Never Make Your Players Have to "Find the Fun"

[Purrfectstorm]

That was the advice of a Dungeon's and Dragons DM's guide. And it's advice SE should take to heart. A typical game of FFXIV goes like this:

- Gameplay that is dictated by timers. It is time for a GATE, have to go do that. It is time for gathering nodes, have to go do that. Haven't capped esoteric tomes this week, have to go do that. Haven't gotten my Void Ark item this week, have to go do that. Haven't done my roulettes today, have to go do that. Have to check the plants. Have to enter my house so it doesn't get demolished. It's a chore list, NOT engaging gameplay.

FIX: Deemphasize content that can only be done at certain times or in certain timeframes. Leave nodes as is (to preserve item rarities), decrease the frequency that players have to check plants, and use RNG instead of time gates to slow progression. That way players can play WHEN they WANT. I feel like FFXIV is telling me when/how to play. I won't continue playing if this pattern continues (yes it has been like this since launch BUT it has gotten worse with every added game system; i.e. it's not just tomes anymore).

- Waiting for FATES. Whenever I have to wait for a FATE, I am NOT even PLAYING the game. I am doing rl stuff or playing a different game. While this isn't entirely bad from a time management perspective (a forced break), game developers shouldn't be encouraging their players to do something else other than play their game. What if someone finds a better game while they're waiting on a FATE. Then they're like, "Hmm, play this FUN game OR continue playing a game that forces me to stare at my screen doing nothing?"

FIX: When players get a quest that requires a FATE, an NPC appears for them in the FATE location, and talking to that NPC triggers the FATE if it is not already up. Players won't be happy with reduced wait times alone. Any nonzero amount of sitting around bored is simply unacceptable.

- Waiting for groups. My Frontline queue today ON A SATURDAY was 3 HOURS. Was I even playing the game during this timeframe? No. I was reading a book. The book was more fun and doesn't require a sub. Also, for the past 2 weeks, I've repeatedly joined or made PF groups for A1S. It's an easy turn now that people are geared and know the fight, yet what happens is it takes 1+ hrs to find a group, usually 30 min wiping, then the group disbands. Again, this is not compelling gameplay - it's just another purposeless waiting game. I don't have a static and a static is not practical for me at this time because of a changing schedule. I don't think a static should be REQUIRED just to play the game.

FIX: More non-instanced content (to have something FUN to do while waiting), remove lockouts or move to a CT, Void Ark-like lockout to increase player availability for groups, improve content rewards (in respect to Frontline), and generally add more mid-core content (so endgame is not just a 4-turn raid).


Summary
I think there is growing discontent w/ the status quo, so why not change things up? Players want compelling gameplay not chore lists, waiting games, and mindless grinds just for the sake of slowing progression to get them to sub longer.

Right now FFXIV is modeled almost entirely on extrinsic rather than intrinsic rewards. That is getting a new minion, mount, achievement, piece of gear, some other useless trinket is fun, but the activities that lead to those rewards are not very fun.

To make the game more intrinsically fun, we need deeper gameplay. Game depth comes from things like player choice (gear options, character builds, battle strategies). Right now 99% of player choice is "what is the most efficient way to get the most amount of chores done?"

We also need more fun content. My favorite content is dungeons but dungeons are boring lately. We need more dungeons like AV or AK. I think 24-person raids are just the worst. They are trolly cesspools of stupidity that last 45 min to 1 hr. We need content to make our chores less repetitive. Why have there been no more 8-person main story dungeons since 2.0? Main Story Roulette is just 2 duties! No good.

TL;DR - Players want to see more depth, more creativity, more engaging gameplay and less standing around bored, less waiting for x to happen, and less building our game routines around a repetitive list of chores. What this game does have going for it is the world and the fact that it's a very pretty game. I think crafting/gathering is more fun than in other games. But right now I don't think this will hold me for much longer if things don't change.