Community Health?

[NikolasCalypso]

I used to play during AAR then took a break for a while.

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run, and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes. Now there doesn't seem to be any of that, and a lot more bad. Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

[D_C]

I dunno, I think ya just ran into an arsehole. Ya get those sometimes. Random folks in dungeons don’t seem to be gettin’ much saltier ta me, an’ they usually been quiet. This expac’s been goin’ a while so some people’s brains’re in maintenance mode, so ya might see it a little more. The only major change I noticed is everyone callin’ me O-Slash instead of sayin’ hello.

[NikolasCalypso]

Hmmm... alright. Perhaps its just been a bad day then. Maybe I'm remembering things a little rosier than they were? The "o/" thing doesn't bother me, it's supposed to be someone waving right? Good point about the expac being going a while as well. I'll keep an eye out.

[SendohJin]

The only major change I noticed is everyone callin’ me O-Slash instead of sayin’ hello.

o/

I used to play during AAR then took a break for a while.

I remember how people used to greet each other at the start of a run, and chit chat through MSQ cutscenes. Now there doesn't seem to be any of that, and a lot more bad. Recently, I had someone tell the party they were watching Netflix and wouldn't be dodging any aoe attacks.

So what's going on? Is there just a lot more toxic in the player base now or what?

dungeons are not much different now then before and with the cross-server being more prominent people are generally just lazier now.

i watch stuff doing dungeons too but i can dodge just fine and i'll put things on pause for harder bosses.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Just a random idiot. Sadly, you will get those. I wouldn't read too much into it and just kick them once you're able to if they're legit not going to dodge things.

[Valkorian]

yeah sorry, there are some rude people, just like anywhere you go. but for the most part most people you'll meet here are kind or respectful.
i'm in couerl, but let me know if you need help with something.
Valkorian#1567

[Daniolaut]

I have been playing since 1.0 and barely took many breaks (most were during 3.0) and yes the playerbase has drastically changed over the years.

1.0 was close knit (had to be) and people talked. Then as the influx of new players came in the playerbase turned more towards How the game is currently made (queue up with randoms and get rewards) so there is little to no reason to chat.

I personally enjoy doing things like maps and hunts and that is a much more “social” environment.

But yes dungeon randoms are not going to act much different from your squadron.

[Kuzulo]

I guess because I still play Wow:

People in this seem generally friendly, more patient with me (it always says, "rewards increased because one or more party members are here for the first time.")

All I ever hear them say is stuff like, "No, stay on the boss this one" or "GG."

Then they usually give a commendation, which I still don't know how to do (it is a challenge log thing, I found out!)

[Speaks]

FFXIV generally has a "carry me" mindset that is reinforced by

1) Not allowing Parsers and as such not being able to call people out on extremely poor DPS/General Play.
2) 90-95% of all content being extremely casual friendly. For reference you can basically sleep through 24 mans, considering half the raid usually does anyways...
3) Not having any sort of "Gate" to get into higher level content. You wouldn't even begin to believe how bad your average Normal tier Raider is.
4) The "you don't pay my sub" argument.
5) Better players not necessarily ever being rewarded for it, since all rolls on loot is random and as long as your team clears, even if you were on the floor the entire fight, you still have an equal shot at getting stuff.

While the parser topic is not for this thread, and I would prefer the arguments for or against it be brought up in the thread it already has going, none of the rest of these are potentially subjective. FFXIV caters specifically to an extremely casual audience. It is just the type of MMO it is.

[Gemina]

The community is generally polite and patient, but there's no avoiding the bad apples. It's only a matter of time before you bite into one the more you run stuff in PUGs. But no, you cannot expect the community to be as you remembered in back in 1.0. That was five years ago. That was when the game was fresh for everyone playing, along with the experiences shared. The only way to get that again is when another FF mmo is released. Veteran players eventually standardize fresh content making it stale for them, but awesome for newcomers.

What you get now is a bunch of players either catching up, or staying caught up as new content is released. There are a lot of players in both endgame and leveling content. A social experience in this game often just requires speaking up yourself instead of hoping someone like-minded does it instead. The 'dreaded' MSQ roulette (cut scenes are now mandatory in case you did not know already) is actually one of the most social events in the game. Chances are low that you will meet a long term friend who is going to go the distance with you step by step (rare for anyone really), but there is no shortage of playful banter during these roulettes as players desire to pass the time. It also rewards stupid amounts of exp, especially Prae.

To the point though the community is very healthy atm. We all have our gripes with the game, but for the most part this is one well-oiled machine and a good time to be playing FFXIV.