Questions about your reception to Dawntrail

[SeriousPan]

When did you start playing?

1.0

Will you play DT at launch, and are you looking forward to it? Why or why not?

I am, I suppose. The job skills trailer didn't wow me very much but I enjoyed what they added to some of my classes like Black Mage. While there's a lot of contention on BLM changes I'm liking what they're doing with things like Manafont. I'm excited for a new location with a different aesthetic to what we've got and the new frontier vibe is something I'm keen on. While it's not exactly the Aussie Outback, like I one day hope we'll visit, it's pretty damn close.

Did the media tour sway your decision, and do you think there's any way you'll change your mind before DT actually comes out?

The information from the Media Tour is all over the place and I find most content creators annoying to listen to as they take 10+ minutes to give out small amounts of information. But from what I've seen from CC's who put things in text format and short form videos, yeah it's made me a bit more excited than I was. But not by much.

[Moqi]

I started in ARR beta and took a break after HW came out until 2 years ago.

I played up until 5.3 and haven't Shadowbringer at all, so I wasn't really looking forward to more of that in the first place but the media tour completely killed my interest in the game. I had a glimmer of hope when data mines from the benchmark talked about button consolidation but then it turned out that those buttons weren't replaced by anything interesting.

[SeverianLyonesse]

I'm an Endwalker baby and I can still see the game for the shallow husk that it is. Unfortunately I will not be playing 7.0 day one because I will not pre-order it. I will not pre order it because that could be interpreted as excitement and to be honest, I am not excited specifically based on the media tour and seeing combat unchanged.

Also the opinion that forums are havens for negativity seems like shaky logic. Forums, without any data, should be assumed to represent similar opinions to those if you generally polled an audience. There's nothing special about users who use forums and those who don't. There's no official data that you're of a certain pre disposition or IQ level or something if you use the forums. Forums are probably an assortment of a few thousand players that would be the same if you took a few thousand Randoms from Aether sever.

Well especially, again, forums that limit posting only to active players. If someone has played within the past 14 days, they are far more likely to have at least a somewhat positive view of the game.

Most players who are disappointed in the game either quit more than 14 days ago, or are unsubscribed for long or indefinite periods of time. The fact that we are seeing still a lot of negativity shows that there was a sizeable number of players who waited for the media tour, were let down by it, and are commenting within that awkward window of waiting for their 14 day login timer and/or subscription to end.

Obviously, there is at least some subset of players who never quit despite all their complaining, I don't deny those posters exist. But I think even their comments can contain valid criticism, and even still are comparatively only a small fraction an undoubtedly larger population of dissidents who literally cannot post their opinions on these forums. It is not incorrect at all to criticize the notion that this forum in particular is a haven for negativity when it actively tries to only grant access to those who are still satisfied enough with the product to keep paying for it.

[Amenara]

Started in ARR beta.
Yeah I will play at launch, gonna unlock viper and see what happens.
Media tour just made me think I might actually like viper, but we'll see after I can actually play it.

[NegativeS]

When did you start playing?

Late Stormblood.

Will you play DT at launch, and are you looking forward to it? Why or why not?

I originally intended to, now not so sure after the wave of revelations as to the apparent state of gameplay in DT. (Mained healer for most of my time playing.) Also, I have that WoW addict itch in the back of my brain again...

Did the media tour sway your decision

A bit, yeah. Kind of flipped me 180 from excitedly hopeful to distrustingly averse.

and do you think there's any way you'll change your mind before DT actually comes out?

I mean, I'm saying what I'm saying now, but I'm sure my opinion will change in the coming weeks. I always have to have an MMO to play, or else I start to go crazy.

[Budew]

1) Shadowbringers.

2) Yes! I look forward to the new graphics update and eden ultimate, since that's the first savage tier I experienced.

3) I main bard, so no. The media tour only showcased neutral to positive changes for bard. As long as they didn't full-on Summoner'd bard, I'd be happy. Also with eden ultimate locked-in, I will be playing DT despite any changes.

[Malthir]

When did you start playing?

1.0 but quit and cameback in ARR

Will you play DT at launch, and are you looking forward to it? Why or why not?

Yes because I pre ordered so I will get my moneys worth, but after that no, the game is a shadow of it's former self and the way it's gone now with the past 2 expacs is on the decline, the decision to focus an entire expac on a graphic release when there are serious issues in gameplay was stupid beyond belief IMO.

