Game, Inposable to understand. (or even getting a sub)

I bought the game in Jan, the inposable task to create a account.

the game it self.
no really, it's like playing a alien game.
no documents at all, very hard to understand what to do or expecting.

it taken me 2 day's before i figured out those guildleavs, and i not without experience in MMO's
i play 12 MMO's and i never ever encounter so much dificulty.

wanna make FF still successfull?
at least make a basic ingame tutorial (can be done with video)
and save the newcomers this painfull game experience, i suffered.

The issue is well known, and they have said that they were aiming to make the game more newbie friendly.

Also, if you've "played" 12 MMOs, aren't you a little overqualified to need a tutorial?


I didn't even play Beta, and within a few days I knew what to do.

Yes, they need to do this

XIV is not like the other MMO in the world which players can understand the game automatically from the start

I played in beta when there wasn't even half the amount of direction there is now and I seemed to know what to do without reading anything beforehand. Maybe that's just me.

I won't argue that it should be made easier but I don't know a whole lot of people who had a problem with it.

Standard MMOs: Create a character, Training zone, Do some starting quests, Do the town's quest, Move to next level town/camps

FFXIV: Create a character, follow what NPC tell you to do, Grab some levequests, Go to the Aetheryte to finish leves, Comeback to grab more leves, or do Behest

The account system definitely needs to be streamlined. I followed the instructions and didn't have any issues with setting up everything, but the process is more convoluted than it needs to be.

The game itself, on the other hand, is more or less fine. The combat system is intuitive enough if you're not pretending like this is Generic MMORPG 3827 (it only took me a few seconds to figure out the controls, but that may have been due to using a controller), and the leve system is fairly easy to figure out.

Then again, I'm one of those cranky people annoyed by the rise of 'tutorials for everything' in games, so I'm biased.

If I'm not mistaken, the game does not give any sort of tutorial for the market wards unless you speak to the NPC infront of it. In XI you were given clear instructions on how to start and where to find the basic important locations such as the auction house and actually visit it. I feel this is something the game needs, especially when the PS3 version goes live.

Another thing which really could do with an ingame tutorial is battle regimens. A guy I know bought the game like a month ago and has been playing since, yet it was only the other day he found out about battle regimens because the game does not mention them or their usage whatsoever. Considering BRs are as deep as the combat in this game gets, you would have thought there'd be something set in place to tell you first that it's there and, secondly, how to use it.

So yes, the game does need more in the way of direction for new players but as it has already been said, they're working on it.

You know there is a "Play Guide" that explains everything in great detail on the Lodestone. And yeah while it would be better in-game for some, its at least a start.

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Originally Posted by Khalus

You know there is a "Play Guide" that explains everything in great detail on the Lodestone. And yeah while it would be better in-game for some, its at least a start.

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That's true but that will not be satisfactory for the majority of PS3 gamers (the new ones anyway). The information on the lodestone should have been in the game's instruction manual, it's what those things are for. There is virtually nothing gameplay related in the game's manual.
If PC gamers have complained about the lack of in-game tutorials, then I don't even want to know what a console gamer would say about it.

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Originally Posted by Rau

Also, if you've "played" 12 MMOs, aren't you a little overqualified to need a tutorial?


I didn't even play Beta, and within a few days I knew what to do.

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I think this was kind of the OP's point.

Tutorials are a growing necessity, but if you're too lazy/stupid to literally explore a game then that's something completely different (and i seriously don't think these people should play games).
I'm sorry, but if someone joins the game (and sadly there are probably plenty) and then immediately give up because of their attention spans & lack of detailed explanations of exactly what to do, then gaming is not for you.

FF14 doesn't even require external sources to complete content, and it's not rocket science(i guess it is in this day & age?) to figure out that Adventurer Guilds are the central locations of any city.

If you're one of these people, then shame on you. The point of video games is exploration & story through a genre of your liking so that you can enjoy yourself.


At the very LEAST, there needs to be on-screen tutorials for basic movement and how to navigate & use your journal to complete things (etc).

Totally agree with you tezz

+1 Tezz

Even more sad is how incredibly easy games have become in the last decade, and tons of this new generation still require a tutorial, and even then, many more complain its still too hard!

I'd say the OP is nearly impossible to understand, and where does the "getting the sub" part come in? It's like you lost your train-of-thought in mid-post.

Back on topic, if you are referring to subjobs like in XI, there are none. You have this system called the armoury system that lets you select known skills from each class you have leveled, don't know how much longer those will be in game however since they are adding a specialized job system that will likely affect which skills you may use. As for tutorials, most of those are on Lodestone as others on this thread have stated. As for why they did it this way, I can only assume they wanted players to have a reason to check out the messageboard at least once, since many linkshells set up thier own forums.

why of course, we have to make ffxiv idiot proof...

Touch the aetheryte you know you want to..

Title: Ironic.

The only things I had to look up were crafting recipes (for grinding, yo) and fatigue. Everything else was pretty self explanatory IMO.

Why would they want to make FFXIV newbie friendly? Even in FFXI, they just giev you a quest and say go without saying what to do. I remember, to learn how to do a quest, I had to rely on FAN sites. People who already had done it. FFXI gave a little clue or mentioned something, and the rest was up to you lol

leves are the nothing is hard in the game right now, just boreing as hell, hope auto attack and 1.18 change it some.

whatever happen to people playing the game and figuring out stuff on there own people always want tutorials or some guide through the whole game now.

I had been following FFXIV since announcement, so I found it easier to pick up than your average person would.

But the OP is absolutely right in saying that the UI, account-creation, and tutorials are so convolutedly stupid. There's a reason this aspect of the game was panned in reviews. Hopefully SE is doing enough to rectify the situation.

