FFXIV outdated patch cycle is one of the biggest issues in terms of content cadence.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 The entire patch cycle just feels outdated and not something that can be sustained when other online games are able to deliver fresh content quicker.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Even SE's online store structure is outdated.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 Everything is just so outdated and archaic and I think that will be XIV's downfall and where it will eventually get left behind in the dust.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.

[All_Nonsense]

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.

I will say this: They originally extended the dev cycle to give themselves more time to get the graphics update worked out. My big huff of copium and what I'm holding out on hope for is that once they have finally finished with all of that, they will use that extra time to do QoL changes and shake up the dev cycle to give us more stuff to do than "here's a dungeon. Here's a raid tier. Have fun." I'm really hoping they have big plans to capitalize on that extra dev time economy.

[Jeeqbit]

They originally extended the dev cycle to give themselves more time to get the graphics update worked out.

That isn't true. They extended the dev cycle to give their staff a better work-life balance, after working extremely hard for over 10 years.

Avoiding burnout is very important to Yoshi-P. He makes sure they can switch roles and work on different things if they are getting burned out, and forces them to take breaks if they are overworking themselves (which is why they work on things without telling him out of passion sometimes).

QoL changes

Would like if there was lots of QoL. They have barely scratched the surface of little things they could improve.

[All_Nonsense]

That isn't true. They extended the dev cycle to give their staff a better work-life balance, after working extremely hard for over 10 years.

oh. back to doomposting then

Work-life balance is important. So there's a secret third option to solve the apparent labor shortage - hire more people. Does it take a year to train someone on the spaghetti code that ff14 is built on? yeah, Yoshi-P talked about it. But it gets to a point where re-investing into the cash cow is kind of important. I hope SE sees the light some day.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

oh. back to doomposting then

Work-life balance is important. So there's a secret third option to solve the apparent labor shortage - hire more people. Does it take a year to train someone on the spaghetti code that ff14 is built on? yeah, Yoshi-P talked about it. But it gets to a point where re-investing into the cash cow is kind of important. I hope SE sees the light some day.

They have been trying to hire.

[Daralii]

I will say this: They originally extended the dev cycle to give themselves more time to get the graphics update worked out. My big huff of copium and what I'm holding out on hope for is that once they have finally finished with all of that, they will use that extra time to do QoL changes and shake up the dev cycle to give us more stuff to do than "here's a dungeon. Here's a raid tier. Have fun." I'm really hoping they have big plans to capitalize on that extra dev time economy.

The question is if they'll ever reach a point where they are done with it. Viera and hrothgar hats were supposed to be done during the course of Shadowbringers, and that came out over 5 years ago.

[Elizabetha]

I'd think the same thing, but the JP playerbase and the cash shop is going to keep this title earning for quite a while.

The reason the game is becoming worse is because they can spend less effort and still earn the same (or better) profit.

There is no incentive for SE to change the game into something western audiences are craving.

There's no getting around it in MMOs anymore: cash shops kill. It might be slow, it might be fast, but at some point the company will ask itself why bother with heavy dev if you can put another chibi mount in the cash shop and make as much as you do when selling an expansion.

[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.

[Kaliesto]

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.

If only a renegade former FFXIV Developer would give us insight on what is actually happening.