Erecia wrote:
ArthurDragonheart wrote:
FFXI was perfect before Abyssea.
It was so perfect that everyone I hung with quit out of frustration and boredom.
Tends to sum up my friends list thinning out, too.
Abyssea was good for the game. It brought people back and gave lots of little objectives for people to chase (Alongside TotM) without requiring alliances or linkshell asskissing for
everything. I slogged through VW a bit, but adding Legion on top basically scared me away because it felt like SE was falling back into their "old ways" of crappy RNG and content you just couldn't do if you weren't on at the right time with the right people. Even Adoulin carries this problem, and while Sparks gear is okay, it's not really enough to sustain a more casual player for the long term.
The only real strength olden days XI had was a lack of competition. Now that it does, including XIV, the devs need to be mindful of both what the other guys are succeeding at and what your average player can actually accomplish (in a low population setting). Cries of entitlement is not exactly a new "truth" slung about as a gross generalization amongst MMO communities. In the end, whenever I see such "truth" being spewed, I just see a sad little snowflake that needs some MMO prestige to feel better about themselves. Sorry, but that's not worth ******** the majority, and in turn, hamstringing profit. The so-called challenges of things like HNMs or steep grinds like RMEs were rarely, if ever, an actual measure of skill. Just patience with a side of how much money you're willing to throw at things like mules, multiple accounts, or even RMT. Heck, let's throw in a willingness to bot, too.
Overall, the actual playing experience of XI hasn't really changed. We still have popular jobs. We still have loljobs. We still have mobs that'll eat your face with certain TP moves. We still have zerg tactics pretty much being the pinnacle of strategy in the glut of timed environments. The best gear still needs at least a group. There's still RNG. There are still grinds. RMEs still have their stupid phases. The in-game macro system is still garbage. So, while where the players may hang out these days has indeed changed, at its core, XI really hasn't. It's just trimmed some fat... like exponentially long transit times, some JP midnight/conquest requirements, etc.. If you want ****, you still gotta play.