Final Fantasy 14 (FFXIV)

Its easy to see why the game is getting roasted by the critics atm, whatever leeway you may have extended an MMO in its early days its clear the game was pushed out the door too soon. SE isnt a new company, they're not a small company, its not like they dont have other MMOs to take notes from and its not like its even their first stab in this genre...

Its not all bad tho, I do like some things they have done with it.

I like crafting more than I have in any other MMO, they put a lot of work into the system and it shows. Its easy to get into too, just like with any job/class you need only buy the weap from a vendor and off you go. You get crafting quests which supply you with the required mats, so you get eased into it (not to mention free skill ups). Similar story with gathering classes, each with its own interface its nicely done. Also the nodes are shared, so theres no scramming for that glistening tree - everyone gets their piece.

Even if the quest system could use a shake up, its nice that mobs appear specifically for you (/your group), so theres no fighting over spawns.

I really like the cross class ability system. As a mage, I can use a tp move to heal myself (from PUG - the hand to hand melee class), cure and buff myself/others from healing class while nuking/doting away from my own class. This system also works for crafting, each craft has its own abilities you learn as you skill up which you can then use in another craft. For eg, lvl10 carpenter learns "tender touch" which reduces durability loss while synthing, you can then proc this ability while your goldsmithing. And again, same deal for gathering classes, they also have their own abilities as you skill up.

Theres a nice amount of teleport crystals around which allows you port from place to place using anima. The problem atm is, since there are no airships or chocobos yet, its your only way of getting around (other than on foot) so its pretty easy to burn thru ur anima. You can manage it well if you play with friends or group up, since only 1 person needs to teleport and the rest of the group gets offered a free ride

And I did my first proper exp party a few days ago, even with the state of the game as is, it was a lot of fun!

Between the group experience and having a nice guild/ls, its what is really keeping me here atm. The game really is in beta atm and I would have otherwise taken a few months out. On the upside, I think time/patches will bring it along, its not like the game itself is broken. Things pick up at about 20 for the fighting classes, with some of the more funky spells/abilities only showing up then - but plenty are finding it hard to get motivated to get that into it as along with the game being in such an incomplete state, it feels like they have stretched out the bit of content they do have as a way of stalling people...

I must say, y'day after reading an email from SE reminding me that the billing period was soon to begin, I began to think a bit more seriously about taking those few months out. I came across some interviews with Tanaka & co published this week from Eurogamer and PCGamer which basically went about asking why such a disappointment and how do you plan to fix this mess. SE have gone about apologising and blah blah... patches to come...


I will say this much for them, they are not a company with a reputation for being transparent or forthcoming but actions of late are steps in the right direction. Yesterday evening I was literally looking at my account screen thinking '1 month or cancel, 1 month or cancel' and spotted in the background someone /shouting in game about another free month! I want to say its nice of them, but my thoughts are more - its the least they can do!

I still feel the game has much potential, but with so much work to be done I dont really want to pay for this beta period. 3 big patches coming in the next few months, starting next week, to bring much needed fixes, adjustments, missing functionality and some content.

Im sure they werent under any illusion that the launch was going to go smoothly, but given how badly its been received there is now more riding on the PS3 launch than ever. Its easy to say now after how badly its been slammed they should have delayed release, but in all honesty I think I would have made the same decision. Aiming for a bit before Cata release, they had an opportunity to get some users who would have otherwise not bothered trying the game at all. The hope that once introduced to the game, even in that state would have at least got the game on their radar and while some would have just turned away, others could see the potential and would have checked back in after patching - netting SE some users who would have never touched the game if they launched 3 months post Cata. Thats my thoughts on it anyway.

Heres hoping they deliver on everything outlined and then some. Anything less than "much improved" & "has come along in leaps and bounds" with the PS3 reviews and I can see budget cuts and server merges

Is that your actual ranking or the order in which they were released?

Kurbinator wrote: »

My MMO Ranking

FFXI (8 years old)
WoW (6 years old)
AoC (1.5 years old)
WAR (1.2 years old)
* (All of those fre MMO's like Rumes of Magic ect.)
FF14 (worst MMO yet IMO) (7 weeks old)

Just sayin'

And is it even 7 weeks old? The vast majority of people - even on the fansites - would happily tell you the games real launch is in March. I dont even really think its a cop out to put the excuse that it really is in beta atm. Think about how many simple things are missing. There is no AH (!!), theres no mailbox system of any kind, theres no mounts, theres no airships, extremely basic functionality like inviting a friend to a party cannot be done unless they are standing near you, chat window doesnt work properly and doesnt do simple things you would just expect, so many early areas arent even there - every city has paths and stairs leading off to places you cant go yet........ the list goes on and on.... UI needs much work, combat needs work ^^ Can you imagine logging in tomorrow and that stuff is there/sorted? That there was any sort of exciting content added. Its not a pipe dream, its just not there yet

Its a mess atm, and even with extended free time I may still go off to play Cata for awhile. But I am excited about what could become of XIV :pac:

Important announcement! FFXIV Theme song changed:



Other Important announcement! FFXIV is free until further notice!

