sprouts, sprouts everywhere

[ryouma17]

last weekend there was only a few sprouts here and there in the starting cities but tonight theres hundreds of sprouts in all 3 starting cities and the starting zones i havent seen this many new players running around in ages when did ff14 become so popular all a sudden

[lezard21]

Famous WoW streamer Asmongold started playing the game recently and a bunch of veteran WoW players followed

[Fhaerron]

Famous WoW streamer Asmongold started playing the game recently and a bunch of veteran WoW players followed

He's not, He's going to start the 3th next month.

[ForteNightshade]

Famous WoW streamer Asmongold started playing the game recently and a bunch of veteran WoW players followed

You joke but several big name WoW streamers have been playing FFXIV. Bellular, Annie, richwcampbell and etc. They have fairly big audiences who are naturally going to follow, especially with FFXIV having a free trial until the end of HW.

[ElciaDeiLinus]

Famous WoW streamer Asmongold started playing the game recently and a bunch of veteran WoW players followed

It's sort of the opposite- a lot of WoW players have been either giving it a try or switching over entirely lately, Asmon wasn't really interested at all but basically has decided to follow.

On another note- I think the influx of new players is especially impressive right now, with the long awaited by many (including myself) TBC classic just out, and after almost a year the first Shadowlands patch coming tomorrow this is probably the biggest content drop in about a year for WoW players. I think our disappointment in what they're shoveling out speaks for itself.

I really hope that FFXIV clobbers WoW right now- because maybe, just maybe, that'll cause Blizz to clue in to how atrocious Shadowlands, BfA and now TBCC have been handled; if even their usual strategy of dropping releases at the same time as competitors isn't working they'll maybe have to do something they haven't tried since Legion- make good content.

As someone who has played WoW since Vanilla, I want it to be great- but can't pretend it is right now, and definitely can't pretend they're doing anything to course correct.

[LisSquid]

Lots of free advertising.

Be sure to carry your watering can to make sure the sprouts grow up big and tall!

Edit:

It's not just WoW players. Of course there are a lot of those, but people have been going overboard with spreading the word about FFXIV. It's also summer vacation, so people are checking it out.

[Alxyzntlct]

I imagine it's likely due to a lot of other MMOs being overly hardcore in how they treat their player base (they think people are paying to play a 2nd job, I guess?), whereas Square seems to being actually interested in providing accessible fun for most everyone. ^_^

[FoxyAreku]

I imagine it's likely due to a lot of other MMOs being overly hardcore in how they treat their player base (they think people are paying to play a 2nd job, I guess?), whereas Square seems to being actually interested in providing accessible fun for most everyone. ^_^

Hmm, this is strange to me. Every other MMO I've played is more accessible than XIV. ARR is a really big barrier of entry and it's always a big reason I can't get people to try this game, meanwhile in say, WoW, you can be max level having fun in like 2 days, picking what story you want to experience along the way. Or ESO where you just kinda do whatever.

Different strokes I guess.

[Alxyzntlct]

Hmm, this is strange to me. Every other MMO I've played is more accessible than XIV. ARR is a really big barrier of entry and it's always a big reason I can't get people to try this game, meanwhile in say, WoW, you can be max level having fun in like 2 days, picking what story you want to experience along the way. Or ESO where you just kinda do whatever.

Different strokes I guess.

Oh wow, yeah, definitely different perspectives.

Honestly, I don't feel that ARR is a barrier to entry. I'm absolutely loving playing the game, the story is phenomenal, and the way it all progresses has made the learning process a lot smoother as a whole considering how much there is to the game.

As for WoW, yeah, you could get to max level in 2 days, skipping 95% or more of the game, just to get to the current "endgame" content. Which, to be blunt, is a terrible system to me. The majority of the endgame community in WoW is a cesspit of toxicity and is a big reason why I left the game. Heck, even leveling lead to a lot of garbage attitudes where people would be caustic to anyone attempting literally any group content without having everything memorized in advance (especially for old content, which makes little sense in regards to new players). Plus nearly everything which can be done solo, especially professions, have been gutted so that the only content with real meat to it is the endgame group content, which as I noted a moment ago, is less than pleasant.

Here it's been the exact opposite experience for me, which is why I'm continuing to even play the game (whereas WoW I've dropped like a bad habit). Folks here have been, for the most part, really nice, patient, and helpful in explaining how things work. There's a width and breadth of classes that can be explored on a single character, none of which have outlandish requirements to unlock and access, and professions seem like they're going to be a lot of fun to explore and more importantly, seem worthwhile.

So that's what I meant by accessible; it's not that I can hit endgame raiding in 2 days (I'm definitely not in any hurry to get there, lol, especially considering how much of the rest of the game there is to experience), but the rest of the game has clearly been built to be thoughtful of new players or those that enjoy the leveling experience or even just simply replaying older content. It does take time, yeah, but isn't that the point? To play through and experience the whole world?

Well, it is to me at any rate. I like how it is so far, and I hope it continues to be that way.