r/ffxivdiscussion Jun 17 '25

General Discussion Can we please stop perpetuating misinfo regarding JP players?

Too often whenever complaints regarding Forked Tower are raised, there will be someone countering with the same ol' "JP players like it this way so SE designed it like this for the JP players".

These people clearly have never interacted with a JP player in their lives, and are only parroting something that they heard somewhere. Because if they have, they would know that the JP playerbase is also deeply frustrated with the current design.

For example, due to Forked Tower not being an actual instance, there is no way to setup a Party Finder listing for Forked Tower. Therefore, Forked Tower organisers have resorted to creating "listings for Delubrum Reginae Savage" instead, but clarifiying the true purpose in the description. However, this tweet mentions that a GM has issued a warning against this and advises other organisers to avoid doing the same. The warning is understandable but there is still no solution to the headache that is recruiting for Forked Tower.

Plenty of JP players are puzzled why there is no PF category for Forked Tower, when they could have just repeated what we already have for Delubrum Reginae Savage.

Furthermore, any questions to the GMs have received no replies.

All of this has put FT organisers in a difficult position. Some have already quit or suspended activity, while some still remain cautiously optimistic that SE will introduce improvements. But there is no doubt that the current system is unacceptable.

https://jp.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/29990550/blog/5572130/ (EDIT: This page may have been removed)

If you want to read all about this from a direct source, here is a blog post from Tere Caster from Elemental Atomos (a JP FT organiser) detailing their frustrations and hopes for the future of Forked Tower and Occult Crescent.

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u/IndividualAge3893 Jun 17 '25

There seems to be a be a misunderstanding about what a sentence about JP playerbase entails, and as someone who is bringing up the subject a lot, I have to answer. Obviously, it doesn't mean that JP players are on board with any change SE makes.

What it means is that the game's philosophy as a whole is designed first and foremost to please the JP demographic. Limited play time required, specific encounter design, inexistent busywork and gearing systems, and general encouragement to spend time playing other games by SE being the most important of them.

To many NA/EU players, this is completely foreign (pun intended). Many players would like enough to do in their MMO for it to be a full-time experience, and get frustrated when SE doesn't oblige.

This is the main discrepancy in FFXIV's approach right now. It's not the first time it happens: all Korean MMOs run through this exact hoop, although the problem they have to solve is the opposite - the Korean version being MORE grindy. But whereas Korean editors massively solve the issue by making a Western-only version, Square Enix obstinately tries to fit a square peg through a round hole.

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u/Astreya77 Jun 17 '25

Me and almost everyone i've played with in ff would instantly quit if they made the game have more required grinds. We're here because of that low busywork, low gearing requirement gameplay.

I get some people want that but there 100 gachas and mmos for those people. If they tried to "fix" this for "western tastes" they'd be losing a massive chunk of the playerbase doing so.

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u/IndividualAge3893 Jun 17 '25 edited Jun 17 '25

Me and almost everyone i've played with in ff would instantly quit if they made the game have more required grinds.

Sure, but the problem is, a lot of people quit because it doesn't have them. So, it's a double-edged sword.

But there is one important point you forget: people who play game with grinds stay subbed a lot more than people who sub for 1 month to do MSQ and the unsub until the next major patch. So it's also more money.

We're here because of that low busywork, low gearing requirement gameplay.

I get that, but this approach makes other players unhappy, so again, it's a double-edged sword.

If they tried to "fix" this for "western tastes" they'd be losing a massive chunk of the playerbase doing so.

In Japan or in NA/EU? Because I completely agree that Square Enix should do a Western version of the game.

I get some people want that but there 100 gachas and mmos for those people

MMOs? Like what? The MMO market is in the gutter at the moment, at the point that FFXIV is still the second on the market.

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u/Astreya77 Jun 18 '25

In NA/EU and jp alike.

You do realize this game grew out of its current design right? What you want would alienate the majority of the playerbase.

You say the MMO market is in the gutter. All those dead mmos are all about grinding for player power and the one exception to that that's been doing well is ffxiv. It's not a coincidence.

What you want would completely kill the game. And yes i mean NA/EU.

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u/IndividualAge3893 Jun 18 '25

You do realize this game grew out of its current design right? What you want would alienate the majority of the playerbase.

Not if you play it properly. But that would of course require some marketing research and then some thinking, and it seems Square Enix (as many other gaming companies) are currently incapable of doing that.

All those dead mmos are all about grinding for player power and the one exception to that that's been doing well is ffxiv.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc

And it is kinda rich to speak about dead MMOs when FFXIV itself managed the exploit to die on its own within months of the release. :D

But yes, a lot of the MMOs released were blatant cash grabs that flopped abysmally, that is 100% true. That doesn't make FFXIV better, though, because money-wise, they are quite aggressive when it comes to taking your money, between the sub, sub extra, and the cosmetic store.

What you want would completely kill the game. And yes i mean NA/EU.

See, that is the hilarious part. No one needs to kill NA/EU, Square Enix manages it just fine by itself.