Whats going on with SE ?

[Vhailor]

FFXIV does not need to encompass all tastes. My husband and I both play other games that are harder. Key words: other games.

I don't mean harder; I mean deeper. The two are not synonymous.

Consider Assault from FFXI as a great example, or, drawing from FFXIV, Palace of the Dead. Both significantly altered playstyle and general rotations, based on a variety of unique objectives (Assault) or a more free-form type of play that wasn't built around Tank / Healer / 2x DD (Palace of the Dead). Neither was a paragon of difficulty, but both offered a different, fresh-feeling experience. Abyssea did too, incidentally, despite being widely ridiculed as content that shredded FFXI's established order and difficulty.

As to the rest of your post, I was perhaps a bit broad. What I mean is, I want something that even alters my f***ing rotations a bit. Where are the fights that actually throw up meaningful status effects with some frequency, relying on me to lean more on Esuna? Where are the fights with wonky Enmity, forcing me to limit my use of big booms like Medica II? Hell, where are the fights that even force me to consider whether a spell is worth casting, because my MP is running low? This type of stuff simply doesn't exist in FFXIV; I never need to worry about Enmity, I never need to worry about MP maintenance (unless it's a Raise-fest), I very rarely need to actually worry about debuffs. That leads to an incredibly one-dimensional experience, and it's getting old. Healing shouldn't just be reduced to a question of "is one player at low HP, or are multiple players at low HP", but that's effectively what XIV has done.

Rescue, by the way, is the exact type of ability that SE should be pushing. That's something that alters my thought process, and gives me a truly unique new tool. Unfortunately, it's got an absurdly long recast timer, and is competing with too many other 'basic requirement' abilities. Artifact Armour from FFXI would also be a great step in the right direction; why not give us certain gear sets that alter how abilities behave, thereby shifting the feel of a Job? This doesn't add difficulty; it adds choice, and depth.

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You're right in that FFXIV doesn't need to encompass all tastes, but very few people enjoy repeating the same thing ad nauseum. My ideal RPG systems are far deeper and more strategic, D&D-style stuff. I know I won't get that from an MMO, and I'm not looking for it. But there are some incredibly simple, accessible games out there - the Diablo series, for example - that nevertheless offer far more depth from a combat system perspective than SE's flagship MMO. That's a problem, because games like this rely upon people being able to spend hundreds of hours enjoyably playing them. When a new wave of dungeons, or even a new expansion, feels like "same old shit, different coat of paint" in all gameplay (re: non-storyline) respects, it makes me worry for the future of the title.

This is entirely your own opinion as the Industry as a whole has changed, even in MMOs in the last 10 years. Subs fees and all content included is becoming extinct. While I am not happy with the outcome being a longtime MMO player, some practices have become a standard which sadly opens the door to try to pull off other microtransactions.

The majority that support such practices aren't even on this forum, completely silent, and use their wallets. Even confronting friends in a non-rude way can be offense, no matter how you break it down, you are literally telling them how their should control their money.

This forum has become less and less of a voice for NA/EU and is still a minority as well, even if everyone shared the same opinion on the subject. So it would have to take a dramatic measure from the consumer base to stop SE on their trend.

Be that as it may, there are relatively few options. And of course it's entirely my opinion isn't everything people share on the forums, beyond direct quotes or references?

I also don't view this as an issue of 'control'. It's more like education, a core component of any successful consumer push against a particular development, such as a boycott. There's no real effort to control others' spending habits, but there is an effort to inform them and, in so doing, perhaps shame them slightly, so as to discourage future spending. And, for people who don't feel strongly enough about the Mog Station or other microtransactions, no harm, no foul. But people who do feel strongly shouldn't forget that there are other tools available to them beyond simply not spending money personally.