Encouraging words for the dev team, and some dialog on the "hardcore" perspective.

[Miraa]

Ever actually read that message when you boot XIV suggesting that you not neglect your family, friends, school, or work?

I consider myself pretty damn hardcore. I let FFXI dominate my social life to great in-game success, and I do not hold one ounce of regret over it. It was time well spent. I occupy a basement, and I consider myself the pinnacle of loserdom. FFXIV is my life, and I strive to be the best, and the first, at everything, just as I did in XI. Again, no regrets - Final Fantasy is my passion. I am the hardcore audience. Or at least, I was.

Things change. Life is not a pre-determined map that you can plan out exactly how you want it. Things come up.

Responsibilities are placed on your shoulders that make it impossible to play the way you want to play. Barricades are placed in your path, and you have no choice but to take up the burden and do the right thing.

My life was recently thrust into utter chaos by events that I won't bother mentioning and I had no control over(and before you ask, no, it's not a girl/wife-related). There is a duty I must perform, and as much as I hate to admit it, real life consequences of neglect are far, far worse than that of neglecting my character.

This being said, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude towards the development team for taking a "few hours a day" approach to development, and plea that they continue development with this concept firmly in mind. I can log in for a short time, enjoy my life in Eorzea and find respite from my daily stresses - if only for a an hour or two - and come out feeling refreshed, like I really got something done. Sure, it really stings inside to see my LS fighting fresh new monsters when I am unable to participate, but at least I can see real growth in my character, even in small time frames, and I will get there eventually even with things the way they are. I hope that development continues with this in mind, and I am confident that it will. If we regress backwards into another "casual need not apply" mindset, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to handle it right now - and I know there are a lot of other players out there in the same boat.

To the point: I think the developers have a better understanding of real life than the people in these forums. They understand that not all of us - and not even due to work on family - simply don't have the ability to play the hours we want to. And that should be okay. We should not be overly punished for that. We should have access to success as well.

So from those of us, I'd like to thank EVERYONE on the dev team for the accessibility of our new online Final Fantasy. It means a lot to me, and probably to many others - wether the hardcore community realizes/likes it or not. Keep on truckin'!