Repetitive grind parties should NOT be the main source of leveling

[Bloodwolfe]

FF has always been a grind fest, from FF1 to FFXIV, part of the grinding experience is exploring new areas, fighting new monsters, making new friends, or even dragging your friends onto the game to play with you, the leve system and quest system is boring, repeating the same quests with the same mobs over and over, kill X here, kill Y over there.

Be happy with the grind, get out there and finally explore, find a strong mob and put yer foot in its arse

[KitCat]

FF has always been a grind fest, from FF1 to FFXIV, part of the grinding experience is exploring new areas, fighting new monsters, making new friends, or even dragging your friends onto the game to play with you, the leve system and quest system is boring, repeating the same quests with the same mobs over and over, kill X here, kill Y over there.

Be happy with the grind, get out there and finally explore, find a strong mob and put yer foot in its arse

I agree with the general idea you're presenting.. but the problem with that here, is the world is just way to small. It's got 5 real areas to see, within each one just a copy and pasted chunk over and over and nothing interesting to see. With the exception of maybe mor dhona. There's really just not much to explore. A few dungeons in those areas, thats it.
While the area design IS se's fault, the square surface itself isn't really. More surface area didn't come to XI until many expansions, and the same will happen to XIV if it lives that long.

They need to do something about the zones to make them interesting though, because running around is like being stuck on a broken record. Check my map every 30 seconds because there are no discernible landmarks to help me gauge wtf i am.

All in due time though. I hope

[Ventus]

I wish I could just burn this thread to the ground. I've never seen Ul'dah or the community more active than since 1.18 with groups forming for XP parties at all level ranges.

While the patch wasn't perfect, it was by far the best thing to happen to this game to date. Some people complain about anything, but the revitalization of XP parties were a wonderful and necessary addition to the game.

Other MMO's should take notes, this is how you foster a good community in your game.

So much for adding anything productive to the thread, but oh well >.>.

Some people need to change their attitude and realize this is a platform for DISCUSSION and not where we say:

I wish I could just burn this thread to the ground.

I wish I could burn your comment to the ground =O! Oh snap! How you like that?!

[Godryc]

Would love to see the main form of progression through the game move away from grinding parties and leves (both solo and party). I think leves could find a place in the game as secondary content (almost where they are now they just seem more prominent because there still isn't a lot to do)

Party or solo there has got to be a better way to experience and progress through the game. Most games use quest after quest after quest. Its been done to death and while I personally feel its better than the progression we currently have I don't think there is a game out there that has really made such a great questing system that I'd just want it copied into FF14.

I think what many of us are looking for is a way to experience the game world actively (without a wall of text) in the form of adventure and exploration. Siobu's Eorzean redesign thread talked about this a lot. Grinding in a party will get you levels but certainly doesn't expose the player to much beyond the scenery.

A new variation on progression through questing (the idea being that its more fun and deeper than other systems) or something else. As Ventus said, brainstorming sounds good.

[Murugan]

Would love to see the main form of progression through the game move away from grinding parties and leves (both solo and party). I think leves could find a place in the game as secondary content (almost where they are now they just seem more prominent because there still isn't a lot to do)

Party or solo there has got to be a better way to experience and progress through the game. Most games use quest after quest after quest. Its been done to death and while I personally feel its better than the progression we currently have I don't think there is a game out there that has really made such a great questing system that I'd just want it copied into FF14.

I think what many of us are looking for is a way to experience the game world actively (without a wall of text) in the form of adventure and exploration. Siobu's Eorzean redesign thread talked about this a lot. Grinding in a party will get you levels but certainly doesn't expose the player to much beyond the scenery.

A new variation on progression through questing (the idea being that its more fun and deeper than other systems) or something else. As Ventus said, brainstorming sounds good.

That's where you are wrong grinding in parties introduces people to other players, to how to play their class in a group, and to various different mob types and their abilities/weaknesses. Solo quest games (the alternative main form of leveling for example in WoW) produces a complete lack of a community, players who don't know to play their class in groups, and who are woefully ignorant of mob weaknesses/strategies.

The problem with questing is that it is just as much of a "grind", unless you are honestly fooled by a few lines of text and some running back and forth to an NPC, but with much less to gain from actually having a competent group to tackle it with. What we have now is better, and it should only be improved. There is no reason to go backwards to more whack-a-mole squashing pointless drivel like guildleves or your standard MMO quest leveling. That type of gameplay is better suited for solo players who do not have time to do anything with other people.

[Davorok]

Grinding is fun...if the environments are fun....http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post170599 The now infamous "One Long Zone" thread.

Make the environments, the monsters and the progression more diverse and funner, and the grinding doesn't seem like such a grind.

[DeadRiser]

I was grinding kobold and raptors at r27 with 4 others earlier today. We were getting 250 on kobolds and 340 on raptors a kill. It's not bad, and I'm glad it's not the same "let's quit this leve to ensure we get the same rediculous sp next time ok?". I rather grind parties. It feels more MMO to me and I like it. Hopefully people don't want to change it because repetitive leves wasn't fun. Atleast mobs change when you rank up. Leves are the same >.>

[Wolfie]

You can make challenging group content that's for leveling without pushing grinding as the main (or only) source of good leveling experience. Grinding is just the easy and lazy way out.

[Ventus]

One thing I'd like to people to respond to is this:

the main staple people plug for grind parties is "better world immersion/exploration and stronger sense of community" but there are literally HUNDREDS of other ways a game can accomplish this and be ten times more entertaining than killing the same monster 100,000 times.

On top of that we can explore the world while being part of the game's story without grind parties. Plenty of other MMOs have you doing limitless exploring while taking you along a fun storyline.

[Murugan]

One thing I'd like to people to respond to is this:

the main staple people plug for grind parties is "better world immersion/exploration and stronger sense of community" but there are literally HUNDREDS of other ways a game can accomplish this and be ten times more entertaining than killing the same monster 100,000 times.

On top of that we can explore the world while being part of the game's story without grind parties. Plenty of other MMOs have you doing limitless exploring while taking you along a fun storyline.

Yeah there literally aren't though, no other MMO has reproduced a quality community through the horrors of solo (mindless) quest grinding. FFXI tried to innovate with it's myriad of activities, and while they were fun diversions they too did not compare. Grouping for XP is the only viable option. If you don't like it then you can solo or do other things which aren't efficient, but stop calling for them to destroy incentive (and thus the possibility) for a tried and proven way to level in an MMO which has lots of beneficial effects for the community/game.