Brian from Work 2 Game is leaving FFXIV

[Thoosa]

I think it’s purely just a financial decision really.

I feel like 14 is a game you play, not watch. The only real exception to that being world first ultimate prog (and even then it’s a niche of people watching).

Outside of that, not sure how as a content creator they make anything much out of covering 14 and the content is all the same type now:
- live letter coverage (which you can catch up on Reddit/other places if you’re really into it)
- reading patch notes
- random speculation videos, which aren’t very worthwhile because 14 has a standard template for content, for over 10 years now, you pretty much know what you’re gonna get on each patch.
- reacting to other content creators “hot takes”.
- job guides that have all been done before - or you can just simply look for a wealth of internet resources.

I feel like, to be a 14 content creator (maybe just in general to) you need to be the kinda person with a big and interesting personality who people watch primarily for you, and the gameplay secondary.

Maybe he hopes New World will have a big explosion and become super amazing and suddenly everyone will be super in to it, but I doubt it - I’ve not played it, but 14 looks much more mature in its cycle.

If I were cynical, all the “14 white knights/defence force” stuff he kept going on about was just click bait to try and get more views. Also was there any need for a “I’m leaving 14” video when he could have just started covering NW more?

[midnitdragoon]

Part of why I stopped watching him years ago, for every positive point he'd ever bring up for XIV, he'd have to add two more points of why XI was even better. Watching his videos, just felt like talking current day gaming with your friends, and he's the friend that no matter what game everyone else is talking about, has to bring up how he thinks Sega was the peak of gaming, but that no one understood it.

Here's the thing... Im sure there's a middle ground where both sides of the aisle can agree on. Im almost positive that square is taking note regarding the curiosity of final fantasy 11 and final fantasy xiv 1.0 style of gameplay... Especially since we keep hearing about it beyond just the forums, we are hearing it now on YouTube from other content creators. Clearly there are positive points that can be applied from both 11 and 1.0. Only time will tell really.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Here's the thing... Im sure there's a middle ground where both sides of the aisle can agree on. Im almost positive that square is taking note regarding the curiosity of final fantasy 11 and final fantasy xiv 1.0 style of gameplay... Especially since we keep hearing about it beyond just the forums, we are hearing it now on YouTube from other content creators. Clearly there are positive points that can be applied from both 11 and 1.0. Only time will tell really.

The funny thing is, I don't think XI or 1.0 style combat would make for very compelling content, so if that's what content creators want, theyd have to really up their personality, since no one would really be watching for gameplay.

[MikkoAkure]

Clearly there are positive points that can be applied from both 11 and 1.0. Only time will tell really.

Only if viewed through rose-tinted nostalgia glasses. I have fond memories of FFXI and less-than-fond memories, but memories nonetheless of FFXIV 1.0 and that type of gameplay would not work today.

FFXI combat was menu navigating combat unless you made macros for everything. The game’s structure was less rigid, but every time players found a way to play that the devs didn’t like (remember manaburn?), the devs would nerf it. Pre-Abyssea during the peak of the game, most time spent playing was grinding your levels instead of doing actual content. You would spend hours upon hours pulling mobs to your little corner of the meta leveling spot until you reach cap. FFXI had a lot of neat open-world content, but most of it was spent camping and spawning NMs and HNMs for hours upon hours.

FFXIV 1.0 had a bad sort of fatigue system where every action cost resources and you would end up running out of TP or MP and just sit there waiting for it to come back. 1.23 is what most people refer to as the “golden age” of 1.0 where a lot was overhauled, but it was a stop-gap until Yoshi-P could redo the whole game. Physical damage jobs also had a “sweet spot” for damage depending on how close you were and even lancer and gladiator had different range limits they could hit things but it was more annoying than interesting. The color your gear was determined its sub stats.

Leves were originally supposed to be the main content of the game. People could grind FFXI-style but my friends and I ended up powerleveling all our classes to 50 since it didn’t take long and a level 50 could quit your party after pulling an entire zone and kill them all and everyone would get full exp. Other than NMs and the open dungeons, the open world was complete garbage. Gathering mechanics were neat but not the sort of thing you could do for an extended period of time. Now they’re Gold Saucer attractions.

The only things I would like to bring back from 1.0 are the interesting types of hard content like the body-piece AF fights, debilitating mobs with specific attacks from specific angles, and multi-layered dungeon raids like the old Dzaemel that required one group of people to handle skeletons and ghosts spawning while another part handled Batraal.

