How PL'ing killed FFXIV.

[Raikki]

If EXP parties and casual leveling content are not to be a focus of FFXIV, then I will lose interest. I am not the only one who feels that way. You think SE can afford to ignore the pleas of the casual playerbase?

SE will lose more players than it will retain by focusing on grinding. Grinding is not "cool" anymore in modern MMOs. It's all about rush to cap and put all the content there. The average casual MMO player doesn't want to wait 2 months to be able to do endgame content. It doesn't matter if that's not what you want. That's the bulk of the market and they know it. Maybe you'd be more interested in a Korean grinding MMO?

[Smashington]

SE will lose more players than it will retain by focusing on grinding. Grinding is not "cool" anymore in modern MMOs. It's all about rush to cap and put all the content there. The average casual MMO player doesn't want to wait 2 months to be able to do endgame content. It doesn't matter if that's not what you want. That's the bulk of the market and they know it. Maybe you'd be more interested in a Korean grinding MMO?

I see what you mean. Perhaps I really am an outdated old fart. The grind was not all that fun, no. I would prefer they focus on making that grind fun, rather than implementing ways to skip it.

However, if I really am in the minority, then FFXIV will be a success regardless of the lack of players such as me.

[AmyRae]

I see what you mean. Perhaps I really am an outdated old fart. The grind was not all that fun, no. I would prefer they focus on making that grind fun, rather than implementing ways to skip it.

However, if I really am in the minority, then FFXIV will be a success regardless of the lack of players such as me.

I've never cared for grinding much myself. It seems like a cruel obstacle in many respects. What made it bearable in FFXI, at least in the early days (before GoV, Abyssea, Level Sync), was the sense we were all in the same boat. You could have conversations while it went on, tease the puller about bringing extra friends back to the camp, marvel at how that goblin wiped the whole party with one bomb. You weren't going from 1 to endgame in three days. You might make it from 66 to 67 in three days, however, so you may as well make the most of it.

But the major problem was getting a party of 6 together in the first place. If you didn't have a particularly desirable job, you were overlooked until the pickings were slim. You may spend your entire evening just seeking a party and getting nothing done, and that's the sort of thing that just isn't tolerated these days (nor should be, let's be honest, it's a sad life if you have to wait for hours just to grind for hours).

I think if they wanted to alleviate the grind, they should put it in the context of how RPGs do it (they may know a thing or two about RPGs). You get whisked away in a story, they point you in the direction of the next story event, throw a few hundred monsters in your way, and the next thing you know, you're leveling up (and hardly noticing it, because you're so wrapped up in the story). Make teaming up optional, but not essential. By the time you hit the "final boss" you'll have reached the endgame just through following the initial storyline. Then you can keep your adventures going however you want, while you're all starry eyed from that great story you just finished.