Expectations for a new player

[The Stig]

It's fine, I enjoy comparisons because I ultimately feel it's the best way for people to learn certain stuff - makes transition easier

So lets break this down:

The exception I'm seeing is Arcanist having both Summoner and Scholar as classes to advance to. In which case, since Arcanist is the base class, leveling as either SMN/SCH will level the other at the exact same rate. And I presume you can class change with the switch of a weapon.

Looking at the class advance requirements, it seems like the first thing I can/should do is level all the disciplines to 15+ so that unlocking classes can start as I hit 30 on whatever.

Correct. Picking SMN or SCH, providing you unlocked them, if you achieve 50 SCH, you'll also be a 50 SMN.

And yes getting everything to 15 is enough to unlock it all when the time comes.

Some you need to level to certain levels to get the ability to be used as a "subjob ability" though. I.e. Lancer (Dragoon) needs to be levelled to 34 for its Blood for Blood (think Last Resort) ability which can be slotted to MNK and BRD for a +10% damage buff for 20s.

What's the level difference needed for an ass-whoopin'? Is there a zone/dungeon with a level [cap+10] bunny is just waiting for the day they can ruin your shit?

I would say 7 levels would whoop you, your attacks will start to miss which hinders you at chipping away at the mob's HP.

This is more about WAR than anything else; how does WAR fit on the tank/dps spectrum now? It was almost fully on the DPS spectrum when I played FFXI, and I greatly much enjoyed smashing things in the face with a great axe and topping parses. Is that still viable when focusing on damage with WAR, or is the class now far more on the tanking end?

WAR is tank only, there is no DPS mode unfortunately, somewhat (see below). Plus, all gear for PLD and WAR would have a tank stat on it somewhat (Parry), and its given moves are vastly not suited for DPS much.

You can toggle this "DPS mode" by not turning on/using a stance ability called Defiance (think Seigan/Hasso/Defender), Defiance raises HP by 25%, increases healing taken by 25%, and reduces damage output by 20% (my numbers might be off, don't remember exactly). Your numbers would still be vastly below a proper DPS, but it's something if you're a co-tank and not main tanking.

WARs can put out good numbers in my opinion compared to PLD as they have an attack which lowers slashing resistance. But I've never parsed. In AOE situations against a PLD, a WAR is definitely superior.

From looking around, it also seems like PLD is tankier (which, well, natch). How much tankier is a PLD compared to a WAR, assuming both are focusing on the same role?

I would say it's rather balanced now. WARs have 20% more HP and 20% more healing passively, PLDs have constant -20% damage.

Real quick question regarding this; say I were switched from my "main" class of A to class B in order to fit into a party better. If an item dropped that was "need" for A, but "greed" for B, and I'm on class B at the moment, how does the game react? Would I need to switch to "A" in order to lot Need? Is this even possible/likely to happen?

Can't switch in instances or anything that matters and has a loot drop

Are there "Endgame"-focused groups/linkshells, or is the current endgame all PUG all the time? I can accept most of the changes stated, but I really liked having a dedicated group to meet up for endgame events.

Does every zone have a theme, or is there just the sound of wind like in FFXI once you exit certain maps?

"Accuracy Requirement": what's the cap on hit rate/accuracy now? Are people already finding out a precise answer to hitting accuracy cap?

Yeh there's LSes (although in this game it's called Free Company. LSes are just chatrooms here) that focus on those stuffs.

A bit like FFXI, I've not paid too much attention but a theme does kick in to play on and off.

Accuracy only matters currently in the final 8 man instance and it's figured out (you can see it in your stats anyways).

I actually haven't played much of any WoW/WoW clone so hey I guess it's worth a shot. The typical thing I didn't really like about WoW and offshoots was making multiple characters to experience different classes, and then having fragmented and unsharable bound items.

Yeh FFXIV retains class switching. At high levels a lot of main pieces become unsharable though. but accessories (belt, ring, bracelet, earring) can be worn by all classes usually.

I'll let Karbuncle answer the others.

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Oh, another thing, dying = no exp loss, but a bit of wear and tear on armor. As long as you repair at every NPC it's no big deal. Not expensive either.

I would say every piece of gear currently in-game is boring though. There is nothing fancy about them besides some stat differences and looks. I hope they add some special properties soon.

[Karbuncle]

If you're just talking about aesthetics and impact, could it just be nostalgia/things having more of an impact on a younger mind?

