"Everyone's so open and friendly" is a lie

[Velnora]

Final Fantasy 14 wins Best Community at the Golden Joystick Awards 2021

Other front runners were
Destiny 2
Dreams
Final Fantasy 14 (winner)
Monster Hunter Rise
Magic: The Gathering Arena
No Man's Sky: Origins

Oh, whoopty do.

Even then, THAT, was the competition? Lol

[linayar]

Pretty ironic for a game that tell story about how being tempered is a bad thing, yet the community act like they're tempered by ffxiv and yoshi-p XD

From the (very overused, unfunny, and annoying) "have you tried..." jokes, to white knighting. It's tiring. Unless your complain is the big one like glamour plates and housing etc., more often than not people will tell you to just suck it up.

So, your complaint is basically that there are people who actually enjoy the game and are vocal about it.

Well tbh I actually have no problem with people being toxic, since as many others has pointed out, no community is completely toxic-free, but the way this community pretend to be the best community is very eye-rolling. There's a reason GCBTW meme exist.

For me, it's so tiring when people are too cynical about other people's enjoyment of something, be it a game or a community.

You don't have to have a perfect community/game to think it's the best. And what's best would differ from person to person anyway, based on their experience and values.

But it shouldn't be strange to go to places where supposed fans of a game would gather (thus, its community) and find people who think it's the best.

What's strange is finding people who are trying to stifle other's "enthusiasm" for whatever reason. Of course, some people might just be trying to set a good/realistic expectation, but I'd rather people err on the side of being positive than negative.

So, yeah, there's a reason that meme exist, just not a good one.

[LittleImp]

What's strange is finding people who are trying to stifle other's "enthusiasm" for whatever reason. Of course, some people might just be trying to set a good/realistic expectation, but I'd rather people err on the side of being positive than negative.

So, yeah, there's a reason that meme exist, just not a good one.

There's a point where the "enthusiasm" spills over into nastiness. Some FFXIV players are downright militant about their devotion to the game; They turn up in the comment sections of media about other games and crap all over games they haven't even played, while promoting FFXIV like we're back in the days of the console wars. This isn't just restricted to WoW either; I've seen it happening in the comments with many other games, including some of the games 14 was 'competing' with for that golden joystick award.

Another example, my social circle on FFXIV includes a few small to medium streamers, and pretty much all of them have a few creepy regulars (often top donators) who will guilt them and get weirdly emotional any time they try to stream another game. One of them ended up totally burning out on the game because of it and basically went on hiatus.

Cult-like behavior does effect people negatively, so it's worth some level of criticism.

[Arazehl]

Oh, whoopty do.

Even then, THAT, was the competition? Lol

What competition did you expect with a community to make it in the top 5? Lol

[_Pigzig]

flies and lies

[KittyKet]

Final Fantasy 14 wins Best Community at the Golden Joystick Awards 2021

Other front runners were
Destiny 2
Dreams
Final Fantasy 14 (winner)
Monster Hunter Rise
Magic: The Gathering Arena
No Man's Sky: Origins

Destiny 2 is two camps. In PVE, the community is pretty great. And a lot the instance missions (strikes), raids, and public events are very mechanic heavy, so you gotta cooperate. PVP ON THE OTHER HAND is a nightmare. One time my husband killed a guy, and they messaged him accusing him of cheating, and my husband's like "...but I'm on Xbox?" The Trials PVP event is the sweatiest thing I've ever had to dip my toes in, and I've never went back. And Gambit which is like PVE + PVP, only clowns play Gambit. And I am a clown.

It's the same for FFXIV. Most people are pretty friendly in dungeons, but raids and extreme+ content, things can get a bit spicy. I admit in one run, I got a bit snippy with someone who got snippy with me. It happens. Nothing escalated beyond that and we finished the run on a good note. To me, that's why the FF community is less toxic than most. It's not because no one ever gets angry, or frustrated, or even downright heated, I think most of us are able to dial things down a bit and players are forgiving most of the time.

[KizuyaKatogami]

Pretty ironic for a game that tell story about how being tempered is a bad thing, yet the community act like they're tempered by ffxiv and yoshi-p XD

From the (very overused, unfunny, and annoying) "have you tried..." jokes, to white knighting. It's tiring. Unless your complain is the big one like glamour plates and housing etc., more often than not people will tell you to just suck it up.

Well tbh I actually have no problem with people being toxic, since as many others has pointed out, no community is completely toxic-free, but the way this community pretend to be the best community is very eye-rolling. There's a reason GCBTW meme exist.

This explains it so well. The 14 community feels so cult-like it’s crazy. Don’t agree with other people’s opinions? Get mobbed. Give criticism to the game? Get mobbed. It’s so crazy too because it’s literally any criticism, even criticism that’s saying the game is really good like Scottzone did. He said the raids were so fun he wished the devs would put more floors in a tier and he got sent death threats and got doxxed for it. It’s ridiculous. People expect you to praise the devs 24/7 and should you ever criticize them youre satan.

[linayar]

Cult-like behavior does effect people negatively, so it's worth some level of criticism.

Sure, but are you ascribing that behavior to (and therefore criticizes) to those individuals or the community as a whole? Because it seems, there are people who would do the latter.

When people say this game has a great community, do you think those behaviors are what they're applauding? If not, then any exception you may point about the community is just that, exceptions.

So, yes, we can agree that people can take anything (like or dislike toward something) too far, and people can still say this game's community is great or nice or the best, and they wouldn't be contradictory statements.

[Theodric]

I think that if large swathes of the community are being ignored in order to declare that same community to be 'great' then it is a sign that things aren't nearly so wonderful after all.

Exactly how many 'exceptions' does there need to be before something becomes an established trend, for that matter?

[LittleImp]

Sure, but are you ascribing that behavior to (and therefore criticizes) to those individuals or the community as a whole? Because it seems, there are people who would do the latter.

When people say this game has a great community, do you think those behaviors are what they're applauding? If not, then any exception you may point about the community is just that, exceptions.

So, yes, we can agree that people can take anything (like or dislike toward something) too far, and people can still say this game's community is great or nice or the best, and they wouldn't be contradictory statements.

This behavior is heavily, albeit maybe inadvertently, encouraged by widespread community attitudes.

A lot of online content for this game revolves around bashing other games. If you look at the top FFXIV reddit posts from this year, the top two are about WoW. There are many more wow-related memes in the top 20, almost all of them being overwhelmingly negative. I've also seen content reach the front page mocking New World, and basically any other MMO that has launched during FFXIVs lifespan. Just look at how frequently threads about other games are created in this forum, even though it's usually totally irrelevant to 14.

I've never been in another gaming community that relied so heavily on bashing other games, and the people who enjoy them, for content. Maybe back in like 2010 with the whole CoD vs Battlefield thing?

For me, it's so tiring when people are too cynical about other people's enjoyment of something, be it a game or a community.

Try mentioning that you play New World, World of Warcraft, or League of Legends into basically any public chat on 14 and see what happens.