Alpha First Look: Video 5 - Quests and Combat

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Originally Posted by Andrien

This game is shaping up to be very fun to play.

I can't stress how much I'm relieved to no longer depend on someone else or be forced to open up a second page and hope someone wrote down a walk-through on wiki. That kind of stuff really killed the mood for me, and I'm glad they choose this way of questing and combat.

Also this way the console users have a fair ground to stand on because they wont be able to pull up a second page to read tips and tricks. This makes the game more fluid, fair, and seamless in my opinion.

Pros:
Music is great
Environment looks great
Combat looks good
Questing and progression looks pleasing

Cons:
Characters look to stiff.

Other:
The Pace of combat in the video is understandable because of level difference.

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Everything in Alpha there a big list showing what going to be done in beta trust me most of the issue would be fix.

Loved it! Keep it up!

I think we can look forward to a good solid mix of quests from ARR; your solo MMO standard fetch/kill x level up quests, group quests that require you to kill NM type mobs, story/main scenario quests that are much more interesting then the latter two and your FATES which are the dynamic event GW2/Warhammer style group quests. If they pull these off in a Final Fantasy based environment is that really such a bad thing? I will ask again (I've ready through the thread and found no responses from the people complaining.) what are you expecting them to do to be different? I think what you're asking for is nearly unattainable at this point. Guildleves were certainly not the answer to quest based leveling and overwhelmingly people want that style of XP grind. As long as they mix it up and make the main scenario quests similar to what we get from any FF story then I think they will have succeeded.

I enjoyed that some quests in FFXI were so ridiculous that you had to ask around or look up on a wiki. After playing for a couple of years, I enjoyed contributing what I'd found out to that wiki. But the quests were pretty much all optional, with only the minority having an essential gear reward.

However, if quests are going to be the main source of XP in ARR they can't follow XI's format. I'm fine with that, I'm not after XI-2.

I dislike the copy/paste quest format in this video. For all those saying "this is only two quests, it's only alpha", this is an example that's been provided so we should be free to make comment. I recall forum users using that to justify telling others to shut up back before 1.0 too, so I guess it's to be expected.

Anyhow, what I don't like isn't so much the "Kill X", "Take X", "Observe X" format that a few have taken issue with; rather the similarity with existing games. The icon above the character which changes on completion, the minimap arrows (I know, we had these by the time 1.0 ended) and, a new thing here, optional quest rewards.

I know you're supposed to take the one which fits your class, but these are always sub-standard to crafted gear and so to the majority of people playing, pretty useless (notwithstanding a new player playing through their job for the first time). I always felt, in other games, that optional rewards were superfluous and would always simply check the one with the highest gold value and then NPC it as soon as possible. I'm a little sad (not raging, not quitting, not blowing this out of proportion) that FFXIV have adopted this reward mechanism.

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Originally Posted by nibelunc

I want Final Fantasy not only with names and creatures. But also with system and innovation. They copied too many elements from other games and thats not what SE was known for.

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Couldn't agree more. The story, the graphics, even the FF staples I loved; but it was the fact that each game brought a whole new system into play that keeps bringing me back.

Yes, this is just one small element. No, it's not going to stop me being enthusiastic about ARR. But it is a thing, and it didn't need to be.

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Originally Posted by Preypacer

And why even have the quest dialog in there at all? Hell even the person in the video isn't taking the time to read it.

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The person making the video doesn't need to read it and the point of it being there isn't for them it's for the people who are going to read it. Like me and many others who care about storyline and other bits of interesting info in the game. Sure it seems pointless to some but to others it's a treasure trove of information like that little snippet in the video about Tam Tara. The dialog serves a purpose for those who care. Maybe you don't and even if you do it doesn't much affect me because it won't change the fact that I find it interesting. I'm just voicing my opinion for those who haven't said anything and feel this way and for myself. Sure there are some things monotonous in this video but my point is the dialog has it's rightful place and it does belong. It's the player's choice to read it or not.

Its low level quests.. it has been said, numerous times (though I guess not everyone is as diligent about reading) that the first several levels of the game has been designed in such a way to make new players comfortable with gameplay. Yes, the quests are going to be more simplified for them.

Would it really inspire new players to trigger a quest and have absolultly no idea where to go?

