FFXIV Needs Player Polls

[Noodle_Trinidad]

The people in forums consist of a very small minority of the playerbase. Should such a minority dictate the course of the game's development to the large majority? I say no.

So should we ignore anyone willing to provide any feedback and let the devs just constantly make content without ever taking into account any feedback that their paying customers may have? I mean at this point feedback really needs to be taken into account lest we get another Eureka or another Expansion where we get more of the same with no proper iteration. I mean heck this interview itself already shows Yoshida hasn't even considered changing things up for the PvE side of things or the formula as a whole: https://www.finaland.com/?rub=site&page=news&id=6350
- German Media : Since A Realm Reborn, the end game pattern haven’t a lot : Farming tomestones, four high level raid and alliance raids, is there any plan to break this pattern and doing something new or are you going to continue to follow it?
- Yoshida : Currently we have added the even higher end, the Ultimate raids, but beyond that we still haven’t considered anything yet. However for the Disciples for the Hand and the Land, we are thinking of some new type of end content for those classes, but we can’t tell you anything about that yet.

The devs need to be transparent with their players and the players need to be vocal about what they want and without a proper way for the two to communicate the worse it'll become for the game. Plus my suggestion is to tie it to the log-in menu itself as to make sure everyone has a visual notification to input their opinion on the game. A good example would be something like Digital Extremes and their Warframe players with their 2 devstreams a month that actually shows their players the progress on systems. This gives the players time to voice any concerns while at the same time having any idea of what the devs have in mind.

[Lastelli]

The people in forums consist of a very small minority of the playerbase. Should such a minority dictate the course of the game's development to the large majority? I say no.

That's...a really weird way to look at it. They simply need to make sure that as many people as possible know that they can give their feedback through player polls. Write it on the special notices of the launcher or something.

Also you assume that the "very small minority" here is not representative of the general population. What if it is? The biggest problem here is that the dev team mostly listens to the jp community on the forums, which is a small minority within a small minority.

[Solarra]

I think some way of getting feedback would be useful, although how useful would depend on the quality of the questions. I remember WoWs 'leaving the game poll', the options were so limited, I'm not sure how useful the feedback was. When I first started playing FFXIV, I was very impressed by the amount of communication between players and devs in this game, though it appears that has dropped off over the years.

[Vahlnir]

The people in forums consist of a very small minority of the playerbase. Should such a minority dictate the course of the game's development to the large majority? I say no.

Ah, one of you people. Figured it was only a matter of time. The "small minority" wouldn't dictate the course of the game, though I do think you're selling us short as to how small we are, or aren't. The poll wouldn't even need to happen on the forums, though that'd be where they'd put one most likely. There's plenty of people across all regions who provide feedback daily (some of it terrible, but it's never going to be perfect). Heck, they seem to genuinely listen to people on the JP side. A poll, which they would no doubt be promoted on the Lodestone or other sources would attract a fair number of people. This "small minority" has a bit more potential influence than you may think. What they do with the information is another story I'm sure, but there are plenty of people willing and able to give feedback.

[number473]

The people in forums consist of a very small minority of the playerbase. Should such a minority dictate the course of the game's development to the large majority? I say no.

The polls or more detailed surveys should either take place in game (it would even be fun to have a npc to talk to to collect the feedback) or be sent out by email. No point in limiting it to the forum. Also, they would of course have to account for someone trying to game the system and submit multiple responses, so a forum poll would never work. You have to have a properly done survey tied to an email address or a SE account.

[micropanther7]

The polls or more detailed surveys should either take place in game (it would even be fun to have a npc to talk to to collect the feedback) or be sent out by email. No point in limiting it to the forum. Also, they would of course have to account for someone trying to game the system and submit multiple responses, so a forum poll would never work. You have to have a properly done survey tied to an email address or a SE account.

I'd say do both, email might also garner responses from people who've unsubscribed from the game and who won't visit the main site anymore, getting their feedback as to why they've left I'd also consider important if I was in SE's shoes

[Maero]

Would they listen to the NA/EU player base?

[Kinkoz]

Also you assume that the "very small minority" here is not representative of the general population. What if it is?

So what makes you think the word of a very vocal minority is representative of the general population, then?
If you're intent on using the JP playerbase and their participation on the official forums as an example, what makes you think JP players don't use other means by which to express their stances on the game instead?

Your own approach to this matter is just as strange, if not more so, by making some unsubstantiated extrapolations.

Quite frankly, I find this person's suggestion to be a productive option:

Well, they can take a page out of Runescape's book and allow players to vote on what the next update should include and/or focus on.

It's a successful system, but it also requires that the NA/EU side of things has a more proactive community management team and clear communication facilitated with the dev team overseas.
It only works so well with Runescape because the devs and community managers tend to work hand in hand.

[Soraki-Muppe]

Here is an idea, not having the poll on the forum. Why does it need to be here anyways? They should just email everyone who have ever played the game, this would require two different polls at once.
One for those not active, this one focusing on why they quit and what would make them return. On completion they are given a promo key that when added in the mogstation gives them 1 week of game time.
The other one for the active players, this focusing on the current state of the game, basically rating everything with questions about if things needs to be changed. Even adding the question of "how likely are you to quit and why?", if most players answer the same thing here it would be a good way for the devs to see what is the biggest problem with the game. When done you get a promo key that when entered into the mogstation let you choose one of three things, 1 emote, 1 glamour, or 1 minion.

The poll should be advertised on the main-page as well as on the launcher.
When all the data is compiled they should have a live letter where they go through it, kinda to show that they didn't just throw peoples answers into the garbage.

Are they likely to do this? No, but they really should. Right now people are playing the game less, most people I know in this game have either quit or are on a break from it, and while SE might see the numbers they clearly do not know why. And why is important to know if you want even the smallest of chance to get those players back while also stopping others from quitting. This important information is something that the forums will not tell the devs, since only a tiny number of those who quit will say anything about why on the forums.
So if not a full poll they should at least ask those who have quit why, and those who still play how likely they are to quit and for what reason if any. But I still think a full on big poll would be best.

[WhyAmIHere]

Well, they can take a page out of Runescape's book and allow players to vote on what the next update should include and/or focus on.

People don't know what they want, just what they dont.

A person might know exactly what they want, but as a group? Nah.