Disappointed in seasonal events

A few lines of dialogue, walk x feet, a few lines of dialogue, return, a few lines of dialogue. Seasonal event complete.

I wouldn't even use the word 'lackluster', it's not strong enough. It's a shame because I have fond memories of making plans with friends to go check out the seasonal content, go play the mini games, check out the attire and decor.

It's a shame because I have other titles in my regular rotation that put honest effort into their events, and I'm not paying 15 a month to play those titles.

It's a shame because I remember how the events used to be with FFXIV, how much fun I used to have with them. Now I spend ten minutes to pick up whatever thing is coming with it, just to get it out of the way so I don't have to buy it off the mogstation next year. There's no enthusiasm. No joy. No delight. And since the dev team is putting in no effort, it's no wonder!

I think you guys need to take a serious look at what you're doing. Take a long, honest look at yourselves. Are you making content you'd actually enjoy playing? Because I'm not enjoying this aspect of it, and I haven't in quite some time.

no, the intern in charge is getting paid for it.

thats the level of effort SE is putting in usually

All of these seasonal events are like this. In fact, calling them events is a misnomer. They're more like... seasonal strolls, really.
The MSQ is like this now too. Walk around, talk to a few people with mediocre seasonal-event tier dialogue, unlock a little movie. Only with the msq, you repeat that process 30 times to unlock a dungeon! Whoa!

I put as much effort into reading them as they do making them.

That is to say I don't actually read them now.

When I checked out wow after the housing thing I was surprised over their "Love is in the air" seasonal event.

WOW:
1. Daily "dungeon", its just a dungeon queue but small boss kill (takes like 30 seconds) for rewards + potential new mount + potential harder to get mount
2. Event Currency (Account Bound so can run it on multiple characters and combine the reward with warband shared bank)
3. Vendor with both normal and limited cute related items purchasable with event currency.
4. Faire ground with its own daily quests.
5. A single multi-part quest with large currency reward.
6. Vendors with various gold purchasable themed items.

FF:
A 15 minute speak to multiple NPC quest with a emote reward.

I mean come-on SE.

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Originally Posted by NaoSen

When I checked out wow after the housing thing I was surprised over their "Love is in the air" seasonal event.

WOW:
1. Daily "dungeon", its just a dungeon queue but small boss kill (takes like 30 seconds) for rewards + potential new mount + potential harder to get mount
2. Event Currency (Account Bound so can run it on multiple characters and combine the reward with warband shared bank)
3. Vendor with both normal and limited cute related items purchasable with event currency.
4. Faire ground with its own daily quests.
5. A single multi-part quest with large currency reward.
6. Vendors with various gold purchasable themed items.

FF:
A 15 minute speak to multiple NPC quest with a emote reward.

I mean come-on SE.

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this is something people tellin in this forums for over a year now. WoW does great events every mobile gacha make evens which encourage you to well play the game.
somehow people accepted the lets do 1 event quest with speaking to a bunch of NPCs.
Reason is pretty much that everybody is able to do it. No work no task just click through it. Sadly actually. They have some events which i in fact think are cool like the FF colab events.
you have a nice quest with noctis who is rly woundering why we have stuff which they dont have in 15 and gets intrested. And in the end you make a nice questline with a open fate with other player ( yes shocking in a mmo )
and you get the regalia as a reward GREAT. Same with 16 you go with a nice little questline which makes clive more sympathetic then in his own game and end up in a singlescenario ( sad ) with clive fighting ifrit with clive GREAT

so they can do good events which can be fun and rewarding but 2 things speak against it.

1. its work why should they put in more work if a simple place 5 characters and give them text is enough
2. everybody littlerally everybody have to be able to do it. every lvl 15 charcter wo knows how to click the mouse button must be able to play the event.

People and me have a problem with events in this game for long now. Why wouldnt you do something else if its not a special dungeon make rewards dropped in dungeon as personal loot or currency like in bozja. Give us an NPC where you can buy event stuff maybe old mounts ( NOT FROM TRIALS looking at MOGRY TOMBSTONES ) give recolors from existing unique mounts or just glam maybe even stuff from the maps idk something what engage people to play it. Maybe even old as mog station glam im not even saying do this on every event but maybe on the big ones ? So yeah its sad to see them to take the idc i gave you something now leave me in peace way out.

