Subscription Cost Vs. Content Drops

As you are probably aware, the amount of time required per patch appears to be increasing.

Patch 7.1 launched November 11, 2024
Patch 7.2 will launch somewhere in March, 2025

That's 4 months, possibly closer to 5 if it launches end of March or beginning of April.

Cost monthly is $13. Four months of waiting for new content = $52 per patch. If it released in April 2025, it'd be $65 per patch. If you have the standard payment to have more than one character, increase all these costs to $15. For sake of most of us, I'm maintaining these calculations at $13.

In a 3-month period, the cost used to be $36.

Now let's say that you argue that the 7.1X patches were content enough. Maybe you played Cloud of Darkness Chaotic and got both mounts. Okay, so the cost of that dividing into 2 months is $26 for that content alone.

If you're a casual player, you're hurting even more. Normal raids can be cleared in one sitting, meaning that the content is completed in 40 minutes or less.

So the question posed:
Is it worth it to you?

I won't even get into the cash shop items, though I think anyone here can have a hayday of the subscription versus cash shop (and the value of time vs. money)

The subscription isn't paying for content. It's paying for your ability to play it online at all and the basic upkeep of the game.

What pays for content is buying the expansion pack, which is the whole reason the patch content is included in the advertisements for the expansion pack.

If you pay the subscription but do not buy the expansion pack, you actually cannot play much if any of the patch content.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

As you are probably aware, the amount of time required per patch appears to be increasing.

---

It has not increased since they announced it was increasing. It's been about 19-20 weeks for quite a long time now.

It's a personal decision. I'm still attached to the game so I'm fine paying, but I am completely aware my subscription spend is worth less now than it was before they expanded the release cycle.

I had similar arguments with people on the ESO forums who wanted to tell me them cutting content in half, and now not doing annual Chapters at all, is a great thing. Instead it really is just paying the same for less and less.

The feeling of drought feels immense, as even the most casual of us can get through content in a month at most from the patches. Month 2 I can still treadmill some gear upgrades, but by month 3 I'm just logging in to keep my house which doesn't feel great. Anything over 3 months I start to feel resentment, and Moogle events don't make up for it.

Again this criticism comes as a supporter of XIV - I'd rather tell them how I feel about this than pretend everything is fine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

The subscription isn't paying for content. It's paying for your ability to play it online at all and the basic upkeep of the game.

What pays for content is buying the expansion pack, which is the whole reason the patch content is included in the advertisements for the expansion pack.

If you pay the subscription but do not buy the expansion pack, you actually cannot play much if any of the patch content.

It has not increased since they announced it was increasing. It's been about 19-20 weeks for quite a long time now.

---

Quote:

---

basic upkeep of the game

---

The one in which we get DDOS'd on the daily pretty much for the past months ? Because SE doesnt say we're getting DDOS'd doesnt mean we are not, a website such as ARRStatus shows we are getting DDOS'd close to constantly every single day. Nice "basic upkeep of the game" surely that money is used towards the game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clockworks

The one in which we get DDOS'd on the daily pretty much for the past months ?

---

They do need to solve that. But it's not entirely their fault, since they are being attacked. I do wish they would at least acknowledge it and reveal a plan to deal with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

The subscription isn't paying for content. It's paying for your ability to play it online at all and the basic upkeep of the game.

What pays for content is buying the expansion pack, which is the whole reason the patch content is included in the advertisements for the expansion pack.

If you pay the subscription but do not buy the expansion pack, you actually cannot play much if any of the patch content.

It has not increased since they announced it was increasing. It's been about 19-20 weeks for quite a long time now.

---

You don't have access to every piece of content as soon as an expansion releases.

People pay their subs expecting new, enjoyable content. The game's content is straight up designed to keep people subbed with its lockouts, so saying people are only paying for servers rather than content is a big no.

Uh... but the time between patches isn't increasing. It's been 4.5 months for a bit now. At least since EW. I think they made the time between patches longer officially then, but even during ShB it was about that length. Not to mention, if you really want a comparison technically 13.00 today isn't worth the same amount as 13.00 dollars back when the patches were 3.5 months apart courtesy of the wonderful world of inflation. Honestly, I'm beyond stoked that MMO subs have remained the same despite inflation which has technically made them consistently cheaper year after year.

