I know people say questing is not the main part of the game... I get it.
Most people that don't have much time to play just log in for 30-40 mins, do their leves and poof away, which takes the actual "work" of the game itself, but won't rant about this, I actually like it because it is limited by time.
But this game, is VERY hard for a new player like me ._. I will write down my first week's experiences...
1. When I loged in for the first time after a lot of headaches with the no user-friendly website and game client (had a lot of trouble registering activating and selecting the "options" - why are they even called options anyway? more like account details or something more... related to what that page contains... no?) anyway, I loged in, as everyone the first time I just said, what the hell is this and bang tutorial started all of the sudden, moving controls etc. then, after 3 minutes, the tutorial gets stuck, I relog, then try again and again, and again until it finally worked.
2. On the first fight you have against the uhm... in my case fishies since i started in LL, the controls were very unconfortable, I have seen a lot of reviews with complains of this, should probably check them... there's plenty of feedback in youtube about this game.
Which, to be honest I expected to be completly released and not find it in beta... still... after 1 year of being released :/
3. Anyway once I started questing, it was cutscene and more cutscenes and more cutscenes... like every 5 seconds, was cool at the begining but it got very anoying after watching all those cinematics, I'm not saying to remove them, just to reduce them or atleast keep them in line, as in, don't let me control my toon to walk 2 steps then another cutscene appears...
4. Once I started killing things outside, I didn't find ANYONE, I thought i was in a instance or something. But then realized that LL is completly empty. I only saw like 2-3 people the first day I played, which is... not what I expected.
5. I was wondering what the little "shields" were and how you trade things, squad/party together, making a guild, etc. but seems FF XIV took it to the next level, renaming EVERY single thing MMO players are used to, lol, okay, raids = dungeons, linkshell = guild?..., and blah blah blah all those fancy terms no one explains to you when you start up, and with no one to ask, it is nearly mission impossible to hang out, WHICH may lead people away. People don't like it confusing, they most likely will want everything clear and explained.
6. After a day or two I saw people running around with chocobos, I didn't know how to call them out without renting one, I saw a piece of information but until I finally was able to ask someone everything made sense, I was wondering (literally until lvl 20+) what linkshell stands for, or what companies were, or stuff like that, you know?, it's hard.
7. After getting into a company, suddenly I was asked to go into a dungeon with atleast another person level 25, how am I supposed to party if I don't know how?, and once I finally party with someone after 2 days of waiting because not a single soul touched that freaking dungeon or raid or whatever the h. you wanna call it. Why is the party system so complicated as well as the UI?, very rude.
When I search of a party it always returns no results, when I open up one, no one joins it? am I doing something wrong? It should be clear by now, I mean, seriously by now in other games, everything is explained and at level 27 (my current level) I should be able to play around with no doubts of what to do or where to go...
I know Final Fantasy is known for its challenge, and I really like that I actually GRINDED all the way to 27... because it was impossible for me to party with anyone... I have only partied like twise and thats it, in a week? really?
I seriously would say this game is dead, however I'm still "new", I still don't know a lot of things (which I'm angry at... as said, i should be able to know how to travel lets say from Ul'dah to Grindania without having my linkshell mates to tele me from Ul'dah to grindania and then save there to unlock the teleport...) Like, why the hell is it so difficult to even go to a location?
I seriously found this game more of a job than an enjoyment at the moment, guess I need to hang more with people? - but whom? lol.
Now, the one that gives me more headaches...
8. Anima... today, doing the company quests to get my chocobo... I spent over 50 anima teleporting from city to city because I simply do not have the patience to run back and forward like a .... you know what... and taking half an hour to just get to a city then oh! surprize the quest is done, now go back!, another half an hour.
Anima, what's the whole point of it? why not simply pay guil for teleporting like normal games do? I would be okay with Anima if it filled up more quickly but according to what I have seen in these forums, it recovers 4 anima a day?, that means more than 25 days without teleporting to get back to 100 Anima? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
Anyway these are my experiences, if you have something to say do so, yes I do come from F2P games, this is my first P2P game, but I seriously think this game is really trying to kick me out in the first week...
Like today I was 1000 points away from my chocobo, and then found out that I need to do the whole stories of the other two cities in order to get a mount... I RATHER GRIND TO 30 AND GET THE NEW ONE, unless... more nonsense traveling because a NPC wants me to "SPY" the other companies...
Anyway, this might be some good feedback from a new player and what I was expecting of FFXIV, yep I expected way more than this.
This game is haaard ._. yes it's a rant.
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01-20-2012, 05:33 PMHagitoThis game is haaard ._. yes it's a rant.
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01-20-2012, 05:57 PMAshToreth
Oddly, I didnt have any of the above problems when I first started. If ever I ran into anything I was unsure of and curious to know about, I'd use this crazy resource of information called the internet :P
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01-20-2012, 07:44 PMSkies
I do admit I did not run into half as many problems starting as well, but I attribute that to the fact that I joined this game following friends so I basically started already with a linkshell, also said friends were XI players so I knew pretty much what the names meant, so I count myself lucky.