This was of course one of the first things I thought. But it seems deeper than that. I think its boiling down to everything feeling huge and open. I mean, Its big open fields, big open forests, big open everything. In XI, you had some big zones, but a lot of the zones consisted of the feeling of largeness (Zi'Tah) but confined to paths and corridors more or less. When you enter a huge open expanse of an area, its easy to tell less effort is put into them, a large open area, some trees sprinkled on, no real thought put into it, a typical fantasy MMO setting that you've seen in every other MMO ever.

I mean, If i was shown a picture of a FFXIV zone and a GW2 zone, graphic aside, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart because they have the same feel. In my eyes its a case of "Bigger isn't always better". Look at Castle Zvahl for instance, the zone itself is a decent size, but the corridors and such, you see only a small area, yet it feels perilous, it feels more alive and interesting than any zones I've gone through in XIV. I think the closest I got to feeling like I was in one of those places was actually inside dungeons. Dungeons seem to have the care and detail that most zones in XI have, which Is i think why the outer world suffers a bit.

That and having settlements and encampments every 20 feet make you feel like you're never too far away from human eyes or safe zones. It doesn't feel like you're exploring unknown areas, dangerous expanses, like FFXI has you feeling. When you walk through areas like say, Xarcabard, you're not going from Outpost, to Fort, to Outpost, to fort like you do in the XIV northlands. The game just feels like "Oh, we've already explored everything, over there is Fort Boring, take a rest there before you head to Fort Bland".

Its still possible Nostalgia is dragging on me, But I don't feel thats entirely it. I'm not saying XI is the epitome of gaming brilliance, but I think theres just a feeling of loss when a game opts for "LOOK AT DIS BIG ASS SH*T DAWG" and make areas more ... expansive... rather than detailed, if not smaller. Plus as I mentioned above theres the blur effect of being able to instantly teleport and warp and chocobo everywhere, mindlessly following Map markers because theres no real danger in being aggroed, therefor you care not for your suroundings.

Now not everyone plays this way, but theres a possibility you may... You may hit level 50 and realize you couldn't pick Outer La'Noscea (or whatever) out of a line up. Everything is so safe and sound it just feels dead. Oh, and my one driving complaint I suppose is the world, aside from being a perpetual safe zone where aggro mechanics are actually rather pointless since everything is on a nice, tight leash... is that beyond that, the open world is pointless to explore. Theres no NMs, theres no Chests, theres no nothing. The open world is dead space, a hub for Quest markers and FATEs.

But over-all, the feeling of "been there done that" I get in he open expanses of XIV could just be because I know theres absolutely no reason to explore, None whatsoever. Every quest is nicely marked on your map, every FATE glows on your radar, everthing you could gain from exploration is already spelled out on your map. There is nothing in the zones worth viewing that isn't already highlighted for you. That I think is the main reason the world feels boring, because from the second you begin, you know theres nothing out there worth finding. I mean the closest I come to experience a feeling of importance in the world are the pieces of Dalamund spread about, which are a nice touch I admit but its simply not enough.

Perhaps the thread of dying, the thrill of finding NMs, hell, even dungeon zones like Boyahda which are absent from XIV(Except for actual instances) all lend feeling to a world, and these feel absent in XIV. But yah, your experience may vary, I know everyone will look at the game differently, and perhaps I am just old and cranky and MMOs just wont excite me anymore. But i like to think its more than that.

[Kalmado]

First, I'm buzzed/drunk currently, so take this comment with a grain of salt! Just logged in for the first time. Graphics are great! I'm running on a msi twin frozr 770 and have most everything cranked and it's beautiful. I tried logging into Hyperion, but no dice. Chose Adamantoise and about 15 minutes in was invited to a FC. I tried keyboard/mouse and 360 pad and I think I'd have to use k/m because of typing with the FC. But the 360 pad seems great! Still, tons of comparing to ffxi which I know I shouldn't do, but oh well. First night so 29 more days to go before I decide if it's really for me.

[Silenka]

Well, I think the game will likely keep changing and evolving in major ways now that they're taking it a bit more seriously. XI had a lot of shitty things that got worlds better as it went on too.
I will confess to disappointment myself with the actual summons, their graphics are hilariously stupid-looking. Are dat swaps a thing here or is it all server-side now? I don't see any files to indicate they would be changeable ;(

Also, I reallly don't like the mechanic where you try to kite a mob and if you drag it too far from its spawn point it becomes invulnerable.
Is kiting really blocked off for other things too or just normal mobs? I imagine quest mobs might not go invuln but I haven't tried.

