What are the largest issues plaguing XIV currently?

[sarehptar]

I think the "hot button" issue that underlies many, if not all other issues, is the poor back-end infrastructure of the game and the team's lack of time, money, enough staff, etc. to fix those back-end issues.

Character customization and gear design are gimped by poor character data management, inventory and housing are terribly limited, glamour is poorly designed, the new races are limited, every battle arena ends up being a circle or square, lack of diverse new content that doesn't just turn out to be another fate grind... Lack of options for substats/horizontal progression on gear, lack of variety in patch content delivery... Lack of balance between classes, underwhelming combat changes in the expansions, and so on and so on.

It all comes back to not wanting to invest enough money and man-power to improve basic infrastructure and design.

Because why invest money to improve something that is already making money hand-over-fist as it is?

[Absurdity]

Lack of balance between classes

The classes are actually rather balanced...and that's exactly the issue. The balanced was achieved by homogenization and makes most jobs feel incredibly bland.

[sarehptar]

The classes are actually rather balanced...and that's exactly the issue. The balanced was achieved by homogenization and makes most jobs feel incredibly bland.

Some groups are definitely more balanced (and yeah, definitely more homogenized), the tanks being a perfect example, but with other groups they still can't get it right; BRD literally just got a potency increase with 5.3... to undo a potency decrease they added in 5.1...

[DPZ2]

I think the "hot button" issue that underlies many, if not all other issues, is the poor back-end infrastructure of the game and the team's lack of time, money, enough staff, etc. to fix those back-end issues.

The best answer to those problems is "abandon development on the current game and start development on the next one".

Be sure that is what you really want before asking for it.

Didn't think so.

Another answer: Start looking for another game that meets your requirements (about class balance, combat changes, meaningful horizontal gear progression). Surely there is something out there that matches what you desire that isn't FFXI. [OK, OK. Cheap shot. I promise I'll be good. Hashtag Satire]

Final answer: find investors and create your own game with exactly those features you desire the most. I understand there are any number of Crowd-sourced MMOs "in development", although they may have been so for five years or more.

[sarehptar]

The best answer to those problems is "abandon development on the current game and start development on the next one".

Be sure that is what you really want before asking for it.

Didn't think so.

Another answer: Start looking for another game that meets your requirements (about class balance, combat changes, meaningful horizontal gear progression). Surely there is something out there that matches what you desire that isn't FFXI. [OK, OK. Cheap shot. I promise I'll be good. Hashtag Satire]

Final answer: find investors and create your own game with exactly those features you desire the most. I understand there are any number of Crowd-sourced MMOs "in development", although they may have been so for five years or more.

I don't understand the point of your reply. On a thread about the game's biggest problems... I pointed out problems... And you for some reason seem to dislike that I did so?