Identifying Problems, and Constructive Criticism.
To all of those on the forums, thanks for reading and posting. I'd just like to say that I am very happy that SE has made these forums. It's a nice step in the right direction.
As a disclaimer, I did enjoy playing FFXI very much. I won't say that I want the game to be FFXI-2, but I was fairly disappointed that they took out elements of the game that I thought were already well done. It bothered me to see mistakes made in places where SE's previous, (and rather successful), MMO already had answers. I'm sure some might misinterpret that, but I hope that they can see there is a difference between wanting exactly the same game, and wanting a similar game that had improved where the previous one had problems. Call it progress?
But it seems that a lot of the problems in the game come from these issues that were dressed up as "design features." (I love the word "feature." It makes horrible problems seem like they were put there for a purpose). For example, the "feature" known as the fatigue system. Some don't mind it. But the majority of people I have conversed with are very adamant about leaving FFXIV when subscriptions roll around, should that "feature" still be in place. I know that I certainly won't pay for a month's worth of playtime, only to be told I can't use it.
FFXIV and FFXI do share some characteristics, though. As they should. They are both Final Fantasy games, after all. Take the resource system, (HP/MP/TP). It isn't a surprise that we would see it again. In fact, it would be strange if they weren't set up as such. But I feel that in FFXIV's quest to be "different" from FFXI, they made a serious problem.
Active and Passive mode is a sizable part of what makes the game so monotonous, or at least from the perspective of any ranged class. Aside from the lack of use for abilities, (spells don't do great damage, or stick to the mob), the fact that we stand right next to the mob and cast spells / shoot arrows, is enough to make the game feel less than spectacular. Obviously, in a group, things are different. But for anyone who solos, I'm sure it's frustrating to watch an archer miss a shot when the squirrel is sitting right there.
Why would it be a bad thing to reuse FFXI's system for combat? Give classes more tools to use, and make it so ranged classes don't have to lock on / have reduced movement speed. Add a longer casting time to spells, and make them hit harder, or stick better. Make it so archers have to line up the shot first. But being locked on, spamming Darts makes the DoM classes feel exactly as bland as the DoW.
Obviously, the Active/Passive system was designed to make the game more fast paced. They don't want the Mages to be resting up for mp while the archer grabs another mob. And as it stands, Mages have to be locked into combat, or else they will regain MP/HP, which would be unfair to other classes. (Not that they can't just stay outside of combat anyway, and only come in to heal. Though that does take some precious seconds away from getting those much needed heals).
It is obvious to me that this system, while not as major a hindrance as other "features," is one of the small parts of the game that adds to the sense of monotony that our class system currently has. There is really no difference to playing a DoW or a DoM, as they both stand there spamming the "1" key.
Speaking of classes, there seems to be some rather heated debate on the subject. I am in favor of reworking all of the abilities, stripping down the classes and rebuilding them. I really do not enjoy the classes as they are now, because there is a lack of definition. All of the DoW classes play exactly the same, and the DoM classes are very bland.
I know that I'm going to make a lot of people angry here, but it's the internet, so I should be safe:
We need to break Conjurer apart.
Before anyone has a fit, I want to make my point clear. With having both of our magic classes using heals, they will both inevitably be healers. I have seen far too many Conjurers on my server that play incorrectly in a group setting. They seem to feel that Conjurer is just a Black Mage with heals and buffs. Fact of the matter is, any class with heals+buffs = healer. I'm sure there are some people who say that if they want to customize their character to specialize in offensive casting only, then it's their choice. I won't disagree. However, when they finally do get a party search function that isn't horrible, I imagine we will see a lot of Conjurers looking for groups. In my mind, (and most of the people I've talked with), I would assume that it meant they would buff and heal. So for the sake of the "dps onry" noobs, give us a defined healer and defined offensive caster class! It goes back to the Scholar conundrum. They have the ability to use both Black and White magic. Nine times out of ten, they're going to be healing. (Until Merits, where they don't have haste).
That's my big problem with the DoM classes, is that they're both set up to have both offensive and defensive magic. I can understand a healer needing a way to solo. But there are better ways to do it. If SE really wants to fix those classes, then they need to be able to make a very difficult choice. I'm sure that many in the player-base would be upset. But it really just does need to be done. It's like breaking a finger nail over the nail-bed. If they don't clip it now, it's only going to get infected or ripped off.
As for the DoW classes, it's obvious why they need definition. After leveling each to a certain level (generally under Rank 20), they all play the same, no matter which class is the main.
This makes me ask a difficult question: The Action Points. Why do we need these?
I understand that the -idea- behind this system was to make the character very customizable. But in fact, it is an annoyance, and forces players to be generic. I'm sure that most melee players have equipped Blood Bath or Raging Strikes at some point.
The term "Customize," to me, implies making choices. As it stands, there isn't much of a choice to be made. We don't have to really give up anything. I can just select the best abilities of each class, and go with it. (As there are some obvious abilities that don't really need to be used. "Drain" comes to mind). As it is now, I just play a Thaumaturge with the tier one Conjurer buffs. Obviously, it is better if a Conjurer cast them. But I just don't feel very unique. I didn't have to give anything up to do it.
As a hypothetical, imagine that there was a time that most players had all the classes, (not counting land or hand, as I'm still miffed about crafting carrying the same importance as adventuring. No thanks). Supposing that an individual had every ability in the game available to them, they could make their "ultimate warrior." As trends happen, suddenly everyone would be using the same build, and we would have servers full of the same "customizations." So how do we stop this from happening? I'm sure no one who is interested in "customization" wants to see a repeat of /nin....
My general solution is to have all of the equipped class's abilities be functional. It's ridiculous that a class can level up, but only have the abilities that they select to be on their bar, (which is tedious, time consuming, and annoying. Can they at least add a drag and drop option to it?) I feel like if someone has reached a certain rank, they should be able to use all the abilities that they have learned. If only a small portion of those abilities were able to be used while playing as a different class, then we would retain class individuality. Customization is about choosing. We can't have an "ultimate" character. We need to have people thinking in the idea of party roles, and what classes and sub abilities would be useful to fulfill the demands of the role. Currently, we can use higher level abilities from other classes to level our lower ones in a way that I'm sure was not intended. So why not have abilities that are required to be the appropriate class, or maybe even make it so the current class must be twice as high as the rank that an abilities is gained by another class. It would be similar to the sub-job system, (though not quite a clone), and would still have the ability to customize. Again, it's about giving and taking. We shouldn't have it both ways, or the game gets boring.
I'm not going to go into detail on crafting, (don't know how to fix it, really), other than that I feel crafting always has been, and always should be as side-chore. It's not meant to be a class that we are to level as an equal to our adventuring classes. Obviously one is more exciting than the other. I really would like to know who's bright idea that was.... "You know what's more fun than exploring new worlds and encountering mythical creatures? Playing the same damn mini-game for hours on end! Also, we can make players do it from how many times they have to repair!" (Oh yeah, take durability out of the game, or make it so the NPC can repair all pieces of armor/jewelry to full durability, at a price that doesn't make me angry when I go buy a new piece of armor from the Market House for cheaper).
Sorry for the sarcasm. But I am decidedly not a fan of crafting / durability / fatigue in this game. I got alchemy to rank ten, and I am amazed I could put up with it for that long. The flaw really is in its intent.