XIV is fun for a while, but at max level you basically do the same thing over and over again, which is grind for new tomes in the newest (far too easy) two or three boring dungeons. If you are searching for a lot of freedom, this is not the game for you. Every Warrior or Bard is basically the same, there is no choice or variety between players. And while the game world can be pretty, it's still small, heavily zoned, static and empty. The last is especially true for the 3.0 zones.
There is a ton to do at endgame. All you describe is Endgame RAIDing that is exactly the same as in every other themepark MMO out there. It's for the hardcore crowd that like to min/max their characters and like that sort of thing. There is crafting, tribe quests, Golden Saucer, events, PVP, FC (guilds) and Airships, housing and since recent patch a new unique progression Dungeon with it's own leveling and progression.
I don't know what you talking about with everyone looking the exact same at max Level. That is an utter lie! On my server I hardly run into Level 60 players that look the same. Since you can transmorg gear when reach Level 50! And you have a dye system. So there is a huge variarity in looks on Level 50+ players.
The zones are heavily improved with 2.0 and are nothing like 1.0 anymore. You are describing the 1.0 zones, so I feel like you are trolling and haven't really touched the game since 1.0! Since you are wrong on so many Levels.
FFXIV provides so many things to do. I do not raid but why waste my time on that when there are so many other things to do. I have been playing since 1.x and have never managed to complete everything. I am admittedly casual with my time but you got daily roulette's, beast tribe, gathering, crafting, golden saucer, maps(Aquapolis), the current Yo-Kai event, sight seeing log, and Relic weapons. I still haven even tried doing deepest dungeon or diadem. The quality and quantity of patches is consistent. I still have multiple classes not leveled because I get sidetracked with all the available content. The music and scenery are amazing.
Of course there are negatives with this game but that can be said of every game ever made. It can be grindy at the end but personally I believe all MMORPG's have some sort of grind. I never focus on capping my tomes but do whatever I feel in the moment.
FFXIV has lots of interesting bosses and well designed dungeons. You will spend a lot (probably almost all) of your times in dungeons at level 60, grinding to get your item level higher. I think for a dungeon fan FFXIV is a good game. If you are already enjoying the combat especially, I would say stick with it. I have never done a dungeon in FFXIV that I did not enjoy the design of. The bosses are always fun, and even though I am bummed that crowd control on trash pulls is unnecessary, there is never too much trash. Right now there are plenty of dungeons to run at max level and a good amount on your way up (with a HUGE amount of old dungeons to run at level 50). For the instanced dungeon fan, FFXIV is a great choice.
The combat is not for me, though, and neither is the focus on instances. I recently subbed and unsubbed again, I really dislike the long global cooldown and focus on long CD off GCD abilities. You should already be familiar enough with the combat system to know if that is a problem for you, though.
Even if you are not a fan of the combat, if you particularly love dungeons I would still recommend you stick with the game. The bosses in this game are always fun, and though they can be simplified down to "don't stand in bad stuff, kill this target" they never feel quite so banal. The epic music, the fantastic art design, and the patterns of each boss makes them all feel unique and interesting.
XIV is fun for a while, but at max level you basically do the same thing over and over again, which is grind for new tomes in the newest (far too easy) two or three boring dungeons. If you are searching for a lot of freedom, this is not the game for you. Every Warrior or Bard is basically the same, there is no choice or variety between players. And while the game world can be pretty, it's still small, heavily zoned, static and empty. The last is especially true for the 3.0 zones.
This is, unfortunately, the way of it.
Yoshida and his team just don't seem to know how to make content that lasts. In other MMORPGs I've played, content could last and remain relevant, on its own, for years. For example, in FFXI, "Sky" remained active long after its initial "rush" died down. People kept going there, because the rewards (gear, etc) remained relevant for so long, so it was worth getting. Tanaka and his team knew how to make content last. They knew how to make content with rewards (gear, items, etc) that would remain relevant and worth obtaining even years after they were implemented. This is just one reason why FFXI maintained a strong, loyal following many years into its service, even while newer and, supposedly, "better" MMOs came and went around it.
In FFXIV, something that's new and exciting "now" is going to be old-news and barely spoken about within a few weeks, tops. Then people are back to the "Okay, now what?" holding pattern of waiting for the *next* good thing. Right now that "big new thing" is Deep Dungeons, but you can see how quickly the first 50 floors went from "cool!" to "meh... bored of it already" (It took mere days for many people). Of course, now it's "But wait, the next 50 floors will be better!". Except it'll be exactly the same thing. Big hype for the first few days, and then most people will be saying, "meh, bored of it", with others saying "Don't worry! The *next 50 floors will be better! They'll totally get it right next time! Just be patient!", and so on...
