Is anyone else not really enjoying themselves?

[NegativeS]

I mean, the DT endgame is almost exactly the same as in EW, and ShB. It's understandable if you're bored of it, I'm certainly getting there myself. If you want new systems every expansion, WoW might be more your speed.

That's not me trying to be rude either. People in WoW loved to complain about new systems, but they certainly freshened things up for people who didn't want to only be on the prog hamster wheel. Honestly thinking about giving it another shot when the new expansion releases in a few weeks...

[koko-on-da-forumz]

I would like to say yes but...the MSQ was kinda disapointing that i've procastinating to finish it already (i'm at the final trial i supose) and they took positionals, Twin snakes buff and Demolish dot from MNK, it kinda feel weird and boring, like it lost the remaining identity the class had, switching to MCH in the meantime. Waiting for the Operantion field to not dissapoint (hopefully).

Try Viper.

They really did rip the soul out of Monk and put it in Viper's body for some reason. Now Viper is the flexible, timer management, positionals, combo job.

[BakoolJaJa]

I think for me, I've been playing FFXIV for a long time and usually the MSQ is always something I can count on to motivate me to want to learn more about the world we're put in and the circumstances around it. This time though, while the battle content is really stellar(probably the best it's been in forever) I just can't feel motivated to keep playing. In fact playing kind of makes me sad. Between how bad the MSQ was and the likelihood that the Dev's might screw up Viper which is the job I've had the most fun with for over 6 years. I've kind of lost all motivation to keep playing in general.

I really liked the characters before, and now I dunno, I can't imagine going through anymore of the Wuk lamat show, like just the thought of having to deal with more of how the main quest was written, or having to deal with more of Wuk lamat. It honestly makes me wish I never bought Dawntrail. I've never been more excited for summer vacation to end in my life. Honestly, if the game continues down the path Dawntrail has started, I can't see myself being able to justify the expense of a game I don't enjoy anymore. I'm really hoping the raids are fun and that the story is 100% separate from Wuk Lamat, because after getting through the MSQ , especially the final trial (I will absolutely never do that trial again), I've never been more depressed to be playing a game in my life.

I play MMOs because I want to be part of a big, multiplayer, persistent world. Most people do. It's why and how people get so invested in these games and their characters. It's a separate ongoing life of sorts. The MMO experience isn't comparable to single player games in that regard. There you become part of a world for a specific moment in time, both virtual in game time, as well real life time. The world has a beginning and an end, so does the story, so does a character, etc. Not in MMOs though.

While FFXIV keeps getting updates, it keeps on being this other living, breathing world filled with real people. And we all can be part of it.

But if suddenly the world changes, if it becomes unappealing for whatever reason, the feeling of immersion begins to fade. And anything in the "world" can contribute to that change. It can be class balancing, it can be a graphics update, it can be music you dislike, story not being up to par, the community becoming toxic. Suddenly you feel a distance. You feel alienated. You no longer want to be in the world at all, despite the original issue potentially being very minor. I'd compare the effect to how easily immersion breaks in VR vs usual gaming. You can suffer through a million graphical bugs on a 2d screen before you get fed up. But a single tiny hiccup in VR is enough to pull you right out of the experience.

So I don't think anybody is exaggerating or being dramatic. This is in the nature of the genre.

For me, I've been having minor issues with the ffxiv community for a while now, but it sure feels like it came to a head with all this Dawntrail controversy. Not once have I silenced or criticized anyone who is having fun or sharing their positive impressions. But the amount of toxicity I have gotten in return is far too much. And all I have ever shared are rather legitimate and polite criticisms, no personal attacks, nothing overly emotional. The way the playerbase reacts to any sort of complaints is hard to stomach. Aside from feeling like you can never be genuine and truthful, instead constantly having to fake pure bliss, it also feels like this leads to feedback never getting heard. And I want the game to become better. But when so much of the community is constantly pushing back against every attempt to better something I love... Well, it makes me skeptical about the future.

Edit: I see some misunderstanding in the comments. None of what I mentioned has anything to do with the size of in game areas. I am not talking about locations or about whether or not the game has an open world to explore. Not once. I am not talking about the physical aspects at all. This is more of an emotional/mental thing. A world can be persistent and big while being physically small. For example through its community.

[Daralii]

Try Viper.

They really did rip the soul out of Monk and put it in Viper's body for some reason. Now Viper is the flexible, timer management, positionals, combo job.

Don't worry, they've said that they're getting rid of most of that.

[koko-on-da-forumz]

I play MMOs because I want to be part of a big, multiplayer, persistent world.

FFXIV has not been this since 1.0. Any feeling you had that this was the case comes from inexperience with the game and your own expectations with the genre. Even in ARR there really was very little to do in the game outside of very non-persistent instances. It's a visual novel with a raid sim attached.

If you want a big, multiplayer, persistent world, play Guild Wars 2 or Final Fantasy XI. I'd be thrilled to get you started in either because actually playing them in the open world with other people is a lot of fun and not just hand-holding from point A to point B.

[Connor]

FFXIV has not been this since 1.0. Any feeling you had that this was the case comes from inexperience with the game and your own expectations with the genre. Even in ARR there really was very little to do in the game outside of very non-persistent instances. It's a visual novel with a raid sim attached.

If you want a big, multiplayer, persistent world, play Guild Wars 2 or Final Fantasy XI. I'd be thrilled to get you started in either because actually playing them in the open world with other people is a lot of fun and not just hand-holding from point A to point B.

Even 1.0 wasn’t an entirely ‘open, persistent world’, not besides extremely early on in the game’s lifespan. It had its instanced dungeons too, I think Cutter’s Cry and Dzemael Darkhold were two such ones.

I don’t think FFXIV is ever going to be a place for an ‘open persistent world’ like certain other mmos

[Dogempire]

I think the game is okay right now, the story is disappointing as hell but there's other content.

For now I'm just focusing on getting jobs leveled to do the role quests and then maybe I'll consider looking for a static for the new raid tier.

I have a backlog of games I want to play when I eventually get bored of this game though, so I can't say I'm that upset over the game being kind of boring either

[Zaniel]

The available gameplay options in 7.0 are no different to 6.0 or 5.0, the difference is that in the previous two expansions I had a warm glow from enjoying the MSQ and the characters involved so that I happily consumed my MMO grind with good memories. This time I have no such good memories to mull over while I am doing the grind so it kinda feels a bit bleak tbh (even though I am basically doing the same gameplay as previous expansions).

[Sated]

I've been having a blast.
Enjoyed MSQ, dungeons are fun, and love that fates are so effective for leveling.

My only complaints are the change to PCT AF for guys which haunts me daily, and that I do not enjoy jazz which is a skill issue; so yea, DT's been great so far.

[Ayer2015]

I've been enjoying the dungeons and trails. The MSQ was the only real letdown.
Next expansion's job rework will be a make or break moment for me though.