With Final Fantasy XIV's Dawntrail expansion releasing next year, fans expectantly wait to hear any news they can get about upcoming features it will bring. While players have seen glimpses of things to come, there are plenty of changes Square Enix can make to improve the game's quality of life.
FFXIV relaunched with A Realm Reborn a decade ago and has become a titan in the MMO community, getting increased attention with each subsequent expansion's release and some Azerothian tourists who decided to stick around. In those 10 years, many of the game's features have become more refined and fleshed out, while others receive little attention or get pushed to the wayside. New content is always welcome, but Square Enix could improve some things to breathe new life into what could be considered "archaic" features.
There's still plenty of time before the new expansion, and more information will release in the coming months. With none of these features yet to be announced or confirmed at the time of writing, here are some changes to Final Fantasy XIV that we'd like to see included in the Dawntrail expansion.
Quality-of-life changes wishlist for Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.0
More glamour plates
While players have all but begged for Square Enix to change Final Fantasy XIV's glamour system to be more in line with World of Warcraft's transmogrification system, it may be wishful thinking thanks to the legacy code that the game still uses. The glamour system has had additions that make things easier, like including the glamour dresser and glamour plates.
Glamour plates allow you to save complete outfits instead of modifying each piece of your gear set one at a time. With the ability to link saved gear sets with armor used by multiple jobs to these plates, Warriors of Light could have a unique look for every job they have unlocked – if they weren't limited to only 20 glamour plates.
With two new jobs coming in Dawntrail, the total of Disciple of War and Magic jobs raises to 22, making it impossible to have a glamour for each job when limited to 20 glamour plates. Not to mention there are also 11 Disciple of Hand and Land jobs, meaning players will need a total of 33 glamour plates to have a look for each job. Several outfits are sold on the Online Store and handed out as seasonal rewards also make for perfect situational glamours, but is sacrificing one of your precious glamour plates worth having a casual summer outfit? If Square Enix could double the current amount of plates from 20 to 40, players would have more than enough freedom to create a unique outfit for every job and whatever other themes they wish.
Improvements to the blacklist
With the general hype around a new expansion and the game releasing on Xbox consoles, more people will dip their toes into Final Fantasy XIV, which means that the server populations will likely see a massive increase during Dawntrail's launch. As FFXIV's player base grows, you'll inevitably encounter problem players throughout your adventures because, let's face it, not every Warrior of Light you'll meet in Eorzea is a good egg.
These scenarios are where the game's blacklist comes into play. Adding another player to your blacklist is essentially the same as blocking them on any other service, though there are some misconceptions about what happens when they're blocked.
Blacklisted players will no longer have their messages appear in your chat logs, and they cannot join any Party Finder listings you form. However, blocking them does not prevent them from entering your party via Duty Finder, as random as it may be. Blocking a player is also tied to that character, meaning they can circumvent the blacklist by creating another character.
Square Enix should modernize the blacklist system to a standard found among social media sites and other games with a community aspect. Then, it would vastly increase the quality of life for players who have had run-ins with problem players and help shield them from possible harassment.
Changes to housing layouts and details
Housing in Final Fantasy XIV remains a polarizing topic due to the availability of open housing plots for players to purchase. With the demolition timer restored after a long pause due to difficulties brought on by the pandemic, more Warriors of Light can now call themselves "homeowners," but the housing zone they purchase may not be the one they had their eyes set out on.
Those who own homes in FFXIV can change their house's exterior to match those found in other housing areas. However, interior details like wall trimmings, columns, and stairs are untouchable and fixed depending on the house's location. A common practice seen in many housing interiors throughout Eorzea is covering the walls with items like Marble Partitions to hide the unwanted details included with the home. Every partition placed takes up a furnishing slot, and with each item added to the house, those slots become a precious commodity.
FFXIV director and producer Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida has said that houses will include more furnishing slots in a future update. However, details on how many will be added are currently unknown. Even with the inclusion of more space, not having to cover the entirety of the home with the partition of your choice would free up even more space and allow better use of the newly received slots. If players could change the interior styling of a Lavender Beds home to match one from The Mist, for example, they could design the home of their dreams and be given the same freedom of customization shown to the house's exterior.
Honorable Mentions
Tackle box for Fishers
Warriors of Light working through their Fishing Logs know all too well how quickly their inventories can fill with several different types of bait. Instead of forcing their poor chocobo to carry every bug, worm, and lure known to man, having some sort of tackle box action to hold various baits would be a gift from Hydaelyn herself. For now, however, Fishers have to worry about cleaning the gunk from their pockets and cramming it into another inventory to become a problem for later.
More ranks and activities for Grand Company
Ranking up in your respective Grand Company has perks like raising the cap for the amount of Grand Company Seals you can carry and unlocking new materials to exchange them for. The highest rank one can achieve in their Grand Company is "Captain," though the names and emblems for higher positions have been known for quite some time through the in-game rank menu. The last time Square Enix made any changes to ranks was in Patch 4.4, and older Grand Company content such as Squadrons has been long-forgotten in place of other systems like Trusts and Duty Support. You would think the Warrior of Light is due another promotion after saving the world. Carrying even more seals would be great for players wearing best-in-slot gear and make a habit of turning in items they have no use for.
Final Fantasy XIV's Dawntrail expansion and Patch 7.0 are on the horizon, but there's plenty of time before then for Square Enix to deliver more news about the changes to come. Here's hoping some of these wishes come true.
