FFXIV Random Speculation/Question thread III: Where's my beta invite?

[Loaf]

I think SE doesn't really envision battle as being something that you fluidly enter/exit.
I really think their vision of FFXI was for it to be like a classic FF game, with you playing a single member of the party.
Although FFXIV is adopting some more modern mmo ideas, I think this is still part of their vision.

This relates to combat fluidity, because in classic RPGs you have a clear difference between combat and non combat situations, usually with a whole couple second animation that switches the screen from overworld exploring to the combat screen.

I think SE is trying to create a clear contrast between running around the world and combat, to capture the feeling of entering combat in a classic RPG.

Also, somebody mentioned Monster Hunter as an influence, and I think that's a pretty valid idea too. For example, a recent interview said that monsters would have limbs/parts that could be damaged/broken, allowing an increased drop rate on certain items. This mechanic is pretty much straight out of Monster Hunter.


Regardless of SE's motivation, I agree that this should be changed, and I'm pretty sure it will be changed before beta is even over.

[CaledorImrik]

I don't see the problem with taking 1 second to draw your weapon, and choosing after a fight whether you want to keep your tp or recover hp is fine. If everything is only a 10-15 second fight, they should up the damage caused by mobs. If a mob is the same level as you, it should be a challenge to fight, it's retarded to be able to kill it in 2-3 hits.

[ascalon]

As a mage I want to cast spells. Having seen the screenshots of beta released recently, it has always been the shiny spell effects that have got me feeling excited.

BUT having played one, I can honestly say that Pugilist felt MUCH more powerful at the low levels.

One of the things I noticed in Alpha, actually, was that Thaumaturge gets a LOT of spells very early. Dia, Bio, Slow, Gravity, Poison, all before level 10 (I think it was). And I never really used any of them, because MP is a little too precious at the moment.

And I think that's what my impression of mages boils down to. MP is just too damned precious. I would MUCH rather have a FFXIII-style system of casting: Fire takes 1/4 of your stamina bar; Fire II takes 1/2; Fire III takes 3/4 and Fire IV takes the whole damned bar in one go.

But then I really liked FFXIII's combat system, and I know a LOT of people hated it...

[Lucavi]

"SE MMOs"? What MMOs has SE put out before now outside of FFXI?

I like how the combat system has already taken several steps away from XI's baseline, and a few more certainly wouldn't hurt.

I'm talking about FFXI and FFXIV. We've seen enough to know that the game follows a similar, beautiful, stiff format of its predecessor.

[Alym]

As a mage I want to cast spells. Having seen the screenshots of beta released recently, it has always been the shiny spell effects that have got me feeling excited.

BUT having played one, I can honestly say that Pugilist felt MUCH more powerful at the low levels.

One of the things I noticed in Alpha, actually, was that Thaumaturge gets a LOT of spells very early. Dia, Bio, Slow, Gravity, Poison, all before level 10 (I think it was). And I never really used any of them, because MP is a little too precious at the moment.

And I think that's what my impression of mages boils down to. MP is just too damned previous. I would MUCH rather have a FFXIII-style system of casting: Fire takes 1/4 of your stamina bar; Fire II takes 1/2; Fire III takes 3/4 and Fire IV takes the whole damned bar in one go.

But then I really liked FFXIII's combat system, and I know a LOT of people hated it...

i completely agree. having spells use tp or just using the stamina bar and eliminating mp would be the ideal situation. mp is a very archaic idea anyway. when melee hits are free and do more damage than spells that cost mp, you know something is broken.

[Meresgi]

Do casters get abilities later on that recover mp by way of using stamina?

i completely agree. having spells use tp or just using the stamina bar and eliminating mp would be the ideal situation. mp is a very archaic idea anyway. when melee hits are free and do more damage than spells that cost mp, you know something is broken.

I don't know about FFXIV but I have never played a MMO where melee hits scaled as well as caster bolts or w/e they chucked out. Melee get free hits but also have to move a lot. That's the standard balancing mechanic used in MMO's it seems.

[Vacht]

I gave up 50 pages ago.

/concur, this shits crazy. After reading that page about how old everyone was in XI and now, im finding a lot of people on this board are around 15-18 years old. Which doesn't match up with the success ive heard others associate with bluegartr.

[Kachi]

Would be a good way to keep whatever appearance you wanted and make older content more valuable in the long run since people might want to get old gear for new "costumes" or whatever. The other route is having a separate gear sheet for just appearance gear and then stat gear slots.

I've always liked the idea of keeping gear completely cosmetic, personally.

SE said, Armor and weapons start to deteriorate over time. Then you need to find a crafter to repair your stuff. Is there anything to stop the crafter from keeping your items and running off with them?

I haven't tried it yet, but they said that crafters can repair items from your inventory, no trading required.

Most likely a glitch I suppose. I can equip and use Cure on a level 1 Gladiator when I'm quite sure in the alpha you needed to reach a certain rank with a class before getting to use some abilities.
Unless I read that wrong during the alpha tests or this has been changed.

You have access to all abilities equal to or below your current rank. i.e., if it takes rank 4 Conjurer, and you're on Pugilist, you need to be rank 4 to use it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Cure is Rank 1 so any class can use it immediately.

