Do you know why the average pf player is so bad?

[Jojoya]

Prestige in gaming is healthy, giving players a goal is healthy, yet we've ran far from that in most cases.

I would edit that to read:

Prestige in competitive gaming is healthy, giving players a goal is healthy, yet we've ran far from that in most cases.

The majority of games that people play have nothing to do with prestige. They aren't even thinking about prestige when they're playing. They're thinking about relaxation and fun. Perhaps they'll challenge themselves to a personal best but they're not interested in competing against others.

It is the competitive games where prestige becomes important.

FFXIV may have some competitive content but it is not intended to be a competitive game in general. If it was, SE would either create a better defined third party tool policy or do a better job of integrating the popular tools into the game. They would create an official world first race instead of keeping their distance from the unofficial race that players have organized.

Prestige in games is what leads to most toxicity. Some players start acting like they're superior to others when we're all just people at the end of the day.

Whether someone wants a goal in the games they play is their personal business. Most of us already have goals to meet in our personal and work lives. We aren't necessarily looking for more from a game.

Well said.

However, I believe teaching tools and experience can be one and the same.
(snip the rest)

You can try to teach someone. They will not learn anything if they're not interested in the lesson.

You may think people should aspire to a certain level. That does not mean that they agree or will do it.

Not everyone is interested in a taste of higher difficuty. Many are very happy exactly right where they are. Try to force them into that higher difficulty and you're far more likely to end up losing a customer than creating a better player.

That is human nature. Those with interest in rising to a challenge will do it. Those without interest in rising to a challenge won't. They'll just walk away if you try to force it on them.