From FFXI, I would like to see horizontal gear progression. Burning Circles and Salvage were neat but I feel like Treasure Hunts zones generally scratch that itch. I liked how each expansion wasn’t necessarily a direct sequel to the previous and newer and underleveled players could still do some content of the new expansion until they needed to level up for later zones/content. The gigantic city-wide invasions of Aht Urghan were neat even though my poor PS2 couldn’t keep up.

[midnitdragoon]

Only if viewed through rose-tinted nostalgia glasses. I have fond memories of FFXI and less-than-fond memories, but memories nonetheless of FFXIV 1.0 and that type of gameplay would not work today.

Yes and no, I believe that the style of gameplay offered in final fantasy xiv 1.0 and final fantasy 11(75 cap era pre abbysea) is rather niche at this moment. However, with that being said, there is a demand for that type of content as there are servers that offer the 75 cap era content with a healthy population. We even have a mmorpg, pantheon, that look to develop around that style of gameplay. In my opinion, there is a demand for it that goes well beyond rose tinted nostalgia glasses. Sometimes players just miss the interaction and immersion while exp grinding, helping others run a tough mission or quest, chatting in the main world about the best way to go about things in the game, or saving a poor noob from high level monsters.

There must be some healthy middle ground that meshes the feeling of the old mmos, while modernizing it for the masses today. Honestly.... I don't even believe square would be able to do it, I don't think they would take that kind of risk,as much as I would love it for them to figure it out.

[MikkoAkure]

There must be some healthy middle ground that meshes the feeling of the old mmos, while modernizing it for the masses today. Honestly.... I don't even believe square would be able to do it, I don't think they would take that kind of risk,as much as I would love it for them to figure it out.

Eureka was this until NA players “optimized” it and turned it into a FATE train. In the beginning I did level grind parties and I heard the JP servers kept it going. The problem with Eureka is that it is instanced content and isn’t relevant anymore so there’s no reason for people to keep doing it.

[RyuDragnier]

Eureka was this until NA players “optimized” it and turned it into a FATE train. In the beginning I did level grind parties and I heard the JP servers kept it going. The problem with Eureka is that it is instanced content and isn’t relevant anymore so there’s no reason for people to keep doing it.

Part of why FATE trains came to be was not only because it was easier than actual level grind parties, FFXIV's combat does not lend itself well to those level grind parties. In FFXI you'd have things practically on auto or be casting for a while, and be chatting up the rest of the party because you had nothing else to do during that time. FFXIV's 2.5s GCD and oGCD system can't work with that, you can't send a message between attacks because there is little to no downtime. The NMs however, you had people constantly chatting while waiting for them to spawn, going to help rez others, and acting like the FFXI community. FATE train was how FFXI could be felt here in FFXIV, it was never going to be possible for the level grind parties to have the same feel as they do in FFXI.

[Ath192]

I am sad to see him go. What I think XIV lacks is exploration content. Island Sanctuary actually felt a bit refreshing when I first discovered the island. I wish XIVs world would open up and allow explorers to explore. Everything feels so on rails and "on demand" that it takes some flavor out of the game. Its like a mcdonalds, convenient, but hardly noteworthy.

I can essentially play this game from my inn and never come out basically once ive done all the unlocks (doesn't take too long). Maybe a few teleports here and there, but definitely no need to actually travel.

Meanwhile I have more and more mounts piling up in my list for no reason really.

[midnitdragoon]

Part of why FATE trains came to be was not only because it was easier than actual level grind parties, FFXIV's combat does not lend itself well to those level grind parties. In FFXI you'd have things practically on auto or be casting for a while, and be chatting up the rest of the party because you had nothing else to do during that time. FFXIV's 2.5s GCD and oGCD system can't work with that, you can't send a message between attacks because there is little to no downtime. The NMs however, you had people constantly chatting while waiting for them to spawn, going to help rez others, and acting like the FFXI community. FATE train was how FFXI could be felt here in FFXIV, it was never going to be possible for the level grind parties to have the same feel as they do in FFXI.

The 2.5 second cool down is my major gripe with final fantasy xiv since it came about in 2.0. The moment they made things faster paced, I knew that the social aspect would never be the same.

[RyuDragnier]

The 2.5 second cool down is my major gripe with final fantasy xiv since it came about in 2.0. The moment they made things faster paced, I knew that the social aspect would never be the same.

It's why I wish they'd just combine the FFXI and FFXIV subscriptions. Even if it was $20 a month, I'd pay it if it meant I could go back to FFXI and relive some of those hellish days.

LFG Fafnir for Ridill