One vision, to unite us all

Warning: Incoming wall of text

So, I've been playing this game since open beta. I was there for the epic failure of a rushed launch. I was there for the complete overhaul of the development team. I'm here now watching the game slowly evolve. And I plan on staying to see what this game will eventually become.

A little about myself: I NEVER post on forums, the only exception is my Linkshell forums and usually only if I am an officer of that LS. However, I do frequent them to see what the mindset of the community is and to get a feel of people's opinions on various aspects of the game. I am a "hardcore" player simply because I have the time to be one. I am by no means an elitist. I don't look down on players that don't have what I have, nor do I expect them to play the game the way I do. And if I'm not busy, I am always willing to help a fellow player out regardless of their play style.

There is no reason that this game can't cater to every type of play style. We're all people in the real world that just want to have fun in an artificial one. And if you, me or the person next to you shelled out their hard earned cash to play a game, we should all be entitled to having access to everything that game offers, and have fun doing so. There are many ways of achieving this, and every company takes different approaches in doing so.

We, as a community, represent what type of atmosphere our games live and breath in. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and nobody has any right to say that they are wrong or right. We simply all have our own opinions and they should be taken as such, opinions. It's not impossible for us to debate with each other while at the same time being civilized about it. The question is do we really want to? There's no reason to call people names and insult them simply because you may not agree with their opinion on something. Everyone is different, and no single idea will ever please everybody. This is fact. But please guys, and girls, take into consideration the person on the other side of that screen you're looking at. They have opinions, ideas, and feelings just like you. And they, just like you, deserve respect, especially in a game where we're meant to work together.

A well thought out, civilized debate will always catch the developers' eyes over a complete war between each other.

The whole idea of creating content in an MMO is to keep the player-base playing as long as possible. Game manufacturers don't invest millions of dollars into something that will only stop generating revenue a few months after its release (Console games are another story.) For this reason, all MMOs must have various forms of content. More specifically: content that can be completed fairly quickly and content that takes extended amounts of time to complete. This content should be accessible by all and the rewards should always be worth the effort.

So here are just a few ideas that I think many of us would be happy to see. I said many, not everyone, and if you disagree that's fine, you have every right to.

Open world content:

Squaresoft and subsequently, Square-Enix is known for always reinventing itself in each and every game they release. FFXIV is no exception. However, they are also known for keeping trademark traditions throughout these games as well. So, in an effort to keep this as short as possible (which it definitely won't be short,) I'll just throw out some ideas for some Open World NMs.

It's no secret that NMs in Square-Enix''s previous MMO were mostly for the hardcore player-base. But it doesn't have to be like that, and I'm 100% it won't be in this game. Imagine if you will, a world where there are NMs literally everywhere in the world, all with different conditions of spawning, claiming, and player cooperation. There can be ones that re-spawn only a few minutes after their death and continue to do so indefinitely. Others spawn at completely random times and even in completely random places. Others can be timed spawns. But one thing I think everyone can agree on is this, Nobody wants to camp mini windows! While I loved HNM in FFXI, I will admit, sitting in one place for hours is not how i want to spend my time in FFXIV.

We could have rare NMs that give an hour warning to the population of Eorzea before they are about to spawn. Such ways to implement this could be the skies becoming blood red while the city of Uldah's citizens begin screaming and running in panic as the legendary fire dragon Tiamat begins his rampage and is headed their way. They can even add a short cut-scene before its attack if they wanted to. At such a time the heroes of Eorzea can then opt to sign up to battle this fearsome creature in an attempt to halt its attack on the city. This can be done with a small popup on the screen, similar to how we have the NPC Linkshells. When you sign up for it you will have a chance at your LS/party/alliance be given the opportunity to vanquish this foe. But here's the catch, you can't claim it, instead he claims your party and will do so randomly. They can disable invites for those signed up after its attack so people can not abuse the system and have multiple solo characters signed up for the fight then form a party afterwards.

The hour waiting time (theoretical) is plenty for our casual player-base to put up a party recruitment for the upcoming battle. This would also be nearly impossible to bot, effectively ending claim bots, at least on these types of rare spawns. And the rewards can be quite impressive, fit for those skilled enough to defeat it. If one party is unable to emerge victorious, Tiamat will choose his next target as long as they are still signed up for the fight.

