Why World of Warcraft players are leaving for FFXIV

Warcraft Jailer Sylvanas Source: Blizzard

Is World of Warcraft dying? Yous know, information technology's funny — I've been playing WoW on and off since the game launched in 2004. I've tallied over 10,000 hours of playtime in the game, going from hunting server-first boss kills and raid achievements in my youth to more coincidental high-end scheduled raids in my work-addled machismo. I'd belittle at media types writing stories nearly "WoW killers" and hyperbolic articles talking about WoW dying, merely for it to defy expiry appointment expectations time and time once again. This time, however, something feels a chip different.

This contempo player exodus might exist temporary, but unless Blizzard takes notice, I believe it's but a matter of fourth dimension earlier World of Warcraft relinquishes its crown for good.

WoW has long been the king of the paid-MMO earth, until at present. A challenger from another legendary franchise has arisen, dubbed Final Fantasy XIV: Realm Reborn. FFXIV was notorious for failure ironically in its early days, with a catastrophically under-realized organization that failed to maintain a stable thespian base. To Square Enix's credit, they stuck with it, investing millions to literally reboot the entire world. Since that event, the game has steadily grown, reaching record concurrent players on Steam, with some third-party population trackers putting it on competing grounds with World of Warcraft for active players. I wrote recently about how some big WoW influencers have also deserted the game for FFXIV, flooding Final Fantasy Xiv'southward servers with new players (affectionately known in-game as sprouts).

Is FFXIV going to kill WoW? Maybe not today. This recent thespian exodus might exist temporary, but unless Blizzard takes find, I believe it's but a affair of fourth dimension earlier World of Warcraft relinquishes its crown for adept. Why exactly are so many players leaving Earth of Warcraft? Hither'due south what I believe.

Update July 26, 2022: This article was written before the massive California country lawsuit alleging Activision-Blizzard has a sexist work culture that marginalizes women, creating an environment of harassment and unequal pay and opportunities. Activision-Blizzard has denied the claims, although many Blizzard developers have both publically and privately to usa have expressed their dismay and anger both at the report, and Activision's corporate response. The original article is below.

ane. Itemization in World of Warcraft feels completely arbitrary

WoW Source: Windows Central

In years past, obtaining "all-time-in-slot" gear in World of Warcraft was a relatively straightforward matter. You knew what bosses y'all'd have to kill. You'd even know roughly how many times you'd accept to kill them before you could get an item. Heck, yous could even practise a club run with master looter activated, allowing the group leader to pass you the particular, if anybody else in your team agreed. In the interests of role player retention, Blizzard spent years calculation layer upon layer of randomness to the loot process, making the chances of you actually getting the item yous want remote at best. FFXIV feels far closer to the "one-time schoolhouse" WoW-style item implementation system, where players actually accept a caste of control over targeting and obtaining those powerful sought-afterward gear pieces.

In World of Warcraft, the game basically decides for yous whether or non you deserve a slice of gear. Master looter was removed, preventing guilds from allocating items, removing command abroad from players. Blizzard claimed this was to reduce "drama" which may ascend from players disagreeing with a main looter'south determination, just I'd debate the impersonal RNG wizard that exists in World of Warcraft serves every bit a worse solution.

Wow Shadowlands Torghast Source: Blizzard

I killed over 40 high-end bosses without getting a unmarried upgrade during World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. It was at this point I simply decided the game wasn't worth my time anymore. Blizzard has implemented some improvements to gearing in the latest nine.1 update to Shadowlands, just y'all have to wonder why these systems weren't already in place, especially because they are literally recycled from past expansions. I'd also fence that these "token" systems reduce the thrill of getting items from, you know, bosses.

