Should the feature release order be reconsidered?

[XtremePrime]

I might be wrong about this, but I was trying to remember what features did we get exactly at the very release of Dawntrail?
Besides the usual stuff (MSQ with dungeons and trials & role quests) we got:

• Two new Jobs
• The graphical update
• 2 channel dye system
• Blacklist improvements
• Some changes to the actions for the hotbar
• Facewear
• New 8p Raid (2 weeks later) with Savage difficulty (2 weeks after that)
• New Treasure Hunt (4 weeks after)

The fanfests also advertised many features that players are expectant of:

• New Limited Job (Beastmaster)
• More blue mage content
• New Field Operation (Occult Crescent)
• New Deep Dungeon (Pilgrim's Traverse)
• New crafting activity (Cosmic Exploration)
• New relic weapon
• Raid whiteboard tool
• New Ultimate
• New Variant Dungeon

(Note these lists might be incomplete, so please correct me!)
A lot of the features listed above were added several months after the release of the expansion and some are not even in the game yet.
I am not against peppering features of an expansion throughout the lifecycle of it to keep things from getting stale too quickly, but is it correct for many of the exciting new things to not be a bit more frontloaded and instead be pushed to weeks/months after the initial release?

I'm not sure if this can be considered a hot take or not, but I'd love to hear your opinions on the current release format for FFXIV expansion content and what would you change (or leave it as is)?

[Jeeqbit]

It's not about whether it's "right", it's about whether they have developed it yet. They were going to release the raidplan feature in a previous patch but decided to delay it so that they could make it even better.

In theory, if you wait until the .55 patch to play the expansion, then it is all frontloaded. Since that's obviously how long it takes them to develop all that.

[ViinaS]

With how atrocious everything in DT was:

They need to throw the entire dripfeed plan into the dumpster and put out more content of better quality.
Make sure each patch has the content on release, not 2-3 months after.
Patches also need to stop catering to one section of players only and make sure everyone has something to do (no, 1 hour of MSQ is not content for the casuals, it's nothing).

All in all they need to completely reevaluate.
Chances are slim they do tho.

[Valence]

It's not about whether it's "right", it's about whether they have developed it yet. They were going to release the raidplan feature in a previous patch but decided to delay it so that they could make it even better.

In theory, if you wait until the .55 patch to play the expansion, then it is all frontloaded. Since that's obviously how long it takes them to develop all that.

I don't even know why they're bothering with the raidplan feature since it already exists out of the game and that tool is probably going to outperform whatever ingame version we have anyway, ESPECIALLY regarding CBU3's abysmal track record with UI/UX features. If just because it can actually be displayed on a second monitor without any issue.
Such a waste of development resources..

[Raikai]

They need to shuffle stuff around. The first half of the expansion was literally barren of stuff to do other than Savage raiding prog.

The field operation (when properly made) or the Deep Dungeon, or something of similar replayability - need to be released at x.1.5 at the latest.

They also need to consider moving at least one side activity to the patch releases (or at least 2 weeks after), ESPECIALLY the actual expansion release.

"7.2 is adding the Field Operation! Hooray!... wait, not until 2 months in."
"7.3 is adding Deep Dungeon, hooray!... Oh, gotta wait for the .5 for it."
"7.4 with BLU update, nice! Not until after 2 months."

This was less of a burden when patches released faster, but that 1.5 extra months that have been added in with time is really meaningful.

Yes, moving stuff around requires resources, but I hope they consider how big of a cash cow this game is. And I know it also takes time, but if something starts today, we can hopefully see change in not a far long future.

[XtremePrime]

"7.2 is adding the Field Operation! Hooray!... wait, not until 2 months in."
"7.3 is adding Deep Dungeon, hooray!... Oh, gotta wait for the .5 for it."
"7.4 with BLU update, nice! Not until after 2 months."

This one hurts so much, it always robs me of hype for any patch release because I know in the back of my mind that the new feature is actually always 2 months away from whatever date they give us for the patch

[Mecia]

Well, yes. Long form combat content should release earlier in the expansion. OC and PT shouldve been here before 7.3. Like why is BLU taking so long? Why is BST coming at the end?

Also 90% of my glams are still not double dyed so im still waiting for them to release that lmao.

[Raikai]

Well, yes. Long form combat content should release earlier in the expansion. OC and PT shouldve been here before 7.3. Like why is BLU taking so long? Why is BST coming at the end?

Also 90% of my glams are still not double dyed so im still waiting for them to release that lmao.

I don't understand either. If it was me, I'd make BLU x.1.5 and BST x.2.5... It would make them a little "less apart" than the normal jobs for a whole expansion cycle. Right now BLU is only one expansion away from x.4.5 until next expansion.

[Voidmage]

I don't even know why they're bothering with the raidplan feature since it already exists out of the game and that tool is probably going to outperform whatever ingame version we have anyway, ESPECIALLY regarding CBU3's abysmal track record with UI/UX features. If just because it can actually be displayed on a second monitor without any issue.
Such a waste of development resources..

Because there exist more than pc players who are annoyed that they have to use a PC just for a raidplan.

If anything it's about high time that the decentralization of game features gets pushed back a little.
Raidplan is a nice start I hope is successful.
I really hope next is the social features and a reigning in of discord.

Not everything that is developed for others is a waste of resources and it's not like that team would have worked on battle content or such.


@topic
I think almost everyone would agree that things like the relic weapons should start way sooner.
The whole release strategy imo needs to change away from "patch for this crowd", "patch for that crowd" as Yoshida said.

Quantum is not bad per se in that way but imo still needs fine-tuning in starting difficulty and not being locked behind so many other things.
I think the next patch will show, what they have learned or not.

[Oizen]

The increased time between patches has done a lot of damage to this game.