Honestly, What's the verdict for you?

[Unixeon]

I don't want this to be a "doom-post" but I'm genuinely at a loss, and genuinely want to know where others stand..

Quick TLDR, I've posted another thread a bit ago with my gripes and dislikes with how SE has been handling XIV since DT's release, and honestly, I think we're hitting a major break point..

I've got friends who haven't logged in for months, almost a year at this point, who had logged in daily before. I myself have been taking breaks with other game titles just because I do not feel as if XIV has anything for me to do.

I know there IS plenty to "do", but when it's all the same stuff, a seemingly less interesting flatter feeling rendition of Eureka/Bozja, instead of it's own ecosystem.. OC feels very.. not genuine.. It feels like it was tossed together to give the community what they "wanted". The way the fates and CEs are handled makes it, far too fast paced feeling, while being the same 5 things repeatedly. FATEs inside die instantly. The 'jobs' inside adding clunky feeling additional things to weave into rotations we've already come to do on repeat..

Moving on from that, as I don't wish to truly shame OC, as it is just the first zone so far, and I'm practically on my knees begging it evolves well.

But, it's more and more evident, at least on my side of the world, that XIV is losing people's care, their passion, and their drive. People who, me included, would LIVE online to just support it, can't even bring themselves to get past what it has become.. And I'm genuinely becoming more concerned of more permanent damage, as far as the playbase goes.

Am I alone on feeling like this? Are me and my entire FC just wrong? Is there supposed to be a new vision that we just haven't grasped yet? Has it become harder to support for anyone else? My sub at this point is to preserve what I've built up, instead of fully letting it crumble, a house, a free company, friends (as rare as it is to see them online), etc.. Being told "just take a break-" but, finding it hard to return to something that hasn't gained anything aside from a repetitive retention attractions.. and finding it hard to actually take a full break because of the fear of losing my house, fc, friends who remain.. It's a horrible feeling..

[hydralus]

Obviously V****'s ending is the correct one.

[AvoSturmfaust]

I mean lets be real for a Second, the Content really didnt change much, maybe its on your side because you played that game quit long and see now how it really is.

Lets break it down a bit.

Heavensward :
3 Normal Raidtiers + Savage Raidtiers
Diadem
7 Ex Trials
3 Alli Raids
a few Dungeons
3 Beasttribes

Stormblood :
3 Normal Raidtiers + Savage Raidtiers
Doman Restoration
7 Ex Trials
3 Alli Raids
a few Dungeons
HoH
Ultimate
3 Beasttribes
Eureka + BA

ShB:
3 Normal Raidtiers + Savage Raidtiers
7 Ex Trials
3 Alli Raids
Bozja (Which incluces 2 Large Operation and 1 48 Raid + the Savage Version of it)
a few Dungeons
Ultimate
3 Beasttribes

EW:
3 Normal Raidtiers + Savage Raidtiers
7 Ex Trials
3 Alli Raids
a few Dungeons
Eureka Ortho
Ultimate
3 Beasttribes
Criterion
Island Sanctuary

DT: Currently at it


you see its kinda always similiar with the difference in DT which adds now everything, so its really just maybe a issue on your side if you play the same game many many years it just starts to get boring and bland escpecially if you dont do all the content out there

but in the end its just a game and i dont wanna sound rude but your house, your fc etc thats just some ingame shit, sooner or later if the servers shut down in the future it will happen anyway i wouldnt bother with it if you are really unlucky right now

[Jeeqbit]

I myself have been taking breaks with other game titles just because I do not feel as if XIV has anything for me to do.

That's fair, but FFXIV right now has everything it has always had: regular Beast Tribes, Custom Deliveries, Normal Raids, Savage Raids, Trials, Extreme trials, MSQ, Dungeons, Ultimates

Plus the return of Field Operation, Exploration Content

Plus more recent additions to the content cycle such as Variant/Criterion, Chaotic

This has not changed since Heavensward other than things having been added to the content cycle as mentioned above. So either the game has never had anything for you to do, or it is you that changed.

Am I alone on feeling like this?

You're not alone since clearly most people who post on these forums express similar sentiments and experiences.

But when I gauge sentiment in the game itself people are largely positive and defend the game, whether in OC or in High-End pugs when I have chill chats about the game in party chat. Although not everyone is happy with the game in NN or FC chat, most people are happy with the game in NN or FC chat.

Of course, you mentioned most of your FC aren't even playing, so it's possible people in the game are positive because, well, the ones that aren't positive stopped playing much.

If there's one piece of advice I can give though: every MMO I've played has had positive aspects and negative aspects. You can focus on what you like or what you dislike; the amount of effort is the same, but one of those things makes you happy.

Moreover, two people can view the same thing in a completely different way depending purely on their mood and how depressed they are generally. Take a glass that is filled half way with water. Is the glass half-full (optimist), or is it half-empty (pessimist)? Often whether people are happy with the game comes down to just whether they are predisposed to view things positively or negatively in general.

But ultimately, if you can't find thing(s) to enjoy, or a way to think of it positively no matter what you do, then maybe the game just isn't for you anymore. No point playing something if there isn't even a small slither of enjoyment, happiness or excitement that you can find, or potentially find, in it.

