OJtheLIONKing:
Lazy & stupid is fair game. The number of alleged endgame linkshells on my server with absolutely no concept of even fundamental Battle Regimen mechanics is truly astonishing. They haven't learned because they don't care because when they wipe to an NM it doesn't really matter to them. Sometimes they manage to button mash it down and get a drop, sometimes they rage it and wipe. I cannot see how some sort of meaningful death penalty might help drive them to learn how to play.
Another example of how a lack of a death penalty influences gameplay is the punishing barbs tactic where a few THMs continually attack an enemy with barbs up, wipe, respawn, and charge back in. Pretty lame stuff.
My original post was not meant to be an argument for XP loss, per say, but that's where the direction of the conversation has headed. So be it.
FFXI was slower paced and more tactical in many ways than XIV's more action oriented feel. Under the current battle system, grind system, and leve system, an XP penalty would be more irritating than in XI, i'll grant you that. However, something needs to be implemented to eliminate the suicide zerg tactics as well as motivate people to stay alive.
Perhaps removing equipment damage in general but adding severe equipment damage for death would be a suitable alternative. Something, though, for sure. The for crowd and against crowd have made their points. At this point it's all becoming redundant.
I'd like to add, though (again), that the XP penalty for death in XI brought the world to life. When I saw someone running for their life from a mob (or a train of mobs) it was compassion that would drive me to make the effort to help them, even putting myself at risk to do so. I have yet to encounter a similar situation in XIV. This is partly the fault of the bland and boring and uneventful land of Eorzea, but also due to there being no penalty for death. Without the death penalty there is no thrill for victory. It's all just mechanical. Kill mob, get drop, move on.
My main gripe with XIV is like I said earlier - nothing is on the line, nothing really matters, the world is bland.
When tanking Uraeus i've actually gone AFK while petrified to get a glass of milk and returned to find I was still alive and I still had hate, as I suspected would be the case before leaving my PC. Now how's that for lame?
The only incentive i've had in this game to make improvements in strategy is in how to use less and less people to kill NMs and kill them faster.