Thread: Did patch 1.18 make the game more appealing to new customers and potential customers?

I've been thinking about it, and I really think that if SE wants to attract the highest possible audience for the game come PS3 launch, then they should focus on the following 3 items:

Company content for both Grand and Player-run companies.
Crafting as a very relevant practice.
The Armory System as being very flexible.

For Companies, they're really going to have to make good on their promise of Company-owned housing and ships, as well as adding elaborate content for both public and private companies in order to foster a larger sense of community and purpose.

For crafting, they're going to have to get that group-crafting mechanic down as well as crafting materials and items for said private companies, and really try to make the crafters as relevant as possible without being too much of a detriment to the combat classes.

The Armory system NEEDS to retain its flexibility more than ever, as that was probably the biggest selling point for a lot of people in the first place. The whole 1 to 1 class/job thing can't last too long, as that pretty much goes against the idea of the system in my eyes. Do whatever balancing needs to be done, but the most important theme in this game as evidenced by Yoshi-P's thoughts is "flexibility" and "being able to play your way", and the Armory System is probably the most important element to that strategy.

Originally Posted by Malakhim

The Armory system NEEDS to retain its flexibility more than ever, as that was probably the biggest selling point for a lot of people in the first place. The whole 1 to 1 class/job thing can't last too long, as that pretty much goes against the idea of the system in my eyes. Do whatever balancing needs to be done, but the most important theme in this game as evidenced by Yoshi-P's thoughts is "flexibility" and "being able to play your way", and the Armory System is probably the most important element to that strategy.

Yes, you always read reviews about this. Everyone always praises it.

The only people who don't are those who were not able to make the specific role they wanted with the class-system. To accommodate these peopl, all that SE needed to do was help facilitate people to make their own roles and play the way they wanted (but this does not mean imposing specific jobs onto the players = awful idea, Yoshi!!!).

And I agree on all your points. Player run companies are something the game needs to emphasise that this is a multiplayer game. FF MMOs have always been about playing with others, so they should try to deepen that connection instead of running from it in favour of solo-content.

(Although I think there should be both solo and group content).