It is an MMORPG. Stop trying to sell the game to people that hate MMOs. I get the appeal of making it more appealing in comparison to other Final Fantasy games. It's understandable that they want to change the common thought that it isn't the same as other numbered titles. I 100% feel for the company in trying to preserve its legacy by adding more soloable content.
But when you have an entire fanbase that LOVES mmos, who are enjoying this game, and you start taking away those moments that made the MMO magical, it isn't the game we love anymore. Give incentives that bring the playerbase together. Stop making content, and then abandoning it as soon as the expansion is over.
- Island Sanctuary doesn't need a replacement. We do NOT need an Island Sanctuary 2. Keep the one we have, and add more content within it that we can do with other players. I am a big fan of Island Sanctuary, but I don't want a Sanctuary 2. Just make it so we can farm with friends, and continue upgrading it.
- Stop making relics lonely and boring. Make them back to being with other players. I want to go on an epic adventure for these weapons once again.
- It's fine to make old dungeons work with the trust system, but stop taking away mechanics that make it engaging, and fun.
- More Criterion Rewards. More bossfights on each separate path. More incentives to play together in Criterion. Perhaps a roulette for the different criterion dungeons, that way more people will be able to complete it with others.
- More incentives for different modes. Rival Wings is DEAD, but its a really fun pvp mode. Make it in roulette already. We have been begging for years.
- Shared fates is great, and was a good step, but people still aren't doing them enough. Find more ways to get people into the overworld.
- Party Finder and Duty Finder needs to be cross data center, so that more people will stay on their datacenters. It's frustrated to have to travel just to do raiding now. It never should of been a thing without Party Finder, or Duty Finder.
- Ishgard Restoration was fun, and a great way to hype up the fanbase. Make that happen again. There are plenty of areas that could use some repairing, and rebuilding. Ala Mhigo, Doma, and Garlmald need repairs done. There is no reason we couldn't revisit any of those. Even with Doma technically having a restoration already, an even larger one would be awesome. Get the players working together!
- Figure out some way to get people to stop having private workshops. Yes, I said that correctly. People are buying up entire sections of wards, and bullying others just for workshops. There needs to be a way to limit people from having more than one of them on a datacenter. They are an incentive because of the amount of money that they make. People make private FCs just to have entire wards worth of workshops. This is damaging the community, accessibility to housing, and driving space for actual group oriented free companies away.
Reward people for playing together. That's the point of an mmo. There are shy players yes, but mmos were always about overcoming that and forming CONNECTIONS within a world worth exploring.