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Is it worth sticking it out?
Senden
Member UncommonPosts: 602
Resubbed to the game last week in prep for Heavensward. I started up back when the NInja job came out and got to level 50 on my Ninja from fate grinding. Currently going through the story stuff now and tbh, I'm doubting whether or not it's worth my time. I love the world and all the little quirky things like the fat chocobo mount. The Japanese like style to it feels very refreshing for me also after coming from a pretty much exclusive Western MMO background. However I got into this game because it's supposed to be a Final Fantasy game and a story driven one at that. Sadly though I'm around the level 35 mark for the story and to be honest, so far the game is filler driven with story bits sprinkled in to string you along. Like having to prepare a banquet when I want to be fighting a primal.. if it wasn't for the decent explanation at the end of those quests, I probably would have quit the game in disgust right then.
So my question, is it worth sticking it out? After I reach level 50 and go through the mountain of content released since launch (not hating) am I going to come out of it and say it's story driven and worth it for the story? I really don't mind the smaller quests when they make sense to the story but too often it just feels like unnecessary stuff added for no other reason than to take up more of my time.
Comments
If you feel the need to vent, go make your own topic and leave mine alone thanks.
i played through the story a year ago or something and i felt kinda like you.. it wasn't very interesting tbh.
now i'm not totally familiar with final fantasy only played 7 & 8 before this and them i liked a lot.
but others seem to like the story so you probably have to find out for yourself if you like it or not. we all have different tastes
I had fun once, it was terrible.
I'd tell you to stick it out. There's going to be some fluff filler in the story the whole way but the overall story is solid and highly interesting with some good twists and turns. It's really as solid as any single player FF despite the fact that it's stretched out longer in an MMO environment.
Steam: Neph
The story post 2.0 (IE the patch content) gets much better and less padded with filler.
It also gets pretty interesting around 2.3
The HW story so far is interesting and promising too, if you like the core gameplay stick it out (although make sure you download and install Leatrix Latency fix, you will thank me later)
If how ever you dislike the core gameplay and grinding then maybe consider your options, I personally find the game rewarding enough to keep going on the treadmill.
He's right as long as we're comparing Molten Core to Sastasha, which he probably is.
List just one thing in this universe without a downside to it and you have a point.
I have played both games. From your statement I feel you have not played FFXIV all the way to 50. The dungeons start off simpler and become more complex.
For OP i think you should stick it out. The game is a lot deeper than the way you first leveled (fate grinding). If you liked it enough simply by doing FATES I think once you explore the dungeons, hunts, crafting, and other systems it may catch you more.
I feel a lot of this game is about finding that class that says "Hey this is my thing" and taking your time and getting through the storyline. You like it or you don't but regardless this game has one of the best first playthrough experiences on the market and 3.0 has done and proved that ideal further.There are a lot of fillers, those who are saying that fillers somehow get less in number clearly haven't done the storyline recently. The amount of soup fetching/glittering circle clicking/random objective gathering that has little no purpose in the story is fairly consistent and only on the way into heavensward it mellows out a SMIDGEON.However that is the end of my "positives" list for FFXIV outside of the very fun combat system, the beautiful art design and top notch fluff content. If this is a game that you would like to strictly focus on furthering your characters power I suggest many other MMO's on the market. If you are someone that enjoys pointless tasks because you find them fun and amusing, you will find FFXIV has copious amounts of these littered about the game and you will be entertained for some time. If you enjoy crafting and playing the market, making your character look absolutely fabulous then that's even more layers for you to sink your teeth into.
Regardless the $40 bucks alone is a steal for just doing the storyline alone and experiencing the game from that perspective. I could tell anyone here they should pay $40 bucks and get HW and just take the narrow and pre scripted road as the game fills you with its somewhat decent and almost amazing storytelling while experiencing that enjoyable first playthrough. When putting down that $13.00 USD at the end of your month is when things get a bit tricky because to me I don't feel 3 dungeons on grind for 6 months and a hour of raiding a week is worth $13.00. In fact this games catchup systems are so amazing that you can wait to the end of each major patch and get within competitive ilvl in a short week and just enjoy the game with all its limiters removed and keep playing until you hit that inevitable content wall that gets erected when the next major patch hits.
I thought, when I was in the early levels, it was ok. Just ok. Then once I hit about L45-L50, it really took off for me. The story continuation with the major patches are amazing, and how it ties into Heavansward has been top notch so far - comparable to some of the best Final Fantasy storytelling to date in my opinion.
But yeah, you very much have to start out as a near-nobody and work your way through the ranks to get there.
Most memorable games: AoC(Tryanny PvP), RIFT, GW, GW2, Ragnarok Online, Aion, FFXI, FFXIV, Secret World, League of Legends (Silver II rank)
The story is hit and miss all the way through and believe me you are not the only one who has issues with it. Compared to other games like the Witcher 3, the story of FFXIV ARR is abysmal and I'm always curious who the idiot doppleganger is that keeps running my character in cutscenes. Not to mention the lack of freedom of choice in some of the cutscenes is archaic.
Supposedly, once you get past "The Fall" in Uldah things get better. Mind you will probably want to murder a small furry animal watching everything take place during the massive 30 minute cutscene fest, not to mention thinking about all the things your character did NOT do that would have been dictated by common sense, but I digress.
its 100% worth doing all the quests up to the expansion if there was an option to skip it you would be a fool.
i thought the same but at the end of chaper 1 i was blown away fantastic ending best ive seen in an mmorpg stick it out you will be glad you did
)).
Don't worry about 47 or so they'll make you deliver stew right before the big battle even though you'll also be doing all the fighting... I think a lot of the garbage like the banquet is Japanese humor that just doesn't translate well to English. That said there is a dramatic uptick in quality as you progress through the 50+ story.
From the aspect of looking at this game from a purely Themepark standpoint you are absolutely right. I suppose that't creates the root of my struggle when it comes to enjoying this game to the extent that others do. Playing it at a different time (1.0) made me expect other things come the relaunch of this game. The game has a great base to work off of, and this base includes the story of course as a way to make something its own. SE did very well to hone this base into 2.0 coming now into 3.0, but somethings like the armoury system still being there is the result of the awkward way thew new jobs function in 3.0 for example. I suppose being a themepark doesn't make it a failure in many other's eyes, especially those who don't know the history of FFXI and the events that transpired from 1.0 launch into "The Fall" which gave birth to 2.0. To many FFXIV is a themepark that fits in like snugly as the new kid on the block, very well dressed all the while prim and proper as one should expect. 2.0 onward as a result is all that many people know of the game and I suppose I give up on trying to pursue this further.
To be quite honest calling everyone a Fanboi/White knight and Blind moron wasn't quite the right way of going about it. I also admitted to being openly salty about the success this game garnishes because of some possible hipster logic I may harbour I guess. The way I look at this game moving into 2.0 was like watching a friend who had big dreams and aspirations but his own ambitions were too great and they devoured him. He was given another chance and instead of following the path he spoke so fondly of, he settled for just enough. He settled to just be as good as anyone else before him as well as all those around him. FFXIV is that friend that decided to settle for "Themepark" and the moment Yoshi P called FFXIV that in a interview years ago it made me cringe, and that feeling lingers to this day.
Many only know the Final Fantasy series or Square Enix as a company these days for the abominations that were the FFXIII series, and many more even go as far to say that things went downhill even before FFX onward. I have my own opinions and others have theirs, but while FFXI had a rocky launch it still stays forever a favorite among MMOS I've played in my many years. The game did not create the wheel, in fact it borrowed from the other games before it but I established itself as its own. Each patch and expansion brought varied battle content and various activities that allowed you to pick and choose progression. Many battle systems that encouraged players to group up in instanced battlefields and open world content alike. To keep this brief; Where I am going with this is I didn't wish for a FFXI 2.0, I just wanted more from SE than the usual themepark, the moment that word exited Yoshi's mouth it felt like sore defeat. To be quite honest the game does well to deliver content at a blistering rate in comparison to others on the market. The problem lies at the root, a large beautiful world full of potential that grows hollow and meaningless due to the nature of heavily instanced content at every corner. This is further stunted by limited class customization, shallow stat customization as well as any flavor to allow others to adjust playstyles so that every "Insert Job here" isn't just like every "Job" like it.
He wants that booty XD
Senden,
Personally I feel its worth it. I love the game and I like the story. There will be parts you dont like however personally I find more parts I like about this game than what I dont like. So therefore I support the game and play it.
I went into it wanting to get involved with the story and lore, but there was just too much senseless "go here and talk to this guy, and then come back" type of stuff. I started skipping through all the dialogue and cutscenes around Costa del Sol. It just felt like too much of a slog at that point. The few voiced cutscenes that could have been enjoyable ended up being quite annoying due to terrible English voice acting. I didn't come out of it thinking I had experienced an epic story driven game, but then again, I admit to "quitting" the story at like level 35.
Story-driven MMO's kind of suck when it comes to pacing, IMO. I understand the need to level up and grind, but getting excited about the story and then having to go and do FATE's or sit in a dungeon queue to progress really stinks. I have the same complaint with SWTOR, and I loved the story in that game.
My disdain for the story aside, the game is solid.
When you said that you quit the game at around level 35 the only thing I could think of is "THAT DAMN TITAN BANQUET QUESTLINE!!!!!" Thinking back to doing it now twice I can really understand the frustration and the pure boredom this brings BUT doing Heavensward storyline I can say this is all been removed. There are events when you help others and accomplish side objectives BUT they all actually have a reason and purpose if you bother reading/listening to the dialogue. Now that isn't to say you will see plenty of it from now until 2.55 but as far as you and Senden is concerned, if there is something that's worth seeing in this game then its the story. At least finish the story and cast your opinion there, but a notable warning is that skipping it will make it harder to enjoy once it picks up. Square really needs to work on a better "New Player Experience" from level 1 to 35 because I swear to god that is where they lose like 90% of their new players. The MSQ being very slow and operating as "The HERO OF LIGHT" aka everyone's personal errand boy and delivery girl will take more than some tweaking though.