FF14 is not made for hardcore players.

[MilitaryVet123]

Amidst all the back-and-forth about how players should spend time getting better at the game and how long grinds are completely reasonable, what is lost is that Yoshi P designed this game to be casual, family-friendly, and inclusive.

This does not mean that hardcore content should be removed or reduced.

What this means is that you should not expect hardcore performance from all players outside of hardcore content like Extreme trials. You should not expect everyone to want to or be able to "git gud" or improve. You should not demand story and side content that are not supposed to be hardcore to not offer casual players an alternative way to enjoy (with the understanding that they will not get the same loot as hardcore players).

Again, nothing in this means that hardcore content should be removed or reduced. Rather, it means that you should not expect the game and the game culture/environment to revolve around hardcore play.

In some of my recent threads expressing my worry that the loud minority of hardcore players may be signaling a skewed representation of the player base and cause biased expectations among the dev team, I received many thoughtful comments, but also many toxic and mean-spirited comments. I'll not name names but here are a few:

1.

I'm sorry but I found this hilarous, I cleared lastnight [...] two words;

Git Gud.

2.

If you have time to write bad troll posts like this, you have time to gitgud

3.

Age doesn’t diminish reaction time nor brain power and capacity. Certainly not by the age of 42.... here’s an idea OP. Get better at the game

(actually it does, and quite significantly)



The toxicity aside, what this shows is that players expect Extreme/Savage-level competence from casual players, which is clearly not what the game is designed to do and not what the target player base is. In fact, Yoshi P himself expressed similar concerns.

https://www.siliconera.com/final-fan...-future-plans/

"Yoshida is turning 44-years-old next year, but he feels that he won’t be able to make high-tempo action games when he hits around 60. That said, an MMORPG that you can relax and enjoy would be perfect."

Yes, you heard that right, FF14 is an MMORPG that is designed to let you relax and enjoy. You should not be expecting that everyone playing this game is playing it as if it's a high-tempo action game. Many players, including myself, play this game to relax, not to stress about story being locked behind difficult content.

Additionally, no, not everyone has the privilege of spending time at improving at the game. Many of the comments I've received ask me to spend time improving.

1.

If you don't have the time to learn how to play the game, you don't have time to play the game.

2.

Have you ever thought that you’re just lazy? You say things are hard. Yes then you practice the fight until you have managed the fight.

But Yoshi P designed this game to be suited to players who are not hardcore.

https://www.cgmagonline.com/2015/03/...-with-yoshi-p/

I quote:

"During the release of Final Fantasy XI, it was considered the first generation of MMOs. Back then you were not able to do anything alone. Like, you can’t do any sort of solo play. You had to gather a party, you had to stand there to shout out and gather a group of people. That alone could take an hour. Then you had to walk over to whatever dungeon or quest with your party, and then you can’t come back for another four hours. That took a long time, but that also contributed to why it was so addicting. But now, people’s lives have become so busy, and there are just so many things to do that you can’t really allocate that chunk of time to play an online game. So when it came to Final Fantasy XIV we have taken that into consideration."

You heard that right, this game isn't catered towards hardcore players who can dedicate hours upon hours each day. It's for players like me who can only play a few hours a week. Do people seriously expect Extreme/Savage-level competence from players who only play super casually and likely quit once in a while? In fact, that's exactly what Yoshi P expects:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...otivation_and/

"It's alright not to play it everyday. Since it's just a game, you can stop forcing yourself if it's hard on you to keep that up. Rather, it'll just pile up unnecessary stress if you limit yourself into playing just that one game since there are so many other games out there. So, do come back and play it to your heart's content when the major patch kicks in, then stop it to play other games before you got burnt out, and then come back for another major patch. This will actually make me happier, and in the end, I think this is the best solution I can answer for keeping your motivation up for the game."

Instead, what we see on the forums is the loud minority that expects players to be playing this game several hours a day and expect pro players to be participating in what is supposed to be casual content like Bozja. Of course, you can't see how intimidating Castrum Lacus Litore or Red Comet is if you've put thousands of hours into this game already. But keep in mind this game is not made for hardcore hours or hardcore players. If you're expecting everyone to find Extreme level mechanics a cakewalk knowing that many players may have just returned to the game or only play a few hours a week you either have ridiculously high expectations or are not taking into account that players in this game are of different ages (and will maybe have worse reaction times), may be neuroatypical or have disabilities (and can therefore find certain specific mechanics overly hard).

If you're here to tell me just to "git gud", then I guess my point is completely lost on you.