Dear SE: Please listen to actual players, not just content creators

[tsunderebestie]

Disclaimer: There are many FFXIV creators who are wonderful community representatives and hosts. I've also watched and enjoyed many hardcore raiding streams, including the charity world first races.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction FFXIV has been going lately, especially with recent patches. While I still love the game and the content it offers, I feel like the developers have been listening more to content creators and hardcore players than to the casual-midcore player majority.

Honestly? I think that’s a mistake.

It's understandable why these types of challenges are appealing for streamers and YouTubers -- they drive views, engagement, and excitement. But the reality is that not all players are seeking that level of difficulty.

Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s a place for that kind of content in FFXIV. But it’s important to recognize that while hardcore content is fantastic for full-time streamers/YouTubers, it often isn't the best for the long-term health of the game as a whole. After all, casual players make up the vast majority of FFXIV's community, and we often feel like our voices are getting lost in the noise.

Yoshi-P’s Recent Admission:

In today’s live letter, Yoshi-P openly admitted that the development team is feeling the pressure from the constant demand for new, challenging content. He mentioned that the staff is stretched thin with trying to balance delivering fresh and exciting content while keeping up with player expectations.

It’s no secret that the team is working tirelessly, but I can’t help but wonder if part of that strain comes from trying to cater too heavily to the hardcore community.

With the focus on producing high-difficulty content for the most dedicated players, it seems like the dev team is burning the candle at both ends. I’m sure many of us have felt the effects of this, with certain content releases feeling rushed or lacking polish because of the sheer amount of work that’s going into these high-end challenges. The pressure to meet the demands of a hardcore playerbase may be taking its toll on the overall development cycle, and we, as casual players, are often left on the sidelines.

Casual Players Aren’t Asking for Easy, Just Accessible:

The thing is, casual players aren’t asking for the game to be “easy” or watered down. We want content that’s accessible, enjoyable, and rewarding at our own pace. Some of us want to experience the story, engage in social content, or explore without the pressure of knowing we have to be the best or memorize hundreds of mechanics for a raid.

A Call for Balance:

So, what do I think the devs should do? Simple. Balance. I’d love to see more casual, accessible content that doesn’t require hours of commitment. That way, everyone from the hardcore raider to the casual solo player can feel like they’re getting the most out of their experience.

[DynnDiablos]

They pretty much are catering to the big content creators at this point who do NOT represent a majority of the playerbase. I feel like as long as Mr. Happy is HAPPY, they are like all is good.

[Themarvin]

As it it is make the content like Bozja, everyoen could join Castrum and similar content and yes the better players could take more demanding roles or help in numerous fields making it a great experience for all.... heck with Pazuzu and whatever, it was all like that as well you could get progress and players could help each other no matter how good or bad... the good could do a lift and make it so the content would be cleared more easy and also... everyone would get their kicks in feeling like having done some and maybe next time not being floortank for half the battle, but only 20% getting some kind of how do you put it... getting a better feel of doing more and more of a difference.

FFXIV will start to none exist, if it keep favoring too much a too small part of the actual population playing the game.

[Rolder50]

Part of the issue is that they only seem capable of making either A. High end difficult raid content or B. Content so easy you literally fall asleep doing it. No middle ground between the two.

[Bunyon]

"Oops we made it savage again" is such an insane thing to keep hearing over and over. Does it really cost that much development time and money to make a version with like a couple less mechanics, and less punishment? I understand that going from Normal to Savage requires a lot of investment into making the content engaging, but surely going the opposite way isn't that much of an insane task?

[Batbrat]

Rolder is right, it's kinda difficult to find a good middle ground. but I do hope they can find one too. Because listening to ""content creators"" has gotten them where exactly..? They spend insane amounts of time making all this crazy crazy hard stuff only to find out one or two days later that groups have already started cheating their way through it lol. These people get on their hands in knees in dogsuit masks and literally BEG yoshida for something hard-then they load up their cheats, and clear it zoomed out to mars with a red dot in the middle.
It ends up being the event of two measly days. Just two days, because by day 3 someone inevitably gets caught, and that sours the rest of the ""race"" for everyone else, just as realization settles in for everyone else that they all have nothing to do still other than argue over which catgirl is copying which at the limsa aetheryte. And even if they arent world racing, theyre still not even clearing it purely, so what even is the point? Never understood that. I don't think ultra hard and complex is the move. but I don't know what else is. but I know it's not THAT!! Maybe some sort of all new idea-so new, its not even a reference to a different final fantasy for once.

[Kaurhz]

Rolder is right, it's kinda difficult to find a good middle ground. but I do hope they can find one too. Because listening to ""content creators"" has gotten them where exactly..? They spend insane amounts of time making all this crazy crazy hard stuff only to find out one or two days later that groups have already started cheating their way through it lol. These people get on their hands in knees in dogsuit masks and literally BEG yoshida for something hard-then they load up their cheats, and clear it zoomed out to mars with a red dot in the middle.
It ends up being the event of two measly days. Just two days, because by day 3 someone inevitably gets caught, and that sours the rest of the ""race"" for everyone else, just as realization settles in for everyone else that they all have nothing to do still other than argue over which catgirl is copying which at the limsa aetheryte. And even if they arent world racing, theyre still not even clearing it purely, so what even is the point? Never understood that. I don't think ultra hard and complex is the move. but I don't know what else is. but I know it's not THAT!! Maybe some sort of all new idea-so new, its not even a reference to a different final fantasy for once.

It's not that it's difficult to find one, it's just that they simply don't bother to even try.

The amount of time they spend frantically yo-yoing between two completely opposite ends of the spectrum, they could have very easily designed content that actually accomplishes that middle-ground

[TaleraRistain]

"Oops we made it savage again" is such an insane thing to keep hearing over and over. Does it really cost that much development time and money to make a version with like a couple less mechanics, and less punishment? I understand that going from Normal to Savage requires a lot of investment into making the content engaging, but surely going the opposite way isn't that much of an insane task?

I honestly don't understand why their mentality would not be make the normal version first and then if there are resources, make a harder version. That seems like common sense and good usage of resources based on what will be interacted with by the larger portion of the community. Because both the more casual/midcore and the hardcore sides will interact with that content.

I also wouldn't necessarily say the players the content is being designed toward are the most dedicated. I know plenty of fellow Savage raiders who just raidlog, where they only log in to raid and then leave and do non-XIV things. This does not seem to be the demographic that SE should be catering to.

[Asari5]

didnt they say something about delubrum was too accessible so they made fork tower less accessible at the LL? not sure why they want content being played by less people

[TaleraRistain]

didnt they say something about delubrum was too accessable so they made fork tower less accessable at the LL? not sure why they want content being played by less people

Especially when they do care about clear rates. They knew there had only been over 400 clears. If you're worried about people doing the content, don't lock people out of doing the content.