A lot of people say they want everything to be different and not "a different coat of paint", but personally, I'm content with that and the consistency.

[TaleraRistain]

I've played MMOs since 1999 with EverQuest. I played EQ for over 10 years actively and I'll go poke my head in here and there sometimes since then. Sometimes I miss my enchanter. I really loved the crowd control aspect. But I've also realized I've changed as a person and the things that I truly enjoyed or at least could live with would massively bother me now. It's why I don't really care much for field content, especially Eureka. Been there, done that, have the T-shirt and have zero interest in going back.

So it's entirely possible that you did enjoy some things before and you've just changed. It could be the game changed. The important thing is that if something isn't making you happy, then continuing to do it isn't going to change that. You might just need a small break to give yourself time to rediscover what you loved before. Or maybe it's time for a bit longer one or a complete separation. There's never going to be consensus among all players on the state of the game. We all have to decide for ourselves what we find worth logging in for. I have things here that have changed over 11 years and I miss some of them. I advocate when I can for them to come back. But I try to focus on what I find enjoyable and if I lose something then I see if there is something else that might interest me I haven't tried yet. If I come one day to not find anything to enjoy anymore, then I know it's probably time to move on.

[MitsukiKimura]

Dawntrail Verdict as an expansion so far? 3/10
Best thing you can do is take a break and come back when you feel like playing again.

[Mawlzy]

I went to login a couple of weeks ago and I realized I was letting out a depressive sigh.

So I stopped.

[Reimmi]

That's fair, but FFXIV right now has everything it has always had: regular Beast Tribes, Custom Deliveries, Normal Raids, Savage Raids, Trials, Extreme trials, MSQ, Dungeons, Ultimates

Plus the return of Field Operation, Exploration Content

Plus more recent additions to the content cycle such as Variant/Criterion, Chaotic

This has not changed since Heavensward other than things having been added to the content cycle as mentioned above. So either the game has never had anything for you to do, or it is you that changed.
You're not alone since clearly most people who post on these forums express similar sentiments and experiences.

But when I gauge sentiment in the game itself people are largely positive and defend the game, whether in OC or in High-End pugs when I have chill chats about the game in party chat. Although not everyone is happy with the game in NN or FC chat, most people are happy with the game in NN or FC chat.

Of course, you mentioned most of your FC aren't even playing, so it's possible people in the game are positive because, well, the ones that aren't positive stopped playing much.

If there's one piece of advice I can give though: every MMO I've played has had positive aspects and negative aspects. You can focus on what you like or what you dislike; the amount of effort is the same, but one of those things makes you happy.

Moreover, two people can view the same thing in a completely different way depending purely on their mood and how depressed they are generally. Take a glass that is filled half way with water. Is the glass half-full (optimist), or is it half-empty (pessimist)? Often whether people are happy with the game comes down to just whether they are predisposed to view things positively or negatively in general.

But ultimately, if you can't find thing(s) to enjoy, or a way to think of it positively no matter what you do, then maybe the game just isn't for you anymore. No point playing something if there isn't even a small slither of enjoyment, happiness or excitement that you can find, or potentially find, in it.

A lot of people say they want everything to be different and not "a different coat of paint", but personally, I'm content with that and the consistency.

Or it could be not doing new stuff is stagnating the game?
MMO's have to innovate or fall behind, ff14 has not innovated nearly enough

[Gwenkatsu]

I think 3/10 is my DT verdict, too. I'm not even interested in end game content, but story and world building are at an all time low, which makes DT very uninteresting to me.

There are zones and places in SB and EW that give me the chills when I return there, just because the story was so intense in this place. Like the final cutscene in Holminster Switch, when the night sky tears open the first time in 100 years!
But DT? Spheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeene listen to me. /yukk/

I was looking forward to the new field operation (as I had never done any when it was current). Then I learned that you loose exp and levels on failure, and I immediately noped out - not going to deal with that sort of garbage mechanic. The whole place also seems pointless to me - you use it to level up some sort of side jobs which are only relevant in the one raid you will never get into anyway. WTF?

There's still enough old content for me to dabble around in, so I will see what happens first: 8.0, or me finally losing interest. Or me finally losing interest when 8.0 turns out to be the same uninspired nonsense as DT

[Basteala]

The quantity isn't so much the issue as the *quality*.

Everyone's saying OC is a step back from Bozja and even *Eureka*.

I haven't tried it because my main jobs I play, healers and Black Mage, really aren't fun right now.

FF14's gameplay is kind of like Kaizo Mario right now: more memorization and gotcha moments than anything actually interesting.

The MSQ (other than 7.2 which was fine) speaks for itself.

To be fair, from an RP standpoint (that is, the 5% of RP out there that isn't dedicated to clubbing) the zones are good and the meta lore with souls and the like is interesting. The *world* of FF14 is still solid.

If I were to grade, the lore is probably a 8/10, the MSQ is probably a 4/10, and the gameplay is a 2/10.

4.5/10. I think that kind of fits my general sentiments, anyway.