That said, is it worth it? Yeah. Yeah it is. Granted YMMV, but for me it is more than worth it. I get my gaming needs met on top of being a RPer and the game being essentially the best RP friendly MMO currently on the market. WoW could have a chance soon with housing... though not having dyable gear makes that unlikely and let's be honest... for all the crap one could give SE about their story telling and respecting their lore they are 1000000000x better at it than Blizzard has ever really been.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vrankyl

...for all the crap one could give SE about their story telling and respecting their lore they are 1000000000x better at it than Blizzard has ever really been.

---

I'd agree with you if we were still playing Endwalker, but I'd venture to say the WoW storytelling is significantly better than Dawntrail.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

So the question posed:
Is it worth it to you?

---

Yes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

I do wish they would at least acknowledge it and reveal a plan to deal with it.

---

There's really nothing they can do besides jump on it when it happens. Even if they somehow blocked every botnet in existence the attackers could just go up the chain and DDoS an overarching service like their ISP.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vrankyl

Uh... but the time between patches isn't increasing. It's been 4.5 months for a bit now. At least since EW. I think they made the time between patches longer officially then, but even during ShB it was about that length. Not to mention, if you really want a comparison technically 13.00 today isn't worth the same amount as 13.00 dollars back when the patches were 3.5 months apart courtesy of the wonderful world of inflation. Honestly, I'm beyond stoked that MMO subs have remained the same despite inflation which has technically made them consistently cheaper year after year.

That said, is it worth it? Yeah. Yeah it is. Granted YMMV, but for me it is more than worth it. I get my gaming needs met on top of being a RPer and the game being essentially the best RP friendly MMO currently on the market. WoW could have a chance soon with housing... though not having dyable gear makes that unlikely and let's be honest... for all the crap one could give SE about their story telling and respecting their lore they are 1000000000x better at it than Blizzard has ever really been.

---

Every single time Blizzard and WoW are always brought up, it's literally always the same thing, you people only have Blizzard and WoW in your mouth when criticism is said about FFXIV, please get new material, it's seriously tiresome.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vrankyl

Uh... but the time between patches isn't increasing. It's been 4.5 months for a bit now. At least since EW. I think they made the time between patches longer officially then, but even during ShB it was about that length.

---

This is wrong. 7.0 to 7.1 took longer than 6.0 to 6.1. Every expansion has been increasing the time between patches.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brinn12

This is wrong. 7.0 to 7.1 took longer than 6.0 to 6.1. Every expansion has been increasing the time between patches.

---

3.0-3.1: 20 weeks
4.0-4.1: 16 weeks
5.0-5.1: 17 weeks
6.0-6.1: 18 weeks
7.0-7.1: 19 weeks

Overall it's the norm for what it has been through Endwalker, which is about 19-20 weeks. The only exception is really the timeframe between the last patch and the expansion, which between ShB-EW was 8 months and EW-DT was also about that much, up from the 5 months it used to be.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

3.0-3.1: 20 weeks
4.0-4.1: 16 weeks
5.0-5.1: 17 weeks
6.0-6.1: 18 weeks
7.0-7.1: 19 weeks

Overall it's the norm for what it has been through Endwalker, which is about 19-20 weeks. The only exception is really the timeframe between the last patch and the expansion, which between ShB-EW was 8 months and EW-DT was also about that much, up from the 5 months it used to be.

---

But he is still right, it increases with every expansion and next expansion it will go up to 20, the one after its 21, watch it happen

Why do some people hate getting service for their money

Can we get PvE job adjustments more frequently though

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

3.0-3.1: 20 weeks
4.0-4.1: 16 weeks
5.0-5.1: 17 weeks
6.0-6.1: 18 weeks
7.0-7.1: 19 weeks

Overall it's the norm for what it has been through Endwalker, which is about 19-20 weeks. The only exception is really the timeframe between the last patch and the expansion, which between ShB-EW was 8 months and EW-DT was also about that much, up from the 5 months it used to be.

---

They apologized, hard, for the 3.0-3.1 debacle. I think they learned from their mistakes and realized they need to slowly cook the frog alive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

3.0-3.1: 20 weeks
4.0-4.1: 16 weeks
5.0-5.1: 17 weeks
6.0-6.1: 18 weeks
7.0-7.1: 19 weeks

Overall it's the norm for what it has been through Endwalker, which is about 19-20 weeks. The only exception is really the timeframe between the last patch and the expansion, which between ShB-EW was 8 months and EW-DT was also about that much, up from the 5 months it used to be.

