Possible level/story jumps....really?

[bass9020]

Except, it is already changing: have you noticed the lack of 8 men scenario dungeons? Have you noticed the lack of trial requirements from Hildibrand? Have you noticed how they simplified raid locks (Let's face it, Coil's silly lock out was stupid)?
The story is still there for now, but they're slowly making it less and less mandatory: 4.0 is supposed to be open without the MSQ completed, which is already a big change. Not a bad one considering that, whoever wants to jump into the expansion they'll be able to without interruption. The game is changing, but mostly to be more accessible to new players and that can't be a bad thing: you want more players to access the game. And if they like the story, that's a plus for them. But locking an entire expansion behind a story (that wasn't even advertised on the game cover)? That's bad as business decision and, yes, Square Enix is a company. They need dosh from us, and if a lot of players can't get into the game because of a limitation, they won't. It's not 2000 anymore where we had only 2-3 choices of mmorpgs: we have severals now.

Yes this is a Final Fantasy game, but if Wildstar taught us something is that being niche for a small demographic doesn't pay anymore (as wildstar paid tribute and listened to the old vanilla hardcore raiders).

Yoshi said he still wants to have a continuous story through the expansion and hopes people can understand that. He said certain features will not require the MSQs like what happened in 3.0.

Hildibrand not having trials is because it was rushed out due to the demand for it because majority felt the Scholasticate wasnt living up to what Hildibrand was.

And you are correct its not 2000 anymore, games need to be different to survive with interesting features that set them apart. Why do they all need to be clones?

[Voltyblast]

Yoshi said he still wants to have a continuous story through the expansion and hopes people can understand that. He said certain features will not require the MSQs like what happened in 3.0.

Hildibrand not having trials is because it was rushed out due to the demand for it because majority felt the Scholasticate wasnt living up to what Hildibrand was.

And you are correct its not 2000 anymore, games need to be different to survive with interesting features that set them apart. Why do they all need to be clones?

Implying this game isn't a clone? Several features of the game are copied from other games as far as I know. Infact, they are copied from other games but not as polished as they should be: combat is slower than wow (same old tab targetting system present in every MMORPG of the last decade), FATEs are more boring than GW2 ones (to think I complained them, but they were at least varied), Aion's combo were easier and less scripted (can't remember totally, but it was much more intuitive and less stiff), the talents are non-existent (2 monks are absolutely the same), the stats aren't as interesting as any other mmorpg (Parry is worthless and basically there's just one meta) so far, and so on. Heck even the story is underwhelming: SWTOR does story telling much better (8 stories, one for each class, from 1 to 50, then a NON MANDATORY expansion story to follow) and actually give you much better immersion than FFXIV lack of choices and whatnot. Plus the Main Character talks and I honestly loved my Inquisitor with her act of badassery: it was truely enjoyable to follow.

Oh, and I hate Star Wars. Just putting it up there.

Sure, they aren't forced and shouldn't be clones of one game, but FFXIV is really not an exception. Infact I dare say, it's because it's HIGHLY similar to WoW that people like me (and maybe others?) like this game and it's not completely a bad thing: people feel more at home, people know better how skills work etc. But even then, there's so much polish...so much to improve.

But feel free to disagree: I just think that this game needs far more polish in many aspects, than to be bothered with a story: the potion is a bad idea and I don't support it, but thinking about the gameplay first (especially when a lot of the non-raiding content can be achieved on day 1) wouldn't be a totally bad idea, even if it means less story. If they ever make a MSQ skip for players, it would only benefit SE. Not you, not me, but them. But if it means more players - and sequentially more content, I'm all for it.

But again, this is just an opinion.

[bass9020]

Sure, they aren't forced and shouldn't be clones of one game, but FFXIV is really not an exception. Infact I dare say, it's because it's HIGHLY similar to WoW that people like me (and maybe others?) like this game and it's not completely a bad thing: people feel more at home, people know better how skills work etc. But even then, there's so much polish...so much to improve.

This is what I have an issue with. I understand they want to cater to as many people as possible but they are forgetting the core players the ones who enjoy this game because it is a main number game in the series. And when people come on here complaining that the game takes too long or there is too much story it starts to grind some gears a bit with people. Do things need to change? Absolutely! But people coming on here complaining about the core feature that is an FF game which is story and lore isn't right. As yo said people are familiar and comfortable with things but so are FF fans who expect some similarities and ideas from other FF games

I totally agree that things like stats need to be looked at because right now they are very bland and boring. Locking areas and jobs behind the story was not ideal. They should allow us to visit places but depending on where we are in the story have NPCs treat us differently.