Gear that people Grind their asses off to get, is replaced weeks after they get it, and the Grind starts all over.
It's a vicious cycle, and it's pretty much what FFXIV's entire development has been like; people constantly looking forward to the *next* thing to make the game interesting and fun again, for a little while, because the current content quickly loses its lustre.
The only way Yoshida knows how to make content "last" is by making it an extreme Grind. Like, all MMORPGs have grindy content. But Yoshida takes it to the limit. He's embraced Grind - with the capital G - as the cornerstone of his entire design approach. If it doesn't involve Grind, he doesn't know what to do with it.
As for every Bard, Warrior, etc.. being played the same. Well, that's t he expectation. The thing is, every person of every job is expected to play their job the same, and hit exactly the same performance levels. Individuality is frowned upon. Not using "The One Best, Most Optimal Rotation" for your job? You will hear about it. I got sick of that crap while playing. In a dungeon, playing, doing fine... some one says "You know, you should be using "blah" in your rotation, and "bleh" should be used at least twice before "meh", and so on. Too many people in FFXIV feel its their sworn duty to go into every dungeon to look for and point out who ever isn't playing their role "the right way". In many ways, the community in this game is freaking annoying.
as i said FFXIV team is trying new things and failing hard , Diadem , LoV , are a failure , Deep dungeon is a mixed bag , i guess it will improved , and diadem will received an overhaul in 3.4 ...but is frustrating that tehy release this half assed , know that is going to be not fun after the first week
FFXIV is good for the MSQ , the dungeons , i dont dislike the gameplay at all , the raids have improved A LOT , the bosses in midas are cool , and in savage are tons of challenging (working on the last boss atm ) , but FFXIV is far from perfect, Void ark and Weeping city are awesome , just Ozma battle is cool as hell
crafting and gathering SUCKS the worst system ever , yeah its like a mini "game" , but is so frustrating and u need specific gear , prices for materias are skyhigh , and u need to level all the crafts in order to being able to craft anything worth a damn at max lvl (min woodworking , alchemist and even tailor to 50)
the anima weapon questline sucks too , i dont mind grind , but come on, it isnt enough doing low lvl dungeons , then fates , more fates , then craft (i despise it!) items Hq , or worse buy it from the MB (overpriced as hell) , then grind more and more...
i keep playing because i enjoy the new dungeons , raids , and the gameplay is good enough
FFXIV is trying new things and thats good , but the content need to last , and the endgame needs more...
FFXIV hardcore raids are 4 bosse , each boss has ton of phases , and 1 boss is 4 mini bosses that have 3 phases each , so in the end feels like more bosses , but i would prefer a WoW model , more bosses less phases ....
I guess if played casually the game is tons of fun , since u can do dungeons , the casual raids , some trial , farm slowly the anima... but once u go "HC" , all that dungeons and raids drop meaningless gear ....that isnt worth for alts (that i gear with drops no1 wants in savage)
I really can't seem to understand most of you guys , i have been playing for a really long time (left the game to play another game 3 times but 1 month duration) . funny thing is for 3 years i had 2 things maxed , from the amount of things i had to do in-game to have fun , Gold saucer , Non-stop fates , rankings , HOUSES , free company (guild/clan) , chat with friends , crafting (not like most games , you click on craft button and get it done but by using skills to either create a Normal Quality item which is weaker than High Quality items) , gathering is also fun if you put effort in it . The game alone with all the quests and stories you can notice that no matter how hard it is at the start , once you reach level 30 it can get pretty amazing , do not skip main story quests , join a good free company to have fun , be honest and take your time leveling .
Story based : Perfect as always , once you reach 30 , you will notice that everything around you and start to have feelings for the people in the story which will make you also more interested in everything they do . (story varies between Dragoons and the rest of the classes)
Quest Based: Kill , Collect , Use this item on the monster? meh that is what i thought at first but every quest has a connection to a wide range of other quests making it unique in a way because you are rewarded with really awesome gear based on the quest request.
Leveling : Every single class , crafting , Gathering is available to level . Leveling a DPS,Tank,Healer is from fates 1-15 , 15-60 Fates/Dungeons . Crafting and gathering (1-50 leves or grinding , 50-60 Collectibles)
Marriage System : got married 3 times (once with myself to test it out) , pretty awesome i should say but hopefully more benefits to come for this.
