The issue with Dawntrail and importance of 8.0

[ViinaS]

As we are all aware (I think) Dawntrail has and most likely will continue to have massive issues.
Those were extensively talked about on other threats before, so I'll just skip over it.

• Lack of non-raid Content
• Bad MSQ
• Bad depiction of characters
• Very formulaic
• Stretched Patch Cycle
• Devs turned tonedeaf
• EN localization group taking too many freedoms
• Lack of long-lasting content

These things caused a decline in population, but even more pressing I think is that it heavily damages the image of FFXIV and devs.
People turned more critical and are not longer willing to ignore most issues (unless Reddit and Social Media of course, those people are beyond help).

All in all a lot of goodwill and trust was lost.

And that's where the importance of 8.0 comes in.

8.0 Can not be lackluster/bad like Dawntrail is. It also can't afford the luxury of being mid.
They keep saying 8.0 is going to be the expansion where they plan to rework all classes.
Frankly I don't trust them to actually commit to that.
Their recent changes to jobs have been either lazy or destructive to fit them into the 2 minute Meta.

So that's one point that is very important they manage to do well.


Then there's the usual content an expansion brings. MSQ.
They need it to be a hit. No way around that. If that fails flat on its face they are in for a very rough time and given how long one expansion lasts nowadays I don't think another bad MSQ is something FFXIV will survive in a healthy state.

Finally they have to throw their release cycle formular in the trahs and finally adapt and adress the issues that plagued it.

So I'm gonna say it:
8.0 is most likely gonna be FFXIVs breaking point
If the devs screw it up I don't think FFXIV will be able to recover from it. FFXIV isn't WoW, I doubt it can take 2 bad expansions back to back.

The devs really have to strap in and deliver on their claims and promises.

My following take now is completely subjective and only speaks for me, but:
I don't think they will be able to. I think they will stick to their formular and screw it up.

[Basteala]

I agree that they can't afford for 8.0 to be a miss, but...EN taking too many liberties? What happened this time? What'd I miss?

[Supersnow845]

I still don’t know why they still refuse to actually move anything around and are still committing everything to the nebulous future beyond their immediate plans

Like they could win everyone back basically right now by moving some of those job reworks forward into the 7.x patches and show us NOW what 8.0 will complete

Instead they ignore us, We stew in our annoyance and build up 8.0 as this magical healing balm they are never going to live up to and the population collapses in real time

If they have a pipeline that stops this it’s obviously not working. Is “population is collapsing” not a valid reason to deviate from their structure?

[Exmo]

Nah Dawntrail was great. Don't worry about it.

[Carighan]

Like they could win everyone back basically right now by moving some of those job reworks forward into the 7.x patches and show us NOW what 8.0 will complete

Yeah but c an you imagine player rage if the next two savage tiers are cancelled, for example?

It'd be healthier for the game, for sure. But the tears would completely flood the server room, short-circuiting everything!

[Zelda206]

The response to the worst MSQ they've had in this game so far simply made the encroaching issues with the game and its lacking content more apparent. I've seen a surge of unhappy players in regards to the Tank situation and the decline of complexity in the basic gameplay of their Jobs (goes for more than just the tanks; DPS are in an uproar), the lack of engaging activities other than FATEs and Hunts (folks don't need to be crafters or gatherers to enjoy their content; I'm an omnicrafter and an avid gatherer so I can say that with confidence) and the barren feel to every zone due to the aforementioned content drought. A lot of folks want useless fun or new things to do that doesn't demand a relic-grind; Gold Saucer 2.0, a theme park, or something actually fun. For all the hype generated both due to advertising and the playerbase riding on Endwalker's lead-off, this comes off as a scam and cheat to the players. There's enough feedback to guarantee that the team knows what the players want, based on popularity, but the issue lies with if they're capable or willing to do it.

In short: I think the game deserves to take a nosedive in numbers, which is what is currently happening. Square loves money but is terrible at managing or nourishing it, and FFXIV is their active cash cow that gets siphoned for the side projects, so if they want to keep that cash cow alive, 8.0 will have to satisfy the customers on ALL sides since DT seems to appeal to a quarter at best (being generous with that estimate; some people simply love crafting, PvP or raiding). The heads for the previous expansions may have had their names signed off on this, but direction suffered greatly and this is the result. It also wouldn't hurt for the FFXIV team to screen through the scripts, dialogue and yank the English team by the ear for some of the misinterpreted text jumping from JP to ENG (the ENG side almost exclusively had the most issues, from dialogue to execution to drama), not to mention just comb through the entire ENG team and tell them to get their arses in gear.

[NamiRocket]

EN localization group taking too many freedoms

How dare those filthy westerners sully the good name of our glorious Nippon by translating their words! When will the west learn!?

Learn Japanese, I mean.

[Carin-Eri]

MSQ-wise, I, personally, hope they can turn things around - an expansion based in Meracydia might do it (if written well) since it would have familiar elements from our earlier adventures to fall back on.

[yesnt]

Preach. These are exactly my thoughts.

My following take now is completely subjective and only speaks for me, but:
I don't think they will be able to. I think they will stick to their formular and screw it up.

I don't think this is subjective. We've been watching them not or barely reacting, leaving a lot of issues unfixed and acting as though they are looking for praise for the slightest improvements that were long overdue. Don't really see that it gets better, so if this is the course they settled for, they are going to screw up. I hope they will turn the wheel, but I don't see that at the moment.

[Kaurhz]

Most of the issues that people have surrounding content lifecycle this expansion has just been completely magnified by how accessible the last relic was. In SB/ShB, you typically weren't getting all of the relics before the expansion ended unless you were severely dedicating yourself to it.

By comparison the previous expansions relics in no way, shape, or form deviate from how people consume content in the subsequent expansion. Do your roulettes, and you have a relic step waiting for you courtesy of Tomestones. Assuming the next exploration zone is actually substantive, then I can honestly see the next expansion not being as bad simply because people will still have things to do. Granted, I don't think it's spectacular design. But the issue here around content is nothing new really.

If they continually demolish the story, then I think it would absolutely be bad.

I would like for them to actually deviate from their usual lifecycle, try something new, if some players don't like it then stand your ground, and continue to refine it. It's like the developers are trying to simplify and reduce everything as much as humanly possible because they're so afraid, and they don't realize this is what's slowly turning people away. It's slowly turned me away, and I'm completely turned away from the enjoyment with crafting. It ain't HW no more.. Your game isn't going to die if you try something new. the players aren't going to implode.