---

Do you have this same info for the .1 to .2 patches?

I see 7.1 was 11/12/2024, so we are at 15 and a half weeks so far. It's already feeling like a stretch...I probably log in only twice a week for less than an hour at this point.

If the cost of subscription vs perceived value is a concern, you can always pause/cancel your sub during the slow parts and re-sub when there's something new.

If you have a house and don't wanna lose it, as far as I recall the auto-demo has been paused due to the recent fires so now would actually be a good time to do that, and when the auto-demo is reinstated later on you still have 45 days, so that means you could at the very least be subbing every other month and avoiding several months of subs that way.
It's a way of voting with your wallet while not completely quitting the game... if everyone subs only half the months in a year vs the full year, they'd definitely feel that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

Is it worth it to you?

---

Final Fantasy XIV is the best 3D modeling and virtual screenshot program on the market. For just $13/month, you get a whole suite of modeling tools that far exceeds what Second Life can give you with its proprietary shop. There are tens of thousands of outfits and poses available for free. The only thing it's missing is virtual worlds, but FFXIV housing gives you most of that anyway. Second Life is not user friendly, and even though the game itself is free, the items are not. For many people, there is no good replacement for FFXIV when it comes to modeling, posing and making adult material.

I do not play the "gameplay" aspect, because as Jeeqbit said, you are not paying for the content. You ONLY pay for online access, which means the ability to make user-generated content. That is the core of what FFXIV is in 2025. And most of us like this. We do not like WoW, where you are forced to pay for gameplay.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato

Final Fantasy XIV is the best 3D modeling and virtual screenshot program on the market. For just $13/month, you get a whole suite of modeling tools that far exceeds what Second Life can give you with its proprietary shop. There are tens of thousands of outfits and poses available for free. The only thing it's missing is virtual worlds, but FFXIV housing gives you most of that anyway. Second Life is not user friendly, and even though the game itself is free, the items are not. For many people, there is no good replacement for FFXIV when it comes to modeling, posing and making adult material.

I do not play the "gameplay" aspect, because as Jeeqbit said, you are not paying for the content. You ONLY pay for online access, which means the ability to make user-generated content. That is the core of what FFXIV is in 2025. And most of us like this. We do not like WoW, where you are forced to pay for gameplay.

---

WoW isn't that much better. Their gameplay is also stale and their graphics is ugly as hell. The entire MMO genre is a joke. People should just realize that they don't need a "virtual social hub" in 2025 when everyone has Discord and go play other games.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZephyrMenodora

Do you have this same info for the .1 to .2 patches?

I see 7.1 was 11/12/2024, so we are at 15 and a half weeks so far.

---

The 28th March would be 19 weeks then. And we know 7.2 is coming late March. So it will be the usual 19 weeks.

6.0-6.1: 18 weeks
6.1-6.2: 19 weeks
6.2-6.3: 20 weeks
6.3-6.4: 19 weeks
6.4-6.5: 20 weeks
6.5-7.0: 39 weeks
7.0-7.1: 19 weeks
7.1-7.2: 19 weeks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

3.0-3.1: 20 weeks
4.0-4.1: 16 weeks
5.0-5.1: 17 weeks
6.0-6.1: 18 weeks
7.0-7.1: 19 weeks

Overall it's the norm for what it has been through Endwalker, which is about 19-20 weeks. The only exception is really the timeframe between the last patch and the expansion, which between ShB-EW was 8 months and EW-DT was also about that much, up from the 5 months it used to be.

---

The extra time has obviously paid off. Look at all the extra content people are enjoying. We now have Moogle Tomes every patch, which were used to fill in content droughts. More subs=More money=More stuff on the Mogstation=Mote time between patches=Profit. What a joke.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZephyrMenodora

Do you have this same info for the .1 to .2 patches?

I see 7.1 was 11/12/2024, so we are at 15 and a half weeks so far. It's already feeling like a stretch...I probably log in only twice a week for less than an hour at this point.

