FFXIV outdated patch cycle is one of the biggest issues in terms of content cadence.

[DynnDiablos]

I think one of the biggest problems with FFXIV at this point is its patch cycle and content cadence. It is nowhere on the same pace as other MMO's and live service games which consistently deliver content monthly and sometimes weekly.

While many games have adopted an 8-week season model, so content is dripped to keep players consistently engaged, XIV continues with its content drop every 4.5 months. The problem is, most of this content is cleared within a few days to a week and there is no incentive to be engaged daily. Nothing they create can fill a 4.5 month period.

Allied Tribe Quests, dailies and weekly raid runs are simply not enough. What does XIV lack compared to other games doing content better? Weekly Bonuses, Monthly Bonuses, Daily Tasks that come with some award or bonus.

MSQ is dropped with an hour-long new story bit, but then we are expected to wait another 4.5 months until the next arc. The entire patch cycle just feels outdated and not something that can be sustained when other online games are able to deliver fresh content quicker.

There is the state of mind (from the devs, too) that the game is meant for folks to unsub for periods of time. But then that just creates a huge downtime in between every patch and you aren't guaranteed players will return.

Yoshi P is determined to keep the game running for the next 10 years, but if he is to do that something needs to change.

Even SE's online store structure is outdated. Most games and MMOs you can access the store and buy right from the game. Everything is just so outdated and archaic and I think that will be XIV's downfall and where it will eventually get left behind in the dust.

Why couldn't they add a Season/Battle Pass with rewards to unlock from glams to XP boosts to fantasia and housing items, etc? Why could we have more engaging daily and weekly challenges?

I just feel we are in a time where XIV is no longer the pinnacle/star of the show in terms of MMOs and other games in the online space and I feel Yoshi P and the devs are so stuck in their ways they probably can't change it.

As a veteran player since the ARR beta in 2013, even I am reaching my limit. And the 7.0 story did nothing to make me even give a crap about what comes next. Maybe it truly is time for me to hang my hat up and move on. Yet, I keep holding out hope someone can come in and shake up leadership and the development of XIV. I just don't see it getting to 10.0 in its current state and how they choose to release content.

[ZephyrMenodora]

It was okay, not great, when it was every 3-4 months. But stretching the same or less to 4-6 months feels awful.

The content wasn't really enough for the original patch cycle, and just outright feels bad now.

A similar thing happened in ESO where they cut content releases in half to the point that it felt like a content drought. People on those forums gaslit me that it would be great for the game and really help the devs do better work. Fast-forward and that game has less players than it had in a very long time and still dropping.

I feel FFXIV is heading into that direction - less content over longer periods of time. It's not good for the game and if this game is the cash cow the company depends upon, I have no idea why this is the direction they are going with for this game.

[VerdeLuck]

It's getting pretty bad, it's a death by attrition at this point. They cut content, give us slightly less, recycle more every time we go through this, the time period gets a little longer. I'm reminded of the Trust Thermocline concept that was floating around a few months ago.
It describes situations where companies give a little bit less, charge a little more, or deliver a little slower, but over time these small thigns add up until it's no longer worth it for people and they face a large backlash of consumers wanting better value.

That's where we're at, things have been going this way for a long time with fewer dungeons, worse gear designs, recycled content, and so on and now we've hit the point where it's becoming unacceptable.
And most people don't want to hear the excuse that it will get better in 6-12 months, they want to know what SE is going to do about it NOW. The LL on the 1st will probably make or break it for the rest of the expansion for a lot of people. If Yoshida dismisses people's concerns again like he usually has then they're not coming back for a while and they're taking their money to another game with them.

[DynnDiablos]

My overall thought continues to be that other games are simply doing it better than they do. And that is what will leave XIV in the dust. Everything about XIV is just outdated in its content delivery and from a technical perspective. It is running on a model that no longer fits the current online gaming landscape.

[Reinha]

The price of one major patch that lasts 4.5 months is $58.50 or 49.50€ on an entry level subscription. Let that sink in.

What does 7.1 have that is worth subscribing the entire time? What do other games offer for that price?

[Aneshda]

I think Yoshi P. wasted too much time with the old dungeons to make them more single player friendly. That was completely unnecessary.
And I also think that the big graphics update that was announced, which has now turned out to be a lukewarm breeze, was also an enormous waste of time.
Because the game/content suffered greatly with both big projects. Was it necessary to put all the energy into something that is barely visible?
And then there are the Hildibrand stories, into which a lot of time is invested with each expansion, even though a lot of players have no interest in this content at all.
Couldn't all that time have been used better and something new created? For example, a banker in the game who stores all items, so that retainers only sell items or go exploring?
And if a banker isn't possible, then certainly chests in which you can store your stuff. These chests could have different sizes/slots and be placed in Apartments or Houses.
I think the chest system in EverQuest II is great. If you click on the front door in your House/Apartment/Inn Room, you can access the chest system.
There are several slots in which players can put chests or bags with different slot sizes to store all their stuff.
These chests can be used from every front door and every Apartment / Inn Room, even if a House is demolished, there are still Apartments / Inn Rooms to access the chests.
Why is it not possible to introduce an account-wide material storage/bag that is unlimited?
Every character on an account would have access to all the material from anywhere.
Also this eternal excuse that the glamour system cannot be changed because of the spaghetti code. How about a book, similar to the fish directory in the game?
Only this book lists all equipment, weapons, level 1 glamour items. Every time the player crafts or finds an item, this item is automatically unlocked in the book.
The player can then use the item as a glamour item forever and that would also create a lot of retainer space.
In addition, many players would have something to do again because collecting all these items in dungeons, raids and so on doesn't happen overnight.
Why not create world quests and weekly special quests for special rewards?
Yoshi should invest his time in all of these things and not in changes to turn an MMORPG into a single player game.

[Nebelheim]

I feel the amount of content we are getting for 7.1 possibly would be enough to last when patch cycles were 3 months long. But it definitely isn't enough content to stretch out for 4.5-5 months. I miss the arr and hw times when patches felt more packed and patches released 3 months apart.

[Mecia]

The store being out of sight in game is the one good thing about it.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

People have really had their sense of value destroyed by mobile games and pvp games.

We don’t need battle passes, those have ruined gaming.

Most mobile games bi weekly/ monthly updates are barely content additions, it’s new stuff to pay for with similar content you already have, but in gamba format.


People spend hundreds to thousands of dollars per event on said mobile games. It's not even close to the cost of XIV.

[ZephyrMenodora]

The price of one major patch that lasts 4.5 months is $58.50 or 49.50€ on an entry level subscription. Let that sink in.

What does 7.1 have that is worth subscribing the entire time? What do other games offer for that price?

This really puts things into perspective. For that amount of money you can pretty much get an entire new gaming experience; more if you are behind your backlog and get things on sale.