It’s clear FF14 isn’t prepared for next months expansion launch.
It’s been nearly 2.5 months since they said they were expanding servers and they haven’t added any. All they did was expand their current servers and disable new character creations on peak-hours.
The reason? Servers, tech support staff, etc. cost money and SquareEnix already gives FF14 a relatively small budget and doesn’t make a lot of money off the game in general. Blizzard (TBClassic), New World, etc. can pull servers out of their behind, but you’re telling me SquareEnix can’t get 5 new servers in a cluster up already? The simple reason is that they don’t want to spend the money because it decreases their monthly profits and they also need to gamble that the players who joined recently are going to be around.
So more than likely there’s not going to be any new servers before the expansion launch and the servers will be overloaded with people being unable to play. Not being able to allow character creation for new players is a hindrance on its own.
I love almost everything about the game, I’m a hardcore final fantasy fan and I grew up with some of the game deeply impacting my life as a child lol. But … the endgame of FFXIV is simply, not fun. The mechs are too intricate, which would be fine if theres only 4-6, but theres like 9+ phases it seems on some of these fights and theyre all super unique and intricate “move CCW if you see a cat in this corner! If you dont, everyone stack on this corner. Or if theres a dog, everyone move Clock Wise, except for the DPS, the DPS must move to this corner. Make sure your tanks are on the cardinal positions though! if not you all wipe!” ← a dumbed down version of what I’m talking about, its a lot more intricate then that. It feels like the game is 85% mechanics and 15% bossfight. I want something more like 60/50. I cant get into it. That and its so hard to pug. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, you have to join several discord communities, not just 1 or 2, you need several learning communities, combined with your FC, and work towards a static some how. It just seems a little too hardcore for 2021, things need to be easier to dive into, they make it very hard to just pick up. Its quite the task to just login and play. If you do find a learner party in party finder your looking at a 20 minute wait at least, but sometimes you can wait for like an hour, only to join and realize theres some serious weak links of the group and your not going to get anywhere. okay end rant… im just sad I dont like the game because I invested a good 2 months into it and I love most of the game, just not the endgame which is THEE game.
We already got an explanation as to why there have been problems with upgrading the servers, and none of these were in it. As Yoshida explained, if the simple fix were to ‘just throw more money at it’ it would have been fixed a long time ago. The problem is covid which hinders working staff, it prevents delivery of server-tech, it prevents travelling.
So Square Enix is definitely looking at FFXIV right now, and I believe the FFXIV devs could receive more funding. The covid restrictions are just not easy to overcome.
It is annoying, sure… but that is the reality of it.
I find them to be fairly easy to figure out, they are largely based on logical reasoning. You may very well die to them the first three tries, but you can find out how they work without looking up a guide. The biggest “problem” is that much of the game remains relevant due to character being scaled down, so there are some dungeon bosses you only see once every third month of playing the game, and people rarely wipe at them and thus you do not get to see their mechs often enough to find out how it works.
Trial bosses and Alliance raid bosses are a little easier to figure out.
I would disagree here. The endgame is definitely not THE game in FFXIV. The biggest part of the game is its story, the PvP and PvE aspects are just introduced as a novelty - and that is not to say that they are not terribly designed, it is just that they are not the big thing in FFXIV, which is a good thing, as it leaves room for something like The Golden Saucer, it leaves room for the more social aspects of a MMORPG.
But at the end of the day. If endgame is all that is important to people, then MMORPGs is just not the game one should be playing. Because at the end of the day, if that is your focus, then you are going to be left with nothing to do for a fairly long time once you are done with it.
Got it, got it. You’re just a different kind of player – and theres many of you in FF14. You guys like the campaign and mini games and transmogs and stuff which is totally cool! I’m not hating on it. But… raiding is THEE game. It’s the only form of progression after your done with everything, its the way you get your BiS, it is thee game, on paper or otherwise. I’m glad you can enjoy other aspects of the game but I’m about doing the hardest content, and I don’t like this content.
Yes, Trial Bosses, Alliance Raids, EX, all very easy stuff. But Try a Savage Umbra, or Savage Litany, thats what I’m talking about … it’s just too much of a head ache. It’s not something I cant buckle down and figure out (I did clear Litany, which is one of the harder ones, and Umbra which is INSANE) … and it’s simply not fun.
