Actually, they did say that it will be smaller than Vana'diel. Just don't remember if referring to Eorzea or the whole world
I don't think that is true, I think our perception is skewed because we are so familiar with the beta. I think a large population won't be aware that it was what was tested in the beta, and will choose LL without that being a factor. There also will be a subset of beta testers who choose LL because they know where everything is already.
As to whether beta 3 will have the other 3 cities, who knows. You would think in the interest of keeping things secretive they won't be opening those up.
I'd think beta 3 will be testing the new features/battle system, more so then where you can go wondering. As we've seen they can add various levels of mobs from easy to "wtf why is that insane 800 hitting mobs here" in the area provided, Testing out solo/5-6 man group/15man+ groups maybe in the upcoming build also.
We'll have plenty of time to go sight seeing soon.. for now its free gameplay... to hopefully submit feedback, that hopefully they see, that they hopefully fix
Yeah I could still see a number of beta people opting for Limsa for familiarity sake. Personally I didn't think LL was that bad at all. That being said, I'll probably end up starting elsewhere just for the sake of exploration.
I'm going where ever the botany guild is >.>
I'm pretty sure they said Eorzea. Eorzea seems about the same as the main 2 continent in Vana'diel. After playing in the beta areas the they are about the size of windy+sarutaburuta regions + tahrongi. That's including the dungeons.
La Noscea has a shit ton of underground areas to make up for the above world being smaller then the total of those regions being almost completely above world.
Well, naturally the game will be small at the release. I'm sure with the first expansion they'll open up Garlean Empire, and after that another continent.
What I'm far more interested in than new continents and areas, though, is if they'll stick to FFXI's way of doing "We won't increase the level cap ever", or WoW's of increasing the level cap with each expansion. Additionally, will they do the Western way of releasing buyable expansion packs, or like a lot of Asian MMO's do where they release a patch which you download (thus not having to purchase one)?
I'm leaning towards buying, as that earns them more money.
This is true. I was partially basing that on the city polls that have been conducting across various FFXIV-related websites, which indicate an overwhelming amount of people plan on starting in Gridania, with some opting for Ul'dah, and only a minority going for LL. The sample population in those polls is obviously limited to people who already know about, and have been following the game, though.
The map really does seem like it is set up to be released in stages. Is Sharlavan another city? It has the same appearance on the map as Ala Mhigo.
Gridania would be the obvious assumption for the botany guild, but it is further re-enforced by the descriptions for Botany and Gridania on the official website:
Botanists also attempt to educate others about the importance of achieving a symbiotic relationship with Eorzea's plants, rather than carelessly stripping them of their useful parts. This is perhaps best exemplified by the revolutionary irrigation methods devised by Gridania, which first made low-impact, high-yield crop propagation possible. The primary tool of the botanist is the hatchet.But I wouldn't be surprised if SE threw a curveball.The Gridanian emphasis on natural harmony has led to its preeminence among Eorzea’s city-states in trades such as forestry, agriculture, carpentry, and leatherworking.
la noscea is freakin' huge. i couldn't cover it all in one sitting of gaming for a few hours. seeing the map like this in comparison to la noscea is nice. i'll admit, i'm a little intimidated and excited to roam around exploring these areas. can't wait.
Gridania will be pure hell at release, I can almost guarantee it. Most polls do show roughly 50% of people planning to start there, and while obviously that has a higher percentage of players from the beta than the general population will have... it's not by THAT much.
It's bound to be a laggy and congested clusterfuck with not nearly enough mobs to go around, which is too bad because that's really where I'd like to start as well. It won't just be beta testers offput by months in LL, for sure... it will be every shire and Legolas wannabe. The only consolation will be for those who got the CE-- that gives you an eight day head start to get the fuck out before shit slams the fan.
But without a doubt, if you were in the beta, LL would be the most advantageous place to roll. You'll be in a relatively low-population area and have a big familiarity advantage. That is, if you're one of those who wants to race to max level. I figure Ul'dah will probably be the least popular nation once things get rolling. Before alpha/beta, it was consistently the least popular.
I can't pick between ul'dah and LL ; ;
I'm put off by Ul'dah because I can't imagine a desert being very interesting.