"You're to go to 'X' place and once you get there, you'll know what to do"

As the player.. they've never been to this X place, its not on their map and further more, what am I supposed to do once I do actually get there?

Just no, games are not meant to be frustrating and fun killers so early on. The frustration comes further in when you want to achieve something remarkable and worthwhile, that takes more time and effort and the only thing really standing in your way, is your ability to do it, not the lack of information from the designers.

Consider yourselves fortunate that the majority of you should already be well beyond the low level points and so these sorts of quests wont mean much to you, maybe after you pick up a new class and want to get some easy shoe in exp..to which you'll appreciate it so much more at that point.

Also, call it what you will, but I seriously believe a majority of people who sit on these forums and want to complain, bicker and nit pick every minute detail about the videos are mainly doing so because they arent experiencing the gameplay for themselves. They feel jaded, cheated, etc etc and its their angst that's spewing out rather than actually meaningful constructive critcisim.

Consider it a GIFT that they're even giving us these videos. Its a wonderful thing, that they're allowing everyone to see how the game is progressing in alpha play through these snippet videos. Just stop crying over thing and try to appreciate the design, the fluid motion, the effects, the music, everything. You arent entitled to a single freaking thing, whether you played from day one or not. They want opinions from players, both currently engaged in alpha and those who are not, still lurking on the forums and watching their videos. So try to give off some positive feedback instead of this nit picking garbage, ya?

Wrote my initial reaction to this video down in LS forums so I'll just repost here:

One thing that sort of irks me about this video is that they only did one quest at a time. In order to really make quests effective, you need to be able to accept and complete multiple quests at the same time before returning to the quest hub. The fact that they didn't show the character accepting and completing multiple quests at the same time makes me feel like the the devs did not understand that doing only one quest at a time is not time effective and therefore the quest system is probably not streamlined to allow for the completion of multiple quests in a timely manner.

While the addition of exp quests is nice, I think SE does not realize that players that are used to quest based leveling (WoW players) have become very efficient at it over the years, and if the quest system does not enable them to be efficient levelers, it will probably turn them away.

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Originally Posted by Jinrya-Geki

I prefer no help at all.

Tell me the mob I am looking for is southwest of the current location, and tell me why it needs to be stop. I'll go looking for it, and make a side story in my head.

"Oh these bulls needs to be killed because they are ruining your crops that you need to sell to get medicine for you ill child?" /redwizardcape on and away.

Tracking them down myself is better than blantly pointing them out. Makes me feel like I actually did the work of finding them, otherwise why not send a town guard to the sign post that says "enemy here"?

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This is what i was trying to say, i prefer having to work a bit to clear the quest and a reason to read it

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Originally Posted by Zetsumei_Tsunarashi

Wrote my initial reaction to this video down in LS forums so I'll just repost here:

One thing that sort of irks me about this video is that they only did one quest at a time. In order to really make quests effective, you need to be able to accept and complete multiple quests at the same time before returning to the quest hub. The fact that they didn't show the character accepting and completing multiple quests at the same time makes me feel like the the devs did not understand that doing only one quest at a time is not time effective and therefore the quest system is probably not streamlined to allow for the completion of multiple quests in a timely manner.

While the addition of exp quests is nice, I think SE does not realize that players that are used to quest based leveling (WoW players) have become very efficient at it over the years, and if the quest system does not enable them to be efficient levelers, it will probably turn them away.

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You can accept multiple quests at a time, you can also accept multiple leves, and initiate them one after another without having to go back, you can get the reward once you've finished.

The video makes everything feel so slow, so dull and so boring, if you're in alpha you know its nothing like what this video shows in terms of pace and enjoyment.

Video is just to show the systems off though, not really show the "fun-ness" of the game.

Looks badass SE i like :) i cant wait to play the finished product

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Originally Posted by IloveYouPumpkin

But times have changed. I'll deal with it while reminiscing of the good old days until someone decides to make a game that doesn't care about how many casual players it picks up for their money.

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Dark souls... enough said.

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

I can tell you I personally did not like the quests in XI where you had no idea what the hell you were supposed to do next because the NPCs were so vague and unclear about the next goal. If you pretty much HAVE to look up an online walkthrough written by somebody who actually took the time wandering around aimlessly until they happened across the next objective, then that kinda kills the fun for me.

