Live Presentation Event: The Future of Final Fantasy XI (03/19/2015)

[Ophannus]

Main story of ffxi has become a lot more fleshed out since devs became better at scripting and coding cutscenes. If you watch the old ffxi cutecenes pre-RoZ, npcs have names above their heads still in green letters and all combat of fights between npcs is limited to behind the scene fights(screen turns black, hear slashing and grunts) or 2 npcs run towards eachother with a white flash enveloping the scene-> after flash one NPC is defeated.

[Draylo]

Yeh I'm on the same train here. I will buy and play HW, and will continue to play FFXIV main as I do now, but I do not understand people not seeing beyond the details. I'm very much a logical person, and it seems like you are too. I see through a lot of things.

There was a casual discussion in-game chat about "omg can't wait for new jobs". I instantly shot back a playful "no it's going to be shit" on the basis of if it's anything like how NIN was introduced, it's just going to be "the same 1-2-3/4-5-6 with a gimmick".

But, unfortunately, they didn't understand. I stopped arguing at this point because I feel they were blinded by... advertising? Or whatever buzzword there is for such a thing. There was nothing to suggest, besides pretty animations, that DRK/Mach/Astro would be "fun" besides what I suggested above.

I'm very much fascinated/interested in game design (systems, mechanics, stuff...... excluding story) overall so that's why I'm more critical on it however, so I'm not easily pleased.

I also insisted that most if not all things in the game that were introduced between 2.0-2.5 were in general disappointing. Yes I do enjoy some of the quality of life improvements (i.e. extra emotes for example, or idle poses, the Lighting Returns promotional quest line) and other things, but some implementations are just enjoyable for a minute/first time and becomes tedious after.

And one more quickshot, we don't know what's going to happen to the other jobs, but we do know SMN is getting a couple of new pets. This probably just mean a Garuda-Egi replacement with some bland moves while the job gets shafted again in the cross-class abilities department.

I feel the same way.

[Petitssk]

Main story of ffxi has become a lot more fleshed out since devs became better at scripting and coding cutscenes. If you watch the old ffxi cutecenes pre-RoZ, npcs have names above their heads still in green letters and all combat of fights between npcs is limited to behind the scene fights(screen turns black, hear slashing and grunts) or 2 npcs run towards eachother with a white flash enveloping the scene-> after flash one NPC is defeated.

That certainly is true, ToAU had some very cool scenes already, but I think WotG had the first fights to make people go "wow". Then again, WotG also was the first one to show the difference between what they used to be capable of and how far they managed to improve. NPC's somersaulting and backflipping their way through hordes of mobs while the PC is standing there, doing regular melee attacks; felt somewhat awkward.

[The Stig]

ToAU's best cutscenes for me were the 5 generals flashback. I enjoyed those so much, besides the running to dangerous ass places lol

[Seha]

I enjoyed everything about ToAU, from missions, to sidequests, to content. Best expansion imo.

[Byrthnoth]

I don't think that ToAU's story and missions were superior to the Promathia/RotZ-era, but development decisions made around that time (easier xp, more merits) and ToAU endgame events (viable merit point camps, Einherjar, Assault, Salvage) as well as random crap (like Besieged) made that expansion's era clearly the best.

Also, I'll note that Wings of the Goddess was released just one year after ToAU (around the time that they fixed Salvage), but everyone talks about ToAU's era as being excellent and WotG being shit. I'm pretty sure it's because we were doing ToAU events for 4 years and WotG events stopped being interesting after a month.

[ronin sparthos]

I enjoyed everything about ToAU, from missions, to sidequests, to content. Best expansion imo.

I hated how TOAU rushed its ending though. So many things that were mentioned seemed dropped all so we could get to beating Alexander and credits. It's very similar to how 2.0 rushed the deaths of Gaius' underlings for the sake of getting to Ultima. Conversely, WOTG took so long to get to a conclusion and it's plot twist that you were well checked out by the time you finally knuckledragged to Maiden of the Dusk.

I could forgive Nero as he was never really 'trying' to begin with but Livia and Galka McShieldguns were denied iconic boss fights for run and gun segments where they're put down with minimal resistance. These are supposed to be the big bad Garleans and the player has been through dungeons more difficult beforehand. Pretty lame.

