What are the largest issues plaguing XIV currently?

[LariaKirin]

Alright, now I have greater combo complexity than exists in the current build of Dragoon atop, potentially, all the mobility of Elusive Jump, GCD-optimization akin to Life Surge but far more frequently and fluidly available, and window optimization in ways novel to Dragoon. I've still used only... 2 buttons.

This sounds awful.

Do the three modes use 2 buttons for the purpose of shuffling your buttons around? Is it designed annoyance you'll get used to or is it there just to reduce the number of buttons?

The charge mechanic cannot happen because this is a tab-target game. You press button, something happens. But assuming it would, how would this fit into the GCD system? Does this extend/delay your next GCD while charging? Do you have to time the release of your charge mid-GCD? It sounds like multiple versions of Kaiten in disguise. It sounds like a gimmick whose only purpose is to reduce the number of buttons.

You can currently reset your combo at any time. You can achieve the same thing with the current buttons by simply adding synergistic effects.

You've condensed the lack of choice into an illusion of choice and hid it behind unnecessary complexity just to compress it all into fewer buttons. No matter how you package this, it will be theorycrafted into an optimal rotation and, in the end, you've achieved nothing but fewer buttons.

[Shurrikhan]

Do the three modes use 2 buttons for the purpose of shuffling your buttons around?

They use two buttons because there's no reason to have a third. If you're already in a given mode, why would you need a button for it? That's the equivalent of having a button to "stand still" when there's no force acting on your character anyways.

Is it designed annoyance you'll get used to or is it there just to reduce the number of buttons?

Depends. Do you like having a button for "Accelerate", "decelerate", AND "keep going at the same speed you're already doing"? If so, it might be a bit annoying to you, but that doesn't make annoyance a design intent. The example merely uses as many buttons as are needed.

The charge mechanic cannot happen because this is a tab-target game.

Charge mechanics exist in other tab-target games, you realize?

You press button, something happens.

Yes. In this case, charging happens. Stance-swap happens on button release. If you don't want the charge before that given swap, you merely tap the key rather than holding. The .05 seconds of charge in the interim is inconsequential. If this seems overcomplicated, then beware of learning how XIV's current systems actually work.

You can currently reset your combo at any time.

You can also technically spam True Thrust or refuse to use oGCDs. That doesn't make it viable.

You've condensed the lack of choice into an illusion of choice and hid it behind unnecessary complexity just to compress it all into fewer buttons.

Let's consider: Which exactly is the illusion?

You currently have 9 buttons which convey 1 choice per 10 GCDs. As it is not viable to reset a combo, you have no choices therebetween once the combo has started.

The above illustration has 2 choices permitted in every GCD, and consumes 2 buttons to permit them. Is that somehow hiding the number of choices you have?

If I have 2 buttons by which to manage 2 decisions, does that involve more "unnecessary complexity" than using 9 buttons to actuate 1 decision?

No matter how you package this, it will be theorycrafted into an optimal rotation and, in the end, you've achieved nothing but fewer buttons.

Putting aside your reductionism by which any amount of otherwise enjoyable complexity can only ever be reduced to zero, why would requiring fewer buttons to do even same job (not the case here, but let's follow your pretext) be a bad thing?

Regardless, you seem to be under a misconception.

Naturally, to take advantage of those different skills' unique effects, you'd want more buttons. Heck, you might even want all 12 of them. But that's only effective design when you let each amount to at least a decision each for every given GCD, rather than a third, fifth, or ninth of a decision as offered every 3, 5, or 10 GCDs. Having a lot of buttons is fine, but it ought to come with commensurate depth, rather than just depth in pretense -- the reality of which, by being separated despite marking no separate decision, is squandered.

The point is not necessarily to reduce button count, but merely to give each button a damn good reason for being there. With 8 buttons for each job I can manage depth equal to or greater than what is currently in game. Personally, I like about 16 regularly used buttons, and tend towards multiple of 4, and powers of 4, specifically (because that greatly helps controller support). But that would mean tremendously greater actual depth for XIV's combat. I'd look forward to that, but that may be excessive for many who'd, say, rather point at their bloated bars and, whilst retaining more casual play, claim mental superiority over games that use half that number but to far greater nuance.

[LaughingBanana]

Connection lagging.

