I feel a disturbance in the air...

It feels as though something cracked.
It's as if people are getting away from the blizzard that kept them comfortable for so long...
I don't know why.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zodiar

It's as if people are getting away from the blizzard that kept them comfortable for so long...

---

??? ...I got nothing.

*Reads title*

Its Friday taco night.

I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth.*Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Velox

I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth.*Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.

---

Do you need a snickers Galadriel? You're not you when you're hungry.

I feel my vacation coming on and sunny beaches, palms, cocktails and Mediterranean food! Heavensward indeed but not the game :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zodiar

It feels as though something cracked.
It's as if people are getting away from the blizzard that kept them comfortable for so long...
I don't know why.

---

Was this a clever reference to all of the people that have been coming from WoW to make Eorzea their home recently? That's what I think when I read this because even when you go to WoW's official forums and other places you'll notice a shift in the air and how many are taking FFXIV seriously, 80% of them praise FFXIV and switching over disappointed with Blizzard past few expansions, while a smaller portion of them dislike FFXIV as they couldn't get past the initial 2.5 sec GCD before it speeds up or they prefer PVP. I've literally been keeping up on FFXIV's growing popularity on many sites and forums to see what players of other MMOs think, especially WoW. Maybe it wasn't a hint at that at all, but it can be interpreted like that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by h0tNstilettos

Was this a clever reference.....

---

There is nothing clever about the original post.

Yeah, the crap has hit the fan over there.

Time for my own ambiguous reference.

The ice stone has melted!

(ain't none of you gonna get that reference)

Edit: You know, it's actually kind of funny, i meandered over to the WoW forums, like i often do, and there's a thread full of people saying to stay away from FFXIV, because they don't want this game tainted by a bunch of angry wow players.

Me too.

There's something in the Force I've never sensed before. It exists nowhere and everywhere at once. Writhing. Growing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Elim

Me too.

There's something in the Force I've never sensed before. It exists nowhere and everywhere at once. Writhing. Growing.

---

Are you talking about Star Wars?
Is OP talking about WoW?
IS IT REALLY TACO FRIDAY NIGHT!?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Averax

Edit: You know, it's actually kind of funny, i meandered over to the WoW forums, like i often do, and there's a thread full of people saying to stay away from FFXIV, because they don't want this game tainted by a bunch of angry wow players.

---

Yeah, because of the huge influx of players coming from WoW to here. I think whoever posted that thread is giving a bad impression of the FFXIV community. I certainly wouldn't want to tell WoW players not to come here. As for the percentages I mentioned of amount of WoW players that prefer FFXIV over those that dislike it, I actually count the positive posts vs negative on various sites as I tend to keep up with how popular or unpopular various MMOs are. So it's all accurate. I'll post a few examples here, but I'm not going to go through months of bookmarks to post every thread and site where FFXIV is pulling out ahead of WoW and others in popularity. Here's just a few, and for the threads on WoW's official forums, be sure to view how many likes and dislikes each post has. The text above each link is the title of the thread:

Dear Blizzard go play FFXIV
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/to...7646605?page=1

WoW vs FFXIV (includes a poll and results, and thread is NOT posted in a FFXIV forum, it's a neutral MMO forum)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/67805...eborn/71766098

The amount of content: WoW vs FFXIV
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/to...2155982?page=1

Anyone with a competitive WoW syndrome enjoying a new MMO? (see topic and replies, also posted on an unbiased MMORPG forum, aka non-game specific)
https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comm...me_enjoying_a/

And to step away from WoW, what about GW2?

Leaderboard: Heavensward vs Heart of Thorns (includes poll results and comments of which MMO players are looking forward to more out of the upcoming expansions. There were 3 major MMO expansions this year, and so far WoW's was a let down, and out of the 2 left these are the results of most looked forward to.)
http://massivelyop.com/2015/03/11/le...art-of-thorns/

I have tons more, including a thread on Steam somewhere comparing WoW's WoD to FFXIV where some WoW vets of 10 years have converted to FFXIV, but I'm not going through months of bookmarks. It should be noted that I am not shaming WoW. Though I prefer FFXIV, I know WoW is a great game. I'm just pointing out this shift I have noticed and why I thought the OP was hinting at it, and even more-so past 2 or 3 months. Out of all the MMOs players that leave WoW and other MMOs, more prefer/move to FFXIV than any other MMO out there. I'm speaking as someone that watches MMO trends, not a FFXIV fangirl. :p To be honest, FFXIV deserves its success, especially with how much Yoshi and them strive to please all types of MMO fans, like:

