1. FFXIV Reset Timers
    Last daily reset was 23 hours, 44 minutes ago / Next daily reset is in 0 hours, 15 minutes
    Last weekly reset was 1 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes ago / Next weekly reset is in 4 days, 17 hours, 15 minutes
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  1. #121
    Sandworm Swallows
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    7,158
    BG Level
    8

    You could look at XIV vs XI or you can look at the game by itself. Sometimes it's not fair to hold XIV up to XI when they are such different games in different market environments. And sometimes you just want that XI feeling back, I get that.

    One thing I don't like about the game is what a lot of people have been saying here: XIV isn't as tight-knit a community as XI. You have a whole pool of people to play with who aren't even on your server if you go through DF, so good luck making friends there. You're not forced to XP with random people over and over to the point where you know everyone on the server and everyone knows you. You might get to know maybe 30% of the server's population through seeing them constantly in shouts and PF and that's about it. The only thing remotely the same about the community vs XI is the FC system which is basically just like linkshells were in XI. But even those aren't really that good because the endgame content you can do together is so sparse. There is no delicious drama, either, which really sucks. If there was one improvement I'd like to see in the game it'd be finding more ways to smush the community together and make it feel more like XI's.

    One thing I like that you guys have been pointing out: XIV is obviously geared towards casuals. Accessibility is key when a company wants to reach a large playerbase and not piss them off so much they quit. You've got probably 17 games on your phone alone that might feel more rewarding to play than XIV if it was frustratingly difficult. That's what the XIV team is up against and I think accessibility is a necessary evil. Yeah it sometimes dumbs down content, but at least it doesn't make the player put his/her fist through a wall like XI often did to people. Plus, if you consider what age most people were while playing XI in its prime (CoP thru WotG) and expect a large portion of that playerbase to have moved to XIV, you gotta think they're older, with more responsibilities, work, kids and a lot of other time sinks. Being able to log into the game and accomplish something in a short amount of time is necessary for people who have "grown up" and been forced into a position where they can't play as much anymore.

    Personally, I don't want XIV to be the time sink for me that XI was. I don't want to play the game like a job anymore. The amount of endgame content and my high standards to be geared and adept meant I was playing XI every day all day for years except when I was at work or asleep. That was draining and I eventually quit because of that + the new level caps. XIV I do intend to keep playing a little more casually and not let it run my life. I'm not part of a big FC and I haven't even done any Coil yet. I enjoy Crystal Tower content and the ability to do nearly anything solo.

    As for an analysis of the game so far aside from those aspects I talked about already, personally I find everything in 2.0+ "okay" except a few major disappointments and pluses.

    Spoiler: show

    Disappointments:

    -SMN. It was going to be my main and I loved it in XI despite its uselessness. I just loved the big bad avatars and the method of acquisition of said avatars. SMN in XIV is a decent dps and fun enough to play, but the avatars are SO DISAPPOINTING. What was this art department thinking? I do not think I'll ever get over this. It's just a cosmetic thing but the FF series is normally SO GOOD at being aesthetically pleasing that dropping the ball here was, for me, depressing.

    -Chocobo Racing/Breeding. Okay, Triple Triad and the rest of the stuff in GS is fine. But what I was most excited about was chocos. Well, the breeding we got is too random and convoluted. The racing is jerky, the tracks aren't varied enough, the opponents are mostly NPCs. It doesn't feel like fun, it feels like tedious work, this entire system. They could have streamlined this so easily and instead I feel like they reverted back to XI methodology on this one.

    -QoL adjustments. I could name about 50 right now off the top of my head that would help SO MUCH and they must have occurred to the devs but for whatever reason they just won't implement anything. Whatever, used to it by now from SE. No, it still stings.

    -Fucking gilspammers. They're not even trying to ban them here. I guess SE will take the money any way they can while the funds are low. Banning paying customers - even if they are buying or selling billions worth in gil - isn't a good business strategy unless you're hoping to get sympathy donations from people who love to take the moral high ground. They were much more proactive about this with XI. But that's not really organic to the game, more an administration issue.

    -Vertical gear progression. This one is probably the worst offender.
    Player: Hooray, I finally geared out the 3 - 4 jobs I'm interested in!
    SE: Great, here's the next patch, now replace all your gear with this new stuff. It'll take you until next patch because of arbitrary and quite frankly infuriating looting limitations. Look forward to it!
    I see this as a major flaw in the game currently but it doesn't stop me from enjoying the game, it just keeps me focused on a main job while the rest of them kind of fall by the wayside. It's tough to be someone who likes all of the jobs because playing an undergeared job in party content doesn't sit well with me, but it's very difficult to gear them all with the caps in place.

    Things I love:

    -The world/lore. They usually do a good job on this, this time is no exception. I love the shoutouts to other FF games and I love the original stuff as well. It all feels intertwined like one big world rather than a bunch of disjointed areas. I'm sure they can keep this up for the rest of the game's life, it's kind of what they're good at.

