My ideas about FFXIV as a fanboy
I am excited about the launch of official forums for both FFXIV and FFXI, and am thankful for a constructive place to brainstorm publicly on a direction for XIV.
My biggest complaint with the game so far would have to be the clunky, at times nonsensical pace of combat timing. When things get hectic, I often find my character not casting when he should be, or pausing abruptly on a previously input command. Though I have taken a liking to the new targeting fixes, a more steady pace during battle would make the game far more enjoyable in my opinion. I think that a good way to achieve this would be to, for each disciple of war or magic, center the camera or relay it to a cinematic position when the character is in the act of casting or using a weaponskill or stamina based action. This would more effectively relay timing to the user in the current battle system excluding auto-attack which had previously been a staple of FF's MMO formula.
Another problem is the lack of content. What keeps players interested in any game based on character development is an epic, class specialized armoury system. FFXIV needs to have statistics algorithms adjusted in certain areas. For example, using an effect like raging strike will turn a level 10 puncture from let's say 150 to 190-210. But increasing your strength via stat points from 35 to 50 will only increase your puncture from 150 to 154-156. A noticeable boost from gear is what made FFXI so amazing. I wanted those snipers' back in 2005. And I knew that when I got 30 beastman seals I was going to go give it another shot to hit the lotto and make the purchase because my penta thrust would see a phenomenal increase in accuracy upgrading from +3 accuracy from my lone Venerer to my +10 from the snipers'. FFXIV needs to stabilize each class's base stat values (yes, do away with physical levels already, they're unfair low-end) and increase the potency of stat values in combat. This way, every LNC is building off the base when equipping their character. I too often see a rank 21 practically naked outdamaging me on my fully HQ maxed strength (phys level 31) lancer. To turn this fix into content, all the developers would need to do is introduced specialized, 1h 30m - 2h 4 person and 8 person leves. You give us say, 2 for each level distinction, keeping the exp regulation at 5 in each direction. 2 moderately long challenges through a dungeon designed by Final Fantasy, similar to a salvage or einherjar. You could set them to 72 hour timers rather than 36 hour timers to prevent progression in too quick a manner, but that would require a serious revision to the effect of disconnecting from the FFXIV server while in the process of completing a levequest, as the time limit would allow a player to reasonably return from a connection issue and complete the desired tasks. Rather than the traditional levequest objectives consisting of kill x amount of x or obtain x amount of x as a single objective, these quests would present multiple, chronologically listed events that occur on a linear path. For instance, take any traditional FF summon or enemy distinction, let's say raptors. Build a level 20 playing field filled with both notorious monsters of the raptor variety and rather inconveniently placed "trash" raptors. The bosses drop an ingredient for synthesis used cheaply for an effective piece of armor or weapon, or perhaps a currency used to purchase weapons from a faction NPC vendor, or even the gear itself. Since its stats more potently effect the users performance in combat after my first hypothetical update, we are now having incentive based mass-killing loot dropping money grabbing for the best effective gear to make us even more awesome party in FFXIV. Atleast thats what I think.
I guess I got a little carried away but I consider it a rather simple solution to the problem of content in FFXIV for players of all levels. Got a level 10 archer you wanna get to 15 or 20 in an hour or two? Queue up for a 1-1.5h challenge with 3 of your friends with classes near your level and have a blast leveling your archer in a maze of a family of monsters fulfilling a list of Notorious monsters to discover and items to collect from the environment.
If you are reading this, developers, please tell me how you feel about this idea. I have put a fair amount of time into your creation and I enjoy its potential but this is your global solution. It is FFXI's high point achieved on command. My linkshell would farm for weeks to get all of the required items for the Gods of the Sky, and for 2 or 3 years I explored the Ru'Aun Gardens and its surrounding region of Tu'Lia. Take that experience, and simplify it to a trip to the adventurer's guild, and you've got an extremely efficient and enjoyable formula that keeps players interested in leveling their characters and progressing through the inevitable grind that lies in front of them.
Thank you for your time, my mind is beginning to tire. Please post any feedback, suggestions, or ideas of your own, as I am open-minded and hopeful for the future of FFXIV.
-The Spirit Detective