Why does this game still cater to exploiters and cheaters?

[Mortikhan]

From what I can see...if it exists within the game itself then I do not see how it is an exploit. If the OPs definition of exploitation is someone finding a more efficient way of doing something then you will be very very very disappointed in every game you find on the market. Some things do need to be fixed but while they are in game and the devs are not making it a priority to fix them then obviously they approve of them for now until a better system can be found. Exploitation of a game mechanic or system is not cheating and you are confusing the two if you are lumping them in together. If that is your definition of cheating then partying, mass use of leves, selling things for high prices and gouging on the MWs, continuously doing the same instance and playing for long hours doing the same thing are all exploits. They are just accepted and community/dev approved exploits. Faulting people for not going through the same painful or excruciating things you did leveling something or earning gil just means you are bitter about someone reaching the same goal faster by using another means.

So where do the other things fall (ie. botting, RMT etc.). These are cheats. Someone is using something outside the games parameters to achieve a desired result. The game does not have a built in bot, therefor anyone using a bot is cheating. RMT is no different. It is getting gil from an outside source rather than earning it through what the game offers. Banning those going outside the game to achieve their goals is fine by me. But if the game allows something to happen and you think it should change then report it as a bug. If the devs disagree then you have some options. Stop playing the game and do not recommend it to others. Continue to play your way and understand that others will play their way based on what the game allows. Build your own MMORPG and then you can make the rules.

[DarthTaru]

1+ years ago when players with ZERO game skill were making easy fortunes selling crab bow +3's at a time when 50 crafts were not so prevalent I can understand the frustration. Now... who cares? Botters aren't worth celebrating and throwing a national holiday for but I don't exactly lose any sleep over them, either. There's an abundance of 50 crafters and 50 gatherers now where making huge fortunes in the current market requires some intelligence and market foresight and not just a bot program. The wealthiest player I know makes his money on a keen understanding of the market.

And manaburning Garuda? Who cares?

The relaunch of 2.0 is fast approaching and if this game is going to be worth playing long term its content will be such that nobody will care in the slightest that someone who couldn't beat Garuda through all her phases has a Garuda primal weapon because of a BLM burn.
Do you honestly believe if Odin and other high level open world HNMs are released that people are going to be judged on how many Garuda weapons they have? People incapable of defeating something like Garuda without an `exploit` will be back at the back of the line with capable and skilled players dominating their servers.

Capable and skilled players, not fish-bots, craft-bots, and "Garuda exploiters".
If you're worried about people being propelled into FFXIV super stardom because they got a Garuda wand from a BLM burn let me put your little heart at ease.

They won't be.

[Preypacer]

You want to end PL then find a way to let people of different levels play with each other simple. It's gotten to the point where there are so many 50's that any new player who asks for help alot of the time are ignored unless they want a 50 plowing through whatever it is they are doing.For many new players the choice of running around playing by yourself or getting PL to join everyone isn't a hard decision. This game isn't terribly exciting by yourself.

So that's the excuse for PL'ing now, then?

What was it, then, when no one was level 50 yet?

Many people PL because for some reason they believe that MMOs are a race to the end-game. It's not just in XIV. It's in every MMO. Meanwhile, they can't figure out why they're bored and spend all their time repeating the same few dungeons over and over again while they wait for new content to come out.

Remind them that there's 50 (or more, depending on the MMO) levels of content that they raced past, and they say "yeah but that's just useless filler to slow you down. MMOs are all about end-game", or some other self-validating response. And that's not me making assumptions. I've seen many people defending PL'ing with that exact argument.

And every single time, without fail, you see the same people at end game complaining about not enough to do, the game not having enough content, the devs being too slow to add new stuff, etc.

Here's what I'm waiting for, and you can call this a prediction if you like.

2.0 launches and everyone who was in a race to get all the classes/jobs to 50 before it does will blast straight to all the end-game content, get through it and be in the same exact position they are now. Then you'll start seeing the complaints by all the level 50s, bored out of their minds, wondering why they don't have more to do. Oh sure they could go through all the lower level content, but they'll be so grossly out-leveled for it that it won't bring them any challenge, nor any reward that's even as good as what they already have. They'll be right back in the same situation they are now, and they'll blame SE for it, calling 2.0 a failure.

