Dev Tracker: Discussion

[Toth]

Think we'll see more crafted gear carrying the Su1 tag, with Su2 containing RF Empy. Know most aren't a fan of that, but I get the feeling we'll RF Empy the same way we do AF and Relic, and Su2 will be the actual blockade to using the gear rather than getting the mats/chapters. I'd imagine shortly after it's introduction we'll see a massive boost to CP potential, whether through full time 2x, new content that awards entire JPs easily, or any other form of fuck-assery they like to do. inb4 here's an all jobs belt with +200% CP.

On Bahamut, I wouldn't call them common by any stretch, but they do happen occasionally. As you said, the Japanese population seems to be more willing to put together runs. I think it might all be a byproduct of the way content is setup now. My group does most content together, Delve, Skirmish, BCs, etc. If we need merits to get some BCs going, we just go into Woh Gates for 30 minutes and restock. If the double campaign comes around and someone that always comes Whm wants JPs on another job, we switch off and specifically farm them. Most other groups we've run across at camps (cause who actually /searches a camp anymore? lol) have been similar, 6ish members all of the same LS.

It's just like most things in this game I think. Either you're dedicated/good enough to do it on your own, you have your own ready to go group to do it, or you're stuck out in the cold complaining about how terribad the system is because you're left with shout groups as your player pool.

And idk about Asura, but Bahamut's shout groups aren't much better. There's certainly some repeated leaders that do well, but the majority have no idea of how to actually play. They take the "winning strat" that they heard about, apply it in a piss poor way with equally piss poor geared/played characters, and proceed to wipe on Tenzen N, any Delve, AA Ns, etc.

I don't see empy gear being Superior tagged because it would alienate too much of the playerbase. Superior gear should be JSE or like the current system with specific bonuses for each job on various pieces. Kind of like the Regimen gloves where it can help four jobs at once. It would be nice if the superior gear had stats equal to 119 gear though, with superior 2 being the next highest ilevel.

[Byrthnoth]

I'd put very high odds on Empyrean gear being Su2. They're introducing a "leveling up" system that's job specific (Job Points/Gifts) and we seriously don't think they're going to associate it with JSE armor? I mean . . . . c'maaaaaahn. I bet Malithar is totally right.

I personally have plenty of JPs, but I really that fear this direction for the game will kill what remains of our fragile NA community. A lot of the posters here are all bluster and bravado, but how many of you have half a dozen similarly hardcore friends that you think will still be playing in March? I'm not sure I do.

[Malithar]

Superior gear should be JSE or like the current system with specific bonuses for each job on various pieces.

Isn't that exactly what Empy gear is? <.<;

It would be nice if the superior gear had stats equal to 119 gear though, with superior 2 being the next highest ilevel.

This is actually the path I hope they don't take. I get that JPs are meant to be the new way for us to "level up" but until they make it viable to get tons of JPs on multiple jobs with out much of a time commitment, then I think it'd break the game in a bad way. Higher ilvl gear would assumingly come with higher ilvl content. If the general player base needed that higher ilvl gear to complete that content, you'd have a large swath of the player base alienated due to lack of JPs on, for lack of a better term, non-main jobs.

[dasva]

lol, more gifts already

Given half of them are increased cp rate kinda makes sense

[Toth]

Isn't that exactly what Empy gear is? <.<;



This is actually the path I hope they don't take. I get that JPs are meant to be the new way for us to "level up" but until they make it viable to get tons of JPs on multiple jobs with out much of a time commitment, then I think it'd break the game in a bad way. Higher ilvl gear would assumingly come with higher ilvl content. If the general player base needed that higher ilvl gear to complete that content, you'd have a large swath of the player base alienated due to lack of JPs on, for lack of a better term, non-main jobs.

One big advantage 11 has over 14 atm is that there are numerous options at receiving high level gear. I would hope superior gear would be a separate gear set from enhanced empy gear for that reason but you're right, it does seem the direction they are going.

