What does FFXIV lack?

For it the game lacks alot of things but i will just put 2

FFXIV lacks..
1. A open world content. Theres zero reasons to explore

2. FFXIV's lack of evolution. They have a formula and their sticking to it. Which is sad

1. First person shooter mode
2. Adult-only areas
3. Gacha banners

1. A reasonable budget to develop and finish basic features, apparently?

1. Quality of Life
2. Social reliance (as in you can solo everything or do it with others but without talking). This makes everything the same every time, increasing complaints of "no content".
3. Mechanical creativity (with the example of how every Field Operation is mostly the same mechanically, Cosmic is mostly the same as Firmament mechanically)
4. Medium difficulty. Example is how Pilgrim's Traverse 51-100 is what dungeons should have been, where everyone nervously feels like they could wipe at any moment.
5. Difficulty modes for jobs, dungeons, etc.
6. Faux Hollows for Savage tiers which they have even said they could do but never actually do. It gets conveniently forgotten.

something that gives incentive to play during content draught, copy pasting WoW's mythic+ system could solve that

More casual to midcore content. I think this is the first expansion while i've just....didnt care to really stick to playing. I'\nM still online, I'm still subscribed, but I'm not running anymore.I'm just kind of hanging out till next xpac

It's lacking all the shards crashing into one and the game being re-reborn.

I really wish the Ascians succeeded.

- Repeatable content with rewards worth the time investment (Criterion tried and failed big time)
- Modernized basic features like Friends list
- Proper Tab targeting
- Modern Macro system


Plenty of other things but it's early and I need coffee.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UNDEAD10000

- Actual normal difficulty group content when there is only easy, hard and very hard group content.

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I think Normal raids do a good job of being the "normal mode content"


Dungeons are the very easy content.

Normal Raids, Alliance Raids, Chaotic Raids and Extreme Trials are the "normal content"

Savage and Criterion are the "hard" content.

Ultimate's the "very hard" content.

For me job design is what it lacks, they got good raids terrible job design.

which hurts casual content such as dungeons as it lacks the good raid design ect.

This is an MMO. The social experience is supposed to be a core part of it. Right now, most activities can be done without any real interaction with others, or even without being in a FC. You can solo almost everything, and even Savage can be cleared through Party Finder without any long-term social ties.

I really believe the Free Company system needs a major overhaul. It should allow members from different Worlds and even different Data Centers. FC buffs could be made more meaningful. Casual and midcore players should be encouraged to group up more often instead of being able to experience everything in isolation. Aside from submersibles, FC systems haven’t really evolved since Heavensward. It feels abandoned, as if guilds are no longer an important pillar of the game.

Other issues:

- The open world feels empty. There’s little sense of exploration or danger. Monsters are neatly grouped in small packs in their designated areas, and traveling never feels risky. Compare that to older MMOs where exploring could lead to hidden caves, underground areas, or unexpected threats. There’s very little of that here.

- Older cities (ARR/HW) are still divided into multiple zones because of past PS3 limitations. That hardware era is long gone. It would be great to see unified city maps that feel more alive and seamless.

- Jobs lack customization. We used to have cross-class skills (even if imperfect) and the ability to allocate stats manually. FFXIV has no real skill trees or meaningful job variation. Materia gives the illusion of choice, but stat caps limit that freedom heavily.

- Jobs also lack identity compared to earlier expansions. Many roles now feel mechanically similar, especially in how they approach damage rotations and mitigation.

- Healers should feel necessary again. If a bad healer causes a wipe in a dungeon, that’s normal in an MMO. Tanks shouldn’t be able to solo everything “just in case.” Group content should require cooperation.

- Mitigation is good design, but the need for healing should feel impactful. Dungeons, trials, and raids should reinforce the idea that “I can’t do this alone.” Every role should matter. Right now, tanks feel overly focused on DPS, and healers often feel underutilized.

- Side quests need better writing. After saving the universe, being asked to trim an alpaca’s fur feels disconnected and trivial.