Additionally, Blizzard stopped putting whatsoever effort into making items in WoW look good. Since the appearance of transmogrification (transmog for brusk), players can swap the way of a weapon or armor slice to look like any previously obtained particular. Blizzard seems to accept taken this as an alibi to finish making art assets for high-end raids. It was the case in ages past that each course would get its own unique set of armor for running a high-cease raid, only that's no longer the instance. It serves just to contribute to the sense that gear doesn't thing, your class "fantasy" doesn't affair.

two. The story feels designed around player retention metrics instead of quality

World Of Warcraft Sylvanas Source: Blizzard Blizzard claimed Sylvanas had some kind of grand plan. She didn't.

Since the departure of long-serving Blizzard world-builders, World of Warcraft has more often than not struggled to build a coherent story. They defended literal years' worth of expansions to Sylvanas Windrunner's story arc, one of the franchise's well-nigh iconic characters. Sylvanas is the Banshee Queen leader of the Forsaken faction, or at to the lowest degree she was, until she inexplicably betrayed them, later committing genocide against the nighttime elves for spurious reasons at all-time.

Sylvanas has always been a mysterious grapheme, who worked her own agenda in the shadows in the background of the chief storyline. With Sylvanas pulling into center stage for Shadowlands, Blizzard choked when information technology came to the resolution of her story, leaving it on a pocketknife-border bewilderment soap-opera manner "tune in next time!"

World Of Warcraft Shadowlands Review Source: Windows Key The Jailer is shown throughout the story to exist sadistically vindictive, but he for some reason lets the Horde and Alliance champions live at the end of the raid, like an boilerplate cartoon villain.

Sylvanas looks fix to have some sort of redemption story unfolding now, despite her numerous crimes. The implication beingness that her undeath "made her exercise it" or something along those lines. For some random reason, the game's large bad, The Jailer, decided to resurrect her out of undeath, while too letting the champions of the Horde and the Alliance escape. None of it makes any sense unless you consider the fact that Blizzard doesn't desire to end Sylvanas, for the merchandising and brand silhouette.

The way the story has been presented in contempo years, much like the gearing situation, makes me care less almost the game.

It feels increasingly like Blizzard writes the story in a whiplash-style reactionary mode, rather than for the sake of, y'all know, writing a good story. Blizzard promised that Sylvanas' plots and plans would make sense, and that she wasn't only another basic baddie hungry for power for power'southward sake. Alas, that seems very much to take been the case, changing her listen on a mere whim at the final minute by half-heartedly firing a single arrow at The Jailer. How anticlimactic.

Honestly, this is just a small piece of everything that has gone weird with WoW's storyline as of tardily. More and more of it slips out of the main game and into books and comics that crave extra reading and research. Some of it adds important context, but why wasn't that presented in-game? Despite incredible art, not bad vox interim, and improved tools for making in-game cutscenes, the way the story has been presented in recent years, much like the gearing situation, makes me care less almost the game.

3. Fourth dimension gating contributes to the sense of routine-like "piece of work, not fun"

Wow Shadowlands Venthyr Soulbinds Source: Blizzard Amusement Look at all these powers you tin take in Shadowlands! Each node represents several weeks of waiting, though.

Ane of the about annoying mechanics Blizzard has introduced in recent years is this concept of "time gating," borrowed from the nigh annoying practices of Activision's King mobile division.

Many of Earth of Warcraft's endgame systems now come up with a time-gated component, which on the one paw, seems like it could be a good idea in some ways. Information technology prevents hardcore players from soaking up all the content, leaving more casual players to get left behind. It besides takes the pressure level of hardcore players to grind constantly and be at the top of the pack. However, in reality, information technology's just another instance where Blizzard takes control away from the thespian.

Earth of Warcraft's artists are among the best in the industry, but there comes a point where no amount of shiny pigment can hide the ugly systems beneath it.

Do you know another expanse of life where you perform activities on a routine basis with ready hours, largely out of your control? It's called work, except in World of Warcraft, you lot're paying for the privilege. Fel, the weekly timed loot breast from Mythic+ runs is almost like a paycheck, except y'all accept no idea how much money you're going to get. By and large, it's nada.

