This week I've been hyped for FF14 in a way I haven't been in years. As someone who plays this as my primary MMO, I tend to complain about it often—but always out of love. While the game is incredible, recent updates have highlighted significant issues with how public fields are utilized, and Square Enix’s recent promises could finally address these long-standing frustrations.

The Empty Beauty of Dawntrail

The latest expansion, Dawntrail, brought a shiny graphics upgrade that made the world more stunning than ever. However, it also highlighted a glaring problem: the open world is beautiful but utterly empty. We have gorgeous, meticulously designed zones that players have almost no reason to actually visit.

It feels like an enormous waste of potential. This is why I was so delighted to hear that Square Enix is officially taking aim at this issue. During the recent Fanfest, developers made bold promises to improve both the quests and the world itself.

A Vision for Better Public Fields

Director Naoki Yoshida (YHD) addressed the loneliness of the current world design directly. He stated: "That means adding more dynamic events and more content for players to try out in each area, in order to truly master those areas. And again, with the majority of daily player activity being relegated to the duty finder, public fields can feel kind of lonely and underused—and that's our fault. We want to fix that, creating more exciting dynamic content."

This news is music to my ears. I have spent months voicing my frustrations regarding how stagnant the world feels. To me, the current state of public fields lacks the much-needed innovation required to keep players engaged outside of instanced content.

Revamping FATEs and World Events

One of my biggest gripes is that FATEs have become as dull as a slice of archon bread. In Shadowbringers, we saw new reward mechanics, but Dawntrail feels like a regression to the era of A Realm Reborn. Currently, the gameplay loop is far too repetitive:

  • Travel to a location.
  • Use AoE attacks to kill a group of monsters.
  • Kill a single slightly tougher boss.
  • Pick up items and deliver them to an NPC standing just a few feet away.

To fix this, Square Enix should look toward competitors like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2. While WoW world quests aren't perfect, they offer unique activities like skyriding through rings, manning cannons, or using vehicles. Even Midnight features players defending keystones, playing tower defense, and taking down world bosses.

Guild Wars 2, on the other hand, is the gold standard for multi-stage events that flow into one another, such as the intense coordination required for "Dragon's End." If Square Enix can crib even a few ideas from these titles, the game could thrive.

The Society Quest Fatigue

The current state of society quests also needs a complete reimagining. These dailies are far too easy to complete, often taking only 10 minutes, yet they are so boring that I find myself avoiding them entirely.

I have experienced rotations where the "combat" involves flying to three different locations, skipping repetitive dialogue, and killing almost nothing. As I've noted before, spending ten minutes every day skipping NPC dialogue is not how world quests should function.

The combat in these quests lacks any real teeth; most enemies fall before I can even finish my opener. Imagine if these quests were more involved—incorporating dynamic events or requiring more substantial combat challenges. While we have to wait until Berlin for more details, the promise of improved public fields gives me genuine hope for the future of Eorzea.