I'm liberal, but FFXIV may just be TOO liberal...

[frostmagemari]

FFXI is the only game where gear felt like an accomplishment. Most games are easy to gear.

Don't kid yourself, XI was one of the easiest games out there (with the except of select content). The only thing that made gearing difficult was the required time-scale.

[Macka]

Don't kid yourself, XI was one of the easiest games out there (with the except of select content). The only thing that made gearing difficult was the required time-scale.

Funny because FFXI was the only game that even in the beginning areas there was a sense of danger

[Doo]

Funny because FFXI was the only game that even in the beginning areas there was a sense of danger

Like I've said before, on forums everyone is extremely skilled but in game it's totally different.

Forum guy: "OH yeah Titan HM I can beat it with my eyes close"
In game guy: I don't need to watch a stink'n video" *Dies to Titan in first phase"

[frostmagemari]

Funny because FFXI was the only game that even in the beginning areas there was a sense of danger

The only 'danger' in the first zone was when you we first logged into the game and started out.. and then found out that the aggro'ing mobs were a good four levels above the others. Once you knew that the beastmen would aggro you, you stayed away from them, any sense of 'danger' quickly dissipated... Then once you got level ten, you were gone and strictly in party where you played the waiting game.

People like to remember XI like it was this milestone of MMO gaming that required skill, and knowledge, and so on... but the only thing it required was time, and some common sense. Not saying i was in the top tier that tried to bring down absolute virtue or anything, but aside from a few encounters (which in the end were usually over-tuned), the game was not difficult at all.

[Vmage]

absolutely agree

the leveling in this game goes by much too quickly.. and the gear is handed out much too quickly.. and is much too easy to acquire

it would have been great if yoshi's idea of "only 100 players will kill twintania before patch 2.1" actually happened.. and there was a steady increase in difficulty throughout the turns

as is.. people playing solo without any ls/fc/organization whatsoever are capable of downing turns 1-4 in a single night through pugs/partyfinder

...not that i especially mind easy content.. but something difficult to actually strive for would be nice - rather than logging on once a week dropping all of the ilvl90 content the game has to offer, and logging out an hour later with a new i95 weapon

here's hoping coil 6+ is actually hard.

[SDaemon]

it would have been great if yoshi's idea of "only 100 players will kill twintania before patch 2.1" actually happened..

Because everyone was killing Twintania left and right in 2.0...wait.

[Duelle]

it would have been great if yoshi's idea of "only 100 players will kill twintania before patch 2.1" actually happened.. and there was a steady increase in difficulty throughout the turns

Wanna start talking about why it was possible for so many people to clear T4 of coil? >.>;

rather than logging on once a week dropping all of the ilvl90 content the game has to offer, and logging out an hour later with a new i95 weapon

here's hoping coil 6+ is actually hard.

The issue is not difficulty so much as scale. One boss per wing design like coil looks tiny and can be cleared quickly, as opposed to something like lv80 naxxrammas in WoW that could take a hardcore guild two raid nights to clear and a casual one three (if you really wanted to push it, you could clear naxx in 1 night but needed a good 5+ hours to do so), with additional raids in other parts of the continent. The fact that we don't have raid ID's and player characters can't be saved to an instance doesn't bode well, IMO.

[Hanemakikaze]

The only 'danger' in the first zone was when you we first logged into the game and started out.. and then found out that the aggro'ing mobs were a good four levels above the others. Once you knew that the beastmen would aggro you, you stayed away from them, any sense of 'danger' quickly dissipated... Then once you got level ten, you were gone and strictly in party where you played the waiting game.

People like to remember XI like it was this milestone of MMO gaming that required skill, and knowledge, and so on... but the only thing it required was time, and some common sense. Not saying i was in the top tier that tried to bring down absolute virtue or anything, but aside from a few encounters (which in the end were usually over-tuned), the game was not difficult at all.

Phantasy Star Online was the milestone MMO.

[frostmagemari]

Phantasy Star Online was the milestone MMO.

Never played that one (or heard much about it), so i can't comment on it's systems.

[Devilray]

The only 'danger' in the first zone was when you we first logged into the game and started out.. and then found out that the aggro'ing mobs were a good four levels above the others. Once you knew that the beastmen would aggro you, you stayed away from them, any sense of 'danger' quickly dissipated... Then once you got level ten, you were gone and strictly in party where you played the waiting game.