Anytime someone comes back and suggests that they not PL through everything and experience more of the content, they'll become horribly offended and indignant. You'll see further self-validating utterances as "just because you suck at leveling...", while the point and wisdom of the suggestion given to them flies completely over their head. They'll be too busy blaming SE for their own self-defeating gameplay choices.

"But they can make alts" you might say. Sure. They can make alts, with which they proceed to do exactly the same thing... skipping past most of the content to get the Alt to level 50 as fast as possible...

Again, call it a prediction.

For myself? I intend to have at least one, maybe 2 jobs to 50 by 2.0. I'm deliberately keeping most of my classes/jobs for after 2.0 so I can experience all the content, from level 1 up, at the intended challenge level instead of leaving myself with only high level/end-game content to do, then wondering why I'm so bored after I've blown through it all.

It absolutely is the players' choice on how quickly they level their characters. However, when they predictably find themselves in the same situation every time - bored out of their minds waiting for new high-end content to be added - they don't figure it out. It's like they can't help themselves, they get into a MMO and everything else disappears except "getting level 50 and completing end-game content as fast as possible".

Now, I personally don't care if people PL. If they want to trivialize the experience of playing a MMO and skip past all the content in some race toward a finish line that doesn't exist other than for their own ego... that's their business. I'm just waiting to be blown away the day someone comes out and, instead of blaming SE for their own choices and playstyle, says "you know, I've realized that by PL'ing past everything, I'm really screwing over my own long-term enjoyment". I just hope I'm sitting down when/if it happens.

[Lavinia]

So you are saying having all classes at 50 means I bot. Well good to say I soloed all war classes to 40 that was b4 1.18 then PT 40~50 only MRD I went to the wolf camp when all could be storm path, now I went and got all gathering classes to 50, you know that you just need 90 leves from 30~50 maybe less if you are lucky with sweat of the brow, and am doing around 350~500k crafting everyday now /hopes to get all classes I need done in 7 days/. Wanna know how to do that stick to recipes 10 levels adobe yours and buy some DVDs then you can put the video in the screen and just leave the craft UI visible and thats all you need.

OH and BTW did you know faction Leves give 20k exp rewards now you just need to do 5 leves that can take 5 minutes each to get 49~50 now so really botting againts a super fast leveling it does nothing, maybe you feel like banning all people cause they have all their classes maxed thinking they all botted, so sue me in a week or so since ill be one of those xD

[Corrderio]

*Gets his dead horse beater*

[Ruisu]

takes longer to hit 50 in wow than it does in this game.

jussayin'!

but, yeah. i'm getting pretty sick of how cheating goes completely unpunished in ffxiv. the main draw of ff mmos is supposed to be the community- but a community full of lazy, entitled cheaters is a pretty shitty one. just look at our wonderful forums for evidence

You mean like how Garuda parties came to a screeching halt once they fixed the astral flow bug? Terrible, lazy communities in video games, more news at 11.

[DarthTaru]

The problem of people being power leveled in a week is more an issue with the game mechanics.
Without being able to effeciently level link anymore (I think, anyway) I would honestly feel sorry for anyone logging into game and having to grind out 50 levels for each battle class.

In XI, XP parties were a social experience. They were fun, at least for the first few hours depending on the party. You could build an incredible party and still be able to chat with people, get to know people, joke around in linkshell chat, all the while racking up XP chains and progressing through XP areas.

In this game, leveling up a job in an XP party is just mentally taxing. It's not as bad as it was before auto attack was added, but I can recall being mentally drained after only twenty minutes. I didn't enjoy myself at all.
And without voice chat, it's virtually impossible to socialize while in a party.

It's not an "experience" - it's a miserable grind, at least it was back when I had to do it in between Dunesfolk for Dinners.
If the XP system isn't changed I pity new players and can hardly blame them for wanting to be level boosted through shallow and uninteresting zones, past mobs with no character.

If you want to see an end come to the power leveler you should also (and firstly) call for a radical change to the way parties gain experience points.

[ArkNova]

Was fighting garuda the other day and when I got to her node I stood for a second waiting and waiting then asked my party members, is this place empty? At some point there was another party that showed up that was wiping along side us.

[Ricky]

Banning anyone hurts their already abysmal profits

[Huginn]

i think that your estimate of the oarticipation in "botting" is grossly exaggerated.

i am not sure that i agree with your perception of this game. Therefor, i presume that the premise of your question is false. similar to me asking about Azury Ariella using a bot to get 50 Botanist and whether or not that was fair or what percentage over 50% the bot was used.