It's extremely annoying when this happens, and for some reason it happened to me semi regularly recently, probably because influx of new players due to free versions and veterans coming back with new patch but Square is sodding off with their servers.

[ZattanaWen]

Probably already been said, but bots.

After reading up a bit on it, it sounds like most servers have what I've been seeing on my server: a collection of bot accounts (conveniently in the same FC) where one just sits in an apartment 24/7 crafting, and the others, who are leveled only as high as they need to be to use retainers, rotate in and out to constantly undercut on the MB. They have dozens of retainers and are selling pretty much every possible high priced craftable item you can think of. If you want to sell one of those items, you are out of luck, because you are competing with a script that will undercut you every time you drop the price.

I know that selling stuff on the MB is a minor aspect of the game, but it's one that always used to be fun. That's over now. Between the bots owning the market for anything profitable, and the housing demolition hold virtually ending the market for housing items, there's very little of value one can sell on the MB anymore.

And it's true that these factors have cratered prices for everything in general, meaning you don't need much gil anymore to get what you want, but it's still an aspect of the game that's been destroyed.

[Endeleon]

There's no freaking moombas.

[KayRadley]

Content droughts. COVID exasperated this, as seen in 5.3's delay and the unfortunate cancellation of the All Saints' Wake event, but it feels as though there are large gaps between major content updates, with what we get in each update not being quite enough to hold us over until the next. I've been enjoying some roleplaying to compensate, but hope this can be addressed.

[Ash_]

The biggest issue as an Aussie I am currently facing is apparently everywhere is somehow out of stock of digital EU game time cards.. I usually buy from Game UK, but have looked around various other reputable sites and its the same story. How do you sell out of digital codes? Seems like I'll have to settle paying maximum $40 this time from the SE store -_-

[Sequine]

Catgirls
Tater haters
lack of optional hardcore light party content(Mythic+ equivalent)
Manqo'te being a manlet race that caps out shorter than fem midlander
Elezen men need a cheesy mustache.

[Zumi]

I feel like there could be more bosses per raid tier. Each raid tier has 4 bosses and there are 3 tiers in an expansion and you get 12 total for the expansion. Would like to see more bosses per raid for sure.

[ASkellington]

Some of this has already been said, but maybe collectively it'll help get some changes rolling:

State of healers. I actually just ran The Great Hunt normal earlier and that fight alone sums up healing in general: In 90% of content I'm barely doing anything. To the point where I wish I wasn't there or was an actual DPS. As an AST I have cards to deal with some boredom. I feel sorry for my co-healer WHM and SCH mains.

Can also include State of Tanks and some other DPS jobs in there. Tanks don't feel different other than effects. Some DPS, while not struggling, could use some major quality of life changes. I don't main those classes so I cannot comment on them. We all know who they are.

Lack of communication for western audiences. I get it. Square is based in Japan. That audience is the major focus. But when you have a 73 (and possibly still going) page asking who has quit healing, when you have several various different posts asking for DRK changes on the English forums, I think you should address that. To add onto this, and sorry if its going back to point 1, there was 0 communication about any healer questions, and for the most part that has remained. Why? People feel ignored and its pushing them away from the game.

Content design. Oh boy is this a doozy. Dungeons this expansion aren't hard at all. Maybe I'm old fashioned or maybe it was never this way, but I thought that dungeons were there to teach you how to use your kit in practice for Raids/Trials and Savage content. They do not. And they should. I shouldn't have to go into Savage level content to make the most out of my kit if I'm not a dps. I should be challenged to do so in dungeons so I'm prepared to do it even better by the time I get there. Tankbusters should be more frequent. Raid wide damage should be more frequent. If healers are forced to have so much healing in our kits (cause healers) make the content match.

Since its partly related, older fights while synced (CT raids I'm looking at you) need to be relooked at in the ilvl department. We shouldn't be able to skip phases as we are right now.
I could also extend this to somewhat dead content (like FATEs outside of Yokai event) but word limit.

The Devs do not feel that it is ok for X to be more difficult than Y. Aside from Savage/Extreme vs normal content. It is ok for certain jobs to require more skill than others. If a person wants to get better at a job, they will learn to get better. If they avoid a job because its too high skill for them, that is also fine. You do not have to, and should not, make jobs easier and accessible for all to play. People who want the higher skill will automatically be drawn to it. Not everything is for everyone and it shouldn't be.