Can we talk about the neglect Square Enix shows towards the playerbase?

[Bureda]

Wanting to play Ranked PvP around peak hours for UK and being unable to get games is just unacceptable.

I've followed Yoshi P's advice. I go play other games, and after I go play those games I get the urge to play something in FFXIV that I am paying for and I would like to think that's possible during peak hours of a region.

We are well in to the expansion and it feels like an unfinished mess. PvP changes are absolutely tone deaf.

I shouldn't have to go out of my way to do something in a game I subscribe to because I cannot do the content I want to. I should be given those tools to participate in an MMORPG how I want, with a connected community.

FFXIV players are too segmented, we should all be united under a data centre or at least a cloud server where everyone can play together.





I have to wait a combined total of over 90 minutes to play a mode that should be easily accessible during peak hours. However the developers of this game have gone out of their way to make sure the PvP experience of this game is just not enjoyable.

I'd like to have a discussion on this, because personality I feel like they are taking the mick and are becoming much worse than Blizzard in that regard. It shouldn't have to lead to bridges being burnt before we see some genuine effort put towards the game and the consumers.

[Mawlzy]

I think the PvP devs specifically have notably raised their game the last couple of updates.

Unfortunately, to actually play their offerings we have to negotiate DC travel.

Have we heard anything about a cloud server since they tested it? It has the potential to solve so many problems, and PvP would be an interesting mode to further test it as a long-term thing.

[Bureda]

I think the PvP devs specifically have notably raised their game the last couple of updates.

Unfortunately, to actually play their offerings we have to negotiate DC travel.

Have we heard anything about a cloud server since they tested it? It has the potential to solve so many problems, and PvP would be an interesting mode to further test it as a long-term thing.

DC Travel as a general idea is exceptional, it allows you to visit and hang with friends all over the world. In truth, you're gated, can't do content, can't do your dailies and are essentially looking through a glass. RPers are the biggest community here so the Devs think we all want to sit around and chat or something. They have a strange perception of the western gamer.

How is DC travel being used? Is it allowing us to be free? No, it's badly implemented by the Devs, shoehorning us and forcing us to be at a specific spot so we can appease their weird logic, once again. We constantly have to go out of our way to appease bad decisions. Some corporate defenders said that the matching system will be fixed in the future, but, look how far into an expansion we are and we have no communication. Just empty words here and there.

I just think whoever is in charge at the moment has no passion and they need someone that has passion because god forbid they play and test their own game after they make the most tone deaf choices ever.

[Valence]

I assumed the ranked DC rotation was supposed to help with this already, by encouraging ranked players to congregate to a single data center (within their region) instead of being spread out per season.

It doesn't. In fact and I'm only speaking for myself here but I do believe the DC rotation actively harms the ranked scene because people are frankly sick to DC travel. Personally I'm not even bothering since the current one is on Chaos, I'm doing exactly what I've criticized the system for pushing people into: reaching crystal and parking there because I just can't be arsed anymore. Next season will be on Light and I'll be able to be active more, but what about the people from Chaos?

Fuck the DC rotation system. Seriously.

What would happen if the CC casual mode was simply removed and everyone who queues for CC is automatically in ranked?

People have noted some players dislike the pressure of ranked, but if you're not very good and the MMR works passably well, you'll be playing with the same scrubs anyway. Like basically the lower echelons of ranked would be indistinguishable from current casual? Maybe?

They'd need to be very careful about it and I believe we would benefit from an opt-in option to check in order to get considered for the leaderboards and ranked leagues. Everybody would otherwise share the same hidden MMR/elo and be pooled into the same queues and everybody opted out by default would not see anything related to rank. At best you'd get a "your historical performance so far qualifies you for gold+, do you want to opt in? Y/N"
But then the question becomes more where do we draw the limit? Do we suddenly allow certain MMRs to be pooled with others (like Crystal with Casuals/bronze)? Else, what would it change ultimately?

I agree. Unfortunately I suspect SQEX still has some poorly-considered notion that CC could become an Esport.

Maybe but sometimes I also appreciate actually playing with people of my skill level or above. If the idea is to make serious players just go for queue syncs like in FL with premades and invade CC during certain times... I guess? Or having to make customs, is this the idea? People constantly want tryhards out of their mode in FLs, why would it be different in CC?

