As part of patch 7.21 in Final Fantasy XIV, the more casual crowd of the MMO’s playerbase rejoiced as Cosmic Exploration was finally added. The crafting and gathering-centric content was expected to be a new and improved upgrade from Shadowbringers’ Ishgardian Restoration, but that’s not what players are discovering upon diving in.
Cosmic Exploration base progression instills a sense of FOMO
There’s a lot of discussion happening about Cosmic Exploration, especially surrounding the surprisingly fast progression of the main base on Sinus Ardorum. As the first of what will eventually be four planets, Sinus Arborum sets the expectation for future additions. With base progression being server-wide, many players are concerned that they may miss out on the large-scale FATEs that serve to upgrade the base.
However, according to the Cosmic Exploration Report page on the Lodestone, most servers’ Moon bases are barely over halfway complete. There is still time to jump in and take part in future FATEs as part of the upgrade process. NA servers on the Aether DC are the most advanced, with many having progressed to stage five already, seemingly the final stage.
There are still chances for players on other servers to be around for the large-scale FATEs, and with player numbers within the content dwindling at a rapid pace, there’s plenty of time to dive in. Progress increases as players complete their individual Stellar Missions, and fewer people taking part means fewer completed missions, slowing down the progress on each server.
A brief look back at the Ishgardian Restoration
Sadly, the focus on server progression has succeeded in overshadowing some of the other disappointing factors of Cosmic Exploration. Players entering this new content hoping for a similar experience to Shadowbringers’ Ishgardian Restoration will likely be disappointed by what awaits.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Ishgardian Restoration, let’s briefly get an overview of the content. Split into The Diadem (for gathering) and The Firmament (for crafting), the Ishgardian Restoration requires players to gather resources within The Diadem, have them appraised, and then use them to craft items that help with the rebuilding efforts.
You get a three-hour time limit for each visit to The Diadem. Botanists rotate around the floating islands in one direction, and Miners rotate in the opposite direction, piling up the resources that they would later need for crafting. If you’re aiming to make a quick buck, appraised resources can also be sold on the Marketboard. Sadly, they don’t sell nearly as well as they used to when the content was current.
The problems with Cosmic Exploration
This is not the case with Cosmic Exploration. Rather than the mind-numbing (in the best way) grind that presents itself within The Diadem, players must complete missions within incredibly tight time frames, with rankings for how well they do in each mission. Completing a mission with a Gold Star will earn you more Cosmo and Lunar Credits, and you unlock higher-level Stellar Missions by completing lower-level ones at a higher rank.
Lower-level Stellar Missions are pretty straightforward, especially for gatherers, albeit frustrating. Running from node to node is easier thanks to a perma-sprint feature, but that three-minute countdown at the side of the screen is always there to remind you that this is not relaxing content. It’s a constant hurry to the finish line, and that’s just the Stellar Missions.
Higher-level missions are infuriating. Some of the high-level gathering missions will surprise you by asking you to complete high-level crafts as part of their requirements. Others ask for resources that are obtained through Aetherial Reduction, something that is barely explained by the game. When it comes to crafting, the difficulty of higher-level missions is staggering. Some of them seem impossible to complete without macros, and you’ll need the best-in-slot gear with pentamelding on top to even stand a chance of being successful.
Next up, Mech Ops and Red Alerts. These two types of missions spawn almost randomly, it seems, and each of them is a similar race to the finish that involves not only yourself, but other people as well. They are a good opportunity to earn a hefty sum of Cosmo and Lunar Credits, but the pressure can easily get on top of you. Coupled with constant on-screen alerts adding to the anxiety, this is a far cry from what many were expecting.
Is Cosmic Exploration worth taking part in?
Away from the doom and gloom, there are some benefits to taking part in Cosmic Exploration, especially if you unleveled crafters of gatherers. Completing Stellar Missions and other types of missions reward a large amount of EXP, allowing you to level up remarkably quickly.
Sadly, if you’ve maxed out all of your crafters and gatherers, then the content will feel less useful. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other benefits to taking part, though.
There are a lot of new dyes available exclusively through Cosmic Exploration, purchased with Cosmo Credits. The Neon Pink and Neon Green dyes are proving to be favorites among players, with single pots selling for hefty sums of Gil on the Marketboard. There are also exclusive glamor sets, minions, and mounts available for purchase, or if you want to take your chances on the RNG gambling feature.
These are, sadly, the main benefits of taking part, and all of the items I’ve mentioned above are tradeable. That means that they can all be bought on the Marketboard. With this content being available to everyone, it’s likely that prices will drop pretty quickly, and soon, none of it will feel all that exclusive.
There’s hope among the stars
Sinus Arborum is just one planet that will eventually feature in Cosmic Exploration. We already know that a new planet is set to be added with every major patch of the Dawntrail cycle (7.3, 7.5, and 7.5), so there are more adventures and more rewards to be had. With Sinus Arborum being somewhat experimental, there is a potential for the devs at Square Enix to learn from this first planet and improve upon the implemented systems when it comes time to add more.
Whether those improvements involve slowing down progression or easing up on those time limits for Stellar Missions, there are a lot of things that can be done to offer more of a sense of relaxation for those who were looking for it.
