Is the community wrong?

[KisaiTenshi]

I must ask, not just to you but also any other who stay subbed for the house.

Do you actually enjoy the house? Like, truly and genuinely enjoy it? Because the statement almost makes it sound like its the final anchor between you and the game and I just get the impression that you're shelling out a monthly fee just to make sure it stays there.

Or is it one of those hopeful wishes that SE does something miraculous like cancel all demo timers so you can finally breathe easy and stay unsubbed as long as you want?

Genuine curiosity here.

In some cases, (depending on how the game works) Housing is a way to keep subs. If the game is F2P, housing becomes something to camp perpetually. And how you do that? You never log out. After all it costs nothing right? The more people online, the more you can brag how big your game is.

For FFXIV, players that actually invested time in the game, bought the house as kinda a mid-term goal to incentivize themselves to do all the other crafting/treasure hunting. To them, it's their MoneyBin(tm). If you don't like doing any of that, then the house is simply a burden, and if they quit the game, they won't miss it.

Actually, there is a good point about how to keep players playing the game, is to have a treasure-room that physically represents the achievements the player has, and would then allow the player to place and store (a la armoire) any trophy/treasure in the room associated with the achievement log, with a "minion" wall like a toy shelf.

People on forums are always complaining about something. Most people who like the game will never say anything at all.
Hence reading the forums (for nearly any game at any time) will give a very slanted view of "the community" since most players aren't there.

The forum only represents the 1%, basically the people who play enough to warrant posting, but not necessarily the voice of the majority. Hence why there is so much passive aggressive rudeness from people who don't want things to change, because they see other peoples ideas as making the game more boring.

[JackHatchet]

I like to believe I enjoy my house. I've stressed way too much about housing. Staying up and getting in on those new releases. I'm happy that my house is in a prime location, and that it's a status symbol. Selling houses is against the ToS, and I would never sell my house--even if I did quit. But the fact that people have offered me upwards of 300-400mil for it makes it feel like a trophy of sorts. So it has a lot of emotional and practical value.

I think if there wasn't a housing issue, and I could 'just buy a new house' at any time I wanted as long as I had the money--I'd probably release mine and un-sub. But knowing that if I lost my house that it would take me 6 months+ to find another one open up in the exact same spot (varied wards) means that replacing it is no easy task. I have plot 5 in Mist, and those don't open up often--and when they do--they're sniped up really freaking fast.

Given how much stress it was to get the house. I don't feel that the 15 bucks a month is a huge waste. I'd rather pay the money for the peace of mind than release it and waste 6 months+ to find a new house--if it ever happens. And while I don't play FFXIV now (because WoW is awesome!). That doesn't mean I won't be back for 4.4 or the next expansion.

[Nihility]

A free favored destination for installing the free version is nice and I didn't know about that until your post, but it really has nothing to do with whether or not the app is any good and whether or not we as players should find the premium version acceptable.

That's the thing though, the things the premium version gives you are all kind of take it or leave it.
How much posting to the market board remotely do you really need to do?
do you really need that much more storage on top of all the ones you get from mog station?
do you really need to remotely move items between retainers?

if you don't like the app you can still get the favored destination and never touch it again... I'd call that pretty good for almost no effort

None of the chat or event stuff costs anything at all so if that's what your after it's not bad for free either

It's only bad if your looking for something to be upset about

[Claviusnex]

I question how many people stay subscribed so they don't lose their houses, honestly. Cause that's the point I'm at. I'd unsub until the game got better, but by that point, I'd lose my house, so I keep an active sub, and check in on my house just so it doesn't get demoed. Which makes me salty in the first place, since my server has more than enough houses we didn't need the stupid Demo option that the larger servers whined about needing.

With the large number of available houses on Adamantoise I'm just waiting for mine to demo and then cancel my subscription. When or if I return I don't think I'll have an issue with obtaining a small as it didn't take me long to find one before the additional wards were added. However if you have a large or medium house or are on a large server problems with replacing the house is a strong incentive to keep up a subscription. Makes me wonder if that is a driving factor as to why SE refuses to provide a decent housing system?

