Since the reboot in 2013, the developers of Final Fantasy XIV have been regularly releasing new patches. However, this consistent practice is criticized within the community. Why is that?
How is FFXIV doing right now? With the amount of new content that the MMORPG from Square Enix receives regularly, other games can only dream of. The game, which launched in 2010 as a stillborn, now enjoys healthy player numbers. It is one of the few MMORPGs that require a subscription from its players, and they actually pay.
The summer of 2019 will be hot for the game. With “Shadowbringers”, Final Fantasy XIV is releasing its third expansion and preparing for a flood of new players with new servers and data centers.
However, some veterans of FFXIV feel that the core content of the MMORPG urgently needs a revamp.
How does the content system of FFXIV work? The patch system of Final Fantasy 14 is designed for consistency. Approximately every four months, players receive a major patch, always accompanied by a cool trailer and lots of hype. The contents of such a content patch typically look like this:
- Continuation of the main story of FFXIV
- 1 – 2 new dungeons
- A boss fight against a Primals (summons in FFXIV)
- 8- or 24-man raid
- New gear and Cosmetics
- Several side quests
- “Quality of Life” improvements, such as better user interface or colorblind mode
- PvP adjustments or content
- Minor features like new mini-games or similar
So it’s a substantial chunk of content. The patches are divided into “even” and “odd” based on their numbering:
- In an “even” patch, like 4.4, new epic raids are released, and the overall item level of the equipment increases by about 30 levels.
- The “odd” patches, such as the current patch 4.5, bring “catch-up content”. They provide players who do not run epic raids the opportunity to catch up in their item level with the raiders. Thus, casual players are not left behind.
Sometimes these patches are split into smaller components to evenly distribute the content over the months, so players always have something to do.
What are the benefits? In addition to the obvious advantage of a steady flow of content for players, this patch structure also provides an advantage for the developers. The director Naoki Yoshida and his team have familiar structures and workflows with each patch that they have become accustomed to.
This allows them to work more efficiently and finish the content faster. This is demonstrated, for example, in the comment of the Localization Lead Michael Koji Fox. He compared the hard work that the still young team had to put into the first expansion “Heavensward” with the second addon “Stormblood”:
Thanks to the experience [we gained in Heavensward], the development of Stormblood went smoothly. We finished a week earlier, and I had to think, “Is it okay to be finished this early?” (laughs)
When consistency becomes monotony
So where is the problem? Over time, this system of constant content flow has come under criticism from the veterans of Final Fantasy XIV. The development team has been using it since the reboot of the MMORPG, meaning it has been in use for a solid five years. Some players even talk about recycling.
The rigid and predictable structure of the content that is repeatedly used is criticized:
- The dungeons are always linear, have three bosses, and some trash mobs in between.
- 8-man raids always have four bosses in arenas.
- 24-man raids always have four bosses with trash and some alliance mechanics in between.
- There are always two sets of endgame gear from which players assemble their “best-in-slot” set.
- The progress of upgrading gear and most other content is restricted by daily or weekly caps, so you can only receive one piece of gear per week from a raid boss.
Anyone looking for surprises here will be disappointed. With the release of the patch notes for each new update, everything about its content is practically known, which presents a stark contrast to games like Destiny 2, where players discover unexpected quests and completely unknown weapons even weeks later.
This is what the community criticizes: The cycle of patches is very similar due to this predetermined content structure. As soon as the new content is unlocked, it is farmed until the daily or weekly limit is reached.
Through the dailies and weeklies, players are prevented from rushing through the content too quickly and finishing too early or gaining a substantial advantage over others.
In a critique thread in the German section of the official forums, the player Caitlyn wrote:
Unfortunately, the age of FFXIV, especially Stormblood, is its downfall. After 4 years, the same stone farming areas, 3-boss dungeons, and class or boss mechanics are simply exhausted.
And while his article sparked many discussions in the comments, he was not alone in his opinion. The user John Artemus commented:
I can’t tell you how incredibly refreshing it is to play an MMORPG that is reliable and consistent, and doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel every few years!