[dasva]

It's just like most things in this game I think. Either you're dedicated/good enough to do it on your own, you have your own ready to go group to do it, or you're stuck out in the cold complaining about how terribad the system is because you're left with shout groups as your player pool.

And idk about Asura, but Bahamut's shout groups aren't much better. There's certainly some repeated leaders that do well, but the majority have no idea of how to actually play. They take the "winning strat" that they heard about, apply it in a piss poor way with equally piss poor geared/played characters, and proceed to wipe on Tenzen N, any Delve, AA Ns, etc.

Sadly this is more understatement than exaggeration. I've seen people shouting for entire groups to do AA on VE. Most the whms I've seen in shouts simply can't cure enough. And I mean we are talking 30 seconds in the yellow or lower kind of thing. And then when they do they don't use af3 legs and blow all their mp in under a minute.

DDs that literally don't know what tp moves are and how to count them on matamata.

rdms that refuse to cure anyone and instead constantly stand in AoE sleep range meleeing asking for cures.

I swear I think it's time to server hop

[Byrthnoth]

It's not time for a hop. It's time for a merge. I don't care about BC congestion at this point. Bring it on.

[Toth]

It's not time for a hop. It's time for a merge. I don't care about BC congestion at this point. Bring it on.

Could not agree more.

[EjinCaitsith]

I personally have plenty of JPs, but I really that fear this direction for the game will kill what remains of our fragile NA community. A lot of the posters here are all bluster and bravado, but how many of you have half a dozen similarly hardcore friends that you think will still be playing in March? I'm not sure I do.

I'd argue the opposite. Many of my friends quit because there's nothing meaningful to do aside for making RME for their 3rd/4th/5th favorite jobs. Having something meaningful to do that takes more than a week would bring a lot of mine back. The ones that are still around, myself included, are just hoarding gil/gearing odd jobs in the hopes that we'll be ready for whatever new hard content/ultimate weapons they might release in the future. None are really happy with the way things are now, but we see potential in what they are doing and where it might go. I can say with a high amount of certainty that if this 'casual content' thing keeps going along with them completely ignoring the higher end players, all of my remaining friends will quit.

I welcome anything that offers longevity. I'm hoping last year's 'casual content' campaign hasn't made the current playerbase so soft that they'll give up and quit in frustration if they can't clear content and get gear in the first week. I have nothing against casual content, I actually welcome it because I realize the game needs more than hardcore players to keep going, but they seriously need to throw hardcores a bone already.

[Sechs]

I get that JPs are meant to be the new way for us to "level up"

Is it?
I mean, after we all spent pages over pages over pages over pages of discussion here and on FFXIAH concerning the "new levelling system" it turned out to be something just for sidegradish AHable 119 gear.
Are we really sure this is what they meant as a new level up system?

I mean, as I've had the chance to discuss aplenty I wouldn't mind it, but I'm not sure anymore this is what they created SU* for.


If anything it makes you wonder what's the purpose of letting people level up when you're not offering higher level content.
It would work for a while, but over a longer time? It wouldn't I'm afraid.

[Sechs]

@Dasva
Jump to Asura! <3

It's not time for a hop. It's time for a merge. I don't care about BC congestion at this point. Bring it on.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I believe the reasons why they haven't merged servers yet are:
1) Marketing-wise it's a bad move, it gives the implicit message "game is dying" to people.
2) I think they're still pondering what to do about the economic sustainment model of FFXI. To keep monthly fees or not to keep? If they were to transform the model into a F2P where you can still pay monthly fee and receive special boons (double CP, double this, double that etc) then the user base would increase, and doing this after a server merge would mean creating new servers again, which would basically make the merge useless.

I think they're kinda waiting on the merge for these reasons, as they try to make up their mind on what to do for the long-time future of FFXI.


