EorzeaReborn Column @MMORPG.com

[PinkamenaDiane]

OP makes it sound like soloing is the only way to level which just isn't true. There are in fact 4 known ways to level in ARR so far and you seem to be ingoring the fact that they exist. Your tone seems to be all doom and gloom mmos are turning into solo games and thats not the case.

1. Questing - chain quests go from hub to hub, you can group up with these too if you want.
2. Instanced dungeons - queue up for dungeons, kill many mobs with a group and some bosses along the way for lots of exp.
3. Guildleves - Back from 1.0 these repeatable quests that are at camps are back can be done solo or in a group.
4. Grinding on mobs - You can still grind on mobs if you wish solo or in a party as well.

Lets not forget endgame is almost exclusivly done in groups, 8 man and 24 man raids.

[Aela]

OP makes it sound like soloing is the only way to level which just isn't true. There are in fact 4 known ways to level in ARR so far and you seem to be ingoring the fact that they exist. Your tone seems to be all doom and gloom mmos are turning into solo games and thats not the case.

1. Questing - chain quests go from hub to hub, you can group up with these too if you want.
2. Instanced dungeons - queue up for dungeons, kill many mobs with a group and some bosses along the way for lots of exp.
3. Guildleves - Back from 1.0 these repeatable quests that are at camps are back can be done solo or in a group.
4. Grinding on mobs - You can still grind on mobs if you wish solo or in a party as well.

Lets not forget endgame is almost exclusivly done in groups, 8 man and 24 man raids.

I'll respond quickly to your thoughts. (Realizing I [the OP] am not the author of the articles, Ryahl is).

If you read the original MMORPG.com article prior to the companion pieces on EorzeaReborn, you can find there is an entire section "Content, Content, Content" where Ryahl mentions much of what you listed, and states:

FFXIV:ARR is shaping up to be a multi-sphere game, with content offered for soloists, group based gameplay and even multi-group gameplay. The party is a core game element of Final Fantasy, so it makes sense to have robust group game play available. Throughout the beta we should see dungeons and fully active time events (FATE) scenarios brought in for testing.

He does, however, specifically address the solo elements of the game..because there is a lot of concern and discussion on this topic. We have seen a lot of points dealing with this issue on these forums as well as other sites.

Additionally, the many of the current editorials on EorzeaReborn.com are addressing a general movement within MMOs, and not exclusively FFXIV:ARR.