To those that say FF14 is not a big dog in MMO's

[Puremallace]

Well go tell Blizzard. I keep track of this stuff because why not...

Anyways at the recent Blizzcon they announced their 9.1 patch but the problem is details were super sparse and very up in the air so obviously people got concerned about a MASSIVE content drought that lined up this patch in August or September for some mysterious reason... FF14 players know why.

Now MAGICALLY out of thin air they announce their PTR for patch 9.1 exactly 2 weeks from today. Can anyone name something else that comes out exactly 2 weeks from today?

Square Enix keep doing exactly what you are doing and make the game about content and not endless systems. Blizzard has consistently tried to line up patch cycles to drown out FF14 news because they are scared and the feedback on the unsub surveys must be brutal.

[Theodric]

Blizzard have, historically, always released content patches for WoW right around the same time as competitors. It was that way back during the glory days when I still played it so I'm not surprised that it's a tactic embraced at present. It's a smart business move, really - and doesn't necessarily mean that there's hostility between the two companies, either.

[Puremallace]

Blizzard have, historically, always released content patches for WoW right around the same time as competitors. It was that way back during the glory days when I still played it so I'm not surprised that it's a tactic embraced at present. It's a smart business move, really - and doesn't necessarily mean that there's hostility between the two companies, either.

While I agree there are a few very concerning issues here for WoW players.

- First is the serious lack of detail not even three weeks ago when asked multiple times.
- Second they seemed to have no idea what to do with the multiple systems they created.
- Third even the most experienced WoW players were not expecting this and it seems very sudden.

Given the extended length this might be in testing it will be old content for a lot of very bored people by the time it is actually released. My guess they are going to have a release date for this and Burning Crusade lined up to try and preempt any good news/reviews of Endwalker.

The fact this PTR is directly lined up with the 5.5 release date is certainly not an accident and I seriously doubt their expansion being called Shadowlands when the biggest competitor is called ShadowBringers was an accident either. It is 100% designed to confuse the google algorithm and recommendations on Google and Youtube when searching for an MMO. Activision is known for scummy business practices and this is just one of them.

They sounded extremely confident at the time that this expansion would be easy competition for FF14 and it is turning into a trainwreck. One MMO has very straight forward systems based on classic MMO design and the other is a convoluted mess of systems designed more for grinding vs fun.

Personally I wish Square Enix would push in the dagger and give us a pvp revamp and Mythic plus content but it seems I will be waiting still for this.

[Raelsar]

While I agree there are a few very concerning issues here for WoW players.

- First is the serious lack of detail not even three weeks ago when asked multiple times.
- Second they seemed to have no idea what to do with the multiple systems they created.
- Third even the most experienced WoW players were not expecting this and it seems very sudden.

Given the extended length this might be in testing it will be old content for a lot of very bored people by the time it is actually released. My guess they are going to have a release date for this and Burning Crusade lined up to try and preempt any good news/reviews of Endwalker.

The fact this PTR is directly lined up with the 5.5 release date is certainly not an accident and I seriously doubt their expansion being called Shadowlands when the biggest competitor is called ShadowBringers was an accident either. It is 100% designed to confuse the google algorithm and recommendations on Google and Youtube when searching for an MMO. Activision is known for scummy business practices and this is just one of them.

They sounded extremely confident at the time that this expansion would be easy competition for FF14 and it is turning into a trainwreck. One MMO has very straight forward systems based on classic MMO design and the other is a convoluted mess of systems designed more for grinding vs fun.

Launching a PTR, quite possibly lacking content initially, against an end-of-expansion patch for FFXIV just seems like a bad idea. Trying for a near-simultaneous release can be disastrous when you're competing for attention, especially when it looks like you're going to be the one coming up short.

That being said, I don't think they're trying to draw players away from FFXIV; in all likelihood, they know those players are gone (at least under the current state of affairs). Distracting the remaining players who are thinking about leaving and might be eyeing another MMORPG? That makes a bit more sense.

In other words... it's damage control.

Cramming more time-sinks and announcing half-baked content is only to stem the bleeding, which appears to be getting worse by the day at this point. Anything and everything to try and prevent the situation from deteriorating further, but it's just treating the symptoms and not the disease at the root of the problem.

---

That being said, I'm expecting either the next patch for WoW and/or TBC Classic to try and line up their releases to compete against Endwalker.

If it's the former, they're doomed to failure; the issues are too systemic to go up against the grand finale. The latter has something of a shot... but I don't think it'll be as successful as the first Classic, the community issues (the habits of the modern community rather than players exploring) put a bit of a damper on that experience and you'll only have the genuine fanatics hopping on board right away for the second.

[Y2K21]

That being said, I'm expecting either the next patch for WoW and/or TBC Classic to try and line up their releases to compete against Endwalker.

According to a rumor and then some string details, TBC is coming out in early-mid May. TBC is going to have its usual fan-fair and power until it burns out in popularity after a few months.

9.1 is mostly coming out June based upon the PTR cycle (6 weeks average). 9.1 is all dependent on what Blizzard does. Either they do nothing to change the course or pull off something.

Its a mixed bag.

[Alaray]

Launching a PTR, quite possibly lacking content initially, against an end-of-expansion patch for FFXIV just seems like a bad idea. Trying for a near-simultaneous release can be disastrous when you're competing for attention, especially when it looks like you're going to be the one coming up short.

To be fair on this point, 9.1 will have a raid in it. 5.5 will have... 1 trial.

[KeshLives]

To be fair on this point, 9.1 will have a raid in it. 5.5 will have... 1 trial.

If you're playing FFXIV instead of WoW for the raids...you may be doing it wrong, imo. Just sayin'...

[VelKallor]

That being said, I'm expecting either the next patch for WoW and/or TBC Classic to try and line up their releases to compete against Endwalker

If you are relying on an earlier version of the game to prop up your current game...you got MAJOR problems.

[kidalutz]

I can live without Diablo 3 ripoffs like Mythic Plus.

[VelKallor]

I have seen on the WOW forums time and again:

"If you dont pvp raid or do mythic plus then maybe this game isnt for you"..just let that sink in a moment. Is THAT the kind of mentality we want?