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Final Fantasy XIV I Have the chance to get a copy is it worth it?
Sargeras77
Member UncommonPosts: 47
Before I start let me preface by saying I know there are huge server issues and error issues but those don't phase me. What I am really interested in is if the game itself is worth purchasing and paying a sub for. Below are a few of my questions that I would like to have answered before I decide yay or nay.
How large is the game world? (compared to other vanilla launches WoW etc)
Even though it wasn't my first MMO WoW was my first love (Vanilla, TBC only) and I want to know does ARR bring back some of the feelings of discovery, comradery, and even caution/fear.
Is the content challenging?
Are the dungeons/raids easy tank and spank or do they have more skill involved. (I like dungeons where it takes a few wipes to get the hang of it vs most newer dungeons where it takes no skill and the most difficult thing is MOVE AWAY FROM RED SPOT!)
It appears that the game has sold extremely well (moreso than most expected) so I just want to know from those of you out there do you recommend it and do you think it will be a game that you will stick with for 2+ years.
Sorry for any typos or bad grammar I just got off of a 13 hour shift :P
Thank you and cheers,
Sargeras
Comments
You are going to hear very mixed reviews from people on this site. Let me try to give you mine.
The world itself is really large, I would say probably reminiscent of Vanilla WoW, when it came out. Not two continents but still from what I've seen it's pretty dang big.
There are feelings of discovery for me, I really enjoy uncovering the map and looking around because the world is absolutely gorgeous, and the feelings of fear and caution occur with some of the aggro systems for me, mainly because the enemies have line of sight aggro which is kind of cool as opposed to just general being in their area.
From what I have seen content can be challenging and it can be easy, it just depends on who you are with and if they know what they are doing.
In the dungeons I have been in, there are some bosses that are a little different than just normal tank and spank, one of the ones I can remember was a fight where you had to use the bomb enemies to blow up the boss until he became small enough to physically kill his parts it was pretty unique.
If square enix will keep it patched with content, and make challenging bosses like FFXI had, then yes I feel like it can be something that you can sub to for 2+ years, but currently I can only say that it just launched and we have yet to see how fast content will come out. I would reccomend it.
I personally will stick with it for a long time unless they do something that really pisses me off, challenge wise the first 2 dungeons are faceroll pretty much, tank and spank stay out of the red, the 3rd dungeon gets a little more complicated but as long as people listen to the strat and not just run in its still pretty easy, I play tank/healer so this is from that perspective.
The dungeons after the first 3 storyline dungeons, which are mandatory to progress in the dungeons start to get a little harder, the first level 20 dungeon started to get a lot more heal intensive with pugs, if you do it with a group of experience players who know exactly what they're doing its still a cake walk, but definitely starting to get more interesting, I'm only level 25 so about to start to take on those dungeons soon (taking my sweet time these days).
I have some fairly elitist players in my guild, and they seem to be having fun in the higher level dungeons, character develop is sort of crucial as you can't just level one class and be proficient, you have to level other classes to get some skills to compliment the main class, at this point in the game its not set in stone so you actually have some choice till you unlock the jobs at level 30. Crafting and gathering are whole other classes in themselves and fun to play if you like that aspect of the game.
Personally, if you get the game it would cost you $30 as opposed to most mmo's being $60 and get 30 days free so worth a shot, its always hard to say though, some people you think would love the game and the people you think would love it hate, wait till tommorow and see if they stil have server troubles after thier big fix and if everything is a go, give it a whirl, you might be pleasantly surprised, I'm personally having more fun in an MMO than I've had in a long time, and the community in general seems nicer than most I've come across in a while too.
Considering there are guilds already on bahamut, i'd say this isn't going to be a game for the long haul. Everyone sees the glory days of FF11, but I seem to remember getting to max level in that game taking months not days.
I'd say most of the general population will exhaust all raid content within the first month or two. With crafting being pretty meh you'll basically be standing around in town or just grinding more jobs which you don't even need to complete content.
Gameplay is very repetitive. There is a long global cooldown and most classes only have a couple of useful abilities. The problem of being able to log in might have actually helped them, because everyone is so busy trying to log in that they have not really evaluated the game.
I am torn. On the one hand, it is like WoW, only more boring. On the other hand, it has cute catgirls. I am seriously torn. Great graphics, but lame gameplay. I am a 1.0 subscriber who has been in all of the betas.
I've never played any MMO for 2+ years straight so I cannot give you an answer for that. That said, this game has rekindled my interest in MMOs and might honestly stay for a fair bit longer than I had anticipated.
The world simply feels alive to me. Unlike more recent MMOs, this one manages to lure you into caring more about the characters and the world. That attachment is key in any MMO more than the content for me.
