Whats going on with SE ?

[Rufalus]

Yeah but patch 4.3 is bigger than usual patches. The second Eureka map coming so soon and the new Deep Dungeon also finished sooner than I expected. They must have been secretly really far along with a lot of stuff during the perceived lulls and now it's bearing fruit. That's two major pieces of farmable content you can plug a lot of gameplay hours into, onto top of all the usual stuff... dungeon, trial, alliance raid, ultimate raid, beast tribe, hildibrand, doma reconstruction and four lords sidequests, msq, custom delivery client, adjustments and new features (cross world linkshell, housing guestbook, mannequins, frontlines daily campaign, raid roulette, etc). I kept saying "oh wow" during that live letter.

[Aster_E]

Yeah but patch 4.3 is bigger than usual patches.

Is it, though?

The second Eureka map coming so soon

I doubt that it's coming out in 4.3 proper instead of the usual relic patch, such as 4.35.

and the new Deep Dungeon also finished sooner than I expected.

Eh... PotD came out in 3.35. Yoshida said in the past that the new deep dungeon was taking longer than expected, but that he meant to get it out before the end of SB. So Patch 4.35 sounds about right, again.

They must have been secretly really far along with a lot of stuff during the perceived lulls and now it's bearing fruit.

There's nothing secret about it. Don't fool yourself like this.

I kept saying "oh wow" during that live letter.

My reaction was a little different.

Raid Roulette? Oh hey, I'm curious if this counts savage or extreme primals, and how a lot of raids will look after so long of being irrelevant (and constantly unsynced) what with the PUGs and handling of mechanics.

ONE new dungeon, the new trial (normal and extreme versions), a contination of the Hildibrand drip feed that'll be worth a potential laugh or two for the ten minutes it takes (because no instance is tied to it), another Ultimate duty for the hardcore minority, the third beast tribe, (FINALLY) the third custom delivery client, a 24man raid, and some feature fixes that, honestly, look like something that should have been part of those same features when they were released? Oh nice, I guess we're moving forward like routine for Stormblood.

The 24man being one of my least favorite locations from one of my least favorite FF games? Well, that's just dandy!

An app that practically rewards lazy addicts to the game, especially and literally to those who pay extra for it? No coherent words until they mentioned the Moogle Coins. Just... *facepalm*

I remember in ARR when we got so much content and fixes to things, but also three new dungeons in a patch. I remember in HW when we got two dungeons per patch, the Scholasticate quests that people drudged through for an emote that I don't even see used that often, Hildibrand was tacked on with no duties and no more interaction than giving Hildibrand a massage, the first 24man being unimaginative or uninspired with its mechanics (save for the third boss being literal crap), not that that stopped people from messing up and wiping to the second boss, and people rage quitting over a3s actually being a challenge. You think that 4.3 is going to be larger than usual? We were promised a ton of new content with the system of two dungeons per major raid patch and one dungeon every other patch; a promise hit in part by the need to code the additional housing wards, with the latest addition FINALLY adding a limit per account for houses we can purchase.

The app is a waste. The limit on houses should always have been there. We should always have been able to retrieve items from the Glam Dresser. Perform should always have had its own interface. Housing wards should have increased by a substantial number from the get-go (would doing more at once have saved time on coding?). Shiro still needs another entrance that isn't in Kugane (which would have helped the server load in the city when Shiro opened). Basically, the lack of oversight on SE's behalf cancels out a lot of time, money, and energy that the devs have to make good on their promise of more, new, fun and exciting content.

I'm glad we're getting HoH and that Pagos will answer even more of my questions regarding future relic steps (and whether or not it's using FFXI and glorified FATE grinding as a front to give us an homage to the story/bosses of Mystic Quest). But those are likely 4.35. It wouldn't surprise me if Hildibrand was as well. All of this isn't enough for me to keep paying my sub right away when it's due to expire in a few weeks. That's me, though. If you still feel like supporting this game in its current state then that's your choice.

