Simplicity over complexity, time to change.

[ErBear]

I'm not a big fan of builds and customization because we'll all become one best build anyways. But I think the game is a little too lenient on things, especially enmity. I wish enmity generation was cut in half, and that bosses reset aggro more. I think just that one simple gesture would increase the depth of combat by 10 fold.

Not true, for example I refused to do Thf/nin because to me it was a waste of stat bonuses just for shadows.

[Tolmos]

I love love love love love love builds and customization... but I get that itch scratched elsewhere. To be honest, I would not like to see it in this game. One of the selling points for me was not the simplicity (that does bug me a little), but rather what the simplicity offers- balance. It is MUCH easier for the devs to balance these simple little cookie cutter builds than a mass of customized builds that people like me would min/max to perfection (and then watch it get nerfed).

[BlackHaloJT]

To OP I already knew this thread was coming ever since the relaunch it was just a matter of time. The devs/Yoshi have a double edge sword at this point in time. Can you cater to the broad player base without pissing them off? I have said my opinions in many past posts and I am happy to see some the player base is re thinking what they really want from this game. It has all the potential in the world to be the best but in its current state it will run out of gas. Many of us like myself have been waiting since 2010 through the nightmare launch of V1 to the end of 1.23b which turned out to be a starting foundation. All that magical wind that built up those 2 years after 1.23b then into 2.0 crashed my hopes. Why do these topics keep popping up people ask? Because people are tired of waiting for empty promises.

To dev/Yoshi I feel like I am Morpheus from the Matrix. No matter how much I dislike the current state of game you have a choice. Even if you do not understand that choice you have a chance to make this the greatest MMO of all time.

Many of us on these forums believe that is why we are here. Complaints, feedback, opinions, in some way or form are messages for your team Yoshi to understand that your way isn't always the best way. Think outside the box and give us something to believe in.

[Zantetsuken]

. It has all the potential in the world to be the best but in its current state it will run out of gas. Many of us like myself have been waiting since 2010 through the nightmare launch of V1 to the end of 1.23b which turned out to be a starting foundation. All that magical wind that built up those 2 years after 1.23b then into 2.0 crashed my hopes. Why do these topics keep popping up people ask? Because people are tired of waiting for empty promises.
.

I have to disagree with that last line. We haven't even been given any promises (empty or otherwise) on a change of direction. Have you seen anything in the live letters/blogs/interviews/etc that indicates a move towards a more authentic fantasy world?

I try to cut them some slack because they had to rebuild and balance a MMO in record time, but the whole themepark/treadmill plan at this point seems to be the long-term goal of the designers rather than a mere stop-gap.

Something my friends and I have dubbed "The Elder Franchise Syndrome" Even with the greatest games, the wheel can only be re-invented so many time and ideas can and do get exhausted.

Final Fantasy has far greater opportunities to re-invent itself compared to other franchises, as none of the games are directly tied to the previous ones. The only thing that carries over is themes and lore.

FFXII was a fantastic game, as was FFIX, FFT, FFIV, FFVI, FFXI, etc.. None of them played much like the others, and they each had their own fantastic worlds, stories, characters, etc.

FFXV might be equally superb, if they get the proper 'FF feel' in the game. (though I am a bit nervous after experiencing the corridor-shooter that FFXIII was)

[BlackHaloJT]

[QUOTE=Zantetsuken;2311099]I have to disagree with that last line. We haven't even been given any promises (empty or otherwise) on a change of direction. Have you seen anything in the live letters/blogs/interviews/etc that indicates a move towards a more authentic fantasy world?

I try to cut them some slack because they had to rebuild and balance a MMO in record time, but the whole themepark/treadmill plan at this point seems to be the long-term goal of the designers rather than a mere stop-gap.

This is what I meant by empty promises - something you said in a earlier post. "So many left XI and migrated to 1.0 -- we were disappointed with its flaws but we stuck with it and began to see the game we were looking for in 1.23.

Then ARR happened and SE pulled the rug out from under us a second time."

[Zileth]

We might so more of this in the 3.X updates and once ps3 support is dropped

[Aylis]

Anyway, in response to the OP and things I would like to see changed.

1) More diversity in character development. Skill trees, talent trees, multiple roles in ways people can choose to play a particular class. Do I want to be a dps bard or do i want to focus more on utility and so forth while giving the tools to match. I know a lot are going to argue "cookie cutter builds" to this etc but I would ask to look what we have now. Show me different people that don't have the same cross job skills equipped, sounds pretty cookie cutter already huh?

