Is the MMO and single player FF fanbase divided?

Thread might be a bit too meta even for general discussion

Going from just some conversations with irl friends and people in my LS Final Fantasy XIV is a lot of people's first and only Final Fantasy game, there's no general rule on what Final Fantasy should be your first I just thought it was really interesting that a lot of people start with this game considering this is pretty much a theme park with fan service for long time Final Fantasy fans.

Even on these forums you see posts from people who aren't familiar with the series when they say there's too much story when it comes to a shock to them that story since IV and arguably II has been FF's strong point, there's references they don't get and feel left out on ( people in my FC asking if Firion was a NPC in the game when they got his minion from veteran reward because they don't recognize him, it was pretty fun explaining who he is and all the other Final Fantasy II stuff to them that can be found in this game)

Even spell names were dumbed back down to Spell II, Spell III etc because the localization team didn't want to confuse new players.

People who are fans of the single player games also wont touch the MMO's for a lot of reasons. What are you thoughts on the fanbase being divided?
I could be very wrong just looking for opinions from the community :)

Straw Poll
http://strawpoll.me/7395173

People seem to get into XIV either because they like the FF series or they like MMO games but are done with World of Warcraft or whatever they came from.

I'm one of the people who didn't really play online games much in the past but I gave XIV a chance because I'm an FF fan. Yes I would have preferred Fira, Firaga kind of spell names.

A big part of what makes XIV work for me is the cross-hotbar interface which is very friendly to people with a more console gaming background. I couldn't easily play MMOs from other companies without a similar level of controller support which they do not provide. Cross-hotbar is one of XIV's greatest features.

I started Final Fantasy games as a child with Final Fantasy 1 and MMOs in 1999 with EverQuest 1. there is no divide for people like me who are long-time fans of both. In fact, this game is the perfect marriage or two loves.

As for the "dumbing down" of spell names - well this happened with Final Fantasy 2 (actually 4) on the SNES so this is nothing new for long-time fans in the US. That game didn't even trust us with half of the special skills the characters should have had.

Voted!

FF14 is my first FF game.
And it's pretty much my first game, period... FF or not. ^^;

Playing a game by myself for hours was never an appealing idea to me. But FF14 struck the right balance between story and aesthetics -- plus having real people I can talk to and play with makes it immensely more interesting.

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Originally Posted by Mikita

And it's pretty much my first game
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Like your first video game ever played? That's really interesting, guess you have to start somewhere.

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Originally Posted by Yasuhiro

Even spell names were dumbed back down to Spell II, Spell III etc because the localization team didn't want to confuse new players.

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That's pretty much the only reason I changed from the English to the German version (at least the text stuff, not the audio). The spells are still called Fire, Fira, Firaga and so on. French version's the same as well, I think. Weird how they only dumbed down the English verison!

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Originally Posted by Pirikko

That's pretty much the only reason I changed from the English to the German version (at least the text stuff, not the audio). The spells are still called Fire, Fira, Firaga and so on. French version's the same as well, I think. Weird how they only dumbed down the English verison!

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Well, just think about the fan base for a second and it'll make sense.

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Originally Posted by MilesSaintboroguh

Well, just think about the fan base for a second and it'll make sense.

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Going by the poll fanbase should know their FF lingo, since it's even been in games for kids like Kingdom Hearts, unless you mean the WoW transfers.

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Originally Posted by Yasuhiro

Like your first video game ever played? That's really interesting, guess you have to start somewhere.

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I've tried console games for a few minutes at a time mainly because the controller was passed to me. But I'm generally pretty bad at quick reflex types of games, so they usually took the controller back after shaking their head in disbelief/disgust. ^^;

FF14 is the first game I started playing where I actually wanted to play.

I fall into the category of players who play because they like MMOs. Prior to this, the only FF game I played was X-2 that someone left in my ps2. Since I haven't played the older games, a lot of the references to them are lost on me. Having said that, I had to answer that I had played a FF game in the survey, even though I am ultimately unfamiliar with the rest of the series.

