Anima

[grausekopf]

I honestly feel that there either needs to be more anima, or that anima should regenerate *alot* faster.

Coming from FFXI I'm very used to long travel. Catching a teleport to a Zilart crag and then running 10 minutes, chocoboing for 5 minutes, running between cities, running to out of the way mining spots, etc. Also, my main was a Beastmaster so I'm very used to seeing the farthest inches of a game world (scenic routes and dungeon sections that no one ever goes to).

That being said, I can say without a doubt that when you want to play the game for it's content (quests, leves, linkshell event, party, w/e) you are under a completely different mindset then when you're exploring. Casual player or hardcore, you simply want to get to the destination, begin the event, finish the event, and repeat the process with the same or similar events. When you want to explore, you will do just that, explore. The two experiences (seeking to complete an event, and exploring) should only be both forced on a player when their either discovering a city/staging point for the first time, or doing some event where traveling on foot is a part of the process (sky,sea,dynamis). Players who want to explore will do so regardless of the game's supported modes of transportation. These players do not need to be considered as you can not stop them from crawling through every zone they wish to. Anima doesn't mean anything to someone who actually wants to see the farthest corners of Ul'dah desert. Nor does it have any value to someone who chooses to walk everywhere regardless of their options. These player's were never a part of the equation in the first place. The event seekers take priority as they often operate under some time restraint (getting 15+ people from all over the country together can create a tight time table for actually completing events).

FFXI has multiple modes of transportation. You chocobo/teleport/airship to a linkshell event, and you warp/get warped/teleport home after your done. I understand full well that 14 hasn't yet implemented many modes of transportation. I will not bark at the developers for what they haven't done yet. But I will say that the current options are walking and anima(whether it's yours or a party member's). Walking to places I could teleport to but can't for lack of anima honestly makes me feel stupid. It feels like a hoop I have to jump through. Friends that I've gotten to play the game with me have actually quit because getting around was such a pain. They felt that they had better things to do/play then run on foot between leves. Ul'dah to Camp Horizon to Limsa Lominsa, trips like these become stale very quickly (and leve locations only force you to even farther out of the way places).

Anima doesn't have to be the ultimate answer to transportation. Actually, I honestly don't see how anima could fit into a game with a well defined system of transportation (there's no need for everyone to be able to teleport in that situation, whether the player be casual or hardcore). However, until more standard means of getting around are implemented(chocobos, airships, w/e is planned) anima should be plentiful and one shouldn't ever have to worry about running out of it, ever. If the developers feel that anima shouldn't be infinite, leves/quests/events should offer a free teleport to the corresponding crystal. Anything less just feels like a hassle, and not actual gameplay.

Good input.

I also think that the anima system will go through many balancing phases whenever other means of transportation get introduced and I support that. Really looking forward to future developments here since even if I love exploring and with the world feeling smaller with the anima system, walking to every location you want or have to visit really can become a nuisance.