Catering to the Majority

[MadMacallan]

Part One:

Casuals and Elitists will never get along. It's like oil and water. Or ketchup and steak. Or scotch and ice. Regardless, while I'd typically classify myself as the latter given I take my hobbies seriously and I've always been competitive in twitch-based environments, the latter make my blood boil -- I love to drink, but I hate drunks, if you will.

The point being, casuals are the majority whether you like it or not. They'll always set the bar for gaming because there's a magical incentive called revenue that most businesses typically define as an end goal.

While some of you are adamant about increasing difficulty because you beat Dark Souls in a PIP window while watching Parks and Recreation, that's not the case for the majority of gamers.

But allow me to offer a fresh perspective to those of you that think "dumbing the game down" is a proverbial nail in the coffin for MMOs with potential; these people exist, often times in your party, environment, and probably the reason you get murdered in any given dungeon. Their problem is your problem. While some of you have found a handful of competent, coordinated players and formed your own elitist Free Company filled with kids that call Starcraft Camps home, a lot of us -- most of us -- put more emphasis on community, relationships, and experiencing the game with like-minded people regardless of their skillset.Maybe I'm just more tolerant than others with my skill level, but I can assure you I've been in the "top" raid guilds in other MMOs, and found the tension, drama, pressure, and virtual obligations to be hilariously irrelevant to enjoying a video game.

The point is, while I don't think FFXIV is "hard," the majority seems to, and that majority is killing me -- figuratively and digitally literally -- time and time again. As a Bard, the game is exceptionally easy for me. It not only gives me plenty of time to flawlessly avoid AOEs on most runs, but the added bonus of screaming "move god dammit!" at my monitor because I've got enough time to watch everyone else make mistakes and eat damage.

I realize this is unavoidable. In any given MMO, you'll have terrible groups, but by increasing the difficulty (short cast times, massive area of effect, brutal one-shot mechanics, etc) you've established that without a Free Company with years of twitch experience, you'll end up hating everyone -- even good people that just need a bit more practice.

While I'm tolerant, as I've said, it's becoming increasingly difficult to make friends and find a Free Company to call home when the [I]majority[I] of them are almost exclusively responsible for my repair bills, frustration, and lack of progression.

In summation: go ahead. Nerf the game. I'm tired of running with the majority that can't hold their **** together. And before someone responds with the "then go play WoW" towards the casuals, remember if they all disappeared and left you in your elite environment you so thrive in, you'll be all alone, the company won't have subscriptions funding future development, and the game will shut down. It's happened before.

[CianaIezuborn]

edit first post to get past the 1000 char limit

[MadMacallan]

edit first post to get past the 1000 char limit

Thanks. Little late now, but whatever.

[CianaIezuborn]

Yeah it's a retarded limit.

[jdnyc]

It's happened before.

Last I checked 11 is still up and running.

[BlazeChronic]

Casuals and Elitists will never get along... while I'd typically classify myself as the latter....

The point is, while I don't think FFXIV is "hard," the majority seems to, and that majority is killing me -- figuratively and digitally literally -- time and time again. As a Bard, the game is exceptionally easy for me.

Maybe you should play a class that requires at least a semblance of skill.

Then come talk.

[CianaIezuborn]

Maybe you should play a class that requires at least a semblance of skill.

Then come talk.

Paladin's aren't hard. Also, "Blaze Chronic"? Really? I would have gone with Smokey McDopeDope.

[Seraphi]

I got way too burned out being a "hardcore" raider for the last 10 years over several games, and FFXIV is a nice change of pace now that I've decided to play at a much more relaxed, and casual pace. It's difficult enough to be discouraging, but not impossible for people to learn. The key is actually giving those people the benefit of the doubt, and encourage them to succeed without being an asshole about it like most DF groups do. There are far too many people in the DF that just rage on people, instead of teaching or encouraging people. If someone fucks up, try saying something like "no problem! we'll get it", etc.

I was in CM last night, and the cannon people were a little slow, and the colossus dude blew out 3 of 4 of the cannons, and the tank decided to call everyone every name in the book for it. I told him to calm down, and bring the mobs up to the northern cannons instead, and the run went perfectly fine, albeit 5-10 minutes longer than normal. No big deal, and being rude to people just discourages people from joining the DF again, which is detrimental on building a community that wants to play this game.

Honestly, I'm glad I'm a very patient person.

[MadMacallan]

Maybe you should play a class that requires at least a semblance of skill.

Then come talk.

Not really the point of my post, but fair enough. That being said, my paladin is level 47. And a handful of classes in the 20s-30s.

[busta]

We understand that most people wants an instant win button. But there is a niche of hardcore MMO gamers that demand a hardcore MMO. Eve Online is the only thing out there to satisfy these players currently. FFXI started off great but devolved too far over time. We want a game that feel like a virtual reality, not a simple button spam game where you win faster than some single player RPGs. We want a game where getting to max level actually means something and where there are real satisfying rewards and accomplishments. Modern MMOs are a joke.

That's not to say I hate FFXIV. I love it for what it is otherwise I wouldn't be here. I just hate the community and I hate SE giving into every cry baby demand.