No one logged in today because of Lost Ark

[Anhra]

People aren't playing FFXIV, because anything else is more alluring than FFXIV endgame.

[Stormfur]

Yeaaah I gotta admit I got bitten by the Dying light zombie..I mean, bug. But I still login to do my dailies and stuff with the FC.

[TMW001]

Looks like extreme grind for this one. I'll pass.

https://www.mmorpg.com/reviews/lost-...iew-2000124288

Pros:
Tons of content
Competitive PvP and PvE endgame
Equalized PvP

Cons:
Nearly endless grind
Money can provide quicker gear upgrades
Incredibly boring leveling process

So pretty much something to keep people occupied till the next patch or Elden rings drops.

[VirusOnline]

Am I the only one who didnt find the ARR MSQ a complete snorefest? I thought it did fine introducing the world of Eorzea to the player. I hate how we devolved with such short attention spans where unless you see epic whooshy wooshy adrenaline pumping action 24/7 on your daily basis, its considered a bore in the everyday community. Its one of the reasons I couldnt get into the world of Lost Ark in its first few hours, so much weird "epic" set dressing nonsense thrown right into you like bruh can I just please start as just a random off the mill adventurer with the most basic of gear and skills and let me slowly get an understanding of your world please?

That being said though, Im in the minority here and yeah the first few hours of Lost Ark has much more "interesting" stuff going on but there's no sense of attachment to it imo.

Fair.
My statement was much more rhetorical, but ARR as a standalone is imo not exciting.

Imagine playing through ARR there is no HW expansion yet, nothing to look forward to. Killing lalobrea in MSQ is your endgame. It has great moments, but the plot (particularly the rise to conflict and the speed between exciting events) and story writing are lackluster.
ARR is an introduction through and through. Nothing is wrong with that. Introductions and worldbuilding, especially when done in large chapters get quite dry and boring. There's a difference between the worldbuilding of JR Tolkien writing and something like Eragon.
But ff14, esp being an mmo, did a good job of its intro.

ARR is enjoyable when you know it's not the end and you can jump right in HW, this is why I believe HW is so very popular. Once we're past introduction, we can now get some action and action is always exciting.


As for my assessment of Lost Ark - it's all Action, Glitz, Glamour, Sexy. GAGS if you will.
Nothing wrong with gagging on gags. It's fun. If you feel like you need to pay money for fomo then that's largely an individual's problem and an insecurity for casuals tbh.
Some people have the mindset that they always need to be on top of their game and that's how MMOs make money off of P2W for the most part.
Just enjoy a game if you enjoy it. I swear this comm makes everything political esp when daring to talk of another MMO XD

[KizuyaKatogami]

Everything I've heard of Lost Ark, has me thinking it will go the way of Blade & Soul inside 3 months. Unless the MMO is a Subscription Model 1st, I have no interest in it. But on top of that I compare every MMO to City of Heroes. If it is better than COH in 2007 than I will play it, if it is not better than COH in 2012 I will forget it's name. Every piece of info I have heard about Lost Ark, falls in Standard Korean MMO pay2win model, which means it looks good, plays like an arcade game, has casino slot machine sound effects for premium stuff, gender locked, slut wear on the girls, Ego fantasy for the guys, story written by an EMO 9th grader who wants to be Sasuke.

So like... BDO, B&S, Astellia, Tera, Elsword, Lineage2, and others, Final Fantasy 14 has nothing to fear. I would say if anyone could get the rights to City of Heroes, and reboot that game it would be the real contender, not some generic Korean Fantasy MMO.

14 isnt any better with the ego fantasy what with every character fawning over you and worshipping the ground you walk on. 14 also has problems with genderlocks with the races and outfits. Slut wear for the girls also pertains to 14 and the story is just sympathy sob story after sympathy sob story once you get to shb.

[Enkidoh]

Fair.
My statement was much more rhetorical, but ARR as a standalone is imo not exciting.

Imagine playing through ARR there is no HW expansion yet, nothing to look forward to. Killing lalobrea in MSQ is your endgame. It has great moments, but the plot (particularly the rise to conflict and the speed between exciting events) and story writing are lackluster.
ARR is an introduction through and through. Nothing is wrong with that. Introductions and worldbuilding, especially when done in large chapters get quite dry and boring. There's a difference between the worldbuilding of JR Tolkien writing and something like Eragon.
But ff14, esp being an mmo, did a good job of its intro.

ARR is enjoyable when you know it's not the end and you can jump right in HW, this is why I believe HW is so very popular. Once we're past introduction, we can now get some action and action is always exciting.

Having played ARR when it was a standalone (I've been playing since 1.0 and played ARR not only from launch but from the Beta as well), I can honestly say that this actually was never the case with ARR at all, even if your statement was rhetorical (if it really was as dull as it's made out to be, then how did the game break all records and become a certified success when it launched in 2013, even taking into account the albatross around it's neck that was it being a reboot of what was universally regarded as the worst MMO of all time, 1.0?)

ARR had an endgame even at launch, you had the first stage of the relic quest, Allagan tomestones were first introduced (Allagan Tomestones of Philosophy and Mythology), the first raid was available from the start (Binding Coil of Bahamut - the first part of Crystal Tower was also meant to be available from launch but had to be delayed as it wasn't ready in time). There was 'Hard Mode' versions of the first three Primal fights. There were the two elite FATEs (Odin and Behemoth, and trust me, those were deserving of 'end game' titles at launch). There was post storyline dungeons (Amdapor Keep, and another one I can't remember).

There actually was plenty to occupy players who reached the end, and even then, the first main content patch (2.1 A Realm Awoken) arrived about three months later which added a new Primal (or rather, an old one from 1.0, Good King Moggle Mog), EX mode Primals for Garuda, Ifrit and Titan, the aforementioned delayed Crystal Tower raid, and a massively long new main scenario (that was so long players complained about it, and much more). And the next four main content patches only added more and more before HW was launched two years later.

Hardly "just an introduction" with nothing to do.

[aveyond-dreams]

Fair.
My statement was much more rhetorical, but ARR as a standalone is imo not exciting.

Imagine playing through ARR there is no HW expansion yet, nothing to look forward to. Killing lalobrea in MSQ is your endgame. It has great moments, but the plot (particularly the rise to conflict and the speed between exciting events) and story writing are lackluster.
ARR is an introduction through and through. Nothing is wrong with that. Introductions and worldbuilding, especially when done in large chapters get quite dry and boring. There's a difference between the worldbuilding of JR Tolkien writing and something like Eragon.
But ff14, esp being an mmo, did a good job of its intro.

ARR is enjoyable when you know it's not the end and you can jump right in HW, this is why I believe HW is so very popular. Once we're past introduction, we can now get some action and action is always exciting.

I am someone who played ARR when it first came out, after having previously been playing FFXI and various other fantasy games/old turn based ones. I had no idea what to expect out of it, and was mostly sold on it due to the presence of male miqote and how cool (at the time) some of the Artifact Armors looked in comparison to the model quality I was used to as an FFXI player with very limited access to good gear.

In terms of the story-I enjoyed my initial moments in Gridania and exploring Limsa but after level 15 things felt extremely boring plotwise until the encounter with Ifrit, which helped solidify that the player character was more than just a standard nobody in a game like WoW, where they've been "the champion!" for 20 years straight as far as I'm aware. However, I wasn't fully taken in until we reached Coerthas, with its traditional fantasy elements and most of all the impressive view of Ishgard in the distance. I was also interested in what the Garleans were doing, so these later elements combined with the more challenging gameplay of ARR (at the time I played it) made for a very great experience.

This can no longer be said, sadly. ARR combat is simplified to such a degree that I could not realistically recommend someone begin at ARR unless they were completely new to MMORPGs. No instance or dungeon is challenging anymore, unless you get unlucky enough to be paired with a bad tank or healer thought that isn't often the case. There is no difficulty factor to try to overcome in the early game-only a very basic story with some great moments that are spaced out too far and wide. Even after I finished ARR when I stuck around I was only interested in the story surrounding Shiva and Ishgard. Everything else was unworthy of my attention. If I was trying to get someone into the game these days, I'd recommend they boost through to Heavensward. You shouldn't have to invest so many hours into an introduction to get to the good part of a game, which is why I hope in 7.0 that new players are allowed to make their characters start at the beginning of season 2 rather than subjecting them to the entirety of season 1 of FFXIV.

[VirusOnline]

Having played ARR when it was a standalone (I've been playing since 1.0 and played ARR not only from launch but from the Beta as well), I can honestly say that this actually was never the case with ARR at all, even if your statement was rhetorical (if it really was as dull as it's made out to be, then how did the game break all records and become a certified success when it launched in 2013, even taking into account the albatross around it's neck that was it being a reboot of what was universally regarded as the worst MMO of all time, 1.0?)

Hardly "just an introduction" with nothing to do.

It was rhetorical to the context of someone else saying they played a game for 111 minutes and deemed it bad.
If I played XIV for 111minutes and said XIV is stank doodoo this forum would make me a martyr. At least I'd die a male viera I guess.

Now, I played ARR as a standalone for a few months. Hit 50. Eh. Primals were ok. Story was ok. Ultimately, went back to maining WoW. Opinions opinions, something something folks with different strokes, et al. HW was what ultimately brought me to main.
Also, I never said there was nothing to do in ARR don't put words in my mouth unless its grilled chicken recipes >:M

... which is why I hope in 7.0 that new players are allowed to make their characters start at the beginning of season 2 rather than subjecting them to the entirety of season 1 of FFXIV.

Filet ARR and combine it with HW to make best chicken recipe.

[Atelier-Bagur]

This can no longer be said, sadly. ARR combat is simplified to such a degree that I could not realistically recommend someone begin at ARR unless they were completely new to MMORPGs. No instance or dungeon is challenging anymore, unless you get unlucky enough to be paired with a bad tank or healer thought that isn't often the case. There is no difficulty factor to try to overcome in the early game-only a very basic story with some great moments that are spaced out too far and wide. Even after I finished ARR when I stuck around I was only interested in the story surrounding Shiva and Ishgard. Everything else was unworthy of my attention. If I was trying to get someone into the game these days, I'd recommend they boost through to Heavensward. You shouldn't have to invest so many hours into an introduction to get to the good part of a game, which is why I hope in 7.0 that new players are allowed to make their characters start at the beginning of season 2 rather than subjecting them to the entirety of season 1 of FFXIV.

Thats not a good option. You're literally wanting for new players to skip all the buildup with their WoL to get to 7.0. Im sure 7.0 will be a somewhat "soft reboot" with new stories to tell but you're crazy if you think the devs will just ignore the huge amount story and character growth that wont be explored further coming to the next expansion. Its a bit jaded viewpoint to see how people find that just because every expansion has been consistently improving on the previous doesnt mean it automatically invalidate those previous expansions (yes even Stormblood has value). FFXIV is at most a story driven MMO where every single quest and side content builds upon its own narrative. So no, I wouldnt like for them to give new players to skip to 7.0. It makes no sense and it'll also overwhelm newbies with the amount of catch up content for them to do later.

[VirusOnline]

Thats not a good option. You're literally wanting for new players to skip all the buildup with their WoL to get to 7.0. Im sure 7.0 will be a somewhat "soft reboot" with new stories to tell but you're crazy if you think the devs will just ignore the huge amount story and character growth that wont be explored further coming to the next expansion. Its a bit jaded viewpoint to see how people find that just because every expansion has been consistently improving on the previous doesnt mean it automatically invalidate those previous expansions (yes even Stormblood has value). FFXIV is at most a story driven MMO where every single quest and side content builds upon its own narrative. So no, I wouldnt like for them to give new players to skip to 7.0. It makes no sense and it'll also overwhelm newbies with the amount of catch up content for them to do later.

Yes, the time being Minfilia's Minionfilia was monumental to my character growth
(yes, this is sarcasm but i do agree the story is very much required for character growth but i think the msq is still far from perfect and still a bit bogged)