People like to remember XI like it was this milestone of MMO gaming that required skill, and knowledge, and so on... but the only thing it required was time, and some common sense. Not saying i was in the top tier that tried to bring down absolute virtue or anything, but aside from a few encounters (which in the end were usually over-tuned), the game was not difficult at all.

Seems like you are anti-FFXI from your other posts in this thread. And I think you are downplaying the "danger" aspect. Many mobs aggro different ways in FFXI. And they follow you through the whole zone which makes it very dangerous in certain cases. If you manage to disrupt their pathing, you might actually lose them unless they track by scent, then you need the deodorize spell to truly lose them or run through water. And in the low-lvl zones.... I think you are only talking about mechanics of aggro. You are not even touching on the immersion factor you gain from having to deal with those mechanics. It keeps you on your toes and watchful of your surrounding. You have to watch out for Orc, Yagudo, or Quadav that can run up behind you and kill you while you are at low health. Not to mention you had to rest and take a break between each battle (unless you had some OP refresh +HP +MP, RRIII gear after Abyssea). Quadav are the worst because they aggro you by sound so it is very hard to avoid them. FFXI > FF14. FF14 is a joke when it comes to danger. I never watch my surroundings, and only a few mobs aggro by sound. There are no weaknesses and nothing else to really worry about. Mobs run away from you. Sure, all of the immersion dissipates like anything else over time because you become familiar with it. And I would take that over FF14's lame ass danger-less Open-world traveling any day.

FFXI was actually very difficult. Did you try doing CoP missions before they nerfed it and took off the lvl cap? It wasn't just time sinks. Lots of the main-story missions required the same amount of effort that goes into a Coil group, and many mobs have different attributes, strengths, and weaknesses that make gameplay a lot more complex. You had to be decently geared and gear mattered at every level to max level when FFXI was still in its old-school days.

I agree with the OP that there is really no sense of admiration for max level characters in ARR. They are SO many people running around at lvl 50 with the same kind of gear. It just does not matter anymore. I am hoping they release more content that actually lets people stand out more besides an allagan weapon/primal weapon.

I have to agree that there really are no goals per say to complete in this game. I know it was released not that long ago. We farm content for gear... that's about it!
If someone so chooses, they can do nothing but wanderer's palace *only* and max out their myth tokens...and buy all ilvl90 gear. I'm sure they'd parade around saying how awesome they are and look down on people with less gear naturally. I consider that similar to that wow south park episode where they killed like 10 million sheep or whatever to get max level.

But basically, there is nothing in this game worth working on to be your goal if you are one to try to gain that kind of attention. Ok, some of you are going to say "well, go get your twintania weapon n00b" I don't know about your server, but I see them quite often now. In fact, there is a free company on my server that sells twintania runs now. So me having one, I can just be like the people that bought a run... There is nothing that anyone can obtain in this game that can't be carried sadly. That aside, the game is still fun, so I still play it. But my friends that like to get all obsessed with gear, I just laugh... Being the "best" at your class? Billy bob can still clear all the content, and he did it with his banjo... :/

So true... It's a shame a lot of people are just going to flame you with their "oh what's wrong with being a casual" nonsense like they are entitled to have just as much gear as someone that does real content. They blame the coil drop rate and lock-out timers when that really is not the issue. Anyone who had played since release should have more than enough coil gear for at least one job. Some people think everything should be received within the first two weeks, and they obviously are what is killing MMOs right now. There should be a distinct different between someone who beats Twintania and someone who does not raid. So far, the only difference is the allagan weapon stat wise. Everything else is just for the sake of looks or vanity in this game right now. There is nothing worth striving for when it comes to merit or attention, which comes back to the point the OP was making: No one really cares right now if you are 50 and geared right now. Blame it on the Myth tome system. It gives out "free" gear, which is why everyone is lvl 50 and decked out right now, even if they don't raid. And if you don't agree with me, I have already heard all your opinions. Some people strive to be the best in a game and want the attention from people online. Vanity is one thing, getting the best gear is even more important. This game is like a hypocritical to itself because it wants Coil raiders to get the best loot, but it destroys any sense of merit for the sake of casuals. SE is going in the right direction with the FC housing, but they gotta put that same difficulty into the gear as well. Come on SE. My mother could have got ilvl 90 in this game just from farming myth tomes, and she is not a gamer. Give me a break SE...