Me: I love all things Final Fantasy. I have played every FF game there is (and will continue to play every one that ever comes). I also love MMOs (have played several) so this being both is perfect for me.

My BF: He loves Final Fantasy single-player games almost as much as I do and also likes MMOs buuuuuuuuuut says it would be weird to play an FF game that was also an MMO.

My best friend: He has never touched a single FF single-player game, but loves MMOs so he plays FF14.

Speeking for myself I find FF14 an okay game, not great but not horrible eather (I've sampled WoW, hated the open-world PvP, & enjoyed White Knight Chronicles multi-player Server till it shut down) but will state I am more of a Solo-game player so I don't interact with ppl in game much as I see it as bugging someone just to ask for help/advice. As for my childhood friend who has played every single-player FF game ever... he quit FF14 over a year ago due to his dislike of "forced" team play (I understand why he felt that & why it distruped his potential enjoyment of FF14)

I can say I'm a little urk'd by the sub-style but see it as a nessesary evil since most Free-to-play games I've try'd had seemed low-lv in comparison (also see the sub as me paying for 1 game every 3 months... which most games these days arn't even worth that in play-value vs cost, so saves me the trouble of spending it on a crap game I'll beat in a day & toss)

XIV is my first (and only) FF game, I started playing because it seemed like a really promising MMO after the slew of f2p ones I struggled through. I'm not unaware of the franchise as a whole since my closest friend is a huge FF fan and loves telling me all about them. They seem like the kind of rpg I'd enjoy playing, too.

I don't mind the spell names either way, I, II, III is simple to follow but I'm familiar with progressive skill names being different, too (agi, agilao, agidyne).

Funnily enough this friend of mine has never considered playing XI or XIV, I guess since they're MMOs he doesn't see them as part of the main franchise? *shrugs*

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Originally Posted by Vele

I don't mind the spell names either way, I, II, III is simple to follow but I'm familiar with progressive skill names being different, too (agi, agilao, agidyne).

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Is that Shin Megami Tensei? and for me II, III just means a better version of that spell like it was in Final Fantasy II and XI
Ara and Aga spells (Spell II and Spell III) tend to be different like Ara and Aga spellsin FF usually are AoE or in RPG terms multi target spells. That's why the naming bothers me just seems like a disservice to Final Fantasy fans and pandering to those that have no clue.

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Originally Posted by dejavutwo

Prior to this, the only FF game I played was X-2 that someone left in my ps2. .

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That's probably like the worst game to get an impression on the series glad it didn't sour your opinion on it.

Go fight a Malboro, Cactaur, or Tonberry enemy with some randoms, and you can immediately tell the mmo crowd from the Final Fantasy crowd. I mean, an aoe from a Cactaur can't be THAT bad, right? Just some lame attack called 10k needles, I'll go ahead and stand it in.

I won't lie, I jumped into FFXIV because I was hoping it would renew my love for the franchise, as I stopped bothering with the series after playing FFXII (it was the most disappointing game for me, so disappointing that I can't play it for more than an hour!)....and sadly it didn't renew at all, so I mostly play the game for the MMO aspects until I get tired and move on. I also have other games of the franchise with me but I barely play them anymore: the burnout was too big!

I know the references for most of the "fan service" in this game but I'm more of an Atlus/Gust fan so it doesn't really affect me, although I like how the classes are inserted into the game (despite the fact I don't follow the stories). I mean come on, everyone likes ninjas and that alone is quite the seller....not for me because I'm a dirty thief but still a good seller for all those ninja fans!

I'm more of a Kingdom Hearts fan than a Final Fantasy fan, but I dabbled in FF a little bit (VI and XII being my favorites) and XIV seemed to have a similar art direction like XII so I gave it a go.

Now I have a pile of FF games I've been slowly playing through since I never really cared about the franchise until I joined XIV! I personally think XIV is a pretty good first game to start with since it's accessible and the story is decent enough to get you interested in seeing the rest of the series.

I think I'm in the minority as a fan of classic Final Fantasy, back to the SNES days, who doesn't feel much similarity. Some aspects are the same as far as themes, aesthetics, and characters, but MMOs play differently and everything down to cutscene use is changed. During the Playstation titles cutscenes were often highlights of the game and my siblings and I would sometimes spoil it by running off to find each other when a major one came up. In FFXIV they're totally mundane.