-There's a huge wait between content in most MMOs and not enough to do. (Yoshi and team release BIG content patches every 3 months, and expansion size same as game at launch)
-Primal mounts should play their respective themes while mounted. (done)
-Zones are too small and confined in ARR and have no dangerous areas. I'm going back to WoW. (Heavensward zones are 2 to 5 times larger and have numerous dangerous areas.)
-There's a lack of voice acting in ARR and voices on any bosses. I'm going back to WoW. (Heavensward will have more voice acting, and even one of the primals is voice acted.)

NOTE: I do not want to turn this into a WoW vs FFXIV thread. Both are great games in their own way. I was just reporting trends and why I thought OP was referencing that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mugiawara

Are you talking about Star Wars?
Is OP talking about WoW?
IS IT REALLY TACO FRIDAY NIGHT!?

---

I think I sense this "growth" because I'm tied to it somehow... Maybe by association to Darth Arkous. I think... I think the Empire is in terrible danger.

As someone who's played WoW on-and-off ever since its first expansion, I think I can say that FFXIV: ARR avoided a lot of the pitfalls that WoW stumbled into early on. I still think FFXIV could use some more work, such as having some sort of "Just for Fun" non-combat class like WoW's Archaeologist, and I also kinda hope they add something to make Crafting classes a bit more relevant for end-game progression (In WoW, almost every crafting class had some sort of enhancement they could put on their own gear, with the only exception being Alchemist because they buffed any potions they drank, which were already more useful than in FFXIV).

However, no matter what complaints I might have about the game, they're fairly small, and tempered by the knowledge that the game is still fairly young and has plenty of room for growth. That includes my own complaints with the Housing situation and Hunts.

Having played WoW for 9.5 years doing hardcore raiding for a good part of it, I can say that, for me at least, one of the things working against WoW is time and nostalgia. I've rolled with the changed through the years, but my liking for the game stopped with Cata, with Firelands being the ONLY thing I liked about the expansion as a raider. Then along came WoD, more story, more lore for draenei (honestly I am dead tired of orcs), more engaging world, but that potential was stunted by garrisons. Garrisons could have been good, but there's so much micromanaging there with content linked to it, it became your own personal capitol city. Crafting, for whatever reason, has been made rather a pain in the ass across the board in comparison to before, and then they simplified classes. In my eyes, very disappointing, but there are still bits I liked, just that it wasn't enough to keep me playing.

For all of the nostalgia WoD brings back, nearly a decade of play can make the same stuff gets old, and some changes still rub you the wrong way. All in all, you get worn down. Kudos to no flying though, I actually liked that.

Enough ranting from me though, more to the point, I'm not saying WoW was bad to me. I'll always remember my time there fondly (and I haven't completely written off going back for fun), but FFXIV is a breath of fresh air. There are things that still irk me about this game, but it's early and has potential to grow.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DarkStar

Snip.

---

Also agree with this.

I too sense a disturbance in the force. I must meditate on this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Able

I too sense a disturbance in the Force. I must meditate on this.

---

Fixed. You forgot to capitalize the F in Force.

p.s die jedi scum

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Elim

p.s die jedi scum

---

There is no death, there is the Force.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Averax

Yeah, the crap has hit the fan over there.

Time for my own ambiguous reference.

The ice stone has melted!

(ain't none of you gonna get that reference)

---

Oh my god I don't even remember when was that, I just remember the spam xD
Did you know that the ice stone has melted? :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wizhard

Oh my god I don't even remember when was that, I just remember the spam xD
Did you know that the ice stone has melted? :D

---

It was something to do with a quest item in northrend bugging out and sending an event messege out to the world.

WoW players are mad because one of the lead devs said not only are they not ever going to allow flight in the current expansion, but it might stay gone forever, when tons of people were looking forward to having it as an option again to get around and free-form explore after the main questing was done.