[Commander_Justitia]

Personally I'm not even bothering since the current one is on Chaos, I'm doing exactly what I've criticized the system for pushing people into: reaching crystal and parking there because I just can't be arsed anymore. Next season will be on Light and I'll be able to be active more, but what about the people from Chaos?


Do we suddenly allow certain MMRs to be pooled with others (like Crystal with Casuals/bronze)? Else, what would it change ultimately?

Light has become the PvE hub it seems, but ranked being still on Chaos...Yeah people don't want to switch as much. I didn't get a pop on the weekend when I wanted to play a few games, I was unranked. Ideal would be to queue from whatever DC and have it merged.

And I would just use the same matchmaking from ranked for the remaining mode if there is only 1. Why does it need to be hidden? It is already public information anyway. Just as frontline wins are public even though its "casual" content.
There can be even another mode like The Fold (no respawn), that is faster for a casual round

[Mawlzy]

Maybe but sometimes I also appreciate actually playing with people of my skill level or above. If the idea is to make serious players just go for queue syncs like in FL with premades and invade CC during certain times... I guess? Or having to make customs, is this the idea? People constantly want tryhards out of their mode in FLs, why would it be different in CC?

Oh I very much think there should still be matchmaking. I think that should occur whenever possible in any PvP mode. Just seems to me this artificial distinction between ranked and casual in CC causes a lot of problems for ranked, such as this irritating DC travel requirement.

[Valence]

And I would just use the same matchmaking from ranked for the remaining mode if there is only 1. Why does it need to be hidden? It is already public information anyway. Just as frontline wins are public even though its "casual" content.
There can be even another mode like The Fold (no respawn), that is faster for a casual round

Because if you make everything ranked then by definition people aren't queueing into something casual anymore because they'll constantly be ranked, rated and placed into different leagues. I don't think it's exactly rocket science to see how it would completely kill CC participation and push everybody into FL exclusively. Most people don't want to play ranked.

Oh I very much think there should still be matchmaking. I think that should occur whenever possible in any PvP mode. Just seems to me this artificial distinction between ranked and casual in CC causes a lot of problems for ranked, such as this irritating DC travel requirement.

But what would it achieve to merge both? I'm not against it, but if we keep matchmaking as current, this isn't helping current ranked leagues in any way since they'll just keep being matched between each other anyway. Unless the idea is to have matchmaking expand and bleedover the current league barriers and encompass a higher elo/mmr pool of player, and thus, do we mix casual players with diam/crystal? Else I really don't see what it changes.

DC travel is another story altogether, we didn't have this before and I don't think mixing this problem with a ranked/casual merge makes a lot of sense.

[Mawlzy]

Because if you make everything ranked then by definition people aren't queueing into something casual anymore because they'll constantly be ranked, rated and placed into different leagues. I don't think it's exactly rocket science to see how it would completely kill CC participation and push everybody into FL exclusively. Most people don't want to play ranked.



But what would it achieve to merge both? I'm not against it, but if we keep matchmaking as current, this isn't helping current ranked leagues in any way since they'll just keep being matched between each other anyway. Unless the idea is to have matchmaking expand and bleedover the current league barriers and encompass a higher elo/mmr pool of player, and thus, do we mix casual players with diam/crystal? Else I really don't see what it changes.

DC travel is another story altogether, we didn't have this before and I don't think mixing this problem with a ranked/casual merge makes a lot of sense.

I guess I regard the casual/ranked distinction as artificial and simply something that splits the player pool, thereby prompting things like DC travel.

I like the idea of opting in to actually appear on a ranked leaderboard. My guess is that outside of the very top players, there are likely players currently queueing for casual who dislike the notion of rankings that would help populate the upper echelons.

[Loggos]

Oh I very much think there should still be matchmaking. I think that should occur whenever possible in any PvP mode. Just seems to me this artificial distinction between ranked and casual in CC causes a lot of problems for ranked, such as this irritating DC travel requirement.

I do think that ranked and casuals have their purposes. Casuals are a place where low (or no-)rank players can play with high-rank players. That may sound like a headache at first but it also enables things like friends of different skill levels or even whole discord communities queueing together. I don't think custom PF matches can replace this, esp. if it's just two or three people wanting to get into matches together.
So I would like to keep both. Otherwise there are friends I'd never be able to play with (or against) again.