However, FFXIV is my first MMO. When my brother told me about World of Warcraft when it was new I immediately disliked the concept, even though I liked Warcraft. I tried FFXIV because of the brand name and the fact that I had friends playing.

I wouldn't say the single player vs. MMO, I'd say the entire series vs. FFXIV.

FFXI is an MMO too but it remains a lot more true to the series than XIV does in terms of gameplay, UI etc.

FFXIV is a lot different to the rest of the series, it made itself a lot more accessible to bring in a wider audience so it could recoup the losses of 1.0. It basically relies on fan service and homages to old games to keep its identity as a final fantasy game, since without that it's just a generic MMO with the only thing that identifies it as a final fantasy game being the job system.

I play this game becsuse its Final Fantasy, I played every single one of them. I also played other MMOs but stopped when this one came out to play this one instead.

I still dont get why we dont get fire, fire, firaga, and so on.

I have played all of the single player FF games. I didnt play XI due to me primarily being a console gamer and the only MMO I had played during the time XI was released was Runescape and Runescape 2.

When I heard FFXIV was being released for PS3 I tried it out and fell in love with it from the FF aspect of it and the idea that I could create my own character look and appearance in a FF world, rather than the standalone titles where I just rename the main character.

The MMO and single player FF fanbase is slightly divided, but I think most of the people who play the MMO version play the stand alone titles as well and not the other way around.

I've been a fan of the series since FFII (IV in the US SNES days) back in 1991. I have played and beat them all except for II (the real one) because my save got glitched on the way to Pandemonium.

I'm a former XI player as well, as this one was my first MMO. Also played Aion before playing XIV. Therefore, I get all the past FF references (hahaha) but I still like MMOs to a point.

I think the biggest split in XIV isn't between the single-player and MMO fans but rather between the Final Fantasy fans and those coming from other games, like WoW or Aion. Final Fantasy fans know that this game, and XI before it, is story-centric with every player a hero in their own right. It's why the PvP feels tacked on, it pretty much is. Hard to justify players killing eachother when we're supposedly all on the same team. There's a push pretty much every month to expand the PvP beyond the Wolves' Den, but these are invariably by those coming from WoW or Aion where the PvP is intrinsic to the game world. These calls are usually met with derision from Final Fantasy fans who like their games without the headache of kids pinging them for duels.

How stats and abilities work and even game design is completely different between this MMO and other FF titles which based it's roots in Dungeons and Dragons. In XIV everything is pretty streamlined and cookiecutter and some job classes suffer from bastardization and serve as novelty jobs that play differently from the name they are trying to relate to in order to adhere to their jaded MMO Trinity system. Story however is decent for once albeit predictable.

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Originally Posted by Rufalus

People seem to get into XIV either because they like the FF series or they like MMO games but are done with World of Warcraft or whatever they came from.

I'm one of the people who didn't really play online games much in the past but I gave XIV a chance because I'm an FF fan. Yes I would have preferred Fira, Firaga kind of spell names.

A big part of what makes XIV work for me is the cross-hotbar interface which is very friendly to people with a more console gaming background. I couldn't easily play MMOs from other companies without a similar level of controller support which they do not provide. Cross-hotbar is one of XIV's greatest features.

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Final Fantasy XI was my first MMO. I'm a FF fan, although I'll admit that I have very little memory of XII, as I would play that an hour a day, then get right back on XI. As far as the cross-bar, I was able to use it right away because of DC Universe being my first MMO that used it.

Yes, I started with FF on NES, but I skipped II but eventually got back to it. Oddly, Crystal Chronicles on Gamecube was a big deal for me. I even meddled with the Legends games and stuff.

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Originally Posted by Derio

I have played all of the single player FF games. I didnt play XI due to me primarily being a console gamer and the only MMO I had played during the time XI was released was Runescape and Runescape 2.

