Genuinely, What am I missing?

[Lizzit]

Hi,

I'm a newer player and have been playing for a little over a year now. I joined the game around the release of patch 6.5. And took a break from the game to finish UNI. Now that I've graduated, I've had a lot more time to run around as my cool cat caster. I am almost done with post HW patch quests and my highest lvl class (at the time of writing) is a lvl 68 whm with a lvl 67 blm close behind with trying to do as much of the content from each expansion as possible (Extremes, Coils, Alexander, relic weapons, unlock all dungeons, etc.). I am greatly looking forward to Stormblood. I would say I'm a fairly casual player but do enjoy the extremes and tougher content. I have been greatly enjoying the game so far.

I like to log on here some mornings at work once and a while to see if I can find any fun tips or strats as I'm exploring through the world of Eorzea. Yet, every time I log on here (or to a lesser extent try to watch anything about the game on YouTube) I see nothing but disdain and very vocal harsh criticisms. I can't see any of it reflected in my own experience. A lot of the criticisms I see appears to be:
boring repetitive content, not enough content, the devs playing it too safe, wuk lamat(?), reminiscing of the glory days, "we need another reboot," (inadvertently comparing the current state of the game to XiV 1.0?), not enough reciprocation from developers, "live letters" being too stale, not feeling heard, current raids aren't rewarding enough, YoshiP actively killing the game, being scared of WoW, unanswered questions, and many others.

Is this all I have to look forward to? Should I just stop playing the game after Shadowbringers? After the peak of Shadowbringers the quality just drops off a cliff? Should I not waste my time and quit now to avoid heartbreak? Maybe I will understand with time? I'm not sure.

I know what it feels like to be so devoted to a game and slighted by it, after pouring so much time and effort into a hobby all for it to be for nothing or to get burnt out. I recently quit playing competitive MTG for this very reason. After playing for 8 years, (as a hobby) letting go felt so good (then i jumped ship to this lol). I invested too much for too little return after realizing the developers were just going to keep making better and better cards and strats that pushed out my favorite cards (*very bad swear word here* modern horizons + universes beyond). Adapt or suffer.

That being said, what am I missing? I want to be filled in as to why the community feels this way. I want a better perspective so I can understand I don't want pointless baseless accusations; I want statements and I want a "i feel x way because of y," or "because of x change from however many years ago." I understand some players have been playing for over 10 years (which is a lot of time!) so I will be taking longtime players thoughts and criticisms to heart the most.

Thank you,
Ms. Emral

[SubmarineAlt]

What you're missing is a chip on your shoulder. Some misguided people played for only the story, and they felt that the most recent expansion's story wasn't up to par, so now their shoulders are in need of repair.

If you're having fun, keep having fun. The opinions of others shouldn't matter to you.

[Illianaro]

Honestly, if you’re having fun, keep having fun! I have a lot of thoughts about the trajectory of the game, but just because I have opinions as a veteran player, that by no means means my feelings about the state of the game should impact yours.

Have fun, and happy adventures!

[Exmo]

I'd suggest if you're looking for tips or strategies, don't look to the forums, there's none here. Finding guides or articles on other sites is the better approach.

There's so much complaining here for a few reasons.

Some people (a tiny, vocal minority) are politically misaligned with the values of the game and are soldiers in their little culture war. They typically make alt forum accounts to make their problems seem more common than they actually are, and respond to their own threads to constantly bump them to recency.

Other people (the majority who complain) are up to date with the game and have completed it to a level they're satisfied with, have gotten bored or burnt out but continue to login as if something new might have dropped overnight. They have a short memory so they frequently repeat the same complaints here over and over and continue to get more frustrated day after day.

The last group is mainly people who pop in, voice a complaint, then leave. Usually they don't check if there's already an existing thread for what they want to say, resulting in duplicate threads being created week after week (filled with comments from the second group who have gotten angrier since the last time they shared their opinion).

From where you currently are in the game you don't really need to be concerned with the complaints. You'd be better off playing at your own place and forming your own opinions on things like story quality and how all jobs feel at max level.

[Lizzit]

Honestly, if you’re having fun, keep having fun! I have a lot of thoughts about the trajectory of the game, but just because I have opinions as a veteran player, that by no means means my feelings about the state of the game should impact yours.

Have fun, and happy adventures!

I understand that, but I still want to hear about them as to why and get a better perspective. I've missed 10+ years of this game and just want to know more. I'm not letting others thoughts on the state of the game influence my own. I just want more context I suppose.

[Bonoki]

These forums have never really been the place for guides or beginner advice. This game is over a decade old, and any guides posted here are outdated or buried beyond usefulness. The pace of updates is so significant that even if someone did post a guide, it would quickly become irrelevant. On top of that, guide threads rarely stay visible because they do not generate discussion; they are read once and forgotten. Our guide makers and content creators never post here themselves, which does not help. If you are searching for guidance, platforms like X, Reddit, and especially YouTube or Discord are where the community actively shares that content.

The negativity here is so noticeable because it has been pushed out of those other spaces. SE themselves direct players to bring complaints and feedback to these forums, so naturally, this becomes the dumping ground for grievances. If you are new to the game, I recommend avoiding these forums altogether. The risk of running into spoilers is high, and the constant wave of criticism can easily sap your enjoyment while you are still trying to find your footing.

What you described with MTG is precisely what long-term players are feeling here. It is an inevitable cycle with any game or product you invest years into. Over time, the passion that once fueled excitement can turn into frustration and, eventually, burnout. It is not something unique to this community or to MTG; it happens in every long-standing hobby. But in spaces like this, where frustration gathers and amplifies, it can feel overwhelming and all-consuming.

[Lizzit]

I'd suggest if you're looking for tips or strategies, don't look to the forums, there's none here. Finding guides or articles on other sites is the better approach.

There's so much complaining here for a few reasons.

.

stay out of the forums - Got it! lol

[AmiableApkallu]

I'd suggest if you're looking for tips or strategies, don't look to the forums, there's none here.

There are tips and strategies here. They're just buried in the bowels of threads because people tend to start by venting their spleen instead of simply describing what they're doing or having a problem with, and asking for advice.

[Musashidon]

you aren't missing anything, there is a small group of people who just want the game to be something it never has been and every expansion goes well if they don't change the game to what i want i will leave but then doesn't leave and just does it again for another expansion.

[Illianaro]

I understand that, but I still want to hear about them as to why and get a better perspective. I've missed 10+ years of this game and just want to know more. I'm not letting others thoughts on the state of the game influence my own. I just want more context I suppose.

Fair! Well I think the gist of what’s happening has been captured in your summary, but for some more context, a lot of the reception to the latest expansion, Dawntrail has been mixed. It has been, from all appearances, a divisive expansion. The expansion before this marked the end of a major storyline for the game and, while that was highly praised, many concerns about the story direction and game design decisions began to arise during the patches that followed - coming to a head with Dawntrail.

There has also been concern in the community over the past few years as the developers extended the time between patches while releasing either less content or, from some people’s perspective, lower quality or rehashed content.

Extensive job and encounter design changes have happened over the years, again often in the eyes of various community folks to the detriment of that job and encounter design.

There has also been a growing perception that the developers are not listening to feedback and haven’t been for years, and that has led to mounting frustration and increasingly aggressive feedback.

Regarding Wuk Lamat - that is the predominant character in Dawntrail. Her reception has, again, been mixed along with the mixed reviews of the story.

I have my own opinions on all of this stuff, but my preference here is to really just give context on where the “vibe” of the forum is coming from. I hope this helps.