Realization that I could safely quit at 6.0's completion just hit me and that sucks

[SpiralMask]

Endwalker wrapping up the story I've followed along since my friends and I started playing presents an interesting option to make a clean break from ff14.

I started the game in early heavensward as my first real dive into an MMO when hearing my friends' enjoyment of their first blind run of the ravana trial over skype got me interested, and leveled/played as a summoner through the story since having a little eidolon pet sounded rad, the carbuncle was adorable, and I didn't want to deal with the responsibilities of tanking or healing with how inexperienced I was. The story was wonderful (the ARR faffing about for titan, leviathan, and crystal tower aside) and I had a wonderful time playing with my friends--now an FC ourselves--all the way through heavensward.

Stormblood and it's new classes get announced and we're all excited, the group roles shuffle and I decide to take up scholar (after some Healer Panic™ due to my lack of experience, but once I got past that I even started dabbling in tanking later) to round out the party. After some initial stumbles I have a complete blast and fall in love with scholar and healing in general, and the story is also going strong and shinryu is appropriately climactic. great times are had by all.

Now the friends and I had always had discussions on classes we'd want to see and play as (because who doesn't); one wanted dancer and had fallen in love with astrologian's depth and complexity in the meantime, one was a huge fan of FF8 and wanted a gunblade DPS class (since they enjoy the role and why not, the garleans already had them), one had already gotten their pick of red mage and were enjoying it a lot. and the last wanted rune fencer but was quite happy with red mage as well, though they've largely drifted out of touch with the fc since then. Mine was blue mage, and doesn't really need more explaining.

- - -

As the end of stormblood approaches and things are winding up for shadowbringer's launch we get a massive swathe of exciting announcements. dancer's announced and that friend is happy, gunbreaker's announced and the FF8 friend is popping off--and we all do when viera are announced on top of that, and then the CEO comes out in costume to announce my all-time favorite. I may have cried at the time.

Then comes the bad news. dancer is a dead simple simon-says class and astrologian is getting the great majority of it's complexity stripped entirely (its card diversity and card modifications like spread, royal road, and so on--along with every scrap of it's time-related magics outside of lightspeed, and only because having an MP-managment skill is mandatory now). DNC-friend decides to fall back on their old ARR class MNK to at least have a class with something going on since challenge is their jam. RDM friend is a bit sad that RDM effectively had zero changes whatsoever to keep things fresh, and WHM (which they'd previously drifted away from in ARR due to how boring it was) was somehow made even moreso with the combat overhaul, but are interested in playing a viera. gunblade-friend was still threatening to clip through solid objects with how fast they were shaking with excitement, even if it was a downer that GNB was a tank (that it was very DPS-like softened the blow a great deal, and they're still having a great time). Scholar gets half of it's kit gutted and gains nothing in it's place (such as actual fairy gauge mechanics), and I've been incredibly outspoken on the forums about how deeply, viscerally disappointing BLU is that it doesn't really need further elaboration here.

- - -

But hey, at least everyone is looking forward to more story, and it definitely doesn't disappoint; the first is super interesting, the darker story tone is a welcome surprise, and emet-selch's performance just knocks it out of the park and straight into space. Elidibus is a bit of a step down (and a bit ruched/ham-fisted with the kidnapping to amaurot fight section) but the lead-in and actual WoL fight is super enjoyable and the wrap-up is pretty darn heartwarming (though again, a step down compared to emet-selch's which really is jsut unfortunate timing on elidibus' part more than any real flaws). Zenos has long since overstayed his welcome, having had a good finale in stormblood that was now entirely wasted, and minor-annoyance asahi is back and now even less interesting than ever (which I personally wasn't sure was possible).