I'm hoping Heavensward has some more iconic characters for XIV. The Scions really could do with some fleshing out and personality rather than being just your eyes in Eorzea. Start dropping more idiosyncrasies already. These people are supposed to be the closest thing you have to family. How I hope Minfillia changes completely going forward. Like X-2 Yuna changes.

I'm taking a season 1 TV series approach to things. We've been introduced and setup the main cast, now lets see them at work.

[ronin sparthos]

I don't think that ToAU's story and missions were superior to the Promathia/RotZ-era, but development decisions made around that time (easier xp, more merits) and ToAU endgame events (viable merit point camps, Einherjar, Assault, Salvage) as well as random crap (like Besieged) made that expansion's era clearly the best.

Also, I'll note that Wings of the Goddess was released just one year after ToAU (around the time that they fixed Salvage), but everyone talks about ToAU's era as being excellent and WotG being shit. I'm pretty sure it's because we were doing ToAU events for 4 years and WotG events stopped being interesting after a month.

Mainly cause WOTG added nothing to the overarching story, failed to shake up the endgame paradigm and marked a period of severe decline / abandonment on SEs part. It wouldn't be until Abyssea that the game managed to once again ignite the spark of interest it had mid-TOAU and thats after tons of people bailed.

I need only point to the terrible triumverate - Evoliths, Voidwakers and Fay Augments - to make my point.

[Byrthnoth]

Oh yeah, almost all WotG content was crap that people did only until it was apparent how useless it was. The point I was making is just that "mid-ToAU" is technically the first year of WotG.

[Niiro]

Don't forget the Fey weapon augments.

[fantasticdan]

WotG was pretty terrible overall. The zones it added were hardly used for anything, they were even awkward for simply leveling. They frequently mixed together low-mid level mobs with 65-75 stuff that aggros for some bizarre reason. The endgame content was lame and the vast majority of the player base never touched any of it. It really amounted to campaign (yuck), and missions with a weak story (that took how many years to finish?). The jobs it added were terrible for a long time as well, remember scholar before they revamped it?

I think SoA would have been alright if they didn't implement the ilvl system along side it. Some of the events were pretty decent by FFXI standards, like delve, wkr, and incursion.

[ronin sparthos]

Oh yeah, almost all WotG content was crap that people did only until it was apparent how useless it was. The point I was making is just that "mid-ToAU" is technically the first year of WotG.

True. Though WOTG dragged on for so long it all feels like a jumbled mess.

The Evolith patch did coincide with that NM patch that put some useful drops all over the world though. Too bad the rates were soulcrushingly low.

[Ophannus]

Evoliths should be re-implemented in a similar way as FFXIV materia system works.
6 Categories of evoliths:

Tanks stats
Heavy DD Stats
Light DD Stats
Nuke DD Stats
Healer DD stats
Pet Stats

Each has like 5-6 different stats. Evoliths would be guaranteed stats as opposed to skirmish augs e.g. Evolith with STR+1 or Magic Attack Bonus +5. Remove all the stupid situation shit stats. # of slots determined by ilvl. 119 gets 4 slots. Can use it on r/ex too. Depending on gear, the distribution of slots would differ, i.e DRG bodies would get 2 Heavy DD slots, 1 Light DD slot and 1 Pet slot.

[ronin sparthos]

Everything about most WOTG content came down to large amounts of what the fuck is going on, are these the same people who implemented TOAU content?

Campaign: Really, a weekly tally? So basically efforts midweek are pointless and since people are split via nation on ops you're buggered if your nation doesn't have the loot to back up membership. Also, Northlands effort ratios were all sorts of stupid. Yay OP Kindred walloping a typical player versus ezpz Yagudo or Quads.

Campaign generals were fun and present challenge but without certain NPC backup, you're again buggered. INC Rockchopper and his Peistes? Wonderful, everyones gonna die repeatedly. Go Bastok!

ANNM: Because I love my BCNMs in the overworld and reheated.

Sandworm: Behold, the most ridiculous spawn conditions ever designed to prevent botting! Oh wait, you can just camp the dead corpse then know its up when it vanishes. Also an HNM that can depop if not claimed. BRILLIANT. Who wants some sake?