[Nixxe]

That's the thing though, the things the premium version gives you are all kind of take it or leave it.
How much posting to the market board remotely do you really need to do?
do you really need that much more storage on top of all the ones you get from mog station?
do you really need to remotely move items between retainers?

if you don't like the app you can still get the favored destination and never touch it again... I'd call that pretty good for almost no effort

None of the chat or event stuff costs anything at all so if that's what your after it's not bad for free either

It's only bad if your looking for something to be upset about

This is a bizarre line of reasoning. It would seem you're suggesting that you can live without it and therefore it cannot be a bad app, but that's a complete non sequitur. You could live without any video games whatsoever, but that doesn't mean it's incoherent to talk about games being good or bad.

[Voltyblast]

Makes me wonder if that is a driving factor as to why SE refuses to provide a decent housing system?

I don't think you're far off really, I wouldn't be the least surprised if that was their plan from the beginning.
It's pretty much the same for the retainer and space: yeah we got the saddle bag but is it enough? Nope, they still make sure that you rent their retainers. Even the glamour dresser, while a nice addition, it's very limited to a measly 200 items (in a game that has THOUSANDS) and will still force you to rent retainers for more space.

In terms of housing well, why bother giving more "new and innovative" content when they can just push out the same old stuff from 2.1 onward and force people to stay because of housing? There are currently 66 servers and each server has about 4320 plots (according to the wiki), for a total of 285.120 people that are forced to stay because of their housing - even less if we take in account the multiple housing owners but I thought it was fixed?

Honestly, this is why I just got an apartment after I HAD to destroy my house: it doesn't get destroyed ("for now") and it's relatively nice to have a place to call your own with the only downside being smaller than usual.
Still beats private fc rooms by a longshot - ain't gonna waste 300k for a room that will get demolished once I leave the company, pff!

[Jojoya]

I've taken a break from FFXIV to enjoy Warcraft, but I still enjoyed FFXIV when I played, and like to check in with the community from time to time.

I remember reading reports that FFXIV's sub numbers are the highest they've ever been, and that the game is massively successful. Yet when I try to see how everyone is doing--it's all complaints about Eureka or the companion app, or something else.

I guess I'm confused as to why the sub numbers would be at an all time high if people were actively unhappy with the state of the game and its direction.

Look at the forums for any MMO. You see the same complaints going on in all of them. People are far more likely to talk about what they dislike in a game than about what they're enjoying.

Don't pay too much attention to the atmosphere of doom and gloom created by forum posts. Play the game and decide for yourself.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

this game just has an extraordinarily whiny user base for whatever reason.

Like the phone app, it's not great or anything but it's free and you get an extra favored destination just for having it and if you want to pay for some bonuses to your retainers you can.

If you listened to these forums you'd think the app was some sort of world crushing event that will bring an end to all gaming
when in reality it's pretty much totally neutral to kind of cool depending on your outlook. Doesn't really affect much of anything

there were even people crying bloody murder over the little summer event we get every year. It's just a fun little obstacle course and a pretty nice free swimsuit and some fireworks and a couple furnishings. There's pretty much nothing about it that isn't positive or just neutral

Are people supposed to simply bend over and say "thank you, SE. May I have another?" Criticisms towards the app are feedback in the hopes it actually improves, especially since, no, it isn't free. Those resources could have been spent on the game itself, thus people are upset when they see time wasted—which is what the app is in its current state.

[Ruf]

The app is an example of content cut

If more ressources & efforts were spent on actual game content & gameplay (in game*) You/we could/would have a better game.

& whoever say that forums are only 1% well %#&?$$%@?? ,also annihilate fflogs please

[Alistaire]

I guess I'm confused as to why the sub numbers would be at an all time high if people were actively unhappy with the state of the game and its direction.

Without any hyperbole, SE has a high amount of brand loyalty. If this wasn't a Final Fantasy game it would not be doing as well as it is with the decisions they've been making.


The bigger problem is it's starting to seem they're aware of that, and riding it.