    -Housing! The amount of customization you can do, and it keeps getting better over time with more furnishings added. This is a great way to kill time, be creative and spend gil that would otherwise just be sitting around because there's really not much to buy It's just too bad there's no way to show off your house except to leave it open for people to wander into. Housing has kept me entertained for a while - decorating my private house, my old FC's house and I just bought a large house under my personal FC to mess around with. I'm sure it'll get even better with Heavensward.

    -Postmoogle quests: These are in the process of giving pretty much every minorly notable NPC a life and a backstory. They are amazing and they enrich the player experience in the world so much imo. Suddenly all these NPCs you've talked to once or twice randomly actually have identities. One of my favorite parts of every patch.

    Overall the good really balances out the bad and XIV has so far been "okay". Mind-blowing? Nah. But I think it can get there with nudging in the right direction. I expect Heavensward to make some giant leaps towards the ideal community, mechanics and story balance for this game.

  2. #122
    A. Body
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    4,445
    BG Level
    7
    FFXIV Character
    Sir Taint
    FFXIV Server
    Gilgamesh
    FFXI Server
    Cerberus

    Great write up IMO.

    The world is a different place then it was in 2003. And yes FFXIV is prefect for us old players, I have a 50hr a week job, wife, 2 kids (3mo and 2yrs) and I can still participate in 99% of FFXIVs content.

  3. #123
    Relic Weapons
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    390
    BG Level
    4
    FFXIV Character
    Cage Rancor
    FFXIV Server
    Hyperion
    FFXI Server
    Quetzalcoatl

    I don't think anyone here really refutes those things. I myself fall perfectly into the demographic you described. However, while maintaining a 40-50hr week job I'm still able to do all content in the game and clear all the raids, just as Taint mentioned.

    That being said, I think the real problem is that there's too much casual content, and there's its too inaccessible to raid for some people. Meaning, the way "endgame" is set up it almost forces you to be in a static, which many peoples schedules don't afford, or people just don't want the commitment.

    There's no reason that they shouldn't be able to make content which is both challenging, yet accessible. It baffles me that people actually find CT/ST/WoD rewarding. As you mentioned, Silenka, the game needs a reason or a way of bringing server communities closer together. A Dynamis-type content would be great for this. Something mid-core with no lockout (except loot), but not DF accessible.

    I'm a fan of casual content, but I'm also a serious raid player, I enjoy challenging content, but also a variety. The breadth of content available at endgame is way too narrow. I'm not saying we need more hardcore raids, what we need is more relevant content that casuals and hardcores can both work on weekly and not accomplish everything in a day.

    Do people want a casual phone game that they pay a monthly subscription for, or an MMO with a breadth of battle content that actually lasts an entire patch cycle? Content becomes irrelevant way too quickly.That's pretty much all I see right now. The game is either free gear handouts for minimal effort, or its Coil. There is no middle ground. Why?

  4. #124
    Strider/Doom/Cyclops
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    5,687
    BG Level
    8
    FFXIV Character
    Viper Beam
    FFXIV Server
    Balmung
    FFXI Server
    Quetzalcoatl

    The reason why XI community was more "tight-knit" is because it was much smaller, full stop. Between the NA/JP dataserver segregation and cross-server partying, there are thousands more potential same-language party members than at any point in XI. Even if XI had (same-server) DF, you would have frequently ended up partying with familiar names; I'm sure that in my hundreds of DFs, I've partied with the same person no more than thrice.

  5. #125
    Relic Shield
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    1,789
    BG Level
    6
    FFXIV Character
    Rehn Valor
    FFXIV Server
    Sargatanas
    FFXI Server
    Ragnarok

    I'm really hoping they give PvP a makeover, because it was the single thing I logged in for after coil was done for the week. GC restrictions aside, PvP in my eyes were fairly healthy when it was secure only. While there were indeed complaints, 72 man secure lasted until wee into the nights.

    Then slaughter comes out, gets slapped on the exact same map, and the disinterest began from there (at least from what I read about). Tried queuing for secure weeks ago and I gave up at 50 minutes into. With the new maps from the previews, I hope they do it justice, because as niche as it is there are moments only PvP can grant that PvE cannot. I really miss 1v1ing multitudes of people in all my secure runs, and coming out victorious on most of them. Or being digits from not winning to obtaining the last kills to push us to first place.

  6. #126
    Strider/Doom/Cyclops
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    5,687
    BG Level
    8
    FFXIV Character
    Viper Beam
    FFXIV Server
    Balmung
    FFXI Server
    Quetzalcoatl

    Slaughter killed PvP. I hope the fix they have in mind (the one that's being delayed until a month after HW release) is significant.

    Adding Allied Seals would help immensely.

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