I respect your opinion tho dude!
Edit: I also want to say, that no, just because people like End Game doesnt mean MMORPGS is not for us. WoW does a great job of keeping endgame going. I’m a M+er, I can do M+er as high as possible and try to break records. And a Mythic Raider… well I’d imagine youd have to be veeeery far into the expansion to get to a point where you think you’re completely satisfied.
I am doing the different Savage Edens, although not that far just yet, had a hard time finding a static I actually liked, there are a lot of medium level raiders who believe they are better than they are which makes them extremely toxic.
Again, I disagree. If end game is the Be-all-and-end-all one seeks in a MMORPG… then it just ends up like World of Warcraft currently. What you have are end game content that is entertaining the first few times… and then what… what do you do when the rest of the game is more boring than the Sahara Desert.
It happened early on in BFA too.
Legion I would argue was simply fresh. Also, the artifact weapons were fairly cool and the larger story theme was far more interesting so it had a much stronger draw.
So… eh, I would argue WoW is not doing a very good job, not even with it’s endgame - it doesn’t seem to captivate a lot people, and have lead to people leaving in big enough numbers that blizzard actually take desperate steps now in order to, what I believe they hope: recuperate, but best case scenario is: maintain what they currently have left.
Yeh, I think it just depends what your into… I know M+'ers arent the most vibrant majority by any means… but if you are into M+, there truly isnt an end in sight. I’m also a fan of speed running, and M+ is like the speedrunning of WoW (thats not an actual speed run of course, lol cause those do exist) … so I guess I just set myself up to not have an end!
You make valid points tho my dude!
Edit: I want to add that I do feel a legitmate sadness. I love some of those mechanics! and I love the community! and visually, its probably one of my favorite games ever (reminds me of a modern FF8, omg I love it and could play as a non-raider just for that if it wasnt p2p)… but its just too high pressure for newcomers and for the frequency of play I actually get, it’s going to take me like at least 5 months until I’d be able to farm all of them or get to Ultimate. I mean I can farm some EX for sure… but I’m not confident in my ability in doing that with savage yet, and my estimation is too much of a dedication to achieve right now. I’d rather go back to maining two toons in WoW and playing a little bit of counter-strike. Rather playing some WoW and having this looming feeling of “Oh… but I gotta log in to ffxiv today… i have to get one clear at least.” ← a similiar headpace to me as the gym… it looms over you all day and you just dread logging in. Have to find a learner party in discord, wait for about an hour, which you NEED so you can study the raid a little bit, only to throw it all out the window because playing is much different then studying… and … it’s just not pleasurable in a way a game should be. A game should be fun times! Difficult but fun! Not studying like crazy and failing a bunch of times, having to rely on 7 other people.
Surprisingly I find WoW’s mechanics to be far more intricate, because they are made intentionally vague to commendate the use of addons like Deadly Boss Mods. I am okay with dying and wiping, provided that I can see that it is my fault.
FFXIV gives an indication for every single mechanics in one way or another, colours, animations, telegraphs, markers, casting bars. Some tank busters I take issue with because they are sudden and thus not easy to prevent, but I believe that is more a thing for the healers to have fun with than the tanks.
Thats a good point man! You’re right… you basically have to rely on DBM, until you get it down at least… I’d say most player definitely have it installed.
There are indications for a lot of things in FFXIV, but theres also tricky things. Like you have to keep your eye on a certain tendril on the boss and that one tendril can determine 3 different things, all of which are extremly intricate and precise. I think its not only the intricateness, but the frequency of them as well. There are soooo many phases on some of these fights. And all the CCW/CW/Cardinal/Adjecent stuff, while paying attention to small body parts of the boss to determine things… its just literally a head ache. And then Umbra for example, where you all sperate into individual squares, but there cant be more then one on each, cant stand in any particular square long too long, all while having to rotate CW/CCW and do things by catching small indications on the boss, shuffling with your raid in a perfect order or else everyone wipes, making sure certain roles are in certain squares… its just too much, its barely a raid fight at that point and more like a puzzle game from hell! lol.
