dev1031 You are losing your main playerbase by making things too easy/fast/casual

[Shiyo]

Oh I LOVE the fact they added 20 low level NMs with gear drops for low levels, I hate the fact they're 3-5 min respawns with decent drop rates, meaning the content won't last long at all.

[Duelle]

Oh I LOVE the fact they added 20 low level NMs with gear drops for low levels, I hate the fact they're 3-5 min respawns with decent drop rates, meaning the content won't last long at all.

What it means is that there's no repeats of Leaping Lizzie where half the people in the zone where /anon campers that were basically looking to outclaim each other for prolonged amounts of time because of the crappy drop rate on the leaping boots. I cannot fathom why anyone would want to return to days like that.

Going to the hardcore thing, I think of stuff like this whenever hardcore is brought up. And I agree, Everquest is up there and a large contributor to FFXI's design philosophy.

[Thsscks]

I hate it when people whine about "the good old days". And when they act like they speak for everyone or in this case the playerbase.
You should also realise this game should be fun for people who havent played FFXI too. Dont try to demand your version of that game just because you played it and payed for it in the past.
You don't even give them a chance to try to do new things and possibly make the game both fun for hardcore people who want to spend most of their hours playing the game and casual players who play games for some fun when they have some time to spend.
You shouldn't view this with a you are with us or against us logic. The world isn't black and white. A game can be both.
Just at least give them some change with the recent and upcoming updates.

[rainfish]

There are no MMOs that are for hardcore gamers on the market. We have nowhere to go, yet casuals have tons of games to choose from, it sucks.

You wonder why?..both types of player pay the same subscription fee, one is a very small minority.

Harcore player.
Is on the game a lot more using up more server bandwidth.
Is far more demanding of new content.
Is a minority.
Can very often be a bad influence in the community or monopolise content.

Casual player.
Pays the same fee as the hardcore player but is only on for a fraction of the time, there are far more of them and they use up less of the money they pay per month.
Is far less demanding for new content because it takes them longer to actually get through what you give them.
Is the vast majority, and as seen from games like wow and rift they make you a lot of money.
Are generally more friendly because their life doesnt revolve around the game and don't play to be better than everyone else.

No company in their right mind aims a game at a hardcore playerbase or gives that small minority a reason to make the majority feel like the less wanted portion of the playerbase. Nothing turns off players as much as a being unable to attain the same gear everyone else can, like it or not a successfull company does it's best to keep the majority happy.

There needs to be content for casuals AND hardcore players. In time, there will be.

There probably will be but you can bet they won't give the hardcore players gear that far outweights what the casual players can get as they did on FFXI, why would a company go out of it's way to upset the biggest most profitable playerbase? On FFXI for instance they made a lot of content the vast majority of the players could never do, they have since realised this was wrong and now everyone can get everything at endgame, even the highest tier endgame gear.

This is how you make a profitable MMO.

[Cairdeas]

Please, I'm the main player base that wants this game to succeed and I agree with all the changes they have implemented to date.

I'm a Square Follower.
I'm a Final Fantasy Player
I'm a FFXI Veteran
And I'm an MMO Player.

Pick and chose what you want from that list but thats what SE is targeting and they keep hitting high notes with me.

[Neptune]

Please, I'm the main player base that wants this game to succeed and I agree with all the changes they have implemented to date.

I'm a Square Follower.
I'm a Final Fantasy Player
I'm a FFXI Veteran
And I'm an MMO Player.

Pick and chose what you want from that list but thats what SE is targeting and they keep hitting high notes with me.

Amen Cairdeas.

[AuctionGirl]

SE: You did make a mistake having these New NM's spawn so quickly, please post a patch to increase the spawn times, maybe 30 mins to 1 hour each re-spawn, and how about more random locations. So camping 1 little area does no good, but rather needing to be more spread out.

You can post a patch fix for this, or its probably done Server Side, just fix it. I have to agree somewhat with the OP, content should take longer to do than it takes to create it. You are digging yourself in a hole, granted a lot of the current players are higher than new ones will be when PS3 releases, which makes these new NM's easier.

Simple Fixes: Increase Spawn times, Increase Spawn Area/Locations

Next patch, create 20 more NM's, that randomly spawn like these, and have their spawn times increased too, keep up to the good work, this patch is definitely in the right direction, just needs some tweaking.

[Eekiki]

SE: You did make a mistake having these New NM's spawn so quickly, please post a patch to increase the spawn times, maybe 30 mins to 1 hour each re-spawn, and how about more random locations. So camping 1 little area does no good, but rather needing to be more spread out.

You can post a patch fix for this, or its probably done Server Side, just fix it. I have to agree somewhat with the OP, content should take longer to do than it takes to create it. You are digging yourself in a hole, granted a lot of the current players are higher than new ones will be when PS3 releases, which makes these new NM's easier.

Simple Fixes: Increase Spawn times, Increase Spawn Area/Locations

Next patch, create 20 more NM's, that randomly spawn like these, and have their spawn times increased too, keep up to the good work, this patch is definitely in the right direction, just needs some tweaking.

First constructive post from the "hardcores" in this thread. +1

[Shiyo]

SE: You did make a mistake having these New NM's spawn so quickly, please post a patch to increase the spawn times, maybe 30 mins to 1 hour each re-spawn, and how about more random locations. So camping 1 little area does no good, but rather needing to be more spread out.

You can post a patch fix for this, or its probably done Server Side, just fix it. I have to agree somewhat with the OP, content should take longer to do than it takes to create it. You are digging yourself in a hole, granted a lot of the current players are higher than new ones will be when PS3 releases, which makes these new NM's easier.

Simple Fixes: Increase Spawn times, Increase Spawn Area/Locations

Next patch, create 20 more NM's, that randomly spawn like these, and have their spawn times increased too, keep up to the good work, this patch is definitely in the right direction, just needs some tweaking.

I agree with this!

[Jieddo]

If you look at other subscription based services they tend to cater to acquiring new business vs. maintaining current client base. Just look at car insurance companys, they spend more effort convincing people to switch and try out their service rather than convincing people to renew their subscription.

I dont think the business practice would be any different with FFXIV. Attracting new business is what keeps the brand afloat and with the current population of the game now I beleieve they need to do everything possible to attract new subscribers. Its just a very fine balance between satisfying current subscribers and attracting new ones.