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Whats actually wrong with it?bugs galore?

Not so much buggy at this point, which is in some ways why Ive stopped playing it. As a couple of months ago there were bugs a plenty and it was kinda thought that once they fixed those things up everything would just start to look up... but all that happened was the excuse you once had was "fixed" (to a degree anyway) and you were just left with a shell of a game that couldnt stand on its own feet ^_^ In fact the first big version update at the end of Sept which had a hefty list of fixes and improvements they did completely deliver on and rather than pushing the game forward it seemed to only shine a light on just how much work they still had to do ><

They really did just leave out of the FUN factor. You get a pretty looking game with the basic MMO formula, but theres no trimmings, little thrills and milestones are underwhelming and few and far between. Instead the grind bar is very much in your face and its only a matter of time before you question why your bothering at all.

My first week was uber lag filled, which as annoying as it was - was thanks to thousands of ppl all starting off together. A combo of numbers dropping, players spreading out and SE putting in some more hidden divides helped ease things up by standard retail launch. The few weeks that followed I enjoyed myself mostly. The bugs were obvious and annoying but the novelty of the new world, getting to see something new most days and the community made for an enjoyable enough experience. As far as I was concerned SE had a plan, they had said months before launch there would be no AH at the beginning and that there was no end content at that stage - none of this worried me as I just assumed they had some sort of a rd map and that if you were pacing yourself thru early content these things wouldnt be much of a bother. But by end of month 1, people were burning out, populations were noticeably dwindling and news of what was to be added/fixed was very slow to emerge. The game just went downhill from there. The reviews were coming out and were pretty scathing and the clear population hit caused SE to jump into dmg control. Whatever plan they may or may not of had was out the window, I can only imagine the kind of unsub numbers that were coming in as the free trial period was supposed to end and reality smacked them in the face.

Anyway, that was it, the apologies started rolling and the 'new' 3-month plan was set out, but for most it was too little too late. For others, like myself, we waited it out a little longer to see what they would do. But as I said earlier, despite an on time and fully delivered first big version update it only seemed to put the daunting work load of what it would take to make this game enjoyable in perspective.

If this didnt have the FF title and the console launch ahead, I would be flat out quitting and calling the game a flop. Instead Ill step back, say the PC launch was a flop and try keep my hopes in check that come PS3 launch the 'real' game begins. SE are at least making all the right sounds at this point and showing a strong commitment to getting this game sorted out.

So thats it ^^ Ill look in maybe from time to time (or not ;p), but really my advice to anyone thinking about checking this game out is that your best to wait probably 6+ months, see when the PS3 launch is due and closer to that date check out whats going on with it.

:sniffle:

Just remembered this thread and figured Id update (and was then reminded how excited I was for this game )

Havent played since late last year (with the exception of a couple of hours in the last 9 months!!)

The quick version of the story is the game still isnt up to scratch ^_^;

Its still free to play and progress has been slow. Although as Ive been checking in on forums pretty much monthly to read patch notes/trending topics I understand that when the new team that stepped in said they were going to do a complete overhaul, they really werent kidding!

Last check:

Lag is a fraction of what it was.
UI has been on a diet.
There are now more NPCs and quest givers (and actual quests lol!, there wasnt really much outside the core storyline and "levequests" back when I was playing).
Serious battle system changes happened/happening (auto attack was put in, the weird physical level system has been removed, the fatigue system has been removed, Mana regens now (another lol for that).
Dungeons added! (yup there were none!)
Mounts added! (only took them a year!)

Pretty much every aspect of leveling has been tweaked - gathering classes have had all related actions sped up, points needed to ding reduced, party bonuses finally added, chain bonuses added...
Some high level content

The nightmare (I forget the name of it), the AH substitute thingie *drawing a blank*, anyway it now has a search function - still not as good as an AH, but at least you can search. You wanted to open your wrists when I last played if you had to search for stuff.
Many things dumbed down (sadly), mobs now have their lvl and how they aggro displayed, I think there is a built in threat meter now, can finally target party members from clicking on their name (So much basic **** that should have been in already has finally made it).
Airships added!
Its been better optimized, so it no longer makes your machine scream (and seems to run better even on what was deemed a mid range PC from last year)

Anyway, all good stuff, all should have been there from last year, but afaik the game still has a way to go. I think they are due to hit version 1.2 by end of year and rumour has it they may give out some news about the PS3 launch around then - which Im excited about, because it will signal they do believe the game is in such a state they can hand it back to reviewers and not be laughed at, again. Plus new life into the game...

I dont want to go back until Im sure its in a much much better place, sadly thats probably not happening this year o.O

But there you go, its still there and its crawling forward, its about to hit its first birthday and its only just getting mounts :eek:

Well, they have announced the PS3 version date



Q1 2013 >_<;;;

Crap....

This roadmap PDF Shows some nice changes. Pity its all taking longer than Id have hoped The free trial is ending at the end of this year, not sure if ill retry into the new year or wait until the PS3 launch (the 2.0 "reboot")