Live Letter Thoughts

[Jojoya]

About Island Sancturary: I wonder how many buildings we can place, if we can later change their color and how many levels there are to grind. They did finish this part in the liveletter saying that they had not showed us everything here so I wonder what was still missing.

I was getting the impression that building appearance will change as a building is upgraded but we'll be able to select any of the appearances from the unlocked levels as the current appearance.

At one point in the past, something was said about having choices of different building designs but I don't think that was mentioned in the Live Letter (I might have missed it if the translations included such information). It could be those will be coming in a future update, like when we get our second island toward the end of the expansion.

[Alleo]

I was getting the impression that building appearance will change as a building is upgraded but we'll be able to select any of the appearances from the unlocked levels as the current appearance.

At one point in the past, something was said about having choices of different building designs but I don't think that was mentioned in the Live Letter (I might have missed it if the translations included such information). It could be those will be coming in a future update, like when we get our second island toward the end of the expansion.

I still cant wrap my head around the fact that we might get another island for this. Seeing how big this one already is.

I really hope that they will keep up with their "every second major patch" release plan. Who knows what we will be able to do in there in 7.0 or further down.

Since we can release minions in different places I do plan to make the village a dog + Haurchefant one. Cant wait!

[LisSquid]

I always thought of Zenos as a Hildibrand character that somehow escaped containment and entered the main story somehow.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

I always thought of Zenos as a Hildibrand character that somehow escaped containment and entered the main story somehow.

The mental image of Zenos Gposing against Hildibrand is a physical image I need to see on the big screen.

[aveyond-dreams]

I remain unconvinced that picking up new characters in 6.1 would have been to the game's detriment especially when that patch's story had a lot of filler that could've been cut in order to move the action along. Using nuanced and mature storytelling would also probably be appreciated by more players especially those of us who take a deeper look at the story. I believe these things would be more appealing and less divisive overall, so I will continue to advocate for them.

If I have any bias is that I gravitate more towards what characters/settings are more fleshed out, with my frame of reference being the numerous single-player titles I've played in the past along with other media I've consumed. I will therefore hold FFXIV to a standard based off these things, especially if it wants to brand itself as a single player title in some respects. The solutions I have provided are conducive to doing that.

There is something to be said about this phenomenon we see in which players are resistant to outside suggestions that aren't explicitly sanctioned (even if later on they are). It is often discussed in relation to players who are so heavily invested in specifically WoW and its way of doing things that they reject positive and proven ideas that have worked in other game's even if it would be in their benefit.

It is possible FFXIV may have a similar scenario occurring, wherein certain players are unwilling to entertain discussions about things like new characters especially when even the fans of the scions are getting tired of them themselves, and other relevant issues pertaining to story, content, and gameplay. The fact that there are players who insist that Beastmaster could only be a limited job when even WoW's Hunter class is able to tame pets and participate in all content is something I struggle to wrap my head around. Why is there such insistence that it must fit the established paradigm in this game, rather than taking what works in another?

I believe that their frame of reference may play a part in this. If it is too limited, such as in the case of WoW players who are against some of the QoL improvements FFXIV has made over the years, then perhaps that is the reason why we are witnessing some of the reactions from people in this game here only the reverse scenario.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

I remain unconvinced that picking up new characters in 6.1 would have been to the game's detriment especially when that patch's story had a lot of filler that could've been cut in order to move the action along. Using nuanced and mature storytelling would also probably be appreciated by more players especially those of us who take a deeper look at the story. I believe this would be more appealing and less divisive overall, so I will continue to advocate for them.

Nobody argued that, the Fact and Point is they just simply didnt. You dont just add in characters just because, the story was written that adding a new party member just wasn't relevant to the narrative. Disagree with it all you want, but thats just how it is, and it didn't hurt the game. 6.1 is the START of the new journey, by design its filler & exposition to set things up.
They will tell their story how they want to tell it.

[aveyond-dreams]

Nobody argued that, the Fact and Point is they just simply didnt. You dont just add in characters just because, the story was written that adding a new party member just wasn't relevant to the narrative. Disagree with it all you want, but thats just how it is, and it didn't hurt the game. 6.1 is the START of the new journey, by design its filler & exposition to set things up.
They will tell their story how they want to tell it.

I remember recruiting Leliana quite early on in Dragon Age Origins, that was fun. Her character was then subsequently fleshed out as I played the game. It has been done before, to great effect, and I see no reason why FFXIV could not have done something similar in 6.1.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

I remember recruiting Leliana quite early on in Dragon Age Origins, that was fun. Her character was then subsequently fleshed out as I played the game. It has been done before, to great effect, and I see no reason why FFXIV could not have done something similar in 6.1.

