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[Column] Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Are Seasonal Events Really Fun?
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
With the recent debut of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, the first update was, naturally, a seasonal event. In our latest FFXIV column, we wonder at how much fun these types of events truly are. See what we think before lending your voice to the conversation in the comments.
That is until I logged in and actually took part in the Moonfire Faire. My expectations for the event greatly outweighed the reality of what was to occur. While I had hoped that we would end up with a few heralds in each city that would lead our adventurers on a series of quests in the wider world what we ended up with was a vendor that was selling swimwear and a herald who told us that our help was needed off the coast of Limsa Lominsa in Costa Del Sol. It turned out that the FATE you needed to participate in to acquire the wet bomb ash, the event currency, was already in the game and I had plenty in my pack to buy all the unique items. If you are into bondage, these rewards are for you.
Read more of Rob Lashley's Final Fantasy XIV: Are Seasonal Events Really Fun?
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Comments
I stumbled on the FATE and completed it. So next time I was in town I checked out the vender. All I saw was stuff that would fill my already overcrowded Armory Inventory. Nothing I actually liked.
So I didn't buy anything. Very underwhelming...unlike the rest of the game.
You mean the armoire? Or my retainer?
Maybe I'll buy a speedo after all!
You can put the stuff in your armoire. You also get a title.
As a rule I generally stay away from these. In FFXIV I decided to let my pre-conceived notions go and check it out. As the columnist stated it was very short lived and not exactly "special" as the FATE in question was already in the game. It costs ~200 wet ash to buy all over the seasonal swimsuits, my friend who had been grinding FATEs in Costa Del Sol had over 600 already in his inventory.
Hopefully this does not demonstrate their effort to put into seasonal events in the future, because it was really disappointing.
OH and SE, Why is there no swimsuit vendor at the only real beach in the entire game? Some NPC is missing out on big business here!
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
Will they rehost these events on a new server after they finally allow people to buy their game again?
Still not able to purchase online at their website, GMG, or Amazon and if they don't launch new servers for people who have been locked out for weeks I may not be interested in purchasing.
Events are a form of content that some people enjoy, some dont. Just like raiding, arenas, crafting, etc. Thats the sign of a well rounded mmo.
It is one of the easiest ones. Didn't even had to put too much effort and got all the summer sets. Best part is i didn't even know that FATE was part of event and before i knew i had all the 'wet bombard ash i needed'.
Don't see the use of the costumes yet though since there are no appearance slots.
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I don't say this often, but I actually agree with BigDaddy.
No appearance slots = waste of effort.
I thought it was amusing for what it was. It isn't like this one is crazy missable. The only thing I did was snatch the achievement. Making it available to all levels was also fun. The swarm that came together for the FATE was a bit... disconcerting. No one talking. Everyone attacking stuff. People activating the homing balloon and then someone else activating the next and stepping on toes. Was a bit.. meh.
The shorts/tops were all stuff I wouldn't EVER be caught wearing (though I stare at the ladies when THEY wear them to the beach). Also, I'm a lala and those clothes are just... no.
:-)
Where is my appearance slots? C'mon SE.. you give us actual COSTUME apparel but no place to wear them.
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"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
For me, the event was a bunch of wet ash. Got excited when I saw the splash screen because I love seasonal events. Went to talk with the quest giver, but he wasn't there.
Why?
Because I wasn't level 30. There wasn't any information saying that there was a level requirement; I had to ask guildmates. Plus, if it wasn't for the splash screen, I might have missed the event since their was no in-game criers talking about the increase in bomb numbers. Other than decorations in one small area, nothing in the world spoke to an event going on.
So I'm disappointed that there isn't anything for the lower levels to do, other than get free ash from guildmates who have an abundance, so you can get the underwhelming suites as well.
The game is awesome, but hoping for better events in the future.
Got all my ash at level 5 from the event in Ul'dah so there is some stuff for lower levels.
The "Master of Seasonal Events" is still Arena Net, and that won't change at all. I'm surprised they weren't mentioned in the article when Rift and NWN was.
Swimsuits and a dynamic event....I mean "Fate", that's it? That's all that entails this seasonal event. GW2's Bazaar of the Four Winds is a far better seasonal event what with it's NPC's, mini-game race, cool zone, several dynamic events, and range of items to obtain there.
Bikinis and stuff are neato, I guess, but are more the province of F2P shit games and really have no place in a real fantasy MMORPG that's P2P. Very silly. Very unnecessary.
This event isn't much of an event and seems to be just another part of the game that gives stuff away for zero effrot - which seems to be the overall theme of FFXIV - zero effort. In typical FFXIV style, like with the fate grind xp/loot braindead give away, yeah, many of us had the event currency already before the event began, making it even more of a braindead event.
I find holiday, seasonal, and other events to be ok once in a while. They can be overdone (early Rift for ex). They get pretty old when it's the same old crap year after year (hi WoW, I'm talking to you).
Premium MMORPGs do not feature built-in cheating via cash for gold pay 2 win. PLAY to win or don't play.
As far as FFXIV, I was excited to see there was already a special event in the game (seasonal or otherwise) but found the event to be a let down. The event isn't just in Costa Del Sol so I did the FATE in the South Shroud. The first FATE I participated in got me 30 of the wet ash which I used to buy one of the cheaper swimsuits and a set of sparklers. When I found out the achievement required purchasing the more expensive swimsuits (15 wet ash per piece compared to 3 wet ash per piece), I did another FATE. The second FATE ended with a message of failure but gave me 20 wet ash. I was able to buy another swimsuit and still have wet ash left over. I was disappointed with the level of the required FATE. The bombards are level 3 and the sync put me at 11 (mob levels are slightly lower than the "recommended level" for a FATE). Unless this is a short event, I think the FATE could have been around level 10 and still allowed time for new players to get to required level since players can not change classes until the first class hits level 10. Since the swimsuits are basically low level armor, it would have been nice if a variety of levels were available with higher levels costing more wet ash. Along with this, multiple levels of bombard FATEs would've been nice so people could find FATEs at the level of their class. Maybe even replacing some of the current FATEs with bombard FATEs. As it is, the event can probably be covered by participating in a couple of fates and leaves a person with an achievement and some fairly useless "armor."
As far as seasonal events in general, I think it depends on how the event is handled. Does it make sense within the context of the game (or if the actual season/celebration doesn't make sense, has it been adjusted to something that works)? Do the activities fit the theme and gamestyle? Are the "rewards" for participating appropriate to/useful in the game? Does it add much content or is it something that can be completed in 5 minutes although the event lasts somewhere from a week to a couple of months? Is there something in it for everyone from the person that just logged into the game for the first time to the highest developed character in the game?
Yeah sure, compare a non-holiday summer item grab event to a full holiday themed christmas event? Of course its going to come up short...
The fact that there was any summer themed event at all, this soon after launch is nice I guess, but I wouldn't use it as a base to judge seasonal events.
EQ2 does a great job with seasonal events as well.
But SE isnt at the point where they should be dedicating time to seasonal events anyway. this wasnt meant to be a frostfell or a Hallow's End.
You do realize that they have already spoken at length that they will be giving us costume slots in a future patch. Its hoped that this will be 2.1 but we do not have a concrete timetable. What we do know is that they have shown off devart of several Costumes that are upcoming for their Winter and Valentine's events.
The Moonfaire event is a simple one. One that will be expanded greatly upon next summer. If you have ever participated in a FFXI holiday event, you know they can be extremely fun and well thought out. This event was effected by their current server limitations. I can not wait til we see what they do for Halloween.