ffxiv
Caught up on MSQ through 6.0, and gotta say, I'm relieved that the endgame is no longer "tomestones and raid or perish" like it was during the HW era.
I always preferred solo and small group challenges and deep dungeon, and seeing a lot more of the current late game geared in that direction is more of my speed honestly.
re: ffxiv
It won't keep me forever -- there's just more to do in games that do self-motivated challenge runs better than 14 does.
But just the idea that there can be an MMO endgame that respects my time is... nice, honestly. Especially after bouncing off Warframe for the dozenth time and all of its incredible FOMO.
re: ffxiv
Anyway, I'm just relieved that I'd braced for "congrats, you won, here's our complementary escalation-of-commitment to keep you playing" and it wasn't there.
re: ffxiv
Like, it feels like MMOs and RPG subgenres have kind of branched into two tracks over the past several years.
Track A: here's a grinder that will take all of your time. Sometimes we love the idea of including mobile game FOMO because it makes all of the money, and if you fall behind, tough.
Track B: here's a game that's like a goldfish and expands to fill the time you have. We acknowledge that extreme type A people exist, but if you're not that, here's a minimum set of recommendations that you can probably automate or fit into your schedule. The rest is there when you want it.