---

Final Fantasy XIV Major Patch Release Intervals
2.0 → 2.1: 16 weeks
2.1 → 2.2: 15 weeks
2.2 → 2.3: 15 weeks
2.3 → 2.4: 16 weeks
2.4 → 2.5: 12 weeks
2.5 → 3.0: 22 weeks
3.0 → 3.1: 20 weeks
3.1 → 3.2: 15 weeks
3.2 → 3.3: 15 weeks
3.3 → 3.4: 16 weeks
3.4 → 3.5: 16 weeks
3.5 → 4.0: 21 weeks
4.0 → 4.1: 17 weeks
4.1 → 4.2: 16 weeks
4.2 → 4.3: 16 weeks
4.3 → 4.4: 17 weeks
4.4 → 4.5: 16 weeks
4.5 → 5.0: 24 weeks
5.0 → 5.1: 17 weeks
5.1 → 5.2: 16 weeks
5.2 → 5.3: 26 weeks
5.3 → 5.4: 16 weeks
5.4 → 5.5: 18 weeks
5.5 → 6.0: 34 weeks
6.0 → 6.1: 18 weeks
6.1 → 6.2: 19 weeks
6.2 → 6.3: 20 weeks
6.3 → 6.4: 19 weeks
6.4 → 6.5: 20 weeks

With some help from the AI (not doing all that Maths), but you'll see the dates coincide with Jeeqbit's, so I guess it's not that wrong.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ranhansha

Final Fantasy XIV Major Patch Release Intervals
2.0 → 2.1: 16 weeks
2.1 → 2.2: 15 weeks
2.2 → 2.3: 15 weeks
2.3 → 2.4: 16 weeks
2.4 → 2.5: 12 weeks
2.5 → 3.0: 22 weeks
3.0 → 3.1: 20 weeks
3.1 → 3.2: 15 weeks
3.2 → 3.3: 15 weeks
3.3 → 3.4: 16 weeks
3.4 → 3.5: 16 weeks
3.5 → 4.0: 21 weeks
4.0 → 4.1: 17 weeks
4.1 → 4.2: 16 weeks
4.2 → 4.3: 16 weeks
4.3 → 4.4: 17 weeks
4.4 → 4.5: 16 weeks
4.5 → 5.0: 24 weeks
5.0 → 5.1: 17 weeks
5.1 → 5.2: 16 weeks
5.2 → 5.3: 26 weeks
5.3 → 5.4: 16 weeks
5.4 → 5.5: 18 weeks
5.5 → 6.0: 34 weeks
6.0 → 6.1: 18 weeks
6.1 → 6.2: 19 weeks
6.2 → 6.3: 20 weeks
6.3 → 6.4: 19 weeks
6.4 → 6.5: 20 weeks

With some help from the AI (not doing all that Maths), but you'll see the dates coincide with Jeeqbit's, so I guess it's not that wrong.

---

Thanks. Looks like they managed to trend uo to 4 extra weeks on average. It’s significant.

15-16 in ARR and HW
16-17 in SB and ShB
19-20 by EW
19 so far in DT.

If they announced the extra week in SB I didn't see it. But they did announce the EW change by saying it would be 2 extra weeks + holidays. I suppose 19 is 2 extra weeks beyond 17.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

15-16 in ARR and HW
16-17 in SB and ShB
19-20 by EW
19 so far in DT.

If they announced the extra week in SB I didn't see it. But they did announce the EW change by saying it would be 2 extra weeks + holidays. I suppose 19 is 2 extra weeks beyond 17.

---

They also nearly doubled the time between .5 and the new expansions. It’s a whole lot of extra nothing when you add it all up. Tons of money for consistent subscribers.

Yeah the increase of 4 weeks on average is bad but the real killer is the fact that the x.5->x.0 is now basically approaching 3/4 of a year when x.5 is rather even the most content dense patch anyway

