State of the Realm

[Stizzle]

As a veteran FFXIV player (starting in 2013), and also FFXI player (at NA PC release), I'm curious to know what others' experiences and thoughts are on the current state of FFXIV and what changes / improvements they would like to see.

As it stands FFXIV seems more focused on aesthetics and mediocrity rather than challenging or compelling gameplay. Everything from Savage raids to MSQ bosses are nothing more than a scripted dance which when memorized offer little to no challenge. Completion rewards are quickly replaced by tome gear at next patch which offers no real incentive aside from having slightly stronger equip for a few months to the truly dedicated.

Jobs/Classes seem to have no true individuality aside from their weapon of choice and how they deliver their damage. Each jobs toolkit is relatively copy-paste with a slight variation in description and effect, though nothing that speaks to a strong differing factor as to how this job is significantly different than it's counterparts.

Partyfinder seems to be riddled with more advertisements for venues and RP scenarios than actual content, aside from the standard hunt group or new player looking to clear MSQ content.

While I am hopeful of the visual changes coming in 7.0 this seems to be a great opportunity for SE to address the current state of the realm while also making changes to classes / jobs / mechanics. Things that would add some depth and meaningful incentive to player progression.

[Oizen]

I guess what I'd want most is more player agency. Right now jobs feel like they play on rails, exactly one way to play them and thats that. Theres no customization, no flare, no substance. Nothing.

I miss the concept of things like Class skills for adding some variety to your job, Bozja handles this pretty well with Lost Actions and Essences, I'd like the main game to have more of that in some form.

[Jeeqbit]

As it stands FFXIV seems more focused on aesthetics and mediocrity rather than challenging or compelling gameplay.

For the casual content like dungeons, yes. Although I am glad that the newly-produced dungeons don't telegraph everything with orange circles so much anymore.

Everything from Savage raids to MSQ bosses are nothing more than a scripted dance

It's been that way for most of the game's life, except certain ARR bosses. I have no problem with it and it means you can feel confident about a fight once you've learned it.

which when memorized offer little to no challenge.

Depends, because some specific mechanics do have RNG in them.

Completion rewards are quickly replaced by tome gear at next patch which offers no real incentive aside from having slightly stronger equip for a few months to the truly dedicated.

It does feel that gear gets replaced too often. It would be nice if crafted gear for the next tier was the same item level as the raid gear from the previous tier and that this was the beginning item level of the next raid series. Getting all that raid gear only to discard it for crafted gear in the next tier doesn't feel good.

Jobs/Classes seem to have no true individuality

Yes that has been eroding, especially after they stopped caring about it with the release of Shadowbringers. At least a bit more uniqueness would be desirable.

Partyfinder seems to be riddled with more advertisements for venues and RP scenarios than actual content

If it is, then I didn't notice behind the over 100 high-end duties listed. I don't really look at the Other category much. It really doesn't matter though. Lots of people don't raid, so why not have 100 parties for people who don't as well?

[GoatOfWar]

I might get hate for this but i think role actions need to be removed. (Except for voke, shirk and KB resist)
They create soooo much overlap to an already homogenised mess.. I'd like to see them removed and replaced with unique abilties that make jobs different.
And now that all tank damage has been brought up to or higher than Dark knight's, i also want to see their sustain and utility dropped to the same level to keep things balanced.

[Theodric]

I'd like to see the following:

Exploratory Content: Although Bozja and Eureka may not be everybody's particular cup of tea they both served to bring players together in a way that hasn't been seen in Endwalker. I'd like to see exploratory content become a staple of every expansion and be refined with each new iteration to have a smoother and more satisfying gameplay loop as well as more rewards to acquire. Including items that are rare and will sell for quite a bit of gil in order to facilitate longevity.

Player Housing: Although I am lucky enough to own a large house within the game, many of my friends are not so lucky. The Elder Scrolls Online allows for players to take a break for months or even years without the risk of losing their acquired houses or furniture. I'd like to see a similar safeguard implemented within FFXIV since 45 days - a month and a half - isn't really that lengthy a period of time. At the very least, I think it should be rounded up to two months.

Character Customisation:

Let's not beat around the bush - there's some very dubious and outdated design decisions plaguing this game. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples is the lack of authentic eyebrows for Highlander men. The face paint simply doesn't cut it, particularly when many players have spoken up over the years asking for more of a bone to be thrown to those of us who like and/or play men in this game. Better faces along the lines of Snow (FFXIII), Gladio (FFXV) and Basch/Gabranth (FFXII) would go a long way towards encouraging more people to try out this game and pick out a player avatar that appeals to them.

In addition, the game should take cues from World of Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls Online by taking the time to add new scars, tattoos and facial hair as customisation options. More short hairstyles that are primarily designed with men in mind would be excellent as well.

Deeper Dialogue Choices:

The game is in a rather strange place these days where it is becoming more akin to a single player game on many fronts. That would ordinarily serve as an excellent opportunity to grant the player more agency in regards to certain situations. For example, not everyone is eager to have their character fawned over to such a large degree by G'raha and Alisae. The option to put one's foot down would be wonderful. It would also be great to have more choice in terms of how our character chooses to react to some of the deeper revelations in the MSQ's. Not everyone is interested in the 'chaos gremlin' archetype that the game desperately seeks to push upon our character.

Reconstruction Content:

I'd like to see more of it, once again as a staple moving forward. There are a lot of places within the game world - such as Garlemald and Ala Mhigo - that could stand to be rebuilt. Having each server come together in order to rebuild parts of the game world is peak MMO as far as I'm concerned.

New Rewards:

From time to time and in order to encourage older content to become relevant again to both new and veteran players alike I think it would be wonderful if new minions, mounts, cards, emotes, glamour, orchestrion rolls and furniture were sprinkled across various aspects of the game.

[Elissar]

We reached a point where all critics sounds the same, and many of them holds relative concepts.

[Nebelheim]

I would love if jobs went back to heavansward or stormblood design and if dungeons and trials had some difficulty again like they did during arrr-hw. And would like to have as much content per patch that we use to get during arr and heavansward.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

I wish they expand their job designer team. Four brains would inevitably run out of juicy creative ideas when they’re spread thinly across 19; soon to be 21 jobs in Yawntrail.

But lmao who am I kidding we get to touch HD grass in-game!

[MistakeNot]

Everything from Savage raids to MSQ bosses are nothing more than a scripted dance which when memorized offer little to no challenge. Completion rewards are quickly replaced by tome gear at next patch which offers no real incentive aside from having slightly stronger equip for a few months to the truly dedicated.

When has this not been the case in FFXIV?
It has been that way for as long as I have played FFXIV, which is since shortly after the release of Heavensward.

[Elissar]

When has this not been the case in FFXIV?

Exactly, V&C is an attempt to add variety. People are expecting something that only advanced AI can do: be better than the player on his own style. We are watching the genesis of this concept with GPT in Skyrim.
Anyway, it's weird to read something like that.