The Content Cycle needs to break.

[Valence]

We are dealing with a population of players that require predictability and nothing sticking out. It's not just about the casual player base often used as a scapegoat for them being unwilling to adjust to the smallest modicum of difficulty thrown at them, it's about literally every level of players up to raiders. Raiders that constantly complain about this or that point of friction and how it would make their life easier to just remove it. Casuals that complain that something is getting in the way and it needs be changed. It's the devs ultimately catering to the low hanging fruit complaints that only account for instant gratification at the cost of the game's quality. It's the devs being unable to tell the difference between legitimate issues and feedback just asking "to make one's life easier", no matter the skill level or target audience.

And ultimately it's extremely similar to the path that a game in another genre has gone through over a decade, namely Starcraft 2: predictability, slow removal of strategy, thinking out of the box, a lot of game variables and options, to the favor of an intense focus on the mechanical execution of scripted gameplay on a loop leaving little room for anything else but staleness and the same repeatable games played on the same map constantly reskinned to look different. But the biggest part of it is that it's what its community wants or has come to expect being fed, and it's also exactly what its pros have been clamoring to get, because it ensures predictable outcomes.

Rings any bells?

[ReynTime]

In From the Cold was the peak solo duty design, but because people complained, we now have "Very Easy" mode, and some players use it to skip the challenge in all solo duties entirely. It’s the same with Role-Play quests where you control NPCs—they're a great way to make the story more immersive, but they’re not popular. Even little things like NPC escort missions or interactive zoom-ins get brushed off as tedious.

The broader issue seems to be that quest design in FFXIV is underappreciated. Whenever SE attempts to innovate or break the mold of traditional questing, the feedback tends to lean negative. This resistance stifles creativity and risks making the game a bland, formulaic experience. If we want the game to continue growing and evolving, players must embrace these attempts to make the journey more engaging and immersive rather than dismissing them for convenience.

Edit: I think quest design is underappreciated, largely because it can feel tedious when playing multiple alts. What’s exciting the first time often becomes a chore on subsequent playthroughs.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with adding an optional easy and very easy mode for MSQ solo duties. It only affects the one player running them. Video games had easy modes since the 1980s.

You want to know what really is a problem? Some of the solo duties where you have NPCs helping you seem designed to not let the player lose even if they go "Normal" and let go of their controller.

[DynnDiablos]

I am at the point where I am ready to end my sub until a month before 8.0 and blast through the 7.X content then. I find this game only works for me if I take a long break and don't come back until right before the next expansion. I did the same before EW and the same before ShB. I've been playing for 11 years at this point, but the game has shown me it doesn't respect my time nor does it DESERVE my time to login daily or weekly. It's now a "play the expansion" see ya in 2 years type of game. However, unless 8.0 looks really compelling, I may not come back at all.

[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.

[Nero-Voidstails]

aren't gonna lie the casual/midcore have honestly been left out and midcore since endwalker like I aren't a savage raider but I aren't casual and honestly this game gave me no content since endwalker variant dungeon as refreshing as they are they are more casual leaving people that enjoyed the difficulty of eureka and bozja in the dust.

casual are right now in a better position then midcore and even casual isn't in the best spot but Yoshi P is more focus on ultimate/savage raiders that aren't even 20% of the player so i will say this two option is should bee seen.

1. change focus from raiders and more into casual/midcore.

2. the devs team need to be replaced.


I honestly don't wish for the second but as a midcore player I just feel like 14 doesn't want me anymore

[momerath]

I just wish there were more things to do in this game that existed between "eating crayons" and "party finder required" on the engagement spectrum.

[Kaurhz]

aren't gonna lie the casual/midcore have honestly been left out and midcore since endwalker like I aren't a savage raider but I aren't casual and honestly this game gave me no content since endwalker variant dungeon as refreshing as they are they are more casual leaving people that enjoyed the difficulty of eureka and bozja in the dust.

casual are right now in a better position then midcore and even casual isn't in the best spot but Yoshi P is more focus on ultimate/savage raiders that aren't even 20% of the player so i will say this two option is should bee seen.

1. change focus from raiders and more into casual/midcore.

2. the devs team need to be replaced.


I honestly don't wish for the second but as a midcore player I just feel like 14 doesn't want me anymore

Honestly they don't need to change the focus, they just need to distribute their content a little better. If longer-lasting content were released sooner in the expansion cycle and padded out a little more to compensate for that, then they would resolve literally nearly every problem without needing to constantly sacrifice casuals/midcore and raiders.

You know what's so goddamn sad? They could release a relic weapon with 7.15 that is item level 725, and they could literally recycle all the older content into it like they did with the earlier stages of the HW relic and they would equally resolve most problems.

[TheGrimace]

You know what's so goddamn sad? They could release a relic weapon with 7.15 that is item level 725, and they could literally recycle all the older content into it like they did with the earlier stages of the HW relic and they would equally resolve most problems.

Realm Reborn and Heavensward Relics were the perfect option to vitalize content. They forced players to engage in a variety of FATEs and Dungeons, especially through roulettes. While aiming for a Relic Weapon, I was also helping other players do content I would not have otherwise seen- and I was also helping the players I was partied with as well.

Doing those old relics now isn't the same. The quests don't care if players complete content in an under-sized party, and so I don't do content with other players when low-manning it is easier and faster than playing with a party. Tomestones are worthless when I am both fully geared and I am not working toward a relic. Roulettes are worthless when I do not need tomestones or dungeon completion flags for a relic. The whole game massively benefited from the old Relic system and the game is far worse since they gave up on it.

There's no carrot on the stick. There's no long-term goal and no incentive to do Roulettes, especially in a .1 patch. Even if I had a relic, there's barely any level 100 content I would benefit a boost in. We have five dungeons made for players levels 99-100. We're already too powerful for Arcadion. I don't feel like doing old dungeons because I have almost none of my Level 100 toolkit. God, something's gotta change.

[XtremePrime]

I think the issue stems from just not having a big grind like the relic ready yet with the extended patch cycle duration. Bozja implemented some neat ideas of revitalizing old content too like running HW/STB raids/fates to work on relic steps outside of Bozja, which can be done at a fairly good pace with a party! (which I am hoping they keep in the new foray)

It really just boils down to the fact that players not interested in hardcore content or that have already done the old content they wanted to do don't really have much to do between patches since there's nothing to work towards yet.

[DisgracedDairy]

The mobile spinoffs will continue until morale improves.