EC explains how the current progression system is flawed

[SinisterJointss]

Compare to, say, SE's own title THIEF (A lesser game than its predecessors but stay with me here): I played that game for hours because I wanted to search around every corner, get into every room, hear every conversation. The game wasn't using weird tricks to make me do these things, I did it because I wanted to and I enjoyed every minute.

Compelling and engaging aren't quite the same thing, I think.

I would agree with you but in the end I do things in XIV because I have fun doing them. Not because of some methodical trickery that makes me think im having fun. I have fun playing with my friends, pvp, crafting, the list goes on. I choose to play this game, the game doesnt force me to.

[Ayuhra]

I would agree with you but in the end I do things in XIV because I have fun doing them. Not because of some methodical trickery that makes me think im having fun. I have fun playing with my friends, pvp, crafting, the list goes on. I choose to play this game, the game doesnt force me to.

I think you DO agree with me. I never said that I thought FFXIV was unfun. It has problems but I've been defending it in this thread. Like I said up above I don't think that FFXIV relies on operant conditioning anywhere near as much as some other MMOs. There is some of that in the game, it sort of comes with the genre, but I find Eorzea an engaging place to be in. Heck, I've been leveling an alt just to see the story again.

[LunaHoshino]

I'll use WoW again since it's fresh on my mind: I'd log in every day hoping today I'd get useful treasure from my garrison and today I'd get my loot drop and today I'd finish those goggles...then I realized I wasn't having fun. The game compelled me to keep playing but when I thought about it I realized I didn't really WANT to keep playing.

This is exactly why I quit Ragnarok Online too. I eventually realized that I was only logging in to grind for gear and cards that weren't even going to be much use to me because of the lack of meaningful content in the game that wasn't PvP or War of Empirium, neither of which particularly interested me. I wasn't engaged with the game world or any of that, I was just there to kill mobs for drops that had a horrendous drop rate.

With FFXIV, I'm invested in the world and the lore and the story and there is plenty of content to keep me busy in a fun way. Yes, there are grinds, but even the worst grind I've had in this game was nothing compared to the average grind in RO. What's more, we're guaranteed new content every couple of months, so there are always new things to look forward to.

This is the sort of progression I like because it actually FEELS like progression, not sitting in the same spot spinning your wheels.

[Dyvid]

One interesting thing about FFXIV is you can actually run past end game content like Coil and still be challenged because of level sync system. If you haven't done this content and bored, queue up for Coil and old trials.

[Fendred]

I'm not entirely sure how to word this, but the transition from leveling to end game is somewhat jolting. I've gone through Heavensward twice on two different characters, and the second I hit end game, its like being dropped from a serene country road onto an active free way during rush hour. It's difficult to change lanes due to the traffic pushing everyone in the same direction. The main street isn't fun for everyone, and a lot of us would like to take a different route to our destination. Some drivers are tail-gating others passive aggressively to get them to move faster if they're on the same lane, which further speeds up the traffic to dangerous and exhausting levels.

[Zarzak]

Need to go back to EQ/FFXI design. Those games kept players playing for well over 10 years. I didn't play XI as much but in EQ it was well out of the norm to run into someone who didn't start playing in the 1999-2002 era and still play in 2012-2015.

I never ran out of relevant content to do to progress my character.

These days the system is "Oh you are ready for raid content? Welp bad news anything NOT raid content is basically 100% worthless to you." EQ/XI even raiders needed to do group content.

[SinisterJointss]

Need to go back to EQ/FFXI design. Those games kept players playing for well over 10 years. I didn't play XI as much but in EQ it was well out of the norm to run into someone who didn't start playing in the 1999-2002 era and still play in 2012-2015.

I never ran out of relevant content to do to progress my character.

These days the system is "Oh you are ready for raid content? Welp bad news anything NOT raid content is basically 100% worthless to you." EQ/XI even raiders needed to do group content.

I played EQ for 11ish years. Miss that game, too bad no other company would attempt to make a game as in depth as EQ

[Whocareswhatmynameis]

I played EQ for 11ish years. Miss that game, too bad no other company would attempt to make a game as in depth as EQ

No way bro, you just got nostalgia goggles. the only way for a MMO to be good or successful is to turn it into a loot pinata! FACT! cuz I said so!

[SinisterJointss]

No way bro, you just got nostalgia goggles. the only way for a MMO to be good or successful is to turn it into a loot pinata! FACT! cuz I said so!

Oh yes, those comments will come i'm sure heheh

[DkDerek]

I played EQ for 11ish years. Miss that game, too bad no other company would attempt to make a game as in depth as EQ

And unfortunately nobody would ever play a game like that again.

Times have changed.