However I do belive that certain things like linkshells are explained at the beginning tutorial?
I do have to, however, say that I am disappointed in you for not liking the cutscenes. Goddamit they're the best part of this game in my opinion. But that is up to taste, so it is neither here nor there. The majority of your complaints are, however, things that most of the community HAS been vastly vocal about (or at least it is what it seems), which the dev team is in fact planning to fix over time. -
01-20-2012, 10:40 PMleomike35
Note to new players. I would suggest picking a server that has atleast 2 chocobos next to the name. Rabanastre has plenty of folks on as well as a few others. Second some info is actually in the cutscenes so try to exercise a bit of patience and make sure not to skip them. There is also a tutorial for new players and read through that to familiarize yourself with the basics.
Lastly politely shout in town explaining that you like this game and are very new and would like a linkshell so you can learn the ropes and have ppl to talk to. If you dont mind changing to rabanastre you can join carnival we help new ppl everyday and have a specific day of the week that we help out new players. Good luck and welcome. -
01-21-2012, 01:08 AMMambaThe first mission you do makes you run to the camp nearest to the town and bring up your NPC linkshell and this explains the whole linkshell thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skies
I don't want to sound rude but I think OP, you should really use the internet more or maybe read what the cutscenes are trying to tell you.
I am not denying that the game is a bit unfinished in many parts and the learning curve in the beginning of the game can be a bit steep but you are making it sound a lot harder than it actually is. -
01-21-2012, 01:42 AMHagitoOdd enough every time I did that the game closed so I had to bare with it that way.Quote:
Originally Posted by AshToreth
I like them, however I expect to be able to control my character for more than 20 minutes before another cutscene kicks in... I mean is this a movie or a game?Quote:
Originally Posted by Skies
My first thought was picking the one that was filled out, but since I was in my foolish way of following what the game tells to you, I chose one of the empty ones... since that is what the game itself recommends you to do =.=Quote:
Originally Posted by leomike35
It's probably different if you start in other cities I don't really remember anything explaining linkshell :/Quote:
Originally Posted by Mamba
My first language is not english how am I supposed t' nderst'nd txt' lk' th's?... -
01-21-2012, 03:16 AMLaraul
The NPC Linkshell is not the same as a normal Linkshell. And I agree this game could use more in game support explaining things. You should not have too "Use the internet" to know how to do things. Especially since the game will terminate if it looses focus when running in "full screen" mode.
I came from FFXI. And if FFXIV is the equivalent of throwing you into the pool to learn to swim, FFXI is throwing you off a ship blindfolded, at night, during a hurricane, tied to a rock. I'd just like to point that out. -
01-21-2012, 03:24 AMMychaelQuote:
Originally Posted by Rukkirii
I'll try to find it, but I'm sure I saw somewhere that the tutorial quests would be completely redone for 2.0.I guess they're not counting on a lot of new players before then, so they probably didn't bother redoing the existing ones.
EDIT: Found it, sort of. All it really promises is that we'll be taught how to party. No promises about anything else, other than that it would be "different" and a "easy to follow." -
01-22-2012, 04:03 PMHhaven
...The game is hard?....Wait? What?!?!
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01-22-2012, 05:27 PMSignyBesaid have a lot of hispanic people and its kinda populated. you can change now that you didnt do much. Ah, pro tip, in every server almost all the comunity is in Ul'dah, you should go there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagito
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01-23-2012, 12:40 AMKyanaSkye
I don't have time to answer all of your questions right now, but like people said re-roll to another server or try going to Ul'dah and shouting for a linkshell. Hopefully you will find some nice people to answer your questions.
I did want to point out a couple of things, you did say you were trying to use the Internet and the game would close when you tabbed out of it. You can avoid this by going into FFXIV Config -outside- of the game and turning on windowed mode under General > Video settings > Display mode > Windowed. Then mess with the resolution so it will fit on your screen right. You might have to mess with this a couple of times, but even if it covers up your whole screen and you can't click on the Internet browser, you can move the game around by clicking on the bar at the top in windowed mode.
Also, you seemed really upset about having to run an hour to each city or waste all of your anima. I could see that getting very frustrating too. ~.~ I'd like to say, do some more of the story quests if you can, you'll get a lot of money from them, at least enough to use airships. Using airships is basically a 5~ minute way to get between cities without using anima, in exchange for gil. If you really dislike the story, and don't know how to get money, I'd recommend leveling a craft or going the fast route and selling your shards you find. Most shards can sell for about 100 gil each, so getting ~100 shards you can easily make 10k. It will add up fast.
