Live letters have lost their magic - Zepla

[Nadda]

I want to remind you that we are consumers. Customers. We are not selling anything and it's also not our job to manage the community. You can blame SE for actually all of this. There are no mods communicating with us on the forum and feedback gets ignored. You are making yourself their clown if you try to do their job for them. People will not listen to you because they are not looking for your response, they hope that their complaints are eventually loud enough to be heard by the company.

Nice speech, though, very emotional, I will give you that. But this is pointless.

But aren’t we all part of this community? Our approach can change, even if it’s just our own.

If all we are doing is shouting at a wall... then at least we'll have the dignity of doing our best. Not shouting for shouting sake.
Come on you believe in the game you want it to succeed I know you do! You wouldn't be here if you didn't believe like I do.

[yesnt]

But aren’t we all part of this community? Our approach can change, even if it’s just our own.

If all we are doing is shouting at a wall... then at least we'll have the dignity of doing our best. Not shouting for shouting sake.
Come on you believe in the game you want it to succeed I know you do! You wouldn't be here if you didn't believe like I do.

I have no problem with the community. Some people shitpost, some are more blunt about their opinion than others, doesn't matter to me tbh. I still meet a lot of nice people in the game and the player events are super sweet. But I also notice how this community feeling is roping me into the game when I really don't think the subscription fee is worth it. I personally do not want to play the game only because there are some nice people. I don't need a sub just to chat in Limsa.

To be fair, SE does a good job taking harassment seriously. I rarely run into rageplayers in duty finder because of the strict ToS. That's good. But that's just not enough. I do think if players are mad about the state of the game, they should express themselves as they please in their own words. I don't think that discussing semantics is relevant for the point they are trying to make.

In the end, community management is an actual job and if SE wants a happy community, they should put someone into that role and take care of that. A community manager communicating with us, collecting opinions, updating us about the development of the game etc. would solve A LOT of problems.

[Veritas-Ancora]

Positive change requires some optimism. Balanced neutral pragmatic and diagnostic non-emotionally charged verbiage to hyper-focus grievances in a logical format.

This constructed sentence makes zero sense. I don't even know what you're trying to convey, here.

Zepla’s influence matters. She helped grow the community, but now her words are driving people away. That’s why I push back. We should be building up, not tearing down.

You're wrong. People are conveying what changes they're unhappy with in this game. This is constructive criticism. She's not saying FFFF this game. She used rational logic in her video argument. She's telling people that the love for the game that she has cared for over a span of many years is fading away and she wants actionable items done to change its course. I'm sorry, but you're wrong.

If she still values the game, her approach should inspire hope, not foster hopelessness. As a public figure, there’s responsibility for what she says and how it affects the community.

Seriously, do you work for Square-Enix? Because this argument is flawed and illogical. Everyone here is providing constructive criticism of the game and it sounds like you want puppies and rainbows. As much as I like rainbows, they don't belong in constructive criticism. There are PROBLEMS. You don't ignore PROBLEMS, you identify them and request for them to be fixed. Imagine if the bugs forum operated the same way that the rest of the forum acted? There is a problem, absolute silence, nothing gets done, and nothing is fixed.

Your view seems to be that the game is doomed. I’m pushing back against that. The devs have the lion's share of the blame, but if we, as a community, can’t encourage hope, we’re also killing the game.

Again this is flawed. We are PAYING CUSTOMERS. If you went to a restaurant and complained to the waiter that there were flies in your soup, and the waiter just stared you down without a single word, would you say "Let's encourage hope!" or would you want the issue reported and dealt with? That is what all of the people in this forum have been doing. They're asking to the point of demanding because nothing is being done to fix the issue.

Words have power. We need to wield them carefully, especially those with influence.

I'm sorry, but how dare you? You're going to tell a woman how to do the job she's been doing for years? Zepla knows what she's doing, don't patronize her or her influence.

I really can't believe the arguments you are throwing out here. "Let's hope and magically everything will be better!" That's what this argument is. It's not even an argument, it's the very definition of white knighting.

[Veritas-Ancora]

A community manager communicating with us, collecting opinions, updating us about the development of the game etc. would solve A LOT of problems.

This would be the ideal solution, I 100% agree with you. We used to have this, and the forums were a much more peaceful place. We knew the XIV employees were listening.

