My only concern with the way teleports and anima work in this game.

[CamAlch]

The problem right now is, what really is there to explore?

There are only a few points of interest I can think of, but otherwise all the landscape is mostly devoid of purpose

First off, this right here is a matter of opinion, popular opinion albeit, but nonetheless there are those who can enjoy the landscape of Eorzea as it currently is. But that is another discussion altogether.


Back to the OP's point, I agree completely. I DO NOT want to see Anima removed, however I don't think it makes any sense that you can be ported to locations which you have never attuned to. I have actually always thought that was strange right from launch.

In every other MMO I've played there have been forms of "Teleportation" or "Fast Travel". FFXI, Guild Wars, SW:ToR all had have forms for fast travel, and all require you to have reached that location first. Once you have done this, you can travel back and forth as frequently as the cooldown limitations will allow you to. This makes perfect sense, imo.

And its not even necessarily about forcing everyone to explore. Many people here have stated that they are not interested in that. Personally, I fondly remember back in XI making my first trek from Windhurst to selbina, or later making my way to Jueno for the first time. In XIV making the journey from the Ferry docks through the deserts of Thanalan for the first time, and later to The Black Shroud.

I enjoyed the change in landscape and lore along the way. However as we have established, not everyone is interested in this aspect of the game, or maybe they are one of the many who feel XIV doesn't sufficiently deliver with its current world design. And that is totally fine, that is your right. And I don't think the OP is trying to dispute that, and I know I'm not.

To me it almost just seems like a broken piece of the system. It just doesn't make sense that you can just be handed the accomplishments of reaching the various locations in the game without having to put some form of effort forward, like anything else in this game. Technically reaching the locations you need for quest or party content, is content itself.

And as for the responses saying "are people just supposed to wait for you while you spend 5 hours running to them?" First, it does not take 5 hours to run anywhere. Secondly it was not a problem in any of the other games where the system worked that way. It just means that players need to make the effort of unlocking those destinations before they start to search for parties in them. And if you're in a situation where you have not had the time or opportunity to do this before being invited to a party, then usually people are pretty good about waiting or helping you to get there. Maybe you have not seen this as of yet in XIV, but that is because the current system does not require it.

[Jericho]

Are you kidding me? The devs jobs are to foresee issues like this. It is their job to create an experience that offers the best possible delivery of content that allows for the most cohesive grouping of players. Tanaka failed at doing it in XI. Yoshida-san is doing a much better job with FFXIV.

Are YOU kidding ME? First of all, your direct attack on me was extremely rude and inappropriate. You could stand to learn some manners, and I believe I deserve an apology.

To respond to the points of your argument that weren't offensive:
1. It is not the devs jobs to foresee problems like that when those problems were not problems at all, they were just how the game was made to be played. FFXI was quite successful, so I'm not sure how so many features could be deemed as failures.
2. It was entirely possible to be ready for a party before seeking a party. Look online, ask around, get as much information as you can about the places you might be partying, and ask yourself if you know how to efficiently get there. If not, do some research. If youre not the type to research online, ask around. There are other players everywhere. That's all I'm saying. It's definitely not me trying to be difficult. It seems pretty easy to me (and was pretty easy for me, a casual player).
3. It really seems to me like the old ways are slowly coming back. If ALL the old ways really are dead, I'm pretty sure this game is going to die with them.

Honestly, I'm not talking about bringing every time sink feature over to XIV. I'm talking about little things that should have been in place from the start to let us know we needed to put in some work to be able to get everything out of the game. Little things like having to walk to a crystal before you can teleport or be teleported there. Having to take a serious amount of time leveling a class. Just because there are casuals shouldn't mean they don't have to put in much work leveling, it should just mean they only have to go through it once to be able to participate in end game things.

Whats so not casual about imposing a 20 hour wait on dungeons? Right now, hardcores have an unfair advantage because they can do a dungeon 60 times in a the first few days until they win and get goodies as soon as it is released. Casuals only have time to try once a night, and it takes 2 months. I think waits are a good thing, as long as there is enough other content to fill those gaps.

But this thread isn't about that, so...

tl dr

I support the removal of players being allowed to teleport other players to camps they have not yet entered as a small step towards building a more dedicated and less instant-gratification centered player base.

[Mudcat]

first trip to Jeuno from Sandoria was Epic ; ;

Did that at lvl 10. No maps. No sneak/invisible. No Chocobo. That was a harrowing experience for me I won't forget ever.

