FFXIV population decline continues

[Oizen]

Would be cool if it deserves the name 'exploration'. Let's see.

The only content in this entire game that has ever actually had exploration in it is fucking Variant Dungeons with their weird ass secret bosses.
And everyone just looks up a guide for that

[Heavenchild]

The only content in this entire game that has ever actually had exploration in it is fucking Variant Dungeons with their weird ass secret bosses.
And everyone just looks up a guide for that

Because it was no exploration thing to find them. It was like..., interact with the right interaction points in the right order stuff.
I really tried to do the first Variant without guides. But the solutions are often too random.
It did not feel like an exploration. More like..., try to find the right combo to unlock the coffer, but with mobs in between. xD

[ReynTime]

There's nothing inherently wrong with iterating DD and field operations every expansion. The only problem is FO shouldn't wait until .25 or .3(5) to start.
And Deep Dungeon needs a better shakeup than what they tried to do with Orthos. Moreover I sincerely hope they don't repeat the mistake of not making the new DD a valid way to level up alt jobs from 90 to 100.

[LittleArrow]

Tbf, I think XIV could lose their entire playerbase outside of Japan and SE still wouldn't care or change. Until the JP players show dissatisfaction, nothing will change. Japanese companies would rather go bankrupt than listen to their consumers outside of their borders. I never believed that until I played this game for over 12yrs and saw it first hand. Now I see that business behavior from JP companies everywhere. Oh well.

[Derio]

This is normal. We saw the same thing in EW. Until they start giving people a reason to login outside of your weekly 24 man raid, this will continue to happen.

[AvoSturmfaust]

Why is there always a Hardcore VS Casual Discussion which even goes the wrong way because i got the feeling people think "raiding" is hardcore, no it isnt, i raid too and im a casual nothing more.

[Eyrilona]

Why is there always a Hardcore VS Casual Discussion which even goes the wrong way because i got the feeling people think "raiding" is hardcore, no it isnt, i raid too and im a casual nothing more.

No greater holy wars than those about poorly defined terminology.

[BigCheez]

Why is there always a Hardcore VS Casual Discussion which even goes the wrong way because i got the feeling people think "raiding" is hardcore, no it isnt, i raid too and im a casual nothing more.

I think a lot of people conflate being "casual" with being bad and having no interest in improving. Casual vs. hardcore is just a question of level of investment. Someone could play casually and still be fairly good at the game, clear savage tiers and whatnot. Hardcore players will just clear much faster because they metagame a lot more and put more effort into learning and improving.

[Evergrey]

I think a lot of people conflate being "casual" with being bad and having no interest in improving. Casual vs. hardcore is just a question of level of investment. Someone could play casually and still be fairly good at the game, clear savage tiers and whatnot. Hardcore players will just clear much faster because they metagame a lot more and put more effort into learning and improving.

Much like how there can be Hardcore roleplayers. It might seem like a casual thing to do, just hang out socially and roleplay.
But people who put a lot of effort into it, like finding the perfect outfits, play a role perfectly is not casually roleplaying at that point.

[Archeron]

Why is there always a Hardcore VS Casual Discussion which even goes the wrong way because i got the feeling people think "raiding" is hardcore, no it isnt, i raid too and im a casual nothing more.

It sounds like there is a problem with the definition of "Hardcore" and "Casual" which people self identify with.

To me, "Hardcore" are the players who engage with Savage/Ult/Ex and Ranked CC.
To me, "Casuals" are the players who do not engage with any higher difficulty content. These are the roulette players. These are the Roleplayers. These are the crafters.

The problem is with the content that has come out in Dawntrail so far. Casuals have been fed Porridge, while Hardcore players have been fed Prime rib.

Square Enix has not released any midcore content to bring these two communities together. Instead, they've released rewards, which appeal to Casual players, behind Harder difficulty content. (Which casual players don't enjoy, for a variety of reasons.) Normally, this would be fine if there were other rewards and goals for them to be working towards. There isn't however as of 7.1. This means, that casual players who want the new hairstyles, mounts, accessories, and anything else they increasingly have been locking behind harder content, have to clear the harder content that they don't enjoy, or for any reason of your choosing, they can't clear. That puts them in conflict with the Hardcore community who doesn't want to be teaching people the basics of raiding, doesn't want to teach people strategies, and have to carry in their words "Dead weight" through content. It's only natural they'll clash.