[Feedmenow]

It's fine, I enjoy comparisons because I ultimately feel it's the best way for people to learn certain stuff - makes transition easier

So lets break this down:

Correct.... yes getting everything to 15 is enough to unlock it all when the time comes... Some you need to level to certain levels to get the ability to be used as a "subjob ability" though. I.e. Lancer (Dragoon) needs to be levelled to 34 for its Blood for Blood (think Last Resort) ability which can be slotted to MNK and BRD for a +10% damage buff for 20s.

Yeah, looking at cross class shows some interesting options. Seems like there's a lot of mutual benefit to leveling all the things or at least similar classes.

I would say 7 levels would whoop you, your attacks will start to miss which hinders you at chipping away at the mob's HP.

Are there any zones with mob levels above 50?

WAR is tank only, there is no DPS mode unfortunately, somewhat (see below). Plus, all gear for PLD and WAR would have a tank stat on it somewhat (Parry), and its given moves are vastly not suited for DPS much. ...Your numbers would still be vastly below a proper DPS, but it's something if you're a co-tank and not main tanking.

WARs can put out good numbers in my opinion compared to PLD as they have an attack which lowers slashing resistance. But I've never parsed. In AOE situations against a PLD, a WAR is definitely superior.

Awww, can't kick direct ass with Great Axes then. Still looks fun and I'll definitely try it out since I enjoyed tanking in FFXI.

Can't switch in instances or anything that matters and has a loot drop

Sounds like the lesson is either go with statics that can accommodate and/or PUG on the class you want items for.

Yeh there's LSes (although in this game it's called Free Company. LSes are just chatrooms here) that focus on those stuffs.

Oh so there's a distinction made ingame between endgame-focusing groups and purely social groups? Interessting... I take it that you can still have access to whatever number of linkshells/social groups, right?

Accuracy only matters currently in the final 8 man instance and it's figured out (you can see it in your stats anyways).

Only matters, as in, accuracy's capped already at the level ranges you're typically fighting mobs?

Yeh FFXIV retains class switching. At high levels a lot of main pieces become unsharable though. but accessories (belt, ring, bracelet, earring) can be worn by all classes usually.

Oh, I was just talking about most MMOs/RPGs in general relying on alts in order to level up/try other classes.

@Karbuncle: Yeah, I can see that. There's probably not going to be something like that rock next to that weapon in Qufim that taunted all lowbies. Or the tunnel in Valkurm, which Stig already pointed out. Or the choice camps for exping, or the million other details and minutiae that a veteran could point out about maps they leveled through or farmed. I just can't really take it as a knock against the game since none of the tropes that made the map knowledge important in FFXI really caught on elsewhere. No use crying over spilled milk, eh?

[Seravi Edalborez]

8 Linkshells, 1 Free Company (which is your "pearl" that everyone sees, so to speak). Like a company called Butt Legion <<Butts>> would have members with the tag <<Butts>> after their name. Nobody can really tell what linkshells you're in. They're more personal/private.

[The Stig]

Are there any zones with mob levels above 50?

Nope.

However I believe Behemoth and Odin, 2 FATE NM spawns are above 50 but that's an exceptional case (Odin is 51-60). I've not fought Behemoth for a while.

Sounds like the lesson is either go with statics that can accommodate and/or PUG on the class you want items for.

Ya. Earlier I joined a pug group on healer for a specific boss in the final instance, and the tank who made the group was pretty shitty geared. 2 tank items drop and as it was a 1 tank fight, he took both lol

Only matters, as in, accuracy's capped already at the level ranges you're typically fighting mobs?

Yeh. I'm unsure how the mechanics work here but basically you'll be acc-capped from basic gear alone on everything but the final instance and Odin/Behemoth. Mobs in the final instance are a step up from other stuff and you need to take in mind your accuracy when going in to hit things, as moves that require a sequence/series for max DPS is dependant it.

@Silenka

Is kiting really blocked off for other things too or just normal mobs? I imagine quest mobs might not go invuln but I haven't tried.

Nothing can be kited unless it's within the radius of the mob, but even then there's diminishing returns on kiting it, so it renders it moot anyways unless you want to get away.

I suppose 1 or 2 encounters might have the tank kite some trash mobs but ... nah. In instances mobs never leash but then there's no reason you'd be kiting it unless something bad happened.

[Indomitable Will]

This!
To contribute, I played FFXI since NA release and was able to transition into XIV just fine. Like what was said previously, the game does a very good job of teaching you the ropes along the way to 50.

