years the game hasn't innovated

[Themarvin]

the game has changed to the better just not enough content to cover it, so yes the game has been innovating during the past 12 years.....

Still stuck on quite a few things like 20 button jobs, that could be cut down to like 10 and be getting more harsh and visual bosses instead and so on and so forth and unskipable mechanics.

[Shurrikhan]

I don't see why cutting job kits down to PvP size or less (10 keys total) for PvE would somehow be an improvement unless that size were used far, far more interestingly than in the PvP kits.

While by no means a measure of the total enjoyment possible to a fight, hitting a striking dummy in Wolf's Den is far duller than outside it, and that baseline is shared across all content.

[Valence]

I think you lurk in the forums more than playing the actual game. I think at this point, you just keep the sub running to be able to post here.

It's true that the current DoH/DoL relics afford me unparalleled time to visit the forums while my macros are running.

You got me there.

[MayuAmakura]

I don't see why cutting job kits down to PvP size or less (10 keys total) for PvE would somehow be an improvement unless that size were used far, far more interestingly than in the PvP kits.

While by no means a measure of the total enjoyment possible to a fight, hitting a striking dummy in Wolf's Den is far duller than outside it, and that baseline is shared across all content.

Thing is that a lot of pvp abilities / spells are far more interesting than pve ones. Can't deny that. Some even have proper function and feel like they should really be in pve.

[Feronar]

I have noticed the FFXIV developers seem to be very "conservative" in their approach, which is great for stability and bug prevention (There is virtually none of the jankiness in FFXIV that I typically see in a new major content patch in WoW), but it does cause it to stagnate somewhat in terms of innovation.

[NightHour]

FFXIV has a "play it safe" mindset which is wrong.

They aren't #1 anymore, WoW is in a VERY good place and has taken back it's crown as king.

The 2021 days of WoW nearly killing itself are long gone.


Also JP Devs are too scared of backlash from players which further pushes the "play safe" mindset.


You know a game is stagnant when you can literally guess when a patch is coming out down to the exact date and what that patch will include long before any live letters.


They need to spice things up, take more risks and give us things we wouldn't expect.

I have noticed the FFXIV developers seem to be very "conservative" in their approach, which is great for stability and bug prevention (There is virtually none of the jankiness in FFXIV that I typically see in a new major content patch in WoW), but it does cause it to stagnate somewhat in terms of innovation.

"Bug Prevention"

We've had constant hotfix maintenances and emergency maintenances this expansion.

[Daralii]

I have noticed the FFXIV developers seem to be very "conservative" in their approach, which is great for stability and bug prevention (There is virtually none of the jankiness in FFXIV that I typically see in a new major content patch in WoW), but it does cause it to stagnate somewhat in terms of innovation.

Needing to do emergency maintenance because they accidentally removed South Horn was pretty bad.

[Connor]

On reflection it’s hard to say what the actual root of such a thing is.

Are they so scared of deviating from the standard formula because of, say player backlash, or funding, or pressure from higher ups, or some internal drama, etc etc? Is it just incompetence? (That feels harsh to say but like it’s a legitimate possibility). Poor planning or management?

Like theres so many reasons why they seem to be less and less inclined to ‘innovate’ (putting aside the literal semantics of the word lol), that it’s hard to even say ‘this is what they need to improve/approach differently’. All I know is, something needs to change lol

[NaoSen]

I don't think innovation and FF14 belong in the same sentence, there has been no innovation in dawntrail at all, just tweaks or spin-offs of existing features.

Occult Crescent - Spin-off of Eureka/Bozja
Cosmic Exploration - Spin-of of island sanctuary / ishgardian restoration
Chaotic Alliance Raid - Experimentation
Quantum Raid - Experimentation

Everything added has been a one-shot, OC was fun for a week, CE moon was cool to level up, other than that its only really for crafter relics or glams, chaotic alliance got plenty of positive feedback but there has been no sign of any more planned, quantum raid may as well have just been Q40 since players just max out and go for that.
They recoil from anything added and don't change it, time and time again rewards get challenged as either being non-existent or not worth the time yet they don't adjust loot tables but rather make entirely new content with it "Fixed this time".

If you don't like the FF of now then you may as well quit because its just going to be the same thing different spin off for the next 10 years.

[Connor]

Occult Crescent - Spin-off of Eureka/Bozja
Cosmic Exploration - Spin-of of island sanctuary / ishgardian restoration
Chaotic Alliance Raid - Experimentation
Quantum Raid - Experimentation

I mean they’re not ‘innovative’ but I still think these could have been actually good, like at least ‘innovative relative to FFXIV’ lol.

The biggest problem is that they don’t even do spin-offs properly. I mean, isn’t the whole point to take what you learned from the first one and use it to create something better? Isn’t that like the main benefit of an iterative process? Lol

Instead, devs just completely ignore what they learned in the previous content and go straight onto developing the next one as if the previous never happened.

Like, Island Sanctuary wasn’t considered particularly enjoyable because of how passive and repetitive a lot of it became. I enjoyed it personally but it’s definitely a valid criticism. Then we get to Cosmic Exploration…and people are still complaining about it being more about repetitive busywork (I.e ‘glorified crafting leves’).

Occult Crescent, I thought the content itself was fine (if not a bit boring with an overly predictable storyline) but the Phantom Jobs system feels much weaker than what Bozja had because practically every single one is built around ‘not getting in the way of your standard rotation’ lol. But wasn’t the fact that Bozja’s ability system (Lost Actions?) could actually change how you approached your standard rotation considered a good part of the content? I thought it was lol. Like the ones that turned healers into dps or dps into tanks etc.