Time is a factor: In addition, time is a scarce resource for modern MMORPG players is aware of this fact and adjusts the content of his MMORPG accordingly.
Due to the consistent structure of the new content, players can plan the time they spend in Final Fantasy XIV precisely. They know roughly how much time a dungeon takes and how long an average raid lasts. This makes playing more convenient for them.
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken”?
Players provide improvement suggestions: In the thread “Big List of Suggestions” in the official forums, players have listed what changes they would like to see for the content. For example, the list included:
- Large siege battles around cities as open-world content.
- More innovation in dungeons and bosses. Bardam’s Statue was brought up as a positive example that teaches players mechanics. Other, less linear layouts of dungeons were also suggested.
- Dungeons and raids for group configurations other than 4, 8, and 24.
- A gear system that can be upgraded beyond just one tier and remains useful to players for a longer time.
These are primarily intended to bring more variety into the linear gameplay of FFXIV.
Will the patch system change? The development team of Final Fantasy 14 found its successful formula during its reboot five years ago. The regular updates cost players “just” their monthly subscription and continuously provide them with new content. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will change this system anytime soon.
Whether to view this structure as monotony or consistency is left to everyone’s discretion.
RicaRuin supports her statement:
Okay, even I, as an obviously big advocate of the game and a “It’s not as bad as you make it sound” advocate, admit that the content is somewhat stagnant and that a few things definitely need to change.
But even in the English forums and on Reddit, you can find such threads from time to time. And it can indeed be said with high probability that the contents of the patches listed above will also return in the upcoming expansion “Shadowbringers”.
During the keynote at the Fan Festival in Las Vegas, Director Yoshida already confirmed that there will be dungeons and raids in the familiar style again.
And yet the system works
A contrast emerges at this point:
- On the one hand, the patch and content system of Final Fantasy XIV has worked well for several years. The MMORPG has grown and has brought in solid revenue according to investor reports.
- On the other hand, this system is criticized for its rigid and repetitive structure.
What does the other part of the community think? However, there are also plenty of players who do not mind the strict structure of the patches. On the contrary, this part of the community appreciates the consistency and reliability with which the new content patches of FFXIV are released.
One of the editors of the online magazine MassivelyOP, Eliot Lefebvre, addressed this in one of his articles about Final Fantasy 14. He writes:
I agree, FFXIV is really linear and consistent and reliable with its updates. But that is not a bad thing. It is a sign that the developers of the game know what works and how to keep delivering it consistently.
And while his article sparked many discussions in the comments, he was not alone in his opinion. The user John Artemus commented:
I can’t tell you how incredibly refreshing it is to play an MMORPG that is reliable and consistent, and doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel every few years!
Time is a factor: In addition, time is a scarce resource for modern MMORPG players is aware of this fact and adjusts the content of his MMORPG accordingly.
Due to the consistent structure of the new content, players can plan the time they spend in Final Fantasy XIV precisely. They know roughly how much time a dungeon takes and how long an average raid lasts. This makes playing more convenient for them.
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken”?
Players provide improvement suggestions: In the thread “Big List of Suggestions” in the official forums, players have listed what changes they would like to see for the content. For example, the list included:
- Large siege battles around cities as open-world content.
- More innovation in dungeons and bosses. Bardam’s Statue was brought up as a positive example that teaches players mechanics. Other, less linear layouts of dungeons were also suggested.
- Dungeons and raids for group configurations other than 4, 8, and 24.
- A gear system that can be upgraded beyond just one tier and remains useful to players for a longer time.
These are primarily intended to bring more variety into the linear gameplay of FFXIV.
Will the patch system change? The development team of Final Fantasy 14 found its successful formula during its reboot five years ago. The regular updates cost players “just” their monthly subscription and continuously provide them with new content. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will change this system anytime soon.
Whether to view this structure as monotony or consistency is left to everyone’s discretion.
