Why it's okay for FFXIV to be flawed

[KikiTia]

I've seen a rise lately in people voicing concern and discontentment with the state of the game, stating that it's boring and they no longer have the will to do anything in the game anymore. And that's okay. FFXIV understands something that many development teams do not, that they can't please everyone. FFXIV understands that it does not sit at the center of the MMO industry, and that it has a lot of fundamental qualities that will turn certain audiences off instantly. This means that FFXIV, no matter how hard it tries, will always receive criticism and backlash in some form or other. And that's okay! Because gaming is not a single project but a whole industry, full of rich variety and history. FFXIV is never going to be a perfect MMO because it's not meant to be, and does not want to be. Naoki Yoshida himself stated that he does not want players to play FFXIV all day every day, he wants them to have the freedom to play other games without feeling like they're missing out, because he understands that trying to please anyone and everyone is an exercise in futility, so instead he's allowing his team to play to their strengths, that being story and art design, without forcing a chokehold on the players so if they don't like the direction they can go their own way, because that's the kind of game he and the team want to make. The game that is now being built is not a game made for everyone. It's a game made by people who love Final Fantasy and love MMOs, and the direction they are going is the direction they want solely for their own game, and not for the gaming industry as a whole. It's okay to criticize in an effort to improve the game, because it's always good for a thing to be constantly learning and evolving, however I want to say this as a warning to people who are discontent to not expect every gripe to be resolved. Because it won't be, the FFXIV team has a vision and a plan for the game's future that they've decided on, and it was made knowing that not everyone would be on board with it, however it's what the team is passionate about and by extension what they are best equipped to put 100% of their time and energy into. It's going to be a game made for people who have busy lives and don't have all the free time in the world, who love beautiful art and amazing stories, and who love Final Fantasy. If this does not appeal to you, that's okay, that's why there's other games out there for you to play, so you aren't bound to only one way of living like WoW used to do.

So, tl;dr, this game is not made for everyone and will not ever be made for everyone, and those who might have once loved this game might end up in the crowd that feels dissatisfied with it. That's okay, though, because you're free to play whatever game you want, and you can make FFXIV as big or as small a part of your life as you wish. Exert your freedom and explore other things more to your taste, don't let FFXIV make you feel neglected!

[TheMightyMollusk]

Oh, this'll be good.

[IckeDerTyp]

The way it is currently tho, it's hard to even find anyone the game is made for lol

Then again, that's just my perception of the whole situation, can't wait for the proper Island Episode tho :P

[Rithy255]

It's also okay to voice your concerns and frustrations with the game.
People usually don't complain about flaws because they fully dislike the game, they usually complain because they love the game and want better for it.

I think the issue is that FF14 isn't pleasing many people to a big extent anymore, The main people it pleases is casual players or people who tend to not play a lot of content or jobs, Those players aren't usually going to change their opinion if you change something gameplay wise as long as the baseline is fundamentally easy to get into.

I'd even say people like me who aren't really hardcore players (I've done some sav/ext here and there but it's not something I'm invested in) aren't really satisfied with how the game is going, I think it's good that people complain about issues they have, I know people who do complain just want better for the game, people who say "oh no you can't complain, the games good!" tend to always think people who complain dislike everything about ff14 when it's further from the truth.

[aveyond-dreams]

Mediocrity is never ok.

[Rithy255]

Mediocrity is never ok.

I wanted to say the game was not mediocre, but then I realised well... it's kind of got to that point for me, considering i usually log in for friends and not usually because its a active choice anymore.

[CStrife912]

Mediocrity is never ok.

That mediocrity is better then your fanfiction so thank god

[Stormpeaks]

Mediocrity is never ok.

Is that why you came back to the game after you said you were done ?

Or perhaps maybe you love mediocrity since you keep coming back.

[Nebelheim]

Is that why you came back to the game after you said you were done ?

Or perhaps maybe you love mediocrity since you keep coming back.

It seems he either still likes the game enough to resub or wants to subject us to his edgy fanfics after every patch and how he thinks his ideas are so award winning that the devs would take his ideas.

[LianaThorne]

It seems he either still likes the game enough to resub or wants to subject us to his edgy fanfics after every patch and how he thinks his ideas are so award winning that the devs would take his ideas.

Dunno why were singling out them when half of this forum thinks their ideas are gifts from God.