Or like Litany, where you have a demon shadow randomly appear behind you, you have to look for some small indication on the boss, which will then determine if you move right or left, after you move your camera where the shadow is facing the screen vertical… its just yucky!! WoW is more chaotic, but FFXIV is more organized, intricate, with higher frequency and a lot more heavily depended on individuals (which i like, again coming from M+) but in something like a FF raid it sucks! one small move by somoene causes you to wipe and the last 20 minutes of your life has been wasted… time 20. Before I cleared Litany we remade the raid 3 times (thats like 3 hours)… I know mythic raids are similiar experience but idk! I still like raiding in WoW more even as a non-raider in wow.
Another thing too. Yes, the competitive WoW scene can be toxic. But there is this stigma and blanket belief that “none of that exists in FFXIV! everyone is nice!” … honestly, the competitive FFXIV scene is some of the most toxic stuff I have witnessed in all of gaming. I was in a farmer party once and someone who did a clear on this particular EX once thought they could farm with us… and the party was beating that poor thing to shreds. I feel so bad for them and I messaged them letting them know its okay and apologizing because I felt so bad.
It certainly exists. But those usually only exist on the medium raid tier, as I explained, those who believe they are far better than they actually are. The ones who tend to clear ultimates and what not, are usually very chill.
The toxicity also exists in PvP, I remember someone calling others various stuff throughout the battle.
It is just at a much lesser degree compared to other games, and part of it is the less competitive scene, for which I see no reason to exist in a MMORPG. If people want competitive games they should play more PvP games, really. Competiting in PvE is just… a competition of who can hold out the longest. Internal competition with friends of who can do the most dps though, now those I can get behind.
Anywho, one not being able to do the mechs in a raid is not suits for saying that the endgame sucks. Lots of people in WoW probably wouldn’t take you into a M+ if you can’t even figure out FFXIV boss mechanics, afterall, because FFXIV is not challenging at all… as they would say, and that is why they do not play FFXIV, because they are not being challenged, it is not hard enough and they need it to be harder.
Solely going for endgame in a MMORPG is just… silly at the end of the day.
That said… I wouldn’t mind more games that focuses entirely on that multiplayer dungeon-delving experience. A D&D themed multiplayer game recently came out which did exactly that, it sucked but the idea of it is good I think. Just needs to be developed by a better studio.
Totally! My FC are true ultimate elites and were so nice and I love them
haha but dude… M+ mechanics are the easiest thing in the world. I’m fully confident my 12 year old sister can figure them all out in a week. It’s Crash Bandicoot mechanics man… theyre basically not even mechanics. I think this is absolutely not valid:
They dont even compare lol. Maybe to mythic raiding but still probably a no. Like maybe, are you talking about Normal Raids? because, yeah for sure… those are crash bandicoot mechanics too… but once you dive into savage (the higher ones) youll notice the fights are completely different fights. Perfect contrast is Litany. Grinding normal litany 100 times before you do a Savage litany will do literally nothing for you lol.
I feel like the M+ mechanics are meant to be easy, because its more about time then anything.
Not anymore, these days. Some small pockets may still exist on certain servers, but you have to be really lucky your server is still active. Even then, I wouldn’t put city RP up on a pedestal considering it generates some of the worst RP.
Same as in FFXIV, you get the most substantial RP by joining a close-knit group.
In WoW, you are only limited to what your class can wear–and, sadly, most of those options play heavily into the overall class/style fantasy of each class of gear. You can only transmog Plate as Warrior, Paladin, or Death Knight; only transmog Mail as a Hunter or Shaman; only transmog Leather as a Druid, Monk, or Rogue; only transmog Cloth as any of the caster classes.
FFXIV may have some limitations on your gear but there is gear placed in-between that can be worn by all classes. The only downside is that you have limited space in your Glamour Dresser–400 pieces of gear, total. However, you have up to 15 Glamour Plates you can switch–completely for free–while you’re in a city.
WoW only has one addon that matters and that’s TRP.
It is also not 100% accurate that you’ll get “banned” for being caught with an RP addon. Look at the streams of high-end FFXIV raiders and see that they’re using certain third-party addons to track DPS and such–do you see them getting banned from the game the next day?
