Atma would bother me less...

[Ahzarhuuk]

If I could level up my other classes while doing them.

All these fates and all that exp going out the window. Probably going to switch to leveling my classes instead of chasing the lottery untill Square finally does something about this laughably dated gating mechanic.

Trying for a modern MMO and still behind the times.

[Cspr_Answrth]

I wouldn't expect them to change anything for a while... it is what it is.
The system works fine. You either grind atmas and get your atma weapon, and continue through animus and novus. OR, you go do SCOB and get weathered/unweathered and HA-weapon.
One path requires no skill and lots of time, the other requires skill and lots of time.

[EricCartmenez]

You either grind atmas and get your atma weapon, and continue through animus and novus. OR, you go do SCOB and get weathered/unweathered and HA-weapon.
One path requires no skill and lots of time, the other requires skill and lots of time.

That's what the leader of the FC of the house next door to us does. She said f--k atma.

I didn't even consider the alternative. Might do that with my Warrior. [sings] I am the warrior. [/sings] I can't help but sing that song every time I say that word. That's the 80's pop lover in me.

[Divine_Intervention]

What about those of us who want both paths? It's not one or the other for me.

But yeah, it's just a sake of grinding repeatedly. Can't stand it, but i want it, i'll do it.

[skho01]

Recently resubbed to check out 2.3. Frontlines was pretty fun. The new instances were refreshing. 2nd part of the tower was nice too. Everything seemed pretty interesting and towards the right direction.

Then ATMA, WTF IS THIS HORSESH*T! FIX IT. NOBODY LIKES IT. THE PEOPLE THAT DID IT AND/OR STILL DOING IT RESENT IT AFTER EVERY FATE. IT ONLY MAKE THE GAME MORE OF A CHORE THAN A GAME. Its not hard to fix.... go find the drop rate for the item in the code and put a *10. BOOM, done.

[Sonofbaldo]

I definitely agree. Fates are about the lamest thing I've ever seen in an MMO. Well, a lot of things about FFXIV are lame. You progress through levels at break neck speeds and then SE doesnt just pump the breaks, they literally break check you into oblivion. The game literally slows to a crawl as you're forced to repeat the same tasks repeatedly with no other course of actions. Dont want to repeat Fates? Here's your other option, repeat dungeons!

This is why i despise the new-popular mode of leveling in which you fly through sub-standard story lines for EXP. These Atma pieces should be the reward for completing a cool story line that requires maybe a party of 4-8 to work together for. Not mindlessly wandering a zone for hours upon hours upon hours. I've spent a good 7-8 hours doing Fates and havent gotten a single Atma.

Perhaps if fates were interesting enough to keep your attention I could understand, but its so boring it literally makes me want to turn the game off. I'm pretty sure making your players want to turn the game off is not good for business...but that would explain why FFXIV is failing to exceed the success of XI despite spending a boat load more money on advertising.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

I am not so sure about FF14 not surpassing FF11, nor do I believe FF11 was a groundbreaking success within its first year.

[Sonofbaldo]

I am not so sure about FF14 not surpassing FF11, nor do I believe FF11 was a groundbreaking success within its first year.

FFXI was very ground breaking and at that point SE had guts. FFXI came out in 2002, long before the invention of the iPad helped make any 4 year old or 90 year old a gamer.XI was the first MMO to go cross platform and required PS2 users to buy a separate attachable hard-drive. Pay-to-play and playing online like that was still just gaining interest. At that time it was still taboo to be a gamer, especially in the RPG market.

World of Warcraft dropped in 2004 which really started the coming explosion of the whole online gaming world and they did that buy making everything easier. Death carried no penalty. Recovery downtime was basically eliminated. WoW also introduced rested bonuses and all manner of cheap ways to make sure players who played 5 hours a week could keep up with people who played 25...etc...etc.

This murdered the definition of MMO's as Massive, Multiplayer, and Online were stripped of their meaning. Instead we have Call of Duty but with swords and wands. Short bursts of content that take little time, little effort, and little skill yet carry huge rewards so that person who plays 5 hours a week is equal to the person who plays 25.

I've hit max level and blown through every dungeon I've had thrown at me (including CT and CT2 and the first few levels of Coil) in less time than it would have taken me to complete one expansions storyline in XI, and that doesnt include getting to the level required to be able to do it.

XI also established a real community. Something XIV can never accomplish. Gear was not handed to you. Crafters had to make it. You couldn't buy everything you ever needed from NPCs or receive it through quests. Your server was your world. You didnt enter a Duty Finder to be paired with people from any world. Acting like a d-bag meant you could establish a reputation around your world as a d-bag meaning your attitude had consequences and players would develop reputations, be it good or bad.

This was accomplished without Youtube Videos or today's dependence on social media connections and apps. It was an actual world.

These are things XIV have never been and will never be.

[skho01]

Funny to run into you again here. Good breakdown/analysis. I couldn't agree more, FF14<>FF11, EVER. I had 3yrs of FF11 in me back when it first launched in NA. Everything back then was BRUTAL, from the UI, Leveling, gear progression, crafting, resource gathering, camping NM, story progression, everything. It was so difficult that it took months to get anywhere. There was definitely an odd sense of accomplishment getting gear upgrades. Gear upgrades were long and tedious too. It took them years to introduce AF2. I think I stopped about then. Looking back, its hard to imagine I spent so much time on that. That was likely because there were few comparable alternatives that I played.


Your assessment is correct, WoW did simplify a lot of the mechanics. But I argue that simplicity drove adoption/acceptance of MMOs in our culture, which in itself is an awesome thing. The truth is, people simply do not have 25hrs/wk to play online. Especially for the people that grew up on MMOs and are now working adults.

The metaphor that I'd use is this. Back in the days, we had to survey the ground for water, dig a deep hole, figure out a way to pull water, carry the water to our homes in buckets, and heat it up with fire wood. Now we have running hot water because we've simplified the old method and made it more efficient. I don't think anyone would want to go back to lugging water.

[Cspr_Answrth]

There are even more paths now... You can get UAT from ST, and a sands from Hunts. Bam, ilvl 110 weapon.
I have my animus, and my Rosenbogen. Proof that you can have your cake, and eat it too.

That being said, I'm poor, and cannot afford materia for melding. No rush though.