8.2 Release Build

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Valnaaros
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8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Valnaaros »

The PTR got another build today, and it is labeled as being a release candidate. So how things currently are in the PTR are probably going to stay that way going Live.
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Shinryu Masaki
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Shinryu Masaki »

Looks like they're going to release it for July 2nd or maaaayyyybe June 25th, but my bet is the first date, considering Blizzard's track record.
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Valnaaros
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Valnaaros »

I'm betting June 25th, as are most others I've seen. There isn't really much else to be tested (raid testing concluded a week or so ago, and the raid doesn't come out with 8.2), but more important, early access for Shadowbringers is on the 28th.
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Vephriel
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Vephriel »

June 25th is my solid bet, because there's no way they're releasing on July 2nd ahead of a big American holiday (4th of July) when most of their staff will have time off.
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Maizou
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Maizou »

There's 0% chance they'll release on July 2nd.

The end of PvP season was announced this week, so it'll be the 25th.

If there's any reason they have to push it back, it'll be the 9th. There's literally 0% chance it'll be the 2nd. The majority of their staff will be out of the office most of the week of the 2nd.
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Shinryu Masaki
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Shinryu Masaki »

June 25th could be a hit or miss for them, as like Valnaaros said, Shadowbringers early access starts on the 28th of June, so it could either mess up with Final Fantasy XIV and remove some players from that game, or some might start to play 8.2 only to leave WoW once early access starts 3 days later.

July 2nd is the release date for Shadowbringers, and releasing 8.2 there would have THE biggest impact on trying to steal players from FFXIV, and considering how Blizzard really likes to match up patches and other things with other MMOs release dates, it is very likely. Stormblood came out June 20th 2017, as did The Tomb of Sargeras, and Heavensward came out June 23rd 2015, as did WoW patch 6.2, and they also matched dates with Guild Wars 2 and Wildstar.

So yeah, I think June 25th is VERY risky for Blizzard as it has the more likely chance to make them lose players to FFXIV, while July 2nd would have the opposite effect. Not saying they won't do it, but from a business standpoint, it's dangerous for them and it could fail.
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Maizou
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Maizou »

FF14 can release on the week of the 4th because their staff aren't American. The Japanese staff are well, in Japan, and the NA staff are in Canada. As such, they don't have to worry about their staff asking for time off for the week of the 4th. Blizzard has released the same time as the other games in the past because it hasn't fallen on a Holiday. I wouldn't be shocked if SE planned it on an American Holiday for this reason.

Blizzard lets their staff have the 4th off, and over half of them take almost the entire week off, as we were told a few years ago.

Releasing it on the 2nd would be INSANELY risky and Blizzard is not in the habit of taking risks right now when they're trying to retain customers, because, for example, if the servers crash there is a good chance they will not come back up for 12+ hours because of the limited staff because of the holiday. We've literally been told on the forums that it's usually just a couple server techs in the office and a couple dozen GMs for answering tickets that are in the office during a holiday, and it's not much better over the holiday week. And with 4th of July, most people aren't home, they do things like go camping, or go to a lake, or a party, or such, and can't simply be called in if a server crashes.

And if the servers crashed THAT hard, they'd DEFINITELY lose customers.

This is the biggest patch they've ever released (2 new zones, a raid, a dungeon [even if they aren't active at launch, they're still in the game files], a pet battle dungeon, tons of new world quests, dailies, a bodyguard system, world bosses, etc.). They aren't going to release it with barebones staff in the office.

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And no, their best bet for drawing people away from FF14 is not to release it on the same day as FF14's expansion. That's literally their WORST chance. It'd be to release it either the week before or a week after. Either you get people hooked on the content you have, and get them logging in to do world quests to work on rep to unlock flight by releasing it a week early, or you release it a week later, after people have had a week to get over the high of the new expansion and draw them into the new patch with the appeal of new content.
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Shinryu Masaki
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Shinryu Masaki »

Myzou wrote:FF14 can release on the week of the 4th because their staff aren't American. The Japanese staff are well, in Japan, and the NA staff are in Canada.
The NA staff as well as the NA servers are in the US, everything was removed from Montréal city in Québec something like 2 or 3 years ago.
Myzou wrote:And no, their best bet for drawing people away from FF14 is not to release it on the same day as FF14's expansion. That's literally their WORST chance.
Regardless of Blizzard actually doing it for the 2 FFXIV expansions prior to this one?

Though you are right about the holiday, I sometimes forget how insanely patriotic Americans can be with the 4th of July.
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GormanGhaste
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by GormanGhaste »

Shinryu Masaki wrote:Though you are right about the holiday, I sometimes forget how insanely patriotic Americans can be with the 4th of July.
I can assure you that for most people, it's nothing to do with patriotism and everything to do with a day off to have a cookout with family and friends :)
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Maizou
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Maizou »

Shinryu Masaki wrote:
Myzou wrote:FF14 can release on the week of the 4th because their staff aren't American. The Japanese staff are well, in Japan, and the NA staff are in Canada.
The NA staff as well as the NA servers are in the US, everything was removed from Montréal city in Québec something like 2 or 3 years ago.
Most of their staff are still Canadian though, as I said. They didn't fire their staff. And last I checked, most Canadians in the US don't celebrate the 4th of July, and gladly work through the holiday, as companies often give them time and a half for doing so.

And as the above poster said, it's not about patriotism for most people. It's about time off and spending time with family, BBQing and fireworks.
Valnaaros
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Valnaaros »

June 25 is the release date for the next patch!
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Shinryu Masaki
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Re: 8.2 Release Build

Unread post by Shinryu Masaki »

About time we get a date! Yesterday I was talking about this with a few friends, one of them said something I didn't think about, that it's possible Square Enix chose July 2nd to make sure that this time Blizzard wouldn't be able to pull of something to interfere with their expansion release like the 2 previous times. It does make sense. Well the sooner the better, this patch was long overdue. :)
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