With the monk overhaul DNC-friend was driven away entirely. Every class they'd enjoyed having had all complexity removed, and the complete destruction of the main lore points/nations they were interested in being completely ruined in tehir eyes--the MNK's homeland and both 1.0- and ARR-important ala mhigo is abandoned in the story pretty much the second you get there in stormblood, the lore of the scion rep for there is tossed out the window entirely ten seconds before you arrive, and then once the story is over the nation left as a smoking hole in the ground to this very day (with two whole sidequests saying it'll maybe get better eventually), and ARR and HW spent a lot of time with gaius and regulus saying that the empire had it's own nobility to it and could try to argue a case for it's positives despite their tactics--SB then shows that garlemald is comprised entirely of moustache-twirling supervillains from top to bottom (with a minor attempt to course-correct via the nerd who was with asahi who totally isn't going to die any second now). ala mhigo's desperately-needed aid being passed over in lieu of rebuilding doma and its entire economy BY HAND, ishgard getting an entire DoH/DoL area dedicated entirely to rebuilding it, and endwalker already announcing that you'll be helping fix garlemald next is basically just a big ol' slap in the face for them specifically, and the news that AST is getting it's last unique trait in being a 'flexible' healer scrapped has pretty much guaranteed that they're never coming back. As much as things might suck for me, I can't even begin to imagine how depressing of a topic the game must be for them now.

That varis is dead, the mishandled garlemald plot is getting dropped completely by making everyone a mind-slave (and no doubt completely about-face once we save them), and the now comparably-least-interesting-villain-by-a-mile zenos was shown to be the main antagonist for endwalker (alongside "destroy everything lul" fandaniel) has killed RDM-friend's interest pretty much entirely as well.

- - -

GNB-friend is more than happy with zenos' "hot player-violence mirror" angle and still greatly enjoys their gun-bunny, and honestly the main reason I still play is to hang out with them rather than any real interest in the gameplay at this point, as healers are both kneecapped and ignored, and BLU is the single greatest monkey's paw wish that I've ever experienced (mercifully I suppose considering the grand sceme of things).

Unless 6.0 does a lot to about-face (and why would it, really?) or 6.1 has a REAL strong hook for that "completely new chapter" they've talked about I don't really see much point in continuing to play after this, and the realization that my usual level of grumpy had become real bitterness towards something I've made so many good memories in is deeply confusing.

[Aluja89]

Yeah I'm with you on most points. I love this game but the class designers absolutely ruin it for me.

DNC basically cannibalized BRD.
Tanks just play the same and DRK gets shafted every expansion.
Healer design doesn't make sense with encounter design.

The list goes on. I think I can safely say I'll most likely quit after 6.0 if they don't start favoring the other roles during the next fanfast because it'll just mean that it's going to be more of the same.

[VisitingTraveler]

I feel you. I too was saddened with the class changes. LOVED AST until it was gutted and the uniqueness was somewhat lost. (That and after memorizing the "cards" and how to use them, stung a little too.) I did pre-order Endwalker because I know (hope) that it will be another good story. It is the best part of the game. Sadly though, keeping me playing is another thing after the story is done. The glamour system is cool but surprisingly pretty limited compared to other MMO's. Meaning, other MMO's you don't need to have the items/gear for the look you want. No inventory space is wasted. The gear look is "unlocked" and you can then, with ingame money, change to what you want. Crafting is nice but again, lots of wasted inventory is wasted to keep all the mats you need to level all the DoH's. PLUS the gear for each DoH and DoL along with all your different job gear. Not as little as GW2 bank and inventory is but close. In WoW, I could have a bank toon for needed storage. Same with SWTOR. These little QoL issues make it hard for me to stay on FFXIV after the story. And I hate that because FFXIV is a beautiful game. Better than most. It does baffle me than as old as this game is, the inventory system is not updated. That needs a major overhaul. For now, GW2 has my attention with the uniqueness and fun classes as well as the crafting and exploring aspect. (Engineer ftw!)

[_Koneko_]

they already explained several times the inventory system is how it is because of the engine being crap

[Puremallace]

Starting to get concerned about the extreme monetization of the playerbase. If it continues I will leave before getting invested in a new story.

[LianaThorne]

Starting to get concerned about the extreme monetization of the playerbase. If it continues I will leave before getting invested in a new story.

Extreme monetization is everywhere though tbh. Not trying to say it's excusable but we've been in the age of games (especially live services) being monetized for years now. Only a matter of time before FF joined in. I can easily list more games that take it to a worse place than FF tho (glamour rentals/charging upwards of $60+ for one outfit, as an example).

