7.3 is insufficient (Relic,Deep Dungeon and Cosmic Exploration has to carry 4 Months)

[Nadda]

pspspsps yoship i have catnip can i have lv 90 BLU so i can go reprog p4s

I'd almost split the two jobs into separate patches.

Beastmaster 1-80 for this patch.

Then 81-90 for both in 7.4 or .5?

that way you are incentivized to level up Beastmaster now so you can do content with blue mage and beastmaster in tandem 81-90 later.

That be a good way of doing it.

[Striker44]

Bro we understand some like to troll people with toxic positivity but i don't think it's a good time.

That's not even "toxic positivity," just basic facts. And on this forum, it's seemingly never a good time to say anything positive or dare to break the toxic negativity of the echo chamber.

For what it's worth, I agree 100% with the poster you quoted. Heck, I took my first break since around 2021 myself earlier this year and had a ton of fun playing FFXII and now FFXIII while coming back and having a bunch more things to do in XIV.

1 Week's worth of a MSQ (Dungeon and Trial) AT BEST.

Here is the simple reality: it is physically impossible to develop content at the rate people consume it. Heck, they spent a couple years creating base EW with over 60 hours of content, and there were still people no-lifing it, finishing it within a week, and then complaining that there wasn't new stuff to do. Personally, I'd be satisfied if the developers finally acknowledged this reality themselves and just effectively decided to ignore the demands of the unrealistic.

People also really need to stop falling back on "if you don't like it, leave" and start holding the devs/creators accountable for not holding up to their end of creating content that people pay a monthly subscription for.

They are creating plenty of content, and with it being a monthly subscription, you can decide how many months to subscribe for...

But please, continue to tell people to quit the game because the dev team can't, and won't, do their job,

They are absolutely doing their job. Just because any of us as individuals simply happen to want something else doesn't make personally attacking the developers a mature response.

Where is the dev time going? How are people hyped for this???

Because many people outside the jaded group that is the forum are still very much enjoying the game? Because different people can *gasp* like different things? The dev time is going into creating the new content you see with each patch, whether that be MSQ, Normal Raid series, Alliance Raid series, DoL/DoH side content (I don't have any of those jobs leveled enough to know that system well yet), etc..

[Kaurhz]

How many years did it take them to get on hrothgar and viera hats? 6? 7?

Yep, and to be honest, not really just that but they are still showing signs of stripping racial features elsewhere, like the missing ear holes for Miqo'te, and it's at a point where there's a fairly significant dissonance between concept art and final product. In combination with some gear pieces hiding the tail.

So it isn't really like there's universal progression there.. it's literally just a progression in some places, and a significant regression in other places.

This game just has this weird little idea currently that they can just patch in anything later, when ultimately this only serves to harm a development plan more than anything else, since you're just constantly patching in stuff that should have been there to begin with... Like, take gender-specific gear etc., - They are patching this out, yet seem adamant on continuing that ridiculous pathway of releasing gear that follows the old tradition...

In this regard it'll be the year 2034, and we'll still be patching in racial features and cross-gender gear, for stuff only released very recently.... But hey look on the bright-side... They will probably try and rationalize it that they are making continuous improvements to the game, even when the inevitability comes for the game to be shelved.

[0blivion]

I'd almost split the two jobs into separate patches.

Beastmaster 1-80 for this patch.

Then 81-90 for both in 7.4 or .5?

that way you are incentivized to level up Beastmaster now so you can do content with blue mage and beastmaster in tandem 81-90 later.

That be a good way of doing it.

I do like that because BLU Tank is soooo painful to play. then we can hopefully make beastmaster do it--- lol

[Saraide]

How many years did it take them to get on hrothgar and viera hats? 6? 7?

Shadowbringer launched almost 6 years ago.

[xbahax92]

Bro we understand some like to troll people with toxic positivity but i don't think it's a good time.

I didnt mean to be toxic positive? I was giving an advice. You're free to spend your money like you see fit, but it makes no sense to stay subscribed if you're not seeing any value? Also I'm not your bro.

That's not even the argument being made. SE keeps auto-demo on because they know people will stay subbed to keep a house they had to fight for and spend ages trying to get.

People also really need to stop falling back on "if you don't like it, leave" and start holding the devs/creators accountable for not holding up to their end of creating content that people pay a monthly subscription for. As big as XIV is, there's no reason that someone should be forced to take a break from the game, because SE can't provide content. And that's literally what it's come down to.