I am not yet at the level to criticize the amount of content as I do not feel the need to rush to end-game this time around. However, as a former Vanilla/BC like you (tank and healer), I am quite satisfied thus far.
WoW is in a class of its own. It has a huge, uninterrupted world that can take you forever to move through. Travelling from one place to another involves zero zoning. Other than a (sometimes drastic) difference between the flora and fauna in each area, you don't even notice that you're in a new zone.
FFXIV:ARR is your typical Asian MMO. It has a highly-instanced, smallish world. A very beautiful world, but still on the small side. Think Aion. Rift's zones might be slightly larger. Everything seems a little... crowded. That being said, it's so well done that I don't get the same feeling of claustrophobia that I got when I played Aion.
But it's not WoW.
I never experienced comaraderie in WoW. Nor did I experience caution/fear. A sense of discovery? Oh yeah.
It's hard to judge FFXIV:ARR at this time. Nobody has really been able to play it the way it was meant to be played. Most people are just playing alts on whatever server they can log on to.
As far as discovery goes, the game is new. So, yeah, the sense of discovery is there. If you're talking about, "I think I'm going to hike over that mountain on the horizon." (like you can in WoW), then you'll be disappointed.
Comaraderie? As I said in another post, the current issues have turned a potentially great community into an angry mob. We'll see how well we all get along with one another in a few weeks.
Right now there are mainly two groups of players:
1. The genuflecting sycophants who defend the current state of the game like their lives depended on it.
2. The psychotic QQ crowd that has decided that their not being able to play means the apocalypse is coming.
There are sub-groups, of course, but these two are the most vocal.
No. You can die, if you're not careful, but it's not "challenging". I would imagine that some of the end-game bosses are pretty tough. Most quest objectives are laughably easy. In many cases your quest objective is within spitting distance of the quest giver.
It's an MMORPG, not chess. There is no skill involved.
That being said, most of the dungeons have a few tricks to them that can cause a first-time group to wipe. Usually only happens once or twice, then everybody learns. And, of course, when you go back to that dungeon with one of your alts, you'll know what to expect.
As always... don't stand in the fire.
I recommend that you try it for yourself. The first month is free with the purchase of the box.
2+ years? The only things I've ever stuck with for longer than 2 years is my job and my marriage. Games don't hold my interest for all that long. I buy. I play until I get bored. Rinse. Repeat.
Good luck with your decision. Have fun doing whatever it is you decide to do.
There are "guilds" on Bahamut yes, but they were legacy players previously geared, maxed lvl, and ready to go. Though to my knowledge there is only ONE guild that has gotten as far as turn 2 (a turn being akin to a dungeon in itself, of which there are 4-5 in all of the labyrinth of bahamut. think wings in naxxramas). That is where they are stuck right now, stating that their current gear levels demand the best play out of all roles and at maximum potential. The general public will not be there without fanatical game playing styles and time investment, as from what I understand the prep work necessary to even step foot in a bahamut dungeon is time consuming in itself. You have to best all primals in hard mode. These facts are being discussed in the dungeons forum of the FF XIV site. Thread title something like "labryinth of bahamut discussion" or something. Check it out.
There was an interview where a representative of this guild on turn 2 was in dialogue with Naoki Yoshida and Yoshi states they will not clear bahamut by the time the new content is released. So estimating that the general pop will exhaust this content as well is wishful thinking.
As far as whether it's worth it...after maintenance today, if all goes well, I say 1000 times yes. haha
Best MMO I've played in years...loving it. Always something to do. World is beautious. Community is friendly and helpful. Challenging content awaits you once you get past the initial levels. Treat yourself I say.
It's been out for what, a week? Most people have only even played it a few hours. I don't see any possibility of this guild not finishing bahamut( along with many many other guilds) before the next content patch. Of course Yoshi wouldn't be in an interview saying "hey guys good job almost beating the game i just relaunched in a week!"
Absolutely nothing less rewarding than a quick grind.
Thank you everyone for your great responses, I decided to just get it! If anyone wants to play PM me your world and Char name
I encourage anyone else on the fence to pick up a copy
Cheers,
Sargeras
P. S. The one snag I had is the only server available to create a char on was a eu server and I live in na but it's not a big deal.
Well after the travesty of 1.0 was amazed by the transformation and honestly ARR is the smoothest most polished beta I have tested,so was kinda suprised when the early beta launch servers went tits up like it did.
Also the first Mo I can play fully with joypad which is a joy with the new UI design which also integrates with my PC seamlessly,and compared the the pigs ear it was before Square have done an amazing job to fix the UI and totally transform it into something pretty cool.
Still undecided if not to go for this myself but the mayhem with servers persuaded me to wait so might try this further down the road but all in all highly recommended.