TheFinal Fantasy XIVcommunity has been asking Square Enix to switch things up for a while now. The game, say fans, has gotten stale and “same-y,” with each update adding more or less the same things. According to many, it’s time to shake things up.
However, Square Enix did try to change things up forDawntrailby introducing Wuk Lamat, a new character that’s unlike any of the previous expansion main characters. The only problem is, instead of loving this break from the norm, fans had the opposite reaction:Wuk Lamat is one of the most hated characters in the game’s history. If trying something new and different results in backlash, what, then, do fans rally want when they say they want things to change?
FFXIV Fans Think They Want Something Different
The Community Keeps Asking For Change
Final Fantasy XIVis one of the greatest success stories in gaming. When the game was originally released in 2010, it wasa brutally criticized flop. Instead of giving up and shutting down, the game was completely reworked from the ground up and re-released asFFXIV: A Realm Rebornin 2013.
It’s been over a decade since that moment, andtheFFXIVcommunity is getting restless again. The last few updates have fallen short, and even the game’s director Naoki Yoshida (known affectionately as Yoshi-P) admitted in a recent Letter from the Producer that the game seems to be stagnating. He noted:
“I’ve been feeling that our quality of service has declined recently, I am very sorry for that. …It feels like we got used to things a bit too much and got comfortable.”
An unbalanced patch schedule has also led to many feeling that Square Enix shouldrethink its update strategyor risk losing many fans in the dust.
All the clamoring for change seems to overlook the elephant in the room:TheDawntrailexpansion was exactly the change that players had been asking for,and Wuk Lamat is a prime example of why change isn’t necessarily the solution.
Wuk Lamat Is Proof That Change Isn’t What FFXIV Needs
Different Doesn’t Always Mean Better
After the dark and depressing subject matter of theEndwalkerexpansion,the characters (and players) ofFFXIVdeserved a break.Endwalkerwas a complex story about the nature of humanity and, according toThe Gamer, directly inspired by the Covid pandemic.
Wuk Lamat represents all the best parts ofDawntrailand itsmajor tonal shift from the previous expansion. In direct contrast toEndwalker’sMeteion, Wuk Lamat is positive and optimistic, often finding the best parts of a situation. She’s headstrong and charismatic, and eager to prove herself—even if it sometimes means diving headfirst into a situation she’s ill prepared for. She has a child-like sens of wonder that makes her the perfect herald of a new age.
And yet, all the qualities above are the main reasons why many players don’t like her. Some fans havedescribed Wuk Lamat’s personality as “grating"and her character as feeling more like the comic relief than the complex and multi-layered personality people have come to expect of the expansion’s protagonists.
“Something needs to be done to keep FFXIV alive, but the game’s salvation might not come in the form of change.”
Dawntrailand Wuk Lamat represent the change that the community has been asking for, and it still seems to miss the mark. Thelukewarm reception to the expansion and its protagonistproves that something needs to be done to keepFFXIValive, but the game’s salvation might not come in the form of change.
FFXIV Will Need To Find A Middle Ground To Survive
That Sweet Spot Between What Fans Think They Want And Actually Want
Change of any kind is usually a bit of a gamble, and Yoshi-P knows this. Speaking to PC Gamer at Gamescom 2024, he stated:
“This being a game, it’s a form of entertainment, and you’ll always see some form of mixed response to entertainment. A second factor is that with Endwalker, we reached a big climax to a long-standing, spanning story. To a certain extent I had already predicted that we would have some sort of mixed response this time.
So if the question is whether I was shocked in a big way, the answer is no, not really.”
So, if changes in tone and story aren’t whatFFXIVneeded, what is? So, arguably, what the game needs right now is tofix its existing elements.
The MMO has somany excellent aspects that haven’t been taken to their full potential.Challenging end-game content hasn’t been adapted to be accessible to more casual players, thehousing system remains more brokenthan the real-world real estate market, and jobs have become notoriously homogenous without enough to make each stand out.
Wuk Lamat’s story was supposed to represent a new direction for the long-running game, but it missed the mark. As it stands right now, the future ofFFXIVis in question as Square Enix and Yoshi-P try to figure out what fans actually want. But the game has risen from the ashes before, and it can do it again.
Until they figure it out, maybe fans should takeYoshi-P’s advice and stop playing entirelyfor a bit. Perhaps, at the end of the day, what theFinal Fantasy XIVcommunity really needs isn’t change or improvements, but a complete reset.