When I heard FFXIV was being released for PS3 I tried it out and fell in love with it from the FF aspect of it and the idea that I could create my own character look and appearance in a FF world, rather than the standalone titles where I just rename the main character.

The MMO and single player FF fanbase is slightly divided, but I think most of the people who play the MMO version play the stand alone titles as well and not the other way around.

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Sadly there is a significant group of FF fans (not FFXIV players) who have never accepted FFXI and FFXIV as MMORPGs - to these fans they are not 'true' FF games but just paywall-blocked spin-offs. Most of that contempt though is just sour grapes at the fact they are P2P/sub based and thus they have to pay a regular fee to play, often adding to this arguement as a result "Why should I have to pay to play a game I already paid for?" (in fact, I remember seeing on one forum I go to a member actually whined and complained that "because of this I'll never be able to claim I have finished every FF game now!" I mean, seriously?).

Luckily though with ARR's resounding success even a lot of these FF fans are now re-evaluating this position, but there are still a few die-hards out there who simply refuse to play FFXIV (or FFXI too for that matter) simply out of principle - because it's a MMORPG that requires a regular subscription to play. To me though that's just cutting off the nose to spite the face, but that's fandom for you.

I can confirm those people's thoughts, for I thought that once upon a time of XI. I was also much younger, as in young enough that I couldn't have a job even if I wanted one, so the whole paying per month part seemed like a stonewall to me.

Grew out of it before XIV was a thing atleast, but still.

This is my 1st FF game & 1st MMO. I have played DCUO, but I soloed the whole game. I didn't know what an MMO was, all I saw was a free game and once I got 30, the max at the time, I quit because I had no idea what to do next. FFXIV could learn a thing or 2 about glamour from DCUO, though.

I got into this game because my nephew wanted me to play it with him, so I did. I bought my wife a copy as well as she is a FF fan, so we started together. My wife quit almost immediately because it wasn't like the other single player FF games. My nephew had been off and on, but I've been continuously subscribed non-stop. My wife recently picked it up again once she started to see how the story was going as she watched me play, so at least that got her interested again.

I played Final Fantasy sincethe first one in the NES/Famicom. I always enjoy, ones more than other (I was very dissapointed on FFVII, but, you cannot said that on internet or people will jump to your neck). When I saw that a online game was the XI, I said for myself "Why don't call it simply Final Fantasy Online?" But after played it, for me, it feels like any other Final Fantasy. On FFXIV ARR launch (I played 1.0, but I stoped quick because was horrible) I felt the same.

I am not those who think that FF should only turns and never explore any other kind of gameplay, and must be always with a party group instead of single hero, of be story focused and nothing about social-like approach. For me the online ones are FF. Lore, story, character, themes all looks like any other FF. Who cares the damn turn based system? FF is not only turns o 1 min long summons, or something like old FF. I don't like when people said that FFXV is not a true FF because it has no turns... okay, this is a stupid argument. Every new thing about FFXV I see, I feel like any other FF game. No one said that Xenoblade was bad game, but Xenogears and Xenosaga were turn based. It is Xenoblade a bullshit because it has no turns? Obviously not. SO, why this people says FF if not FF is doesn't have turns?

People are very superficial sometimes. Final Fantasy XI and XIV are Final Fantasy like any other. The universe, the story, characters and all. Focus only on the gameplay is not argument enough to say is not a Final Fantasy.

I play this because I'm a Final Fantasy fan, I first played 8 and it still remains my favorite (for the story; everyone hates the draw system, we know) and as I got older I ventured out and played the other games.

I have limited MMO experience. I played White Knight Chronicles I & II because it was more like, "Oh you finished the entire story mode but hey, now you can keep playing online with a bunch of other people for free," so I decided "Why not?" and gave it a try and loved it. I also played DDO, but because I'm a fan of D&D. The entire concept of MMOs never really fascinated me, like I've never been one to be like "Oh I need a new MMO to play." So really this game drew me in because I didn't play 11 and just wanted to see how FF would do an MMO, since I love old FF, and I've been pretty happy with it since.

