Why telling people to unsub is a horrible defense of the game.

[Kaurhz]

They could have better player retention if they spent more resources on parts that have better replayability.

Mahjong and PvP are horribly underutilized even though they are more replayable than almost any other content which is often one and done.

Frankly, there's a lot of content in this game that goes heavily underutilized, and it is a shame in some areas, honestly. Especially since Criterion savage could have provided gear etc., ultimately, the replay value comes from the incentivization behind the content. e.g., Island Sanctuary isn't magnificently replayable, but it could be - and should be.

Ideally, bar the MSQ, no content should be one and done.

[drtasteyummy]

Why is it that MMO players are so obsessed with playing just one game, like you pay 15 dollar a month so you need to spend every minute in it. No content after playing for 2 years every day? Preposterous, as if you would like a particular food so you need to eat exactly that food every day until you hate it.

[Jojoya]

Frankly, there's a lot of content in this game that goes heavily underutilized, and it is a shame in some areas, honestly. Especially since Criterion savage could have provided gear etc., ultimately, the replay value comes from the incentivization behind the content. e.g., Island Sanctuary isn't magnificently replayable, but it could be - and should be.

Ideally, bar the MSQ, no content should be one and done.

I wonder if too much of the incentive to repeat content is based around gil when we don't have all that much to buy with it except from other players, in which case we can usually farm most of the items ourselves if we really want them.

Island Sanctuary is going to get a boost on the replay side now that it will effectively become outdoor housing for every player who has completed 6.0 MSQ. You'll have people decorating then they'll be going around to see what their friends have done. Still, it ultimately ends up a way to make gil in the end (selling the dyes and materia to other players, the housing items aren't worth much because they're too easy to get).

[Sheriyana]

Why is it that MMO players are so obsessed with playing just one game, like you pay 15 dollar a month so you need to spend every minute in it. No content after playing for 2 years every day? Preposterous, as if you would like a particular food so you need to eat exactly that food every day until you hate it.

Great hyperbole you got there. No one is expecting to play the game 24/7 for 10 years. There's something in between expecting to play only one game and always having relevant content to do, and patches that have a couple hours worth of content and then you wait 4 months for another few hours. Before you used to take a break like 2 months into a patch but now you have to constantly and consistently rely on other games since this game does not offer enough content to keep you busy for more than the patch day, and unless you do savage even that's overestimated.

[Jojoya]

Great hyperbole you got there. No one is expecting to play the game 24/7 for 10 years. There's something in between expecting to play only one game and always having relevant content to do, and patches that have a couple hours worth of content and then you wait 4 months for another few hours. Before you used to take a break like 2 months into a patch but now you have to constantly and consistently rely on other games since this game does not offer enough content to keep you busy for more than the patch day, and unless you do savage even that's overestimated.

Except many of us do have content to do. It comes down to personal interest in the various types of content being offered.

The majority of content between ShB and EW is the same type in the same quantity with the following exceptions:
ShB had Bozja and Firmament
EW has Variant/Criterion, Deep Dungeon and Island Sanctuary

Were you spending that much time on Bozja and/or Firmament last expansion that it kept you busy all patch, or is that looking back with rose colored glasses? Were you doing other things like leveling up jobs you had previously ignored so now this expansion instead of having 50-80 levels to go you only had 10?

It helps to have specifics on why you were active during patch cycles last expansion but are bored this expansion. What were you doing then that you aren't doing now that makes the difference?

[Xirean]

Great hyperbole you got there. No one is expecting to play the game 24/7 for 10 years. There's something in between expecting to play only one game and always having relevant content to do, and patches that have a couple hours worth of content and then you wait 4 months for another few hours. Before you used to take a break like 2 months into a patch but now you have to constantly and consistently rely on other games since this game does not offer enough content to keep you busy for more than the patch day, and unless you do savage even that's overestimated.

The devs were very transparent about the delays we would have for the patches we are seeing now. We all knew there would be much wider gaps so expanding the break time should have been expected. I'm really not sure why people are shocked by this.

[Ransu]

The difference all of you fail to realise is that WoW had more substantial mid expansion patches then FF ever has. New zones, new raids, new dungeons, new quests, more gear sets, more sylvanas simp main story quests, more crafting recipes, ect. Like, actual content to do - There was always fun end game content to grind out. The PvP in WoW is, and remains fun retail or classic despite its problems - and you can grind it out for some genuinely decent rewards. Same thing with raiding. Grind it out as much as you like until you get what you want.

Of course WoW did have gigantic gaps between some of its patches, (Looking at you WoD.) But compared to the drought of content from 6.2 to 6.4? (August - May)

Islands, Forgettable content you can do in 2-3 weeks.
Raids that can be cleared to BiS in 5-6 weeks.
Eureka which is just a blatant rip off of PoTD and HoH
Criterion dungeons with 12 endings you'll just google.

Lets not even kid ourselves, wtf is with the PvP rewards in FF? Some recolor lvl 50/60/70 sets? Crystal tower gear but black? Recolor mounts? Is this the best they can do with 9 months of time?

I'll take the "forgettable" content over having zero content for 12 months. Go play WoW or something.

How long should this break be? 9 months long? Should we just quit the game for 2 years between expansions? Whats even the point of being a subscription based MMORPG if your mid expansion patches have nothing of substance.

There's literally nothing wrong with that. I have a few friends that do exactly that. They buy the expansion, play the new story content and then they unsub. Just because its an MMO doesn't mean everyone has to treat it as the one and only game they play non-stop.

[Jessica_VS]

I've played MMOs since I was a child, when my Dad introduced gaming to me. Every MMO I have played has lull points between patches or expansions. If I were a hardcore player and had completed everything I wished to do, I would unsubscribe and save my money; no point exists in paying for something unused.

Your money speaks; unsubscribe when a company fails to give you what you want. If enough people follow suit, the company may change its direction. If it still doesn't, you will find an alternative form of entertainment elsewhere. Never waste your resources.

[LianaThorne]

I feel like this whole discussion boils down to personal preference. I've been playing pretty much daily for three years and still manage to find some things to do (although I do also play other games atm like 11, Genshin, Star Rail and ToTK). Currently I'm working towards a few titles (Hand of Mercy, Once and Future Queen, Of The Endless Hunt) and leveling through Eureka to finally try out BA and get the mount. I'm working on a Zodiac relic on and off (even though it's taken me a year now and it's still not done xD). I'm slowly making progress towards achieving the Pteranodon mount. Like, there are things to *do* in the game...I think it's just things that some may not have any interest in since it involves a heavy grind.

And that's fair, if you don't want to do something you shouldn't have to. It's a game, not a court summons. However, I think it's important to distinguish the two, as in:

"There are things to do in the game, but they are not appealing to me personally." not "The game has absolutely no content and we're all just burning money by being subbed."

[Erinellza]

I feel like this whole discussion boils down to personal preference. I've been playing pretty much daily for three years and still manage to find some things to do (although I do also play other games atm like 11, Genshin, Star Rail and ToTK).

^ This. I've been playing XIV since 2019 and I'm still having a blast so I'm online daily for several hours with GW2 and ESO as my side MMOs (they both get significantly less content than XIV).