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

[Kozh]

I'm glad you are able to read a sentence, i'm sorry for you not being capable of reading the entire room.

The irony of you saying this while you yourself is incapable of reading the room.

Who the hell says anything about being above the rest. That's not the person you quoted was talking about. Just because you pay the same with others, doesn't mean you're entitled to the same reward.

Do you think all raiders are young healthy people who has all the time in the world to waste it on games? No. Or maybe you think all of them are so good at this game that they clear hard content effortlessly? Also no.

You envy those raiders, demonize them while not realizing that those people actually do make sacrifices to get to where they're now. Lots of them are adults with job, famil, responsibilities, etc.

Back in EW I used to prog raid with my static until late at night. I am also very easily get migraine and carpal tunnel from those session, it isn't always fun.
Now that I don't raid anymore due to health issue, I understand that I can no longer get all those savage rewards even if I like them very much.

Tldr: stop being entitled. Especially when ff14 actually give a lot of rewards for the more casual contents.

Also, stop using the old players on your argument, when in reality you're doing this for your own sake mostly.

[TomsYoungerBro]

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.

This is a product of their own demise, and not the fault of content creators. When you water down all the jobs to pathetically simple and homogenized forms, the only satisfaction you can get out of the game (combat-wise) is through the encounters themselves. This huge imbalance puts a lot of pressure on the content to generate that satisfaction all by itself. What makes it even worse is new combat content comes out every 4 months or so, while classes get major reworks/updates only 1 per expac. Sorry not sorry Yoshi P. This is your fault

[Daralii]

This is a product of their own demise, and not the fault of content creators. When you water down all the jobs to pathetically simple and homogenized forms, the only satisfaction you can get out of the game (combat-wise) is through the encounters themselves. This huge imbalance puts a lot of pressure on the content to generate that satisfaction all by itself. What makes it even worse is new combat content comes out every 4 months or so, while classes get major reworks/updates only 1 per expac. Sorry not sorry Yoshi P. This is your fault

According to CBU3/CS3, the job changes have been to allow for them to more easily design high end(unsure of what their internal cutoff is for that definition) fights. Given the infamous "Go play ultimate" comment, I don't see a reason to doubt the honesty of that, they're just expanding it from healers to every role.

[Alyx-Greywind]

I mean, what would you call the pretty large subset of the playerbase who is bored in roulettes and normal content, enjoys Extreme and easier Savage floors but doesn't want to, or can't, dedicate large amounts of time and energy to progression raiding?

Average. I mean I do that, less time to manage EXs and the easier Savage Floors but I still consider myself an enjoyer of the more Casual stuff. I consider dipping into EX and Savage a bit further into the Hardcore end of things.

[PercibelTheren]

Average. I mean I do that, less time to manage EXs and the easier Savage Floors but I still consider myself an enjoyer of the more Casual stuff. I consider dipping into EX and Savage a bit further into the Hardcore end of things.

So...the "average" player does both casual and hardcore stuff. This is exactly what I would call a midcore player.

[Gurgeh]

Disclaimer: ...

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.
...

I fell I need to say because I've been so vitriolic, that I appreciate 90% of what the XIV team have done. That includes their Savages and Ultimate's that I don't play.

What I don't appreciate is:
- no statement of commitment to provide cross-DC PFs that are killing peoples communities as players reaching end game leave, and rouls in the deserted DCs are hobbled back to pre-endgame content. (delay any content you like to do this, but you have to tell us this is coming and its the reason, and disable demolition.)
- no statement of commitment to actually fix the privady issue - roll back acceptable - (delay any content you like to do this, but you have to tell us this is coming and its the reason, and disable demolition.)
- poor MSQ fine. EW exploration missing, covid, fine. Iffy but functional OC maps, fine, espcially with such great CEs.
- but wantonly hard Cloud of darkness, in light of the above, REALLY not ok.
- skipping normal OC setpiece in favour of savage, in light of chaotic and EW and MSQ, REALLLY not ok.

For me personally I think it would take so little commitment and guarantee to make me happy. You just have to commit to some reprioritisation, deliver when you like, and not complain if I unsub while your playing catchup instead of normal content.

Commitments though have to be better than the the one we got for speech bubbles. And given the the commitments can be justified as highest priority, it ought to be able to timescale.

The problem has been injury on injury on injury on injury, and were doing ok and hanging int there still, with the camels back being finally broken by needless insult.

Variant was great, wow freshness.
Island Sanctuary was clearly a work of passion, just not fun for me.
The dungeons within the stale forumla have been great.
The trials knockout.
The first three Exs, great.
The first 4 normals knock out. And now I've cooled of, the last 4 are decent I suppose.
I think the CEs are knockout (but no replayability , as I was never staying so don't need glams, and I'm excluded from Forked Tower by reason of better shit to do that gamble my time on getting in. I need a guarantee I can get in within an hour from my whim, that is not subject to the whim of some discord overlord to change, period.)
Cosmic I except is decent enough, but I'm not interested since add-ons made the craft/gather playing field uneven, and losing my house meant I've no use for the only crafting I ever did enjoy.
I even 'enjoyed' DT MSQ because I took my time.
I don't mind that made me miss out on savage, saving for other players' attitude towards me, which I hold Yoshi's "play other games" and "try ultimate" attitude' 50% responsible for. But only 50%. I think Yoshi hurt some high end players with that, and they in turn beat down on casual again.

But when you destroy my communities with poor no cross DC party finder, and you rub salt in their wounds with stuff like chaotic, when I conser I came here for
a) MMO social and b) accessible casual 'engaging' battle gameplay.
Then I'm 'severely' let down.

I appreciate 90% of it and resent only 10%, I enjoy 30% of it, But I can only enjoy 30% of it for about 4 months out of every 18, at that point it just becomes a solo game, and as good as the good bits were, they can't compete in the future with the best solo games. 4 months for the cost of an expansion 4 months sub, when the experience 'sits in the shadow of how fun it was to play with friends I no longer make being around only short term'. No its not going to work.
And Im pissed, because I think you can do much better.
The less invested I am in you doing better. The less pissed I am.

All the rest of my ire? Yeah ALL the rest is the community rubbing me up the wrong way, and the significant part of that that I lay at SE's feet, for not doing 'anything' to curb it, and plenty to provoke it.

I blame the community. But I also don't. I'm not expecting FFXIV to change human nature upon subscribing.

[IdleBlood]

The toxic players around the forum, for real

[Mecia]

Shouldnt all this be directed at SE upper management and not CBU3? This infighting is stupid. SE is the one that should invest in man power if developmental cost is the issue. YoshiP seemingly has to PR talk his way out of straight up pointing the finger at SE.

Im reminded of how Capcom fucked over Hideaki Itsuno.

[Kozh]

I'll accept the term is not misplaced, but that suggests the content is misplaced.

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Yeah, because no other games have this kind of thing /s

Tackling challenging content for the reward and /or for the challege itself has been a thing since the beginning of gaming.

You want ultimate weapon? Go dodge 100 thunders. Want to unlock this skill? Grind until you are level 99. Want this outfit? Go play minigame that the game clearly isn't designed for.

Savage is optional, the rewards are optional (heck, the only difference is you can dye them unlike the reward from normal. Ylu don't have to do them unless you want a specific reward (to flex perhaps?).