One critique I would give is that when this game is your 1st MMO, the game needs to show you how to use your skills correctly. It may give you a description of what it does, but it should give you a demonstration with a follow up quest from your guild once you unlock it, to have you use the new skill properly, whether it's a buff or has secondary properties such as stun or silence.

When I 1st started, I didn't know what a tank, DPS or healer was. I picked Marauder because I favor axes more. Little did I know the troubles I would run into being a noob tank. I was struggling bad since I didn't know my role or exactly how to use my skill set. I was going to quit the game because of all the mistakes I was making and hated doing dungeons because of it. Thanks to friends and trial & error, I finally figured it out, but the game doesn't really do much to help explain your skill set and how to use it properly.

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Originally Posted by Antonio_Xul

One critique I would give is that when this game is your 1st MMO, the game needs to show you how to use your skills correctly. It may give you a description of what it does, but it should give you a demonstration with a follow up quest from your guild once you unlock it, to have you use the new skill properly, whether it's a buff or has secondary properties such as stun or silence.

When I 1st started, I didn't know what a tank, DPS or healer was. I picked Marauder because I favor axes more. Little did I know the troubles I would run into being a noob tank. I was struggling bad since I didn't know my role or exactly how to use my skill set. I was going to quit the game because of all the mistakes I was making and hated doing dungeons because of it. Thanks to friends and trial & error, I finally figured it out, but the game doesn't really do much to help explain your skill set and how to use it properly.

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Hall of novice exists now.

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Originally Posted by Geula

Hall of novice exists now.

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Ah yes. I forgot about. I could have used that 2 and half years ago. I wonder if it's working.

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Originally Posted by Antonio_Xul

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This kinda bothered me about class progression. I remember one of the quests, you have to fight off a group of enemies, and then they give you rockbreaker. Which turned the quest into a completely missed opportunity to introduce a new skill and teach how to use it. The quest should have had a sub goal to hit 3+ enemies with a single rockbreaker. I do think they did a much better job with the ninja quests in this regard though when teaching how to use the mudras.

As much as I do enjoy this game, I don't think I'd be here if it wasn't a Final Fantasy. All of the FF fan service plays a huge part in the lure of this game.

Lots of single player FF fans hate XI and XIV just because they're MMO and they said that these games are not a real FF game, even though FFXIV is more like a Final Fantasy game than some latest games like FFXV.

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Originally Posted by Evangela

Lots of single player FF fans hate XI and XIV just because they're MMO and they said that these games are not a real FF game, even though FFXIV is more like a Final Fantasy game than some latest games like FFXV.

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These same people that complain about sub fees unironically spend more money on games like Record Keeper too, hear it all the time on this FF fan forum I'm on that XIV is the devil but games where the moogles are always after your money are okay.

Never played a FF game before. I'm here for the MMORPG experience. There are some things to improve but overall I'm happy with their take on the MMO genre. Diminishing the effects of RNG, level synch, overworld events, rewards based on contribution, the armory system, housing and the crafting system are a nice change for me coming from WoW.

I haven't noticed a big divide in the playerbase related to their gaming history. After all most of us are not here ro revel in the past.

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Originally Posted by Reinha

I'm happy with their take on the MMO genre.

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They did another take with it with Final Fantasy XI and that provides the Final Fantasy experience and MMO experience far better.

There is a divide but it's more of an expectations vs reality issue dealing with RPG V MMORPG. You have a spectrum of players with their own perceptions of the game then you have the what developers set out to accomplish.

Regardless of your mmo experience it's how others that we have to rely on go about playing the game that affect our community and outlook.

You have new players familiar with FF who have little to no mmo experience come into the game and adapt (Reality). Then you have the new players familiar with FF who come in thinking this is just another FF game with online features added (Expectation). On the other side, you have Veteran MMO players that are familiar with FF who come into the game with the mindset that this is a mmo based on FF and treat it as such (Reality). Then you have the Veteran mmo players Familiar with FF who come in with their perception of what FFXIV "should be like" because they are comparing it to other mmos (Expectation).

The Fact that it's Final Fantasy isn't a divide but players not grasping or accepting the genre of Final Fantasy it is because it's been synonymous with one thing for such a long time.