Yeah, I used to complete the seasonal events as soon as they came around. Now, I can't be bothered. At least the emote is sort of cute.

The recent New Years and Valentine's events have been especially disappointing.

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Originally Posted by NaoSen

When I checked out wow after the housing thing I was surprised over their "Love is in the air" seasonal event.

WOW:
1. Daily "dungeon", its just a dungeon queue but small boss kill (takes like 30 seconds) for rewards + potential new mount + potential harder to get mount
2. Event Currency (Account Bound so can run it on multiple characters and combine the reward with warband shared bank)
3. Vendor with both normal and limited cute related items purchasable with event currency.
4. Faire ground with its own daily quests.
5. A single multi-part quest with large currency reward.
6. Vendors with various gold purchasable themed items.

FF:
A 15 minute speak to multiple NPC quest with a emote reward.

I mean come-on SE.

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In their aspiration to be a game for everyone, it has started to slip away from being an MMO (Because... ugghh... people will complain) and towards becoming a glorified visual novel.

One of the few reasons keeping me playing is the community, and if another community hooks me then that will signal my departure from this game. See how easy it is? Now imagine it happening to many people too.

It takes one game, one community, and the exodus will begin in mass, if it hasn't already.

And let's not forget a lot of old WoW holiday stuff, as well as older glams, mounts, pets, etc is available, free, from a vendor using currency you get simply for paying your sub.

Remember the Starlight chorus rhythym game from a few years ago ? Remember when they implemented the Hauuke Manor instance and let you run around in it as whatever NPC you wanted to look like? Remember when they created the Valentione's Day maze? Pepperidge Farms remembers. They're too lazy to even make themed FATEs for seasonal events anymore.

Why can't they reskin game mechanics with a holiday flavor? Why can't they mix it up and have NPCs from one "Season" appear in others? It would be cute and fun to have the Songbirds appear during the Valentione's Day event story, or the Hyur girl from the recent Little Ladies' Day events appear in the Starlight quests? Or have the Great Gourd pull a "Nightmare Before Christmas" during Starlight? SE, those ideas are free, you can have them.

The most they're willing to do now is maybe put the Scions in the event artwork (though they aren't actually involved in any way). Seasonal events used to be something cute and fun to look forward to, but now they're boring.

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Originally Posted by Auro_Seldaris

Remember the Starlight chorus rhythym game from a few years ago ? Remember when they implemented the Hauuke Manor instance and let you run around in it as whatever NPC you wanted to look like? Remember when they created the Valentione's Day maze? Pepperidge Farms remembers. They're too lazy to even make themed FATEs for seasonal events anymore.

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And to add to that: why can they not return each and every one of those event bits like they do with the summer event jump and run thing? It would cost them nothing to just recycle what they already have.
Funnily enough, they used to do that, then at some point just... stopped. And, to my knowledge, never gave a reasoning for it.

Honestly I don't think i care anymore after getting in trouble nearly every all hallows eve/Samhain I give up on them doing a decent job on holiday events they rather spend all the effort and time on stupid things like fall guys and other crossover bs

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Originally Posted by ovIm

And to add to that: why can they not return each and every one of those event bits like they do with the summer event jump and run thing? It would cost them nothing to just recycle what they already have.
Funnily enough, they used to do that, then at some point just... stopped. And, to my knowledge, never gave a reasoning for it.

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Yes, they did at least have the foresight to reuse things for a while, and then they just decided, "Nah, screw it." No, no reason was ever given as to why. Maybe cause players would expect to run the old even instances to get previous rewards, and why do that when they could just be cash shop items?

