This is awesome... Why couldn't we have this?

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The reason they rebooted the game is because 1.0 could not have recovered, period. It could have garnered a small niche audience after they fixed it, but nothing major such as FFXIV or WoW numbers which is what they're striving for.
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The same would have happened with 1.0, along with core issues that could not have been fixed no matter how much time they invested, such as the awful engine they used for an MMO, the server issues with how it was programmed, etc.

In the end, they opted for the smart option of playing it safe with ARR and replicating what made WoW successful. What they're failing is moving out of that cycle, they've established an audience, they can take risks now, which was promised pre-3.0.

First, I agree 100% with your final statement, regarding how they're stuck in the cycle of trying to replicate WoW. It really annoyed the hell out of me when I saw that was the direction they were taking it, and it still annoys the hell out of me when I see them doing things WoW has done (likely because Yoshi-P is trying to "play it safe", going with "what people know", and bringing those ideas into XIV). Seeing Square Enix content to be a follower, taking their cues largely from "what's already proven and safe to try" is really a damn shame.

For the rest, which I've bolded...

For the sake of clarity to others reading this thread, or any who may still be unclear of exactly what is meant when people say they wish they'd continued 1.x on into ARR...

No one (who was playing the game) wanted 1.0 to continue "as it was".

I know I've explained, and others have as well, that they wanted the game to continue as it was by the end of 1.23, but with all the necessary fixes to infrastructure, the graphics engine, the servers and so-forth, to allow it to run as it does now.

All of that stuff needed to change. Yes, absolutely and definitely. No argument.

The problem is, a lot of people (and I think a number of them do it deliberately, just to poison the well and shut down any chance of honest discussion) continue to conflate the two, and think that those of us who say "we wish they'd have kept the game as it was when the servers shut down", mean we wanted it to be as it was during 1.0 and those initial patches.

Directly and Definitively: No. No, that is not what we are saying. When we say 1.23, we mean 1.23, not 1.0. FFXIV was a verrrrry different game by the time they took servers offline.

The direction the game had gone, the design choices that had been made and the changes by 1.23 had turned it into a very enjoyable experience - enough so that, according to Yoshi-P himself, they'd managed to at least triple the number of players in the game *after* they re-implemented subscriptions. Think about that. 3 times the number of people were playing the game when they had to pay a sub, than were when it was free and they only needed to own a copy. That should tell people something - that the game had come a long way, and was going in the right direction.

Unfortunately, instead of following that path, they took a left turn and converted the game into a standard Theme Park with a FF skin and loads of FF fan service. While I enjoy playing XIV as it is - it definitely has its charms - I still believe the game is worse for that change in direction, and really miss a lot of the things that made XIV stand-out from other MMOs, rather than trying to "blend in".

Some things I miss in particular:

)) A world that actually felt dangerous, where you had to respect your surroundings and learn how to get around the different mobs without being noticed, 'cause they'd destroy you, very quickly. Getting up to Camp Bluefog back then was a pain in the ass, and I loved it. Finally getting to that Aetheryte actually felt like an accomplishment, because I'd avoided certain death, multiple times, to get there.

)) Open world dungeon areas where you could just run in and encounter different types of content. Running through Shposhae, or the old Tam Tara when it wasn't instanced.. It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of danger in those tunnels, and with Shposhae in particular, there was actually a kind of "puzzle" deep within to solve. There was actual content in them. I remember hunting down Pickaroon inside Copperbell, with my FC, to get his body piece. That was fun.

)) Mobs that reacted to your presence. They'd either respond aggressively - giving you warning that they were going to attack if you hung around too long, but would go back to relaxed state if you moved on. Or the Aldgoats who'd become curious and saunter up to check you out, maybe follow you around (it also required you to be careful when fighting, so as not to use any AOEs that might hit them).

)) Many mobs - those I pretty much shrug off now - could be downright terrifying lol. I remember dreading getting the levequest that had me fighting the moles. Those things were bastards in 1.x. The ones you had to fight for leve quests would chase you down. No "leash" where they turn around. No, they were chasing you 'til they, or you, were dead.

For all those reasons, and more, 1.x's world may not have been all that diverse to look at... but it was far more interesting, challenging and rewarding to explore.

That's just a handful of things 1.x did really well, and I wish they hadn't dropped in the name of "streamlining".

I'm quite confident that had ARR re-launched as a continuation of where it was going at 1.23, it would still have done very well, because it was a solid, fun experience by that point, and they had laid a good foundation to build upon.