The ! in the speech bubble means you can interact with something, open up your menu and you will have the option there.

Yes, and I like this for those times when there are 30 people around an Aetheryte, but they also need to allow targeting for when there's no one around.


Re: Active and passive mode, I just think it's not a "deep" enough mechanic to bother with. Yeah, it could be made fine and all, and it adds a smidgen of depth to the combat experience, but they could free up room on the gamepad for a much better mechanic, like a new effect gauge, or a mechanic like gearswapping.

Re: Mages-- I don't think mages are perfectly balanced, but to those of you who haven't even played the beta who are freaking out about the lack of MP regen, just chill. It's absolutely not a big deal at this point, certainly not as bad as you're probably imagining.

[ascalon]

Do casters get abilities later on that recover mp by way of using stamina?



I don't know about FFXIV but I have never played a MMO where melee hits scaled as well as caster bolts or w/e they chucked out. Melee get free hits but also have to move a lot. That's the standard balancing mechanic used in MMO's it seems.

If i recall correctly, Thaum gets an Aspir-like spell at some point. Both mage classes get an MP renewing ability on an (I think) 30 min Cooldown.

[CaledorImrik]

If there's no stats for armour, then there will be a lot less motivation for endgame. MMOs are already too much of a fashion contest.

[ascalon]

If there's no stats for armour, then there will be a lot less motivation for endgame. MMOs are already too much of a fashion contest.

Stats have been added onto Beta armour items.

[Alym]

Do casters get abilities later on that recover mp by way of using stamina?



I don't know about FFXIV but I have never played a MMO where melee hits scaled as well as caster bolts or w/e they chucked out. Melee get free hits but also have to move a lot. That's the standard balancing mechanic used in MMO's it seems.

Conjurer gets a move at level 1 called Tranquility that i believe gives back around 85-100 mp per use. it takes the entire stamina bar and has a 30 minute cooldown. i didn't find it to be enough to replace crystals or nodes, though.

in ffxiv, just from my experience in the beta, i think all classes using just hp, tp, and the stamina bar could work. from what i understand, all classes are supposed to end up being very position/distance reliant, eg lancer hitting better from behind (giggity) and archer being most effective at a certain distance from the mob. that could easily replace the balancing issues for most classes especially when coupled with class specific equipment.

[Cichy]

there have been stats in alpha already

[madhater]

If i recall correctly, Thaum gets an Aspir-like spell at some point. Both mage classes get an MP renewing ability on an (I think) 30 min Cooldown.

So you have to use skill points and slot for an ability you use at most once every 30 minutes? It should be like 3m or even less, make it do 25% max mp on 1m CD. Lazy way to handle mp regen but its probably how they will do it.

[Lucavi]

Oh, that's right, I forgot about that: they should place the stats directly on the armor without you having to "enter" it, go through that loading process, then see the stats. I kept having to open up my new boots to see if they had better stats than my previous ones.

Not much of an complaint, but an inconvenience nonetheless, and an easy fix.

[sarsha]

Kinda disagree that MP is ancient idea... in wow there's MP also, just that they regen super fast. MP is also one of the stats that mages will aim for when maxing gear, like a tank will max defense and HP.

I do agree that no way to regen mp other than touching a stone is ancient.

It's like playing FF1 and you run of MP in a dungeon. You either use an ether or go back to town in an INN...

[ascalon]

So you have to use skill points and slot for an ability you use at most once every 30 minutes? It should be like 3m or even less, make it do 25% max mp on 1m CD. Lazy way to handle mp regen but its probably how they will do it.

Tranquility is a starter, class-specific ability. It used a slot (and, I think, couldn't be moved about on the bar either, which is a bug cos it could in alpha) but I don't recall if it cost an action point or not. I THINK it didn't, because I started off with 6/7 points used, and both Fire and Blizzard used 3 each. Memory = rusty though.

[ascalon]

Kinda disagree that MP is ancient idea... in wow there's MP also, just that they regen super fast. MP is also one of the stats that mages will aim for when maxing gear, like a tank will max defense and HP.

I do agree that no way to regen mp other than touching a stone is ancient.

It's like playing FF1 and you run of MP in a dungeon. You either use an ether or go back to town in an INN...

Yeah, which is the unfortunate downside of FFXIII's ATB-style system. You would never run out of resources to cast your spells, which would be kinda awkward for scaling the difficulty of endgame encounters.

I always hated that some of the bosses in XIII had GAJILLIONS of hp.

[Alym]

Yeah, which is the unfortunate downside of FFXIII's ATB-style system. You would never run out of resources to cast your spells, which would be kinda awkward for scaling the difficulty of endgame encounters.

I always hated that some of the bosses in XIII had GAJILLIONS of hp.

i think hp could work as that limitation. just like how if melee go ape-shit, they're going to have their faces stomped in. only difference is that mages would go down a lot faster with only cloth armor.

[Meresgi]

So you have to use skill points and slot for an ability you use at most once every 30 minutes? It should be like 3m or even less, make it do 25% max mp on 1m CD. Lazy way to handle mp regen but its probably how they will do it.

So long as you used at least 40% or more of your mp every 1m. Being able to technically never run out of mp is slightly OP and reminds me of healers in WoW right now.