7.0 is pretty optimistic for them to fix this game’s issues. The entire production cycle relies on boom and bust—players join during a new patch and then leave promptly after. The only incentive for players to stay is the timegated gear treadmill so that you can play the ultimate raid. But that assumes players don’t get burnt out of the highly repetitive artificial difficulty long before then. And, from the numbers, we know that a very small percentage of players in NA actually attempt ultimates.

So what’s the point of the game? To sell the story, characters, and cash shop items. FFXIV was never meant to be a long-term investment for anyone to partake in. ARR’s success was purely accidental. Square Enix never intended to compete with online gaming stalwarts like WoW, League, Valorant, Fortnite, etc. And many of you appreciate that, because you play those games too.

Dynamis being empty is good news for them because they can forget about any infrastructure changes for the next 10 years. It’s all smooth sailing for that department until the game reaches maintenance mode. They’ll never change anything serious about the game—the engine is still handicapped, class design is just button mashing, raids are Simon says.

If we want something different, we’re gonna get it in FFXVII, not 7.0.