Compare to FFXIV, which is about to have an expansion that not only introduces flight, but some gigantic zones designed entirely around it, so that it actually feels like an organic continuation of the journey and not just a quicker way to get around.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahri

WoW players are mad because one of the lead devs said not only are they not ever going to allow flight in the current expansion, but it might stay gone forever, when tons of people were looking forward to having it as an option again to get around and free-form explore after the main questing was done.

Compare to FFXIV, which is about to have an expansion that not only introduces flight, but some gigantic zones designed entirely around it, so that it actually feels like an organic continuation of the journey and not just a quicker way to get around.

---

Flight in only the new HWs areas though. And personally if the next expansion after HW doesn't have flight in the new areas there I wouldn't mind at all.

We welcomed all players as long as they are not jerks...LOL...and don't extend out que times too long....

Ugh that one post comparing content of FFXIV and WoW made me cringe. Seems people care more about quantity than quality. Sure FFXIV may get "twice as much content than WoW" but that content is made obsolete so quick its ridiculous.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barimu

Ugh that one post comparing content of FFXIV and WoW made me cringe. Seems people care more about quantity than quality. Sure FFXIV may get "twice as much content than WoW" but that content is made obsolete so quick its ridiculous.

---

Not sure which FFXIV you're playing. FFXIV's content is both high quality and provides quantity. On top of this SE keeps most content relevant unlike most MMOs, so how in the world did you come up with content becoming obsolete? Lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDaemon

Flight in only the new HWs areas though. And personally if the next expansion after HW doesn't have flight in the new areas there I wouldn't mind at all.

---

I feel very much the same way. HW looks designed for flight. Compare the broken-up flat planes in WoW, even post-flight. Most egregiously, Deepholm from Cataclysm -- they could've had a crazy design going on with what's basically the interior of a colossal geode, but instead it's just a series of terraces. There's probably some coding logistics that got in the way, but if HW improves upon this, it'll actually be realizing flight's full potential.

And if we're grounded again for whatever's next? Unlikely given the introduction of airships, but there'll probably be some obvious, visible piece of design they'll show that explains it rather than going on and on about their ~~vision~~ of ground exploration.

reading thread title
thought about this ...

http://oi58.tinypic.com/2a976zt.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by h0tNstilettos

Not sure which FFXIV you're playing. FFXIV's content is both high quality and provides quantity. On top of this SE keeps most content relevant unlike most MMOs, so how in the world did you come up with content becoming obsolete? Lol.

---

Besides Coil nothing is relevant really. CT raids are made obsolete if you actually do coil, primals are useless besides a mount or glamour. That's about it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahri

snip

---

If they do a sea based expansion (just as an example) I don't see why they would have flight as an open world mechanic in those areas. If the new areas in the expansion after HW doesn't need flight or fit with the idea of flight, I have no issue with flight being removed for those areas.

At the same time though with how HW looks and feels, flight seems like an integral part of the atmosphere and dynamics of the expansion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barimu

Besides Coil nothing is relevant really. CT raids are made obsolete if you actually do coil, primals are useless besides a mount or glamour. That's about it.

---

Perhaps once Coil's lockout is unlocked and you are capable of reliably farming the gear, then the gear offered in CT raids loses some value. However, there are still plenty of players who still run CT both for the gear and the weekly. Even older level cap dungeons still have relevancy w/ relic weapons, glamours, gearing, roulette etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDaemon

If they do a sea based expansion (just as an example) I don't see why they would have flight as an open world mechanic in those areas. If the new areas in the expansion after HW doesn't need flight or fit with the idea of flight, I have no issue with flight being removed for those areas.

At the same time though with how HW looks and feels, flight seems like an integral part of the atmosphere and dynamics of the expansion.

---

I feel a bit like the whole "sky or sea based" thing the devs talked about was a joke, but at the same time, oh my god, the artists could do WONDROUS things with uncharted islands, dynamic weather, and even undersea zones. I LOVED WoW's Vashj'ir, though I know feelings about it were mixed...it had one of the most extraordinary atmospheres of any areas in any game I've ever played.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahri

I feel a bit like the whole "sky or sea based" thing the devs talked about was a joke, but at the same time, oh my god, the artists could do WONDROUS things with uncharted islands, dynamic weather, and even undersea zones. I LOVED WoW's Vashj'ir, though I know feelings about it were mixed...it had one of the most extraordinary atmospheres of any areas in any game I've ever played.