[Ishe-P]

I took some notes, may take more as it is kind of interesting to see the structure of someone's rant. I've made some minor cuts and splices here and there to save the character count. I don't have any real reaction yet other than some vague frustration that someone gets to make a video like this.

0:00 - 6:20

Chapter 1: Enthusiasm for the Game
- Seemed deflated after ending the live stream of the LL, decided to make a venting video about feelings & impressions
- Was palpably disappointed and checked out and not excited to such a degree that there were questions about how to cover it
- No secret she didn't like DT and has been critical of 14 and the EW patches
- But the LL is special, you dress up for it because it's a cause to celebrate the game and where it's at
- Was hoping it would rekindle her optimism for the game, but was put off by watching Yoshi P hit 8 rocks while epic music played
- Lost enthusiasm and passion for the story to be good and is not motivated to raid because of the story
- Not a Crafter Gather Main; the vague promise(s) of Cosmic Exploration / Crescent is not a lot of fuel to keep excited
- Doesn't want to rain on anybody's parade, but can't be dishonest about her enthusiasm; onto the direct feedback

Chapter 2: Live letter points part 1
-- Yoshi P: we won't update Crescent for 8 months because we need a deep dungeon also: remember when they came in the same patch?
-- Beast tribe stuff used to be released with the main patch and not 2 months later
-- FATES and Critical Engagements? whoopie It's always FATE farming
-- Phantom Support Jobs sound cool but are probably just reskinned Lost Actions
-- The raid is going to play it safe and not have any teeth (ref. BA)
-- It will be fine, but it's also more of the same and nothing ever changes and not shaking things up
-- It will be a rehash of existing formula and more bland and safe than Bozja or Eureka
-- Cosmic Exploration will be a safe middle ground between Ishgard Restoration and Island Sanctuary
-- Is mounting while running considered innovative? Jogging for a while after Sprint? Is that it?

[Ishe-P]

6:21 - 9:33

Chapter 3: Questions about Innovation, Comments on the patch cycle
- What do those falling stars mean? Is it really another Final Days thing going down? Meh. Probably Not. They're just meteors, just reused assets.
- A friend wrote me and said LLs were something I would get up early for no matter the time, but the formula is so stale, I (they) just sit and wait
- What's the content reveal?
- Yet another dungeon with two packs and a boss?
- Is it going to be more story?
- Not only are we not innovating, but copy/pasted ideas are being spread further apart?
- Laying out the patch schedule, Yoshi P is saying you can go play Monster Hunter really irked as well
- Tired of being told to go play other games; feels it's arrogant to take it for granted that folks will do this and stay subbed

Chapter 4: "Hit by a Truck" when informed of the upcoming Black Mage Changes, sentiments on handling player feedback
- Quotes another post that is a summary of changes; (Ed. Note: I'm reposting for continuity, my opinion about this is not included)
-- Paradox is now a thoughtless button pressed whenever you like
-- The time when you press Thunder in your Fire rotation no longer matters
-- Dropping casts no longer punishes you with exception to your uptime
-- Every Black Mage player doesn't like these changes
-- Shared with a BLM main friend who says "wow, bell tolls even for BLM, that's sad make all jobs for brainlets, what a tactic"
- I play Dancer now because I used to play Dark Knight / Astrologian / Summoner (note: all of been reworked significantly)
- Knows people will be dismissive because of the reduced difficulty (likely in response to this video)
- Will not argue with those people because those are the people the devs are listening to and that doesn't look like that will change
- It's as if the developers are listening only to people that currently hate black mage and not those that picked it up in the first place

[Ishe-P]

9:33 - 15:17

Chapter 5: What Blizzard Learned
- Blizzard figured something out that SE hasn't yet: They have to make old players happy while making new players happy too
- e.g. what about the silent majority who rarely gives feedback (ed note: implied: unless they have to)
- You can't just listen to people who don't like the thing, you have to listen to those that love it as well
- Predicts that if this development behavior continues the original player base will get more alienated and pushed out (and leave) and
- While you (SE) might attract people in more casual or shallow ways, those people who were so deeply invested will find less and less to return to and (implied) retention even more difficult.
- Hopefully SE figures this out faster than Blizzard did

