Fame

[Platinumstorm]

Oh so what you are saying is that you are against any pre requirements. I bet you hate AV. You'd be opposed to lets say, areas such as sea and sky to be implemented on XIV too then.

I'm tired of people thinking that playing this game, just playing, because its not even challenging, equals to effort and that anything that takes time doesn't.

To become known by other NPCs through your deeds makes sense. It gives immersion. It gives a sense of accomplishment.

Its not an outdated mechanic, its something that makes sense. FFXIV is a role playing game, not some knock the bottles game at a theme park. So play your role. You start from the bottom and you build yourself up into something.

Fame is not what I would traditionally consider a prerequisite; more of a mechanic that delays advancement by having a player repeat or make unnecessary trips that doesn't directly affect the player's lore, skill, or knowledge. The argument for fame has been mostly shut down in this thread, so I'd like to address your statements about prerequisites.

You specifically mentioned AV's prerequisite of having completed Denzemal Darkhold. At the beginning of patch 1.21, that prerequisite wasn't really a arduous task to conquer, but that doesn't mean it was a great idea. The problem with that kind of a prerequisite is that once that main content is passed, there's an undue burden placed on those who are entering the game, or advancing through the game at a slower pace than others. These are important considerations because we live on Earth, and we play games that don't have constantly replenishing populations [even with people needing to level up multiple jobs]. Now, some may say that "Level sync" is the key to this, but even with level sync added to FFXI, you still had to find people who were very generous and willing to go out of their way to help you advance past the content. This sometimes means that developers have to go back after implementing content and then reworking it so the restrictions that inflict unnecessary burden on newer players are removed.

You seem to be interested in the sense of immersion. Immersion and lore can be accomplished without hard [and by hard I mean a yes/no check, not difficulty] lock-outs. For example if a player does 100 dps, but a fight requires an average of 110 dps per damage role, then that player is a hindrance to a group. Unless he improves in skill or has a group that is skilled enough to make up for that difference, then he isn't ready for that kind of content. That's known as a soft prerequisite.

For lore, Shposhae has several NPC's that stand outside of it informing travelers of what lurks beneath; and even helps to explain what it is. Quests that help a player understand the lore can be added, along with a cinematic and story presentation without needing to place my previously referenced hard check.

You're also talking about accomplishment, but accomplishment comes from completing content - not doing the tasks that you are given before-hand, just so you can say, "alright, now I can actually try this content that I wanted to do".

If you're worried about a specific permutation to experience content, then you're more than welcome to experiencing it in the order you wish to yourself, and you don't have to hinder others in the process. I know that I have gone through dungeons in other games in a specific order because it made sense to me. Some people don't care about that, and it doesn't hurt anyone that they feel that way. In Elder Scrolls: Skyrim there is a "fast travel" option. Because older Elder Scrolls games do not have a "fast travel" option, I chose not to use it. I wasn't hurt by anyone using the quicker method, but I also was able to be personally satisfied for what mattered to me.

So no, prerequisites aren't outdated mechanics, and they can be used effectively to demand increases in player skill and help players become familiarized with both lore aspects and game mechanics. Fame, however, was constructed in a way that is very outdated in that it doesn't promote any of those categories, and has remnants of it scattered in a more positive way in the Grand Companies.

You're right, FFXIV is slapped with the "role-playing game" label; today that means something a lot different than it did fifteen years ago, but more importantly, you can play the role you want to play without interfering with the role that others want to.