The game needs to open up

[Darko]

Just because they game has followed a format for a decade doesn't mean it has to remain this way. Everything in this game is too compartmentalized and on rails.

How hard would it be to try out an expansion where zones aren't locked by MSQ,
-where quests don't have braindead markers telling you where to go
-where dungeons are nothing like the stale formula we have
-where underwater isn't just a pretty landscape and combat/breathing mechanics are tried out.
-Where exploration and open world events are tried through the entire introduced zones instead of designated exploration instances like Eureka and Bozja.
-Where some side quests are just damn hard
-Where some open world dungeons are introduced, and the mobs are just lethal

Sure, not all of these systems and things will be hits with everyone, and people are going to complain about them but no one will be able to point the finger and say they've given up just like we all feel they have in DT.

It's obvious to me the current method to the game will just drive it to the ground sooner rather than later. It's time to break the shackles and explore another path for this MMO.

This game needs to work on producing:
1. Shock
2. Awe and wonder
3. Curiosity
4. A feeling of freedom

It would be great for the game for once to release content that doesn't feel like the same junk reskinned, for the 100th time.

I agree with your post OP, except one thing, removing quest markers. I think instead there should be an option to have them be visible on the map or not. More thought should be put into making the difficulty level more customizable, so everyone can have the experience they want.

I'll add

5.more variety in the character creator. It's been ten years with the same extremely limited amount of faces. Only male Midlander got an extra face and that was just an existing face with a stubble added. We need more faces, more body type options, more cosmetics options. Also, all Viera and Hrothgar need to be able to wear every hat. It's embarrasing that it still isn't sorted.
6.do away with all genderlocks for gear. It's a completely arbitrary and inconsistent thing. Luckily, the game is moving in the right direction on that.
7.make it possible to transfer ownership of an estate between characters of the same account on the same world, with a 90 days limit between switches if need be. This is a must, considering how limited certain types of houses are, how limited houses are on certain worlds in general, and house ownership having become dependant on RNG.

I will say that I have no complaints about the beauty of the areas, the quality of the music and the recent innovation in dungeon fight mechanics and boss design. But the story quality has taken a nosedive since Shadowbringers, and there is nothing exciting to find in zones, exploration yields no rewards except map achievements. It's beautiful, but boring.

Square can of course ignore feedback, but imo it is as you said, going on like this will drive the game into the ground sooner rather than later. And I don't want that, I want it to flourish. It makes me sad to think what FFXIV could be with sufficient resources allocated to it and a dev team willing to innovate game design and bring storytelling back up to Heavensward and Shadowbringers standards. My goodwill is running out. Glamours and QoL updates don't take away from the fact that my WoL feels like an NPC in a pretty but empty world filled with simplified characters and dumbed down stories.