I think the stories we get are cute but they definitely could do with having actual gameplay associated with it beyond walking and talking
As mentioned prior they could recycle past events like the maze for valentione's for instance

They could also try to create fates that take place in the city something like the fetes in the firmament to celebrate the occasion

Seasonal Events have become a vehicle to soft release emotes that will be on the money shop in a year. Do the event, get the reward. There is no joy in the actual event, only the reward and knowing you won't have to pay $5.00 USD for each character you want it on in a year's time.

I only do seasonal events now so that I'm not forced to pay for something that SE used to give for free (old event rewards).

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When I checked out wow after the housing thing I was surprised over their "Love is in the air" seasonal event.

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On the other hand, when was the last time WoW actually added anything new to a seasonal event? Yes, they have the mini-dungeon thing with a low-% mount drop...and it's the same exact dungeon with the same exact "story" year after year. Once you get the items from any of their "seasonal" events, there will rarely (if ever) actually be anything new to ever bring you back. Same with the monthly Faire. They did a redesign on it many years ago...and haven't touched it since. Once you get the rewards you want, there's nothing pulling you back (it's honestly the equivalent of FFXIV's Gold Saucer, except the GS is available 24/7 while the Faire is only 1 week a month).

Personally, I loved how much went into the art direction for the last Starlight event. The snowmen proposing in Ul'dah, getting into snowball fights in Gridania, the various characters from past years showing up in the new area, etc.. And even if it's just a 2-quest story, there's always a new story and usually something new to purchase every year in FFXIV.

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Originally Posted by Striker44

On the other hand, when was the last time WoW actually added anything new to a seasonal event? Yes, they have the mini-dungeon thing with a low-% mount drop...and it's the same exact dungeon with the same exact "story" year after year. Once you get the items from any of their "seasonal" events, there will rarely (if ever) actually be anything new to ever bring you back. Same with the monthly Faire. They did a redesign on it many years ago...and haven't touched it since. Once you get the rewards you want, there's nothing pulling you back (it's honestly the equivalent of FFXIV's Gold Saucer, except the GS is available 24/7 while the Faire is only 1 week a month).

Personally, I loved how much went into the art direction for the last Starlight event. The snowmen proposing in Ul'dah, getting into snowball fights in Gridania, the various characters from past years showing up in the new area, etc.. And even if it's just a 2-quest story, there's always a new story and usually something new to purchase every year in FFXIV.

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I would rather something I actively engage with that remains mostly similar each year than something completely unengaging and lazy.

It's also a much better experience for new players.

Last time they made an event that was a "choice" (the V Day event that you could pick who of the three was going to be the next head of the event), every server ended up with the girl because she was the first option. Though that really isn't an excuse why they can't just plop the maze in every year for people to do, or have those fortune tellers up.
I did like the last Starlight event, I thought the area was well made. Though I wish there was a bit more to do with the quest. The New Year's one though was completely pointless, literally just "talk to people, get minion".

Would it be cool if events were more interesting? sure I suppose.

Is it something I deeply care about, nah not really I just rather they focus on content that will actually last long.

A few years back, they had that 4-player dungeon(?) during the Halloween event that was pretty cool. And I appreciated that Valentione's instance where you had that tether to the other player. That is sort of the level of effort I've been looking for. More often than not, they strike out.

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Originally Posted by Rithy255

Would it be cool if events were more interesting? sure I suppose.

Is it something I deeply care about, nah not really I just rather they focus on content that will actually last long.

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what content

it's been months and we have absolutely nothing to show for it

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Originally Posted by Collin_Sky

what content

it's been months and we have absolutely nothing to show for it

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The content that they are currently making that will hopefully last long.

I didn't say theirs much to do currently, I just rather they actually focus on getting that out, rather then events that last 2 weeks and go.

Yep, there is 0 effort in the events other than a lackluster story I just skip through because I'm tired of it all. I wish the devs would play other games and steal their holiday event ideas because I am so done with quests.

I wish they would at least bring back the mini events and allow us to use the currency to buy previous year furnishings, pretty much make them similar to the Moogle Tome events so there is a level of grinding to do for players that were not around or missed out on events from prior years.

Literally just let me play a silly little minigame for farm a silly little FATE for some tokens. I am so desperate for any shred of actual gameplay, I will take anything at this point.

