FFXIV is too simplistic and bland

[Boa-Noah]

Moreover, if memory serves, wasn't 1.0 overly homogeneous in that classes were largely cosmetic due to the amount of cross-class skill setups?

To put it bluntly 1.0 was a massive failure both commercially and gameplay-wise, the maps were gigantic empty wastelands, the content not very fun to play, and the engine incredibly stilted (which we're still dealing with a decade later) and basically no one but the most hardcore even wanted to touch it. That said classes did have variety and different stats that they relied upon which you could reset by building up reset points or something like it, so if you wanted to be a warrior or whatever you'd need/level up STR and Dex and stuff and if you switched to thaumaturge you'd need to reset your points to be INT and stuff like that.

Honestly, anyone that prefers 1.0 to 2.0 is welcome to their opinion but it's an objectively terrible opinion, 1.0 died for a reason and returning 2.0 to that kind of wasted existence would decimate the playerbase and destroy the game.

[Razard]

If it means anything to you, I completely agree with your points.

FFXIV has been overly safe for a long time, and I strongly dislike it's directiong. This is to the point that I left for WoW for about a year just to see, and wow, that game is SO much better when it comes to gamefeel and creative content, but there's just something about FFXIV that keeps me coming back. It may just be the FF aesthetic, and that's kind of upsetting.


I get that you point out the flaws because you care, and I feel the same. I just wish people were more open to criticism. I want this game to be better.

Gee I wonder why a game that nearly sank the company and probably still hasn't payed for itself all these years later wants to play it safe?

I mean, it just boggles my mind.

Isn't FFXI still being updated? Why arent' you still playing that if it's so much better?

I really don't understand.

Because then they'd have to come face to face with the fact that maybe, just maybe, they don't have nostalgia goggles big enough to cover for the fact that FFXI doesn't hold up today. That it's actually not that great and they just stockholm syndromed themselves after punching millions of crabs.

So it's just better to not touch it. and just ride off those nostalgic memories of sitting in Jueno for months on end trying to get a party because you had the termerity to pick a crap Class/ subclass. Because, you know, fun. Better to live off those memories than actually re-experience it and ruin those memories.

[Enla]

To put it bluntly 1.0 was a massive failure both commercially and gameplay-wise, the maps were gigantic empty wastelands, the content not very fun to play, and the engine incredibly stilted (which we're still dealing with a decade later) and basically no one but the most hardcore even wanted to touch it. That said classes did have variety and different stats that they relied upon which you could reset by building up reset points or something like it, so if you wanted to be a warrior or whatever you'd need/level up STR and Dex and stuff and if you switched to thaumaturge you'd need to reset your points to be INT and stuff like that.

Honestly, anyone that prefers 1.0 to 2.0 is welcome to their opinion but it's an objectively terrible opinion, 1.0 died for a reason and returning 2.0 to that kind of wasted existence would decimate the playerbase and destroy the game.

This clip shows me pretty much everything I need to know about what playing 1.0 was like frankly. Honestly everything I've heard about 1.0 from both outside sources and friends makes it sound like a god damned nightmare to play. I'm glad it appealed to some people, but the game wouldn't have flopped so hard if something wasn't wrong with it.

[Kiurai]

I had a longer thread typed but phone died and lost it. So I'll address your comparisons and the travel section.

On Travel
This ties into your comparisons a bit, but why? What does having complex movement systems that do nothing but hide loading screens, when you can teleport add to this game. I think it's cool and all but this is an instanced mmo with no actual open world like in the single players(which I'll get to in the next section) you can't walk from Gridania to Uldah without a loading screen despite them being on the same landmass so why would making an airship loading screen be any different, it's nice but just a time waster. If you want airships or ships that do other things outside of move you from city to city or town to town, I'm all for it but no point in that when you can go everywhere in the game with a small gil fee.

On your Comparisons
I don't understand comparing a persistent world to static single player ones. How they function is inherently different. In FFI the game doesn't have entities roaming the world when you aren't there. there is nothing happening to the world once you log off. They can make the way you travese the world, the way quests function the battle system, everything different since they are only creating content for a singular player they aren't restricted by that factor. FFXI doesn't work either. It's a theme park sure but not in the same vein as FFXIV. They don't have similar combat styles like WoW and XIV do. They don't have the same game speed, same gearing system. They are different styles of mmo so systems that may work it don't for us. If you want similar systems you have to look at more contempary examples, like it's main competition WoW or ESO, or GW2, or TERA, etc. Etc. But even then they are all different. Some things inherently don't work. Mythic + for example, people have asked for this content repeatedly but to tailor it for XIV is much more complex. Shit on the devs for the way they make content all you like but when you ask for things you have to look at how they function relative to each other. XIV has to play into it's strengths and change to suit those strengths. XI and XIV aren't similar enough to compare anymore. They can learn from them but direct comparisons like what you did don't work. Especially with that zone argument and chocobo. It's awful. XI is older than XIV it's only natural for it to have more zones. XIV doesn't need chocobo raising outside of racing which is on hold rn. Mounts aren't different enough to warrant such a time waster, and the way you made that section is condensing as hell and not even in a good way, your wow you had to do something to get something doesn't make sense since everything you do nets you something. Most (not all obv.) endeavors are rewarded, do E4S get a 4 seater mount. Run Rathalos EX get a mount. It goes on and on. I don't completely disagree but this thread is bogged down by some pretty weak points tbh

[SenorPatty]

Edit:
Oh and I know someone is going to say "then go play XI"... I do. I play both lol. I just want XIV to step its game up.