But please, continue to tell people to quit the game because the dev team can't, and won't, do their job, and you want to be offended on Yoshi P's behalf and think your sub money is being well spent on not getting anything from it.

I mean sure, keep paying your sub and complain on the forums. That will surely change their mind. I've been complaining as much as others here. But it still makes no sense to keep forcing yourself into a game, where you dont find any joy. You could fill your time with another game and have a great time.
Also don't pretend like the forums are such a great place to find a good middle ground. It's not.

[Pyshiro]

I've been playing since HW 3.2 and even I'm feeling the uninterested burn out from this game since I've been so caught up with every piece of content barring savage and above (Just not interested in huge effort raiding that will be obsolete in a patch or two). The difference between then and now is that back then, we had scraps from basic 2.0 simply trying to exist. 3.0 was a learning time for them and then 4.0-5.0 was a big boom of experimentation! Which led to a lot of the success onward because they were always doing new and different things that we weren't used to while the content felt fairly complete. But now we're accustomed to the same schedule... and when you're a long time veteran, you've done just about everything by now.

The odd numbered patches lately just suck and kinda always have. MSQ, new dungeon, normal trial, alliance raid, unreal, duty support, and all their little QoL will be done within 2 days to a week for even the most casual since they take little time at all. Allied society will be a 5 minute a day kind of thing. Hildibrand quests a one and done. PvP will be great for the usual pvp lovers, and the casual pvpers will do frontlines once a day till they get the rewards they want. Sprinkle in a seasonal event or two that's done within minutes because they're not engaging anymore.

What's that leave? The semi-long term here is a new form of treasure dungeon (mostly people in need of money) that will be nice and shiny until all the new items plummet on the marketboard, usually a chill group activity. Cosmic exploration which is great for crafters/gatherers, but also stuff that people can just buy off the marketboard (It's at least an interesting relic grind for them compared to the past). Weapon relics is ???? for now since we don't know what that entails, but will likely be easy and can be completed in a few weeks like the current grind. Deep Dungeon will be novel for a month or so and then a complete ghost town in a patch or two if you don't rush it (I had to seek out statics and fc groups because no one is queuing for HoH/Orthos these days).

So the long term is 2 different kinds of relics that are semi interesting time wasters, a deep dungeon if you're interested, and treasure hunting like its always been and forever optional since it depends on how you make gil.

Putting all of this on a list sounds like a lot until you realize majority will be completed in a few weeks at most and then forgotten. OP is right in that if we just had one more thing then it might be fulfilling for everyone. I was personally hoping for a new Criterion/Variant because I enjoy those a lot with friends or some sort of limited job update. Something to do that's interesting and can be done multiple times. Even a custom delivery npc would have been something more.

If only I didn't have a house to watch over or else I would just login once for big patch day, and then again for half patch.

[Nadda]

I've been playing since HW 3.2 ...

Well said and I'm from a similar position.

It's kinda like 7.3 is a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. But there are only two meatballs.

All I'm asking is for like one more just to round it out.

I've never been tethered to the game. I play at a casual pace I think. I'm not looking to log in everyday. If I wasn't raiding I would be taking like 4 month breaks if this is what odd number patches are going to start looking like.

Like you I've seen the game grow and expand its content... but I also think there's been a detriment in this 4 month patch cycle vs a 3 month one. If the patch was 3 months long you really probably wouldn't notice it as much.

Again, I'm not like other people who are jaded and hate the game and complain about this and that. I have been defending Dawntrial. 7.3 if this is all we're getting is going to be a bad patch.

I don't understand the methodology of having odd patches be patches to tell your audience to fuck off for 4 months essentially. I'm already playing casually what do you mean fuck off? Ya know? I'm saying 'fuck off' vs 'take a break'

Because for a lot of folks they don't want to 'take a break' they aren't burned out of the game. Lots of others leave and don't comeback, but I'm not one of those people. I love this game. I'm going to enjoy all the content that we do get.
I want a more satisfying experience because I think 7.2 was a good patch. And I think with the addition of a Variant/Criterion Dungeon and/or Beastmaster 7.3 will be another good patch.

Like if they don't have the content for odd patches - and odd patches are meant to be like a breathing period in between major patches. They need to change the patch cycle. Make odd number patches 3 months long, make even number patches 4 months long.

Because 7.3 feels more like a 7.2.5 than a major patch... I mean the spent a whole 30 minutes explaining what Deep Dungeons were in the Live Letter and an hour on chat bubbles... if there was something more interesting for part 2 I don't know why they withheld that information.

