Firstly, a BIG thank you to EmiliM for translating an extremely well-thought post by a Japanese player, and for stimulating a highly constructive discussion among the community.
Secondly, an even BIGGER thank you to Litre for reiterating the two key points I quoted above.
I suppose that I qualify as a "casual" player, in that my key focus in playing any RPG, be it single-player or an MMO, is to experience the story. This has always been the reason that I love the Final Fantasy franchise so much — it gave me a whole new way of looking at gaming. Games like FFX and FFVI, for example, showed me how video games could actually be a valid platform for storytelling, just like the tabletop, pen-and-paper RPGs of old.
That's not to say that I don't feel that games shouldn't be challenging. If they're too easy, then they're boring, and quite frankly, not fun. Also, I'm fully aware that I'm playing with other people when I play an MMORPG like FFXIV, and that gives me further motivation to do the best I can, in whatever role I choose, because I don't want to be the guy who wastes other people's time by my lack of prepardness.
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But I'd be the first to openly admit that I'll never be as "good" as a hardcore gamer with hours upon hours of previous experience in other games. Simply because that's just not the kind of gamer I am. I play for the story and role-play experience, and I don't particularly care about being "elite" or "uber". I just want to be good enough to make sure that I pull my weight.
And the way things are right now, I just can't get past Turn 5, simply because of bad luck. I've been stuck there since mid-April, having started playing the game regularly from last Christmas. And it's not for the lack of trying. It's simply the case that even if I get my role correct, there's bound to be one guy or another who doesn't.
I would love to stick it out to the end with the raid group, but sooner or later, those who are more experienced would simply throw up their arms in frustration and vote to abandon after two or three failures. I respect their decision but, inside, I'm saddened by the clear lack of solidarity to help the less-experienced players pull through.
Up until Turn 5, I've been able to complete major milestones at a steady clip, all the way through Turns 1 to 4. And it was this sense of steady progression that made me want to continue playing.
And the challenge level was still there back in mid-April, sufficient enough that the first pick-up raid group that I did Turn 4 with eventually abandoned it after three failed rounds.
Now, though, I don't feel like it's worth continuing any more, at least until the expansion comes around to give me sufficient story-based content to bother. Because I'm stuck, and I don't feel like there's a point to keep bashing my head against an obstacle that exists not entirely because of my own shortcomings.
So, yes, I do hope that Yoshida and his developers take not of this major post and consider a greater variety of end-game content that will satisfy not just the hardcore gamers, but also casuals like me. I don't want nerfed content. But I do want content that doesn't punish players so severely for simply not being able to follow a set script.