The Game Past present and future

[Calina]

I been playing FF games since I was a child, I can easy say Some of my most remember-able moments in my gaming life came from SquareSoft and then later (ffxi)
Square-Enix..
I got into FFXIV on early alpha testing and played all the way up to release bought two copies of the start a week early CE (ruffly 200$ US)
back when the game was still in beta and I was experiencing guild leves for the first time I though that it was gonna be a solo thing.. like something you could do while seeking for party or waiting on LS for group activity's and such.. I was really excited at what the game would have in it once it released.. only to have the game release and see SE wasn't holding anything back in beta and there really wasn't anymore content in ffxiv... i was disappointed..
moving ahead abit I played for awhile and quit I came back for new patches and completely finished the new content sometimes in the same day it released and was back to nothing to do but grind another class, while i hope there will actually be something worth while in the future..
to me there is no game here.. I keep trying to find a reason to want to play but what
reason is there to have rank 50 classes...?
they added NM's to this game and I was able to run around and get every drop I was even remotely interested in, in a few hours, solo no less... no challenge no effort and most the gear isn't even that great..
NM's where really nice in FFXI, I remember fondly of camping LL in my first weeks of playing ffxi and camped it 100 more times over the 5 or 6 years I played the game the same goes for most NM's that were in FFXI it was endless content you could do over and over to make money or help a friend save money.. the gear was actually nice and you could sell it, it was win, win...
the first addition of NM's in FFXIV was really disappointing.. the larger group based NM's fights.. the NM poping again and again every 5 minutes dropping skins that make 3 of the desired gear.. now there all but worthless.. the market is over flooded with Silver tricornes, most of the other gear is lame and allmost all of the faction NM gear is terrible or comparable to shit you can just buy.. ; ;
the next wave of NM's was even more disappointing.. in a day or so I ran around and soloed nearly everyone of them.. one or two I didn't bother with because gear was pure terrible. mob pops every 5 minutes kill it rinse repeat .. done.
quit again the day after this patch because I didn't have anything to do again..
NM's could had been content we could have enjoyed over and over again over the years playing FFXIV but instead got reduxed to being something that takes a couple hours and is fairly boring.. not to mention if the NM's poped on a relatively reasonable time frame (1 pop every 3 hours or so) and the drop rates for gear was some what reasonable and sell-able then there might actually be something on the entire FFXIV market that was worth buying <-- as it is now there isn't..
quests added are so terrible i'll not even mention further..
the game has no challenge, none... it takes no skill to complete anything literally..
the main story is terrible short and again takes no player skill to complete beyond being able to stay awake through it..
the crafting system is nice enough though.... so much so that everyone has a good friend that's at least one craft or the other at rank 50.. (can get anything made at cost anytime of the day with normally 3 or 4 people offering to do it) so why buy anything?
and if you don't have to buy anything why waist time crafting...
there is no way to flag yourself for "seeking" a group or to even show your interested in grouping with other people you don't know.. aside from shouting about it in town at the camps etc.. me not being a particularly vocal person, this does not work..
I play a mmo to play with other people.. that being said that doesn't mean I want to play with the same people from LS or guild everyday.. what is so wrong with just being able to flag yourself to show you are willing to join a group or to see other people who are also willing to join a group..?
whats wrong with NM's that don't pop but a few times a day that also drop sell able loot, god knows the market needs something worth while on it to buy.. whats wrong with the game being a little challenging..? I mean there isn't one aspect of it that my brothers 8 year old son couldn't do on his own and with out any instruction or help...
I mean I'm a gamer, I want a game.. I want to have to work at something to win.. using skill and trial and error.. I want to die from time to time I want to have to really figure shit out.. and above all I want some excitement.. the most excitement this game has offered me to date is waiting for the next patch to come out.. followed quickly by disappointment and disbelief at how terrible some of these patches are..

If this is truly what the western gaming community wants and is looking for in games
I'm ashamed to call myself apart of it.. whats next start game at cap, and hit the button that finishes the whole game for you.. while you watch.. would rather watch a movie honestly...

I don't have much hope for this next patch.. lv 25 and 45 instance dungeons.. that you can go into as groups.. and if the picture shows anything it's that, gonna have the same mobs in them to a certain point that we already been fighting for months.
willing to place bets on how long it takes to completely finish with them? I took a walk
around to most o f the NM's around Grid and limsa and even some in ul'dah area.. every NM was up no one camping them what so ever.. in fact I didn't see one person the entire gridania trip , in the city along the way to mu-tuy cellars in the cellars or on the return trip back..
and whats more my archer.. that's... gonna auto punch the mob <--- wtf , the ranged class archer is gonna auto melee attack.. but not just auto melee attack "punch" the bloody mob.... *sighs*

the only thing that really looks promising is the shift of focus from Guild leves to what they should had been from the start...

this will inevitably cause a bunch of flaming and what not.. this is how I feel about the games progression.. and even now I want to hope for some improvement.. anyone that knows me in game knows I defended SE and FFXIV more then most anyone here that will defend it now with there comments in response to this post.. and truly the only reason I even bother to keep checking is the 200$ USD invested in the game which I consider the worst monetary game investment i ever made..

~!

[VeranRamaden]

And people got pissed at me for pretty much saying casual content doesn't make for fun;
I agree with you all the way.

I didn't camped NM's that much because I didn't have patience, but the times I did and
actually got Leaping boots, Charm that dropped from hare in East Ron, dunes pin, I
felt like I had EARNED those. Not just,
"WACK IT, WACK IT! ZERG RUSH! Alright. we killed him. Time? 43 seconds."