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"Red and Blue are the options"

"Neither appeal to me, I'd prefer Purple"

"Red or Blue only"

I cannot wait to sink my teeth into ARR!!! It is going to be truly epic!!

Thank you SE for not giving up on XIV and working your tail off to make it the game it should have been from the start. We are lucky and grateful to have you Yoshi-P . /Bow

To everyone that is complaining about a game that isnt even finished yet, either A) hold judgement until it is finished or B) go spend your money and play something else. Easy fixes.

Keep up the great work Dev Team!! (Can we see some Raid action in the next vid :)

Aside from my previous comment I love the video and the using an item animation is hilarious! On the immature side it looks like the guy is scratching his bum and searching for the right spot, hee hee. :3

To those complaining about "cookie cutter quests" and "Hand holding" I guess you all forgot about the other half of that acronym MMO-RPG, the last three letters denote that it is an Role Playing Game. I'm sorry you are off-put by having quests in this game, I'm actually excited that they will finally have more than just levequests. Sounds like what you want is FFXI's wonderful system of useless confusion regarding quests where even checking your quest log reveals nothing of what you need to know to complete the quest. IMHO no thanks.

it sounds like this game is shaping up nicely and I cant wait to try it out! Unfortunately there are a few with the whole elitist attitude who think the entire game needs to be tailored to their specific level of awesomeness in order to be successful, who cares if it excludes someone who might be trying this out as their first MMORPG. Screw the little guy.

I'm for whatever makes the game have more content and appeal to more people. If we never appeal to the newcomer, how do we get a next generation of elite? That's what this game needs to succeed, it needs to attract the Hardcore by having tantalizing and difficult end game but the early game needs to be able to ease newcomers into the different aspects of how these games work. If this bothers you then I guess this game just isn't for you. Sorry bout your luck.

(This post is after reading the long rants on the first few pages by some very entitled people.)

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Originally Posted by Preypacer

How are you forced to read the quest dialog? You don't have to read a word of it. You can tell even the person in that video isn't reading it - unless they're a speed reader (not likely).

You can choose to read it, just as you can in WoW, or LoTRO or Rift or any other MMO based on that template over the last 8 years. But by no means are you "forced" to, nor is it even necessary. Every step of the way is clearly pointed out to you. Just follow the glowing map markers and huge golden icons floating around on your screen.

ARR is doing nothing different or better than any of those. It's a copy and paste of those same quest systems... and I use the term "quest" extremely lightly.

What this video shows are nothing more than mindless busy work, making you run around doing mundane tasks for a reward. They could just as well cut out the "running around" part and just give you the reward for managing to successfully click through all the dialog screens.

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Here's an idea for a quest, go to x place, jump 20 times run back to the npc, jump over them then get the reward, as people have said they are progression quests, or not supposed to be hard, or would you prefer running around for hours to find the one mob you have to kill for some exp?

As has been said the only other option for these progression quests, or quests designed for leveling, is the FFXI way, "go to Ronfaure and find the ???" "which ???" "THE ???" "Theres about 20 ???s in Ronfaure... Which one?" "Ugh guess your too dumb for this quest remain a lvl 1 noob for your whole life"

Progression quests should not require checking the FFXIV wiki pages all the time, however quests like job quests, any level cap quests should be harder, and they can easily make those ones not tell you exactly what to do.

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Originally Posted by Nayto

Dark souls... enough said.

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By casual, IloveYouPumpkin means someone who doesn't have 27hrs a day to spend on a game, not skill. MMOs in general are not difficult.

Dark Souls is the perfect example, but if they're saying FFXI wasn't casual friendly, they'll never get through Demon / Dark Souls.

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Originally Posted by ZakarnRosewood

To those complaining about "cookie cutter quests" and "Hand holding" I guess you all forgot about the other half of that acronym MMO-RPG, the last three letters denote that it is an Role Playing Game. I'm sorry you are off-put by having quests in this game, I'm actually excited that they will finally have more than just levequests. Sounds like what you want is FFXI's wonderful system of useless confusion regarding quests where even checking your quest log reveals nothing of what you need to know to complete the quest. IMHO no thanks.

it sounds like this game is shaping up nicely and I cant wait to try it out! Unfortunately there are a few with the whole elitist attitude who think the entire game needs to be tailored to their specific level of awesomeness in order to be successful, who cares if it excludes someone who might be trying this out as their first MMORPG. Screw the little guy.