Chapter 6: Community Shift
- The players who once valued and treasured the game's mastery and depth are either unsubbing or disengaging
- They are being replaced by a crowd that wants convenience and less friction and celebrates that
- Black Mage wasn't that complicated to begin with; I shudder to see what they have planned for 8.0 redesign
- The job redesign too is a formula, applied in the same vein as others; we're seeing rehashes of those principles
- The original charm and magic is being watered down at the expense of uniqueness / identity; this is why people complain about homogenization

Chapter 7: Quirky Cuteness Isn't Cute Anymore
- The quirkiness of these events, the way they show pictures of the raid gear, the raid gear itself, is not very cute, charming, or endearing anymore
- This is the same as it always has been, but that's now a problem. Just put everything on the slide deck. You're in a nice office with 2025 technology.
- Why use printouts; why isn't there company-driven translation, why does the community have to do it? This company's worth 5 billion dollars. Does SE care about the non-JP crowd?
- Have I grown up? Am I jaded? Has the spell faded?

[User202503201232]

All I've strived for is to lower the temperature.

This is not a time for mourning. You can mourn when the game is dead but we're not dead yet.

The tone has become too negative, and this thread proves it. Positive change requires some optimism.

her approach should inspire hope, not foster hopelessness. As a public figure, there’s responsibility for what she says and how it affects the community.

Critique without demoralization.

Be critical, but let’s keep it constructive—less doom, more hope. (I'm saying this hoping this breaks through - Optimism! I esuna your doom!)

Professional S-grade gaslighting

Emotions are a measurement of the intensity of preferences. The severity of our emotions is in itself a highly important datum. Governments, companies, and families ignore them at their own peril. Telling people to suppress these emotions never lead to positive outcomes.

[Ishe-P]

(Last post I promise, lol, lmao even, I probably won't do this again)

15:17 - 20:04 (End)

Chapter 8: Stream Affect
- Shoutout to LucyPyre whose video shared similar sentiments and was great btw. Thanks for the shoutout.
- Sad to relate to it, no one wants this, we want to bond over the game being fun again.
- Everyone hits a breaking point somewhere, She (Lucy) recommends if you have reached your breaking point, you should unsub.
- I first spoke up about these trends in Endwalker and was told I was crazy and overreacting.
- I love the game but have had to reorient my life around the assumption that I can't invest myself in it the way I used to
- Was one of the game's biggest defenders, wouldn't care this much if there wasn't hope
- You get a sense of mourning when you realize it will never be the same again, when it used to mean a lot to you
- Wanted to watch the LL with an open mind; I don't think it's fair to be called jaded, I've been nothing but patient
- I had to be honest with you because you might find it refreshing to hear my feelings, it's easy to get gaslit around here if you try to share your thoughts on game is bad
- You're not wrong if you think the magic is fading
- Like and subscribe, watch me on Twitch

The last 5 minutes does reiterate and summarize earlier points while also mixing in some content creator stuff. I decided to trim it down as it was looking like my notes were starting to fall apart.

[User202503201232]

I first spoke up about these trends in Endwalker and was told I was crazy and overreacting.

The vitriol towards Zepla is just unhinged. People treat her as a lolcow and shit on her looks, her appearance, her personality, questioning her motives, even going so far as to call her transphobic (just for playing Hogwarts), sociopathic (same), and so on.

This woman suffered through the war in Ukraine and family loss. And the community tears her down and bullies her with all kinds of unwarranted insults, calling her all kinds of insults reserved for women.

I just find it funny how this is a perfect portrayal of "Great Community BTW". Particularly one that prides itself on inclusivity across gender and sexuality. And then the very same people who called her transphobic use insults reserved for women on Zepla. Ironic, eh?

And I am a bit saddened when I remember how GCBTW used to be a meme in SB and ShB to point out the passive aggressive toxicity we have in FF14 across social media, and originally, in duty roulette. But now the communities on these platforms are literally the Great Community, By the Way.

They hunt down and ostracize anyone who dislikes FF14. Going so far as to send death threats (back in ShB). We used to have some self-awareness, but now? That self awareness seems to have evaporated. I don't see anyone calling out the harassment towards Zepla. Perhaps that's just because I'm detached from the community these days, but I remember when people called out the death threats towards content creators in ShB.

This community has become pathetic and represents the worst of humanity. It's a dark look into the worst of us, the division, the infighting, the tribalism. It wouldn't be so sad if it weren't representative of what's happening IRL too, where we all fight against each other instead of banding together against the billionaires and their billion dollar companies.