Would you be opposed to SE implementing a program to scan for addons/parsers?

[Absimiliard]

I just wish that FFXIV was good enough for people. I know we're not the best MMO and that WoW has more raids, features, etc. than we do. I know that this is only a side game for most people in between breaks for their main game. I know we don't deserve much and Square Enix is a struggling company.

But...for a brief period of time, people actually had faith in FFXIV. They didn't scoff at our lack of features, or trivialize our hardest content. They didn't trash the art style and replace it with imported abominations from Second Life. They enjoyed the game for what it was. They had fun. And some people on consoles still have fun! But that group is getting smaller as PC players get louder and more numerous. PC players seem like they hate large parts of the game, since they replace everything with third-party solutions. Are they really enjoying FFXIV, or are they enjoying what someone else made in Blender?

Maybe someday Square Enix will realize what made FFXIV good in 2013-2020, and rekindle that magic for the next MMO. But for now, I guess FFXIV is past its prime. Maybe the rest of us should put our time in a game that's actually respected.

Parsing has been a thing in the game since at least ARR, and people have been making cosmetic modifications to it for just as long. The PC players have always outnumbered the console players, and they've pretty much always been the loudest demographic to boot.

As for trivializing content, I feel you are overestimating the kind of edge players can get from those tools. The most egregious of them is Cactbot, and even it can only give you warnings. None of them will play the game for you. I do not personally use or approve of Cactbot, but I'm well aware of how prevalent it is - and how often the people using it still suck even with it. Personal skill still matters, whether you're getting warnings from Cactbot or zooming your camera out to the point of absurdity with whatever that JP raid team was using.

The above aside, I do tend to agree with you in the hope SE eventually remembers what FFXIV's golden age looked like. Unfortunately, I fear they are going to judge what people want purely by subscriber count rather than taking an objective look at the systems, cosmetics, and whatever else people had the most positive feedback about.