Current State of End-Game Contents - A Blog Post from A Japanese Player

[Litre]

you are assuming that there are people who literally are incapable of completing content. And I can't agree with that, ever.

Yoshi has said about 5% of players have even cleared T5, even if it's 6-7 now, who knows how many have tried and given up or are still stuck on even older content such as Primal EXs etc... I'm not saying these players are mentally incapable of completing the content, I'm saying they don't have either the time, dedication or motivation to complete some of the content, the way it is as released.


But to that you say:

If you don't have time for practice and learning, what do you have time for? As someone else pointed out, I'm probably just being overly-whimsical, but I think in regard to this game, it works.

The whole game and MMOs are moving towards the direction of catering to players who don't have "as much" time for practicing, many of us are seeing these players leave, they are frustrated because they only have 1-2 hours to play a day and all they do is hit the wall that is Titan EX or whatever.

In regards to the game, it's not working, maybe it's less apparent on your server, I don't know - or you have "sample bias" meaning you're in a good FC or LS with other skilled players who enjoy the game as it is. I used to play more, but as work picked up I've joined more casual LSes, and am seeing many players leave for other games, so are many others, that's why I'm so adamant about these issues.

I just hate hearing elitists, say "this game is easier, just get better, practice, find a static", they are completely oblivious to other peoples' circumstances. It's frustrating for them, not fun, and they have no motivation because after they beat it, there's just more frustration waiting for them. But Yoshi put the main storyline content behind this difficulty wall, so they are forced into it. We realize they can only make content so fast, given their resources, so why not re-purpose existing older content so it's within reach of casual players? Echo was a start, but it was a lazy nerf, it doesn't address a lot, there's a lot more balancing they could be doing there.

Though they are on a good track, I really like the sightseeing log and such, gives them more casual things to tide them over.

[Clavaat]

The whole game and MMOs are moving towards the direction of catering to players who don't have "as much" time for practicing, many of us are seeing these players leave, they are frustrated because they only have 1-2 hours to play a day and all they do is hit the wall that is Titan EX or whatever.

I can understand that, to a point. However, I feel like these players have a problem with pacing themselves, and being realistic with their goals. For example, I know I come home and maybe have 5 hours to play before I need to go to bed. Life happens, and I know I have to do laundry one day, cook another, etc. So let's say the time goes down to 2 hours. Being aware that Titan EX is a difficult challenge, I know that I probably would be trying the rest of my time to get it down. Do I want to use that time for practice, or try something else, and wait for a day when I have more time to sit and really get it down? You have to take some personal responsibility into mind into what will realistically happen during your playtime.

In regards to the game, it's not working, maybe it's less apparent on your server, I don't know - or you have "sample bias" meaning you're in a good FC or LS with other skilled players who enjoy the game as it is. I used to play more, but as work picked up I've joined more casual LSes, and am seeing many players leave for other games, so are many others, that's why I'm so adamant about these issues.

That's very possible. Pretty much everyone I am involved with is generally satisfied with the pacing of the game, be they "casual" or "hardcore" (mind you, I really hate these terms, because they are too black and white). I can see it from your point of view though. Early on in my FC/LS lifespan I had a lot of issues keeping players interested and active. However, it has gotten much better, as I chose to look for people who I knew would keep playing. This included newer players, who I helped get caught up to speed. I would sum it up to growing pains; as the game and community grows and solidifies, the experience will be more positive overall. Many people joined early and quit, and I can't necessarily blame the reasons you have provided for this to be case. I know it's normally scoffed at, but I think we'll really just have to see after the first expansion what people are still thinking. Maybe a lot of players would come back, regardless of drastic changes in the difficulty curve. Maybe they won't.

Either way, I don't want you to take this disagreement as disrespect on my part. I respect your opinion and the time you've taken to flesh it out, along with the original OP. Judging by the amount of interest this thread has garnered (and how few people actually seem to agree with me), it's very possible you're right and I'm wrong here (though, again, that's very black and white). I'd like to think I'd support this game either direction it goes in the future, simply because I've made a lot of friends and am still having a lot of fun.

[Gormogon]

snip

I would like to add to that. I can have all the time in the world, but I'm not gonna give up, abandon, seclude myself, and/or replace the people I play with just to join a group capable of doing and gaining the best "digital" loot the game has to offer because it isn't possible with the people I do play with. I did it in WoW and by the end of the month I realized that it was not worth it.

Personally I would rather use that time I have enjoying it with the people I play with regardless of their skill level and if I have so much extra time when they are not around then I'll use it elsewhere such as playing another game on my PC, my handhelds, or on my consoles until the people I play with want to content. Especially when MMO's end-game content is secluded to a number of players and lockouts.

Yet the way I handle my downtime is not the same for other players. Clavaat's expectations, as well as others here in this thread, of what players should do just to experience end-game is an unrealistic one when it comes to what the majority will actually do. Players "can" potentially do it but you "can" expect just as many hardcore elitist to downgrade their gear and remove the echo buff as a group to keep content hard for them. The norm reaction has been present since the very day MMO's were accessible and I too have taken that approach before if not I would still be playing Ragnarok Online.

During downtime players would rather take their group of friends and seek out another experience since they have been blocked from experiencing content or can't experience content anymore until the following week. In the case of FFXIV ARR and the old FC I was in players would log off to play LoL, Smite, Diablo 3, check out other MMO's such as TESO, Black Desert, and enjoy Wildstar to the point that they switched over since Coil was roadblock and the 2-3 month wait for major patches and the content that it offer was not appealing to them.

I know some people will want to believe that it is impossible to please everyone. Sure you wont appeal to 100% yet that shouldn't mean that one should give up trying. A consistent schedule that delivers equally rich and diverse content that is appealing to as many players as possible is better than a schedule that only appeals to a specific demograph and tries to slowly branch out to the rest with no rewards and goals.

[Clavaat]

In the case of FFXIV ARR and the old FC I was in players would log off to play LoL, Smite, Diablo 3, check out other MMO's such as TESO, Black Desert, and enjoy Wildstar to the point that they switched over since Coil was roadblock and the 2-3 month wait for major patches and the content that it offer was not appealing to them.

They would have done that anyway, though. Look, I've done my time with FFXI, and while I don't regret it, I truly spent way too much time playing. To the point that it was borderline unhealthy. I would play when I was offered other games and RL things to do. When I approached FFXIV, I realized that I could get a lot done in not a lot of time, thus making it easier to pace myself and balance what I wanted to do with my RL schedule. I don't have a "hardcore" amount of time to play this game, but I am satisfied logging on and practicing with my LS/FC for a little while on scheduled days. After that, there are other things I could do, and I often do, but I somehow also find time to play other games in my backlog, catch up on shows I enjoy, see movies, hang out with friends, etc. If FFXIV became or becomes too much like FFXI, I would probably have to leave simply because I don't want that again. And I think, through the years, other people have realized that's not what they want either. They know that MMO's are a commitment and welcome a more relaxed commitment that allows them to play other games and do other things.