aspiring new player,convince me to play! :p

[raziel4635]

This has been on my mind since release,I love the FF games,liked the beta a lot but SOMETHING keeps holding me back...I don't know what.

Could be the server issues at launch or because none of my friends wants to play or because I don't have enough time for a sub game...

Anyway.

Why should I buy and play this over all the other mmos out there?

CONVINCE ME!

I'll be playing on a euro server...are there many players still running around?
Is there a lot of grind?
Hows the pvp?
Game economy?
End game stuff?
Server issues?

[Sunah]

1 - Not sure about euro servers but there are alot of people that play this game. Its still a work in progress but im having loads of fun with it.
2 - There IS grind but thats optional really. Also depends on how many classes you make on one character since you can only do the quest once.
3 - I honestly think the pvp right now sucks unless you have a good team to play with.
4 - Economy is pretty bad with the housing system and RMTs and such. If you are a buyer then you will be happy since stuff is cheap.
5 - Havent gotten too far into end game but so far its intense. Of course if you are a hardcore player and memorize the scripted fights then its easy mode.
6 - Server issues depends on where you live and such. I live in east coast US and i have 0 delay on dodging, while my friend is in mid west US and he has a bit of a delay.

I hope this helps and hope that some people will respond with better info than what i have haha.

[raziel4635]

are there pvp battlegrounds or arenas?

is there a real money shop by the way? I don't intend to spend any money on extra items and such

I'm also not that much of a hardcore player...I don't really care about endgame or gear hunting...most of the fun in mmos I get out of levelling up and exploring

could there also be a price cut or deal coming soon? I know that 16 euro for a digital version or 24 euro for a boxed version isn't that much for a game like this but would still be nice to know

[Nahara]

I'll be playing on a euro server...are there many players still running around?

Technically, there are no EU-specific servers; FFXIV divides it's servers between the JP servers (which are located in Tokyo) and the NA/EU servers (which I think are located in Montreal, Canada). However, the unofficial server website http://www.arrstatus.com/ lists Ragnarock (Legacy), Cerberus, Lich, Moogle, Odin, Phoenix, and Shiva as "Europe", so make of that what you will. As I play on Hyperion, I can't say what the population of those servers is like, but there ARE server-specific subforums here that you can take a peek into and see how things look.

Is there a lot of grind?

There is going to be a grind in every MMO ever, that's just the nature of the beast, as making people work for a reward is what keeps people playing. This question is otherwise hard to answer, because it depends on what kind of "grinding" you're talking about. Are you talking about grinding EXP to reach the level cap? There is some, but it's not as noticeable as some other games. Even after you run out of quests to do, there's still clearing dungeons, accepting levequests, and participating in FATEs to earn you EXP. For crafting and gathering classes, the EXP from levequests is very helpful for leveling up. Are you talking about a grind to earn gear? There is this, but that's the nature of the RNG. You can stick to crafted gear, which is more readily available, but you can't get the best gear without wrestling with the RNG.

Hows the pvp?

Haven't played it, can't comment.

Game economy?

Entirely depends on the server, but right now things are "bad" because of housing. People were really expecting houses to be more readily affordable, and thus aren't spending money to try and save up for them. The price of houses have already fallen quiet a bit, and when more people feel willing to afford them and spend money, the economy should pick back up. There's also the 2.2 update, which Yoshi-P has said should revitalize the economy with new crafted items.

End game stuff?

Don't ever let someone tell you there's no challenging endgame. How challenging something is varies from person to person, and what might be easy for one is still hard for another. Right now, there's not a whole lot of "endgame" content outside of the Binding Coil of Bahamut and Crystal Tower raids and the Hard and Extreme-mode primal fights. 2.2 will add a new hard and extreme-mode primal fight as well as 4 new turns to the Binding Coil of Bahamut.

Server issues?

None really to speak of, aside from maybe some lag (which isn't always the server's fault).

are there pvp battlegrounds or arenas?

The only PvP right now is arena-based, with 4-8 person teams. There's a new PvP mode called "Frontlines" that has apparently been mentioned in the past, but I have no information on what that is or what form it'll take.

is there a real money shop by the way? I don't intend to spend any money on extra items and such

There is no cash shop. FFXIV earns it's income via player subscriptions, and thus has no reason to make people shell out even more money for things, however trivial they may be.

could there also be a price cut or deal coming soon? I know that 16 euro for a digital version or 24 euro for a boxed version isn't that much for a game like this but would still be nice to know

I don't think SE is going to drop the price of the game yet, as it's still fairly fresh on the market and doesn't even have one expansion out yet (and might not even drop the price after said expansion, either, but you never know). Buying the game digital is about as cheap as you can probably get it.

[Sunah]

1 - I believe there is only 1 right now called Wolves Den or something. Just a 4v4 arena. Ive read somewhere of plans to add new stuff, don't quote me because im too lazy to find proof haha.

2 - No real money shop that i know of since you pay monthly. There is an option to pay like 2 dollars less a month but you can only have one character. (Doesn't matter too much since you can have every class on one character).

3 - Leveling up was interesting. Had a pretty nice story (people have different opinions). You can go about it diff ways. Queuing for dungeons, grinding, questing, or spamming fates. Or even a combination of everything. Also they have these things called Battle Leves that are like little quest you can do over and over. The world is beautiful so exploring everything is nice, but it is a bit linear with many boundaries and worst of all everything is zoned.

4 - Not sure of a price cut, i remember them doing one for Christmas i believe.

[RayLeonheart]

to be honest i can't answer you questions because i'm only level 27, but what i recommend is give the game a try, the first month is completely free. and when your time is up you will have 3 options, 1. if you don't like the game at all simply quit. 2. if you enjoy the game but don't want to pay monthly, you can play for free every weekend. 3. resubscribe and enjoy the game.
as for servers i play on Cerberus EU very friendly,active English speaking community, though from what i hear odin and moogle are the most active EU servers.
hope to see you soon =)

[Deifact]

Personally, I'd save give the game another six months and come back.

[Imapooonu]

Personally, I'd save give the game another six months and come back.

Why? The op has barely even started yet. There is PLENTY for them to do.

Anyway, sounds like you're already going to start anyway so.....*nudges in that direction

[raziel4635]

WAIT WHAT?!

GAME IS FREE ON WEEKENDS?!?

that changes a lot of things as I'll propably be doing 80% of my game time on weekends but was heavily worried about sub!

I require more info on this free weekend thing

[RayLeonheart]

oh shoot i'm so sorry, i misunderstood that, it was only for 1 weekend from 11/01/14 to 13/01/14.
again i'm terribly sorry that was misleading