4.25 and beyond

[Marcellus_Cassius]

Just know that if you want to go the route of "I'll only sub during an expansion drop", know that the option is there.
Use the Free Log In Campaigns that the game does every couple months (usually after major patches or big content... like this Eureka coming out).

You'll be able to play the MSQ and enjoy the game for a couple days for free. No hassle with gear or throwing yourself at the boredom wall.

I think we are here because we would like to not go that route.

[RiyahArp]

As such, MMOs have become "single player games with online play" largely because that's what people predominantly choose if given the choice.

I'm not sure that's the case. It's like the first game that added progression elements to a FPS; it worked better than what people thought but over time a lot of people resent and hate it; it's just every AAA developer tries to put it in because they think it breeds success. WoW style MMO stuff is the same way, it's a lot more top down than ground up, but no recent AAA MMO dev is willing to buck the trend.

[AlexanderThorolund]

did i ever tell you the definition of insanity?, Insanity is doing the same ****** thing over and over again

Give me an example of a game where this doesn’t apply.

[Shouko]

did i ever tell you the definition of insanity?, Insanity is doing the same ****** thing over and over again

You had the quote partially right, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.

[Mahrze]

did i ever tell you the definition of insanity?, Insanity is doing the same ****** thing over and over again

I don't even think this (incomplete) quote applies to the topic. But ok~♪

[Hestzhyen]

I feel like a lot of complaints are valid, but the people who post on this forum tend to be the most dedicated (if not hard-core) players. We're also the most likely to become burnt out because of that. Just some personal observations and complaints...

- "I wish there was more to do" usually means "I wish there was more content that I enjoyed doing". Explaining what you like and want to see more of is great! Devs love that kind of feedback. And it's a valid complaint too, since not all types of content appeal to all players. I have a huge beef with people who come back at people who ask for more things they like to do with "well have you done EVERYTHING? No? Then STFU and get on with it!"... that's not the point. If someone doesn't want to craft or raid or do side-quests then that doesn't make their plea for more 24-mans or Deep Dungeon instances invalid. We all play the game differently and have a right to express what we'd like to see more of. And that kind of feedback is very good for the company to look at since it gives them clear indicators of what their players would be appreciative of. Happy customers are continuously subbing customers after all.

Personally I'd like to see more midcore and/or large-scale content myself. More 24 man raids, more 8-man content on the level of Shinryu NM, more fights that challenge and engage me without killing all of us if one person messes up. Harder dungeons would be good too. I'm glad the dungeons we have exist, but they aren't particularly challenging unless a tank or healer is practically AFK.

- "SE needs to be more creative" usually means "dang it to heck I feel like I have deja-vu every time I step into a new instance"... we've seen tons of repetitious mechanics without any significant changes for four years now. New mechanics have been added but how they are used and presented has not changed. Even EX and Savage fights rely heavily on old mechanics and only introduce one or two new concepts to mix things up. Death walls, stacking, prey markers, killing priority adds, boss jumping away to charge while we deal with some more DPS/coordination checks... been there, done that. The way we approach, learn, and complete these encounters has largely stayed the same since 2.0. That's a long time to go without giving your players new ways to challenge themselves.

Encounters themselves are tightly scripted as well so that one mistake will cost the whole party in high-level content. This is makes the encounters challenging but not particularly satisfying to me. I always feel good when I finally clear but getting there is a chore - Deltascape Savage was the last time I tried to raid for fun. The O3S fight was interesting at first but as soon as one person messed up the whole run went to pieces and we had to start over from square one. Getting through it at last was more of a relief than anything since we could finally move on. Then the same process continued with ExDeath... it was almost a blessing that I got a job that demands so much of my time that I can't raid any more. I like to be challenged. I don't like to be killed because one guy out of seven forgot to do the right thing at precisely the right time. Every single end-game raid has been like this since Coil and it's gotten to the point where not even the promise of having the best gear is enough to get me to do it any more. Which brings me to...

