Expansion is only temporarily enjoyable. Fails to fix all main flaws.

[Brian_]

Again, people who are talking about skill trees are missing the point.

Is the current model sustainable? No. We don't need to wait until we have 8 hotbars covering half our screen and a 51 unique input opener to realize this.

I think they did a good job with HW's new skills for the most part. They filled gaps in some classes and added skill to playing some other classes. But, I can't see this system lasting another 10 levels and 5 skills.

I don't like skill trees either and only think they're viable when you have actual choices - a caster class choosing between a DPS or healer spec, a melee class choosing between a tank or DPS spec. It's for this reason that effective skill trees won't work in FFXIV -- we have jobs with defined roles. But, there has to be some type of solution to the skill problem eventually. Like I said earlier, SE just punted the problem down the road with HW rather than address it.

[Sparktacus]

My biggest gripe would be the lack of any new systems. I was really looking forward to new things to go out and do, but there is nothing, literally nothing new that they brought to the table. I think that is a bit shocking considering the caliber and history of SE and their other mmo 11.

[Eul]

For the re-skinning, yes I agree. It's a disappointing things for two things, Male Au Ra and equipment. Au Ra's body just like Elezen and his run same with Male Miqo'te running. Also no muscle slider for all race is the things I don't like.

Second, the equipment. You know those Kirimu's Coat that has unique sense for BRD, now MNK and NIN (iirc) can wear this stuff and you can easily obtain it from crafting that the recipe item is really common compared with Kirimu's Coat (Yet mages still can't wear this ).

[Aminore]

Its not as bad as it seems but i do have issues with the expansion. i feel like the flying was kinda pointless after you got further in the storyline. they should of at least had some easter egg areas but all we got was floating rocks. i think this a short lived expansion due to having the story unless they make something up. they should of went the FFXI route with the story missions. i was kinda upset when i saw the credits roll up and it was still week 1 of launch. I Know there's more than Alex runs in the upcoming months but the new dungeons wasn't all that. i hope the hard modes brings the excitement back cause im feeling some buyers remorse already

[Colt47]

Well, Final Fantasy XIV ARR is a 6 or 7 out of 10 game, anyway. It doesn't compare to titles like the Witcher 3 or Bloodborne for engagement and depends a lot on the community driving itself to keep people invested. That's still an amazing score for an MMORPG, mind you. The majority are so copy pasta there's basically nothing BUT a self driven community and a cash shop.

Here's the thing, the game is at it's best when people are together running content and earning rewards they can show off to each other. The running around the overworld doing mindless fetch and kill quests for npcs is annoying filler, which has been made partially necessary now thanks to it being required to enable flying. The development team did show they want to add things that players can use as personal milestones, such as owning a house, but their own population distribution strategy backfired and now they have people stuck on servers that are overpopulated or underpopulated, which is killing the ability to even utilize these systems.

That being said, one can still enjoy a game that is flawed. There are tons of people who still enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog, Dynasty Warriors, and other titles that get panned by the majority, and Final Fantasy XIV is one such game.

Edit: Also, I think MMORPGs post World of Warcraft have had a hard time identifying what they are supposed to be. The game type, despite the name, really wasn't meant to be something thronging masses of people would get into playing like Call of Duty, just as pen and paper RPGs were and still are. They are for a specific grouping of people that want to get into playing together and immersing themselves. That's why so many people have fond memories of FFXI or Star Wars Galaxies: They weren't about end game, they were about the journey. The developers would throw in their own scenarios much like WoTC would campaign modules.

[Malevicton]

Personally if I feel that itch for character builds and customization I just play a single-player rpg.

I feel awkward intentionally playing something sub-optimal if I'm doing group content.

Those are just my thoughts, but I don't think more character builds are necessarily a good or bad thing for MMOs. It's certainly a less customized-build-friendly platform than other genres, though.

[Hyrist]

Sorry, but you don't fix what isn't broken. For every outspoken person against this system, there are several others of the opposing opinion. SE's made their choice as to where they targeted their appeal.