[Litre]

Absolutely ya the journey to Jeuno when I did it at level 20 was absolutely unforgettable, and even FFXI at least at the crags you had to journey to the first time. Like what, are giving in completely to the demands of the newer generation of "i want it now" kids? (Sorry for stereotyping in case you actually appreciate accomplishment)

And now they threw in intra-city teleports, I just resubbed and feeling quite disappointed, still fingers crossed for the new world of 2.0

[Jericho]

I don't think the intra-city teleports are quite as dramatic, but you're right, kind of a small step in the wrong direction.

[Riaayo]

I'd like to say that I agree with the idea of someone having to get to a crystal before being able to be teleported to it. That said, I think anima regeneration is far too slow. I'd rather just see mages with some teleport spells and the teleport system adjusted to something more akin to the Outpost system in 11 (though not requiring countries to actually control it in order for you to gain access to the crystal... but perhaps give some sort of incentives to drop the cost of your port out there).

[Mudcat]

If you don't like anima or teleporting, DON'T DO IT. Why is that so hard? I don't have 12 hours a day to play and I definately don't want to spend half my time just running to where I need to go.

I can't disagree with anything you have said up to this point as you are right, it is optional and no one is forcing anyone else to use the teleport function but I would like to give you some advice:

Yes, the game is pointlessly big at times but if it's taking you six hours to get from point A to point B you might want to press the Z key. You're stuck in walk mode. That is all.

[Rousseau]

Are YOU kidding ME? First of all, your direct attack on me was extremely rude and inappropriate. You could stand to learn some manners, and I believe I deserve an apology.

I'd hate to see how you deal with everything else on the Internet, or anything out in the real world. I wasn't rude, I was merely direct, so I won't be apologizing for your sensitivity.

To respond to the points of your argument that weren't offensive:
1. It is not the devs jobs to foresee problems like that when those problems were not problems at all, they were just how the game was made to be played. FFXI was quite successful, so I'm not sure how so many features could be deemed as failures.

I disagree. I liked the game, and it did well enough, but it did not do nearly as well as other MMOs. The only reason it didn't receive the horrible reception that XIV did is because it launched in an era of gaming history when those things were normal. They aren't anymore. People expect more than that now, and they expect it in droves. The few things XIV did right were ignored because they were inconsistent when side by side with the types of features you'd find in XI.

2. It was entirely possible to be ready for a party before seeking a party. Look online, ask around, get as much information as you can about the places you might be partying, and ask yourself if you know how to efficiently get there. If not, do some research. If youre not the type to research online, ask around. There are other players everywhere. That's all I'm saying. It's definitely not me trying to be difficult. It seems pretty easy to me (and was pretty easy for me, a casual player).

You don't actually address the problem of the travel time at all, or how it makes a large portion of a playerbase aggravated. If you actually think that this game can succeed in doing things the way that XI did, you are asking for it to fail.

3. It really seems to me like the old ways are slowly coming back. If ALL the old ways really are dead, I'm pretty sure this game is going to die with them.

This is incredibly egocentric of you. Yoshida-san needs to make sure the game can appeal to as many people as possible in order to drag the FF name out of the muck. The game will not succeed if it is made to be more like XI. The game will make the most money if it's a clone of WoW. I say this as someone who doesn't even want that, but there is no arguing that is where the money is. We already can see those changes happening, and if you don't, you either haven't played other current gen MMOs or you mistakenly think that games like XI will appeal to the current generation of players. They won't.

Honestly, I'm not talking about bringing every time sink feature over to XIV. I'm talking about little things that should have been in place from the start to let us know we needed to put in some work to be able to get everything out of the game. Little things like having to walk to a crystal before you can teleport or be teleported there. Having to take a serious amount of time leveling a class. Just because there are casuals shouldn't mean they don't have to put in much work leveling, it should just mean they only have to go through it once to be able to participate in end game things.

No, what you are doing is trying to impose your standards on everyone else. YOU thought it was more fun to travel, so you have this idea that EVERYONE will benefit from it. I mean, if you think you did, then it must be true for everyone else, right? Like I said...egocentric. And that's not being rude. It's simply an observation and a criticism.

Whats so not casual about imposing a 20 hour wait on dungeons? Right now, hardcores have an unfair advantage because they can do a dungeon 60 times in a the first few days until they win and get goodies as soon as it is released. Casuals only have time to try once a night, and it takes 2 months. I think waits are a good thing, as long as there is enough other content to fill those gaps.

But this thread isn't about that, so...

You're right, it's not, but it is the one thing I might agree with you on. I'm not very fond of the way games like WoW handle their dungeons, because the problem with people rushing is rooted deeply in the meat and potatoes of the content. For that very reason, it is the dungeons and raids where people should expect to have to wait a little bit. No spastic combat, no instant "push button, get bacon" gameplay. I'm fine with instances and content finder, but only so far as they are able to mesh with the current pace of the battle system, which I think is pretty good the way it is.

tl dr

I support the removal of players being allowed to teleport other players to camps they have not yet entered as a small step towards building a more dedicated and less instant-gratification centered player base.

I don't, because teleportation is a method of preparation. Like I said, if you are going to reign players in, do it with the battle content. Forcing people to deal with too many ridiculous requirements is only going to scare them away. I'm all for attunements, but the game was built around the idea of fast travel, and it exists for the reasons I outlined in my previous post. And, like I said, you can feel free to fight it, but I sincerely doubt it is going to change, as the vast majority of MMO players would not accept this. Indeed, they think -I- am too conservative with these things. If that is so, then imagine what they would think of your suggestions. The dev team knows this, and they aren't stupid enough to shoot themselves in the foot and scare away the money they need to offset their losses and continue operation far into the future.

[Purity]

OH HEY I'M CASUAL, I DON'T WANT TO SPEND THE 25MINUTES I HAVE TO PLAY PER WEEK LEVELING. PLEASE MAKE ALL CHARS START AT MAX LEVEL, AND WITH EVERYTHING BEATEN. JUST BECAUSE YOU HARDCORES WANT TO WALK DOESN'T MEAN I SHOULD EVER NEED TO DO IT.
[/sarcasm]

By the way, to those against this measure, why not have new players start with the ability to port anywhere they want?
Seriously, with your arguments, that feels like another step in the right direction right? Why waste time trying to find people to teleport them when they could be doing it on their own?
Sounds ridiculous.

On a side note, although I've never played wow, I'm sure there's some sort of restriction on teleports there too. So that point about ffxiv needing to evolve in wow's direction isn't valid on this topic either.

I heard someone saying people would need to waste 2 hours to get to a place they have never been? Man, if you had only the 3 cities teleport, you could probably reach 90% of the game in under 30 minutes. and jesus, surely you'd have camp horizon atleast?
Anyway, are you people implying there will be level 35 players who will get a party invite to raptors and say "oh sorry, I have never left uldah.. how do I reach limsa so I can choco there?"

even IF that happened every now and then, it would only happen once to a player, and they'd feel accomplished after reaching it, and knowing they'd be ready the next time something like that happens. Way more interesting for a player than "I go ported to some place with raptors and grass, and grinded there for a bit, and then hit return to go to that city where everyone is"

[Rousseau]

Ah, the argument of "all or nothing." Everything is a matter of degrees, man. Get used to it.

How teleporting works in WoW is depends on a few factors:

1. If your guild is at a low level (guild as in LS, as they have levels in WoW), you are a bit more limited. In that case, any player can be summoned to any dungeon, so long as there are two people at the dungeon. The player doesn't have to have ever been there. Few people do this anymore, since it is possible to queue from anywhere and be instantly teleported to an instance, with all missing group spots filled by random people, then teleported back to your original destination afterward.
2. A warlock can summon anyone in their group, from anywhere, with the help from one other person.
3. A mage can teleport anyone to any major city (and some minor ones), regardless of who has been where. This was often used in the past to get level 1 players to travel hubs.
4. Said travel hubs allow you to walk through a portal and instantly be teleported to certain high level areas. They are now located in the two most central cities.
5. If your guild is high enough level, then you have an ability that can instantly summon every single person in your group to wherever you are. It has a long cooldown/recast to it, but usually everyone has it, so it's not a problem.
6. WoW has other means of quick transport, such as flight. You can rent an on-rails flyer for very cheap that gets you from one end of a continent to the other in ten minutes or so, or you can level up and get your own flying mount that is potentially faster. WoW started out like XIV in many ways, but this is the path it took, and it's the path that "works." I can guarantee you that Yoshida-san knows this and is taking it into consideration, especially since many of his promises for 2.0 are taken straight out of WoW's playbook.

But, as you said, you never played it, so you are merely assuming things. WoW isn't perfect, there are a lot of things I hate about it, but there is a reason why it is the most played MMO in the world. There is a reason it pulls in the revenue that it does. I really suggest that everyone play it just to study its workings, even if you loathe it, because they are important to any discussion regarding matters like this. The game has set the standard for what is expected from an MMO, and while you can choose not to believe that, it won't change. The people we see posting here are not only a small percentage of XIV players, but the tiniest drop in the bucket compared to all potential customers. Most of them will never post here. They just know what they want, and will be turn up their nose at anything that is too convoluted or just plain filled with BS. I might not even completely like that, but I can't deny it. That's just the way it is.