---

I don't think it was a joke. They said they wanted to do flying and swimming. They said first expansion would take to the skies and that swimming would come in a later expansion, which I assume will be opposite of Heavensward and take to the depths of the seas. I would also like to see them do an Underworld similar to FFIV's Underworld.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahri

I feel a bit like the whole "sky or sea based" thing the devs talked about was a joke, but at the same time, oh my god, the artists could do WONDROUS things with uncharted islands, dynamic weather, and even undersea zones. I LOVED WoW's Vashj'ir, though I know feelings about it were mixed...it had one of the most extraordinary atmospheres of any areas in any game I've ever played.

---

I was put off my the slow walking in Vashj'ir (but the environment was awesome), and the million people clicking on the same clam for hours (that last bit was really only due to launch day influx but still lol)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SDaemon

I was put off my the slow walking in Vashj'ir (but the environment was awesome), and the million people clicking on the same clam for hours (that last bit was really only due to launch day influx but still lol)

---

Slow walking? There was a quest that gave a gargantuan speed increase, and when you were on the ground, there was even a unique (hilarious) animation for bounding across the terrain at roughly the same rate as a normal mount on land. As to the other thing, well, I've come to feel that multiplayer game launches during my work week are a blessing in disguise for this reason...

Now, environment-speculation wise...for a game like this, I'm imagining an entire zone with the aesthetic of the City of the Ancients from FF7, complete with a "deeper" area that seems like these glassy fairytale structures suspended in a bottomless abyss. There's also FF10's subterranean waterways and sunken ruins, another game which did the sea right.

I tell ya, underwater places are a mostly-untapped goldmine of creativity for these kinds of games.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahri

snip

---

You mean the sea horse mount yeah? lol. Without/before the mount though the bouncy slow walking was a put off. Though really people had no reason whatsoever to be walking on the ground. lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mahri

I feel a bit like the whole "sky or sea based" thing the devs talked about was a joke, but at the same time, oh my god, the artists could do WONDROUS things with uncharted islands, dynamic weather, and even undersea zones. I LOVED WoW's Vashj'ir, though I know feelings about it were mixed...it had one of the most extraordinary atmospheres of any areas in any game I've ever played.

---

I personally had left WoW towards the end of WotLK, but I got a chance to play through the Cataclysm areas on a friend's account, and I basically fell in love with Vashj'ir. Out of everything post-WotLK (and before WoD), I loved those underwater zones the most, and wish they had expanded on it more with later expansions.

If FFXIV does go out to sea for the next expansion, I have rather high expectations myself. It'd be interesting if there were some sunken Allaghan ruins, perhaps a pontoon village... I'd also love to see some LESS advanced sunken ruins, something obviously manmade but long-since reclaimed by nature, full of seaweed, coral, native creatures, and maybe some Sahagin or something.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DarkStar

I personally had left WoW towards the end of WotLK, but I got a chance to play through the Cataclysm areas on a friend's account, and I basically fell in love with Vashj'ir. Out of everything post-WotLK (and before WoD), I loved those underwater zones the most, and wish they had expanded on it more with later expansions.

If FFXIV does go out to sea for the next expansion, I have rather high expectations myself. It'd be interesting if there were some sunken Allaghan ruins, perhaps a pontoon village... I'd also love to see some LESS advanced sunken ruins, something obviously manmade but long-since reclaimed by nature, full of seaweed, coral, native creatures, and maybe some Sahagin or something.

---

I'd like to see Novv & pals show up again. They're our oarfish-colored fishman bros, so surely they'd put in a good word for us with the terrors of the deep that they're on good terms with, right?

Really I just want to see something that captures the sheer scale of the pelagic, and maybe plays up the unexplored nature of it. Like, maybe the Allagans, with all their advancement, could never go too deep (much like us in real life), so it'd be a good chance to send Eorzea's adventurers exploring genuinely uncharted territory, the first of the spoken races to have ever seen it...against all nature and reason, at that.

Your mention of WotLK, on the other hand, brings fond memories of northern landscapes as well. I know we're getting a lot of that in Heavensward, but I get all nostalgic for the faded greens of Howling Fjord and the uilleann pipes playing a complement to the wind.

That disturbance is pretty much WoW players crying about how they can't fly in WoD or any other future xpac. Many will be coming here.

Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentices.