Final Fantasy XIV General Discussion Thread

Games
1222

Ok, so, FF XIV has a very specific “approach” to expansions. Here is the general plan:

  1. Expansion (or base game) comes out, has an ending.
  2. Each expansion has then 3 major updates that actually “end” the ending, closing lingering plot threads, exploring the consequences of what happened, etc.
  3. Then after that come 3 major updates preparing the terrain for the next expansion - introducing new conflicts, characters, etc.
  4. New expansion is released.

So yeah, there is a lot added between expansions; tipically, half of it is about really finishing the previous one, and half of it is about getting things prepared for the next expansion. And that applies to ARR as well - so you have basically six major updates of content (including not only story but several dungeons and raids) before you get to Heavensward, and it’s actually really good content.

Now, post-Endwalker was a bit different, but we can talk about that when you get there. ;)

1223

Yeah just looked a quest list, best get going then, prefer storyline questing tbh

1224

Heh… that’s why I asked which MSQ quest you were on. :)

1225

When I went through all this, I literally had a massive Excel sheet that tracked both how far through the current expansion I was, and how far though the whole game I was.

I also had the “wait, WHAT?” when I finished pre-patch AAR.

It is also worth mentioning the obvious: Unlike WoW, “just hitting level x” doesn’t unlock the next content. It’s level X and all the patch content.

1226

Just completed ARR in full, great ending and story moving on nicely with lots of twists.

The biggest frustration was trying to follow the other quest lines you have to do to move the main quest on, done 3 Raids and most of the dungeons up to that point, now level 54

1227

New expansion announced, titled “Dawntrail”. The keynote is still in progress, so I’ll post more info once it ends.

1228

I just entered Stormblood, so I’m likely a couple years from finishing Endwalker. But, I am interested how they approach a whole new story in the game. I expect they’re limited by existing users’ characters and must preserve those powers, which feels like tough constraint for starting a new multi-year arc.

1229

Ok, information was pretty limited now, but here’s the main points:

  • This expansion is the beginning of a new story arc;
  • It will take the Warrior of Light to a western new continent, Tural, also known as “the new world” (the map has been expanded to include that western continent);
  • Tural is more focused on nature and mostly limited in technology;
  • the Warrior of Light will participate in a contest to decide who the new ruler of Tural will be, but it seems this may divide the Scions in two teams;
  • two new jobs - one melee DPS and one ranged magical DPS (caster);
  • the new expansion will come with the first phase of the graphical update for FF XIV - with that the system requirements have been updated;
  • the expansion will have the usual - more dungeons, raids (both alliance and normal), and it seems they’ll have more “downtime” content (like the Island Sanctuary introduced in Endwalker);
  • estimated release is Summer 2024 - Yoshi P said he wants to release in early Summer, but no promises;
  • level cap will be increased by 10 levels, bringing it to 100 (as is usual).

And for those who want to know, Yoshi P was wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt. ;)

Here’s the teaser trailer:

1230

I cannot get Mog station to register a payment update/change… I think this is the second time this has happened to me. The only option available is steam wallet, I register a new credit card and…nothing. Doesn’t show up anywhere in my account or as an option for subscription.

1231

The FF XIV beta launched on Xbox. Anyone here download it yet and try it out?

Would this game appeal to someone who likes FF X but doesn’t like MMOs?

1232

I’d download it but then I’d have to start with a new Squeenix account. I think I’ll be able to use my current one I use for PC FF14 if I wait til the real release.

I’m not an expert but I’ve played off and on over the years. The storyline is pretty great and you can now do it all on your own I think (used to have forced group dungeons, but now you can use NPCs to fill out your party). I think it has plenty to offer those who don’t like MMOs, certainly more than most other MMOs.

1233

It has a very good story, I’ve heard many people say it’s the best FF story out there. But it’s also very much a MMO. I guess it depends on what parts you don’t like about MMOs.

1234

It’s incredibly friendly in regards to mechanics, difficulty and resources. Chat is moderated, so you’re spared from the usual 4chan-excesses and general toxicity found in that certain other MMO.

As KevinC said, you can at this point play the story solo - there’s friendly NPCs that can fill the open party slots, and they actually know how to do the boss mechanics, but they’re kinda slow in comparison to actual players.
That said, I’ve had some groups that made me long for the NPCs, and there were some instances where I used the NPCs to farm a certain pet drop after getting shafted 3 times with randoms.

The mechanics, however, are still very much MMO, with a rather slow global skill cooldown. Especially at the start, it’s incredibly slow. At higher levels, however, there’s plenty of skill cooldowns to juggle and a slew of skills not affected by the global cooldown to interject, so don’t let the slow start deceive you.
It’s also based on the holy trinity, with each class having a defined role - there’s no alternate specs here, a paladin will always be a tank, a ninja will always be DPS, and a white mage will always be a healer.

You can, however, switch classes on the fly, and while weapons are bespoke to a class, armours are divided by class type, so if you have decent healer gear, it’s usable across all your healer classes.

Gearing is straightforward, no wild “obscure Best-In-Slot Item” shenanigans. There’s also no need to grind anything unless you want to do it for the looks (oh so very important in this game), as decent gear can be crafted, with recipes being added for higher tier gear as the expansion progresses.

Classes are also all valid, performing within 5% of each other.

Word of warning: The “A realm reborn” part is widely considered a bit of a slog, and the story really picks up when you reach the first expansion.

1235

I don’t recall, can you mix and match? As in play with another human but fill the other slots with bots, or is it all or nothing?

It’s been a few years since I’ve played.

1236

I think you still can’t play trials (basically 8-player fights against bosses) with NPCs, though. So it’s not ENTIRELY playable solo, but most if it is.

1237

Unfortunately not. The AI is pretty basic, I can’t imagine how it would fare with more teammates that are completely unpredictable.

1238

Ah okay, that’s too bad. PUGs in FF14 were so much better than any other online game I’ve played, but ultimately I prefer to play games co-op with friends and don’t really like having to matchmake. I’d love to be able to play with a friend and then slot in AI to fill the remaining spots.

The lack of that capability probably explains why I wasn’t using the feature. :) Still, great option for people that just want to play solo and get through dungeons to move on with the game/story.

1239

After your extensive descriptions, I’m pretty convinced that I will hate this game. But I did the download this morning anyway.

Mostly the combat. The skill cooldowns, the healer/tank/dps gameplay that gets so repetitive so fast, and yet is repeated for sooooooo many hours. The other thing I hated about MMOs can be somewhat mitigated, and that’s the fact that it’s a world where “stories” play out over and over, which breaks the illusion. Someone comes along and kills the fox, which triggers a story, which triggers a bear they fight, which triggers a dialog scene afterwards. And if you happen to walk in on that in the middle, you get to wait for the scene to be reset after that person leaves, and you get to experience that whole thing again yourself. It’s all a play! Don’t show me what’s behind the curtain!

Things that I enjoyed in MMOs that I’ve played (I spent the most time in Dark Age of Camelot with my RL friends and Lord of the Rings Online with Qt3 and one RL friend) is the comraderie, hanging out with people and making jokes, and the exploration of a huge world.

Things that I really enjoyed in FFX : Great characters, great world, great dialog, excellent voice acting, excellent turn based combat, extremely good combat system where you can see the consequence of your moves on future turns, and an unfolding story that is so well written that I’ve played through the game 5 times now and I get engrossed in it again every single time. (Oh, and really fun boss fights that are tuned so well as long as you’re not over-leveled, but the option to over-level yourself is also there for people who want to have an easier time with the game).

1240

It’s totally fine to queue with your pals and pick up the class you need to fill holes. I’ve done that many times with the people in my Free Company/Linkshell. I’ve really never had a bad group of random players, and everyone will always be kind and wait for people to watch the cutscenes that play before a dungeon or trial.

FFXIV is the MMO for people who don’t particularly like MMOs. So much of it is soloable, the characters are awesome, the places to see are amazing, and it just gets better and better as you go. It’s also not afraid to mix things up big time along the way. What stays consistent is your knowledge of your job and your place in a party when you queue up for the bigger events.

It’s definitely among the best stories ever told in a Final Fantasy game too.

Oh… and it’s totally built to be playable on a controller, which is awesome.

1241

I’ve never played another MMO seriously, so I don’t have much to compare the cooldowns against.

Having said that, endgame play is quite complex, with each class having 24+ different skills to manage, some on the global cooldown and some off it. I mostly play Dragoon, and at level 90 I’ve got a complex rotation of skills going on, weaving the off global cooldowns in amongst the GCDs. The difficulty and fun comes from keeping that rotation going while managing the mechanics of the fights such as dodging AOEs. Other classes work off of procs and are much more reaction based. The harder raids are at or beyond my level of skill, so there’s definitely a challenge there.

Unfortunately, at early levels that really isn’t true. The global cooldown is longer and you have many fewer skills to use, so you’re going to be doing the same few actions a lot. It gets better, but the combat is a bit of a slog until it does (at level 50-70, depending on the class…)

I think it’s worth it for the story, which (once it gets going) is really good, but you’re going to have to put in some work to get there.