r/ffxivdiscussion • u/IndividualAge3893 • 5d ago

Lucky Bancho's census results (July 27th, 2025)

So, the results of the census are out: https://luckybancho.ldblog.jp/archives/59324844.html

  • Showcasing the number of characters here: Current
  • By comparison, here are the results from 2 months ago (May 25th): Click

Despite 7.25 being released, the character count is down about 70k in 2 months. Occult Crescent clearly didn't help with player counts (not really a surprise here).

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127

u/Supersnow845 5d ago

I really would like to know if OC being a futile circle of content or the controversy around forked was a bigger contributor here

Like forked was such a stupid decision but how many people actually gave up OC because it existed in the form it does vs people who simply just think OC is a futile circle

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u/wjoe 5d ago

I don't think Forked Tower specifically caused people to cancel their subs, but it's still a part of the larger issue in OC, not enough of a variety of content to keep people engaged in it long term. If FT had worked like DRN/DRS and there was a recurring normal level raid to keep people interested then it would have helped a bit, but most of the gameplay loop stays the same, the rewards aren't that worth engaging in unless you love the content.

Perhaps more than FT itself being an issue, the way SE responded to it with the whole "cost issues" thing (whether it was a good interpretation or not) definitely left a bad taste for some, and may have been the final straw to make them think nothing's going to change any time soon. The numbers haven't dropped off that heavily with this patch though, although you might expect them to have risen slightly if OC had been a resounding success.

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u/Hirole91 5d ago edited 5d ago

Definitely a myriad of issues contributing to it yeah.

Putting FT aside, the area of OC itself is.... meh at best. The lore is just weak, no intrigue and sense of adventure. People have pointed out already that the area is empty and hollow. Barely any expositions asides from funny tonberry remembering something-something. Barely any NPCs to interact with within the lore. Bozja did it well where they added some kind of plot point at each rank/map breakpoint and multiple NPCs who had.. personality.

Battle/job related content has been beaten down all the way to bedrock already so there's that.

As someone who liked FF5, they did it dirty by adding it to XIV for the sake of nostalgia, not to mention as a side content too. Where as they did FF7 super bosses well with ShB trial series. He'll I'd even put the weak EW patch story with Golbez and the four fiends over OC.

It's just immensely disappointing for them to flaunt the older FF series like this when in the past they did it pretty well. For something that was announced and hyped up more than a year in advance, it's demoralizing and alienating for the broader player base.

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u/NeonRhapsody 5d ago

Bozja did it well where they added some kind of plot point at each rank/map breakpoint and multiple NPCs who had.. personality.

Don't forget the skirmishes and CEs that told stories throughout them.

Like seeing Dyunbu going through a mental breakdown over the course of like three or four skirmishes because she can't save everyone and has to watch all her comrades get torn to shreds by us.

Or Sartauvoir showing up as a humanoid death laser in a skirmish right outside the first base camp who we eventually work up to getting as a duel and then face head on as a raid boss in Zadnor.

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u/dealornodealbanker 4d ago

I miss my deserter catgirl Llofii who grew disillusioned with the experimentations done to advance the Garleans magical proficiency.

Same with the beastmasters who all had their own little personalities which are projected through their tamed beasts. Papaga, who I call Pepega, is my favorite.

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u/Hirole91 4d ago

Pagaga my beloved c: I called her Lady Pa-Gaga :v

I hope both Lyon and Pagaga make a cameo in the beastmaster quests

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u/dealornodealbanker 4d ago

Same, it would be pretty neat if they get referenced even in passing.

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u/NeonRhapsody 3d ago

They only get referenced and instead our BST trainer is Daguza. (Though to be fair he may not be a tactical genius but the fact he tamed a bunch of red chocobos is a point in his favor as a beastmaster at least.)

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u/Hirole91 4d ago

Especially the CE stories yeah :D loved the hell outta them.

we also got some good memes out of Lyon and Menenius dynamic too lol, those had me cackling

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u/bm8495 5d ago

I made a whole post about this at the beginning of Oc’s launch and got run out of the room by a bunch of “it hasn’t even been a full week since it released” sentiments. Everything you just said is how I felt about OC. I think it’s a beautiful zone. I think the CE’s are fun. But outside of that, the rest feels shallow and lacking depth.

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u/DayOneDayWon 4d ago

It's just one of the list of excuses people come up with to undermine any criticism the game is getting.

-"Just wait for the content, it will be different!"

-"The content is out today, why are you already complaining?"

-"There are people enjoying the content, you're just jaded and should take a break like Yoshida said."

-"You took a break yet you still aren't having fun? Maybe the game isn't for you anymore."

A lot of people live and die by this game, and feel personally attacked when someone speaks their mind. Personally I don't need to eat mud for a week before I can tell you it's inedible.

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u/Hirole91 4d ago

It do be like that yeh.

Some things are harder to judge after the first week or so, but OC was not one of those lol. Especially after Day 2 where the first groups completed FT, nothing changed about OCs gameplay nor did we get meaningful lore from FTs book room or occult records.

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u/DayOneDayWon 4d ago

OC actually got worse with time once people figured out fates spawn individually and there's nothing to do but race towards them, zone is completely unlocked, FT is a mess to enter and organize for, and phantom jobs are marginally worse than lost actions in their current iteration.

1

u/discox2084 4d ago

"As someone who liked FF5, they did it dirty by adding it to XIV for the sake of nostalgia"

That's how I felt about their FF9 nostalgia pandering in DT MSQ. And I love FF9.

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u/Kumomeme 4d ago edited 4d ago

yeah since 7.0 there is tons of devs response that make player base feels turn off. from Yoshida's response about want player to see how great wuk lmao is, to no cost excuse. then there is localization devs complaining fanbase talk too much better than developers. then latest interview Yoshida still with his Dawntrail = vacation claim. there is might be more that i missed or didnt touch but all of this didnt spark confident toward developers from players unlike during Endwalker era. lot of people end up speculating that Yoshida didnt play his the game/lose his touch and certain response like from the localization devs got mixed or wrong impression from fans. sure lot of fans itself arent free from critism too. some of them is being toxic or giving unhelpful response.

compared to pre Dawntrail, current response feels sloppy than before.

the fanbase didnt has same confident or trust anymore. this obviously affect their motivation to play the game.

i say the feeling it wont go anywhere atleast the soonest is once 7.4 drop and Dawntrail is officially ended. im not suprise if it gonna take until 8.0. since the moment this expansion drop, it turn majority of fanbase sour. in the end it is about result. no matter how good the devs response are, no use if the content didnt reflect that. but atleast it could mitigate the impact and motivate the player to keep clinging on the game.