Note: This rant may stray from in-character points of view.
Living in Eorzea is a strange feeling. Like many of you, I feel like this life of adventuring should be something of an escape, a way to melt away the drudgeries of everyday life. Yet, as I put away my countless spreadsheets from professional life, I cannot help but feel like when I step out into this world I am simply pulling them right back out. Things are more colorful, more stylized, but if I am honest with myself, this no longer feels like an escape, but rather a second job of sorts.
To say that this is not partially my fault would be inaccurate. After a while, no matter what any of us do, eventually what was once exciting can become monotonous. I have been around a while and I have experienced a great many things, so obviously, doing them ad nauseum will eventually lead to a point where they become little more than chores. I continue to do them, even still, sticking to a schedule of sorts.
Every week on Sundays before I sit down to scramble some ideas together, I take a trip over to my island sanctuary, a promised retirement place for relaxation and engagement. Two weeks ago, I reached an upgrade point and I must say, it was…. Bland. I was instructed to find two new rocks and collect ten of each. This took a great deal of time and running in circles. Harmless, overall, but not exactly a good time. Upon delivery, I was told I could build a fourth building that serves no purpose outside aesthetics. This took hours to complete and as of this writing, I still have not gone to see the finished structure. Why would I, though?
Like many supposed treats, the end comes with the collection of the item. How many of you have a minion that has never been summoned, a mount that sits dormant waiting for you to accidentally ride it someday, perhaps? There is nothing inherently wrong with collections, but we should still consider the reasons we pursue things.
When island sanctuaries were announced, I feel as though I built things up in my head too much. While something akin to Stardew was nowhere near what I was expecting, I certainly had higher hopes than a glorified set of spreadsheets placed several hundred films apart. These supposed slices of heaven were gifted to us in August of last year and despite several “upgrades,” nothing has changed about them, really, except with more things to collect for the same chores. What do we have to show for over a year of scheduling tasks?
If you take a look at any of these, you may note an abundance of things and a ton of space to add more. Sometimes I consider DOING more, but it always comes back to the same question. Why? Why would I spend any more time here than I need to in order to keep things running? My crops are fine, I have more than enough food to keep my animals in good health for months without me being here.
Do I need more animal parts? Perhaps, if I wanted to get into the day-trading scene. But do I? It is just another job with spreadsheets and I do not really need the Cowries. Is it fun to predict the markets? Perhaps for some, but who can honestly say they wanted that over a more meaningful time on their islands?
Even producing what I do, it still nets me enough rewards to never worry. Plummeting, skyrocketing, it really does not matter. Just tell the Taskmaster to do something and you are set for life here.
The Island Sanctuary is so sad, to me, not because it is not a nice place to see, but because it represents so many of the issues that plague the development of Eorzea’s future. What could have been a sparkling gem of interesting engagement is hollow. Yes, you can bring a friend, but for what? So they can sit with you and stare at the beach? With all it takes to come here, and with Costa del Sol being so comparable and easy to access, why?
A friend cannot even help you progress here, having them is simply for the company. And while there is nothing wrong with enjoying being around your friends, would it not be better to be able to interact with them beyond just chatting?
Then again, what is there even here to interact with? You can gather to your heart’s content, but nothing you collect makes a difference beyond the watery boundaries of the island. You do not even gain traditional experience as a gatherer, it is strictly for this place. And yet, everything here is so lifeless that it begs the question. Why restrict things to the island?
Time and time again, we are given hope for a brighter future, and before these things arrive I cannot help but become apathetic to the change. I really want to feel positive, but each and every time the powers that be present something new it simply becomes another list to check off and ignore again. This is made all the more frustrating when we are basically told to stop engaging until something new comes along. That we are to create our own enjoyment.
To an extent, I can agree, and it is something I do for myself. The Babbler is a project made, in part, to help provide something interesting to actually do besides slog through over a thousand FATES or run roulettes over and over. And yet, this is a crushing design philosophy in what should be a fun place. Instead of being given a set of tools to enjoy at our pleasure, we are given a list of chores and told if we do not like them it is on us. Then again, why should we expect anything different?
