Wy XIV is failing as it's improved...

[Shikyo]

Now I know my title may not make sense but just give me a minute to explain.

It's no secret that when XIV launched it was a major cluster f**k. In fact it was the biggest disaster in the Final Fantasy franchise. Ever. The game has definitely undergone some improvements and i really like Yoshi-P, respect him and think his reconstruction is a great thing. I look forward to seeing how the future improvements play out and I want SOOOO much to like this game. But here's why this restructuring is a dangerous thing.

The game needs improvements. That's obvious and I love how the team is working so hard for us. But, despite these efforts, this is why the improvements are succeeding while at the same time failing. This is an MMO but it is firstly a Final Fantasy game. And this isn't even a FF spinoff. This is an official numbered entry in the amazing franchise. With that said it needs to be a Final Fantasy and not just another MMO that has some FF familiarities. That's where the new adjustments are hurting the game.

This post was mostly inspired by the new video showing off the new auto attack feature. While the current battle system is very flawed and desperately needs improvement, in my opinion (and this is indeed a hard core FF fan's opinion) the current battle system was the best and most unique feature of the whole game. Again, like everything else in the game needed work but it was an interesting concept: meshing together the active time battle system of classic FF games with MMO style fighting. This concept I very much so respected. FINALLY we had an MMO that tread on unfamiliar ground and tried to make something that, if perfected, could have been ridiculously fun, addictive, strategic and, well, Final Fantasy-like. But because the amazing concept was so flawed, its promise will never be fully realized and it's being trashed for a regular old MMO auto attack system.

Now obviously we haven't played this new auto attack system yet and maybe (and hopefully) upon it's release I'll take this back. But going by the video it looks just like every other MMO battle system out there. The hatred towards the original crap that was the notorious XIV shouldn't be used as an excuse to just throw out everything in the game but instead evolve it and revamp it. Sure some elements of the game could probly be thrown out (like the market wards) but I truly believe that with some work the ATB/MMO battle system hybrid could have been something special and unique to not only FF but MMOs.

So the question I have for the community is: is the current team's solution to FFXIV just modeling it after MMO systems that have already proved successful in other MMO's, making it yet another copycat MMO? I know they're going by the feedback they received but is this really the solution? Will this really make it successful? And to the current development team: If you are just revamping things based on other MMO's systems (like the auto attack) what will make FFXIV unique? What will make me want to play FFXIV's auto attack instead of another MMOs auto attack system? Many believe that FFXIV isn't failing but ALREADY failed. Is making FFXIV resemble other MMO's really what's going to put this game on the map and revolutionize it?

I believe at its heart, Final Fantasy XIV has the chance to be something different, unique, fun and classic Final Fantasy. I'm not saying everything in the game could be amazing. (like the market wards. That really needs to just be dumped. It's just a longer, more tedious auction house) But I just don't want to see it's potential be traded in for WOW mechanics and just become another MMO clone. I hope it one day reaches its full potential. Thanks to Yoshi-P and the entire FFXIV team. i know you're working hard and I hope for the best.

just NO!
Guy please xiv's now former system is a tragedy and thank god its gone, complain all you want about that, but its gone and you wont see it come back after 1.18 and imo and plenty others thats for the best.

[Mack]

Same as above but monster could have body parts that need to be focused on.

Yes! I love it. It can be one mob but multiple body parts and it would feel like you're fighting a group of mobs. For example a scorpion with a stinger, you can strategize to take out the stinger fast because it deals deadly attacks or ignore it altogether and just kill the scorp. I think this would make way for some interesting fights especially if the mob gets extra tough after some time where taking it down fast becomes mandatory.

[Wolfie]

Cross posting here, but to make my point about not-thoroughly-thought-out systems, go check Bayohne's post on MW fixes.

They're going to be kicking out retainers to make room for new ones when wards fill up. It's probably one of the worst ideas to ever be cooked up in the history of this game and it's going to leave a lot of people irate. It's never going to work with a larger userbase. Instead of making the system simpler, stabler, and more user friendly, they're tossing more complexity, limitations and overhead.

It's downright sad.

[KoujiGeki]

Well in one aspect this game is as dime a dozen as any MMO. The story.

It's shallow and the quests have no single player FF-feeling like in every MMO except XI. MMO gamers have grown used to this kind of cheap production values but as mostly a console gamer and a XI veteran I can't stand the cheap way quest presentation and mission gameplay are put together.

From SE that produced great stories like VI, VII, VIII, IX and XI this is downright unacceptable.

actually SquareEnix only technically Made X-XIV up. Square and SquareSoft made 1-9. And the way i saw it X was the only good one they made but quickly destroyed that bye making that AWFUL charlies angels spin off. X12 blew and so does 13 was so bad that your idiot NPC party cant cast friggin life on you when you die and the linear pace of the game sucked.... and the fact there making a 2nd one of the also bothers the F%#@ outta me. Playing Puppet master on 11 was far more fun i had me, my rdm based puppet Genta, and my Tank based Fellow NPC Raka killing IT and chaining getting awesome xp. wouldnt worry about die cause Genta would enffeeble the shit outta the mob and spam cure me if i needed it and still dishes out alot of damage that youd have to switch you team in 13 2to 3 times to win.

[Eekiki]

Cross posting here, but to make my point about not-thoroughly-thought-out systems, go check Bayohne's post on MW fixes.

They're going to be kicking out retainers to make room for new ones when wards fill up. It's probably one of the worst ideas to ever be cooked up in the history of this game and it's going to leave a lot of people irate. It's never going to work with a larger userbase. Instead of making the system simpler, stabler, and more user friendly, they're tossing more complexity, limitations and overhead.

It's downright sad.

Really. I was always against introducing a traditional AH, but if that's their plan, I may switch sides. That is a friggin' awful idea.

But this is the kind of nonsense I'm talking about when I call FFXIV a "Frankenstein's Monster" MMO. They just keep stitching more and more body parts on this rotten corpse with Abby Normal's brain, and it just gets more and more convoluted.

Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[Eekiki]

actually SquareEnix only technically Made X-XIV up.

Odd as it sounds, XI was actually released before X in Japan, and was released well before the Enix merger. Sakaguchi was still in charge back then.

Sakaguchi could save this game. If SE was smart they would beg Mistwalker to partner up to save the franchise.

[Wolfie]

Really. I was always against introducing a traditional AH, but if that's their plan, I may switch sides. That is a friggin' awful idea.

But this is the kind of nonsense I'm talking about when I call FFXIV a "Frankenstein's Monster" MMO. They just keep stitching more and more body parts on this rotten corpse with Abby Normal's brain, and it just gets more and more convoluted.

Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

I just want them to get rid of graphically rendering retainers and areas. Please. They can reproduce MW, which is Amazon.com-style player shops, in a text/counter based format that will be infinitely easier to expand, make user friendly, keep stable, etc. There's no need to switch to an auction house (and in fact, most people are simply asking for a text/counter system and don't care for actual auctions) when their current model works very well, aside from having physical shops and zones.

[KoujiGeki]

ah yes thank you i ment to say that XI didnt count

[SuzakuCMX]

Even if there there is "a lot" of lore, most of it is just repeating that the Sixth Umbral Era came in water (or fire, forget), Garleans are screwing us over, and Gridania is going to get pwnt soon.

[Wolfie]

I have changed my signature to accurately describe my reactions to most of FFXIV's updates and features.