Final Fantasy 14director Naoki Yoshida, commonly known as Yoshi-P, recently admitted the beloved MMO has hit a period of stagnation. The reception toFF14’s latestDawntrailexpansion has been mixed, with many fans feeling the narrative did not deliver the same high quality the game has become known for, as well as the overuse of controversial protagonist Wuk Lamat. The game also has yet to address other issues, like housing and the homogenization of jobs, leading many fans to feel likeSquare Enix should rethink its patch scheduleand development priorities.
During the latest Letter from the Producer stream forFinal Fantasy 14over on the officialFINAL FANTASY XIVYouTube page (and it was also streamed on Twitch), Yoshi-P stated:“I’ve been feeling that our quality of service has declined recently, I am very sorry for that,“in response to several bugs, emergency maintenance periods, and the general lukewarm reception toDawntrail(viaPC Gamer). He added,“It feels like we got used to things a bit too much and got comfortable,“which has been a common complaint from theFFXIVcommunity for a long time.
Yoshi P Says FFXIV’s “Quality Of Service Has Declined Recently”
There’s Been A Lot Of Issues Lately
Yoshi-P is aware of the fan complaints, and has also tried to explain why the current state of the game has not been stellar, saying:“We grew bigger and processes didn’t fully work the way we had intended them to, we want to improve this again. Especially with new and big content we have recently released, this was difficult.“Yoshi-P also made a promise to try and make the state of the game better, saying:“We want to keep providing fun and engaging content and we will strive to do better.”
Our Take: FFXIV Has Declined, But It’s Still A Great MMO
The Game Is Gearing Up For A Lot Of Changes
The lack of any repeatable, meaningful long-term content besides grinding for the latest Relic Weapons, or gearing your character by doing the same raids over and over, hashalted a lot ofFFXIV’s momentum. That being said,FFXIVis still one of the most popular MMOs, and its unique focus on narrative for an MMO has made a lot of fans jump into the genre that otherwise would have shied away from it. AfterFinal Fantasy 16andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthreportedly failed to meet sales expectations,FF14is arguably carrying theFFbrandright now.
Yoshi-P has previously stated that, starting in Patch 8.0 (the next full expansion release), jobs will get a more unique identity, and after several story patches, the formerly lacklusterDawntrailstory is getting better. Hopefully, after this slump,Final Fantasy 14gets back on track, because the game has a lot to offer fans, if the game’s priorities can be figured out.
