It's become a chore to even log on to the game

[Pinworms]

Let me guess, you never played FFXI ^^ (really not trying to patronize you)

I think a lot of players from FFXI are simply missing the mysteries that world held. It was a world the mechanics of which you were LEARNING as you went along the way. Just to give you some examples about this exploration thing, to make it a bit more clear what I'm referring to:

FFXI: When you saw a mob you didn't know if it's aggressive or not. You had to judge by its look, its name or simply try and approach it and see what it does.
FFXIV: Aggro mobs have a big red sign so that it's clear they are aggro

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FFXI: The mobs were aggroing based on:
- sight (passing in front of them)
- sound (being close to them)
- magic usage (using magic near them)
- HP (being hurt while close to them, for instance undead mobs had this)

FFXIV: All mobs aggro sight. Of course, super casual and easy to understand, but immersion breaking (see all the speed runs that avoid mobs while passing 10 cm behind their back)

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FFXI: During the night some specific, night related mobs were appearing, like bats or undedead, making night a more dangerous time to be in the wild.
FFXIV: Day/Night cycle has no influence on mob spawning or behavior.

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FFXI: Some mobs were appearing only in certain conditions. For instance, elementals (wind, fire etc.) were appearing only during windy weather, hot weather etc.
FFXIV: Weather has no influence on the mobs spawning or behavior.

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FFXI: There were secrets in the world. For instance, a wall through which you could pass to get into a secret passage or areas not marked on the maps and which you discovered simply by exploring the map edges.
FFXIV: No secret areas whatsoever.

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FFXI: The world was dangerous, with mobs being way more tough. There were a lot of areas in which exploration was only possible by using invisibility and sound deadening potions/tools, with limited effect in time. This was making exploration a dangerous thing, contributing greatly to the idea of ADVENTURER.
FFXIV: You can get on your chocobo and run circles around mobs 10 levels higher than you easily, meaning the exploration is completely devoid of any danger.

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FFXI: There were a lot of complex quests and things to do in order to get great rewards. Just as an example, here's how a Notorious Monster called Goblin Archaeologist was spawned in FFXI:

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Goblin_Archaeologist

Forced Spawn by trading at least one item with merchant value to the spawning point marked by a ???
A player may initiate a trade of any number of items only once per game day. The higher the Resale Price of the item(s), the closer the NM will move to the surface of the ground to claim that item. The minimum value required to move NM by exactly one position is approximately 250 gil.

You can receive the following messages which indicate how close the NM is to the surface:
You hear a voice coming from somewhere extremely deep under the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere very deep under the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere deep under the ground...
You hear a voice from under the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere close to the surface of the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere very close to the surface of the ground...
You hear a voice coming from somewhere extremely close to the surface of the ground...
You hear a voice from right beneath the surface of the ground.
If it has been spawned recently, the spawning point can disappear completely for about 6 game hours.
The level of the NM can vary widely. The NM can range from level 30 to 75 and the level determined is completely random.

Isn't this cool? Imagine doing this for the first time and the anticipation growing as the thing came closer to the surface.
Compare this to FATE and you can understand why some people miss the mystery in FFXI ^^

FFXIV: Fates. 'nuff said!

And so on and so forth.
FFXI had a ton of bad things in it, but some things were great. We're simply sorry that the good went away with the bad ; ;

-Lak

All the things that made ffxi great!! I'd love to see this stuff in ffxiv!

[Mihael_Longclaw]

All the things that made ffxi great!! I'd love to see this stuff in ffxiv!

Love your sig!

Edit: Loving alot of those FFXI things, making the game feel more natural and dangerous

[Zfz]

All the things that made ffxi great!! I'd love to see this stuff in ffxiv!

It's the small touches that really make a world come alive. Graphics and art can only get us so far, but it can never go beyond the superficial.

I still remember back in EQ, we had to /hail the NPCs, /con the creatures. Nightfall brings out the real dangerous monsters and we really had to hold up a torch to see at night. Now in FFXIV, night is just bright as day, we don't really care what level monsters are anymore, it's perfectly safe to navigate most zones because there are defined paths and monsters can be kited by absolutely every single class. Darkness makes no discernible difference and quest markers all but play the game for us.



They really need to be a little more alert. There should be about 15m or so radius in which any combat action will cause aggro regardless of facing. It's things like this that make the world feel shallow.