Even the producer has stated before that while addons are against TOS they are not going to actively use tools to identify players who use third-party addons unless they are advertising the use of them through public channels.
A clarification on this is that a dev was pulling players into the “jail” that’s set aside to inform them of misconduct. This was confirmed as miscommunication on that GM’s part and the action was corrected so that it didn’t happen again.
It’s a bit of an overstatement to say that a player was “banned.” It was more that a GM didn’t fully understand the rules on conduct and engaged party finder listings for roleplaying venues that were flagged.
The best analogy is FF14 right now is its like an apartment building. The landlord charges everyone rent, but doesn’t want to spend any money upgrading the building, or making a new building because it eats into their profits. The +50% surge in players overwhelmed their servers, but all they have to do is sit back-and-wait because half of those players will likely stop playing and the server capacity issues will resolve itself. It’s also why Blizzard doesn’t upgrade any of their servers for patch-expansion launch days that completely brick themselves. It’s not worth spending the money on a four time a year scenario.
Any game company can order 5-10 new server racks whenever they want. SquareEnix should have deployed new server clusters already. At least 2 of them. So unless they do anything about it you’re watching a slow moving train wreck that is going to happen next month when the expansion launches. The servers will be overloaded just from the launch day boost.
None of that matters if this the kind of RP that goes on there.
Now granted FFXIV is trying to “clean house” however as Blizzard learned long ago from MG’s Goldshire once those people taken root getting rid of them is impossible.
I would actually like to add a little to this.
It is not that this part of roleplaying is much larger or more common in FFXIV than in World of Warcraft, it is more so that people, fans of all the different aspects of the game, are more inclined to just shrug it off, live and let live.
It is not uncommon for people to just hang out at the major ‘brothels’ so to speak on RP data shards. FFXIV have different Data centers and different game-cultures have developed as a result. Like the Crystal data center is known as the roleplaying data center, the aether data center is known as the high-end content data center, etc. Some even hang out there on streams, it is, however, important to note that this does not mean that all make use of the roleplay in it. It has just fostered the sense of nightclubbing in the real world, which I know is a foreign concept to many MMORPG players, World of Warcraft players especially because people are so extremely old now so of course the boomers won’t understand the social and fun aspect of that.
Roleplaying overall, is also a bigger thing in FFXIV.
Final Fantasy XIV just has less of a puritan playerbase, it does not consist solely of overly sensitive individuals who largely freak out about nonsense. It also helps that the FFXIV game itself is rated PEGI 16.
People also gotta remember, that the majority of the MMORPG playerbase, at this point is 30+ years old, the next biggest age group of the MMORPG playerbase is in the 20-29 old group.
And not many children play MMORPGs.
So whatever people fear about the more savory side of roleplay, is merely a matter of personal disgust which is just stupid really.
Ignoring that notable Night Elven men have, for a long time, had a tendency to be half-naked, but I digress.
Are you sure? You have a small minority who are extremely vocal about it, and a vast majority who does not care and at best they just ignore any who whispers something creepy to them, or… at least that is how a mature person would handle that situation. Tell the person off, and if the person keeps going ignore and possibly report depending on what is written.
Funny thing, such people are more likely to be given a 20+ day ban in FFXIV for something like that, than they are in WoW.
That is entirely possible in both games as far as I am concerned. It is quite easy to avoid and deal with any problem of that nature arising.
Now, I am a firm believer in the idea that people can handle different levels of stress and interractions, some can tolerate a far firmer push than others. But there is something to be said about not being smart enough to use the tools provided to properly moderate your own social interractions. I am generally a very patient person, but I have a hard time being patient with willful ignorance and willful stupidity.
Oh actually the truth is according to the FFXIV community the game the absolutely flawless and discussion about the game that is NOT positive is wrong and those that say that are to be outcast.
Speaking of which you claim that you want WoW to improve yet you seem very quick to come to FFXIV’s defense when it is criticized.
So make up your mind sir do you want this game to improve or are you part of the FFXIV Cult and yes that is what I am calling it because that is what it feels like, and just want to see this game burn so you can dance around the fire and celebrate.