I'm for whatever makes the game have more content and appeal to more people. If we never appeal to the newcomer, how do we get a next generation of elite? That's what this game needs to succeed, it needs to attract the Hardcore by having tantalizing and difficult end game but the early game needs to be able to ease newcomers into the different aspects of how these games work. If this bothers you then I guess this game just isn't for you. Sorry bout your luck.

(This post is after reading the long rants on the first few pages by some very entitled people.)

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You've summed it up nicely.

Very exciting. Even with the kill X of Y formula it will be much better then "Collect the following Items:..." grab pen and paper and figure out you are 10 levels to low to even obtain some of them (Thank you EQ for all your years of headaches). Personally can't wait to see a teaser video for the large group events and Benchmark!

Finally have more than levequests? We had quests in 1.0. Have you played it? Quests in 1.0 had way more dialogue than this. We didn't have more quests because they decided to rebuild the whole game. Yoshida has said "this is only alpha" is never an excuse for bad content, so please, stop using it. Animations are horrendously stiff, specially the lancer, but I don't think they'll get much better than that. I hope we can remove that fucking red circle, it looks like shit. The players being higher level but having their HP drop to less than 50% health shows we will either be tackling content that is lower than our own lv when solo, or will be constantly dying attempting anything higher. If those hoglets were lv 15, she would have died. This type of quest is disgusting, but not surprising. Surprising is the reception from the majority of players here, and their brains seemingly unable to imagine ANYTHING that differs from this old formula. It's really impressive how unimaginative you can be. Unfortunately to some of us these quests look boring, uncreative and stupid, we can in fact quite easily imagine something better than this, and we truly wish we had any way to do it. No, there are no other popular MMORPGs with quests that are any better than this, which is precisely why this game is following the trend. It's still shit. Yoshida will not show content that doesn't represent best what the game is going to be, and since it has already pleased most of you, shut it with the "there will be harder more interesting content later on". This is as interesting as you want it. Also, no one but one or two are advocating for vague, impossible to grasp quest content. Your childish arguments all seem to revolve around "if you don't like white then you probably want black", "it's still alpha" and "every kid is doing it". God damn this community and their innate conformism to mediocrity.

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Originally Posted by Darshu

Finally have more than levequests? We had quests in 1.0. Have you played it? Quests in 1.0 had way more dialogue than this. We didn't have more quests because they decided to rebuild the whole game. Yoshida has said "this is only alpha" is never an excuse for bad content, so please, stop using it. Animations are horrendously stiff, specially the lancer, but I don't think they'll get much better than that. I hope we can remove that fucking red circle, it looks like shit. The players being higher level but having their HP drop to less than 50% health shows we will either be tackling content that is lower than our own lv when solo, or will be constantly dying attempting anything higher. If those hoglets were lv 15, she would have died. This type of quest is disgusting, but not surprising. Surprising is the reception from the majority of players here, and their brains seemingly unable to imagine ANYTHING that differs from this old formula. It's really impressive how unimaginative you can be. Unfortunately to some of us these quests look boring, uncreative and stupid, we can in fact quite easily imagine something better than this, and we truly wish we had any way to do it. No, there are no other popular MMORPGs with quests that are any better than this, which is precisely why this game is following the trend. It's still shit. Yoshida will not show content that doesn't represent best what the game is going to be, and since it has already pleased most of you, shut it with the "there will be harder more interesting content later on". This is as interesting as you want it. Also, no one but one or two are advocating for vague, impossible to grasp quest content. Your childish arguments all seem to revolve around "if you don't like white then you probably want black", "it's still alpha" and "every kid is doing it". God damn this community and their innate conformism to mediocrity.

