Anyone who plays Final Fantasy XIV can regularly look forward to new in-game events and earnable items, mounts, and outfits. However, there are recurring claims that the events in the MMORPG are worse today than in the past. MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß can even prove this.
In Final Fantasy XIV, the cultural highlights of Western and Japanese culture are celebrated throughout the real year with events. For example, there are events for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or the relaunch of the MMORPG. Upon successful completion of these limited-time quest lines, there are unique items, outfits, mounts, and companions.
However, for a few years now, players have repeatedly complained that the events have gotten worse. In a reddit thread, players are currently comparing the events of 2014/2015 with those of 2024/2025. Players also vent their frustrations in the official Final Fantasy XIV forum.
I wondered if there was any truth to the players’ concerns, and I dove into the data hell. Now I can say: Yes, the events have gotten worse, and I have the data to prove it. However, it doesn’t look as bleak as some might paint it.
On Run-Quests and Buff-Food
To shed light on the dense data fog and find out how the event quality really stands, I went through them with the help of the list from the Final Fantasy XIV Console Games Wiki. Specifically, I looked at the same annual events since the relaunch:
- Heaven’s Turn
- Valentione’s Day
- Princess Festival
- Egg Hunt
- Firemoon Festival
- Festival of Rebirth
- All Saints’ Wake
- Starry Night Festival
To maintain comparability, I excluded the newer events and collaborations.
For the evaluation of quality, I divided the events into four different types: Quests, Fates, Events, and Dungeons. Open the menu to reveal the explanation.
Event Types
Quests: The traditional run quests where you speak to NPCs, watch cutscenes, must perform emotes, and unlock small mini-games. This is the worst
type of event because you generally cannot play them multiple times, and player interactions are minimal. Additionally, these events are done alone.
Fate: Some seasonal events require you to complete a Fate – combat content that can usually be done repeatedly with friends and enjoyment.
Event: An event includes content specifically implemented for the celebration, such as the jumping puzzles of the Firemoon Festival or the maze from the 2023 version of Valentione’s Day. Here collaboration is often required, and interactions with other players are encouraged.
Dungeon: This category includes large-scale events in the game, such as the transformation of the Haukke Manor for All Saints’ Wake. Here you team up with other players.
My second criterion for evaluation are the rewards that can be earned. I differentiated between items, companions, mounts, emotes, and (glamour) outfits. For more details, you can also reveal the explanation here.
Event Rewards
Items: Items can be decorative items for the apartment or one’s own house, buff food, or Chocobo gear.
Companions: This refers to the minions you can summon and have walk beside you.
Mounts: In some events, mounts could also be unlocked.
Emote: During some quest lines, certain emotes had to be used to complete the task and receive the mentioned emote.
Outfit: The most sought-after rewards besides mounts are the outfits thematically suitable for the events, such as Santa costumes or swimwear.
With these parameters, I began to compare about 13 years of event history – from the relaunch with A Realm Reborn to Dawntrail in 2025. I ultimately summarized the data on an expansion basis: Per year, there were eight comparable events, with an update cycle of two years each, making it 16 per expansion – with the exception of Shadowbringers and A Realm Reborn.
Only Run-Quests for Over 1.5 Years
The events have not only changed in recent years, but they also seem to be less elaborate. Here is the distribution of event types since the relaunch:
The fewest events were in A Realm Reborn. The first event was the Firemoon Festival in 2013. The most events, however, occurred during Shadowbringers. Since the release of Endwalker was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more events fall within the time frame of this expansion.
The Egg Hunt 2023 was, however, the last event with a Fate. Including the Firemoon Festival 2023, there have only been run quests – that is, 14 consecutive celebrations as of the publication date of this article.
On the other hand, there are the rewards. The journey is the destination
, so what’s done during an event matters. At the same time, you want to have a great incentive to participate. Here is how the distribution looks across the expansions:
After the rewards peak in Shadowbringers, the decline in Endwalker surely doesn’t feel good. Dawntrail, however, is still too new to be evaluated specifically.
Looking at A Realm Reborn to Endwalker, it can be seen that there were fewer outfits recently, but other quality rewards have emerged more frequently – such as companions and emotes.
Great Rewards, Earned Quickly
The players are not wrong with their feedback: Since the middle of 2023, there have only been quest events – the most boring type of in-game celebrations. However, players have the most fun with things that can be done together.
A good event brings players together and showcases creative challenges. That is currently lacking.
Why the standard events are currently less elaborate is not known. Presumably, jumping puzzles, mazes, and the like require more developer power than talk to NPC X
quests. However, these tasks become incredibly boring over time and have recently also been a major criticism from players regarding the main story of Dawntrail.
More Focus on Collaborations Instead of Routine?
There is also positive news to report: While Square Enix seems to neglect the well-known events a bit, they are simultaneously filling the MMORPG calendar with more diverse and also more fun additional events. Currently even more than before.
Since the end of 2023, that is, since the standard events have only been quests, there is the Fall Guys collaboration. This is a major event in the in-game casino where obstacle courses must be overcome.
After the release of Final Fantasy XVI, in which Naoki Yoshida and parts of the Final Fantasy XIV team were involved, they released their own crossover with the new game in the MMORPG. There was a companion, a mount, and an outfit to earn – if you managed to defeat a new version of Ifrit.
In addition, MogMog collection tasks and the Gold Saucer Festival or the repeatedly implemented Final Fantasy XV collaboration with a new Garuda fight are also starting again and again.
The regular
events seem to be designed simpler at the moment and are correspondingly quickly completed
– for both players and developers. However, there are big, often repetitive events that bring really nice combat content and rewards in between.
It may indeed be the case that the developers’ focus has recently not been on the regular festivities, but rather on getting the collaborations off the ground. However, once special events are completed, they cannot usually be played again. If the rewards remain the same, there is no incentive for that.
If Square Enix wants players to continue participating in their events and reduce the dissatisfaction among subscribers, they will have no choice but to implement more Fates and special adaptations again. However, the team around Naoki Yoshida is known for considering and implementing player feedback, so the chances are not so bad.
A key point with many regular events is that there are often decorative items for in-game housing. While everyone can own an apartment, outdoor decorations can only be used with a house. How exactly you can get a house is explained here: I outsmarted the hotly contested housing market in my favorite MMO with intellect and math
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