Discuss : is ffxiv in trouble

[GoatOfWar]

I personally think the game peaked in Shadow bringers playerbase-wise because it was the perfect storm, with covid and the WoW exodus hype train. But FF failed miserably to retain those players.
All my WoW friends have quit and have no intention to ever come back because of how weak the FF endgame was. Those players were antagonised by FF's cultlike community because of their criticisms. And as such, those players will also tell their friends to never play this game.
FF just wrapped up a decade long story with an epic climax and has to go back to new beginnings. A lot of people are satisfied with the disclosure, but might not be interested in a new story; The game's engine and visuals are frankly, dated. And not stylised.
The graphical update will not be enough to put it back to modern standards. Moreover, we already know what to expect from future updates because of the game's formulaic design, and if anything people are concerned for further simplification and homogenisation.
I'm sure the game will retain a healthy amount of casual players for a good while until they grow out of the game. But long term that will not be sustainable.

All in all, a lot of things went right for the game, but i think the game has reached a stagnation point. Most people who wanted to try the game already have, and a lot of them will not come back. So where will the game draw those player numbers from?
The game won't go out in a huge sudden explosion, but a sad whimper over a long decline.