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Wow, you got all that from a 5 min video that shows two quests? I guess this represents EVERYTHING that will be in the ENTIRE game. Sorry but it looks like, by your own admission, this wont be a game for you. There are many who are excited and interested in this.

looks good. but i think that is all they fixed with 2.0. they fixed the engine and graphics but ruined the content and mmo. i refuse to solo level in mmo's. but i will assume soon as i level high enough i can party play level in dungeons over and over with people. but even then it will feel like tera and gw2 and be boring. rather then tons of zones that you level up in like ffxi, every 5-10 levels moving to a new zone it's going to be grind same dungeons over and over.

i'm worried for the game. spirit bond leveling was so much fun. lets hope crystal towers impresses or this game is fuked on the real. either way i'm still excited to see 2.0 release and give it a big time try. this is the one mmo that i sincerely want to love and play for a long time, but you can't convince people for long that a turd is potpourri.

p.s. lol darshu you rock. everything he said is in my brain and wants to punch all of you in the face with it.

Well this topic turned into a flame fest. Well I also noticed the Water knock back effect which I thought was nice :). I also noticed that the mobs had different letters at the end of their names the Hogs had A & B the slugs had K, L, M & N. Does anyone know what those are for? Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Reika

Theres 3 paths an mmo can take for combat level progression: Quests, Monster grind, or combination. You cant jump up and down in one spot to gain EXP. Just drop the cookie-cutter junk and let it go.

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Exactly. Even Guild Wars 2's highly touted dynamic event system ended up breaking down into being the same 5 or so events over and over again, just presented slightly different. Attack this, defend this, find this, Group event kill this and maybe one or two actual unique ones.

It's monster grind with context, extra rewards and a little more monster variety thrown in. That's all kill side-quests are. While you're not outright forced to read the text, those who will will be given context and motivation. Those who don't read them will come on here and complain about mindless kill quests or get on with their lives and keep playing.

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Originally Posted by Psykotsu

There is no denial. It's clear that MMOs will use these quest systems. It just comes with being an MMO. Are you asking for quests like:

"Protect this valuable figure while he carries this valuable item, from point A to B!"
"Disguise yourself as these guys and listen in on this conversation to see what they are planning!"
"Make it to this switch in ? minutes before this devastating effect happens!"
"Talk to all these people, figure out who is not saying who they say they are!"

?

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I am fairly sure WoW has those quests too :o

Got all that what? Most of what I said had nothing to do with predicting how the entire game was going to be. But the questing system can be pretty much defined. Two quests that were published to represent specifically how the questing system is looking like should be enough for us to take our own conclusions. Everything else is real, too. The circle is awful, the animations are stiff, the quests had more dialogue in 1.0. And just like I said, many are excited and interested in this. What many aren't interested in, though, is bringing intelligent responses and rational defenses to what they think is better game design. Not surprisingly, since you can't honestly defend the position that you enjoy what is mediocre. All you can say is "This is alpha/5 minute video". I think if it really bothered you, though, this excuse would not cut it.

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Originally Posted by Headseed

Well this topic turned into a flame fest. Well I also noticed the Water knock back effect which I thought was nice :). I also noticed that the mobs had different letters at the end of their names the Hogs had A & B the slugs had K, L, M & N. Does anyone know what those are for? Thanks.

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I would imagine they are there to make targeting and communication amoung party members easier. For instance, when determining which order the party will kill a group of similar mobs, party leader could say, F, then G, then H. Of course, its alpha, so I could be totally talking out of my butt and none of that will be in the final build. Just a guess.

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Originally Posted by Darshu

Finally have more than levequests? We had quests in 1.0. Have you played it? Quests in 1.0 had way more dialogue than this. We didn't have more quests because they decided to rebuild the whole game. Yoshida has said "this is only alpha" is never an excuse for bad content, so please, stop using it. Animations are horrendously stiff, specially the lancer, but I don't think they'll get much better than that. I hope we can remove that fucking red circle, it looks like shit. The players being higher level but having their HP drop to less than 50% health shows we will either be tackling content that is lower than our own lv when solo, or will be constantly dying attempting anything higher. If those hoglets were lv 15, she would have died. This type of quest is disgusting, but not surprising. Surprising is the reception from the majority of players here, and their brains seemingly unable to imagine ANYTHING that differs from this old formula. It's really impressive how unimaginative you can be. Unfortunately to some of us these quests look boring, uncreative and stupid, we can in fact quite easily imagine something better than this, and we truly wish we had any way to do it. No, there are no other popular MMORPGs with quests that are any better than this, which is precisely why this game is following the trend. It's still shit. Yoshida will not show content that doesn't represent best what the game is going to be, and since it has already pleased most of you, shut it with the "there will be harder more interesting content later on". This is as interesting as you want it. Also, no one but one or two are advocating for vague, impossible to grasp quest content. Your childish arguments all seem to revolve around "if you don't like white then you probably want black", "it's still alpha" and "every kid is doing it". God damn this community and their innate conformism to mediocrity.