Housing System : I prefer to not buy one unless i own the FC . Housing is quite complicated because it will vary on the location (Mist ,... etc) each starting area has their own area for housing and it goes from Small > Large houses , you can design the house with a wide variety of decoration (wallpaper , lighting and even the basic stuff)
Skills : Every class has a different kind of skill (unique) once you reach level 30 , you get even more skills which is every 5 levels (excluding your basic skills which you get at ex. 34-38-41-etc , with the level 60 expansion , you get even more skills 52-54-56-58-60 . Crafting and gathering also have their own skills so do not complain of anything being repetitive.
Mounts : (before expansion) as any other game you can get your first mount after joining a grand company , Chocobo which levels and gains skills which you can spend to either make your companion a DPS,Tank, Healer. Mounts also vary in terms of effects , styles and running pattern. Some is from dailies , quests , achievements and online shop (yet you still can get better looking mounts in games) .
Races : With a huge variety of races in the game you can create your dream character and make him look better than the being you see on the mirror . There is no such thing as a Alliance / Horde.
Grand Companies : You have 3 to choose from . (too much info)
Do i even have to continue ? this is not even 30% of the game yet sounds like high quality.
Comments
There is a ton to do at endgame. All you describe is Endgame RAIDing that is exactly the same as in every other themepark MMO out there. It's for the hardcore crowd that like to min/max their characters and like that sort of thing.
There is crafting, tribe quests, Golden Saucer, events, PVP, FC (guilds) and Airships, housing and since recent patch a new unique progression Dungeon with it's own leveling and progression.
I don't know what you talking about with everyone looking the exact same at max Level. That is an utter lie!
On my server I hardly run into Level 60 players that look the same. Since you can transmorg gear when reach Level 50! And you have a dye system. So there is a huge variarity in looks on Level 50+ players.
The zones are heavily improved with 2.0 and are nothing like 1.0 anymore.
You are describing the 1.0 zones, so I feel like you are trolling and haven't really touched the game since 1.0! Since you are wrong on so many Levels.
Of course there are negatives with this game but that can be said of every game ever made. It can be grindy at the end but personally I believe all MMORPG's have some sort of grind. I never focus on capping my tomes but do whatever I feel in the moment.
The combat is not for me, though, and neither is the focus on instances. I recently subbed and unsubbed again, I really dislike the long global cooldown and focus on long CD off GCD abilities. You should already be familiar enough with the combat system to know if that is a problem for you, though.
Even if you are not a fan of the combat, if you particularly love dungeons I would still recommend you stick with the game. The bosses in this game are always fun, and though they can be simplified down to "don't stand in bad stuff, kill this target" they never feel quite so banal. The epic music, the fantastic art design, and the patterns of each boss makes them all feel unique and interesting.
Yoshida and his team just don't seem to know how to make content that lasts. In other MMORPGs I've played, content could last and remain relevant, on its own, for years. For example, in FFXI, "Sky" remained active long after its initial "rush" died down. People kept going there, because the rewards (gear, etc) remained relevant for so long, so it was worth getting. Tanaka and his team knew how to make content last. They knew how to make content with rewards (gear, items, etc) that would remain relevant and worth obtaining even years after they were implemented. This is just one reason why FFXI maintained a strong, loyal following many years into its service, even while newer and, supposedly, "better" MMOs came and went around it.
In FFXIV, something that's new and exciting "now" is going to be old-news and barely spoken about within a few weeks, tops. Then people are back to the "Okay, now what?" holding pattern of waiting for the *next* good thing. Right now that "big new thing" is Deep Dungeons, but you can see how quickly the first 50 floors went from "cool!" to "meh... bored of it already" (It took mere days for many people). Of course, now it's "But wait, the next 50 floors will be better!". Except it'll be exactly the same thing. Big hype for the first few days, and then most people will be saying, "meh, bored of it", with others saying "Don't worry! The *next 50 floors will be better! They'll totally get it right next time! Just be patient!", and so on...
Gear that people Grind their asses off to get, is replaced weeks after they get it, and the Grind starts all over.
It's a vicious cycle, and it's pretty much what FFXIV's entire development has been like; people constantly looking forward to the *next* thing to make the game interesting and fun again, for a little while, because the current content quickly loses its lustre.
The only way Yoshida knows how to make content "last" is by making it an extreme Grind. Like, all MMORPGs have grindy content. But Yoshida takes it to the limit. He's embraced Grind - with the capital G - as the cornerstone of his entire design approach. If it doesn't involve Grind, he doesn't know what to do with it.