MMOs have always walked a fine line between game and grind, but World of Warcraft's recent design decisions pushed it too far to the point where immersion is shattered, and the fantasy is removed. Combine this with the carrot-on-a-stick storytelling, the removal of control from your itemization, the sheer book of gameplay aspects that run on a timer, or a routine, and WoW has started to stray far too far away from what it means to be an actual video game. Earth of Warcraft's artists are among the all-time in the industry, but there comes a point where no amount of shiny paint can hibernate the ugly systems beneath it.

Is the Gysahl greener on the other side?

Ffxiv Benchmark Source: Windows Key FFXIV is flooded with "WoW refugees" to the betoken where its servers are full.

The real driver of the WoW exodus is the desire to detect greener pastures. Final Fantasy XIV hasn't necessarily washed anything new or special recently, maintaining a consistently growing actor base on the footing of its quality lone. It's but recently started to grow at Blizzard's expense, however. Earth of Warcraft is killing World of Warcraft, non FFXIV.

Many players may eventually hit the cap in FFXIV and run out of things to practise, and eventually slink back to World of Warcraft, owing to its arguably tighter gainsay and more responsive engine — simply if Blizzard plans to rest on their laurels and only hopes that this happens, they could simply doom themselves to further obscurity. By allowing players like me to even consider exploring greener pastures, Blizzard runs the risk of turning u.s.a. into dedicated FFXIV subscribers, ignoring World of Warcraft completely.

Final Fantasy XIV's Alexander Raid Source: Square Enix

It's non all WoW's doing, though. Final Fantasy Fourteen has a truly enormous amount of content. The fact you tin can change grade on the fly without any real penalties is a huge boon. The deprioritization on damage meters and raider.io scores takes the pressure off those of us with reduced free fourth dimension, while retaining incredibly difficult loftier-end content for those with the time and skill to participate. Crucially, FFXIV seems to besides have a more pleasant customs. Partially, I feel like this is because people are playing for fun, rather than the pressure to keep upwardly with the latest gear curve. There are a ton of things FFXIV does ameliorate than WoW in my stance besides. The fact all raids are dominate-focused without trash packs, while also giving you the pick to scale raids to your level ensures that previous expansion content remains challenging and somewhat fresh. Obsolescence is broiled into the cloth of World of Warcraft, and that is simply another layer of routine that has gotten former. WoW: Archetype's servers are basically dead now besides, since all the raid tiers are launched, and there's nothing left to do.

I ofttimes wonder if Activision corporate even cares about WoW's future, or if what nosotros're seeing is some sort of managed decline.

Concluding Fantasy Fourteen has mountains of meaningful side objectives to savor, whether yous're crafting or maintaining your role player house, participating in events, or hunting downwards triple triad cards. World of Warcraft has become a game that revolves nigh entirely around being cutting edge and optimization, which creates a pressure cooker of negative will. In summary, and then far, FFXIV feels like a video game. Globe of Warcraft's lack of innovation, lack of investment in fun side content, and gameplay designed entirely around carrot-on-a-stick mobile-style player retention metrics have gutted the game. Blizzard's attempts to "streamline" only event in removing depth and variety, although they have reversed course on some of these decrees, "de-pruning" class abilities to increment flavor. The fact remains that many talents and playstyles in WoW remain useless since Blizzard reduced the frequency by which they update form abilities and rest.

I'one thousand sure I'd give WoW another go again in the future, but it would require a change in management to the order of some magnitude. World of Warcraft needs to showtime feeling like a video game over again, discover a way to reward player's time investment while also respecting that free fourth dimension. If WoW is to survive evolving player habits, in what is becoming a hugely competitive market for our hard-won free time, something needs to alter. Does Activision Blizzard even care, though?

I frequently wonder if Activision corporate fifty-fifty cares near WoW's futurity, or if what we're seeing is some sort of managed pass up in what they think is an inevitable death spiral. I sorely hope not, because despite its age, WoW has immense potential and has proven itself to defy all expectations in the by.

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