2) Set lines in player demographics and play styles. Poll the players, find out the content they prefer and work with that. Don't just assume all players want to live in dungeons and raids 24/7, if some do? Well great! Not everyone is like them though. Tune rewards and difficulty to each demographic so as a player in one tier has little benefit to do lesser tiers simply because there's no real benefit to them to do so. Everyone is set into the content they wish to do without being funneled and pressed into raids and dungeons and that's it.

3) Set developers for set tasks. My knowledge of the SE hierarchy as I was told. If I'm wrong correct me please. Each dev I'm told is responsible for multiple game areas which if it is true it showing because everything feels like a mess in its presentation. Keep devs structured in the areas they know best. Weither it be questing, pve content, pvp content and so on.

4) A more 3-dimensiona over world. Seriously I think we have more then enough dungeons to last the game years. A more open and sandbox'esq world would be absolutely fab. Hidden things to find, reasons to explore the world and I'm not talking about things limited to 18 hours and content that feels like its just something to do while waiting for a dungeon que to pop.

5) A little more exciting and involving dungeon content. No I'm not talking about difficulty and mechanics. I'm talking about how all dungeons follow the same copy paste formula as the dungeons before them. Trash monsters >mini boss > more trash monsters > another mini boss > more trash monsters > final boss. Call it a day, done in 10-15 minutes. Make us want to play dungeons and not have them feel like a mindnumbing lesson in repetitiveness. Sure they're fun the first couple of times. After run number 50? Not as much.

[Zantetsuken]

This is what I meant by empty promises - something you said in a earlier post. "So many left XI and migrated to 1.0 -- we were disappointed with its flaws but we stuck with it and began to see the game we were looking for in 1.23.

Then ARR happened and SE pulled the rug out from under us a second time."

Yeah,

Sadly, I was faced with canceling my sub as the only real option.

I'll certainly keep an eye on the game as it develops -- the storyline and the cutscenes are fantastic and are really the only draw for me at the moment. But when the core of the game isn't fun or engaging, there's no point in paying for it. Especially when I can watch the story cutscenes free of charge and hassle on YouTube.

If things change, I may come back and give it a second chance. But I think it would take a cataclysmic change on par with the Seventh Umbral... The story provides possiblities for it as well: The Ascians have mentioned "returning Eorzea to it's natural state", and the storyline inside Coil adds other interesting potential to change things up again.

Main things I'd prefer to see:

• Overhaul Classes/Jobs/Abilties - more options, less hard-coded rotations. True Support Classes/Jobs, Battle system that rewards teamwork and coordination. Either make classes really relevant or ditch them all together.
• Spectacle Reset (kill the huge volume of glowy stuff in the game)
• Damage/HP re-calculations (At this rate, lvl 60 cap will have people with 100k HP... lvl 100 = millions of HP?.. yeah..)
• Frontier Zones (larger more open zones with dangerous higher level mobs)
• Horizontal Gear system at lvl caps. (A diversity of specialized gear drops would fix some of the main issues with Hunts)
• Open up all dungeons for exploring (populated by different mobs/FATEs/loot than their instanced counterparts.)

As I said, I'll stand back and keep and eye on things for now.

[BlackHaloJT]

Yeah,

Sadly, I was faced with canceling my sub as the only real option.

I'll certainly keep an eye on the game as it develops -- the storyline and the cutscenes are fantastic and are really the only draw for me at the moment. But when the core of the game isn't fun or engaging, there's no point in paying for it. Especially when I can watch the story cutscenes free of charge and hassle on YouTube.

If things change, I may come back and give it a second chance. I really hope it does

Speaking of YouTube I remember back in 1.0 days groups would gather and fight the primals, even dungeon bosses without the requirement of YouTube. I can't even count how many fights we lost through experimentation but still had fun. Was is frustrating sometimes? Yes, who likes to lose lol? But when you did win and figured out how to win consistently and even teach others you felt a accomplishment.
Did I watch YouTube strategies, sure but it wasn't like it is now where it seem the requirement before you even attempt a fight. Bosses seemed tougher and more random back then maybe because there was no Ilvl? I don't want to get off track from the topic forum just something I noticed.