Final Fantasy XIV has occupied a strange space in recent years. Previous expansions, including Shadowbringers and Endwalker, saw positive reception, especially regarding their contributions to the MMO's original story arc. Despite the success of the story, however, those expansions also saw criticism regarding the increasingly systemic variety and output of content. With Dawntrail not sharing the same lauded story as its predecessors, the underlying issues of the beloved MMO have become even more apparent.

While the MMO's patch looks to bring exciting content to the game, FFXIV's 7.2 release schedule has certainly dampened my initial excitement. The strangely scattered releases for the features coming within the patch mean that, once again, FFXIV will be offering the same high-end raid content it always does, while leaving its casual and mid-core audience waiting for their own content to partake in. In particular, Occult Crescent, the much-awaited new field operation, and its related relic weapon grind will not be playable until May, extending the content draught for non-raiders.

Final Fantasy XIV Is In An Unfortunate Stasis

Change Is Desperately Needed

Many aspects of Final Fantasy XIV exist within a stasis: player housing remains extremely convoluted; dungeon, raid, and quest structure hasn't changed since 2013; and its story presentation still relies on constant dialogue-heavy and action-free cutscenes. While these issues have plagued the MMO for many years, Dawntrail feels like a new breaking point. This has to do, perhaps, with the less-well-received story and initial impressions of the expansion, as well as the relative success of WoW in recent years. WoW's mass exodus of players to FFXIV aligned perfectly with, by many s, FFXIV's best narrative two-peat in Shadowbringers and Endwalker.

One aspect that has been clawing away at FFXIV is its release cycles. Dawntrail was released in July 2024, but players are still months away from the first piece of grind-friendly and non-raid end-game content. Frankly, this release cadence is unacceptable for a subscription-based MMO. While players are free to unsubscribe from FFXIV, purchasing biennial expansions, to me, still creates an expectation of a relatively consistent release cycle.

No expansion content, besides field expeditions like Occult Crescent, is particularly replayable in FFXIV, exacerbating the feeling of a content drought.

I enjoy FFXIV raiding, and while a new raid tier is always something to look forward to, FFXIV has depended on a flawed release schedule for far too long. For non-raiders, both Dawntrail and Endwalker are almost devoid of content, with Endwalker's Island Sanctuary not exactly living up to expectations and Dawntrail's own still not released. FFXIV's new phantom weapons and the Occult Crescent look fantastic, but it's a shame that, despite patch 7.2 launching this week, I still need to wait two months to experience them.

FFXIV's Marketing Is Strangely Misleading

Release Dates Are Often Farther Than They May Appear

No favors are done by FFXIV's marketing, which can often feel misleading. For instance, Dawntrail's final new class, the limited Beastmaster, is nowhere to be seen despite its prominent marketing on the road to the expansion's launch. In a similar fashion, the marketing for 7.2 features all the new incoming content despite the heavily staggered release of the individual pieces. While the content is often labeled with the exact patch of its release, it's difficult to clearly understand what will be available on March 25, and when the remaining content will release.

I don't believe there to be any sort of ill-intent regarding FFXIV's marketing, but rather, it feels like an unfortunate issue stemming from the antiquated release schedules. It would be a shame if players re-subbed for specific content, only for it to be months away and possibly far different from what's expected. On a larger expansion scale, when the Beastmaster class does come to FFXIV, there is no way to know what it will entail despite its use as a selling point for the expansion.

FFXIV Needs Major Changes In Its Next Expansion

Release Cycles Leave Too Many Dry Spots

This release schedule needs drastic changes if FFXIV wants to keep up with its competitors and keep fans engaged in the game. It's been years since a proper, grind-friendly end-game experience was added to FFXIV, with the patch schedule of the last few expansions offering almost zero content for players uninterested in high-end raid content. Innovation is desperately needed, particularly in the mid-core and evergreen content departments, which have been left sidelined for years.

Part of the issue is a result of extended development time of new features, only to see those same features dropped in the succeeding expansion. While the Island Expedition mode wasn't wonderfully received, changes could have been made to cement it as an evergreen experience instead of dropping its development and wasting the time that went into it. FFXIV desperately needs a new philosophy for its content and releases, which have weighed down its expansions long enough.