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Another argument for better forms of quest content without actually suggesting ways of changing it. You argument is as hollow as you claim this games quest system is. Lets hear some new ideas otherwise you are just as guilty of not contributing anything meaningful to the conversation as the people you accuse.

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Originally Posted by Preypacer

This is how you make level progression, repetitive, mindless and boring if you have no imagination and have decided instead to just copy almost every other MMO for the past 8 years with the same repetitive "kill x of y" crap.

Talk about uninspired and derivative.

And why even have the quest dialog in there at all? Hell even the person in the video isn't taking the time to read it. And why bother? They have *3* different indicators showing you exactly where to go for the kill quest, and 2 showing you where to go for the "moist depression".

"Well, we have all this dialog but, you probably won't read it anyway. But, in case you do, you're probably too dumb to figure out where we're directing you to. So, we'll show you on the mini-map. And because you're probably too dumb to realize the circle on the mini-map indicates where you should be, we'll put markers for the mobs on the mini map too. Now don't panic... We know you're too dumb to figure it out even then. We've accounted for that by also putting large markers over the mobs' heads in-game too. You don't even have to know what the mobs are called or what they look like. Just look for the big, intrusive golden markers walking around."

For the other quest.. "go to the clearly marked, pulsating markers on your mini-map and look for the moist depression. Okay, you're too dumb to figure out the purple hazy looking spots that just happen to be exactly in the same spot as the mini-map markers are likely them, and you're probably too much of a mouth-breather to figure out that targeting those spots will tell you what they are. So, don't worry. We'll make sure to have the words "moist depression" hovering over them as well. Hopefully it's not too presumptuous of us to assume you can read big words like "depression".

"See? We have your time in mind! We know you don't want to be bogged down with boring stuff like interesting content that actually requires your participation, attention and, you know... usage of your brain (I mean, pfft.. who wants to use that?). We realize what you're really interested in is getting all this boring gameplay stuff out of the way so you can get back to serious stuff... like jumping up and down on tents."

Give me a freaking break already with this patronizing, hand-holding "we will show you exactly where everything is so you don't even have to try" crap already. Seriously. Gamers are far smarter than this nonsense.

What a cop-out.

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I don't mean to be trite but I have problems with certain elements of this too in World of Warcraft. You know what I do to remedy that? I customize the experience so it fits my needs, so if I'm leveling it means I'm not using the minimap tools, if I'm leveling an alt that I haven't played for a long time I turn it on since I don't know where I'm going, or if I'm doing repeatable quests I turn it on to end some of the suffering.

I'm not defending their system of choice, but to see an unreasonable condemnation of the system with such limited information is distressing.

Leveling systems should support users seeing content, and even though aspects of the questgrind are indeed not perfect, it accomplishes that goal far better than spending days in the Valkrum Dunes sitting in one spot.

People complaint too much thats all I'm gonna say.

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Originally Posted by Reika

I am fairly sure WoW has those quests too :o

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Oh yea, that was my point, lol. Many games have these unique quests that people dreadfully want so bad. I was going to say that Guild Wars 2 actually has those type of quests as well.

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Originally Posted by Darshu

Got all that what? Most of what I said had nothing to do with predicting how the entire game was going to be. But the questing system can be pretty much defined. Two quests that were published to represent specifically how the questing system is looking like should be enough for us to take our own conclusions. Everything else is real, too. The circle is awful, the animations are stiff, the quests had more dialogue in 1.0. And just like I said, many are excited and interested in this. What many aren't interested in, though, is bringing intelligent responses and rational defenses to what they think is better game design. Not surprisingly, since you can't honestly defend the position that you enjoy what is mediocre. All you can say is "This is alpha/5 minute video". I think if it really bothered you, though, this excuse would not cut it.

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Wow, words coming from a hypocrite. You have not yet said anything substantial as to how the questing system is better and, in fact, did exactly what you claim others against your argument have done, and that's jump to a conclusion.