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Originally Posted by Adol

If I'm not mistaken, the game does not give any sort of tutorial for the market wards unless you speak to the NPC infront of it. In XI you were given clear instructions on how to start and where to find the basic important locations such as the auction house and actually visit it. I feel this is something the game needs, especially when the PS3 version goes live.

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^This.

I have always taught PC gamers are more likely to "explore" a game and figure things out by themselves before giving up. On the contrary, mainstream console games have become more and more easy (Demon's Soul excluded) and always seem to include some dumb tutorial (most of the time it cannot be skipped) that for some of us it's more intrusive than helpful.

But that comes with the higher production costs, and the fact that a failed game (commercially) is more damaging compared to some years ago. I just remembered The Legend of Zelda (NES), you just appeared on the map and that's it. Even the old man (It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!) didn't give out much info. Ahh the good times~

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Originally Posted by abisha

no documents at all, very hard to understand what to do or expecting.

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Lodestone!

[SIZE=6]TROLololol[/SIZE][SIZE=5]olololol[/SIZE]olololololol...

the game isn'that hard and ther IS a tutorial. read the blue subtext in the game it talls you everything. Like how to attack.
1 click mob
2 press the 1 key.

this mmo isn't much different then ffxi. or any other mmo. Lodestone also has info.
Look me 1 min to figure out ffxiv. >.> do the starting quest story that is your tutorial. It is easy to read and follow. It tells you the basic and that is all you need.

I just remembered The Legend of Zelda (NES), you just appeared on the map and that's it. Even the old man (It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!) didn't give out much info. Ahh the good times~

i miss that game ^^ played it first at 6 then on the game cube. Love it.
I got lost but had a ton of fun.

I skip most tutorials ffxiv does have something similar to ffxi. You do gotta talk to npc though. But market ward isn't that hard to use. try to figure it out. Use your brain. And this is from a console user :P I ant no damn "casual" gamer.

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Originally Posted by alexi14

Why would they want to make FFXIV newbie friendly? Even in FFXI, they just giev you a quest and say go without saying what to do. I remember, to learn how to do a quest, I had to rely on FAN sites. People who already had done it. FFXI gave a little clue or mentioned something, and the rest was up to you lol

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you want games to be newbie friendly so you attract newbies to the game. Tutorials do not hinder really, but ya they should give tips. With mild teaching you.
But saying ffxiv doesn't havbe a tutorial or info on how to do stuff is incorrect. FFXi added one and it was fun. You got free stuff and some early exp. And some nice starter gil.

I agree with op to a point though. Not all people are used to this genre. Or first timers. So tutorial helps them out. No one helps newbies anymore so it is up to the devs to train them. Most tutorials end at level 10 anyway.

Also ffxi no longer comes with that 100 page book on how the game works only a small fold out.

I realize that this is offtopic, but...

Kilta, the bloody edit button is there for a reason. Please use it instead of making post after post after post.

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Originally Posted by Dreamer

I realize that this is offtopic, but...

Kilta, the bloody edit button is there for a reason. Please use it instead of making post after post after post.

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But if he uses edit his post count won't go up and his e-penis will shrivel!

I'm actually a little surprised some fans haven't done a series of video tutorials yet? If anyone know any can you post some links?

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Originally Posted by Dreamer

I realize that this is offtopic, but...

Kilta, the bloody edit button is there for a reason. Please use it instead of making post after post after post.

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Indeed.
I wish they'd start handing out punishments against double/triple posters. It's just unnecessary.

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Originally Posted by Kaizlu

^This.

I have always taught PC gamers are more likely to "explore" a game and figure things out by themselves before giving up. On the contrary, mainstream console games have become more and more easy (Demon's Soul excluded) and always seem to include some dumb tutorial (most of the time it cannot be skipped) that for some of us it's more intrusive than helpful.

But that comes with the higher production costs, and the fact that a failed game (commercially) is more damaging compared to some years ago. I just remembered The Legend of Zelda (NES), you just appeared on the map and that's it. Even the old man (It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!) didn't give out much info. Ahh the good times~

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OT but I agree with you 100% the first hour in most games nowadays is really boring as you are treated like a retard before you get to do anything. Especially since most games ore practically the same anyway. (cover based shooters! *barf*)

I really like Resonance of Fate's tutorial that's completely optional can be done in bit whenever the player feels like it and it doesn't treat you like an infant even though the whole game mechanic would make the head of most FPS gamers spin because of the things they need to think about.

hmm this person nddint read the manual book xD it clearly says for more information go to Lodestone! *gasp*..

and yea i agree on the point of the SquareEnix Account creation part. It needs to be re-done back.

List of things (probably not complete) I did not understand or had trouble with when I started FFXIV:

How to change weapons/classes and armor
I didn't know I could mix up skills, and how to do that when I found out
How to apply/change skills
Moving from passive to active and back
Targeting
To hit enter when using a spell
After the initial tutorial, when new missions are available and where
How to intitiate crafting and ready materials

Part of it was because of the UI being set up for a controller, and not PC. I did not know you had to click from point to point, rather than drag and drop. I don't mind the UI being that way, but something showing me would have been nice.

I figured it out over a few days, either by myself or from hints from the internet. However, a less dedicated person would probably not be so patient.

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Originally Posted by Chezen

However, a less dedicated person would probably not be so patient.

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Exactly. Once the PS3 version is released, you'll be dealing with players from all sorts of backgrounds and personalities. Some of them will figure things out by themselves just fine. However, many of them will not have the patience to figure things out like this without becoming frustrated with the game to the point where they just don't bother anymore.

It will be benificial to SE to implement more in-game tutorials so that it keeps new players interested from the very beginning. At the end of the day, they'll be playing to have fun (I hope) so the last thing they need is to be confused and flustered when the game isn't telling them something which is actually quite important and would need to be explained through a tutorial.