EXP Parties as an option please!

[Bluevann]

Nobody said "Looking for Group" in FFXI

Those drawings (and their translation to English) were made by SE's artists themselves. I guess in japanese, it translates best as "LFG" than "LFP".

[Parodine]

Those drawings (and their translation to English) were made by SE's artists themselves. I guess in japanese, it translates best as "LFG" than "LFP".

I think the drawings were actually commissioned to the guy who does VG Cats.

[Sadana]

I was gonna say something snarky about your desire to do FATEs without having to move, but I actually think I get what you're saying finally. You can find this camaraderie at seasonal event FATEs where players have to stick around in one spot for an interminable length of time in order to farm whatever drop there is for turn ins. I've actually had a lot of fun at these (when they're new) since you've got a group of people just kind of derping around. We're trying to make the best of a bad... well, boring... situation.




I think what it boils down to more than just a desire for "exp parties" is for this game to slow down. A LOT. Even making a party to go dungeon with friends isn't quite the same cause you all still need to be actively doing something until you're finished. You can grind stuff, like FATEs, but like you said you're usually always on the move to the next FATE. Amusingly enough, when lulls happen while FATE grinding, people can't stand it and usually spend the time complaining that there's no FATEs or planning to do something else once they're finished in that zone.

That all being said... I'm not sure you can add something like this to XIV without there being a massive torch-and-pitchfork style riot. People are already complaining about not really having the time to do a full run of CM or Prae (for example) due to real life obligations that keep their play time short. It works for seasonal events because they are really optional (or really, you only have to do one FATE in order to actually complete the quest. Sitting around farming them is just if you want all the goodies. I was having lots of fun just hanging around as a Spriggan that I got over 40 eggs. >.>; )

After hanging around that one time, however, I had ZERO desire to do it again for my alts. :/ (I took one other through and just did one FATE for the achievement.) I'm not sure I'd be keen on having this be a regular thing in the game that we actually need for progress. ^^;

[KayoZ]

I dont see a problem with it. Honestly, I think itll be hard finding groups for it as I doubt itll be anywhere near as good as FATE or Dungeon grinding but thats on those setting it up. Only thing is I dont really recall any areas where this type of thing is encouraged with quick spawning elite mobs. As for FFXI grinding, IIRC that game had stationary groups waiting around while the designated pullers brought the mobs in to kill. I doubt itll play out like that in FFXIV, specially with Heavensward speeding up the combat even more (I believe).

Honestly, why cant you just get dungeons groups going? Its pretty much the same thing, killing elites over and over until your eyes bleed. The only advantage I see with EXP parties is being able to grind with any setup. You say people dont talk in dungeons anymore but IMO thats more because of the whole randomness behind it and the fact that you wont see those people again after 30 minutes or so. Setting your own server group whose there to grind out dungeons for hours should be a little more social. Have you tried it?

[Maikal]

I hate that exp parties seem so unpopular with the vocal minority, because personally, I really enjoyed the xp partying days of XI and 1.0 XIV. It was a simple way to relax and chat with new people(or old friends) while you leveled. Speaking solely for myself, FATEs are a poor substitute for the xp days of the past. Now, huge groups of players just mob up and roll over everything in the zone... There's little to no opportunity to actually socialize. I never really enjoy the atmosphere of the zone I'm in while running FATEs, it always feels like I'm in too much of a hurry to get from FATE to FATE, just so I can land enough hits in time for the completion splash.

It sounds to me like many of the commenters on this thread either forgot about or never experienced xp partying in 1.0 XIV. It was different in some ways from the old classic XI 'camp and pull' parties. In 1.0, the party would pick a general area where nice chainable mobs would hang out and would just roam it, farming xp to their heart's content. It wasn't the most exciting way to level, admittedly, but you got to know other players on the server and it really formed a community within the player base of each server. You got to know who was fun to group with and who was best avoided. Linkshells were always buzzing with conversation and creative, sometimes entertaining and humorous shouts took the place of party finder(though, shouting was certainly tedious at times) The point is that conversation and interaction were the true focal points of the game.

All said, none of this is intended to take away from the success and giant leaps of progress that 2.0 has brought with it, but I can't help but feel that the old 'community' feeling has been discarded for convenience and the absolute laser-focus on efficiency. Maybe it's the instant gratification that other games have instilled into the playerbase. Maybe it's just general laziness. But I can't accept the excuse that someone 'doesn't have time' to do things like level, when those same players spend 8-10 hours a day playing the game daily. It's unfortunate, but these players are now the rule, rather than the exception. It's all good old days-itis, I realize. But I'll always miss the community part of the old XIV.

One more added bonus: Having those xp party farmable mobs in XI/XIV 1.0 solved the problem of not having any kind of threat while solo traveling across the world.

[Cutie_McSnuggles]

In 1.0, the party would pick a general area where nice chainable mobs would hang out and would just roam it, farming xp to their heart's content. It wasn't the most exciting way to level, admittedly, but you got to know other players on the server and it really formed a community within the player base of each server. You got to know who was fun to group with and who was best avoided. Linkshells were always buzzing with conversation and creative, sometimes entertaining and humorous shouts took the place of party finder(though, shouting was certainly tedious at times) The point is that conversation and interaction were the true focal points of the game.

Not to be rude, but to me this still sounds like a FATE party. It seems like you are looking for certain types of players rather then certain types of activities.

To clarify, I never got to play XI so I'm genuinely interested in what it is that makes EXP parties something different then what we have in the game. So far the only real difference I've seen anyone use is "People talked more". (I can't say this without sounding offensive, sorry about that.) It kinda makes FFXI sound like a really fancy chat room with a combat mini game for when people run out of things to say.

[StouterTaru]

It kinda makes FFXI sound like a really fancy chat room with a combat mini game for when people run out of things to say.

The talking was more due to the melee mechanics than anything else. You would start with 0 TP, and build up with each auto-attack (5-15 or so per hit, depending on delay of the weapon). Once you hit 100 TP, you could use a weapon skill. If someone used a weapon skill a few seconds after, it could chain and cause extra damage, and if a spell or the right element(s) hit a few seconds after the chain, it would burst for extra accuracy/damage.

Instead of using an ability every 2 seconds in combat, melee and tanks would use maybe 3-4 per minute, and they would normally be clustered together.

[Galliano]

Not to be rude, but to me this still sounds like a FATE party. It seems like you are looking for certain types of players rather then certain types of activities.

To clarify, I never got to play XI so I'm genuinely interested in what it is that makes EXP parties something different then what we have in the game. So far the only real difference I've seen anyone use is "People talked more". (I can't say this without sounding offensive, sorry about that.) It kinda makes FFXI sound like a really fancy chat room with a combat mini game for when people run out of things to say.

To give an example of how it would work in XIV: The regular open world mobs would be similar strength to lets say trash in coil. To kill them you would need to form a balanced party that would stand still in certain places in the area (camps) near to a spot where a group of these mobs would be. Somebody in the party (usually with a ranged ability) would run and "pull" one of these mobs back to the party for them to kill and the puller would then drop off to pull the next mob before the previous one dies in order to speed up the process and create exp chains.

The main difference was that you all had to pay attention and play your class properly, otherwise it could end up in a wipe.

(Ahhh how I do miss the dangerous open world.)

[Maikal]

Not to be rude, but to me this still sounds like a FATE party. It seems like you are looking for certain types of players rather then certain types of activities.

To clarify, I never got to play XI so I'm genuinely interested in what it is that makes EXP parties something different then what we have in the game. So far the only real difference I've seen anyone use is "People talked more". (I can't say this without sounding offensive, sorry about that.) It kinda makes FFXI sound like a really fancy chat room with a combat mini game for when people run out of things to say.

Absolutely no offense taken- I always appreciate a well thought out response.

It would be unfair and dismissive for me to say 'Well, you just should have been there.' ...nostalgia is always funny like that. I'll do my best to explain: It's very different from FATEs in that FATEs have very limited time limits and parameters, where as xp party levelling was very freeform and there were no game mechanics that introduced artificial time/area/level constraints. You were also accompanied by much smaller groups- there were no 24+ player group zerg hordes running from time limited event to time limited event.
Enemies were also much more threatening to lone adventurers. Most of the time currently, a single character can solo a large amount of a FATE all by her/himself. Back then, any more than two or three mobs(or just 1 in XI!) was a death sentence. You actually needed your group to survive in the world. That also helped knit the community together.
I know these things seem small compared to the sweeping changes even after 2.0 landed-the small differences I've detailed really changed the entire feel of early to mid game play.

Also, I agree with you completely that the playerbase I'm interacting with now is very different. I'm lucky enough, however, to have a great group of people within a linkshell that I'm a part of. It's modestly sized, but the people are close and we do most, if not all, new content together. If not for them, I admit that I'd have stopped playing long ago. It's strange to me that lots of people go through the entire game essentially solo by relying only on DF and PF. Why would people like that even bother with an MMO, I wonder?