Make me shove boxes around like its 1997 again.
Give me a pile of colors and shapes to match with other colors and shapes.
Let me run around and get lost in a maze.
Make more jumping puzzles, I love those stupid things even though they drive me insane.

literally just let me INTERACT WITH SOMETHING IN THE GAME, PLEASE!

Why am I over here playing Infinity Nikki and feeling like I'm actually being challenged to occasionally use my brain by playing incredibly simple mini-games like tangrams and hidden pictures and "guide the ball to the goal" simple stuff? Why does a free-to-play dress-up game still feel like it's asking more of me as a gamer than FFXIV?? Didn't the Final Fantasy franchise used to be known for all their fun little minigames they had? FFS I just want to DO SOMETHING!

I’m always torn on this subject. On the one hand, I agree—seasonal events in FFXIV have always been pretty stale, and honestly, that feels intentional. They’re designed to be easy for new players to pick up, even in a game with years of ongoing story. But that’s also part of the problem: these events are so attached to the same recurring NPCs that the holidays can’t exist in Eorzea without them. There’s no real evolution, no sense that the world is celebrating—just the same few faces going through the motions year after year. Even the decorations within the cities are becoming fewer and smaller.

That said, I do the events on multiple alts, and if I’m honest, I skip the cutscenes anyway. They don’t add anything meaningful to the overall story, not even as solid side content. They’re FFXIV’s version of a beach episode—fluff with no lasting impact. And when events do involve FATEs or dungeons, I dread having to do them out for 3–4 different characters. Either that or I must wait a year and pay $15 per character to skip the hassle. It’s frustrating.

I wish there were a way to make these events more engaging without turning them into a chore when playing multiple characters. I get annoyed when we get the eventual unskippable cutscene because it's some interaction scene, and I'm going through that 3-4 times.

Don't let this stop the defenders from saying the usual lines of:

"It is what it is, its always been like this, its apart of the package and ensures consistent quality for the customers"

"If they started doing more, they would have to delete one dungeon from the 6 month-wait patch cycle, because it would be too much work."

"People have 10 kids and 50 jobs to juggle, nobody has time for minigames or questlines, people only have 30 minutes of gametime per week and they need to ration it properly."

"The engine would implode if they tried to switch up the glorious questgaming experience of talking to an npc and watching a cutscene"

I'm starting to believe the theory that one streamer had, that this game actually was NEVER supposed to go this long and they have somehow kept it just trucking on in life support and thats why they are taking ages for QoL or updating simple things like their FRIENDS LIST.
They are "attacking us" their words not mine, with multiple games when they should be focusing on futureproofing their golden goose instead. HELLOOO? Viera and Hrotgar hats? Hellooooooo? Respectable company? Helloooo. UNFINISHED JOB. Hellooo?


- 8.0 is the limit, until that I'll be buzzing here like an annoying fly, keeping a hold of my medium house. Sharing how SE is trying to sell people on this being an MMO when it isn't even close to it's competition in anything aside from aesthetics until they start majorly looking at their systems, QoL and respecting the time and money of their players.

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Originally Posted by NaoSen

When I checked out wow after the housing thing I was surprised over their "Love is in the air" seasonal event.

WOW:
1. Daily "dungeon", its just a dungeon queue but small boss kill (takes like 30 seconds) for rewards + potential new mount + potential harder to get mount
2. Event Currency (Account Bound so can run it on multiple characters and combine the reward with warband shared bank)
3. Vendor with both normal and limited cute related items purchasable with event currency.
4. Faire ground with its own daily quests.
5. A single multi-part quest with large currency reward.
6. Vendors with various gold purchasable themed items.

FF:
A 15 minute speak to multiple NPC quest with a emote reward.

I mean come-on SE.

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I will just pitch in - The 'kill boss for a potential mount or pet reward' is still very bogus thing to have.
Even when they changed of getting certain items is higher with the first attempt of the day, account wide, it still is not a 100% chance for you to get the pieces you want from there.

And might still end up coming empty-handed from all of those runs.