Did the media tour sway your decision, and do you think there's any way you'll change your mind before DT actually comes out?

I liked the look of the graphical changes, don't get me wrong from my previous point, I'm not saying the changes are bad, but having the mounts sways slightly when I turn and grass slightly bend does not matter when 80% of the jobs in the game are un fun. When level sync which is where you spend most of your time playing is so tediously painful it makes me not want to bother logging in. No the Media tour didn't sway me, just confirmed what I already knew, the dev team are suffering from WoW syndrome, they've done well and there game is well received but the past few years they've believed they can do no wrong and are making terrible choices that will have a negative impact on the longevity of the game.

[Aniya_Estlihn]

1. ARR beta and onward

2. Yes, I am. This is still my favorite game and I enjoy it regardless of how gutted my favorite jobs (Dark Knight, Astrologian, Summoner) get with each expansion. I take things as they come and having something new to do in the game is exciting for me as I have the most fun at launch.

3. No. Media tour never sways me one way or another. This time my interest was seeing the graphics update in motion but since the footage was so heavily compressed there wasn't much I could glean from it.

I quit complaining years ago and have grown tired of others complaining, what point is there wasting my breath when I know that no matter what CS3 does I am still going to play?

[Jeeqbit]

Of the pre-launch periods I've seen since I started playing the game in StB, I feel like this one is the first with this many people either uneasy or straight up apathetic to the newest expansion.

It's because the trailer is underwhelming and trying to lower expectations. But this looks like it will turn out okay, because if you've consumed all the live letters, keynotes and media tour information, you easily notice that there is far more to the expansion than a "holiday" and that there is a really good story in Dawntrail.

The other reason was the job changes, but people were apathetic towards the job changes that were coming in Shadowbringers and Endwalker as well because they saw from the media tours back then that the jobs were being simplified ahead of time, so they are only apathetic now in a sense of "third time".

There is room for optimism in that the job changes were not very significant and they have mentioned things like not making them easier than they currently are, and giving them more identity and room for skill expression again.

I haven't seen reactions as polarizing on the short time I've been using the forums

The forums have always been full of negativity because why would most people bother coming here if they were happy? It's just how it's always been, but it's grown over time as the game has changed and people, attached to "how it was in the past", want to revert x, y or z feature back to how it was.

I think the negativity is fine if it also tries to understand where SE is coming from and find a solution that both solves it for them, and solves the problem that SE is solving with their changes.

And also if the negativity is realistic and not ignoring the needs of other types of players with different interests, nor statistics like saying "the game is declining" when the statistics don't show this ie. breaking pre-order records with Dawntrail, still over 1 million on lucky bancho throughout Endwalker.

When did you start playing?

ARR.

Will you play DT at launch, and are you looking forward to it?

Yes and yes.

Why or why not?

Story, hunts, new areas, new raids and Viper. I like that healers will get slightly more attacks at least. New social content (Field Operation, Cosmic Exploration and Beastmaster).

do you think there's any way you'll change your mind

No.

[Merrigan]

Also the opinion that forums are havens for negativity seems like shaky logic. Forums, without any data, should be assumed to represent similar opinions to those if you generally polled an audience. There's nothing special about users who use forums and those who don't. There's no official data that you're of a certain pre disposition or IQ level or something if you use the forums. Forums are probably an assortment of a few thousand players that would be the same if you took a few thousand Randoms from Aether sever.

They are - for a simple reason that has been documented: the internet tends to encourage negativity. It's not a question of intelligence or anything like that: it's more a question of environment, and the fact that our brains are made to react to negative stimuli in a more violent way. The ffxiv forum is not alone. I have... mixed memories of the wow forums, where legitimate criticism often went hand in hand with personal tirades that went off in all directions. Add to that the fact that some people stop coming at all because of the negativity around them - and you automatically filter out all the optimists.

Saying that a forum is representative of a population is like saying that an IRL social venue is. It won't be true, because access to that social space is determined by a set of criteria (social, economic, cultural) that establish an initial filter.

Having said that, I'm looking forward to DT. I'd like to take this opportunity (and this is more of a request for confirmation than anything else, I have a doubt): are we really going back to a narrative cycle like the one we had between ARR and Endwalker? Not a stand-alone expansion?