Other forms of large scale battles can take place in a similar way, but more focused on your city of allegiance. This is where I think Grand Companies can have a huge effect on content. Same scenario, obviously under different circumstances, but instead your whole nation can battle these most notorious of NMs. These NMs do not have to be tied to their "parent" nation, but will randomly attack one nation at a time in which only members of that nation can engage it. Rewards can be given to all parties partaking in these events, the chance of which increases with your party size. Again, casuals will be given the time to recruit people for the battle and hardcore players can rest assured that the best drops will remain rare enough to keep them occupied for months, or years to come.

The main goal here is to give everyone 100% access to the game, whether or not they have the skill to complete it. Not all casual players want everything handed to them and not all hardcore want to spend untold amounts of time just waiting for content to appear. This is a truly grotesque stereotype and there's no need for it. Rewards should be just that, rewarding, a sense of accomplishment. And fun should be within the battle, not waiting to gain access to it.

These are just a few ideas to show that content can be fun, rewarding, and challenging all at the same time, and accessible to everyone. I don't know about you guys, but the idea of hundreds of NPCs scattering everywhere running in fear, while the heroes rush outside to protect them sure makes the game feel more alive (though I'm sure our PCs won't be very happy about it.)

Again, these are just my ideas and opinions on how they can introduce content. This is NOT a suggestion to Square-Enix and should not be taken as such. Although I'd have to agree, I would have fun engaging in this type of content. Take it for what it is, just an example that we can all enjoy the game together no matter what our playtime limits us to. We're here to have fun, and nobody should be feel left out.

Awesome idea, but likely to never be implemented in this game

if elder scrolls can do that, I don;t see why an mmo can't. (and it is funny to watch npc panicing)

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Originally Posted by JayvirDeforte

Awesome idea, but likely to never be implemented in this game

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least its an idea better them most "compromises" some of the "hardcore" come up with. And again least it is a well detailed idea ingeneral. Beat 1/2 the crap in the forums atm.

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Originally Posted by MeowyWowie

The main goal here is to give everyone 100% access to the game, whether or not they have the skill to complete it. Not all casual players want everything handed to them and not all hardcore want to spend untold amounts of time just waiting for content to appear. This is a truly grotesque stereotype and there's no need for it. Rewards should be just that, rewarding, a sense of accomplishment. And fun should be within the battle, not waiting to gain access to it.

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Never more truer words spoken.

I love your post MeowyWowie. I see no reason why people can't be polite even with differing opinions.
The forums seem to be filling up with hate lately.. Even if you're perfectly nice, someone will come along and throw sarcasm and insults at you because they don't like your opinions or ideas. It's getting old fast. I've always liked "If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all."

And those are some crazy unique ideas you have. Even if it's not a suggestion to SE.. I'm tempted to say it should be. lol
Things like that would be exciting.

(I was one of the rare people who actually liked sitting around waiting hours for an NM to pop.. XD As odd as that sounds.. I'm very patient and always liked the competition and I'm ill all the time so I have tons of time to play. But.. I understand how it can be a little hard on those who have little play time.)
I'm all for challenging content that all types of players can participate in.

oh I know right I was just posting in the I hate br, anjd I agree with most ppl who like BR but i also said I don;t take the game to seriously to care about dps (not that I am an idiot gamer and don;t do my job) And just because no one shared this opinion I got looked down and fought over though I agreed with them on the topic. That is getting annoying.
Oh amd feel my opinion is going to change if i play or not. When ima have it regardless.

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp

Those apostrophes(or lack thereof) are getting redundantly annoying now. Is your keyboard key sticky or do you just type so fast to respond that you don't care?

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Originally Posted by Tezz_Xivectro

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp

Those apostrophes(or lack thereof) are getting redundantly annoying now. Is your keyboard key sticky or do you just type so fast to respond that you don't care?

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Stay on topic and let her/him do whatever she/he wants.

