Why do you still play FFXIV?

[LittleImp]

I'd 100% be unsubbed and not playing right now if I wasn't helping some late-to-the-party friends get geared in time for the new Ultimate. Currently shelling out $15/mo to raidlog twice a week and it feels bad.

The game is fine when there's new content, but with the increasingly long gaps between patches and extremely limited amount of worthwhile content within them, I just can't really justify staying subscribed between patches anymore. Island Sanctuary and Variant Dungeons fell completely flat in all of the communities I participate in (most of which are casual believe it or not), and I basically don't see anyone engaging with either system any more. Heck, I see more people doing Eureka right now two expansions later than I do using any of the new 'content'.

Island Sanctuary honestly encapsulates a lot of what is going wrong with the game right now. I remember Yoshida periodically talking about what would eventually go on to become Island Sanctuary (I could have sworn he mentioned "farm" content as far back as Heavensward!), and it seemed like a kind of pet-project of his that he was genuinely passionate about eventually having included in the game. Island Sanctuary is finally implemented during a time where Yoshida is taking more of a back seat due to being busy with other projects, and the man admits he hasn't even gotten a chance to personally play it. I remember when he used to seem really passionate about performing his personal quality checks of all the content in new patches but it seems like that era is over.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

• Very enjoyable MSQ & easter eggs. When I run dry of contents that I want to do, NG+ is always an available option. It’s fun when I’ve noticed in every single playthrough I always managed to miss -something-!
• I got friend groups to play with. They doubled the fun.
• No elements of FOMO. Quite possibly the worst element that I’ve ever experienced in any other MMOs.
• I simp real hard for my WoL lol. No shortage of gpose moments.

[ElizanderNorisse]

Cause I’m still waiting for the Garlean armour and gunblade to release.

[Jeeqbit]

Island Sanctuary is finally implemented during a time where Yoshida is taking more of a back seat due to being busy with other projects

The other things you mentioned might have a point, but someone else is overseeing the day-to-day of FFXVI. He just oversees the logistics and employment if anything and is the person that the director reports to and gives updates to. Developers from FFXIV have been moving over to FFXVI since the end of Heavensward from what I remember reading. So a lot of content since then has already been made by people who replaced them. He said the only person who is being stretched between both games is Soken.

the man admits he hasn't even gotten a chance to personally play it. I remember when he used to seem really passionate about performing his personal quality checks of all the content in new patches but it seems like that era is over.

Personally doing the content on his personal character and doing a quality check are separate things. He also live streamed himself doing Island Sanctuary and he knew how it worked inside out. He still does quality checks of all the game's content on a business character before it's released. That doesn't mean he has done it casually on his personal character.

[Midareyukki]

Not being facetious, Im genuinely curious to hear why people still play FFXIV despite the myriad of problems.

Because same reason as #1, my friends are playing the game, FF14 is honestly not as bad as it sounds (it just sounds that it is because people only talk about the flaws in the forums). And also because it's fun?? Like :I I wouldn't be playing a game that wasn't fun. Nor would I quit every single game that had flaws.

I can enjoy a flawed game, and FF14 isn't even the worst one. I enjoyed Dirge of Cerberus and Type-0 of all things.

But just bc a game is good doesn't mean I have to pretend I'm blind to its flaws. Just as much as how it having flaws it doesn't mean it sucks and I should stop playing altogether.

It really isn't rocket science. Game has flaws, people point out that the game has flaws in the hopes that the people making the game can improve on said flaws. Not to quit like a loser over every single thing.

[Allegor]

This is going to sound corny af but aside from liking the story and characters, I got to know and/or befriend lots of people that play the game, and even when I don't play with them, there's some sort of....warmth? knowing that we're all somewhere in Eorzea, as opposed to the-mmo-that-shall-not-be-named where I've felt lonely, if not straight up unwelcomed for a long while.

[KageTokage]

I still find the world interesting and the gameplay entertaining for what it is, though my confidence in the game's story/writing has been a bit shaken after Endwalker and the current MSQ isn't doing much to alleviate that.

I do think a lot of it also has to do with feeling personally invested in my character as others have mentioned, too, but at this point I'm feeling pretty ready for 7.x already.

[Luluna]

Hilda's hairstyle! No joking aside I have played for over 12 years so I stay. I have spent way too much money to stop and all the memories I have made those can't be bought ^O^

[Tsiron]

The story was, and still is, the main thing for me personally, especially being able to experience it using my character(s) (in lieu of keeping up with it via streams or what have you)! The music is top notch, I've ended up actually enjoying the gameplay (which I didn't think I would) and dress-up with my characters is quite fun... if frustrating, at times. Damn you, Glamour restrictions!

[RobynDaBank]

I saw the thread this morning, and started thinking why I play. The one thing compelling me hard to play nowadays is levelling all the Jobs and enjoying their gameplay, but I feel like I don't love it so much that I'll take them to Savage. Then... I started to complete my level 80 short-story Job quests for all the Tanks, and I realized. It can be at times a very wholesome game. Every character has something to say, some sort of story to them. It feels like the exact sort of escapism I've been craving lately, with the stresses of IRL.

Not to mention, I've loved all iterations of my WoL. I wouldn't go so far as to say s/he's my self-insert, but I see him/her as an entity I cherish. It's just a game, I know, but there's visible effort to try to grow our attachment to our character. I for one have fallen for it.