Same, here, all ffxi for 9~ years (i disliked WoW and Rift and Guild Wars2 because of the lower level of involvement compared to FFXI), and even though FFXIV is built to satisfy both "casual" players and more serious players, I have a preggo wife and 2 kids and find it much easier to fit in a little bit of FFXIV and make it worth the time, than I did in FFXI, where dynamis alone, even with a really pro group, would be like 15-20 minutes at a minimum just waiting on the group to form and people be ready, and then 2-3 hours of farming. Worse with Abyssea in general, you could get stuff done fast, 1 kill, in and out, OR if you wanted to finish a weapon in 1 weekend, you were there ALL weekend (with a group of 6~), dealing with other people camping "???'s", etc. FFXIV, if you have an equally good group, it's about an hour to beat all the primals, given maybe 1 or 2 random fails because of lag or w/e, and get a i90 primal weapon (on par with relic zenith (read: relic+1)), you can also easily finish a relic in a day...which as a former amano SAM (got it the old way, took nearly a year), is my only real gripe, that the best weapons in the game are currently "too easy" to get, but that being said, I still don't have the best weapon in the game after a couple months of trying, but that's just bad luck on drops, not for lack of trying, and i definitely DON'T want it to take a year either lol

[Silenka]

Primetime EST on a weekend and I can't find a single person in Limsa or Gridania to trade me bitter heart chocolate =/ Think it's the last day for the event too, right (or is it tomorrow)? Time was in XI there would be like five thousand people crowded around the event NPC and it was a cinch to get events done... I hope the playerbase and economy is bolstered somehow eventually. It may be easier to do everything in XIV, but it seems to me that on the surface, that fact also killed basic communication between players. Before, it was necessary...now it's much more of a choice to talk to and interact with others.

[Elcura]

Primetime EST on a weekend and I can't find a single person in Limsa or Gridania to trade me bitter heart chocolate =/

Just buy it? Should be cheap now. Probably why no one is making the effort to communicate with you lol

[Lucavi]

Oh snap, its Feedmenow. You're super famous (at least in terms of webcomics!)

[Silenka]

Just buy it? Should be cheap now. Probably why no one is making the effort to communicate with you lol

2k when I have only 9k to my name, didn't seem worth it if I could get someone to trade with me. I will eventually buy it if I still can't find someone later tonight, but I was aiming to make a comparison commentary. Not that it's useful to compare the games other than to get a feel for the population size.

Although someone who was also looking for man chocolate (heh) brought up the point that more people play female characters than males so that might have something to do with it too XD

[Kalmado]

I've settled on Gilgamesh and so far I'm really enjoying the game. I haven't looked at any guides yet as I wanted to jump in blind and see how it played out. So far I'm level 6 Gladiator. I've been doing a lot of quests and just running around enjoying the scenery. Joined a few fates and that's a pretty cool system as well. It's so hard to not compare this directly to XI, but I'll say XIV's flow is a ton better so far.

[Feedmenow]

Oh snap, its Feedmenow. You're super famous (at least in terms of webcomics!)

Ohey, someone recognizes me from LvlUp!!!

Also reminds me, is there any server where old-school Midgardians (or Quetzalcoatans? since that server merge) from FFXI are congregating?

[Spider-Dan]

I think there are a few Midgardsormr XI players on XIV Midgardsormr.

[The Stig]

I've settled on Gilgamesh and so far I'm really enjoying the game. I haven't looked at any guides yet as I wanted to jump in blind and see how it played out. So far I'm level 6 Gladiator. I've been doing a lot of quests and just running around enjoying the scenery. Joined a few fates and that's a pretty cool system as well. It's so hard to not compare this directly to XI, but I'll say XIV's flow is a ton better so far.

Ohhh shit I thought you're on Adamantoise? Well if you're on there hit up one of the admins/mods for FC BG (i believe the linkshell BG is full), I'll be floating around. I chat primarily on LS though but I can see FC chat.

It's so hard to not compare this directly to XI, but I'll say XIV's flow is a ton better so far.

People that were shackled by FFXI only would often think this. In general, there's a lot of life quality improvements that FFXI could adopt from MMORPGs of 2008-today but if they do then there might be a mutiny amongst the playerbase.

[Yugl]

LS BG isn't full.

[The Stig]

The cap is 128 though I thought, and I checked approx 9pm last night to see who Tall Hand was (whom was asking if people wanted to do 1000 Maws) and I swear it said 128/128, or was that the cap of the in-game box lol?

[Skai]

Tall Hand is me. Like my name?

[The Stig]

What? That was you? lol

Is that supposed to mean you're a professional/highly skilled person if I said it literally in Cantonese.

If you never said it was you I would've presumed it was some dumb name from FFXI.

Why a second char