FFXIV population decline continues

[Voidmage]

You can’t really avoid casual vs hardcore debate, when more resources spent on hardcore content (ranging from gameplay content to rewards like glams and mounts) means less resources spent on casual content and vice versa. And SE doesn’t seem willing to increase the general total amount of resources and development

But that isn’t the case though.
I jump in to defend casuals getting things in a heartbeat and even defend them with things like the hairstyle in chaotic or that hard raids are from the beginning of the expansion to the end but I also have to draw the line somewhere because I am a raider myself.
The problem is that the casual / midcore content is backloaded af and not that it isn’t there.
That’s even written in the article itself.
Your example with the undyeable and reused gear is also wrong.
It’s not like this because hard raids take up those resources but because the devs want to milk it till the end with the least amount of effort.
Do I have to remind you that EW had two hairstyles in island sanctuary? That WAS casual content even if not good while most of the entire criticism about criterion was that the rewards sucked.

AGAIN.
Not every damn problem in this game is the fault of one of the two sides but of the devs starving content for so long that they would have to put out double the amount than usual to even get in normal waters again.
Blame the devs for how the game is right now and not the players because the devs decide what to do in the end.

That’s all I say about this whole debate because there are other threads out there.

[Rehayem]

I'm not surprised because what I see is just the same repeat I've seen in other MMORPGs I've played. Multiple issues across the board from job design to straight out no content to do for long patch waits.

People will eventually move on somewhere else, it's bound to happen. SE doesn't care because they want to invest into their new shiny mobile game.

[Lilapop]

This us versus them narrative is so goddamn tired. Other MMORPGs cater to both types of players just fine. It's not a case where you have to forsake one to do the other. Stop stepping all over the things others enjoy about the game just to prop up the things you enjoy about the game. It's pointless.

EDIT: I just realized, you're the person from the other day who made the insanely deranged, "We do not forget, we do not forgive," speech in the other thread. I don't know why I'm bothering.

Objectively, they aren't wrong. For every one hardcore raider there's probably over a dozen casuals. Statistically, the casual audience has a way larger stake than the combined hardcore audience; objectiveness aside, if the majority of people who play this game for super super casual content, the story, some roleplay, maybe fishing? then suddenly amping up the difficulty is obviously going to see people unhappy.

[Kaurhz]

I am concerned about this game in the long--long-term.

That the subscriptions continue to go this way consistently shows a sheer lack of enjoyment from the community with their McDonalds formula. The developers are probably well aware of this fact, but are too insistent on continuing to drive the game in a way such that you only login for short term enjoyment. You login, do your dailies/weeklies, and it is a pitiful experience. Maybe some of it is budgetary constraints, but at this point they are just making so many fundamental mistakes that it's difficult to believe that constraint.

The developers don't seem very forward with their intentions or anything whatsoever, and this has been a problem for a decade. It is what makes a lot of people in the community just feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment, because nothing is made clear, bar vague remarks.

I don't mean to be nasty either, but they are also appealing to the lowest denominator humanly possible, and I get the feeling they do this because they have the weird idea that "If they please them, then everything must be ok". Crafting has been made a miserable husk because of this. The game constantly goes into an identity crisis with itself because of this. - and it isn't because things are too hard... It's not because it's too long... It's not because the objective is very obscure.. It's simply because impatience is a thing, and you can't develop a game around human behavior like impatience.

They are making the same mistakes they made a decade ago, it feels like they have generally very little involvement with the community, nor how the community wants to consume the game. They don't understand how the community interacts with the game or how they consume content in the game.

and no this whole topic of 'us' (the casuals) versus 'them' (the hardcore) should not be a thing.

[Lilapop]

But that isn’t the case though.
I jump in to defend casuals getting things in a heartbeat and even defend them with things like the hairstyle in chaotic or that hard raids are from the beginning of the expansion to the end but I also have to draw the line somewhere because I am a raider myself.
The problem is that the casual / midcore content is backloaded af and not that it isn’t there.
That’s even written in the article itself.
Your example with the undyeable and reused gear is also wrong.
It’s not like this because hard raids take up those resources but because the devs want to milk it till the end with the least amount of effort.
Do I have to remind you that EW had two hairstyles in island sanctuary? That WAS casual content even if not good while most of the entire criticism about criterion was that the rewards sucked.

