If you remember in Beta, there were 2 topics of chat conversation.

1) Wow, I can't believe this game is so much easier then Final Fantasy 11.

2) This is a WoW clone.

Those were the conversations everyday.

Look at almost any mmo, the popular topic.. "This game reminds me of WoW.."

World of Warcraft redefined MMO's, just like Ultima, and Everquest, and Final Fantasy 11, but none were as profitable as WoW because WoW also went after the casual players and made them feel just as important as the hardcore raiders. Now games are either WoW clones with an added twist to try and seperate themselves from WoW, or just flat out fails.


What developers need to realize is this... It's great to have initial high figures, but usually the casual players who request the housing, and vanity and the haircuts and cry because dungeons are too hard or they can't beat the end game raid, are also the players who don't stick around very long. The hardcore raiders are the one's who usually keep playing the game. When a casual hits a point that is too hard, they quit the game, and come back in the next patch because what they hit that was too hard, they expect to be nerf'd.

Failures of FF14 that will make this game become an Aion, LOTRO, Rift, or similiar very soon.

1) Leveling was too easy and too fast. (Even now that's a huge complaint in WoW, you level your alts too fast)
2) Not enough end game content.
3) Nothing to strive for in game (everything is handed to you, and when something isn't handed people cry on the forums and then they hand it to you)
4) No reason for alts (why create an alt when one character can do everything)
5) Crafting system (since everyone can do everything, it takes away from the supply and demand aspect of the economy, if someone sees high potions are selling for 1k each, eveyrone switches to their alchemist and floods the market bringing them down to 5 gil each)
6) Fates... (Fates are suppose to be something you do to keep you interested in the game, not a focus point. Look at Rift, their fates are something that is a focus but not something you can do just that and nothing else.)

Final Fantasy 14 will most likely follow Aion, Rift, etc and become free to play, cash shop but since we know the japanense do not like this concept, it may not and instead just close down.