Quote Originally Posted by Kaethra View Post
Everquest 2 has voice chat.
It also has harder less forgiving mechanics than FFXIV.
Its also free to play. Meaning it has more riffraff.

None of what you described happens over there.

Hell I've never seen a group over there require it. Most use it for socializing, but still explain mechanics in text.
Great to hear that voice chat is working in that game! Maybe it could work in this game aswell - I'm not saying its completly impossible or anything. But I understand why the devs dont want to give it a shot and I can agree with that choice and those reasons.
Why invest time in something that
...most of the people who want it, already have?
...can easly be abused and prevents a source of harrassment that isnt as easy to monitor?
...isnt needed to clear content/play the game?

I know that the last one might be a little weak since you guys argue that its ofc not needed but a QoL-improvement.

But thats where I'm unsure - we seem to agree that you dont need voice chat to explain the mechanics and that even in Everquest 2 its used more to socialize. I dont know anything about Everquest 2 ( ...except that it seems it isnt doing so well...? I mean, it wasnt always Free2Play, different language supports seem to have vanished, the last update on their website is from 2015 and if I understand that graphic correct a lot of servers appear to be not even half full - now thats ofc not because theres voice chat in the game xD But the smaller your community the better a voice chat will work - Free2Play doesnt mean more riffraff necessarly - it can also mean: Less People who actually stick around and those who stick around might even be more loyal and attached to the game) but looking at FFXIV socializing during runs wouldnt even be a real option: a dungeon-run normally lasts between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the dungeon.
15-30 minutes to socialize with a new bunch of strangers... in a game where not even everyone says as much as "Hi" in party chat...

Those who want to use voice chat to socialize have already found their tools to socialize with their friends - and those who dont want that dont have to feel pressured by an ingame tool now.
I'm very fine with that - I can understand why th negative would out-weigh the positive here or is at least considered more important by the devs. Maybe the community in Everquest 2 is, for whatever reason, different enough from FFXIV that this can work over there. From what I've read Everquest 2 was more focussed on players playing together in groups, while FFXIV can easly be a solo-experience. If you want your people to form close knitted groups to achieve something in your game, it makes sense to give them the tools for that (aka voice chat) - if you want to create a game thats more fluff content for the solo-player and is also attractive for people who are completely new to MMOs not having a voice chat seems like an actual good choice to me.