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ranhansha

Final Fantasy XIV Major Patch Release Intervals
2.0 → 2.1: 16 weeks
2.1 → 2.2: 15 weeks
2.2 → 2.3: 15 weeks
2.3 → 2.4: 16 weeks
2.4 → 2.5: 12 weeks
2.5 → 3.0: 22 weeks
3.0 → 3.1: 20 weeks
3.1 → 3.2: 15 weeks
3.2 → 3.3: 15 weeks
3.3 → 3.4: 16 weeks
3.4 → 3.5: 16 weeks
3.5 → 4.0: 21 weeks
4.0 → 4.1: 17 weeks
4.1 → 4.2: 16 weeks
4.2 → 4.3: 16 weeks
4.3 → 4.4: 17 weeks
4.4 → 4.5: 16 weeks
4.5 → 5.0: 24 weeks
5.0 → 5.1: 17 weeks
5.1 → 5.2: 16 weeks
5.2 → 5.3: 26 weeks
5.3 → 5.4: 16 weeks
5.4 → 5.5: 18 weeks
5.5 → 6.0: 34 weeks
6.0 → 6.1: 18 weeks
6.1 → 6.2: 19 weeks
6.2 → 6.3: 20 weeks
6.3 → 6.4: 19 weeks
6.4 → 6.5: 20 weeks

With some help from the AI (not doing all that Maths), but you'll see the dates coincide with Jeeqbit's, so I guess it's not that wrong.

---

Well I must say a clever way of using AI for once. Good use of data.



Denoting the thread discussion I unfortunately have to bring up WoW again (especially since I'm from there) and on WoW the content release is 8-12 weeks between patches whether major or minor. This coincides with the new season and consequently new gear for mythics and raids. Waiting 20 weeks for a tier (and not even always for every patch, because from 7.0 -> 7.1 there is no additional raid tier), 1 trial and 1 dungeon I don't know if it's exactly a value that can be compared to other games, because for me the value of the expense is not reflected in the content. People have made a point of denoting the RP side but it's not in-game content, it's content you create yourself and you can do it even with a piece of paper (but we both know we're talking about ERP and therefore third party use)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Videatur

Denoting the thread discussion I unfortunately have to bring up WoW again (especially since I'm from there) and on WoW the content release is 8-12 weeks between patches whether major or minor. This coincides with the new season and consequently new gear for mythics and raids. Waiting 20 weeks for a tier (and not even always for every patch, because from 7.0 -> 7.1 there is no additional raid tier), 1 trial and 1 dungeon I don't know if it's exactly a value that can be compared to other games, because for me the value of the expense is not reflected in the content. People have made a point of denoting the RP side but it's not in-game content, it's content you create yourself and you can do it even with a piece of paper (but we both know we're talking about ERP and therefore third party use)

---

All I know about WoW is they bought out a company with 100 game developers so that they could work on WoW, so that they could reduce their patch gaps from 9 months to be what it is now. My guess is they had to do this because they struggled to recruit (especially with what was going on at the time) and the people in that company were local.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

All I know about WoW is they bought out a company with 100 game developers so that they could work on WoW, so that they could reduce their patch gaps from 9 months to be what it is now. My guess is they had to do this because they struggled to recruit (especially with what was going on at the time) and the people in that company were local.

---

Blizzard's Team 2 has always been in charge of WoW, and the number varies depending on how many other internal Blizzard studios are put in charge of the game at that particular time. The patch release cadence was increased to 8 weeks from Dragonflight onwards to allow for a constant number of additions (which is why people pay for subscriptions) and with TWW has also led to 3 fixed seasons but which fill up over the course of the expansion with sub-patches to give story content, gear etc.

Making investments is an important part of maintaining a service, if you don't apply investments you just have a drop in overall quality and it's not good for the game itself. Blizzard experienced a drop in activity during Shadowlands due to both the quality of the expansion and the excessively long release of content, and has restructured the release cycle so that there are no longer any empty periods.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato

Final Fantasy XIV is the best 3D modeling and virtual screenshot program on the market. For just $13/month, you get a whole suite of modeling tools that far exceeds what Second Life can give you with its proprietary shop. There are tens of thousands of outfits and poses available for free. The only thing it's missing is virtual worlds, but FFXIV housing gives you most of that anyway. Second Life is not user friendly, and even though the game itself is free, the items are not. For many people, there is no good replacement for FFXIV when it comes to modeling, posing and making adult material.

---

Yeah mods do allow for FFXIV to be prime porn creation material tool, imagine how many would leave without them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

I'd agree with you if we were still playing Endwalker, but I'd venture to say the WoW storytelling is significantly better than Dawntrail.

---

As someone who plays both, no it is not. At best I'd put TWW on the same level as Dawntrail. Though Undermine is like super cringey as hell so far so that might not stay true. DF was about the same too. And then of course there was the "All a part of my master plan" Shadowlands, and for all the failings that DT has it will never be anywhere near as bad as Systemlan- I mean Shadowlands.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clockworks

Every single time Blizzard and WoW are always brought up, it's literally always the same thing, you people only have Blizzard and WoW in your mouth when criticism is said about FFXIV, please get new material, it's seriously tiresome.

