Just got this game...

[Sonic_the_Hedgehog]

Great, let's just wait indefinitely for FFXIV to be the game it isn't even setting out to be.

In the meanwhile, people will try out TERA, GW2, and ArcheAge and realise that those games offer much more interesting and novel features, and FFXIV will suffer for postponing their good ideas in favour of implementing stupid ones.

Ok, then why are you still here? BTW I'm not waiting for any of those games, so speak for yourself.

[Renshi]

Ok, then why are you still here? BTW I'm not waiting for any of those games, so speak for yourself.

Because TERA and GW2 are still under development, and out there there's not any interesting MMORPG out of this one, which will be the same situation as when TERA wil be released, judging by the release of Rift.
Just personal suggestion, nothing more =)

[viion]

Because TERA and GW2 are still under development, and out there there's not any interesting MMORPG out of this one, which will be the same situation as when TERA wil be released, judging by the release of Rift.
Just personal suggestion, nothing more =)

TERA is not really under much development, it gets a few tweaks here and there but its just released a massive update which involves new zones and events and dungeons (it was release 25th January Korean). It is sad that Se, almost 7 months still have not released any worthwhile content or new areas and still we are waiting until the 8th month for 1 dungeon? or Dungeons, yet TERA on the other hand can dish out a few dungeons + new areas + flying mounts + new story in 3 months =D Not to mention an expansion pack coming out End of Summer lol And it hasnt even hit US/EU soil!

Both TERA and GW2 will steal a lot of XIV's face. I think XIV will have the same routine as XI and not be popular until 3-4 years in.

[Arcell]

I picked up the game during 1.16-1.17 patches and I felt the same way. Everyone in the forums were chewing the game apart but I was having fun. I didn't get it so I kept playing and enjoying the solo aspect.

Then 'it' hit me. This moment where you think of the next thing to do but realize all that's left is SP grinding. I think it took me one month and a few weeks to explore 70% of the world and to complete all of the quests. I got to physical rank 22. All I had left to do were leves and behests... at rank 22.

I'll be back for 1.18 but I think I'll judge if I should bother to stick with the game around 1.19. The game has potential.

I find it very hard to believe at Phys 22 that you've completed every single quest in the game, considering there are many that are rank and class capped. The biggest parts of the story actually too.

Yes a lot of what there is to do is SP grinding but that's fairly common knowledge at this point.

At any rate, Lynart I'm glad to see you've given this game a chance despite all the awful buzz surrounding it. If you can enjoy the game for what it is at any point you shouldn't have any problems finding enjoyment in the game. That being said waiting to start wouldn't be the worst idea as they are going to drastically change some of the combat systems with 1.18 and 1.19. If you'd like to start ranking up and get a little bit ahead for the time being, it's not a bad idea at all to play the game.

The one piece of advice I believe will truly help above all others is to find an active linkshell that suits your needs. For me I know I wouldn't have anywhere near the same amount of fun in this game if it wasn't for my LS mates.

[Verecund]

No matter how pre-teen and watery the imagery might get, this game could never appeal to 'casual gamers.' 'Casual masses', maybe - the graphics are decent (though nothing like the tech demo :P).

However, the things that should be simple are just too much of a hassle for the casual masses to bother with, the gameplay is too stagnant for most casual gamers to really enjoy over other titles, and the in-game mechanics and challenges really aren't that intuitively engaging or complex to really attract strong groups of hardcore players from other games (all of these things are becoming especially important since most of the game's base has already up and left or just plain moved on).

[Sojiro]

TERA is not really under much development, it gets a few tweaks here and there but its just released a massive update which involves new zones and events and dungeons (it was release 25th January Korean). It is sad that Se, almost 7 months still have not released any worthwhile content or new areas and still we are waiting until the 8th month for 1 dungeon? or Dungeons, yet TERA on the other hand can dish out a few dungeons + new areas + flying mounts + new story in 3 months =D Not to mention an expansion pack coming out End of Summer lol And it hasnt even hit US/EU soil!

Both TERA and GW2 will steal a lot of XIV's face. I think XIV will have the same routine as XI and not be popular until 3-4 years in.

Thats great for TERA, but i'm also pretty sure its not redesigning its unfinished game. Believe me, I can agree SE should have held off release for at least another year, but its far too late for that, so now we're playing catch up. So far XIV didn't completely die when WoW released a new expansion and when rift came out, while i'm sure some people may leave for those two games the majority of people still here want to play a FF MMO or they would have left long ago to play actual finished products.

@OP: Glad you took a chance and it payed off for you! Most responses in this thread have been somewhat right, there isn't a ton of stuff to do in game (although that is getting better) and atm there is no endgame in place. I certainly would take my time getting max rank and do all sidequests/missions/class quests you can, cause if you just burn your way to max rank you'll either burn yourself out on the game, or hit endgame blues with nothing to do but start maxing another class.

[SirEdeonX]

I remember when everyone told me I was gonna get bored with the game within a month, and you know? I didn't.

If you take your time with the game, find some good friends, don't constantly rush to cap level, you'll never run out of things to do.

Don't get me wrong, the game still lacks a lot. But I wouldn't say content, cuz we have:

Regional and local levequests - every 36 hours
Behests - every 30 minutes
Guilds Tasks - every day
20 mid-level NMs, perfect for when you reach rank25-30 in some class, and join some friends to get better equipment
Main quests - every other level and although very easy, the story and cutscenes are very good
Class quests - every other rank for every class
Sidequests - very well written and fun to do when you wanna take a break from the rest

The only thing we're missing is a dungeon. And all the other modes FFXI had cuz of its multiple expansions.

To me, the only problem with this game is that levequests became its core - the center of levelling, when it shouldn't be. They should be aimed for more casual playing. So, if you're aiming to get to level cap as quick as possible, you'll only do levequests/behests and come back whining about how there's no content. If you want an MMO to play with ur friends and have fun, ull find plenty to do.

[Raagnar]

OP, you know your friends better then anyone on here. if you already bought it give it a few weeks and let them know your opinion. Youre going to get so many mixed reactions from this forum its pointless.

[Xatsh]

The game is improving, the fact that people like the OP even made comments like I actually enjoyed it this time around.

The truth is the game is still lacking content, and it probably will be for while longer. Personally I enjoy the game I log on camp the nms with my linkshell, run multiple leve groups in partys of 8, go out in the world and form normal sp party. All in all this take about 3-5 hrs a day of my time. Then I have my crafting leves and the new quest and the board thing throw in a few behest and I have about 40hrs of content a week.

The issue with most people is, although I see more and more linkshells doing what mine is doing, the majority still do not. And if you hate leves or hate grinding on normal mobs in a party then you will run out of things to do extremely fast. Grouping is the key to enjoying this game for any period of time atm.

Just do not go into this game and expect a western quest base leveling style game, know you have to group up and get into a good linkshell and there is a decent chance you will continue to enjoy the game for a much longer period of time then if you try to solo everything.

To sum it up basically if you try to solo everything all the way to 50, I can pretty much guarantee you will quit before hitting 40 on 1 class.

[Demacia]

I would wait it out. There's not enough to do on the way up so you'd be grinding just to wait for patches.