With Patch 6.1 of the new addon Endwalker for Final Fantasy XIV, the reward system of the PvP is completely revamped. MeinMMO author Irina Moritz celebrates the changes because the most annoying part of PvP is finally gone.
During the producer streams with director Naoki Yoshida, new features, content, and changes are presented step by step, which fans can look forward to in the new addon Endwalker (Release: 12/7/2021).
The latest stream covered topics such as the new housing in Endwalker, the raid Pandaemonium, and the new systems in the PvP of FFXIV.
Interestingly, it was the PvP that caught my attention right away. Because with Patch 6.1, FFXIV finally removes the one part that I found by far the most annoying in PvP.
FEAST and Me: A Tragedy
I am not a fan of PvP. I am not one of those players who enjoy this content simply because they have fun with competitive gameplay, and I admit it. However, FFXIV has always managed to get me into PvP by waving cool rewards in front of me.
There are several very stylish gear sets and other cosmetic items that can only be obtained through PvP tokens. And I want these gear sets. In such cases, I actually enjoy joining the frontlines or other mass battles of FFXIV, and I prepare accordingly so that I am not a burden to my teammates.
However, I have avoided one PvP mode like the plague so far, namely the competitive FEAST, even though this mode had by far the coolest and rarest rewards during its seasons. And I want those rewards even more than the other gear sets.
In the 4vs4 mode, players compete against each other in an arena. The team that has collected the most points at the end wins. During each season, players can accumulate points and rank up, either solo or as a group. In the end, they grab the prizes.
These prizes can only be obtained exclusively during the respective season if they end up in the top 100, 10, or 1 of the competitive rankings data center-wide. After that, the prizes disappeared into nirvana and never returned.
FOMO – The Fun Killer
The FEAST rewards exemplify the classic case of a FOMO mechanic. The abbreviation stands for “Fear of Missing Out”, which means the fear of missing something. This mechanic aims to bring rare or valuable rewards into the game for a short time. Depending on the game, it may do so to encourage players to return to play (for example, through login bonuses) or to create a special incentive for different types of content, as players would miss out on these rewards otherwise.
And that’s exactly the case with FEAST. Since the start of the seasons in February 2016, the top players of FEAST have received exclusive mounts and gear sets that have never been available again since. They were removed from the item pool.
And therein lies my problem with FEAST. Instead of encouraging me to play the mode, FOMO has had the complete opposite effect on me. I have steered clear, and it’s not even about PvP itself, even though I am not a fan.
There is hardly anything in MMOs that can get me to stop playing faster than with FOMO.
It does not matter whether it involves PvP or PvE content. My interest in any content evaporates immediately when there is pressure to achieve the rewards there.
I want to complete the content at my own pace while playing and do not want to be rushed by anything. Especially when it is an artificially created, annoying time pressure like with FOMO. No matter how great the rewards are, I simply lose interest.
It is also noteworthy that the feat of Mission Out in FEAST is quite unique in the reward system of FFXIV:
- Rare rewards from difficult raids and trials can be easily farmed by everyone once the level cap is increased.
- If a type of content is revised, the corresponding rewards become available from other sources. This happened, for example, with the content Diadem, which was temporarily removed from the game.
- Collaborations with other IPs like Final Fantasy XV or Dragon Quest are repeated, allowing new players to earn the rewards.
- Even if players miss other time-limited events at Christmas or Easter, they can later buy the rewards for half price in the cash shop. Not exactly the most customer-friendly solution, but at least the items do not completely disappear into nirvana.
I can’t think of any other rewards that one can permanently miss in the current version of FFXIV like in FEAST.
PvP in Final Fantasy XIV: FOMO with a Hint of Cheating
I absolutely commend passionate PvP players for earning cool items for their victories, but not even that is safe in FFXIV.
FEAST also has the problem of win trading and cheating (via official FFXIV forums), which is not uncommon during the seasons and has been going on for years. It is also fueled by FOMO because players want the exclusive rewards but do not want to work for them.
It is something that gold seller sites and other “service providers” have also focused on. Do you want the cool mount from the current season? No problem! For a small fee, you can easily get a boost.
This means: Even if one manages to work their way up to the top 100, top 30, or top 10 fairly, it can happen that they are simply kicked out just before the end of the season due to win trading or boosting.
That’s just frustrating.
FFXIV introduces a battle pass for PvP
When it was announced in the last producer stream for the Endwalker addon that FEAST along with its seasons would be discontinued and replaced with a new system, I was actually immediately hooked. The system, which will be introduced in 2022 with Patch 6.1, sounded surprisingly interesting to me. And the more I think about it and discuss it with other players, the more I like it.
FFXIV’s PvP will get a battle pass system next year, just like many of you know it from shooters like Fortnite or CoD.
It will temporarily be referred to as “Series”. During the duration of a battle pass, players can earn EXP and level up in all PvP activities:
- Every 5 levels, there are special rewards like mounts, armor, and other items.
- With each level-up, players receive a token which can later be exchanged for further rewards.
- As soon as the Series is over, the level resets to 0, and leveling starts from the beginning.
So it’s similar to a classic battle pass.
I like this new system on multiple levels. For example, director Yoshida explained that the Series will run over a longer period.
An example was given of the time span between two major content updates, which usually takes about 3.5 to 4 months. If I can work through the Series while doing my PvP dailies, then that is a win for me.
On the other hand, I find it great that every level of a Series seems rewarding. Even if one doesn’t receive mounts or gear, there are still the tokens that can be exchanged later. And these tokens should be saved and carried over to the next Series.
But the most important change for me is that there will be no FOMO in the Series. Even if players miss a Series, they will be able to exchange their tokens later for the old rewards. They are not forever out of reach.
Crystal Conflict as a Replacement for FEAST?
And then there’s the new competitive mode Crystal Conflict coming to FFXIV to replace FEAST. It will be played in 5v5 groups, and the goal is not just to eliminate opponents. The teams’ objective is to push the Tactical Crystal in the center of the arena into the enemy base.
Crystal Conflict will have a season system with its own rewards that are separate from the Series. However, in the producer stream, the rewards were described as “special titles and other achievements”.
It seems that the dev team will move away from the total exclusivity of cosmetic items from FEAST. A change that I personally welcome. It will definitely make me check out the PvP in Endwalker more often than I have so far.
And what about you? What did you think of the PvP changes from the producer letter? Did you like them, or do you think it’s a shame that FEAST is now completely removed?
Let us know in the comments.
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