How long should content take?

[OSUBuckeye4]

A successful MMORPG should have tiers of players at different stages of progression.

As far as FF14, at this point in time I think it should look something like this:


1-5% of the server is at "end-end game", nothing to do because they played 10-12 hours a day from when the patch was released and have mastered all there is to master. These are your ultra-hardcore players, and it's impossible to cater to them because you can't maintain a profit and supply them with enough content to last them from patch to patch.

10-15% of the server is at "end game" and are just working on vanity things like maxing out sub-classes or saving up for FC housing. These are your players who were playing a few hours a day, every day.

25-40% of the population should be at end game for their class, but have plenty of things to work on. The 1 hour a day or "weekend" crowd.

A good 25-40% of the population should be the very casual (pre-lvl 50 or hit 50 and are slowly progessing through post-50 content) players who play a few hours a week.

You should have about 10-15% of your population be new subscribers on their trial period who are testing the game out for the first time.



People are constantly going to be moving from one tier to another, and that's why it's important to continue to release new content.


If more than 5% of the community can max "everything" out before the next major patch/expansion, a developer needs to really sit down and think of better ways to release content.