This game is on a terrible state right now.

[Ishe-P]

I'll chime in I guess. It's pretty boring and uninteresting. There's a lot of 'legacy' stuff to do, but leaning too hard on it is not going to keep things fresh. I want to believe that it's because FF16 is chewing up all the resources, but if they repeat the EW pattern next expac I think a lot of players are going to be driven away.

It's ... just... soo ... boring.

[Atelier-Bagur]

I'll chime in I guess. It's pretty boring and uninteresting. There's a lot of 'legacy' stuff to do, but leaning too hard on it is not going to keep things fresh. I want to believe that it's because FF16 is chewing up all the resources, but if they repeat the EW pattern next expac I think a lot of players are going to be driven away.

It's ... just... soo ... boring.

I'm just doing what the director tells me to play other shit rather than force myself to do stuff in this game. Granted since I play alts, I always have some progression to do in terms of content but lately I've been playing other MMOs and games.

And yes, Im also a house owner and I still pay for the sub even on break because Im more likely to still want to log in to other stuff or hang with friends besides having to reset the demo timer.

[MonteCristo]

I'm just doing what the director tells me to play other shit rather than force myself to do stuff in this game. Granted since I play alts, I always have some progression to do in terms of content but lately I've been playing other MMOs and games.

And yes, Im also a house owner and I still pay for the sub even on break because Im more likely to still want to log in to other stuff or hang with friends besides having to reset the demo timer.

The play other games thing while understandable is still....irritating. Play other games sure! Can we not be charged while we do? Negative

[Ishe-P]

I don't think 'play other shit' is a valid excuse for any MMO, to be honest and frank. A director who says 'yeah give Eldenring a try' or whatever is not very good at his job IMO, and isn't very receptive to ideas that could allow the game to evolve and change. This sounds controversial but I present evidence in how Shadowbringers and Endwalker went down, progression-wise. You could predict exactly the dungeon and trial-boss beats all the way up to level 89, and even at level 90 you could reasonably expect certain outcomes. A lot of laziness and complacency goes into this game's design, which is a crying shame because they could do so much and more. Criterion dungeons are the biggest example; Yoshi-P was clearly clobbered from out of no where with this request and in its implementation they had no idea wtf to do with it, because it wasn't in the formula. So we were left with really fun content that had shitty-af rewards; if they don't do anything with that on 6.4, 6.5, it will be clear to me at least that they will not be willing to change. I would also present the savage lockouts taking so long to unlock; that is frankly unacceptable. They need to look at their formula, check player feedback, and make sure they're on the right track with regards to their timing. It's completely unacceptable to abandon the game effectively for 6 months at a time. I for one will not resub, no matter what the expansion promises (hint: it will be 2 jobs perhaps, and then you get 10 more levels, with level x1, x3, x7, and x9 having something happen, you unlock x0, do some extremes, then wait for the raid tier to come out, which invalidates all your progress up to this point because f you, also be sure to keep running extremes for your mount you schmuck). If they do anything different, I'd be frankly surprised. Even narratively I just don't think I could give a damn.

[Striker44]

snip

Note: They do check player feedback. They look at engagement metrics they have on their own end. What they don't necessarily bother with is a couple dozen bitter dregs perpetually negative about everything on the forum here. This forum doesn't in any way, shape, or form resemble the reality of the larger playerbase.

Personally, I appreciate a director who believes it's okay for people to take breaks and play other games, rather than someone so obsessed with your time-played metrics that they make the game itself feel like a job rather than entertainment. I appreciate that I could do the main storylines in FFXIV with the latest patch, then flip over to Destiny 2's new expansion, have time to go play some old single-player games I enjoy (Warcraft II at the moment), and then rotate back to FFXIV being my main game when the next patch comes out. It's healthy to diversify that way.

[Deo14]

They look at engagement metrics they have on their own end..

Damn, DRK is the most played tank, surely that's because people like it, right?

Metrics can't solve everything, and you can't get feedback from general playerbase unless you implement ingame surveys. Feedback from loud minorities are all that's left.

I appreciate a director who believes it's okay for people to take breaks and play other games

I would appreciate director who puts MMORPG content into MMORPG, instead of one and done content more suited for some single player games.

