The Content Cycle needs to break.

[ovIm]

Ah Jeeq. Not surprised how quick you are to fight back against criticism towards Square Enix. Ever the apologist.

They've never really been any different and if anything used to be more tedious. But the one time they made something interesting, In From the Cold, you got all these complaints on the forums. In any case, MMORPGs have never been known for their great quest design.

"Oh no, people disliked when we tried something, better to never try anything new ever again" is definitely not a way to innovate and possibly find new exciting things.
Also, other MMOs have much more interesting quests that go beyond "go to X and talk to Y.". FF14 Quest Design has been lackluster for years, and now its actually felt harder than ever.

I'm playing PvP exactly how I played it in Endwalker and having no issues tbh.

So you are saying you are playing PVP very casual? Cause let me tell you, even with a short ping, the new hit detection makes for some very jank moments (jankier than in previous patches).
Class balance is also super weird, Viper is borderline useless, while Astrologian is a glorious golden god. Its headscratching at best. Maybe check the PVP forum for write ups by people with much more in depth knowledge of PVP compared to me.

Right, but Eureka was released in 4.25. Just like is happening here. The very same lull happened in Stormblood prior to it. Maybe people would like something similar to it earlier on, but it's always had this delay.

Except back then, patches were shorter, so waiting time was not as awful.
Patch cadence has increased, so Square Enix needs to bring long lived content earlier.

Could say the same for any game. You don't know for sure if it's good until you actually play through it.

In a live service game, wanting to keep people excited for whats to come, engaged for the patch duration, and interested enough to want to come back later is critical for the health of said live service game.

--

As for the OP, I fully agree. We need things to do earlier, because right now, unless you like square/circle Room with a boss, there is very little combat content to do.

[HyperiusUltima]

Patch cadence has increased, so Square Enix needs to bring long lived content earlier.

Glad that someone got it. 4.5 Months is a pretty damn long time for a major patch, and your base's enthusiasm isn't going to be as high if you don't bring the content. They either need to have the next major patch bursting with content(which it will for a while until 7.25 due to Savage) or they need to do mini-patches like they are doing now with continuous content that will keep the player base engaged. Ultimate was for the tip of the iceberg, and honestly we have yet to gauge the difficulty of Chaotic since it's a 24-man. They were aiming for "1st Floor Savage" difficulty, so essentially it's a DR Savage raid if you think on it with extremely good rewards that drew people's eyes not only with glamour, but also the mount.

[Jeeqbit]

Except back then, patches were shorter, so waiting time was not as awful.
Patch cadence has increased, so Square Enix needs to bring long lived content earlier.

Shorter by a month. People were saying there was nothing to do back then as well. It's always been a sentiment that has existed; it's just increased as more people completed their personal backlog of content.

In a live service game, wanting to keep people excited for whats to come, engaged for the patch duration, and interested enough to want to come back later is critical for the health of said live service game.

Is honestly true of just regular game franchises as well. If there is a poorly received sequel it can be pretty bad for the next game in the series and potentially doom the rest of the series, or set it on a course where it runs into the ground.

[HyperiusUltima]

Shorter by a month. People were saying there was nothing to do back then as well. It's always been a sentiment that has existed; it's just increased as more people completed their personal backlog of content.

I mean yes, but the quality was a lot better back then than it is now. Writing quality, as well as just dungeon quality. The one thing I will note is that dungeon quality has gotten a lot better from EW, and has gone back to Stormblood levels. One of the things that I find about the backlog is that the backlog was a lot bigger in Stormblood with how much content they threw up - and some of it was time-gated(Doman Enclave). We also had more than one dungeon being added back then that was actually interesting.

Another thing to note is that there's been an increase of focus on graphics with the Dawntrail update and gaming in general - I'd like to remind people that while graphics are works of art, and I appreciate the art and design team for this, there needs to be a greater focus at a base level than trying to make everything pretty up front.

[ovIm]

Shorter by a month. People were saying there was nothing to do back then as well. It's always been a sentiment that has existed; it's just increased as more people completed their personal backlog of content.

"oh yeah it has always been like this, there is no reason to change it."
Or maybe, just maybe, it has always actually sucked and Square Enix is unable or unwilling to change it, so the criticism will come one way or the other.

[Bonoki]

"Oh no, people disliked when we tried something, better to never try anything new ever again" is definitely not a way to innovate and possibly find new exciting things.

It’s honestly frustrating how some companies—Square Enix included—seem to operate. They’ll try something new, but if it doesn’t work, they give up on trying altogether. And if it does work, they keep changing it until it flops. Look at the Manderville relic weapons—they called it the “most successful relic ever” just because so many people did it, not because it was creative or fun. Same with the current Savage tier. They’re calling it the “most successful” because clear rates are way higher, even though it’s easier. It feels like they’re chasing numbers instead of focusing on what actually makes the game special.

[Kennar]

They’ll try something new, but if it doesn’t work, they give up on trying altogether.

It's the same even if a game feature/mode did work--instead of iterating based on player feedback and continuing to improve and expand it, it gets abandoned and replaced by something similar but separate. Take Palace of the Dead, for instance. I think it's a cool system (and had one of the better side stories attached to it), but it's capped at 60, gives no currently relevant rewards, and was kicked to the curb in favor of Heaven on High, which did nothing fundamentally different and, in turn was abandoned for Eureka Orthos--all similar systems, but completely unrelated. Consequently, all three are dead and offer nothing for players at level 100. I don't manage the offices or pay the bills, but that seems like a lot of wasted development time. Think of what PotD could be if it had been continued and kept relevant--keep the level cap current, offer better rewards, add different play modes and challenges to keep things fresh.

I could say the same for the exploratory zones, as well. Eureka definitely had some issues, but I liked it as a whole. While Bozjan Southern Front made a few improvements in some aspects, it removed a lot of what I liked best about Eureka. I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed the weekly challenge log, the elemental aspects, and FATE trains; I actually felt like I was playing a MMO again. I hope I enjoy the new exploratory zone, but I know it will die with the release of 8.0 (I'll care if I'm still playing by then).


I find myself increasingly nostalgic for level 75-era FFXI (I have no experience after that). Yes, it was quite obtuse and certainly doesn't fit my current lifestyle, but there is something to be said about not having the game hold the player's hand all the time. One of my fondest gaming memories is when a couple friends organized a Saturday to get me (and others) through all the Promy zones. We had a full alliance of 18 and it took us all day, but damn, what an adventure! There just isn't anything like that in XIV.

I guess I'm getting old, but I miss when having a cool piece of gear mattered for more than just appearances. I miss being able to chat with party members during downtime, instead of just turning on Go Mode and rushing through everything. I miss sidequests that required me to think, travel, and explore. I miss when developers tried to make the best game possible, instead of trying to cater to the widest audience possible.