Someone even posted a funny, and accurate, cartoon about it on the official forums, pertaining to events.
As for every Bard, Warrior, etc.. being played the same. Well, that's t he expectation. The thing is, every person of every job is expected to play their job the same, and hit exactly the same performance levels. Individuality is frowned upon. Not using "The One Best, Most Optimal Rotation" for your job? You will hear about it. I got sick of that crap while playing. In a dungeon, playing, doing fine... some one says "You know, you should be using "blah" in your rotation, and "bleh" should be used at least twice before "meh", and so on. Too many people in FFXIV feel its their sworn duty to go into every dungeon to look for and point out who ever isn't playing their role "the right way". In many ways, the community in this game is freaking annoying.
as i said FFXIV team is trying new things and failing hard , Diadem , LoV , are a failure , Deep dungeon is a mixed bag , i guess it will improved , and diadem will received an overhaul in 3.4 ...but is frustrating that tehy release this half assed , know that is going to be not fun after the first week
FFXIV is good for the MSQ , the dungeons , i dont dislike the gameplay at all , the raids have improved A LOT , the bosses in midas are cool , and in savage are tons of challenging (working on the last boss atm ) , but FFXIV is far from perfect, Void ark and Weeping city are awesome , just Ozma battle is cool as hell
crafting and gathering SUCKS the worst system ever , yeah its like a mini "game" , but is so frustrating and u need specific gear , prices for materias are skyhigh , and u need to level all the crafts in order to being able to craft anything worth a damn at max lvl (min woodworking , alchemist and even tailor to 50)
the anima weapon questline sucks too , i dont mind grind , but come on, it isnt enough doing low lvl dungeons , then fates , more fates , then craft (i despise it!) items Hq , or worse buy it from the MB (overpriced as hell) , then grind more and more...
i keep playing because i enjoy the new dungeons , raids , and the gameplay is good enough
FFXIV is trying new things and thats good , but the content need to last , and the endgame needs more...
FFXIV hardcore raids are 4 bosse , each boss has ton of phases , and 1 boss is 4 mini bosses that have 3 phases each , so in the end feels like more bosses , but i would prefer a WoW model , more bosses less phases ....
I guess if played casually the game is tons of fun , since u can do dungeons , the casual raids , some trial , farm slowly the anima... but once u go "HC" , all that dungeons and raids drop meaningless gear ....that isnt worth for alts (that i gear with drops no1 wants in savage)
Story based : Perfect as always , once you reach 30 , you will notice that everything around you and start to have feelings for the people in the story which will make you also more interested in everything they do . (story varies between Dragoons and the rest of the classes)
Quest Based: Kill , Collect , Use this item on the monster? meh that is what i thought at first but every quest has a connection to a wide range of other quests making it unique in a way because you are rewarded with really awesome gear based on the quest request.
Leveling : Every single class , crafting , Gathering is available to level . Leveling a DPS,Tank,Healer is from fates 1-15 , 15-60 Fates/Dungeons . Crafting and gathering (1-50 leves or grinding , 50-60 Collectibles)
Marriage System : got married 3 times (once with myself to test it out) , pretty awesome i should say but hopefully more benefits to come for this.
Housing System : I prefer to not buy one unless i own the FC . Housing is quite complicated because it will vary on the location (Mist ,... etc) each starting area has their own area for housing and it goes from Small > Large houses , you can design the house with a wide variety of decoration (wallpaper , lighting and even the basic stuff)
Skills : Every class has a different kind of skill (unique) once you reach level 30 , you get even more skills which is every 5 levels (excluding your basic skills which you get at ex. 34-38-41-etc , with the level 60 expansion , you get even more skills 52-54-56-58-60 . Crafting and gathering also have their own skills so do not complain of anything being repetitive.
Mounts : (before expansion) as any other game you can get your first mount after joining a grand company , Chocobo which levels and gains skills which you can spend to either make your companion a DPS,Tank, Healer. Mounts also vary in terms of effects , styles and running pattern. Some is from dailies , quests , achievements and online shop (yet you still can get better looking mounts in games) .
Races : With a huge variety of races in the game you can create your dream character and make him look better than the being you see on the mirror . There is no such thing as a Alliance / Horde.
Grand Companies : You have 3 to choose from . (too much info)
Do i even have to continue ? this is not even 30% of the game yet sounds like high quality.
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