Here is our FFXIV Dawntrail Wishlist, everything we hope for Final Fantasy XIV’s future.
Not long until its time for the next expansion of the critically acclaimed MMORPG is on the horizon and it will set the tone for what the next 10 years of Final Fantasy XIV are going to look like. Going by recent interviews and the way Endwalker has been shaping up, we have a decent idea of where things are going.
But there is more to it. Like any game going on for a while XIV has problems, some of which are simply consequences of 10 years of updates and adjusting to players, and others are design kinks that have only gotten more wrinkly as time went on.
So here are some of the things a long-time player would like to see addressed in the next expansion and beyond.
FFXIV Dawntrail Wishlist
2 Minute Meta Begone
As much as we all praised the 2-minute buff rotations at the start of Endwalker, it turned out rather dull in the long run. Listen, I don’t want to go back to the days of coordinating buffs across different classes either and I’m still convinced that anyone complaining about it is just complaining for complaining sake. But please, please just cut it out.
Personal DPS buffs are cool, Let’s keep those but let’s get rid of stacking all of them for a lame burst phase. Don’t replace them either, just get rid of them. Give me some fun resources to manage instead or add more abilities that serve as defensive options. The classes will be solved within a week anyway, so why not make them more fun to play?
More Soloable Content with Gear Rewards
We here at ESTNN are on a team “I just want to play the game alone, don’t bother me”. I know FFXIV is an MMORPG, but any content that requires me to hook up with more than one other functional human being at a set time is already a turn-off. Bozja and Eureka were great for letting me occasionally team with Randoms as I ran around and did my thing and I’d like more of that but as an expansion-long activity.
And please let me gain gear that way. And I don’t mean the current way of being able to get decent gear months later via Alliance Raids. If you’re willing to collaborate with FFXI, maybe go all the way with it. Please Square Enix let me mindlessly work towards something.
Crafting Reworks Pls
Some of you might not remember the nightmare that was pre-Stormblood crafting, but I do. And I don’t ever want to go back to those times either. But as a crafting maniac, please give me something with a little more meat on the bones. Getting all the stats and looking up a rotation isn’t fun.
As much as I love setting a macro and watching as my little guy crafts up millions worth of Gil, I’d like some harder crafting challenges now and then. Give me special, multi-stage crafts that test my mettle and brain a bit.
Lift Glamour Restrictions
Talk about Raiding, playable content, and so on. None of these things are as important as this singular point. Please, Square Enix, remove those ancient restrictions on the glamour system that won’t let me mix and match because my Job can’t wear those boots or pants at the moment.
As someone who has all their jobs at 90, it’s very hard to coordinate outfits across all of them, and sticking to glamours that can be worn on all jobs because of this is limiting my fashion. Make it a reward for hitting the level cap on all jobs of a type or something. Just please let me wear maiming gear on a tank. I beg you.
More Zone Content
Might be a weird one but I would love to see more things to do within the actual zones. Once you’re done with the MSQ many of the zones are either background to new quests, grinding FATEs, or gathering up a storm.
Ever since Eureka and Bozja dropped I had hoped this style of gameplay would happen in the actual zones instead of instances. Might just be nostalgia for FFXI at this point, but now that we have cross-DC travel it should not be a problem to find people to play with right? I beg you, Yoshida. Give me this one thing.
Smaller Stories
Coming off the gauntlet that is the 4.4 – 6.0 storyline, post-Endwalker content was a nice self-contained episode that wrapped up some old bits of lore. So can we have at least one Expansion that doesn’t end in some potentially world-ending threat getting put down? My biggest fear is that Dawntrail ends in some ancient evil awakening. Can that wait until 7.55?
As great of a story Shadowbringers was, Final Fantasy XIV is usually at its best when you’re solving the overcomplicated woe’s of locals while learning more about them. Going into the New World sets us up for exactly that and it doesn’t need to be more. We can go back to god killing in the expansion after that.
Don’t Forget About Garlemald
Remember when we started the whole Ala Mhigo storyline which took years to resolve? Or remember how we still don’t have any answers regarding Gelmorra? It was nice that with the most recent Alliance Raid, we finally got some answers regarding the Twelve, so let’s keep that going.
The Garlemald storyline has been brewing in the background for a long time and the section in Endwalker was arguably one of the strongest segments the game ever had. So please, oh please don’t forget about them. Jullus and his friends deserve more than a short epilogue, they deserve a proper ending. Maybe as part of the next Raid/Trial series.
More Large Scale PvP Please
The PvP rework we got with 6.x reinvigorated the energy the player base has for the more. It’s far from perfect but we have a good base now which makes the smaller battles and Crystalline Conflict fun. But it also felt like Frontlines and Rival Wings just fell victim to those changes. Frontline might be playable now but Rival Wings is still dead in the water.
So I hope we get to see some Large-scale PvP mode in the future that recaptures the chaos. It doesn’t have to be balanced but something more casual that embraces the chaos of Frontline and takes it to the next level would be neat. Think about it.
For more on Final Fantasy XIV, check out our list of things to do before Dawntrail, our preview of the upcoming Fanfest Japan, and our summary of everything you need to know ahead of Dawntrail’s release.