If one of the most popular MMORPGs of all time suddenly receives deep red negative ratings on Steam, the disappointment of the fans must run deep. This is exactly what happened to Final Fantasy XIV with Dawntrail. But after 8 months, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.
What is the current status of FFXIV? On March 25, 2025, Patch 7.2 saw the release of one of the largest content updates in the history of Final Fantasy XIV. The new features included:
- New main story quests
- New dungeon Underfried Ruins
- Trial Zel Tajaal – Zelenia
- Dream Trial – Suzaku
- Arkadion – Heavyweight (epic), 8-man raid
More content such as the Cosmo Explorations, Quests for the Friendly People Mamool Ja, Phantom Weapons, fresh Hildibrand Quests, and Kreszentia, field exploration are already set to launch in the coming weeks.
Here you can see the trailer for Patch 7.2 of Final Fantasy XIV:
A Light at the End of the Tunnel
How is Patch 7.2 being received? After heated discussions about the adjustments to the Black Mage job right at the start, many players now seem to view the new content of Final Fantasy XIV in a relatively positive light. At least more positively than it was in the Dawntrail era.
On Reddit, player Spookhetti_Sauce points out that the current expansion Dawntrail on Steam has, for the first time in 8 months, returned to “Balanced” instead of “Mostly Negative.” He himself states that he is so satisfied with Patch 7.2 that he has adjusted his negative user review to positive. His post has received more than 990 upvotes and over 670 comments so far.
Other players are also praising the new update:
- bombershrimp writes on Reddit: “7.2 is a massive improvement in every way.”
- Graedyn praises on Reddit: “7.2 was really good, and for the first time, I am really interested in what is happening in the main story.”
- Kelras is cautiously optimistic on Reddit: “Nice to see, but I think most people are rightly waiting to see if 7.2 was just a fluke or if 7.3, 7.4, etc. continue what 7.2 started.”
However, the truth is that the Steam reviews for Dawntrail have also only been rated “Balanced” over the past 30 days. On the general Steam product page of FFXIV, the reviews from the last month stand at “Mostly Positive,” with 78 percent positive reviews.
This means that not everyone is excited. Some players do see an improvement in the storytelling compared to previous updates, but still consider the story from 7.2 to be at best average (via Reddit). In addition, there is currently a lack of content outside of strong raids and dungeons. Specifically, casual players have little reason to log in (via Reddit).
Several players in the Reddit discussion seem to have already written off Dawntrail as a disappointing filler expansion; they are now pinning their hopes on the next expansion, in which the new story arc of the MMORPG is likely to gain pace, drama, and urgency. Do you feel the same way, or are you satisfied with Dawntrail? Share it in the comments!
This development is particularly bitter because Square Enix has invested 14 years of extreme energy, time, and money to turn the mixed launch version of Final Fantasy XIV into one of the best MMORPGs on the market: Final Fantasy XIV has been struggling for years to belong among the best, now rated “Mostly Negative”
