This game is in desperate need of persistent progression content for main jobs...

[linay]

Because SE is a business.

And businesses like to maximize profits.

Why else do you think games try and cater to wider audiences? To get more people paying money.

If even a portion of your playerbase is only giving you 1/3 of the money they could be, why not simply address that and give them a reason to give you 3/3 of the money they could be?

Simply saying "Oh, enough people pay the full amount to keep us going" is not an effective business model.

I'll trust that SE knows what they want. So if the status quo works for them, that suits me just fine.

[Sheriyana]

Basically what you're saying is you're aware that there's a whole tier of content you haven't touched but you refuse to even consider it and would rather whine about having nothing to do. If you haven't cleared the savage tier then you really shouldn't be whining about having nothing to do.

Savage isn't for everyone, that's been said here many times too. Even if you do savage you have nothing to use that gear on like others have mentioned as well, you just sit in Limsa or wherever with your slightly higher stats, like it matters at all. There needs to be some lasting content that most people can do. Savage isn't that, even for the most hardcore, you clear it in a week and then there's nothing to do for the next 7 months. And yes, I realize most people won't clear it all in a week but raiding really won't keep you busy for long, even in a static you're limited by everyone else's schedules etc. There's nothing keeping the more casual players who play a lot, invested in the game. Capping tomes really doesn't count, with all the roulettes you're pretty much capped on reset day and have nothing to do for the rest of the week.

[StriderShinryu]

I do agree with this to some extent, but I don't really have any particular answers to offer. I'm at the point now where I've nearly 80'd all of the jobs I care to 80, with my mains firmly at 80 and in the process of gearing them as far as I care to gear them. I can sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. The relic gear coming soon will provide more to do for sure but it would still be nice to have a little more to aim for outside of trying to transition in to doing hardcore content. I can absolutely see if you're someone who already has their chosen jobs capped and with maxed gear that you may be wanting more for stuff to do on the jobs you enjoy most.

Yes that's not really the way SE has designed the game but if you do enjoy the game and just want more to do it's cold comfort.

[Gemina]

So while yes, people will run out of things to do faster than it can be developed. That shouldn't happen within the first week or two.

Says who? Seriously don't fault SE because their player base is filled with those hell bent on instant gratification, and plowing through the new content as quickly as possible. You say you understand the time that goes into development, but I don't think you do. Especially if you think it should last longer than two weeks with how ravenous new content is devoured. This are the same players who already had access to flight in all the zones in under a week after the new expansion was released. So yeah, it is your argument that I find holds little water.

OP is no different than any other person who comes here griping about lack of content while also not participating in all the content the game has to offer. If you only do one kind of activity in this game that is a giant theme park that caters to multiple players and play styles, you're going to get bored really fast. There is nothing wrong with being that kind of player so long as he/she understands that the game and dev time don't revolve around any particular individual.

[DrWho2010]

if you run out of things to do but refuse to participate in the other things you can do in the game - GO PLAY SOMETHING ELSE. that's your solution plain and simple.

[ForteNightshade]

Says who? Seriously don't fault SE because their player base is filled with those hell bent on instant gratification, and plowing through the new content as quickly as possible. You say you understand the time that goes into development, but I don't think you do. Especially if you think it should last longer than two weeks with how ravenous new content is devoured. This are the same players who already had access to flight in all the zones in under a week after the new expansion was released. So yeah, it is your argument that I find holds little water.

OP is no different than any other person who comes here griping about lack of content while also not participating in all the content the game has to offer. If you only do one kind of activity in this game that is a giant theme park that caters to multiple players and play styles, you're going to get bored really fast. There is nothing wrong with being that kind of player so long as he/she understands that the game and dev time don't revolve around any particular individual.

This rebuttal keeps cropping up yet it doesn't hold water. If the content can be completed at a gradual pace in under a week or so, how is it players are rushing through hella fast? A patch is supposed to last nearly four months yet nothing outside Savage will last longer than two weeks unless you barely log in. You've also cherry picked my argument. Yes, it takes time to develop but the crux of my point is nothing has longevity right now.

- Normal mode is going to take you an hour; two if you have to farm a little for drops.
- Beast Tribes are 10 minutes a day
- MSQ is maybe 3-4 hours and a one and done type of content
- Crafting only lasts if you're interested in playing the market board otherwise you craft new stuff for the jobs you care about and... wait for Ishgard?

What FFXIV lacks is longevity. The relic would help alleviate that because unlike everything noted above, it takes far longer to complete each individual steps. There's also a reason people have been begging for better achievements, Mythic+ and other types of content that isn't simply "do it once for the day/week and wait til reset."

[Lastelli]

This rebuttal keeps cropping up yet it doesn't hold water. If the content can be completed at a gradual pace in under a week or so, how is it players are rushing through hella fast? A patch is supposed to last nearly four months yet nothing outside Savage will last longer than two weeks unless you barely log in. You've also cherry picked my argument. Yes, it takes time to develop but the crux of my point is nothing has longevity right now.

To be fair, things like savage and ultimate raids can be completed at a gradual pace. It's just that players rush them. Savage still takes around 30 hours to complete to a decently skilled party, ultimate takes at least twice as much. That's more than many games. And I'm not saying people should stop playing even if they want to just to make the game last for longer. But complaining about lack of longevity after spending 50+ hours on the game during a week following a major patch is a little unreasonable. It is true though that content for more casual players is a little bit lacking.

Honestly, more than longevity, I feel like the biggest problem of this game has to do with how unrewarding most content is, mostly because of the treadmill model for gearing and the inevitable nerf to most forms of long-term rewards like mounts, titles, glamours and so on. Also, most content is so reliant on RNG and/or mindless grind to last longer that many players just try it and then don't bother doing it anymore.

[Barraind]

Thats one of the reasons we need an Eureka-esque zone by the .1 patch each expansion (at the absolute latest).

Or something better that fills the same role.

[Jojoya]

A patch is supposed to last nearly four months

Where has that ever been stated? That's the length of time needed for development, not how long the content is supposed to last all players.

Longevity is going to vary by player. The game has great longevity for those who like to repeat content. It doesn't for those who only want to do something once and never again.

That's not an error on SE's part. That's MMO design in a nutshell. You get short bursts of new content followed by long periods where you can choose to repeat the content or go play other games while you wait for the next patch to be released.

Honestly, more than longevity, I feel like the biggest problem of this game has to do with how unrewarding most content is, mostly because of the treadmill model for gearing and the inevitable nerf to most forms of long-term rewards like mounts, titles, glamours and so on. Also, most content is so reliant on RNG and/or mindless grind to last longer that many players just try it and then don't bother doing it anymore.

Again, that's MMO design. You're not going to find it significantly different in any MMO. There are always some rewards that come through grind and others that come through RNG. Rewards lose value as the game adds more and more to be earned, and more and more players start earning them.

The ultimate reward for playing a game is having fun. If you're not having fun, you're better off finding something else to do because all those in game rewards and achievements mean nothing once you log out of the game unless you're a content creator who makes a living by playing the game.

[MistakeNot]

A patch is supposed to last nearly four months yet nothing outside Savage will last longer than two weeks unless you barely log in.

Supposed by who, and for who?
Assume a casual player who plays for 4-6 hours per week. (Only plays on the weekend, and plays 2-3 hours per day then.) How long will it take such a player to go through a patch?
Why should the game not be tuned for such players? There are after all quite a few such around.

FFXIV is not designed or intended to be played for multiple hours per day, every single day. People trying to do that will indeed find themselves running out of content to do - which suggests one is not supposed to spend all ones free time playing FFXIV.