somewhat overhyped. most classes are getting streamlined and simplified, and i kind of get it because they want the game to be accessible, but it is making classes less distinguishable beyond aesthetics. i do like the core design of dungeons and trials and raids, some of them are really fantastic, i feel like i will use every possible free login weekend just to play orbonne sometimes LMAO. but with each update, the entry barrier becomes more and more insurmountable as people now have 6 full games worth of material to play through, and with next expansion... i wonder what their plans are since i don't think they will do the destiny approach of just getting rid of ARR or something, but i feel like something has to be done.

quest design, well it's a mmo so a lot of stuff is just boring and tedious. however, my main beef is with writing. the game is quite widely praised for its good writing, and it does have plenty of interesting ideas and characters, but i just cannot handle the misogyny and the racism anymore. the writing pertaining to ascians and garleans in particular is so tone deaf at times, and the way the fandom gobbles it right up is... no other game fandom made me feel as othered, and i played plenty of games that have far less diverse fanbases. idk man. my hot take is that i did not like shadowbringers much, and endwalker was even worse. i wish stormblood focused either solely on doma or solely on ala mhigo instead of hastily trying to wrap up both points... i think heavensward was as good as it got, and even that had its middling points, particularly around ysayle. idk. mess. oh god just remembered everything that happens to yotsuyu in post-4.0 patches i hope i die

anyway it's still a very good game with loads of content and dedicated support, and it is square enix's biggest cash cow for a reason. it is very fun to play with friends, and it does have a lot to offer. but i got extremely sick of it and its fandom at this point and i just wish i could go a day without seeing it at all god bless