[Feedback] Data Center Travel Changes

[Fuyuqi]

Just to share my experience and complain, this is how the restrictions have affected me. I have a very busy schedule (out of the house for over 12 hours every weekday), and the days I have free are variable week to week so statics don't work for me. My primary gameplay in FFXIV is raiding, and I do crafting and island sanctuary (for materia) to sell for gil to buy things like food and pots for raid. I have about 3-4 hours each day free to do everything I need to at home (showering, cooking, eating, work), so I tend to sleep pretty early.

At the end of Endwalker, when player numbers were pretty similar to now, I could log in on a day I had some free time, check my sanctuary, grab materia and list them on the marketboard. I'd then travel to Aether, rarely wait longer than 30 seconds, and find a 7/8 or 6/8 ultimate PF to spend an hour or two in. When I was ready to call it a night, I'd log out, travel back to Crystal, and collect any gil and update my marketboard prices if people undercut me while I was gone.

Now, if I'm on crystal, sure I can do my "maintenance" stuff in the game like crafting and island sanctuary, but the primary thing I play the game for (raiding) is torture. There's barely ever any parties in PF, and the quality of the parties are pretty low. Not a slight to Crystal raiders, but most people who are serious about getting reclears done quickly or doing ultimates at all usually head to Aether instead. If I have the desire to raid, I have to think ahead and stay up late or set an alarm and wake up early so that I can actually travel, and have the option to raid the next time I log on.

If I'm on Aether, sure I can raid, but I feel like I'm missing out on my ability to earn gil. Can't sell mats or crafts on MB, can't use subs, can't do timed nodes. I don't have much interest in things like triple triad, so I'm left twiddling my thumbs waiting for pfs to fill since everything else I enjoy (mahjong, pvp, levelling) I can't do while sitting in PF. Even at the end of the night, I can't just go home and sell stuff I crafted on the MB because it'll still be too early for me to get back to aether for the next day, and I'd have to stay up or wake up early again.

I feel like I'm forced to give up one of the two types of gameplay I enjoy, and that I have to fight the game just to play. It's even more infuriating due to the lack of acknowledgement from the dev team, and thinking that I have to either deal with this indefinitely or give up the community i have on my home world and pay to transfer just so I can enjoy the game honestly just makes me want to quit the game

[CeruleanArc]

the primary thing I play the game for (raiding) is torture. There's barely ever any parties in PF, and the quality of the parties are pretty low. Not a slight to Crystal raiders

As a Crystallite... totally fair statement.

I honestly feel the most for people like you with limited time. If I were in your position, I'm not sure I'd still be playing this game at all. As much as I love it, when time is scarce, it costs us way more than $15/month to play this game when they do things like this to us. At some point, the cost becomes prohibitive, and we'll have to go elsewhere whether we want to or not.

[Fuyuqi]

As a Crystallite... totally fair statement.

I honestly feel the most for people like you with limited time. If I were in your position, I'm not sure I'd still be playing this game at all. As much as I love it, when time is scarce, it costs us way more than $15/month to play this game when they do things like this to us. At some point, the cost becomes prohibitive, and we'll have to go elsewhere whether we want to or not.

LOL well hey I was a Crystal raider at one point too, I can't judge.

I WAS fine paying 15/month since it's not like I logged in much to begin with with my schedule, so the time I get for the money hasn't changed much, just the quality and enjoyment I get from it has gone down a lot bc of the travel restrictions. The game has always been worth the cost for me up until this point. I was happy through the end of EW, I enjoyed the launch of DT, but ever since they didn't remove restrictions on savage release and still no comment on it for FRU... I might just be unable to do the content I've been waiting for for half a year, and I think if that happens I'm finally gonna call it quits.