---

Gee, it is almost like WoW is the biggest competition out there for MMOs which is an exceedingly stale market so when comparing cost worth it would be brought up. Strange how that works. Never once did I say FF14 was without its faults, believe me there is a lot that SE has done recently that I don't agree with and wish they would change. On the same token there is plenty they have gotten right. Regardless I was simply offering my take on why it is worth it to me versus the competition that is out there so perhaps the one with the problem is you since god forbid someone actually have a reason to still be playing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

So the question posed:
Is it worth it to you?

---

I like raiding (including going back to help friends clear raids I’ve already done) and mindlessly doing roulettes to relax at night so it’s worth it to me because I enjoy the game and I like playing it for so long. The only other games I’ve put many many of hours into have just been competitive games but imo those aren’t really comparable. I might unsub in 7.4 and 7.5 unless there’s something I want to do, or I want to prog an old Ultimate raid.

For those who don’t feel like being subbed all the time is worth it, I’m curious as to why you don’t spend a lot less time subscribed to the game. I’m not intending to act like you don’t have a right to be dissatisfied and voice your opinions, but it’s weird to me when someone says something like this:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

Four months of waiting for new content = $52 per patch. If it released in April 2025, it'd be $65 per patch

---

Because why are you subbed for four months if you there’s not content that you’ll enjoy for four months? Could just sub when you feel like you have enough things to do for a month, or at least reduce to subbing only every other month if you’re not willing to let go of your house.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato

Final Fantasy XIV is the best 3D modeling and virtual screenshot program on the market. For just $13/month, you get a whole suite of modeling tools that far exceeds what Second Life can give you with its proprietary shop. There are tens of thousands of outfits and poses available for free. The only thing it's missing is virtual worlds, but FFXIV housing gives you most of that anyway. Second Life is not user friendly, and even though the game itself is free, the items are not. For many people, there is no good replacement for FFXIV when it comes to modeling, posing and making adult material.

I do not play the "gameplay" aspect, because as Jeeqbit said, you are not paying for the content. You ONLY pay for online access, which means the ability to make user-generated content. That is the core of what FFXIV is in 2025. And most of us like this. We do not like WoW, where you are forced to pay for gameplay.

---

Except FFXIV is an MMORPG game, not a life simulator. Plus we have to pay full price each time a new expansion comes out.

It shouldn't be debatable to defend how slow the patches comes out. Money we paid for isn't used to go back into the game but instead of going to failed projects like Forsaken. Plus, Yoshi is focusing on other projects when they SE should assign a designated person solely for this game as well as hiring more people so we can get content faster.

No, not worth the sub.

- The sub can't be dismissed as upkeep or privilege to access, as there is a content bulk I've already paid for behind that door, which means I am (I hate saying this) fiscally entitled to that content having bought it as advertised. That means the sub becomes a fiscal addition of requirements that can be spread out however the seller sees fit to benefit themselves. This isn't a model we'd accept in any other market example.

- The value of the sub via content and prospect have both fallen off. The game has taken on bloat, alot of side-projects that all got dropped, and a ton of what is effectively dead content save for cult following or niche achievement chasing purposes. Those things are like air pockets in your steak, or more air in your bag of chips. More air means less chips. More dead content means less game.

- The housing system is outright predatory to the point that even Blizzard can make fun of it. That's bad, when Blizzard of all companies can make fun of you for predatory practices. It's a minor thing, housing, but damn. Caught those hands.

- Content drops feel like they are getting ratio'd by the mogstation. Mogstation is optional, but the very purpose of it 'Money goes to the game' is such a psychological mind-)#*$. 'Pay for our game, and if you like it, pay for our game in other ways and we might let them keep it this time.' Absolutely not.

- The game is over a decade old, and looks it. I personally like the graphics, but many will be disappointed by it. SE seems to know this and we are only seeing increasing graphical overload. Particle effects blinding you, cutscene nonsense, etc. The game absolutely cannot and will not keep up with competitors in the balance market either.


For me, if it weren't for close friends who still love FF14, I'd have left sooner.