Does the amount of time we have for gaming affect how much we can enjoy the games we play?

If you know me, you’ll also know that Field Operations content is my favourite thing to do in Final Fantasy XIV. The first such content was Eureka back in Stormblood and it was definitely a learning path for the dev team, and based on feedback from the community, for Shadowbringers they created Bozja. Bozja was my first such experience as I was on a break during Stormblood, and going back to do Eureka after definitely made me see the improvements. We didn’t get a new Field Operations zone in Endwalker, and I painfully felt its absence. Made this video back in the days to explain why I think we need such content, and was very happy when we got the confirmation that Dawntrail indeed will have a Field Operations zone once more.

A quick overview of The Occult Crescent

The devs definitely tried to make this a best of both worlds, as it includes elements from Eureka and Bozja both, while also brings new features or tries to improve on the ones implemented from the previous Field Operations.

The unique feature is the implementation of Phantom Jobs. Instead of having to use essences to give you more defence, attack power and such; or having to find items which give you actions to use (and pray to the Twelve for good RNG to get the actions you want) you can just equip a Phantom Job, level it up and use the skills assigned to that job. And if you are a fan of Final Fantasy V, you’ll be hit by some nostalgia just from the names of these jobs.

Levelling up these jobs might be a bit of a grind, but let’s be honest: Field Operations were always about grind. If you expected anything else, then I’m sorry to say, but this type of content might not be the right one for you.

The area has its own experience system, so you will start from level 1 and earn knowledge exp to progress towards level 20 in the first area which is available now in patch 7.25. There is also new gear, which is right now a decent one outside of the zone if you don’t have gear from savage yet, but its main value is the extra stats it provides insides The Occult Crescent area. Collecting these is a grind itself needing coins from engagements, upgrading them is an other grind as it will also need coins dropped by field monsters.

There are FATEs just like in Eureka (yes, bunny FATEs too); and Critical Engagements just like in Bozja.

And as you might recognise from the architecture in the background of the above picture, the story is focused around some ancient civilisations we have heard about back in A Realm Reborn and Heavensward.

The final challenge players can take on in the first zone is a 48-man raid called The Forked Tower: Blood. It’s more like the Baldesion Arsenal of Eureka, as you have to be inside The Occult Crescent instanced zone and need a special weather condition for the tower to become available. For comparison Delubrum Reginae in Bozja was accessible to queue in via the Duty Finder from outside the instanced zone.

My expectations… and the reality

I was hoping for something like the scenery of Eureka with the gameplay of Bozja. Certainly no complains about the scenery, all the ancient architecture and learning more about these lost civilisations is right up my alley. The Phantom Job system is definitely a good choice compared to what we had in the previous Field Operations.

The encounters have new, unique and challenging mechanics, definitely making the healers work for that achievement of resurrecting 500 players. The FATE synchronisation has its flaws as often by the time you teleport, mount up and run over to the FATE which just popped you will be late. I remember this being an issue in Bozja as well but don’t think it was happening this often. It is something the devs have addressed in the latest Live Letter From The Producer and they are looking into possible adjustments, but it also raises a question about the mentality of the community.

As mentioned I did Eureka during Shadowbringers, so I don’t know how this was when the content originally released, but when I did Eureka, people used to wait, ask in shout chat if anyone was on the way before engaging with a FATE. Yes, I know they spawn quite often, so you don’t have to wait that long for the next one, but it can be quite frustrating if you only have a couple of hours to play after work, and then spend most of that time running around the map just to see an enemy die right when you get there.

In Shadowbringers I used to organise and lead Delubrum Reginae raids for groups in a Discord community, and even though I have since retired from raid leading I was excited to explore The Forked Tower with a friendly group. The content has been out for a couple of months now and I still haven’t been in the tower. Not for lack of finding a group, but because I still don’t have all the relevant Phantom Jobs levelled up and only just managed to get my first gear set, which is not upgraded yet. I could join with offering to play only one Phantom Job, but that’s not how I like to sign up for organised runs. And knowing how Baldesion Arsenal or Delubrum Reginae was to do with random people joining and not having a raid lead doing callouts, that’s not something I have the time for.

So to summarise it, I am enjoying the content, but not as much as I thought I would be, which made me thinking, what’s wrong with the content? And had to come to the realisation that during Shadowbringers and early Endwalker when I lived in Bozja 24/7 was during the lockdowns. Now I have a quite busy life with only a couple of hours a day to play, and beside FFXIV there are other games I would love to have time for. So the grind which was not that noticeable when I had the whole day to spend in my favourite zone, now very much feels like a grind when I want to be prepared for an encounter like a once raid leader would be.

This was not the first time I had to face the limitations of playing an MMORPG while having a full-time job, side-husle, partner… and you know social life and touching grass occasionally, but definitely it was the one which hit me the most as it affected my ability to engage with my favourite type of content in the game. The question is, how accessible this content is really for players who don’t have all day to spend in the game? And what if you are like me, who enjoys multiple types of content from casual exploration to raiding and would like to engage with it all to a degree? For the first time since playing FFXIV I feel like I’m constantly behind, that I have to pick very carefully what I spend my limited time on. I really hope the servers will be still running when I get to retire so I can finish all the stuff on my list which I still want to complete.

But according to some people on social media, apparently there is not enough content in the game…

What do you think, how much should you be able to complete in an MMORPG? Should companies design game content based on the activity of people with everyday life or those who can play all day? Is there a middle way to please both groups without one feeling they can’t catch up and the other finishing all new content in a couple of weeks?

I have more thoughts about The Occult Crescent, but that's for the next article. if you are interested you can follow me on Medium where I originally published this article: