My problem with leveling up in FFXIV.

[Edax]

You're spinning things like CNN/FOX man, stop your trash comments

And you have issues with reading comprehension because you're so easily upset

And people talk about WoW fans being dbags....FFXIV clearly has the same issue. Feel free to report me, I'm completely fine with it.

That's because you're a rabid fanboy.

I can't figure out if you're really this dense or if you're trolling me.

You know I'm not hurt or anything but you should know that your rude attitude towards people with different opinions doesn't help the game at all.
Not cool.

And I would say anyone who is offended or has a need to defend FFXIV for calling a chocobo a chicken has a real issue.
Nothing wrong with defending a game but there is a difference in defending and being hyper sensitive to any game criticism.

Are you completely lacking in self awareness?

[OhnoozeMyToes]

Are you completely lacking in self awareness?

Not at all. You were spinning what I was saying until I got aggravated enough to lash out. You are seriously toxic to the community here.

[Edax]

Not at all. You were spinning what I was saying until I got aggravated enough to lash out. You are seriously toxic to the community here.

Oh well if being aggravated makes it okay, then it's okay cause I was aggravated.

[OhnoozeMyToes]

Oh well if being aggravated makes it okay, then it's okay cause I was aggravated.

Yes I know. You were bent because I called you're mascot a chicken. You were aggravated because I said something that you perceived as negative. Then you decided you would twist my meaning and even use a quote out of context to make a point. Dishonest.

[Edax]

Yes I know. You were bent because I called you're mascot a chicken. You were aggravated because I said something that you perceived as negative. Then you decided you would twist my meaning and even use a quote out of context to make a point. Dishonest.

And you keep throwing insults at me. I don't know what you think your trying to prove at this point.

[OhnoozeMyToes]

And you keep throwing insults at me. I don't know what you think your trying to prove at this point.

Nothing at all.

[WalxAtNite]

I was just asking if anyone else feels like they spend most their time reading and traveling and not interacting with what little time they may have.

Simply put? Absolutely. I do.

But I've asked myself if it would still be 14 without it, and I think the answer is no. Some days I feel like I do nothing but travel and watch cutscenes, and some days I barely do any of that at all.

But I totally get it. There are times when you just want to get the bad guys but you're stuck watching Alphinaud or Urianger turn a sentence into a speech.

[Makeda]

I really think a lot of people are missing what I'm saying. I was not saying FFXIV has too much reading and traveling. I was just asking if anyone else feels like they spend most their time reading and traveling and not interacting with what little time they may have. I understand lore and reading text and story is part of an RPG. I'm not new to this as I have played a ton of MMOs and single player RPGs. Again the point was when I don't have a lot of time and I have been working all day I want game time that I'm more involved in. It's not a dig at the game, it's more about my situation really. I will admit that ffxiv has more reading than I think it needs but it's no deal breaker.

FFXIV straddles an odd point between single-player RPG, super casual-MMO, and extreme-hardcore-MMO.

Until Stormblood it hadn't quite found the right balance for all of that. It got good with Heavensward, but not perfectly so.

The 2.0 stuff is rough. It was passable in 2013 as a good MMO, but it wasn't the top MMO back then for good reason. It was just, good enough to be saved from destruction.

In the 2.0 content (level 1-50) you will see some odd pacing, a lack of purpose for many sidequests (this was actually patched in later as leveling was originally requiring too many side quests), and a whole lot of pointless going-here-and-there... A lot of things have tedious levels of grind to them, masked as MSQ quests. Such as all of the quests with the 'company of heroes' to unlock a primal fight. They didn't quite have an ideal grasp of pacing and they were more focused on making sure the game could regain, if not the love, at least the acceptance of Final Fantasy hardcore fandom.

With the expansions they realized they had a viable game, and they started getting bigger budgets to make things better done.

But the game does keep a LOT of elements that are more typical of a solo-RPG, all the intense focus on the main quest. Something even Elder Scrolls Online doesn't do (and that game is from a company even more known for RPGs, but they subcontracted the MMO and maybe that's what sets it apart).

At times and up to a certain point in progress this is a super casual MMO. Basically 'win' is force-fed to you until the day you queue up for max-level extreme primal and savage raiding.

And then you find this to be arguably one of the most hardcore MMOs on the market (from what I have been told, Guild Wars 2 raiding has the same issue only more extreme) - raiding here is absurdly elitist, petty, hostile, meter-tracking, and hardcore... I see things like adverts for raids calling themselves 'midcore' because they only raid 8-hours a day / 3-4 days a week... and compared to some, they're correct...

(midcore is a term I have only seen here, and basically in games like WoW the same community would be called 'hardcore').

You're in the lull... and sadly this thread has let you see the game does have it's share of elitist jerks. And unlike in WoW where that term is an internal lovingly noted joke for a set of friendly folks, here it is actually a description for one of the sub-communities.

BUT, they're not the majority here...

I suggest stepping back from your thread and the argument you've landed in, because that's not typical of what you'll usually see here. And even once you hit the 'extreme' and 'savage' level of things, friendly casual folks exist - but they are not as easy to find here as in WoW...

(in the pre-raid community WoW is toxic, while WoW raiders are extremely nice and accepting of newbies. The exact opposite is usually true here...)

[Jojoya]

I really think a lot of people are missing what I'm saying. I was not saying FFXIV has too much reading and traveling. I was just asking if anyone else feels like they spend most their time reading and traveling and not interacting with what little time they may have. I understand lore and reading text and story is part of an RPG. I'm not new to this as I have played a ton of MMOs and single player RPGs. Again the point was when I don't have a lot of time and I have been working all day I want game time that I'm more involved in. It's not a dig at the game, it's more about my situation really. I will admit that ffxiv has more reading than I think it needs but it's no deal breaker.

When you're working on the story quests, there's absolutely a lot of time reading (or watching cutscenes) because that's how you learn the story. You're free to skip the reading if you feel it takes too much time and just follow the quest objectives listed in your objective tracker. I know a few players who have done it (though most of them regretted it later when they realized it was a story worth following and they had no clue what had been happening).

Travel time isn't as bad as it seems. It's an important part of the world building and story telling. Things would be boring if everything was happening in the same small location.

It's your situation and what you want to get out of your limited game time that makes some of the posters wonder if this is the right game for you. The MSQ format is what it is, an immersive storytelling experience that isn't likely to appeal to players who want less story and a lot more action. SE is unlikely to change it.

There is plenty of content that is more combat focused that you could be doing, but ultimately it's going to hinder progressing your character if you neglect the MSQ since MSQ blocks access to new locations and new content. The game should feel better once you get caught up to the end of the current MSQ but there's a lot of content you need to get done before you're there - and that's going to mean spending a lot of your time reading and travelling.

Ultimately it's up to you to decide if the game is giving you what you want for your leisure time. MMORPGs can be very difficult to get into when your leisure time for the week is broken up into multiple small blocks of time instead of a few large blocks of time. It's something you need to take into consideration.

[linay]

And I would say anyone who is offended or has a need to defend FFXIV for calling a chocobo a chicken has a real issue.
Nothing wrong with defending a game but there is a difference in defending and being hyper sensitive to any game criticism.

While I personally don't think it matters what you call a chocobo, this is a game (a franchise) that people spend money and time on. So if they get attached to something about it, at least stop provoking them on it and move on, especially since that's not the only thing in their post and it's not even the point you're trying to make.