Well, do you want FF14 to step its game up or do you want it to be more like FF11?

Because right, now it just seems like you want it to be like FF11, and then some. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's alot of points I do agree with. The game could be more engaging in job design and battle encounters but overall, the common denominator seems to be "FF11 did this and so should FF14".

[Jin-]

I did not read it all but I don't disagree with you. It is true and I truly think that that FFXIV quests are worst on the market. Zero variation, same purple cloud to spawn the enemy.

Also open zones are incredibly boring and lifeless. Even Wow Classic makes zones feel alive and dangerous

[Tonkra]

I will break down each part of it, and while some people will say "you cannot compare XIV to a single player" I will in fact utilize FFXI, which is also a MMO, and it also was created by the same company. So to make any trivial statements about "this isnt a single player" or other ridiculous arguments, I will show, by using facts from previous entries.

Yea well, Yoshida P. had a very different approach for an Online Final Fantasy. He is like: "Monsters in the openworld should be easy trash mobs" .. then i am asking myself why even place monsters then into the openworld anyways?
"Blue Mage cant be a regular job it would be overpowered" (in my opinion its a matter of balancing just like in FFXI), "Pet classes are always OP" etc..

You have to admit, Yoshi P. did many things right to cater the "masses" but on the other hand it misses out many Final Fantasy typical stuff such as the elemental wheel. I mean in FFXI you can damage the undead with healing spells just like in every offline Final Fantasy, the element that you pick matters in damage etc. FFXIV has a very simplistic approach here. And everything is evolving around "role schemes" for the duty finder system.

And btw.

here in an other thread i just made the suggestion of ship battle etc.:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...imely-limited)

But yea, for me the openworld in FFXI and in FFXIV 1.0. felt more alive and it mattered more. Just because openworld mobs werent just trash mobs, we had to travel through regions and the weather system was soo much more realistic than what we have now.

And for me the difference of Final Fantasy XI Online was, every monster mattered, it just didnt feel like an other trash mob with a different skin.. they had great unique attacks and could hurt you for good.
Just like in offline Final Fantasys Monsters really count and arent just there for decoration. Random Monsters can be even dangerous in the openworld.

And that in my opinion made FFXI very different to other MMO's - Monsters that matter, that give EXP and that have abillities that hurt.

So you compared apples and oranges you concluded that yes oranges are in fact inferior. congrats

No need to jump into the "defense force" stance..

different kind of mmos.

,,Different kind of MMOs'' is a no brain argument. If we havent compared Final Fantasy XIV 1.0. to other MMORPGs we wouldnt have ended up with "A Realm Reborn". Thats why critics are always legit, you dont have to share his opinion. But that "you compare beans with apple" or "different kind of MMO" is a complete "no-argument"

In fact since you seem to have forgotten, ff14 1.0 had the ff11 style and it was one of the major factors that it flopped, it was only after that, that they took inspiration from Wow that 2.0 came to fruition.

I doubt (looking at your registration date) that you even have played FFXIV 1.0. in 2011. I myself am a legacy player who played even in the Beta of Final Fantasy XIV. It had many issues, such as being a very unfinished product, with almost 0 endgame content. Additionally some strange mechanics, yes. But also an engine that looked amazingly great - much better than it does now. The character models had a much higher polygon count, the world had better textures, an amazing weather system and effects (but yea, a poor performance on PS3 and some other PC systems)

But even back then i and other legacy players gave feedback to Square Enix - we compared (in your sense) "beans and apples" (other MMOs) with Final Fantasy XIV. And thats why we ended up having "A Realm Reborn".

Suggestions just like implementing Limit Break system, Classic Final Fantasy Jobs (White Mage etc.), FF siege fanfare, Gold Saucer and many others things came directly from the 1.0. players back then (myself included) and most of these have been implemented. So if we havent looked at offline Final Fantasys or other MMORPGs these features havent been implemented.. No Limit Break System, no Gold Saucer (which comes from Final Fantasy 7 - an offline Final Fantasy)

So if you say you cant compare FFXIV to offline FFs ... thats pretty wrong to say, since most of the elements of FFXIV, such as the jobs and the job system, gold saucer, the hunt system etc. come directly from offline final fantasys or Final Fantasy XI.. No "beans and apples".

[Calevr]

I think most of the playerbase rather like trash mobs to be as they are (quick and easy to kill). I am quite disappointed with that, though. I would lick my lips for more challenging monsters outside of instances. Not that I want to log in and play to grind mobs every time, but an option for this would be welcomed. Most of my posts have become about comparisons to FFXI or older content. I just prefer roaming outdoors and completing my goals out there. Unless, some dungeons could be switched to public...i do sort of sympathise with the OP. I can see the passion in his words.

[worldofneil]

FFXIV is too simplistic and bland

You're level 25. On a single class.

Yet all these forum posts... maybe you just need to actually play the game more?

[zcrash970]

You're level 25. On a single class.

Yet all these forum posts... maybe you just need to actually play the game more?

While you are right that he needs to play the game more, he's not wrong. FFXIV is very simple and at times very basic in nature. Honestly if this game didn't have the final fantasy brand, I don't it would be popular or liked.

What Yoshi-P and his team did for game was outstanding during ARR and I will never diminish their accomplishment. However, the game is becoming more and more shallow with each expansion. The story is great but everything else feels half-assed to me and I know I'm not the only one that doesn't feel this way.