For the rest, I kinda agree with waht Eijin said.
Game needs content, real content, big, organized, long-lasting, deep content.
Not the rehashed, low-budget, boring, short-lived content we've been getting so far. If at all actually, because the last patches have been pretty lackluster and sadly it doesn't look like January one or February one are going to break this depressing cycle.
Without long-term announcements on their side about the future of FFXI, it's pretty easy to give space to pessimism atm.

[Prothescar]

honestly, they'd probably get a pretty decent resurgence in XI subs if they reinstated the $7 XI sub if you have an active XIV account thing. lots of people I know in XIV would be down for playing XI every now and again if they didn't have to pay full price

[Sechs]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the FFXIV+FFXI subscription bonus worked the other way around.
FFXI never got any discount, you were getting a discount on the FFXIV one if you also had a FFXI subscription (and you were also getting the awesome Hermes Boots, how I miss them! ).

I mean... the result is the same, you pay less $ each month, but it was FFXIV fee getting a discount, not the FFXI one.
Either way, I'm not sure it would produce massive resubscriptions by people. Some? Totally. Anything noticeable? Doubt it, but I might be wrong here.
Turning the game into a F2P model where paying players get some random boons would instead create a noticeable influx of people, I'm sure of it, but I'm not sure I'd like such a change in the end, honestly.

[Prothescar]

Players with both an active FINAL FANTASY XI service account and an active FINAL FANTASY XIV service account will be able to discount their FINAL FANTASY XI monthly service fees from $12.95 to $7.00 for up to three months.

* You are only eligible if you have linked your PlayOnline ID to your Square Enix account.
* This discount is available from January 14, 2012 to May 11, 2012. Please note that once this period has ended, the discount will no longer apply.

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/topics/ffxiv/



honestly im not sure how many people would come back, but it would certainly be enough to add a good amount to the event pool at the very least. f2p would be better, but it's also unlikely to ever happen. I foresee SE closing down servers long before they consider a F2P model.

[arus2001]

Maybe I'm weird, but I'd never pay to play 2 MMOs at once unless the cost was literally that of 1 game. Genre's just too time consuming and drama-laden. Overall, I'd still err toward a F2P XI and believe it can be done, or at the very least, a greatly reduced sub fee ($5, no additional ID costs).

[Byrthnoth]

I agree the game will never go f2p, and they have given no real indication that they are considering the possibility iirc.

Also, there is a time and place for hardcore content, but the level up system is not it. Add trivial improvement HQs to VD fights instead.

[Rooney]

I'd consider re-subbing if they dropped the fee to $5 or so. They're just not putting out 12.95 worth of content each month. Nor is the content they're putting out lasting that long.

[Damane]

I agree the game will never go f2p, and they have given no real indication that they are considering the possibility iirc.

Also, there is a time and place for hardcore content, but the level up system is not it. Add trivial improvement HQs to VD fights instead.

the reason i quit FF11 some months ago was that there wasnt any hard goal or content to reach left and the fact that I realised there will never be any real challenging content again with current broken core mechanics 11 have.
I could only see them add challenging meaningfull content if they fix the core mechanics that arent doung their thing or just dont tge playstyle anymore: enmity (tanking and cures), duscrepancy between ranged attackers (mages rng) vs melee, AoE hitting everyone for full dmg instead of only hitting the main target full and the rest for a fraction.

everything is boiling down to buff bubbles and melee zerging which is getting dull, even more so now with the immense power the players hold.

also tge KI merit system was the biggest pile of shit introduced to prolong contentvor allivate congestion, let people jump directly into content with rechargable stones like in VW or abyssea

[PSOfanatic]

I pretty much agree with the above. I'd also really appreciate a discounted price per month...I think it's about time they thought about it. I'm expecting a big announcement of some sort in the next 3 months about server merge/subscription price adjustment (Or F2P/P2W). We shall see...!

[Balb]

My brother keeps asking me when I'm coming back to XI. Answer is always the same: "Have they dropped the price?"