Final Fantasy 14's troubles are well documented, but it has come to a point where even the game's faithful can't help but admit the game is very disappointing in many regards. Square Enix has been fairly understanding up to this point, going as far as offering a month of free playing time to all registered accounts. Essentially, Square gave themselves a month of extra time to persuade gamers to stick with their game. Up until recently, they've only released a number of text-based guides to help gamers better understand the game systems, which is hardly encouraging. Now though, Square Enix has released the first details of the upcoming November/December updates, as well as an early 2011 patch, but is it enough?

Here are some of the significant changes that will be patched in Nov/Dec:

  • Improvements to the Main Menu
  • Improvements to the Map
    • The addition of mouse scrolling functionality
    • The addition of a zoom feature
    • The addition of party member location markers
  • Improvements to synthesis controls
  • The addition of a list that contains a player's eight most recently used recipes
  • A reduction in the amount of commands necessary to begin synthesis
  • Adjustments to stack totals on select items
  • The addition of a repair icon
  • The addition of an auto item sort function
  • Adjustments to item durability
  • An increase in player inventory capacity
  • The further alleviation of server-load issues

Of course, there are many other changes in the list, but for the most part these are the significant ones. Unfortunately, a number of what most players are calling priority issues have been pushed to the "Early 2011" patch. This includes important changes to mouse/keyboard controls like the ability to drag and drop or right click menus, the addition of 'Companies' which are player run guilds, a list that includes recipes you've previously used in crafting, and other important user interface improvements. Simply put, all features that should have been included at the launch of Final Fantasy 14, which have been delayed into 2011, well after players' free time has expired.

Considering the vast number of issues that need to be patched, Square Enix has stood firm in that they won't be changing any of the actual gameplay features of Final Fantasy 14. Crafting, guildleves, capped experience growth, and traveling that does not include mounts are all staying basically the same. The free month seems only to be a reaction to the amount of lag found in cities and use interface, rather than an admittance that Final Fantasy 14 needs gameplay changes to become more attractive to the average gamer.

The lateness of these patches, especially the stuff delayed into 2011, is just so disappointing. There is a lot of potential in Final Fantasy 14, but it may never be fully realized.

Have you given Final Fantasy 14 a try, Ranters? Considering the patch notes, would you be inclined to give it a chance in another year or two? Has Square Enix lost touch with its fan-base?

Play Final Fantasy 14 on the PC right now, or try it on the PS3 next year.

Source: FF14 Lodestone