Doing the same thing on repeat is nothing new in Eorzea. If you choose to take on a Rathalos, for example, you will find yourself needing 50 Rathalos Scale + to trade in for the mount. If you want everything, you will need a total of 142 tokens of some sort. Some are easier to collect than others, but the best-case scenario still has you doing this dozens of times to complete your collection. Is this a worthwhile endeavor? That is for you to decide for yourself, but for me, it sparks the same elation as knowing I will have to do dishes after a meal.
You might wonder, then, maybe the problem lies with me. Maybe I just cannot handle the grind? This is a fair assumption to make, after all, I have been complaining a lot about this pervasive issue with many forms of entertainment. I would disagree, though, as one of the things I was most excited about as a sprout was seeing the Rathalos mount. I am an avid Monster Hunter, spending hundreds of hours in each iteration since Tri. It is my go-to enjoyment and if there is one thing it is known for, it is the insane amount of grind.
Why do I like that grind, though, and dislike the same things here? Part of it has to do with how this aspect is handled. While Eorzea keeps things very predictable, Monster Hunting rarely has a perfectly replicable scenario. You can come across similarities, yes, but with much less variety it is still able to give a much more fulfilling experience.
To compare the two is not really the point of this rant, though. Rather, it is to identify and argue for a higher focus on meaningful changes for the better. This is something that has eluded the creative teams ushering in new development for Eorzea, but it is not entirely their fault.
Much of what I am saying is sure to fall on deaf ears if any of the discussion posts are to be taken as a general poll of sentiment. Last week, someone asked a subsection of the community if they would like to see technical improvements made more than a continuation of the same thing. Not surprisingly, they received a resounding “no.” Many said that Eorzea should not and that if any new developments are made, they should be for a new world, not this one.
Others are simply okay with how things are. Yet, to me, this feels like an odd mindset, particularly in light of our newest Golden Saucer event.
Fall Guys, a confusing choice to shoehorn into this world, is now all the rage for all the wrong reasons. First, it presents us with yet another repetitive task to collect trinkets to trade for a few clothes. Second, it uses the systems that Golden Saucer and our wonderful Summer Obstacle Course have been forcing to limp along for years. In classic CBU3 fashion, rather than try to do something that makes sense for how Eorzea works, they instead dumbed down a complex system to present a barely functioning mess.
For those who are not sure what I mean, ask around. Much like many obstacle-avoiding challenges, this runs under the assumption that we are not using our eyes but rather our instincts to perform well. Yes, it may LOOK like you did not get hit by that giant axe, but rest assured, you did, trust me, bro.
It has gotten to be so bad that others have basically developed ways to cheat the system in order to ensure victory. Even then, though, who cares? Much like with other games, this provides goods to everyone regardless. And while it is nice, considering the limitations it operates under, to do anything else would be absurdly unfair. And does it even matter, anyway? After a month or two, it will likely be just as dead as Rival Wings before it is shuffled back into the closet. Our next event to look forward to? Yokai Watch.
What even is Yokai Watch? People tell me it is a kid’s show and game series developed to be much a sort of clone of Pokemon. That is all fine and good, but how many people here are big into it? Worse, what does Yokai Watch have to do with Eorzea? What does Fall Guys? Monster Hunter? Nier? KFC? Are having any of these more important than fixing problems or creating a singular side activity that does not end up being 100 copy/paste playthroughs to snag a trinket that we will see everywhere for two weeks then never again?
Perhaps I am bitter, jaded. Maybe I do not really belong here, maybe I should move on to some other place for a while until I can learn to love another expansion of the same elongated discussion quests in a new area, the same go-stop-boss hallway dungeons but this time the colors are different, the same addition of some real-world fad shoehorned in to try and make it seem cool and hip. Sometimes I feel like I come across that way.
Yet, other times, I realize that there is a thin line between passion and bemoaning. I did not ramble this long because I am not in love with Eorzea. If anything, I care too much. For over a year I have been reporting housing scammers and seeing no results, crying out for improvements that will not come, and hoping that we as a community will do better in how we treat each other as a whole.
So I will continue to try and enrich my island experience, heck, my Hydaelyn experience. I hope you will all do the same in whatever ways you can. And more than that, I hope that CBU3 decides someday to help enrich our experiences as well.