[Stormpeaks]

Note: They do check player feedback. They look at engagement metrics they have on their own end. What they don't necessarily bother with is a couple dozen bitter dregs perpetually negative about everything on the forum here. This forum doesn't in any way, shape, or form resemble the reality of the larger playerbase.

Personally, I appreciate a director who believes it's okay for people to take breaks and play other games, rather than someone so obsessed with your time-played metrics that they make the game itself feel like a job rather than entertainment. I appreciate that I could do the main storylines in FFXIV with the latest patch, then flip over to Destiny 2's new expansion, have time to go play some old single-player games I enjoy (Warcraft II at the moment), and then rotate back to FFXIV being my main game when the next patch comes out. It's healthy to diversify that way.

"I rotate back to FFXIV being my main game when the next patch comes out"

For how long ? 3 days ? A week at most ? And then another 3.5 months until the next one, great game we have there, full use of the "just play other games but dont forget to keep your subscription up so you keep your house"

Why isn't it valid ? The formula has been set for a long time now. I find a lot of players (specifically on the forum) expect XIV to be the one and all game for them. Not just as an MMO, but their one game they play.

I don't defend YoshiP alot. If anything I criticise him more than anything, but the argument to unsubscribe or play other games, while terribly blunt, is just another way of saying that you should diversify your library and not expect any one game to be the one and all.

It's also ok to outgrow a game because it no longer satisfies what you're looking for. A lot of people struggle with that one, particularly imo with MMOs.

Or it's just lazy.

He wants people to play other games ? Sure, remove auto demo then.

[AwesomeJr44]

Note: They do check player feedback.

Alright, you got a laugh out of me, good job.

If not for the - quite frankly, creepy - cult that has formed around Yoshi-P it would never have been taken seriously. Interestingly, a lot of the people who echo it started the game years later and simply echo it without having been around themselves when it was first spoken.

And it never should have been taken seriously. It was a rather foolish thing for him to say.

I also don't think many people expect to be catered to 24/7 - there just isn't much in the way of content with staying power and depth,

^ This. There doesn't need to be enough content to keep people around 24/7 but a 'major' patch that we waited 4 months for shouldn't last a grand total of 4 hours.

[VirusOnline]

I don't think 'play other shit' is a valid excuse for any MMO, to be honest and frank.

Why isn't it valid ? The formula has been set for a long time now. I find a lot of players (specifically on the forum) expect XIV to be the one and all game for them. Not just as an MMO, but their one game they play.

I don't defend YoshiP alot. If anything I criticise him more than anything, but the argument to unsubscribe or play other games, while terribly blunt, is just another way of saying that you should diversify your library and not expect any one game to be the one and all.

It's also ok to outgrow a game because it no longer satisfies what you're looking for. A lot of people struggle with that one, particularly imo with MMOs.

[Theodric]

Why isn't it valid ? The formula has been set for a long time now. I find a lot of players (specifically on the forum) expect XIV to be the one and all game for them. Not just as an MMO, but their one game they play.

I don't defend YoshiP alot. If anything I criticise him more than anything, but the argument to unsubscribe or play other games, while terribly blunt, is just another way of saying that you should diversify your library and not expect any one game to be the one and all.

It's also ok to outgrow a game because it no longer satisfies what you're looking for. A lot of people struggle with that one, particularly imo with MMOs.

It isn't an authentic stance for any business to embrace, though. The 'play other games' statement is in itself rooted in an interview as far back as the days of ARR when FFXIV was first finding its footing during its relaunch.

If not for the - quite frankly, creepy - cult that has formed around Yoshi-P it would never have been taken seriously. Interestingly, a lot of the people who echo it started the game years later and simply echo it without having been around themselves when it was first spoken.

I also don't think many people expect to be catered to 24/7 - there just isn't much in the way of content with staying power and depth, whereas when people do take breaks they're unable to leave feedback after two weeks of not logging in. Putting aside that this place doesn't have any real visible engagement from the community representatives in the first place...there's just a very unfortunate set of circumstances that have allowed the 'venue goers' to effectively hold the game hostage and move it further and further away from being an actual MMO rather than a strange Second Life clone.