Random observation

[Renalt]

Speaking of WoW...I miss the city raids and Wintergrasp. It was always amazing when someone got ganked in Ashenvale and so two people answer to gank the ganker...and then more people arrive for both sides and then a huge battle just starts...

Good Times.

A full PvP zone for 14 would be the only thing to make me interested in PvP...even if the PvP is kinda broken and some classes just clearly outclass others.

[Deveryn]

[aveyond-dreams]

Ishgard Restoration was intended to add both an alternate leveling path and an end game for crafters and gatherers.

Island Sanctuary was intended to be low demand relaxing content for players looking for a brief break from other content. It was not supposed to be this expansion's version of the Restoration. It was supposed to be something different for the game.

Yes. And it didn't work out all that well now that have people have blitzed through the content and have no reason to return to it unlike Restoration, where I could at least grind out and sell its rewards.

I know some players felt like they were getting less in terms of quantity of dungeons but as SE said, they put that effort into the boss level encounters designed for Bozja/Zadnor. There's going to be disagreement on how that effort would be better spent.

I'd argue it's not a matter of players wearing rose-tinted glasses once the expansion is gone. I think it's more players being hyper critical when content is released looking for things to complain about instead of relaxing and enjoying a game for what it is. If they truly hated the newly released content as much as they say, they wouldn't stick around and wouldn't come back for the next expansion.

Almost as if people wanted to see their feedback responded to by battle-oriented content being released earlier on in the expansion as opposed to this late on top of an already extended patch cycle that has amounted to little benefit for the players. The loss of a relic zones will also be felt during this expansion, since if Island Sanctuary is any indication I can’t expect anything too stellar coming out of Criterion Dungeons, especially when they led with a princess Minnie mouse mount as a reward.

How much clearer do I need to be that what people want is for things to get better rather than being told to leave whenever they go against the state of things?

It is a cozy place where you can raise animals and grow crops. Perhaps you should stop trying to compare very casual side content in a story-driven theme park MMO with a full fledged farming game that's only about farming.

Forgive me for holding this game to the standards it should be held to if its going to compete for people’s attention, and in Island Sanctuary’s case the success of that attempt is questionable. They already took the compelling parts of the story out of the story and filled it full of slice of life and ill-fitting humour combined with a messianic lets-save-the-void plotline whose only redemption would be a catastrophic failure of that quest in favor of a global demonic invasion of the Source. Bar Pandaemonium, which is notable for being the only current questline where I can find the characters likeable or believable, there’s scarce else to keep my interest. Trying to appeal to everybody in this manner was a mistake – they should’ve focused on what they do best instead of mounting controversy upon controversy with the lackluster state of Island Sanctuary, “the winning number is 0,” Hildibrand 2.0/3.0 relics instead of relic zones, along with pizza, hamburgers, and god forbid burritos if they ever take us to the New World.

Someone has to say these hard truths, because I would rather not see FFXIV fail. I want it to be the best it can be, and it isn’t going to get any better when people can’t see stuff like Island Sanctuary for how hollow it is. All they had to do was listen to the people who, for 10 years, have directly told them that they just want a house. Put that on an island and call it a day. But, no, have whatever this is instead I guess, while players tell each other to leave. And people wonder why FFXIV is painted by others as little more than a visual novel these days.

[TheMightyMollusk]

Speaking of WoW...I miss the city raids and Wintergrasp. It was always amazing when someone got ganked in Ashenvale and so two people answer to gank the ganker...and then more people arrive for both sides and then a huge battle just starts...

Good Times.

I was once in a group raiding Stormwind, and we decided to just camp out in one of the banks and see how long we could hold it. With warlocks summoning in reinforcements, healers keeping everyone topped up, hunters and death knights sending their pets out after people just for the hell of it. We kept it for over an hour before they finally mustered enough people to push us out. It was great.

[Renalt]

I was once in a group raiding Stormwind, and we decided to just camp out in one of the banks and see how long we could hold it. With warlocks summoning in reinforcements, healers keeping everyone topped up, hunters and death knights sending their pets out after people just for the hell of it. We kept it for over an hour before they finally mustered enough people to push us out. It was great.

Right? It was fantastic cause you actually felt like a force to be reckoned with. I remember doing the Alliance version of For the Horde ( Hey I liked the racial Shadowmeld too much to pass it up ) and while we were doing our version...Alliance gets in in their head to raid our cities at the same time. So we stop in the middle of ours and we post up in Ironforge and we all hang close to the walls or pile behind the throne. As soon as the horde ran in we just nuked them with aoes like crazy. We wiped them twice and then proceeded to finish up our own raid.

We ended it on Thunderbluff and then just...stuck around. People would watch us but not engage. Most of us left but there was like a good 20 or so just waiting for the zeppelin when a lone Shaman kinda just RP walks up to us...and then proceeds to use an ability that pushed most of us off the cliff and wipe us. It was amazing. I hope that guy never forgets what a boss he was.

[Darthgummibear]

Right? It was fantastic cause you actually felt like a force to be reckoned with. I remember doing the Alliance version of For the Horde ( Hey I liked the racial Shadowmeld too much to pass it up ) and while we were doing our version...Alliance gets in in their head to raid our cities at the same time. So we stop in the middle of ours and we post up in Ironforge and we all hang close to the walls or pile behind the throne. As soon as the horde ran in we just nuked them with aoes like crazy. We wiped them twice and then proceeded to finish up our own raid.

We ended it on Thunderbluff and then just...stuck around. People would watch us but not engage. Most of us left but there was like a good 20 or so just waiting for the zeppelin when a lone Shaman kinda just RP walks up to us...and then proceeds to use an ability that pushed most of us off the cliff and wipe us. It was amazing. I hope that guy never forgets what a boss he was.

