The real reason there are even subscribers in 2024

[Aword3213]

Let's be really honest why there are people even subscribed to FF14 in 2024:

It isn't because it's a video game, or because it's an MMO. It's not even a good RPG anymore. Go play Divinity Original Sin 1&2 or Baldur's Gate III if you actually want to play a good RPG. And if you want fun JRPG combat? FF7R has that. Story? Lol. For the first time it's actually worse than WoW's.

I agree. RPG element of this game has gone down over the years. The combat related content are all about doing the dance the dev want you to do, and the strict rotation the dev want to you to perform

Who actually subscribes to FF14 for a video game after all?

I personally don't mind the formula people keep complaining about. I actually kind of like it. However, the thought of unsubscribing has since occurred to me after seeing the quality of the game plummeted in 7.0.

[Magikazam]

The real reason WoW, FFXIV and GW2 are still played is cause of lack of competition and sunk-cost fallency. The popular MMO don't have to improve or be innovative cause there no other real options and people will stay on it unless you screw up hard.

[ZephyrMenodora]

The real reason WoW, FFXIV and GW2 are still played is cause of lack of competition and sunk-cost fallency. The popular MMO don't have to improve or be innovative cause there no other real options and people will stay on it unless you screw up hard.

Or people just like the gameplay more. You know that thing is claimed no one likes here.

No forced PvP. No massive gate keeping like Lost Ark. No running around in circles 1 shotting brainless mobs in BDO. No gender-exclusive classes. While DTs story wasn’t as strong it runs laps around most other mmos.

There are a lot of other games out there. By no competition - there is. These games are just more liked.

[Eothas]

No forced PvP. No massive gate keeping like Lost Ark. No running around in circles 1 shotting brainless mobs in BDO. No gender-exclusive classes. While DTs story wasn’t as strong it runs laps around most other mmos.

Finally someone that actually played other MMOs here lmao.

[Magikazam]

Or people just like the gameplay more. You know that thing is claimed no one likes here.

No forced PvP. No massive gate keeping like Lost Ark. No running around in circles 1 shotting brainless mobs in BDO. No gender-exclusive classes. While DTs story wasn’t as strong it runs laps around most other mmos.

There are a lot of other games out there. By no competition - there is. These games are just more liked.

that kinda my point too. The popular mmo right now got their little unique thing, but there no competition on these little thing. You don't have other story driven MMO in the market. GW2 and WoW also dosen't have massive gate keeping, running around one shottting brainless mob or gender exclusive classes.

My point is mostly that if you find, let say FFXIV story driven content good, but the gameplay lacking, well you don't have Any other option for a story driven mmo. And even if one come out an try to be ''FFXIV but better'' it will just die due to lack on content compared to the 10 years we got here and the sunk cost fallency. There a reason why all the tab target ''WoW killer'' died soon after launch.

[ZephyrMenodora]

that kinda my point too. The popular mmo right now got their little unique thing, but there no competition on these little thing. You don't have other story driven MMO in the market. GW2 and WoW also dosen't have massive gate keeping, running around one shottting brainless mob or gender exclusive classes.

My point is mostly that if you find, let say FFXIV story driven content good, but the gameplay lacking, well you don't have Any other option for a story driven mmo. And even if one come out an try to be ''FFXIV but better'' it will just die due to lack on content compared to the 10 years we got here and the sunk cost fallency. There a reason why all the tab target ''WoW killer'' died soon after launch.

ESO is story driven. It's just the stories are not as strong and the gameplay / floaty combat is worse IMO. So it's competition, but worse IMO. And it seems many agree as it's just not as populated as XIV.

Again, there are probably MMOs that try to do a variety of things XIV does, but the competition is just not as good at it. That doesn't mean there isn't competition.

10 years of content is hard to overcome, but if a game is outstanding it can. XIV came onto the market 14 years after EQ1 and that generation of MMOs.

MMO players flood to every new MMO that releases, at least at first. There is a market for new MMOs, they just simply are not as good.

[Conando]

Explain why you have to do hunt trains or Expert over and over again for six to seven weeks to get BiS for Ultimate then??

Considering you can cap out on tomes, weekly, with less than an hour of play a day, I would say that's not a grind.

[Thayos]

you call that grind ? How innocent you are

This made me chuckle. Some of these youngins will never understand the true meaning of grind.

[caffe_macchiato]

Square Enix has been a laughing stock of a company for years. It will never get better. Dawntrail will likely be the last expansion for many people before they switch to a different game. The “other MMO” is coming back and its newest expansion has good reviews. Square Enix is so incompetent that it likely doesn’t realize how important roleplaying and modding are to its bottom line. It’s a sad company that only exists to remake old titles, which were made with actual talent. Now that they killed off the classes and all the old content that made the game great, FFXIV no longer deserves its “mainline entry” status. It’s now a small app for making your avatar like IMVU. Fans have added more content to the game than Square Enix has in the past four years.

[Striker44]

Square Enix has been a laughing stock of a company for years. It will never get better. Dawntrail will likely be the last expansion for many people before they switch to a different game. The “other MMO” is coming back and its newest expansion has good reviews.

Doubtful. Every expansion will be the "last one" for some segment of the population, while other players will simply rotate in (or back in) and take their place. People doomsayed to no end trashing EW, and what happened? Yeah, DT had the highest pre-sales ever for FFXIV, even beating EW which had been inflated by the "WoW exodus." People will also continue playing multiple games, including FFXIV as one of them.

Square Enix is so incompetent that it likely doesn’t realize how important roleplaying and modding are to its bottom line.

They absolutely do realize that. Why do you think they "outlaw" modding, but look the other way at so many of the mods that exist unless people are mind-bogglingly idiotic and openly broadcast that they use them? Entire modding communities exist within FFXIV that SE recognizes is beneficial and lets alone.

It’s a sad company that only exists to remake old titles, which were made with actual talent.

This is the one part I can half agree with. I wish they would stop with the remakes, especially FF7, which to me is the most overhyped and overrated game in existence. The new titles are still made with plenty of "actual talent," though, they're just made in a different style that simply may not appeal to the same people SE's older games had appealed to.

Now that they killed off the classes and all the old content that made the game great, FFXIV no longer deserves its “mainline entry” status.

They haven't "killed off" anything. Classes still have their own unique flavors, and every single piece of content made for the game is still playable (unlike certain other "popular" MMO's that either completely destroy and remake their world, rendering the "old content" physically gone from the game, or put it in a "content vault" where it's - again - literally inaccessible). FFXIV still has all of the old content available, and most certainly deserves its "mainline" status.

It’s now a small app for making your avatar like IMVU. Fans have added more content to the game than Square Enix has in the past four years.

Oh, please. Comments like this just shred credibility on anything and everything else. The hundreds of PF Extreme and Savage groups, Hunt trains so large they're lagging servers, ~60+ hours of new content released in 7.0, etc.. Seriously.

Though I should ask, now that you've gone from the fake "cheerleader" posting to the utterly bitter posting, and saying things like your opening two sentences...why are you even here? Go play a game you'll actually enjoy (seriously).