Zepla: Endwalker is the Worst FFXIV Expansion I have played

[ForteNightshade]

Heavensward also released back in 2015 and we're currently just a handful of months away from it being the year 2024. The first expansion for a game having teething problems is to be expected. Endwalker is the fourth expansion pack for the game and I think it's fair to suggest that a healthy balance in terms of content with staying power for veteran players really should have been actively embraced by the development team by this point.

Not to mention, ARR was severely rushed. They basically cobbled together what they could in less than half the time it took to make 1.0. Which is precisely why we saw additions they would never replicate again like a full job mid expansion (Ninja), three primals in a single patch and etc. A good chunk of that was already done but not functional because they were focused on getting 2.0 ready and stable. Heavensward was their first attempt at wholly unique content releases. So it's expected to have some growing pains or completely flopped ideas. They had no real idea what to expect from what was an essentially brand new player who, themselves, were still getting their feet wet.

From a purely objectively perspective, yes, Heavensward has the least amount of content but it's far more understandable why. Endwalker came out a full eight years later, with the game having more hundreds of thousands more players. People expect more with that increased revenue, years of experience and player feedback—none of which existed in Heavensward.

[Absurdity]

At the end of the day, Zepla is a vet and that will shape her opinion. All the new player and trust stuff has zero impact on people who are caught up with the main story quest. Plus she is a PC player so there is a good chance she already has these QOL features

Probably one of the things that should be kept in mind as well. While everyone getting these QOL updates is great, would we have gotten them in the first place if PC plugins implementing these exact features didn't become this prominent?

[RitsukoSonoda]

Probably one of the things that should be kept in mind as well. While everyone getting these QOL updates is great, would we have gotten them in the first place if PC plugins implementing these exact features didn't become this prominent?

I'd actually say it was a result of the title being an online MMO that was on both a console and PC. PC players made tools and mods to use and distribute on the platform. Console players unable to acquire said tools and mods voiced complaints. SE lacking any meaningful method to actually stop or prevent mod/tool usage outside of user stupidity only had the options of either continuing to listen to the complaints from people on consoles or incorporate some of them into the game directly as QoL improvements so console players had access to them as well.

[PercibelTheren]

Before everybody else bandwagons and calls you a "streamer hater" or a "misogynist" or some other such ridiculous slur, I want to tell you that you are completely right. That's exactly what all of this is.

OK, I have to ask. You keep bringing up how people are calling you or others misogynistic or a fascist (may have been a different thread) but it has never happened. What the heck?

[Hyperia]

The sad thing is, the devs knew what they were doing for the entire 6.x patch cycle. The main devs were not on any of them and had their junior devs working them instead. For the story team, as an example, each of the different junior devs got their own 6.x patch. This was publicly stated around the end of 6.0 and the start of 6.1.

After hearing that, I got worried but kept my hopes up. Well, my worst fears have come true as it appears that all of the departments have done the same thing.

I don’t mind using a single patch as a test or training run but not the whole expansion. The amount of good will and trust that has been burned with this move is going to show down the road with possibly degraded metacritic scores when DT arrives. Hopefully DT will get a good review on its own but I expect some knock on effect will happen from EW.

[BRVV]

The sad thing is, the devs knew what they were doing for the entire 6.x patch cycle. The main devs were not on any of them and had their junior devs working them instead. For the story team, as an example, each of the different junior devs got their own 6.x patch. This was publicly stated around the end of 6.0 and the start of 6.1.

After hearing that, I got worried but kept my hopes up. Well, my worst fears have come true as it appears that all of the departments have done the same thing.

I don’t mind using a single patch as a test or training run but not the whole expansion. The amount of good will and trust that has been burned with this move is going to show down the road with possibly degraded metacritic scores when DT arrives. Hopefully DT will get a good review on its own but I expect some knock on effect will happen from EW.

I don't know. The game doesn't have that many bugs. Are devs supposed to come up with content?

[Larirawiel]

I watched Zepla's video and i can basically agree. It seems to me, that the devs learned from WoW WoD and Shadowlands. They saw what damage it can cause to the game when the game is full of fomo mechanics: the players burn out and start really hate the game and cancel their subscriptions and never come back again.

They made the opposite and brought the opposite to a new extreme: give the players no reasons to play the game. And this is the point of Zepla's video. And seriously, if a game gives the people no reasons to play it, other games will. And no, it does not mean, that SQEX should introduce more fomo mechanics.


Cheers

[ZenoDiogenes]

Zepla is right.
The funds are clearly not reinvested to innovate or modernize the game.
Some graphical updates and dungeon revamps don't address the core issues with the game.
Impossible is just PR speak for unprofitable.

[kaynide]

Just sat and watched it.

And for the most part I agree with her bullet points, but would also agree what she could have talked more about what is positive to lessen the flak coming at her.. like QoL.

All that said, her biggest point to me is that there really aren’t any long-ish term content to do, and there is less and less a reason to hook up with other players to do stuff.

Like, I used to goof off in Bozja alone and as my friends logged in they’d meet me there to goof off together. Wasn’t a big thing, but we could enjoy each others’ company without needing to force a conversation the entire time.

Now someone logs in and it’s the “hey guys, what’s up?”, “island stuff” “yeah, grinding moogle stones in Void Ark” …long pause… someone eventually does a “I’ll be afk doing Pikmin/Zelda/whatever if you need me!”

Used to be “in Pagos”, “kk, omw!”

And that’s the thing, there is nothing we need bodies for in casual/midcore. Even my young daughter playing, some FC peeps were all “cool, if she needs a tank just let me know”, but she has trusts to carry her.

[Teno]

Just sat and watched it.

And for the most part I agree with her bullet points, but would also agree what she could have talked more about what is positive to lessen the flak coming at her.. like QoL.

All that said, her biggest point to me is that there really aren’t any long-ish term content to do, and there is less and less a reason to hook up with other players to do stuff.

Like, I used to goof off in Bozja alone and as my friends logged in they’d meet me there to goof off together. Wasn’t a big thing, but we could enjoy each others’ company without needing to force a conversation the entire time.

Now someone logs in and it’s the “hey guys, what’s up?”, “island stuff” “yeah, grinding moogle stones in Void Ark” …long pause… someone eventually does a “I’ll be afk doing Pikmin/Zelda/whatever if you need me!”

Used to be “in Pagos”, “kk, omw!”

And that’s the thing, there is nothing we need bodies for in casual/midcore. Even my young daughter playing, some FC peeps were all “cool, if she needs a tank just let me know”, but she has trusts to carry her.

Regarding having people to meet up with, it's very specific to your case. With the current moogle event people come gather up for rival wings as has always been the case before a patch drops.