The evolution of FFXIV

[DreadCrow]

The "punk" part of cyberpunk doesn't even make sense within the setting of Alexandria. That kind of aesthetic and cultural attitude doesn't come out of nowhere just because the technology is advanced enough.

This isn't a futuristic capitalist dystopia, it's an idyllic kingdom ruled by a universally beloved queen where everyone lives equally in luxury apartments with all their needs met, never having to worry about death from unnatural causes. It's like the devs wanted the surface level aesthetics of cyberpunk but didn't understand the point behind it.

As someone who's actually into the punk scene...

The vast majority of cyberpunk (and pretty much all the other something-punk genres) isn't actually "punk", in ethos. I mean, Ghost in the Shell is one of the most iconic pieces of the genre... And well, it follows cops. Who are presented as good. That's pretty much the most unpunk thing I can think of.

[Gwenkatsu]

Just imagine Eorzea had this technology 15 years ago - I'm pretty sure the WoL's selfie in front of the falling Dalamud had been an absolute bummer! Now I really hope they add some sort of Instagram or TikTok integration, so we can post our selfies online. WoW did this years ago with a selfie camera and Twitter integration, and this patch is still famous in the WoW community! /s

(And I absolutely agree with OP - the amount of sci fi and real world BS they're adding this expansion is disheartening).

[Exmo]

OP posting the most disingenuous crybaby thing on the forums all week.

[Ephremjlm]

I know it's been said a million times in the past but I don't think there are any problems with having "cutesy" things in the game, I think its more an issue that over the years the game has shifted its focus more toward aesthetic than substance, and that cutesy has replaced the real reason MMO players play MMO's, which is to explore the world, get loot, and fight enemies. That said, this has happened long enough now to where the audience for FFXIV is probably more largely non endemic MMO gamers vs endemic MMO gamers, so for them they get the best of both worlds by roping in endemic MMO audiences with marketing for MMO content, but when they get to the end game they realize the substance is gone and all thats left is hollow aesthetics which is more akin to a habbo hotel chat room.

HOWEVER, I think like we've all mostly agreed, we are waiting to see what happens in 1) the new exploratory zone, and 2) 8.0. So far the Arcadian story and (albeit hub city queue instanced) battle content has been a fun blend of both worlds. The FFXI raids imo are at least a fun time and I like that they acknowledge in deep ways their other MMO in ways that tells me people had to have played it, however it still falls short as its just a giant hallway. The exploratory zone and even the content they have planned for the new limited job, and how it interacts with Blue Mage and the rest of the game is going to be a big indicator of where the teams mind is. And lastly, if 8.0 is just more of the same, then idk for sure but its possible that many people myself included could check out and only resub for like a month or two out of the year. And I guess my question to the executive team is, is that really sustainable? And idk maybe it is and nothing we say matters because they have been banking on the mobile experience to rake them in the real dough.

[Daralii]

I know it's been said a million times in the past but I don't think there are any problems with having "cutesy" things in the game, I think its more an issue that over the years the game has shifted its focus more toward aesthetic than substance, and that cutesy has replaced the real reason MMO players play MMO's, which is to explore the world, get loot, and fight enemies. That said, this has happened long enough now to where the audience for FFXIV is probably more largely non endemic MMO gamers vs endemic MMO gamers, so for them they get the best of both worlds by roping in endemic MMO audiences with marketing for MMO content, but when they get to the end game they realize the substance is gone and all thats left is hollow aesthetics which is more akin to a habbo hotel chat room.

HOWEVER, I think like we've all mostly agreed, we are waiting to see what happens in 1) the new exploratory zone, and 2) 8.0. So far the Arcadian story and (albeit hub city queue instanced) battle content has been a fun blend of both worlds. The FFXI raids imo are at least a fun time and I like that they acknowledge in deep ways their other MMO in ways that tells me people had to have played it, however it still falls short as its just a giant hallway. The exploratory zone and even the content they have planned for the new limited job, and how it interacts with Blue Mage and the rest of the game is going to be a big indicator of where the teams mind is. And lastly, if 8.0 is just more of the same, then idk for sure but its possible that many people myself included could check out and only resub for like a month or two out of the year. And I guess my question to the executive team is, is that really sustainable? And idk maybe it is and nothing we say matters because they have been banking on the mobile experience to rake them in the real dough.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're banking on the mobile game being a huge success, but they'd still be sharing a cut with Lightspeed/Tencent. Regardless, despite phantom jobs sounding promising in the LL, CE being what it is has made me pretty pessimistic about Shades Triangle.

[Ajisaii]

It is in a huge decline though. That's an objective fact. I personally believe the mogslop store is getting more and more egregious to make up lost subscription revenues.

7.3 Has 5 mogslop outfits 1 30 dollar mount and a broken alliance raid that needed emergency maintenance, please look forward to it! also they messed up the amount of totems you get for clearing the extreme xddtree