What keeps you playing?

[Vryn]

Hi folks. Been off the game for a while after a massive bit of burn out. I'm finding it hard to go back. I'm just curious... What keeps you playing the game? Maybe I can find a new reason to enjoy. Thanks!

Honestly, just friends, this game isn't an MMO and is more a social media platform. At least with games like WoW, Gw2 and Lost Ark, I can play the game and immerse myself in dynamic zones, which is something FF14 fails at immensely.

The story was good until Elpis in Endwalker. The story fell apart with logical inconsistencies and ethics that I disagreed with, such as making me a key component in 9 genocides, and the mutilation/devolution of an entire species.

When you put all your eggs in one basket and the basket breaks, it turns out that it's not good.

I can unironically say I enjoyed BFA and shadowlands more than Endwalker because the gameplay was fun, even if it was logically inconsistent. (I played FF14 first since BETA 2.0).

Endwalker has homogenised and ruined multiple classes. Healers and tanks are boring. Classes are linear and uninteresting except for visuals.

Glamour is reused from prior points.

PVP is a worse version of the league of legends, and that's free.

Raiding is meh and doesn't really change and Alliance raids are cool but not that challenging.

Dungeons are linear and boring after 4 runs and the older dungeons had their character removed. Hauke manner is just grey now for some reason.

In all other words, FF14 gets a lot of excessive praise, and if the developer has to tell you to leave the game, then it probably means they aren't going to change.

Like normal JRPGs, it's just an overly stupid and linear story with no real choice except this one is online. Calling FF14 an MMO is an insult to MMOs.

[Lustre]

My FC and friends I've made mostly. I love to see us growing over time, both in socialness and gameplay ability. Very nice to belong to something. I'm a typical MMO % chaser, so my goals for this year are to max my jobs (only a few to go) and get Necromancer title (after I stop wiping at 185). After that, probably mount and minion collection etc. I enjoy doing EX trials and I hope to do current savage/ults one day, although I'm in no real rush.
There are many things I dislike (homogemised classes, lowering skill ceiling, devaluing past grinds) but as it stands, the positives outweigh the negatives, for now.

I think I enjoy the mmo part of xiv more than the linear story part, especially since endwalker dropped. Even during 6.1 msq I was kind of eager to finish so I could "get back to what I was doing before". Which is a shame because I didnt get that feeling in 5.0-5.5, I was craving msq. But yeah, slight tangent there but there's still loads of reason for me to hang around.

[RayneBoemir]

Keeps me subbed? Nothing really. I was gone for quite a long time but still came back and having fun now.

What makes me come back is the characters, the cool bosses and most of all the freaking amazing music.

[MiaShino]

Playing with the extended family mostly is why am even still subbed. Also now assisting with the decorating of our FC house. Final reason will be Lala. Wish more stuffs allowed some of us to play smol characters. Not all out there wish to be big tall milfs with triple diple Es. Only other game that scratched the desirable character per portions itch for many of the friends and myself was Aion.

[Raoabolic]

The music is pretty sweet and 99% of games have moved away from ps1/ps2 era arena boss fights so the fights in this game really does it for me. Same for XI when the final fantasy series went... weird. I liked the fact that XI's story felt more like a final fantasy game than XIII and it's ilk. XII was okay but it felt more like Tactics spinoff than a traditional FF game.

[MicahZerrshia]

I've been here since the original beta.

That's it. I know there are things I can do, but it's all so pointless I don't feel the need.

gear will be replaced and dropped or traded for seals after a couple months and do nothing for gameplay
I am drowning in gil so there is no reason to farm that
I don't use minions
most the mounts are meh or overly cutesy, so I stick with a select few
there are ever really only 1 or 2 fights that are worth doing and those are one and done each week
nothing I do really matters
story/lore has gone to the dumpster with EW
everything is repeatedly dumbed down
there is absolutely no reason to have any social interaction in this "mmo" and they are doubling down on that with trusts to chase that almighty non-mmo player's dollar
there is no reason to have any alts
combat is uninteresting since there is no need for support, crowd control, buffs/debuffs or manipulating vulnerabilities, it's just don't stand in the orange and push a couple buttons

and finally, and most importantly there are simply no long-term goals to work on beyond a couple mounts that are just not worth the ridiculous grind they're locked behind.

