2019 Patch 4.5 Release Schedule FEEDBACK

[Adrestia]

The concept of bite-sized content releases has impacts beyond just “how soon will it be available and/or consumed?” These micro-patches are enjoyed by some people because they bring some order and structure to the patch cycles and make sure you’re not overwhelmed by too much at once. I take the alternate view and just replace “overwhelmed” with “immersed.”

In terms of the player experience, I’ve always been fond of the classic EverQuest model, which I think was perfect at the time Shadows of Luclin launched. This expansion gave you an entire celestial body (the moon Luclin) to explore at your own pace and in your own way. Yes, it was entirely possible that early on you would go down a route that didn’t have the “best loot” or “best XP” or whatever. You might wander into monsters that were too hard for you or through an area that had environmental effects you weren’t prepared for. You probably even died by taking a wrong turn. But in all of that, you were *exploring*. How did you know you found a raid zone? The monsters tore your face off and you knew to bring friends next time.

Contrast that with “A new 8-person raid for level 70 characters has been located at (X,Y) in ZoneName” in the patch notes.

From a utilitarian point of view where time spent wandering is wasted and deaths are frustrating annoyances, the FFXIV route has more appeal. For a Bartle Explorer-Type player, funneling the players down a narrow hallway (haha unintentional FF13 joke) of content just means we’re being deprived of a huge chunk of what makes a virtual world exciting.

[Tramontane]

One way gives individuals the option of what they want to do first and the pace at which they want to do it. The other takes that freedom away by throttling options in a way that is nannying and patronizing (go at this speed and not that one; this is what you should do, not that).

It's both amusing and sad to see so many people twisting themselves into logical knots as they try to argue that less options for players is a better system for everyone, typically because such a system conforms to their own personal preferences. It demonstrates a lack of empathy and a paucity of analytical thinking.

[Dualgunner]

I love having the choices of what content to tackle first and how fast I get to take them on taken away from me. What's the point of a giant numbered patch anymore? They're not exciting anymore because everything they could bring is instead staggered across the minor patches afterward.

[Daniolaut]

I support this.

Only time content should be held back is with raids.

You don’t have to do the 4.0 story to do BLU so why in earth are they holding back BLU for story??? Makes absolutely 0 sense.

If it’s for dungeons... ugh. Who “wants” to do Satasha version 2.999999738373883 anyway? Literally the exact same thing every dungeon.

Some of us were actually excited and impatient for BLU now we have to wait even longer.

[Daniolaut]

I support this.

Only time content should be held back is with raids.

You don’t have to do the 4.0 story to do BLU so why in earth are they holding back BLU for story??? Makes absolutely 0 sense.

If it’s for dungeons... ugh. Who “wants” to do Satasha version 2.999999738373883 anyway? Literally the exact same thing every dungeon.

Some of us were actually excited and impatient for BLU now we have to wait even longer.

What’s worse is they *** didnt*** even stagger the last two savage raids!!!!!

Makes no sense!!

[KaivaC]

What’s worse is they *** didnt*** even stagger the last two savage raids!!!!!

Makes no sense!!

Wasn't the original reasoning behind the first Savage raid being held back being that the devs wanted to give players some time to get through the entirety of the 4.0 MSQ without feeling like they needed to rush, whereas from 4.2 onwards, only had 8-9 story quests for players already at level 70?

[WellFooled]

Wasn't the original reasoning behind the first Savage raid being held back being that the devs wanted to give players some time to get through the entirety of the 4.0 MSQ without feeling like they needed to rush, whereas from 4.2 onwards, only had 8-9 story quests for players already at level 70?

And that is fair reasoning. I don't raid myself anymore, but I would hate to be rushed to the level cap because of raiding. Leveling in a new expansion is the single best part of any MMO. So many new things, so much mystery. That gets lost really quick after the level cap is reached. I try to make that leveling last me awhile.

[Nalien]

Yes please... I really quite sick of getting to patch day, realising none of the stuff that I want to actively do is here yet, finishing what is there in a couple of days, then just going back to the usual cycle while I wait weeks/months for the content I actually want to do to finally be released... Major patches just aren't exciting for me anymore, because the meat of them is almost always staggered for later release... All this fanfare for a couple of new instances I'll do once a week while waiting for the real content to get added, fun...

Heck, an alternative could be to include more adjustments to other content in the major patches... The additions to Lost Canals was welcome, for example, as are the additions to Gold Saucer... Similar adjustments of that level, to things like Eureka or Deep Dungeons would be great. Right now, if we get anything, it's relatively minor background adjustments... If with major patches you were adding new mechanics and new rewards to content like that? That's a reason to be excited for such content again. The adjustments to Eureka have actually been kind of pathetic in that regard... I get the idea behind letting us buy Pazuzu feathers, but... Those NMs were some of the only interesting ones... Giving people an excuse to never pop them again just makes Eureka worse, not better...

[CorbinDallas]

What’s worse is they *** didnt*** even stagger the last two savage raids!!!!!

Makes no sense!!

Why did you quote yourself

[Nora_of_Mira]

I dont want to wait another week because I, as well as you, have paid for this content to be released in a timely consistent manner.

that's not really what our sub is paying for. SE will release content at w/e interval they want regardless of our subs. Our subs are only paying for ACCESS to FFxiv's servers, we don't "own" FFxiv like we do a standalone game (and most companies will fight that you still dont own a game even though you bought it).