- "There needs to be more gear variety"... I think the biggest problem is that gear doesn't change how we play or interact with the game- it's just mindless statistics and glamour. It's a weekly chore to log in and check off so we don't fall so far behind that we are locked out of future content, or a carrot to entice raiders who want to have the very best numbers. I would like SE to make gear worth thinking about in some way. When all types of content play the exact same way, it might be prudent to at least look into ways of changing how players consider approaching the content. Also, another way to think of this... if the only gates to doing content are story and combat stat numbers, do we need equippable gear sets? At this point it's just an obvious sub hook, much like the threat of losing housing.

There are other complaints I have about the difficulty of balancing DPS jobs with party utility, how healing and tanking in this game function at a very basic level, and SE's approach to the trinity in general but they're kind of outside the scope of this thread. Eureka seems like it might be something genuinely new for the game and I'm hopeful that it's engaging and long-lasting. But if it isn't, and 5.0 looks like yet more of the same, I will probably say good-bye after playing since 2.0. XIV has been doing things right for a long time but doing the same thing over and over again is getting stale. I feel like SE needs to reconsider playing it safe with their approach to content. XIV has grown and earned some respect, now it's time to start innovating again.

[Voldemort]

I think we are here because we would like to not go that route.

I guess I'm one of those few who went with the "vote with your wallet" option and unsubbed. I only resubbed for the 3.3 patch drop and two months for Stormblood.... All else post 3.0 I've ridden the coat tails of the Free Log In Campaigns (with the exception of now, which my FC mates generously bought me a time card).

Prior to unsubbing, I had the same issues as had been addressed in this thread. Ilvl goalpost moving, cash shop exclusives, more and more content being gutted simply because SE can retain the playerbase with little backlash.
After riding so many Free Log In Campaigns, I've come to realize I have no issues with any of the above.
I've never missed any MSQ.
I've never had an issue with gear progression. Farm half a day getting the second highest tome gear (Creation Tomes currently) can meet the minimum ilvl for any content worth doing.
No longer have an issue with content drought. Play to my heart's content for a couple days and leave for a few months.
And I didn't pay a dime for it.

I think it's great that there are others that feel the same as me, that the game hasn't turned out how I wanted. But I voted with my wallet, and still retain the enjoyment I get out of the MSQ without paying for it.
And surely if others feel the same, know that the option is still there.

[Niroken]

I think it's great that there are others that feel the same as me, that the game hasn't turned out how I wanted. But I voted with my wallet, and still retain the enjoyment I get out of the MSQ without paying for it.
And surely if others feel the same, know that the option is still there.

Honestly I think it's more likely that if a lot of people started doing this, they would remove the Free Log-In Campaigns entirely and if necessary would make the game free to play as they already have another revenue system built in.

[Ryaz]

I'm enjoying the game. Been branching out and farming for various things I haven't gotten previously (mounts), finally leveling my crafters, leveling beast tribes, building Gil to upgrade to a medium size house and working on classes I haven't really used.

But I'm not one of those people who got all their jobs to 70, so I still have plenty to do. Like any MMO if you play constantly and get all the end game stuff grinded out, you're going to get burned out. It isn't anything new to FFXIV. It's literally every single MMO made.

[MomomiMomi]

I'm enjoying the game. Been branching out and farming for various things I haven't gotten previously (mounts), finally leveling my crafters, leveling beast tribes, building Gil to upgrade to a medium size house and working on classes I haven't really used.

But I'm not one of those people who got all their jobs to 70, so I still have plenty to do. Like any MMO if you play constantly and get all the end game stuff grinded out, you're going to get burned out. It isn't anything new to FFXIV. It's literally every single MMO made.

It's not so much about there not being things to do, but that all the things to do are the same. I don't level all of the jobs, but even if I did, I'd be doing the same content I did on my other jobs.