Final Fantasy 14 devs know some fans found Field Operations "boring," but it's helped make Occult Crescent better: "We hope those kinds of players will be sure to try it out"

As fans continue exploring the newest of all of the Final Fantasy 14 Field Operations, Occult Crescent, two developers explore the content's history – and why its most recent iteration is likely the best one.

Speaking in a new interview with GamesRadar+, Final Fantasy 14 assistant director Tsuyoshi Yokozawa and battle content designer Daisuke Nakagawa dive into Occult Crescent – the latest entry in the MMO's line of Field Operations. To start, Yokozawa and Nakagawa detail some of what Square Enix has learned from past similar content, like The Diadem, Eureka, and the Save the Queen series – and to say it's quite a bit is an understatement.

"The development of Field Operations continues to evolve with community feedback obtained through the release of Eureka and Save the Queen, and our work on the Occult Crescent is no exception," explain the developers, stating that implementing such content was "extremely challenging" at first. The main attraction of Field Operations, as they say, "is that you can feel the presence of other players while playing the content."

That's the draw of content like Eureka, and now Occult Crescent. "These connections develop organically – either as a loose association or something more tight-knit, depending on how you play," say the devs. The "new form of content" that came in the form of Eureka and subsequent Field Operations succeeded. "As it turned out, a good portion of the community understood what we were going for, and we received a lot of positive feedback."

To this day, as the two point out, "There is still a core Eureka player base, showing how much people love the content even now." Its release proved "there is a certain level of demand for this style of content." Not all feedback was positive, however – and Square Enix took it all into account while developing later Field Operations. "On the other hand, we also received a lot of negative feedback about gameplay being unclear and/or the content being boring."

Second draft

The team used both positive and negative feedback to refine Save the Queen's own content, with a goal of making it more accessible, "especially for players who want to play Field Operations in a more casual way." Reception, while overall positive, was still a mixed bag with some fans thinking "there were not enough core elements to keep them invested for longer" after post-Eureka and pre-Save the Queen changes.

"This resulted in a lack of content that people could really sink time into and a lower degree of freedom," recall Yokozawa and Nakagawa. "In Save the Queen, we incorporated improvements on issues we experienced with Eureka, and encountered new issues raised from the community's feedback." That's where Occult Crescent comes in. "We took it upon ourselves to conduct another thorough investigation into the good and the bad of Eureka and Save the Queen, and further evolved the good points, and made corrections to improve the bad points."

How did the devs do so? "First of all, we have added more variety to the gameplay than was in Eureka and Save the Queen. We wanted to create a place where players could do what they feel like when they feel like it – whether that's creating a goal ahead of time for themselves or just diving right in and having fun wandering around." The two also discuss the integration of Phantom Jobs, and how they add to the latest of the Field Operations' experience.

"In addition, the Phantom Jobs are one of the major elements of the Occult Crescent, and there is truly a wide range of jobs that can be freely swapped around depending on the situation," describe Yokozawa and Nakagawa. "The actions and abilities are very effective, and we believe that even if you cannot skilfully master them, you will feel their effects."

How did fans' reactions following the Occult Crescent reveal impact development, though? Not too much, apparently. "When we announced that we'd be adding the Occult Crescent, our planning and some implementation were already underway, so there was no direct impact on development," the devs admit. "That said, we received a great deal of feedback on previous Field Operations, and the impact of this feedback has been extremely significant on the development of this content."

The popularity of Field Operations also came as a surprise. "We feel that player demand and enthusiasm have increased compared to when we originally released Eureka. Back then, we thought it would be the kind of content that would really resonate with the select people who love the concept – but now, Field Operations serve as a major type of content in FFXIV, and it feels like even more players than we expected are looking forward to the next piece."

Field Operations, including Occult Crescent, are likely becoming more popular thanks to the feedback taken on board by devs. "The Occult Crescent has been improved based on feedback from the community to make it even easier to enjoy, with a high degree of freedom in how you can play it. We hope those kinds of players will be sure to try it out whenever they're in the mood and see how they like it for themselves."

Some of these improvements are reward-related, with Yokozawa and Nakagawa suggesting that especially dedicated fans give obtaining them all a go. "In the Occult Crescent, we have increased the amount of new items compared to previous Field Operations. The more time you play, the more items you will naturally acquire, so we encourage completionists to see if they can obtain them all."

That's not the only fun suggestion the two devs have, either. "For those of you who want to explore absolutely everything on offer, we recommend trying your hand at conquering the Forked Tower. There are, of course, exclusive items that can be obtained by clearing the Forked Tower, and the more you master Phantom Jobs and enhance your content-specific equipment, the easier it'll become to clear."

In other words, "the more you grind, the higher your chances of success" – a mantra to live by as a frequenter of Fields Operations, for sure.

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