It's not hard to defend. It's plain and simple. These are quests that are not intricate and can be done on a solo basis. It doesn't require 11 hours to do, like the quests you dream of, so you can get something accomplished if you have some to little time to play.

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Originally Posted by strallaalaa

i'm worried for the game. spirit bond leveling was so much fun. lets hope crystal towers impresses or this game is fuked on the real. either way i'm still excited to see 2.0 release and give it a big time try. this is the one mmo that i sincerely want to love and play for a long time, but you can't convince people for long that a turd is potpourri.

p.s. lol darshu you rock. everything he said is in my brain and wants to punch all of you in the face with it.

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And how was spiritbond leveling fun? Seriously? You're opposed to repetitive quests, but you will grind the same group of monsters for 10 hours for some self-accomplishment? Hypocrites.

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Quote Originally Posted by Darshu View Post
Got all that what? Most of what I said had nothing to do with predicting how the entire game was going to be. But the questing system can be pretty much defined. Two quests that were published to represent specifically how the questing system is looking like should be enough for us to take our own conclusions. Everything else is real, too. The circle is awful, the animations are stiff, the quests had more dialogue in 1.0. And just like I said, many are excited and interested in this. What many aren't interested in, though, is bringing intelligent responses and rational defenses to what they think is better game design. Not surprisingly, since you can't honestly defend the position that you enjoy what is mediocre. All you can say is "This is alpha/5 minute video". I think if it really bothered you, though, this excuse would not cut it.

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I had posted a defense on the previous page, if you care to look for it. If not I see no need to repeat myself on every other page just to make sure my points are current.

To add to it, the comment about stiff animations has been addressed several times in the last month or so by the devs and Yoshi-P himself, the red circle? i see no problem with it, it tells you which direction the mob is facing which is useful for things like Flans and in big groups when you will have WS that do damage from behind. As for the comment about killing mobs and damage, the official post of the vid states the damage algorithms are being adjusted.

Your comments are mostly biased and based on a lack of information. But this is just my opinion. Can't wait to play ARR!

The one thing I enjoy about this video, is how the NPC text is so much easier to read now! Black on white text can be read so much faster! At least for me.

I'm still sad to see such a rigid camera attached to the character. I prefer very slight camera bobs with movement and some character movement while turning. I know it was mentioned in a post that hitting Ctrl+Mouse axis would make the character animate. I would just like to see this if it is indeed optional. This is never deal breaker for me for playing the game. Just a nagging feeling that feels awkward. Once your in the heat of battle this issue completely dissolves into nonexistence!

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Originally Posted by RoninDarkchild

Did someone just say FFXI had a good quest system??? Super vague quests that dont tell you what youre looking for, or where.... forcing 98% of the game population to look up a wiki, or shout in town for just basic direction.... if you like directionless question with no markers dont look at the map then... go explore to your hearts content...

telling you what area to go to, and what npc to speak with, and what thing to defeat is basic quest structure...
FFXI questing was stupid...

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Yeah I totally agree with you. Yes sure having the game tell you where to go and even having markers on the map to guide you may seem or is very elementary yet I don't mind it at all because it saves me time since I never play on windowed mode and would have to turn on another computer to look for info on the quest. To me that wastes time since I dont have much of it available. If you have all the time in the world to play then by all means don't read the quest directions, don't look at the markers, log off, go look for the quest info online, relog to the game again and go on your marry way.

Well back to the video..... I LOVE THE BATTLE MUSIC!!! So epic. I notice that the attack magic now says it REQUIRES Conj or thm, while water is conj only, even the first level spells. So no other class will be able to use those now it seems. Gonna be much more limited.

Shows that an attack was parried or blocked in the floating damage numbers, less reading of the combat log there.

Oh and look, keen flurry changed. Sure I mentioned that changing somewhere lol. 20% parry rate increase for 15secs, usable by all combat classes.

Feint isnt a only on miss, but useable by all non-magic and causes slow! pawesome!

Loving the engaged targets window. hope we can click names from there to target them instead of having to find them.

And the movable quest objective view without opening the journal is always a plus. Don't see how one can complain about that.


