Are You Enjoying XIV For The Game? Or Are You Enjoying XIV Because Of The People.

[Ritsuka-55]

I keep playing this game because i'm a Final Fantasy nerd, and the prospect of making your "own" Final Fantasy character sounded nice when I started playing. The story beeing quite solid til certain point, and a couple of other things were a nice bonus. But, mainly, yeah, because i'm a Final Fantasy nerd of sorts.

[EusisLandale]

I play the game for the game.
The few friends I got into the game for in the first place disappeared and I haven't heard anything from them anywhere in years. The few friends I thought I made in game did much the same.
Every FC I end up joining turns into pissing contests between drama queens that drag everyone else into it, or everyone completely ignores everyone else in the first place.

[Jeeqbit]

I don't appreciate the fakeness behind all the "We're so kind" people. This community is no more or less toxic than any other MMO

I do agree that it's no more or less toxic than other places.

What is different is the demographs (specifically, how the aesthetic of the game appeals to LGBTQAI players a lot). It just so happens that this demograph is more likely to be kind than in some other online communities.

There has always been a negative demograph as well though, or at least it feels like there has, which is people with personality disorders seem more likely to be met in this game than in real life and you can run into them in duties and experience this "lack of kindness". But it could also just be that rude people find it harder to be rude in real life, because most celebrities will say that for all the rude people on twitter, when they meet them in real life they aren't like this at all.

However, those demographs have been evolving; for example, the free trial has increased from 35 to level 70 over time, allowing younger (less mature) people to play through a significant amount of the game because they don't need a bank account for it. It's most likely evolved due to how it went viral and became more well-known as well.

The other thing that makes the game kinder, beside the rules against being rude, is the design of the game:

• Sprout icons to indicate someone is new, so you can't assume they are a veteran player and blame them for not knowing. To do that when they are a sprout would not look smart.
• A returner icon to say someone has been away when they are making strange errors as if they haven't played for a while. Once again you can't get mad at them as easily because the game has explained it to you.
• Commendations to make you think about what people did well instead of what they did wrong.
• First-time bonuses to make it worth your while to help others, even if you wouldn't normally do so.
• A grueling story to get through that people with poor attitudes will often not manage to tolerate and just quit the game instead.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Yeah, still enjoying the game. I may have friends who play it but see here's the thing, if I didn't enjoy the game anymore, I'd still quit, and just... Play other games with those friends.

[CvClone]

It started with the game , later on after time did pass by it changed that i enjoy it because of people [ friends ] and it changed that these 2 factors don't mean much to me anymore , I just do out of box stuff to keep myself enjoyed inside this game , but in whole these 2 factors , Game itself and people , plays a huge role on a person play time

[hydralus]

The game. The RP scene is okay and all but there's better places for that too, like getting in with a tabletop group. I dunno I just like having something to mindlessly grind every so often.

[Fawkes]

I don't know any people.

[Myrany]

I am here for the game. I have met some great people while here but in the end I am a solo player that loves the story and loves that I can take it at my own pace with almost no FOMO. (NOT a PVP person)

[Kitty_Cat]

Something that crosses my mind often with many fads now a days, but especially MMOs, are you enjoying this because you like XIV, or are you only here because your friends are here.

Recently a friend of mine stopped playing XIV due to their friend group dissolving, from what I know, their friends had been playing from various points in the MMO, but the majority started back in ARR. They got pulled in around Shadowbringers Release and since then had been having a blast, they are now from what I can tell done with the game now that they have no friend group to play it with.

So how many of you are here simply because your friends are here and got you to play vs playing because you actaully like the game and wanna see it grow and where it goes.

I'd have to say the people, if this was a single player game, I'd get bored and stop playing.
I enjoy helping people, I like community.

I like Crafting and Gathering my own materials and doing MSQ duties, not so much harder content or non-mandatory Raids.
And I'm always talking to friends while doing anything or making new friends, the best part about this game is the community.

I'm also an avid Housing enthusiast, decorating I enjoy.

Basically, all of the things in this game require other people to be around to make it fun.

[NekoMataMata]

The game.

I'd say that people tend to make me more frustrated than not, but that's also likely because positive experiences aren't standouts. That's just the nature of the playerbase though. The bar is so low that people simply doing what they're supposed to is more impressive than it should be.

If I played for the community then I wouldn't be playing at all.