No content for 1 year :)

[raelgun]

I like how some people keep complaining about this every. single. expansion.

Please let me know another MMO that gives you more, frequent patch content especially right before it's next expansion. I'll wait.

Seriously though, what an asinine complaint. Pure selfishness. Heaven forbid the developers take the final months leading up to the release of an expansion to -- oh I don't know -- tweak, play test, make sure it is a relative smooth launch. Also gives players the chance to catch up content throughout the expansion before being thrust into new content. It's not as though there is a single player in this game who has even come close to doing all the content available. You can literally go do any number of other things while you are waiting for launch or even simply play other games while waiting.

When you say frequent, this game is no longer on a 3 month patch cycle, its much closer to a 5 month cycle now.

I won't be surprised if we start reaching 6 month cycles, this would mean 4 savage bosses for 1 whole year.

I would actually say the amount of content and meaningful content has reduced per patch cycle.

Some of the stuff that came in Endwalker are actually stuff delayed from Shadowbringers which makes Endwalker actually look worse then it is.

( BTW since you asked which other mmo has been providing frequent content, I'm just gonna ask you to look at the patch notes since release for WoW Dragonflight and what its added in, spoiler, a lot in comparison )

[Tsurayu]

When you say frequent, this game is no longer on a 3 month patch cycle, its much closer to a 5 month cycle now.

I won't be surprised if we start reaching 6 month cycles, this would mean 4 savage bosses for 1 whole year.

I would actually say the amount of content and meaningful content has reduced per patch cycle.

Some of the stuff that came in Endwalker are actually stuff delayed from Shadowbringers which makes Endwalker actually look worse then it is.

( BTW since you asked which other mmo has been providing frequent content, I'm just gonna ask you to look at the patch notes since release for WoW Dragonflight and what its added in, spoiler, a lot in comparison )

It is a four month patch cycle - almost exact the entire expansion. They told us they were going to move to a four month patch cycle to help alleviate stress after trying so hard to get the post-game of Shadowbringers, and the entirety of the Endwalker base expansion out while having to deal with Covid nonsense getting in their way. It's fine to not like that reason, and also fine to not find that reason to no longer be excusable, but please don't exaggerate.

I too have my doubts they'll ever return to the three-month patch cycle. I think it might have initially been their intention to do so, but after growing accustomed to the four-month cycle I doubt they'll be all that willing to work in that level of production ever again even if they've demonstrated they are quite cable of doing so. That said, six months, really? What gives you any indication that they'd slow down more? I've said it before, but I'm not Endwalker defender either. This expansion is frankly the worst we've had bar none, but there is no reason to go from constructive criticism to making up back-handed complaints that veer towards whining.

As for WoW, I can't really give much of an opinion. Never played it. Reading a few of their recent patch notes it doesn't seem like more content than the average FFXIV patch, but I don't have anything to compare it to since I never really played it. The amount of literal words I'm reading on the screen don't really do it justice. It could easily be a lot of text that amounts to nothing or a few lines about content that translates into a whole host of new things to do in game.

[AwesomeJr44]

That said, six months, really? What gives you any indication that they'd slow down more?

The fact that they've already been slowing down more.

I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that.

[Koros]

It is a four month patch cycle

No it's not, it's 4.4 months.

[Kaurhz]

I like how some people keep complaining about this every. single. expansion.

Please let me know another MMO that gives you more, frequent patch content especially right before it's next expansion. I'll wait.

Seriously though, what an asinine complaint. Pure selfishness. Heaven forbid the developers take the final months leading up to the release of an expansion to -- oh I don't know -- tweak, play test, make sure it is a relative smooth launch. Also gives players the chance to catch up content throughout the expansion before being thrust into new content. It's not as though there is a single player in this game who has even come close to doing all the content available. You can literally go do any number of other things while you are waiting for launch or even simply play other games while waiting.

People do complain about it every single expansion. So what? - What's the argument? That it's nothing new? Sure.

It doesn't matter if no other MMOs do it better - This is just a driving factor for complacency. I would agree though, few do it better. But many others also have a pretty good culture or other systems in place which still do actively encourage players to continually play the game. - Let's take achievement tokens for example, a great feature on paper (Useless because they do nothing with it) - Also take Moogle Treasure Trove - Completely underrated, and should be integral with cyclic rewards to incentivize continually interacting with it. PvP series is an amazing example, it's continual.

It's not asinine, you just don't agree with it. It's also not selfish either. For better or worse it does come from a place of wanting to see the game improve. What would be selfish though is dismissing it. I would argue many players understand the fact of how monumental the task is, but that doesn't mean they cannot do anything to at least alleviate the content drought many people will encounter. Again, see the first paragraph.

[OooBlooPloom]

Garbage-tier ragebait.

[Jojoya]

6.0 release Dec-3-2021
6.1 release Apr-12-2022 (131 days)
6.2 release Aug-23-2022 (133 days)
6.3 release Jan-10-2023 (140 days)
6.4 release May-23-2023 (133 days)

As Koros said, that's 4.4 months between patches.

If they release patch 6.5 in early October as announced in the Live Letter, it would be on track for the 133-140 day cycle depending on the exact date.

[Ave07]

Why do you need to play this game 365 days a year? Play a different game if there is nothing for you to do until the expansion drops.

[raelgun]

Why do you need to play this game 365 days a year? Play a different game if there is nothing for you to do until the expansion drops.

This game has the strangest defenders, its defence for the long patch cycles is, why are you playing this game?

[CStrife912]

This game has the strangest defenders, its defence for the long patch cycles is, why are you playing this game?

I wouldn't say that its a defence...I do agree in some capacity that no game should occupy your time day in day out but I would want the game to give you the option to invest rather then it being mandatory like other games these days. So I am hoping down the line they can find a balance.