Anyways still gonna play the game. I still love this game. 7.3 could be better this is an early gut reaction to if this is all we are getting I'm gonna be pissed.

[Pyshiro]

Well said and I'm from a similar position.

I also play fairly casually and get to things when I can. I take 1-2 days off for a main patch just so I can absorb the story and fun day 1 hype elements with friends before getting back to work. I don't keep up with the tome grind much since I just want to have fun and not dedicate time to big raiding (which is probably where most people spend their time). So the main pull for me is the small 4 party content, allied societies, content with deep lore, exploration zones, anything I can pick up and put down when I need to! Occult Crescent has been such a breath of fresh air.

Just knowing that the main patch day is going to be basic one and dones will leave me nothing to do aside from waiting for a month for cosmic exploration, societies if they push it back to half patch again, and deep dungeon that will most definitely be on half patch. I can revisit old stuff I've already done but I don't want to be doing that for... 4 months... we'll see how it goes I guess. But I really do love this game! And maybe wouldn't be so salty if I didn't have to cling to my hard fought house in between droughts.

[Nadda]

I also play fairly casually and get to things when I can. I take 1-2 days off for a main patch just so I can absorb the story and fun day 1 hype elements with friends before getting back to work. I don't keep up with the tome grind much since I just want to have fun and not dedicate time to big raiding (which is probably where most people spend their time). So the main pull for me is the small 4 party content, allied societies, content with deep lore, exploration zones, anything I can pick up and put down when I need to! Occult Crescent has been such a breath of fresh air.

Just knowing that the main patch day is going to be basic one and dones will leave me nothing to do aside from waiting for a month for cosmic exploration, societies if they push it back to half patch again, and deep dungeon that will most definitely be on half patch. I can revisit old stuff I've already done but I don't want to be doing that for... 4 months... we'll see how it goes I guess. But I really do love this game! And maybe wouldn't be so salty if I didn't have to cling to my hard fought house in between droughts.

Yeah, totally.
I don’t hate FFXIV or anything—I LOVE this game. For all the reasons you mentioned. I’ve lost houses before too (never cared much personally), but I get the sting. That’s a different fight.

My biggest in-game commitment is Savage raiding. That’s really just because I owe it to my team. If I wasn’t raiding, I’d probably be taking longer breaks between patches.

But—and this is the key point—breaks should come from burnout, not from planned patch cycles that give you so little to do you’re forced to step away.

I like the whole “Take breaks, play other stuff, come back when you’re ready” mindset. That’s healthy. But the reason I play FFXIV so casually is because it lets me drop in, do what I enjoy, and dip out when needed. I like that freedom. I like that vibe.

But when the patch cycle is filled with what I’m now going to call Non-tent—that is, content that isn’t substantial, sticky, or long-lasting—it kills that drop-in, drop-out appeal. Because when you *do* drop in, there’s nothing waiting for you.

Take Patch 7.2 as an example of how to do it right:

• Don’t raid? Cool—you’ve got MSQ, EX, Unreal. Then in a few weeks, Cosmic drops.
  
• Don’t craft or gather? That’s fine—you’ve got Savage to prog and Field Ops later on.
  
• Not raiding or crafting, but like new content? Occult Crescent shows up and gives you something fresh.

Even as a casual player who just dips into whatever’s current. I might not have stuck around forever, but I showed up, had fun, and didn’t feel like the game slammed the door on me two weeks later.

But with 7.3, it’s like:

• Do the MSQ? Done.
• Do the Dungeon? Done.
• Do the Trial? Done.
• EX? Done a week later. (mount farm I guess)
• Alliance Raid a couple times? Done.
• Unreal? Done, or ignored.

And that's mostly just stuff that is baseline for every patch...and then the game goes,
“Alright, see you in four months.”

Like... what do you mean, “See me in four months”? You’re just kicking me out the door for a quarter of the year?

It’s like being invited over for summer break. You hang out the first weekend, but then your host stops talking to you for the rest of the summer, even though you’re still living in their house.

That’s how disconnected the devs are making the patch cadence feel. I know development time is long, I know resources are finite. But if you can’t fill a four-month gap with more than a week’s worth of “Non-tent” content, then either go back to a three-month patch cycle *or* stagger more of the releases again.

These feel like intentional content droughts, and I can’t wrap my head around why.

All I want is this:
Give me something interesting 2–3 weeks out of every month. Doesn’t have to be big. Doesn’t have to be mandatory. Just give me a reason to check in—and make me feel like the game *wants* me around.