People can disagree all they want, but directing an MMORPG towards casual will not create a lasting fun experience.
I'm sorry, it just wont.
Instead make difficult content, but with the ability to reduce difficulty for those who want it.
Such as if someone is solo going into a storyline fight, then it would be set accordingly
(kinda like guildleves...but actually work)

Yup. done.

[Spuffin]

{{EPIC WALL OF TEXT}}

[Lyndis]

I won't complain if this game goes 'casual' but I'll always believe there's a lot more potential for excitement in making a world where legends are rare, rather than everyday.

Oh is that excalibur? Yeah it drops off an nm that pops every five minutes. We get so many drops we have to toss them sometimes.

[Xatsh]

Making a mmo purely for casuals creates cheap thrills honestly.

nothing is lasting, nothing feels rewarding, nothing makes you feel like you truly worked for it. person putting in work 24/7 = person who logs in twice a week for 2hrs a day.

I despise that... but this forum is a prime example... that is what the masses demand now.

We just have to accept that MMOS are the most casual games in the market now days. The pokemon era has destroyed video games.. not just on PC but all consols.

[Quoc]

Thanks casual gaming for the fatigue system.

[Tezz_Xivectro]

Dungeon Fighter Onlines fatigue system was annoying too, but you literally had to stop playing once it was fully depleted (idk how it is now).

In regards to Pokemon, i didn't realize people considered it very casual. I always thought the finding & leveling of pokemon was very grind heavy & oldschool-ish. I suppose the fights in that game are pathetically easy though (i kinda see the point).

Gnite forum, back to abyssea farming in FF11 (lol).

[Khalus]

The pokemon era has destroyed video games.. not just on PC but all consols.

Personally I feel that it was Blizzard with WoW that have destroyed MMOs. I mean really look back at how MMOs have progressed starting with MUDs, then moving onto Ultima Online, Everquest & Asheron's Call ~ those 3 MMOs are so deep, are incredibly difficult and have so many great options. I consider these the first generation of MMOs:

• UO introduced one of the best housing experiences and extremely brutal gameplay and exploration.
• EQ I still feel has some of the best questing experiences of my gaming days. I loved typing in the highlighted quotes as you spoke to NPCs.
• AC was just beyond brutal with its questing system, most times you'd be out in the world for days or weeks on end trying to find and complete a single objective.

Then we moved into the 2nd generation with Dark Age of Camelot, Star Wars Galaxies & Final Fantasy XI which are still just as deep and exciting and offer so many ways to play and options:

• DAoC is still the only game to this day with a 3rd faction, and it has the most brilliant 3-way RvR with destructible castles...
• SWG was an incredible sandbox until SoE killed it with the NGE and forever here soon.
• FFXI speaks for itself, and is also the only MMO that has a unique aggro system with sight/sound/smell/magic/low HP...etc {no other MMO has ever done anything like this besides proximity}

The 3rd generation still has a few good titles like the previous two generations with Everquest II & Ryzom, but this is where the downfall started with World of Warcraft streamlining and simplifying too much:

• EQII still to this day is quite incredible with its collection system, unique NPC dialogs, massive world with quests and interesting places to see tucked in every corner, and the AA system is great!
• Ryzom while its had a rough time being accepted and popular is a wonderful sandbox with a very unique combat system ~ designing your own skills and abilities as well as gear and weapons.
• WoW, the beginning of the downfall of MMOs as we know it, with too much damned simplifying and emphasis on instant gratification, and rushing to the cap where its just PvP and raid grinding.

And for the past 6 years pretty much every MMO as we know it, {save for a few that have tried to break the mold like Vanguard} have done nothing but attempt to copy WoW, primarily to make a quick buck offering nothing but the same, quite boring and instant gratification systems with a different skin.


Finally we have the upcoming 4th generation with Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars II & TERA. All 3 are trying to do something new and on a grander scale then attempted previously, but we'll have to wait and see how they pan out.

• SW:TOR while I will admit and agree too, that its just another WoW clone in space, does have its merits, primarily with its entirely voiced dialog and heavy emphasis on a unique story for each class.
• GWII with is dynamic events and making the world feel more alive than anything previous.
• TERA has going for it the newest form of combat being very real-time-action-based, though I'm still unsure about it.

{An FYI I did leave quite a few titles out due to keeping this post as short as possible...}


I suppose there is also a 5th generation yet to come with ArcheAge, Blizzard's Titan, Turbine's whatever they're working on, and I think even Bungie are making their own MMO too!

[MyKotoShi]

I think I've deleted the several entries I made on the Lodestone about how I felt about FFXIV in all, but they resemble closely what you've mentioned.

The truth of the matter is clearly evident and both Square Enix and the Players are fully aware of the many concerns the game poses to it's customers. I believe that the driving momentum that keeps anyone playing is sheer faith. Faith from those that have played FFXI at one point and enjoyed it; faith that flickers from a core fan-base of the series. For the better or worse, I fall into both of those categories.

Now, personally I am looking forward to auto-attack and this new melee idea for ARC's (my vision of the close-range animation makes this idea very cool), among many of the other additions to the 1.18 patch. The slow enjoyment that the game currently offers allows me to take part in all activities that the game has, and this was something I couldn't do when I started FFXI five years ago.

I don't want to see infinite ammo ever. Removing warped arrows from the game would be the smarter move, taking from what I remember from FFXI it didn't have "free" arrows. They were crafted, period (confirmation needed).

The point is I still enjoy the game, with it's many problems, I can over look most of them. We know Square Enix is working on content, material, fixes and revisions. It's that "in-between" time from now til then that determines who'll build their characters or wait it out.