Quote Originally Posted by Dzian View Post
I would say there is a lot wrong with it. I'd even wager it is one of the biggest reasons player retention is so bad.
Honestly, I'm not sure that player retention in this game is that much worse than any other MMO on the market, including WoW and the flotilla of F2P/B2P MMOs. (Places like forums are an inevitable gathering point for disgruntled people, no matter the game.)

Horizontal progression appeals mostly to core players who are able and willing to invest a lot of time so long as they feel their investment is "worth it" over the long term. But, even if it's carefully tuned, it creates a perception that the game is increasingly impenetrable as time goes on (for the investment to be "worth it," it can't be useless). Burn out is going to happen inevitably either way, but in a vertical progression game you always know you can come back and catch up without feeling like you're inescapably behind (even if means, consequentially, that the things you earn have less long-term value except maybe as glamour). This is partly why the game puts so much emphasis on the story and the aspects that make it more like "a single-player RPG with MMO components." The name of the game for a theme park is breadth, not depth. (Theme parks aren't concerned about providing enough entertainment to season pass holders who choose to come in every day, since most season pass holders don't show up nearly that often.)

In the end, I really don't think that fundamental design decision is something they're going to change no matter how much people complain, as it's just part of what FFXIV is (and is not). This isn't necessarily a sign of being "out of touch," but all developers need to understand the goals and non-goals for their project. If they change this in any way, I imagine it won't be until FFXVII Online (if they make one).