[Aster_E]

Oh yeah, and I kinda sorta laughed when they decided to make that slideshow guide to being reported to the GMs, and what that looks like. I shook my head in amusement and wondered if that was their best response to the many, MANY people asking them about what they were going to do about the rampant bots in the game.

[KageTokage]

They apparently addressed the whole matter of the bot complaints directly as the first question in Q&A, but I seriously doubt they said anything meaningful.

I just don't understand how some obvious bots can get away with what they're doing for months/years on end when they're (Supposedly) banning other bots. I think probably the dumbest thing is that ones who should be dealing with the bots (The GMs) are actually the worst enemies of anyone who's trying to get a bot banned, as a botter can easily get someone punished for trying to investigate them or spread word about them if they happen to not be AFK at the time.

[Namida-Hikari]

Yeah but patch 4.3 is bigger than usual patches.

You mean "than usual patches SINCE STORMBLOOD", right? Also, the second map of Eurêka is coming "soon" because the release was very late. With only one dungeon per patch and less content than before... OF COURSE deep dungeon and other things are coming sooner than expected, this is a game with sub and we (I mean "fanboys") are giving them more and more money, it was time we finally see what our money is used for don't you think ?!

[LaylaTsarra]

You mean "than usual patches SINCE STORMBLOOD", right? Also, the second map of Eurêka is coming "soon" because the release was very late. With only one dungeon per patch and less content than before... OF COURSE deep dungeon and other things are coming sooner than expected, this is a game with sub and we (I mean "fanboys") are giving them more and more money, it was time we finally see what our money is used for don't you think ?!

You're not getting less content. This one dungeon less crutch gets pretty old and it's not EVERY PATCH, it's every other patch. Eureka is an entirely new zone and we're gotten other things as well. We are getting a new zone in 4.35 and most likely will get another in 4.45.

[Squintina]

You mean "than usual patches SINCE STORMBLOOD", right? Also, the second map of Eurêka is coming "soon" because the release was very late. With only one dungeon per patch and less content than before... OF COURSE deep dungeon and other things are coming sooner than expected, this is a game with sub and we (I mean "fanboys") are giving them more and more money, it was time we finally see what our money is used for don't you think ?!

I only came back just before stormblood after a 3-year hiatus so this is me genuinely asking and not being a smartass:
Other than having 1 less dungeon every other patch (which honestly doesn't seem like much and is balanced out by the eureka maps), how exactly are we getting less content than pre-stormblood?

It seems to me players are just clearing content faster because of QOL improvements (like cooldown resets), overall player skill increasing, and thus clearing pretty much the same amount of content as before just faster.

[Rufalus]

You think that 4.3 is going to be larger than usual?
...If you still feel like supporting this game in its current state then that's your choice.

I think it's super-massive (including 4.31 and 4.35). Live Letters still get me excited like Christmas. Legit thought a lot of people would be hyped this time and grateful about how much stuff we're getting. Saw a couple of people over on reddit say it's the best patch ever but official forum still seems super negative atm.

I mean, I've been gaming a long time. Things have never been better than they are now. I remember in 1993 you could buy a single-player Super Nintendo game that lasts like 2 hours and costs £60, or £117 in today's money adjusted for inflation ($165 usd). That was honestly the normal price of games at an independent retailer in my town. It is astounding how much bigger and better games are in the 21st Century. I am in awe. This thing we do is amazing. What a time to alive o.o

[ErryK]

I still find it hilarious that people actually think the app is pay to win. I will not be subscribing to the premium plan because the only real premium you get from it is 70 extra saddlebag slots, and that's not worth $5 per month when I can spend $2 and get 105 more slots for less.

[Lissandra]

Ah, and they said that from now on, there will be not an official forum updates on the Live Letters - the only official real time posting will be in the official J FFXIV Twitter.

Interesting. I wonder why this is.