[Kiara]

Not to be rude, but to me this still sounds like a FATE party. It seems like you are looking for certain types of players rather then certain types of activities.

To clarify, I never got to play XI so I'm genuinely interested in what it is that makes EXP parties something different then what we have in the game. So far the only real difference I've seen anyone use is "People talked more". (I can't say this without sounding offensive, sorry about that.) It kinda makes FFXI sound like a really fancy chat room with a combat mini game for when people run out of things to say.

Hi Cutie,

To add to what Galliano and Stouter mentioned, a few things different from FATE Parties:

1. FATEs basically allow anyone to just join in. As a result of this, people don't really have to form parties (they can solo or just duo w/ their Chocobo). There's a sense of "isolation" or not needing to ever party w/ anyone to clear the FATEs (but of course you can if you want to).


2. FATEs are randomly spawned in the zone. While it keeps it interesting (to keep you looking at the map), it also means it's basically a wait-and-see game: See a FATE pop? Mad dash to get to it in time.

When FATEs were really popular early in 2.0, you probably remember seeing mad hordes of players just dashing from 1 FATE to another, slaughtering everything (face roll) and then waiting for the next one to pop. You never really settle in anywhere: Just be ready to run to the next FATE. (It also can be frustrating if you're in a large zone (like Coerthas), doing a FATE in the upper NE area only to see the next FATE spawn in Behemoth's Dominion, LOL. (Groan.))


3. Related to the above is that FATEs are timed. You have to run over and get to a FATE in time, or else it ends, and you have to wait. There's also downtime, when sometimes no FATE spawns for a while, or it's a lower level one in a zone that covers multiple level ranges (I know level sync helps, but it's still less EXP).


XI's Exp Parties were essentially finding a "camp" (area), where there were monsters that were appropriate level to yours and you'd be able to get great Exp off of them. The respawn rate was usually pretty high, so you'd be able to replenish and repeat.

The world mobs in XI were also tougher than current world mobs at your level, so it required a traditional party (Tank, Healer and DPS). I'd say it's kinda like fighting "Go! Go! Gorgimera" FATE (that Chimera clone) in Northern Thanalan (in terms of difficulty), but with a bit less HP. In other words, it wasn't just anyone can face-roll / kill Exp Camp mobs solo (death was a real possibility). You had to have a party to focus.

With "camping," it could get boring, sure, but it also meant more time in the social aspect (being able to chat with the party members), but also XI had a Party Combo System called "Skillchains" where you can coordinate and link certain Weaponskills sequentially, to cause various Elemental Bonus Damage, and then Mages could tack on a well-timed Magic spell to get a Magic Burst.

I can only speak for my server, but Skillchains added a lot of fun and coordination, and kept the interest level up for Exp Parties (you could mix and match various Skillchains / Magic Bursts, etc.). It's more player agency / freedom to engage vs. just the simple individual stuff we do now.

Also, Exp Parties were cool to utilize most areas in the world: FATEs are spread out, but they are always in the same circular spot in fixed parts of the map. With Exp Parties, if there are mobs that are viable all over the map, then any of those areas could be viable to camp in. And it's cool just being out in a certain area (feel like you're exploring a zone).

The social aspect: Perhaps it's a combination of the speed of leveling up now (fast), and anyone being able to Duty Finder / solo queue up for whatever they want to, but with that, there's no real need to get to know many players on your own server beyond your FC / LS. Compared with Exp parties because of the need to get Exp and hunker down in a steady camp spot, you got to start knowing more players (on your own server) and get to build friendships.

Lastly, to those who mention you can just do that now via Party Finder: It's true, but the rewards are awful. The Exp you get from Open World monsters are paltry compared to Dungeon leveling and FATEs, but it was done on purpose (since SE wanted players to experience those aspects over traditional Exp Parties).

Also, Party Finder Dungeon Parties are different because they pull from Cross-Server, and it's all about efficiency (get in and get out). You probably will never see them again, and thus have no reason or feeling to want to socialize.

Going forward, I think it's perfectly reasonable to have all 3 (FATE, Dungeon DF, Open World Exp Parties). I agree that I wouldn't want to see the return of XI's Exp Parties *Only* as the means to level up.

But as *another option* / viable way to level up? Sure, why not? It's all about choices, and SE took the time to make these beautiful zones and fill it with mobs. But currently outside of FATE spawned Mobs, these zones are just "window dressing": Worthless mobs that give you a tiny bit of Exp that make them more of a hindrance than anything.