As for how to find the airships, if you are in Limsa you'll notice a red dot on the map where the adventurer's guild is. Go to that dot and you'll see some doors and an exclamation point pop up in your menu. This is a lift, and you can use it to get to the airship dock. A little talking to npc's and you should be able to figure out how to get to the other cities here.
Hope that helped at least a little. -
01-23-2012, 06:12 AMHagito
Yeah about guil I have around 100k now, just by doing some quests and mostly grinding.
Thanks for the tip of the red dot, I heard about those airships, only found the LL ship to go to Uldah some days ago, and yes I found people in there, as said, these were just my first experiences with the game feedback.
I know with time everything goes better, like fighting with mobs, it's easier now, opening windows, I setted up shortcuts, but yeah the game is hard if you did not play FFXI, I see a lot of people that have posted here come from there so they're used to what the game mechanics has.
For instance, changing the graphic configuration should be INSIDE the game, not another program which needs the game itself to be closed in order to change them, fail.
Other, could be key shortcuts, I find it nice that you can set them up I have seen this in other games, but most of the times things like inventory, stats, gear, etc. can be opened with usually the i, a, s, u, g keyboard keys, until someone told me I could change these under main menu > configuration > kay settings > idk what tab, it was kind of difficult finding it you know? usually OPTIONS or CONFIGURATION comes out when you press "O" or ESC, I mean they could really optimize the UI a bit more xD
And, I will give one more example, food, what does each type of food do appart of "well feeding" me, what does this do? It recovers MP or HP faster? how am I to know if that is not explained in the items? - just one of the many things that can be optimized.
As a player said replying to this thread, use Internet, yeah, but... why should I use it to find what I need IN-GAME? I mean, that is a solution that shouldn't be needed in the first place.
Sure databases to find mobs, items, etc. information that I can say can be used without issues, but to find what to do or where to go? that should be explained in-game TBH.
Thanks all for your replies :) this is just my first impression, I have been here for about a week, so just wanted to state here what was like my first week ingame not like I hate the game or whatsoever, I actually like it even with all headaches I have come across with :P -
01-23-2012, 06:27 AMHagitoI can tell from your post that you didn't even bother to read what this post was about right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Hhaven
The game itself for leveling, and such is EASY, however, to understand the mechanics it is HARD for new players.
There summed it up for yah. -
01-23-2012, 08:47 AMKyanaSkye
Glad you are getting more used to the game. ^^ lol my first MMO was FFXI, and that game was completely terrible at telling you -anything-. I literally had FFXIclopedia up 95% of the time for guides on quests, missions, items, etc, because the game told you nothing. xD So that being said FFXIV seemed really generous to me with all the info it gives you on where to go for quests and missions. They could still make it easier for players who are brand new though. The UI definitely still needs huge improvements, and I'm sure it will be fixed come 2.0
Also a little bit of your problem could have just been coming from a different MMO where you are used to the settings. I played FFXI for a very long time and then tried games like Perfect World, Rift, etc and I felt completely lost and confused by the controls, simply because it wasn't what I was used to. I'm sure it is the same for someone who's never played FF before.
Anyway good luck in the future and hope you continue to enjoy the game. :) -
01-23-2012, 08:50 AMMatsume
I think the majority of the trolls that responded to this thread were FFXI players to begin with and thus had very little issues picking up the mechanics of the game seeing as the UI is quite similar in a great many respects.
Speaking of respect... from a new players perspective I think most of the issues involved should be taken seriously and with great consideration. The developers might want to take this as an opportunity to step into the shoes of a normal new player to the game, if not the series, who has no experience playing any of the Final Fantasy series. This insight my point to some serious caveats preventing an new player base from joining for the long term -
01-23-2012, 10:10 AMlackofwords
One thing I agree with is the absurdity that most of the game information was not or is still not obtainable in the game itself. I haven't tried the new tutorial, but from the sound of it from Hagito it is still not effective.
http://extra-credits.net/episodes/tutorials-101/
Which cutscene are you referring to? I found most of them helpful to set the context the player is engaged in the moment. Whether if it was the class storyline cutscene, or the main storyline cutscene. Although some of them can be a bit long winded. If you don't care for the story, you could always hit ESC and click skip, to skip any cutscene.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagito
I guess this is just from your personal inexperience? But, usually in MMORPGs you want to pick a server that suits your play style.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagito
Such as if you were planning to just play alone, picking an empty or less populated server would be an ideal choice for you. This helps avoids competition. However, since you're new to the game, playing in a highly populated would be an ideal choice for you. This concept dates back to the first generation MMORPGs, so I guess most players just see it as second nature.
Live and learn.
It's for every starting city assuming you were following the in game instructions from the first guildleve tutorial. Although, I can't remember if it directed you the NPC that helped you create linkshells.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagito
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01-23-2012, 10:55 AMHagitoI probably simply skipped that wall of text without noticing it :/ anyway good the linkshell thing is now solved, I'm in one now ^ -^Quote:
Originally Posted by lackofwords