TC, great Idea, I got and adrenaline rush reading your NM idea (guess that speaks volumes to how exciting my real life is at the moment lol) and I think if there's a hair of a chance of us getting anything like this in terms of content in this game, I will be here for the long run. Lately I'm feeling this game is taking a turn for the better - SE will get it done with Companies, dungeons and the battle revamp because, simply put, they need to or else it fails and SE has a good track record (save for the abysmal launch of this game) so I'm thinking only good things from here on out for us. Can't wait 'til PS3 release so we start seeing the real meat of the game and hopefully a stream of newcomers with it.

MeowyWowie,

Thank you for posting this!
And the city attack idea was fascinating to read. I'm sure SE will continue to add to and improve FFXIV. ^^

Very nice post. :)

Yes....HNM camps you! The whole sitting around to claim a monster is a silly idea to me. The giant dragon lands and flails out it's tail and knocks over a party, while it starts eating an adjacent party. If it's a bunch of newbies...they get eaten. If it's a bunch of r50s, they get composed and try to vanquish it. Many of the play styles/ideas advocated for around the forums are just uninspiring and predictable. These are great ideas and would love to see more people thinking like this.

Great idea, but as JayvirDeforte said I can't see it being implemented, too bad really :(

Come on SE prove me wrong :P

I think these are excellent ideas, good read, nice post !

I always thought it would be cool to see a huge NM suddenly land in one of the lower level zones so new players could actually see one. As cool as it would be to have it suddenly start tearing the place up and killing everything in sight until a large group of people could mobilise on it, I don't know if SE could do it. I think a lot of lower players would be angry if it swooped in a started one shotting them, I'm sure many would still like to see something like this though, have to make it a pretty rare occurrence though so when it did happen it would be pretty special.

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Originally Posted by AlexiaKidd

I always thought it would be cool to see a huge NM suddenly land in one of the lower level zones so new players could actually see one. As cool as it would be to have it suddenly start tearing the place up and killing everything in sight until a large group of people could mobilise on it, I don't know if SE could do it. I think a lot of lower players would be angry if it swooped in a started one shotting them, I'm sure many would still like to see something like this though, have to make it a pretty rare occurrence though so when it did happen it would be pretty special.

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There used to be Peiste's directly outside the gates of ul'dah that would one shot you - sadly they are gone...

Seems like rare events with challenging battles is a great way to introduce rare gear - SE just needs to think ahead of and beyond the mechanics they've used in older games.

They could have NPC Thamaturge and Conjurers making shield like in the Limsa opening where low rank players could seek refuge LOL.

Very good Idea. I think perhaps Square Enix will take some form of ideas from this.

I played in the Alpha & Beta of this game, and when the Launch Trailer hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_n-2xacjVw
There was something that really sparked my interest, something that made me think they had kept it hidden from us.
That was the fact we could see in this that NPCs were walking around the city and interacting with one another. Sadly this is only present in Cutscenes and such. I think it is a very missed opportunity as it really makes the world feel alive. In the Ul'dah opening you see the parade, you see crowds of people getting excited, but you also see people sleeping in alleys and such. Both ends of the spectrum presented to the player in the video.

Thanks for all the comments everyone. I personally don't think this is beyond Square's ability to implement this type of content, the game itself is certainly capable of it. And if the really wanted to take it to an extreme they could have some of the battles take place within the cities themselves, and have the NMs actually destroy parts of the city, making players have to dodge falling debris in the heat of battle. And after it's all over, all the crafters in the city work together to rebuild it, perhaps finding rare materials for some nice crafting gear in the process. Also, I like the idea of have NPCs, or even PCs casting AoE shield like buffs like Jinko mentioned to protect low level players.

But this is probably beyond the capabilities of FFXIV, and perhaps the genre itself, we can still dream tho I guess :P Anyways, if anyone from SE happens to read this feel free to use my ideas if you wish, though they're hardly suggestions. I just want to show that there's no reason we can't all have fun in one game. :)

Edit: After reading Drazzan's post, it reminded me that Uldah's opening scene did in fact have a Goobbue set loose in the city and destroy parts of it, so who knows..

Nice post and ideas. I think this can be possibile if SE want, because they have the capabilities to do it. :)