Oh, bone armillae have +45 enmity :0

The one criticism I'll give is every little quest doesn't need to be treated like a huge event. Saying quest complete at the end is fine but do we need the overdramatic "quest accepted" message? I'm off to kill some slugs- maybe it's a big deal to this NPC but is it a big step in saving the world or something? doubtful.

I don't really get how Japanse can complain, though, that a game series (Final Fantasy) that is largely based on Western mythology, has acquired a western style. FF has had western elements in it since its inception.

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Originally Posted by Psykotsu

And how was spiritbond leveling fun? Seriously? You're opposed to repetitive quests, but you will grind the same group of monsters for 10 hours for some self-accomplishment? Hypocrites.

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simple, you gather with a group, you grind for long periods, you remove the filler and fluff of running around mob to mob, grabbing quests again.

finding new players cause lets face it those who like this leve quest leveling is cause you can do 1 leve and run away again.

leves were never fun to do, so why did they remove grind mobs and make us do it this way? there was a time where leves were the only way to level and it was boring and tedious even with the same people over and over.

these mobs don't look dynamic at all, it's just smash em and over.

in every mmo even quests people will end up doing the same ones over and over no matter how many types there are. you learn quick witch types are the fastest and best exp yield and you do those and done. even world events only the same few will have players in them like gw2 or warhammer where it is totally empty.

dungeon grinding for exp sucks and it's annoying weeding threw players that try to join your group for exp when you want gear speed runs and then stuck shouting either way or you'll get people 5levels under leveled trying to join for exp.

separating quests from the grinds, my fav reason probably. you can then do them on your leisure then. read them and enjoy them slowly during the times you don't feel like being in parties or have time between events and things.

they also don't need to add as many boring quests this way, in ffxi half the quests had mini bosses in them to fight. and if they actually cap them omg they would of been as fun and epic and fun as any endgame events.

hmmm did i miss any other reasons? oh and some people actually love to grind for hours at a time, it was fun in ffxi and spirit bonds pretty much were the equivalent to it.

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Originally Posted by Ruisu

Y-yeah guys. FFXI's quests were m-m-much better!

HEY SONNY YOU NEED TO HIT LEVEL 55 NOW FARM THESE SILLY ENEMIES FOR A CERTAIN ITEM.

NOW DO IT AGAIN FOR 60.

NOW 65.

NOW 70.

WANNA GET THAT SUBJOB? COLLECTS THESE THREE ITEMS THAT DROP FROM MOBS.

KILL THIS NM FOR ME.

Yeah, FFXIV's quests are soooooooo unoriginal.

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Just to clear something up here. Genkai 3(65 cap raise) was about getting three crests that were in specific locations, not mob drops aka no killing involved. Genkai 2 (60 cap raise) was a key item drop, just go kill three enemies and get the ??? from the ground. Genkai 1 (55 cap raise) had the situation were you had to farm just like subjob ( To remind the player of their first pattern ). While Genkai 4 (70 cap raise) had nothing to do with killing enemies.

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=320

While the last Genkai was to defeat Maat himself as the class you represented.

I am actually greatly looking forward to these quests. I will not complain and there is nothing to complain about.

If you want convoluted quests that you need a wiki and 2 other websites open at the same time in the background to even begin to understand what the heck you're supposed to do, there's older games that do that for you.

The titling of the moist patch might be a tad bit over the top, consider they hadn't done it. There'd be the same amount of players complaining. So just accept the prettiness of FFXIV: ARR and move along.

SE did say in the last JP media interview that they will bring in more Final Fantasy like features from beta. We don't know what other new contents that might be available for leveling yet and we're already jumping to conclusions... as we fear the same as ver 1.0 may happen. But think on the bright side... look and compare ARR FFXIV Alpha and FFXIV Ver 1.0 Alpha... I am liking this version a lot more.

People got to remember this is footage from alpha and that the main purpose for the alpha test was to do stress tests on the servers. As YoshiP mentioned in the letter

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Originally Posted by Naoki_Yoshida

Purpose of the Alpha Test

As I mentioned in my previous missives, alpha tests for MMORPGs are meant to simulate the actual stress conditions that the servers will undergo when official service begins.

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It's good to start pointing out the bad features right now as it will help the developers have enough time to talk with other team members on how to improve on these parts before release (if possible)

Now lets just hope rest of us gets in before the alpha servers close... :p