Of course you dont, because your sitting here comparing FFXIV to other games you obviously like more, and are written in your preferred format.
You like things your preferred way, and want FFXIV to cater to that Preference. So far, it sounds like its not going to. You should take FFXIV's storytelling as it is, not how other games do it, or how You want it.
Like Atelier said, it sounds like you want a completely different game called FFXIV.

Whoever this mystery Reaper is will be introduced the way FFXIV will introduce them, and then will go from there.

[aveyond-dreams]

Of course you dont, because your sitting here comparing FFXIV to other games you obviously like more, and are written in your preferred format.
You like things your preferred way, and want FFXIV to cater to that Preference. So far, it sounds like its not going to. You should take FFXIV's storytelling as it is, not how other games do it, or how You want it.
Like Atelier said, it sounds like you want a completely different game called FFXIV.

Whoever this mystery Reaper is will be introduced the way FFXIV will introduce them, and then will go from there.

As I have said before:

There is something to be said about this phenomenon we see in which players are resistant to outside suggestions that aren't explicitly sanctioned (even if later on they are). It is often discussed in relation to players who are so heavily invested in specifically WoW and its way of doing things that they reject positive and proven ideas that have worked in other game's even if it would be in their benefit.

It is possible FFXIV may have a similar scenario occurring, wherein certain players are unwilling to entertain discussions about things like new characters especially when even the fans of the scions are getting tired of them themselves, and other relevant issues pertaining to story, content, and gameplay. The fact that there are players who insist that Beastmaster could only be a limited job when even WoW's Hunter class is able to tame pets and participate in all content is something I struggle to wrap my head around. Why is there such insistence that it must fit the established paradigm in this game, rather than taking what works in another?

I believe that their frame of reference may play a part in this. If it is too limited, such as in the case of WoW players who are against some of the QoL improvements FFXIV has made over the years, then perhaps that is the reason why we are witnessing some of the reactions from people in this game here only the reverse scenario.

In any case I will continue to advocate for that which is aligned with my preferences. I would like to see a well-crafted story like that of Heavensward's where our main party at the time was more compelling than the one of Endwalker. That expansion is more befitting of being associated with "tales of loss, fire, and faith" with those protagonists compared to ones whose sacrifices were reversed and who, instead of losing anyone over the course of Endwalker, were gifted boons by their own parents and ultimately never faced lasting consequences as a result of their recent actions. I believe that should a more Heavensward-like approach been adopted for 6.0, both you and I would have found more satisfaction by way of reaching a compromise, which is what a significant number of players feel isn't happening at the moment.

For all the fears internally about FFXIV ever including more challenging small group content like WoW has, it is being introduced this expansion along with Deep Dungeon which provides a different experience that is challenging through different means. Adopting ideas from WoW, another video game, is poised to turn out well for them once it releases. FFXVI appears to have adopted some of the more iconic scenes from Devilman wherein Sirene rips off Akira's arm, and displayed that same scene in the recent trailer. Things that worked in one, worked in the other. There was also a curious comparison drawn between Minfilia's halting of the flood of light and an Elven queen in WoW doing something similar in a youtube video, which while having different lore still made for interesting moments in both cases.

Again, it all comes down to the frame of reference. This game has and will likely continue adopting scenes and story beats from other games, and will hopefully do them justice.

[Atelier-Bagur]

I remain unconvinced that picking up new characters in 6.1 would have been to the game's detriment especially when that patch's story had a lot of filler that could've been cut in order to move the action along. Using nuanced and mature storytelling would also probably be appreciated by more players especially those of us who take a deeper look at the story. I believe these things would be more appealing and less divisive overall, so I will continue to advocate for them.

If I have any bias is that I gravitate more towards what characters/settings are more fleshed out, with my frame of reference being the numerous single-player titles I've played in the past along with other media I've consumed. I will therefore hold FFXIV to a standard based off these things, especially if it wants to brand itself as a single player title in some respects. The solutions I have provided are conducive to doing that.

and yet it feels like you're trying to find solutions to issues you deem need to be "fixed" when they really dont. Maturity? This game already has plenty of that. Characters and settings that are fleshed out? Yup that as well.

Honestly the best thing the devs should do is to continue providing more with what we already have. My standards for this game is to see it continue to improve the basic foundations it laid with its story and gameplay. Not shift directions when there really isnt a need to make this game into something that isnt FFXIV. It always sounds like you want this game to be another game entirely and this is where I clash with your viewpoints. Those arent "standards" those are full on opinions.