The State of Homogenization: A New (Healer) Player's Perspective

[Iedarus]

As all of you who saw my posts may know, I have not played this game for a very long period of time. In fact, I've only been here since the middle of Shadowbringers. In the eyes of the devs, I am the target demographic. Every change they have made over the course of the game was done in the name of people like me. The mechanics were easy to learn, and I never felt like I was lost or left in the dust. Despite this, my feelings toward this game teeter on the cusp between disappointment and frustration.

When I first entered Eorzea, I was filled with wonderment. A world where I as an adventurer could be anything and everything. To finally be able to immerse myself in the classic feel of Final Fantasy from learning about my first class to the utter excitement of earning my very first job stone was nothing short of euphoric. This, the music, the story, and the boss fights were everything I wanted from a Final Fantasy game, and I immediately thrust myself into learning everything I could about my job and role. My eyes lit up at every learned ability, and new techniques such as weaving, while they proved difficult at first, filled me with pride when I finally figured them out, and at one point on the hill of progress, when I hit level 80, I thought to myself: "This is where my skills will truly be put to the test!" And as I looked up to observe the rest of the knowledge I had yet to achieve...

...I realized I was already at the peak.

I stood there for a moment in disbelief. Surely this wasn't all there was to it? I am to only press one singular spell for all content? This can't be true!

Overtime I took to learning the other jobs. Just as a quickly climbed down that hill to explore another, I was at the peak again. Every stone, every blade of grass was in the same location, only this time in different colors. All the while, I found myself performing the same dance but with the most minute of variations depending upon both job and game mode. As I sat upon the peak of the fourth hill, I began to feel as though all my efforts led up to nothing more than an illusion of choice. I was effectively punished for improving. I went to consult with others to understand the meaning behind this only to be met with the desperate cries for change that fell on deaf ears. Was this what Yoshi P wanted for people like me? Did he assume we were too foolish to take any semblance of complexity? How could such an allegedly open developer act so dismissive towards his own players? The flavor of the jobs I loved so much throughout the franchise were mere husks of themselves. What was once a magical world peeled away to reveal a sterile room of four walls. No imagination, no challenge, only accessibility for the sake of it. I didn't feel welcomed, I felt betrayed.

[Iedarus]

I write this and post this in the general forums in the hopes that a dev reads it. If you are reading this, please know that in the eyes of even a new player, this game rings hollow. The lack of creativity in job design and overall gameplay is unacceptable. We know this game can be better and that you have the resources to make it so. Listen to your newer players and listen to your veterans. Yoshi P said it himself that other games feel like the communty versus the devs. Make this the exception. Save this game from the jaws of apathy.

[TaoTech]

It’s unfortunate you didn’t get to experience healing pre-Shb. Healing used to be so fun, AST was amazing, we had all the cards and time magic and 2 sects. SCH actually had 2 diff fairies entirely, not just in looks. More dps, just far more interesting all over. They have really gutted healers bad and healer community has been screaming on deaf ears for years to no avail. Devs have ignored them entirely and continue to butcher the jobs and the game to the point it’s not fun or interesting to even new people. Are they too dumb to realize they are killing the game? Do they just not care and only care about the money? We don’t know? But as long-term players SO MANY of us share your frustration.

[Jin-]

Now you know why so many people use this game as a socializing tool only instead of actually playing it, it's dull for the most part and classes aren't satisfying enough to make boring content enjoyable. There's only the story, which is nice. Normal modes which are for babies and harder content for dedicated ones. Nothing in between so no wonder we loiter in the hubs :-)

[Kes13a]

I think you fail to understand humans.

many years ago, things did tend to be a bit more complicated. not excessively complex mind you, but you had to think about what choices you made to get the best performance in any given metric. it was possible however, to still do the bare minimum and "get by" but fewer people did that because most people were fairly dedicated to whatever game it was.

when gaming became more mainstream, and more people came into it to pass the time. gaming itself changed. you complain about lack of complexity and naturally, the game devs and management are obviously to blame. the real blame is the influx of people, and their demands for systems they dont have to put time into and the dollar signs of in front of company stakeholders.

remembering or wanting "the good old days" will never change things in the current environment because the majority DONT WANT THAT. they are going towards a more solo experience because its a good thing to do, they are because most people dont want to play with others.. period. blame the companies, sure, for not telling people no, but also, blame the players... we.. ALL OF US... made the games what they are today.. if anyone should be called out.. its the players.

so get off your high "I am the target audience" horse. companies aim for the largest demographic.. so, if you dont like where they landed... your fellow "target audience" people brought us here.... think on that for a bit.

[Broken_Wind]

Now you know why so many people use this game as a socializing tool only instead of actually playing it

I mean, its an MMORPG, the fact that it is used as a socializing tool is perhaps its primary reason for existence so that is a pretty weird point to make

[Jeeqbit]

Healing used to be so fun, AST was amazing, we had all the cards and time magic and 2 sects. SCH actually had 2 diff fairies entirely, not just in looks.

Healing was the same (it was spam 1 button for damage except on SCH), most of the AST cards were useless or sub-optimal so you were shuffling them like you do now when the symbol is wrong, the choice of fairy was mostly pointless because you just choose the best one.

[Denji]

once a game hits a certain level of popularity it will always cater to the worst players.

anyone who sucks before it got popular would silently move onto another but eventually there's enough of them to make a stink and since you've gotten used to the influx of popularity (and typically cash) you'll do what you can to retain them.

see: pokemon.

[Broken_Wind]

once a game hits a certain level of popularity it will always cater to the worst players.

anyone who sucks before it got popular would silently move onto another but eventually there's enough of them to make a stink and since you've gotten used to the influx of popularity (and typically cash) you'll do what you can to retain them.

see: pokemon.

I would argue WoW has catered more towards the hardcore crowd with Mythic+ and it has NOT been good for the game overall

[IkaraGreydancer]

Healing was the same (it was spam 1 button for damage except on SCH), most of the AST cards were useless or sub-optimal so you were shuffling them like you do now when the symbol is wrong, the choice of fairy was mostly pointless because you just choose the best one.

Speak for yourself. I used all my cards and the other fairy. And Sch for SURE wasn't just a one button pony