[Bunnycake]

Housing now lolol

[Yeastyloins]

MSQ, Savage and Ultimate raiding. But recently I have tried some community events and have found to enjoy it. FF14 is a strange place to me but I love it for that reason.

[Kolsykol]

Savage, EX, PvP, Aglaia, mount farm, glam etc.

I run Savage multiple times a week too, I like to help others out and play different roles.
And I just enjoy the fights.
Yes, actually playing the game is fun it's not just about loot and then forgetting about it.
Crazy right :P?

Honestly, just friends, this game isn't an MMO and is more a social media platform. At least with games like WoW, Gw2 and Lost Ark, I can play the game and immerse myself in dynamic zones, which is something FF14 fails at immensely.

The story was good until Elpis in Endwalker. The story fell apart with logical inconsistencies and ethics that I disagreed with, such as making me a key component in 9 genocides, and the mutilation/devolution of an entire species.

When you put all your eggs in one basket and the basket breaks, it turns out that it's not good.

I can unironically say I enjoyed BFA and shadowlands more than Endwalker because the gameplay was fun, even if it was logically inconsistent. (I played FF14 first since BETA 2.0).

Endwalker has homogenised and ruined multiple classes. Healers and tanks are boring. Classes are linear and uninteresting except for visuals.

Glamour is reused from prior points.

PVP is a worse version of the league of legends, and that's free.

Raiding is meh and doesn't really change and Alliance raids are cool but not that challenging.

Dungeons are linear and boring after 4 runs and the older dungeons had their character removed. Hauke manner is just grey now for some reason.

In all other words, FF14 gets a lot of excessive praise, and if the developer has to tell you to leave the game, then it probably means they aren't going to change.

Like normal JRPGs, it's just an overly stupid and linear story with no real choice except this one is online. Calling FF14 an MMO is an insult to MMOs.

Funnily enough I actually find the zones in FFXIV better and to have more visual interest.
Lets be real here, the open world in WoW is dead.
People just AFK in Orgrimmar or whatever, just like how people AFK in Limsa.
I enjoy my time in the FFXIV zones more tho, they feel more real to me and have more visually impressive set pieces.

I dunno what you're talking about the dev telling people to leave...
Yoshida has said that if you feel burnt out that you can just go and play a different game, FFXIV will still be there later and you can come back when there's new content.
You're framing it in a very strange way that wasn't the intended message at all..
The intended message was that FFXIV isn't a second job and they don't want people to feel forced to play.

I dunno why you'd expect choice in a MMO story either especially choices that actually matters.
Even moreso in such a grand scale and connected story as FFXIV there's no away in hell they could do that.
I also see significantly more social activities being done in FFXIV than I've ever seen in other MMO's, I dunno what you think that MMO's are exactly they're not just about killing monsters they're about the social experience too.

I mean I'd be pretty upset too if FFXIV gave me fake choices like in WoW with joining Sylvanas or whatever I'd rather not have that.
And the whole Elpis thing was going to happen regardless, sooner or later Meteion would've returned. Your characters presence lead to Venat being aware of what happened and being able to take action and lay the ground works for a permanent solution to the problem.
I dunno what you even mean with being responsible for it our presence wasn't what started it and the Ancients were a lost cause they were just delaying their own doom.

I definitely agree with some of the criticism and I do have issues with what they're doing with Job designs too but I still think they have grown significantly more and are much more varied than in WoW.
Stuff like talent trees have honestly not aged well imo, it's essentially fake choices too everyone just googles what the best talents are and that's what they use.
Usually talents are just ridiculously imbalanced too and at least in FFXIV I can play any Job and it won't be insanely underpowered compared to others.

[Mimilu]

For me:
-Fear of loosing my small house.
-The now rare change to socialize in my FC or in one of the linkshells I'm in.
-It wastes time.