Okay, It's Two-Way Communication Time

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

Here's the thing, and I've been wanting to speak on this for a while:

It's been 4 years.

4 long years of sparse support, shunning and neglect from the community, and when they finally began to turn things around, they not only failed to even TRY to teach new players anything about it, they ultimately flipped it on its head and turned it into something entirely different from what the community that formed around it - despite all the poor support and neglect - came to know and love. Some have adapted and continue to play, others have simply walked away, worst of all the small community that was there is barely there anymore as, again, everything was changed and with seemingly NO acknowledgement of input from the actual PvP community of FFXIV. Seriously, a guy who NEVER touched the Feast and wouldn't otherwise complained about not being able to get a Feast reward that happened to be a minion, and they jumped to answer him within 10 days. . .

The almost year old "The New Chat Restriction in the Feast" thread, started the day they announced that controversial change, and well before it took place, went 3 months and 40 pages before any kind of official response was given. And the response given was to ask for suggestions and feedback. . . Let me now remind you, this is 3 months and 40 pages later. What do you think those first 39 pages were?

As a more recent example, complaints have come flooding in about botting in Frontlines, and continue to come flooding in about wintrading players in the Feast - the same perpetrators from the previous 4 seasons of the Feast STILL, even after being reported multiple times - as well as issues with harrassment and negative attitudes via the Quick Chat system that was meant to solve said issues. And at best, all we've gotten is a "please be patient". No, it's been over a year and 5 seasons. DO SOMETHING. Players have been trying to help, but getting stonewalled in their attempts to do so, and despite all the new activity - brought in entirely for XP or rewards and NOT because they actually like/are interested in PvP - these issues remain unhandled, or poorly handled at best.

The PvP community - and let me step outside my own bounds and speak for them just a bit - the Original PvP community of XIV is practically lifelining now. You have a tired community with "beaten-dog" syndrome at this point. They've gotten so little, they expect so little, and that's a damn awful way to feel for something you pay for. It's bad enough things we wanted were barely addressed, we literally had everything changed overnight. And while it perhaps brought in new customers if you will, shoving the old ones out the back door and expecting them to want to return is foolish. Not handling long-time issues is bad for business, and though I feel it's dirty to say this, it needs to be said:

For all of you who are new to PvP now and think things are fine as is, how long will it be before you're pushed aside and neglected like the original community? How long will YOUR concerns go unanswered?

SE: You can't build up ANYTHING when your foundation is cracked and unstable. E-Sports will not happen unless you address these issues now instead of later. Community reps, we get there's only so much you can actually say or do, but long silences set a bad precedent and only further lowers the community's (what's left of it) confidence in both you and the devs that what we want, what we have issues with, will even be heard, let alone addressed or dealt with.

The only thing I could now say is this: Look to the Rising. Think about why you hold that event, and the lessons behind that. You need to approach PvP in this game seriously and with THAT mindset if you ever want it to be successful, let alone an E-Sport. My words might sound harsh, but it needs to be said, and I'm not afraid to say it. All previous questions and sentiments still stand. We want answers. It's time to talk.