Has the dev team take accountability for the failure of Dawntrail?

[SkizzleAbernath]

A few patches in and almost a year and a half later the game remains in a stagnant state. Many players have pointed out the issues repeatedly, yet it feels like no one from the dev team is really listening.

I’ve noticed a pattern on the forums: certain individuals will defend anything the dev team releases, no matter how poorly received it actually is. That kind of blind loyalty doesn’t help the game. Pretending everything is fine when it clearly isn’t only delays meaningful change.

Right now, most players seem to log in only for the social aspect or to avoid losing their housing. Actual engagement with content feels lower than ever and towns are empty. We’ve been served the same “lasagna” for 12 years. For breakfast, for lunch, and dinner and people are finally speaking up.
But despite that, a loud minority continues to defend it because this time Yoshi-P sprinkled a bit more cheese on top of the same dish. Honestly, I can’t think of a better metaphor for how players have been treated in FFXIV for years.

When Square Enix continues to push commercial collaborations using FFXIV like the Schwarzkopf collab, the makeup line, or even last year’s FFXIV tent it honestly feels like a slap in the face to the players. The money we invest through our subscriptions should go toward improving the game, not unrelated marketing tie-ins nobody asked for(havent seen anything in any forums asking for the god tier make up and hairdo coloring).

And yes, I already know the typical replies:
“If you don’t like it, unsubscribe.”
“Take a break, play something else.”

But that logic doesn’t make sense. It’s like telling a Magic: The Gathering player to go play Yu-Gi-Oh until the next Magic set releases. If I’m investing my time and money into FFXIV, the game should provide meaningful content for the jobs I actually play. The “go play another job” argument doesn’t hold up when most players only main two or three jobs and have dedicated years mastering them. Levling another job in order to have something to do is a really bad arguement.

What makes things worse is the lack of accountability or even an apology for Dawntrail’s problems. And honestly, seeing Yoshi-P attending conventions and public events while the game continues to decline doesn’t send a great message of leadership, at least in my opinion. Sure meeting fans is great but it doesn't change the games current state.

I could go on, but these are my current observations and I know many long-time players feel the same.

[Kranel_San]

Really? Accountability? I thought you were more worried about the safety and security concerns of the upcoming fan fests.

[IcarusAvery]

"The money we invest through our subscriptions should go toward improving the game, not unrelated marketing tie-ins nobody asked for(havent seen anything in any forums asking for the god tier make up and hairdo coloring)."


This is like the "FFXIV Mobile is stealing budget from the main game" thing. Typically, these kinds of licensing deals are done on the end of the *manufacturer*, and they pay *the IP holder* for the tie-in, not the other way around.

[Kailyn_Swiftheart]

This is like the "FFXIV Mobile is stealing budget from the main game" thing.

It's funny, because I've seen this claim being made on every MMO I've played. Most recently, I've seen it on Black Desert, with people claiming that Crimson Desert is sapping funds from Black Desert. People will make up any reason they can to justify whatever points they're trying to make. They either make it up themselves or they're spreading rumors that have no basis in fact.

[SkizzleAbernath]

@Kranel_San I didn't know you could only be concerned with one thing at a time on the forums my bad. I will take your feedback into consideration <3

[Wasselin]

Painting everyone who disagrees with you as "blindly loyal" is disingenuous. People have different opinions and some truly are enjoying the game, as hard as it is for its detractors to believe. What do you want him to take accountability for? That some people are unhappy? That's always going to be the case.

[Nadda]

Yeah we're planning on crucifying them this weekend and putting you in charge.

[Gortys]

You are so needy.

[hydralus]

So, what do you actually like about the game that you feel they could expand upon? Complaining that something doesn't work is all well and good but that typically just means something will be discarded rather than expanded upon.

[RedLolly]

7.2 was an improvement over base DT and 7.1 in gameplay and Writing. 7.3 was a further improvement over that in both as well, and it concluded DT on a good note.

That's my opinion, sure, but they've already turned the corner for me and this is what I asked for. In a month we're getting the first prologue bit for 8.0. DT is already being set behind us.