Would you like to see a texture update?

[Theodric]

I do think both games have their merits in terms of art style. It's odd, since I'm not actually invested in WoW itself any longer these days but I do miss the 'atmosphere' of many zones. FFXIV doesn't really tap into many of the aesthetics that I'd like to see within the game itself or at least as often as I'd like it to. In some ways, even compared to what can be found in various JRPG's it can be a tad...subdued?

I recently played through Xenoblade Chronicles for the first time and the zone design utterly blew me away. Even now, ARR stands out to me as a lot more detailed than anything that has been added since if we're talking about the number of buildings that can be entered and how 'lively' various settlements feel. I can't be the only one who thinks Aleport is one of the best settlements in the game, right?

That aside, polished graphics do make the game much more enjoyable for a lot of players. That some people don't care about graphics is hardly a secret, though it's not unreasonable for players to desire a strong focus on every aspect of the game - including the core game features, the sound direction, the story and the way it looks.

I'd also argue that some of the core models have some rather jarring flaws. Highlander men can't have actual eyebrows, Hien and G'raha suffer from pixel related issues in regards to their character models...and so on.

[Shurrikhan]

FFXIV doesn't really tap into many of the aesthetics that I'd like to see within the game itself or at least as often as I'd like it to. In some ways, even compared to what can be found in various JRPG's it can be a tad...subdued?

I recently played through Xenoblade Chronicles for the first time and the zone design utterly blew me away.

I remember the first time I climbed up First-Shard's Bismarck, I really loved the aesthetic: the smaller winding paths and the use of color all resonated really well and made me want way, way more. A friend accordingly recommended Xenogears and I couldn't help but think we needed more of that -- not the combination of tech and nature, of or colors, or even of zone design, but just some of that less subdued artistic vision. "Yes! This! I need this in XIV!"

WoW has had moments, likewise, that have made me fall in love with a zone or area within. Heck, most of its zones have several, even if a lot of BfA's fell flat for me (I was only blown away by Zuldazar, Vul'dun, and small parts of the Sound). XIV, though? The eastern side of the Dravidian Forelands almost struck a chord, but the constantly shivering textures at the edges of shadows and all the hugely pixelated rock textures made it just that bit too... "off". I should have loved the Hinterlands, but the way objects at a distance were drawn, disappearing, reappearing, and shivering all the while due to incredibly poor filtering and LoD procedures, atop the poor ambient lighting making it seem unpolished or almost... not quite fully rendered just kind of ruined it for me save for along the back-hills along the west edge. Much of those same graphical "issues" made Azys Lla gritty, but in a way that was entirely fine for that zone in particular because of its theme. In the end, although Azys Lla and Western Coerthas least resonated with me, they, parts of the Forelands (following the river into the large western expanse), and the Sea of Clouds were the only Heavensward zones I enjoyed as much as, say, most of the Mists of Pandaria zones (of which none felt "off" and only one seemed dull to me). And it's sad that it was just these irritating "half-done" or "half-assed" textures or lighting, or the engine's graphical procedures themselves, that often made them unable to click for me.