[Voltyblast]

I totally agree that things like stats need to be looked at because right now they are very bland and boring. Locking areas and jobs behind the story was not ideal. They should allow us to visit places but depending on where we are in the story have NPCs treat us differently.

That's a major reason why most players won't bother with the game to begin with: why bother with the expansion, if you need to play the entirety of the previous game JUST to unlock it? Other games don't do it, even SWTOR which is story driven. I do like campaigns and story modes in mmorpg, but not when they lock gameplay stuff. Keep the story, don't remove it, because I do like having an objective even if I don't care about it, but don't lock everything behind it: you won't incite new players to join if this is how things go.

And that's why I'm concerned about the potion, because we're only one expansion in and they're already going for a story skip potion: that's not a good sign, but it shows that there are people who want to play, but are discouraged by the story lock. That's what I mean by making the story optional: don't remove it, make it important, but don't lock content or basic things behind it and you'll get people who want to play. I don't think this is hard stuff to do, but considering they want to do a potion instead, it proves one of two things: 1) They're lazy 2)They want to take profit from it.

[bass9020]

That's a major reason why most players won't bother with the game to begin with: why bother with the expansion, if you need to play the entirety of the previous game JUST to unlock it? Other games don't do it, even SWTOR which is story driven. I do like campaigns and story modes in mmorpg, but not when they lock gameplay stuff. Keep the story, don't remove it, because I do like having an objective even if I don't care about it, but don't lock everything behind it: you won't incite new players to join if this is how things go.
And that's why I'm concerned about the potion, because we're only one expansion in and they're already going for a story skip potion: that's not a good sign, but it shows that there are people who want to play, but are discouraged by the story lock. That's what I mean by making the story optional: don't remove it, make it important, but don't lock content or basic things behind it and you'll get people who want to play. I don't think this is hard stuff to do, but considering they want to do a potion instead, it proves one of two things: 1) They're lazy 2)They want to take profit from it.

I think having the idea what I mentioned before with how NPCs would act differently depending if you've done the story or not would be a great idea. This will allow full access to areas and classes/jobs and other features that would normally be locked behind the MSQs.

I feel like I'm understanding what you mean now compared to before and I'm sorry if I came/come across harsh or stubborn I just get passionate about games I really enjoy (like most people).

[Voltyblast]

I feel like I'm understanding what you mean now compared to before and I'm sorry if I came/come across harsh or stubborn I just get passionate about games I really enjoy (like most people).

Just like I am, although not on the same way as you do, but I'm passionate about the game as well. If I didn't care about the game, you wouldn't be seeing me here to begin with. The fact that I'm not a fan of this series gives me also somewhat of a better judgement, because I'm not clouded by its name. Heck I love the persona games, much more than Final Fantasy, but even I can see issues when there are (infact persona 4 is my least favourite of the persona games because of some design choices)

And I suppose that would work, as long as content can be accessed without the mandatory requirement of a story to do it. I mean, the 3 new jobs didn't need a lock to begin with: almost all of their class stories are basically in old ARR zones.
But at this point I have doubts that the potion will be scrapped: it's like the retainers at this point, lots of cash for basic stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if one day they'll sell a relic potion (someone else made a joke about that) or more stuff like this.

[RiceisNice]

That's a major reason why most players won't bother with the game to begin with: why bother with the expansion, if you need to play the entirety of the previous game JUST to unlock it? Other games don't do it, even SWTOR which is story driven. I do like campaigns and story modes in mmorpg, but not when they lock gameplay stuff. Keep the story, don't remove it, because I do like having an objective even if I don't care about it, but don't lock everything behind it: you won't incite new players to join if this is how things go.

To be fair, even WoW before WoD expansion required you to go through the leveling process of 1-80 before you could get to the new content. FFXIV is the same, except that leveling process is through the MSQ. It's atrociously longer (and much more tedious if story isn't your cup to tea to begin with) when the MSQ process mostly devolves to fetch quests, and double that with post 2.0 MSQ being a requirement as well, so it's not just the leveling but the story progression as well (which...includes the aforementioned fetch quests).