[OdinelStarrei]

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from here. I was thinking of the exact same thing. I did a /playtime recently, and I've broken a year of in-game time, after playing since HW. And coming from someone who thinks that 4.55 FFXIV is literally the peak of the game, (seriously think about how much varied content was in the game at that specific point, EVERYONE had something for them, jobs were mostly great, no one section of the playerbase was left out) Shadowbringers post-launch combat and job design has done so much damage to my willingness to be invested in the game.

Don't get me wrong, I own the encyclopedias, I'm deeply invested in the game's plot, the world, and my character. I unironically agree with your friend about Zenos being a player-mirror for some people. For me, every time he shows up, I'm just saying," Let me and my greatsword at him. Our battle will be legendary!" 6.0 launch is going to be an emotional rollercoaster for me because I'm invested in ALL content, everything the game has ever tried, I have at least attempted, most of it I have exceeded in. But I continue to play the game for the combat system. You go through the story one time, and that single, new experience is brief, and fleeting. But fun and interesting gameplay loops are the core of any combat-focused video game. That's what keeps you coming back. And after tanks getting gutted, healers getting completely destroyed, my main job getting absolutely annihilated at a conceptual level (to the point where for the first time in six years I'm seriously considering swapping mains to DPS) and the complete and total lack of developer attention to that specific section of the game, why continue to get angry when I'm no longer the priority?

It's my opinion that your experience and thoughts about FFXIV are reflected in the lens of the content or job you're most invested in. For players who only want story and nothing else, there is little competition in the space. For players who want to interact with their friends and 123 through easy content, there is little competition in the space. But for players who want skill expression? Risk? Job-specific failure states and objective mastery of content? Those who are truly seeking something more in their individual gameplay experience, something advanced or at least engaging, that section of the game has been segmented away from the primary gameplay experience, ostracized by the majority, and marginalized. (Where's my Very Hard MSQ huh?) I will miss my friends. I will miss them deeply, but there comes a point where you have to realize, the game isn't made for you anymore. And that's okay. It may be time to walk away.

I am very bitter. But I'm seeing this through to the end, I need to see the direction the game is heading for myself. It's fitting the expansion is called Endwalker.

[Istaru]

Extreme monetization is everywhere though tbh. Not trying to say it's excusable but we've been in the age of games (especially live services) being monetized for years now. Only a matter of time before FF joined in. I can easily list more games that take it to a worse place than FF tho (glamour rentals/charging upwards of $60+ for one outfit, as an example).

I will go out on a limb here, and guess that most if not all of your list are free to play games without a subscription cost or need to buy the base game.

This game charges a monthly fee and has many monthly options they charge for on top of that. They charge for the base game, they charge for each expansion and they charge for each platform you want to play on, They also add items to a premium store and charge for other in-game rewards that are attached to overpriced "merchandise" they peddle with in-game rewards to take advantage of FOMO and exclusivity.

If you have a good example of another MMO with a monetization program like that, I would love to know what it is.

[StriderShinryu]

It will also provide a potentially more welcoming invitation to those who haven't gotten invested yet because of being afraid they'll need to be intimately familiar with 10 years of ongoing story.

[LianaThorne]

I will go out on a limb here, and guess that most if not all of your list are free to play games without a subscription cost or need to buy the base game.

This game charges a monthly fee and has many monthly options they charge for on top of that. They charge for the base game, they charge for each expansion and they charge for each platform you want to play on, They also add items to a premium store and charge for other in-game rewards that are attached to overpriced "merchandise" they peddle with in-game rewards to take advantage of FOMO and exclusivity.

If you have a good example of another MMO with a monetization program like that, I would love to know what it is.

Like I said, monetization has been around for years in many different forms. I also have not played every live service game under the sun. The closest comparison I could give to this would be SWTOR (subscription (otherwise you're severely limited in what you can do), premium shop, costs premium currency to change basic appearance options (for example hair), costs premium currency to be able to sell more items than the cap, can sell premium shop items on the market so people who spend real money have a distinct advantage in making in game currency since those items typically sell for hundreds of millions, etc.).