I did that so much in Eye of the Storm when I was playing a shaman. Ghost-wolf right into the middle of the flag mosh-pit and knock half the other team into the abyss.

[Jojoya]

Yes. And it didn't work out all that well now that have people have blitzed through the content and have no reason to return to it unlike Restoration, where I could at least grind out and sell its rewards.

You mean you and a few other players blitzed through it and have no desire to return. Many of us are still enjoying ourselves.

You could return to Island Sanctuary to grind out cowries to buy materia and dyes to sell if you wanted. Granted it's not the rapid on demand style that the Restoration had but it's still possible.

Almost as if people wanted to see their feedback responded to by battle-oriented content being released earlier on in the expansion as opposed to this late on top of an already extended patch cycle that has amounted to little benefit for the players. The loss of a relic zones will also be felt during this expansion, since if Island Sanctuary is any indication I can’t expect anything too stellar coming out of Criterion Dungeons, especially when they led with a princess Minnie mouse mount as a reward.

Battle content releases have always been spread out in this game. Why are you expecting that to change?

We still don't have a good idea of what all the rewards in Criterion will be. If you don't like the mount, you don't like it. I can't say I particularly care for it myself but that's not killing my interest in the content.

A player that wants to be able to consume everything at once should be waiting until about 2 weeks before the x.5 patch to purchase an expansion and return to the game.

How much clearer must it be stated that what you personally want is not what everyone else wants? That what you think would be better may ruin the game for others who enjoy it for what it is?

Forgive me for holding this game to the standards it should be held to if its going to compete for people’s attention, and in Island Sanctuary’s case the success of that attempt is questionable. They already took the compelling parts of the story out of the story and filled it full of slice of life and ill-fitting humour combined with a messianic lets-save-the-void plotline whose only redemption would be a catastrophic failure of that quest in favor of a global demonic invasion of the Source. Bar Pandaemonium, which is notable for being the only current questline where I can find the characters likeable or believable, there’s scarce else to keep my interest. Trying to appeal to everybody in this manner was a mistake – they should’ve focused on what they do best instead of mounting controversy upon controversy with the lackluster state of Island Sanctuary, “the winning number is 0,” Hildibrand 2.0/3.0 relics instead of relic zones, along with pizza, hamburgers, and god forbid burritos if they ever take us to the New World.

It's competing perfectly well for the game it is - a theme park MMO. It's got the second largest active player base in the world. How can you say that's not competing?

If it's not competing with other theme park MMOs like you say, where are the players going to?

Again, if there's not really anything here to keep your interest it's time to go to a game that will. It would be interesting to hear your list of the theme park MMOs are doing it better in your opinion. Please name them for us and describe why you feel they're better.

Then tell us why you're still here playing this game and complaining in these forums instead of playing those other games and sharing your happiness with them in their forums.

Someone has to say these hard truths, because I would rather not see FFXIV fail. I want it to be the best it can be, and it isn’t going to get any better when people can’t see stuff like Island Sanctuary for how hollow it is. All they had to do was listen to the people who, for 10 years, have directly told them that they just want a house. Put that on an island and call it a day. But, no, have whatever this is instead I guess, while players tell each other to leave. And people wonder why FFXIV is painted by others as little more than a visual novel these days.

You'd be better off if you didn't confuse your personal opinions with "hard truths". Everything you post is your subjective opinion.

What you see as hollow may be the entertainment someone else is looking for. Is that why people play games - to be entertained? Yet not everyone has an interest in the same entertainment styles. Some like comedy, some like action, some like horror, some like intellectual puzzles, etc.

It's on the consumer to find the product offering what they want. Don't pay for something that isn't providing what you want. There are product brands I used to go to loyally when I was younger that I no longer buy because they changed their products and I no longer liked them. I'm playing FFXIV now because WoW changed and I no longer liked it.

Be a smart consumer, Don't waste money on things you don't like expecting them to change for your sake. They won't when they've got hundreds of thousands if not millions of other customers that are paying and satisfied..

[aveyond-dreams]

A player that wants to be able to consume everything at once should be waiting until about 2 weeks before the x.5 patch to purchase an expansion and return to the game.

Stopped reading after this - It's clear that this is just one of many bad faith posters with whom extended discussions will yield little of value. Only FFXIV players would defend having less content to do in the way that I've seen some do during Endwalker and it's exhausted my patience. When you push out my voice, I hope that whatever remains of the playerbase is happy with the above individual as their spokesperson.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Stopped reading after this - It's clear that this is just one of many bad faith posters with whom extended discussions will yield little of value. Only FFXIV players would defend having less content to do in the way that I've seen some do during Endwalker and it's exhausted my patience. When you push out my voice, I hope that whatever remains of the playerbase is happy with the above individual as their spokesperson.

The only one "pushing out people voices is you" as you clearly have no interest in discussion and just put anyone who disagrees with you on ignore, after the first few attempts to make them see your view as the correct one.

[Darthgummibear]

I can’t expect anything too stellar coming out of Criterion Dungeons, especially when they led with a princess Minnie mouse mount as a reward.

Wait, what?

The only one "pushing out people voices is you" as you clearly have no interest in discussion and just put anyone who disagrees with you on ignore, after the first few attempts to make them see your view as the correct one.

That's hilarious coming from you.

You mean you and a few other players blitzed through it and have no desire to return. Many of us are still enjoying ourselves.

What blitzing? Unless you hadn't unlocked it yet, you would have to be going out of your way to avoid engaging with the stupid island to not be level 10 and just collecting cowries by now.