Dark Ixion: Griefing never felt so good. My alliance won't claim? Neither will you! Spook ze pony. Spook it real good. Right into a 2 hour Campaign battle!

Evoliths: vs. birds acc+2. DROP EVERYTHING FOR THIS. From the makers of situational loot, parody situational loot. Also, throw some rainbow weapons on some pretty tough Fomor NM that depop if you lose, are in god awful places, level up and general kick ass. Yes, nothing like another opportunity to grief. Or just fuck up if someone accidentally agros.

Yilbegan: A failed CIA torture tool.

Fay Augments: Grauberg only, no items, shitty augment time!

[Destinye]

I loved WotG, but I wish it was done after or long before FFXIV 1.0 because that was what basically fucked over the expansion. Comparing every other expansion before and after XIV 1.0, only WotG dragged on as long as it did and was as unfinished. Even Seekers, which for whatever reason people seem to hate. (Still don't get why, I guess the gap closing people hate?)

A lot of concepts in WotG seemed slightly unfinished/rushed because they were focusing on 1.0 but they were all really good concepts. It's part of why I wish they revamped XI instead of doing ARR but eh that's history now.

[fantasticdan]

The problem with seekers was ilvl, and it killing most legacy content without adding nearly enough back to replace it. Even on a new character you can cap delve/skirmish/etc gear and run out of things to do very quickly.

[arus2001]

I liked Campaign as a casual EXP outlet that didn't demand I play a specific job or really worry too much about a camp being open, how long I could play for, etc.. That said, however, I do feel there was a hell of a lot of wasted potential with it, and not just with regard to the weekly tally blah.

[Xantavia]

WotG was pretty terrible overall. The zones it added were hardly used for anything, they were even awkward for simply leveling. They frequently mixed together low-mid level mobs with 65-75 stuff that aggros for some bizarre reason.

I was really glad that I got a chance to xp the "old" way before WotG came out. (Qufim, Jungle, GC, QSC, Revelation Rock) before moving into the colibri camps. But once they were put into WotG, it was "sync to colibri from the 30's to 75". I enjoyed seeing new zones and areas, and really hoped it would open up new places to level. But like you said, the mixing of mob levels didn't make it viable. I solo, a lot. But outside of some additional pet camps, they just didn't work.

[urat]

Everything about most WOTG content came down to large amounts of what the fuck is going on, are these the same people who implemented TOAU content?

Campaign: Really, a weekly tally? So basically efforts midweek are pointless and since people are split via nation on ops you're buggered if your nation doesn't have the loot to back up membership. Also, Northlands effort ratios were all sorts of stupid. Yay OP Kindred walloping a typical player versus ezpz Yagudo or Quads.

Campaign generals were fun and present challenge but without certain NPC backup, you're again buggered. INC Rockchopper and his Peistes? Wonderful, everyones gonna die repeatedly. Go Bastok!

ANNM: Because I love my BCNMs in the overworld and reheated.

Sandworm: Behold, the most ridiculous spawn conditions ever designed to prevent botting! Oh wait, you can just camp the dead corpse then know its up when it vanishes. Also an HNM that can depop if not claimed. BRILLIANT. Who wants some sake?

Dark Ixion: Griefing never felt so good. My alliance won't claim? Neither will you! Spook ze pony. Spook it real good. Right into a 2 hour Campaign battle!

Evoliths: vs. birds acc+2. DROP EVERYTHING FOR THIS. From the makers of situational loot, parody situational loot. Also, throw some rainbow weapons on some pretty tough Fomor NM that depop if you lose, are in god awful places, level up and general kick ass. Yes, nothing like another opportunity to grief. Or just fuck up if someone accidentally agros.

Yilbegan: A failed CIA torture tool.

Fay Augments: Grauberg only, no items, shitty augment time!

Everyone always forgets the biggest flop of an event from that era, so bad most people didnt touch it outside of the first couple weeks.

moblin maze mongers

[Zetanio]

Everyone always forgets the biggest flop of an event from that era, so bad most people didnt touch it outside of the first couple weeks.

moblin maze mongers

Fuck off, my fishing mazes were great.