AGAIN.
Not every damn problem in this game is the fault of one of the two sides but of the devs starving content for so long that they would have to put out double the amount than usual to even get in normal waters again.
Blame the devs for how the game is right now and not the players because the devs decide what to do in the end.

That’s all I say about this whole debate because there are other threads out there.

Blame the devs, yes. Blame the devs for player's opinions and reactions? No. Obviously the hardcore players are happy and casuals not-so right now. They're the ones being focused on. It's not "us vs them" as you enjoy saying it is. Casual players aren't blaming hardcore players because the developers are putting hardcore content in the game. Do you hear yourself? What can be blamed on (each individual) players is how they react to the given content. Theres toxic casuals and toxic hardcore raiders. Objectively, right now, there is more content being pushed out for the more hardcore playerbase than the casual playerbase.

[sindriiisgaming]

https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-14-active-players-large-drop-below-1-million/

Thoughts on this article and are you at all worried about the games trajectory?

New content like the World of Darkness Chaotic Raid and Echoes of Vana'Diel Alliance Raid are pretty cool, with a level of difficulty that players find refreshing

[Fawkes]

I feel like the game has a number of creeping issues and it probably makes sense for the population to start to decline because of it.

Job design is always a major issue with every expansion, and anyone unsatisfied has to just wait until the next expansion.

The quality of the MSQ has gone down.

The graphics update has messed with character faces and from the updates we've had it doesn't seem like they'll be able to remedy it.

The content pipeline hasn't seen many positive changes, new things like variant dungeons and chaotic seem like they've missed the mark.

Basic stuff like viera/hroth hats have been on the backburner for years, I don't even play them but it's just plain embarrassing at this point.

For an MMO, if you're not growing your playerbase, then it's shrinking. It's very normal for people to be coming and going, the population is never going to hold steady. But the excitement and interest of current players is part of what draws in new players. If everyone playing the game is just talking about all the problems then fewer new players are going to be drawn in, and the overall population will decline.

[Voidmage]

Casual players aren't blaming hardcore players because the developers are putting hardcore content in the game. Do you hear yourself? What can be blamed on (each individual) players is how they react to the given content. Theres toxic casuals and toxic hardcore raiders. Objectively, right now, there is more content being pushed out for the more hardcore playerbase than the casual playerbase.

The entire post I quoted was blaming the hardcore raider side though with things like undyeable gear being because of them.
I even said the last part you wrote there myself. That there is more content right now for raiders.
I disagreed though on the point of there being NO casual content made because it is there just backloaded. Something that annoys me also to no end.

I don’t know what you want from me.
I stand by my point.
Instead of punching each other on both sides blame Yoshida and co.

Anyway I won’t respond here anymore because the entire thread is just starting to devolve into the same crap again.

[ovIm]

Instead of punching each other on both sides blame Yoshida and co.

The forums could really benefit from being a bit more level headed. The constant "casual vs hardcore" discourse has been exhausting 1 week ago.
Savage raiders benefit from good casual and "midcore" content. It can be social, it fills the world with life, it helps to relax after playing the hard stuff for a while.
Casual players benefit from good hard raid content. Raiders help the game economy, the hardcore number crunchers untangle some of the mess that is rotations, and a good players presence in easier content can make all the difference in the world.
Even if you don't participate in some specific content, the more players we have, the fuller our worlds become, and the more alive this game feels. I want to see people fishing in the cities and on the fields. I want to see raiders share class gameplay tips with struggling players in dungeons. I want to see players come together to compare glamours. Its absolutely the developers fault when their release schedule can't accommodate the customer base they have accommodated in the past.

[Carin-Eri]

https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-14-active-players-large-drop-below-1-million/

Thoughts on this article and are you at all worried about the games trajectory?

When your problem is created by repeatedly hitting yourself in the face, step one is to stop hitting yourself in the face instead of continuing to do so while announcing that you are fully aware that a bloody nose is not optimal and you are looking into ways to stop the bleeding.