Naoki Yoshida interview @Gamescom

[Mraj]

It's fun to get some small things between big patches!

So tell me why every month i have to see new optional items instead of a new [ content ] preview?

I love playing my wallet instead of playing the game .

Would that there was some content to be paid for during catch up patches. In between long, listless periods of game inactivity where the chief features are pointless gearing* and working on relics - which involves spamming static, dated content in a multi-stage grind designed to keep players bored but busy.

(*unless you raid. Dungeons / trials don't require current patch gear )

Worse still is FFXIV's inability to make any group happy. The Raiders have motivation issues and 6 months of 4 one-stage raid arenas. The PvPers find that due to restrictions on game modes and matchmaking the already small community is fragmented further. The Housing enthusiasts either can't get a house or find that FFXIV's housing setup still lacks basic personalization features ( like weapon racks, mannequins, more item variety ). The glamour enthusiasts are by far the happiest, but even they face the challenges of limited inventory space ( unless you sink additional monthly fees into FFXIV to purchase more retainers to hold all those glamours )

Extremely casual players may never even hit a content wall because between afking and casual chat, they might not do any content at all besides the daily cactpot. Ironically enough, the hardcore players - having finished all available content - have roughly the same options available to them.

I've heard YoshiP talk on how the dev team is working their hardest - and let's assume that the main patch attractions take all their time and effort to roll out on schedule. If those fail, the game stagnates because every other system besides the main patch attraction has been left neglected...sometimes for periods spanning over a year. It's not hard for any type of player to list numerous systems that they'd like to see updated - if only a little - between main patches. YoshiP, forget not being able to find complex battle system designers - get a few interns to delegate tasks to so that we can see something on the horizon other than cash shop updates.

To list a few things to slip in between major / catch up patches:

* Regularly update Gold Saucer rewards so that MGP isn't just another useless currency. Something as simple as a new npc outfit, weapon, hairstyle.

* Updating current systems like GC's, FC perks, airships, Treasure maps, levequests, guildhests, Hunts, older PvP maps.

* More quality of life changes in general. Give the housing people more furnishings. Give the glamour people a few more glamour rewards to work towards. Give the crafters some new recipes or ingredients.

This sort of upkeep assures your subscription players that the game isn't just a boom-and-bust cycle model with frequent content drought periods. Even the most minor additions and quality of life updates outside major patches lets the players know that the game is healthy and worth paying for, even when there isn't a major update out. On the other hand, when players continually log in to cash shop updates, it only reinforces the message that SE doesn't really care about player experiences outside of what they're expected to release during major patches.