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this or XIV for a duo
Soki123
Member RarePosts: 2,558
Pretty much says it all
Comments
When it first came out the game checked to - basically - see if all members of a group were on the same step of a quest chain. Good for immersion, bad for group play.
Zenimax subsequently changed things so that most quests no longer have prerequisites. Bad for immersion but good for group play! Less load on the server as well. Now only "major events" have prerequisites. Same deal basically as WoW etc.
Financially:
1. FFXIV has a free trial so maybe try this first? (ESO only occasionally has a free trial).
2. If still unsure try ESO? No sub needed as its b2p. And whatever version you get will give you moinths of content so you can decide later if you want to spend any more on it. You should be able to pick up a fairly cheap copy.
3. And then decide if you want to go back to FFXIV maybe or stick with ESO?
-both have lots of PvE quests;
- both have PvP although ESO has both PvP and Realm based stuff (PvP for people who don't like PvP!);
- both games have multi-player dungeons - so stuff you will usually need a group / to use a group finder for;
- both have stuff that usually needs many people but not necessarily grouped (co-op play);
- FFXIV you focus on 1 of 4 classes; ESO just has damage/heal/tank roles - and you can change things around a lot almost on the fly. (There are some situations were you really need to focus on one of the three but typically you can change on the fly, swap gear and skills etc.) Bottomline: if you want dedicated focus - as some do - you might prefer FXIV; if you prefer flexibility - use any weapon, wear any gear - you might prefer ESO.
If either of you does anything that the other doesn't you are going to have to wait for them to catch up or vice versa.
Also: you will have a SHITLOAD of crappy fetch quests from expansion filler to do in order to get to the populated areas.
Source: Played with my wife.
The bulk of your gameplay in those games is spent at max end game levels running dungeons, raids, and other comparable content.
You act like there aren't a shit ton of fetch quests in ESO, and like the game doesn't send you across the world to do some of the most mundane, trivial things.
The game is even set up so that you basically play through every faction's quest grind... So you're probably going to do a ton more worthless quests in ESO than you have to do while leveling up in WoW of FFXIV - especially considering the Champion Point system in ESO.
I cannot understand this criticism of FFXIV, especially from an ESO player (or anything trying to push ESO over it). ESO is as much a quest hub factory game as WoW or FFXIV - even more so, IMO. There are even a bunch of boring quests on Cyrodil, when you get there...
You literally have to be in lock step with your duo partner in FFXIV or it turns into a shitshow. ESO is FAR more flexible.
Also to add you may find it benficial to lvl an other class to try out with your friend/other//
But on point for the OP , both games are good and either would work .. Just see which one you and your friend like better ..
If you're playing together with someone on FFXIV you can't play without the other person unless you want to waste a bunch of time waiting for them to catch up to you, or you follow them around repeating the same quests with them you've already done.
OH! And by the way you can't share quests so you will literally follow them around and just help kill shit and get nothing for it.
I played FFXIV for YEARS, get out of here with that dumb shit.
So if you are leveling a Bard with your Maurder friend / and you both are at X point of MSQ .. and your friend isnt not on you switch to your class Red Mage and can Lvl Roulette /Levemettes /Fates .. etc.. and never ever ever veer off the course (of the StoryLine) with your friend ....As you then switch back to your lvl appropriate story appropriate Bard that you have been playing with your friend.. This process will unlock Job related skills that would be beneficial to your main class also ... also helping you fund your main and alt jobs in seals and gil...
But i digress
It really very simple for anyone that has experience with FF14
There really is no difference between the two. I would pick which ever you like the lore of more.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
I've never played a game where the meta performs 200% better than any other build.
Most games have a meta that outperforms everything else by 5-10%.
In ESO not running a meta build is just plain stupid, as you're making your life considerably harder for no reason.
It doesn't help that the devs design around that as the benchmark either.
Also I can't believe someone mentioned cookie cutter builds for ESO. Someone clearly has not played the game very much. You can do everything with a wide variety of builds. I have done all the trials in the game without looking at a single build website and just totally winging it lol...in FF14 there is 0 character customization ;P Every job plays one way.
Not making a point about the build diversity debate atm, just an observation regarding your comment.
Also by leveling other Jobs you are making yourself more useful to your friend and FC and any group that you may encounter .. Which will help you build a better reputation in game .. which ALL will be beneficial to the ONE thing getting you closer to endgame
you have an agenda here and are moving the goalposts and spewing out falsehoods to froward an agenda of ESO , not a good look ..
Both games are good and have great set ups for a couple to play they need to try or watch some vids and decide which may suit them better ..
You can, if you want, stack magicka, wear heavy armor with a + fire damage set bonus, and use a bow on both bars if you want. THAT build will definitely be 200% less efficient as DPS as a meta stamina or meta magicka DPS build.
But if we're going to talk about meta vs. another competent, well-designed build done by knowledgeable players you would see the same 5-10% you see in other games... other games which by the way, do most of the heavy lifting for you by locking you into classes that give you 100% of your abilities and preventing you from using the wrong armor or weapon. Some of that armor and weapons even gives you different stats depending on which class is wearing it to further protect you from screwing things up.
ESO gives you the freedom to totally mess up builds and some players do just that. Other players however just get creative and come up with niche single purpose builds constantly.
I have recently leveled and played deliberate non-meta PVE builds that work pretty damn well such as a bow/bow stamden and a S&B/DW stamsorc high damage tank to name just a couple.
Here's an example of a very unique non-meta Sorc PVP build I just ran into a couple of days ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=x6QY_B-PKNY
What ESO excels at is letting creative and knowledgeable players experiment and come up with stuff like that.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
ESO is easy PVE even solo. Add a duo partner, and unless you seriously F up your toons, the PVE is retardedly easy, and you can't just go to a higher level zone or quests to make it more interesting, because all zones & mobs are level scaled. Boring as hell, you might as well both roleplay taking a leisurely stroll on the beach, while mobs around you fall dead of some mysterious disease.
ESO seriously screwed up and ruined the feeling of progression many players play these games for.