Quote Originally Posted by Theodric View Post
Yoshi-P has actually spoken frequently on the subject of WoW and has expressed the claim that he is a fan of it himself. Recent controversies aside, the game is famous for good reason - it effectively put MMO's on the map in the eyes of mainstream audiences and given that this is a sub-forum mostly comprised of European and American players then one of the most ground breaking MMO's in existence is naturally going to be used where comparisons are concerned.

We can also look to the likes of GW2 and ESO in addition to WoW.

What would you suggest people compare FFXIV to if not those three MMO's? Especially when the lead developer is on record as stating that his team played other MMO's to see what they could take on board as inspiration after 1.0 was deemed a complete failure?
It doesn't need to be compared at all. They have their own agenda, they don't release content like others do to "compete" with the other MMOs. Of course people are going to play other games to get ideas, but that doesn't mean you model trash for trash. You don't learn only what people like, but what they also dislike in a game. FFXIV isn't perfect, and things like housing is a near total trainwreck but at least it does have housing. WoW if I remember right, still doesn't have housing, right? Something that's been asked for implementation for years. "Duly noted" is the developer response. PvP isn't big in FFXIV either. Yes, it's there. No, it's not huge.

Again, culture-based. You are really comparing apples to oranges with these games too. Different mindsets on how things are here, and you can probably find things in FFXIV that aren't structured anywhere else. That's what makes it stand out.

I won't mention the toxicity of player base between the two, but it is noticeable and does make the a game what it is.