The Journey - Is It Still Wanted?

[Kiara]

Hi All,

With the lively discussion in a recent PL thread, the topic of the Journey was brought up. Seeing the diverse opinions on the subject, I'm curious:

• Do people still care for the Journey from Level 1 to Max? Specifically the dreaded "G" word, known as the Grind?

We know Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 is promising a wonderful reboot and a complete World Redesign (joy!). But even then, will Yoshida-san keep the super fast speed and pace of leveling as it is now? And if so, will people even get to enjoy most of the new areas before they're at Max Level doing End Game-only content?

While I agree that killing your 2,000th Raptor isn't going to teach you how to beat an End Game Boss, there is something to be said about the Journey to get from Level 1 to 50.

During Final Fantasy XI (in the early days), some of my fondest memories were of things like...



Traveling to Valkurm Dunes for the first time. Seeing all these strangers and fellow low level players braving the beaches and trying to get a high enough level to progress further. Running back into the coastal town with accidental links to prevent dying. LOL Or Shouting for a Raise for a dead party member and finding a friendly high level White Mage who helped us out. Or someone accidentally pulling Valkurm Emperor thinking it was another dragonfly (back in the early days .



Getting to Jeuno, and then exploring the zone underneath known as Qufim Island was another memorable experience during my grind. I remember scared warnings from fellow adventurers to retreat when it got dark (night), because Qufim Island at night turned into a completely different horrific environment compared to daytime (for low level players). But it was fun, being scared and staying huddled, waiting for the sun to come back up.



Or wandering Rolanberry Fields, a scenic detour near Jeuno and meeting all sorts of strangers there on their way to Crawler's Nest...



Which was a pretty crowded, popular area to camp those giant Crawlers. Sure there was fighting over mob spawns, but it was also filled with nervous, fun memories of overcoming and pulling Crawlers across long portions back to your camp, like bringing a prized kill back to your family (party) to enjoy (EXP off of).



Gustav Tunnel was another memorable place I had some fun EXP Parties at. I remember the first time I ran around a corner to come face-to-face with this big Wyvern-like NM, Bune! :O I was so freaked out and it proceeded to destroy my entire EXP Party, LOL.



Pashhow Marshlands was another interesting area filled with Quadavs (Beastmen) and a visually distinct environment to party in.



And of course, wandering into Beadeaux and finding Quadav NMs was always interesting.



Running into Castle Oztroja, and fighting Yagudo (Bird Beastmen) was another fun time sink, and memories of Mee Deggi The Punisher are forever burned in my brain.



Kazham and the 2 Jungles and the Tonberry Temple were other very memorable EXP Places that I met and discovered new friends while on the grind.



And places like The Boyahda Tree, and someone accidentally pulling Aquarius NM (thinking it was a regular crab) was hilarious thinking back on it now.

The pace of the original Grind from Level 1 to 75 in Final Fantasy XI was definitely too long in this day-and-age, but I had many good memories as I made my way to my first Level 75 job back then.

I learned about Skillchains and helped teach fellow players how to Skillchain. We learned our abilities and weaponskills, how to handle multiple (accidental) aggro, built up confidence, and just generally grinded (true). But I had fun.

The new Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 World Redesign is truly AMAZING! (If you haven't seen the PDF with images, do so now! -

Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 World Map Art (thanks Starlord!)
http://aniverse.net/attachment.php?a...3&d=1318757548

http://aniverse.net/attachment.php?a...4&d=1318757561

http://aniverse.net/attachment.php?a...5&d=1318757639

http://aniverse.net/attachment.php?a...6&d=1318757654

http://wdl.square-enix.com/ffxiv/download/en/FFXIV_2.0_Specs_EN.pdf

Will people still want to spend time EXP'ing in these areas given the feelings on the boards about how good the super-fast pace of EXP is right now?

All I know is, I can't wait for new classes to open up for an opportunity to take a new Level 1 class through and explore all the new world areas in Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0. (^_^)

Don't get me wrong, I want a complex, well-developed pantheon of End Game Content (many choices for many people (Instanced Dungeons, Non-Instanced Dungeons, HNMs, Large Scale PvE Areas, our own XIV version of SKY or SEA or Dynamis (original days)), but I'd love to just adventure and explore the new, distinct world in 2.0 with fellow adventurers.

How does everyone else feel?

[DeadRiser]

I must agree. I never played XI, but the time I spent playing the first month was so exciting.

It was fun to travel to all the different places, all over La Noscea and finally making it to Bloodshore. Traveling from the boat after getting dropped of in Thanalan and finally making it to Ul'dah. Or traveling through The Black Shroud not knowing what is around the next corner. I'm happy about smaller zones. And I hope they slow down leveling a little bit for the higher levels and not let PL be the rule of everyting. I'm tired of joining parties that turn into PL parties D:

Anyways, very refreshing post.

[tymora]

Bune and not Guivre in Gustav?

[RemVye]

This post is pointless because they are already working on 2.0 - derp da herp.




Haters bring it.

[Lantesh]

Guivre was Kuftal, not Gustav.

I actually don't remember many parties in Gustav, but I had tons of them in Kuftal on those crabs.

[DeadRiser]

Terrible threads all day, I'm sorry but I'm sick of this dribble flooding the forum. Moar Donkey Knight less Q_Q blotter about random trash.


Implement a downvote / dislike button plox n thanks.



Bring the hate haters

Irrelevent. go somewhere's else

[Nakiamiie]

A small grind, ok, I understand. A huge grind like FFXI, no thanks.
I am not really a grind fan.

Diversity of content to bring back the higher levels in lower zones might be preferable.
"I've got history in this area, I'm going to protect it!"

[Yelta_Sumasu]

I am one of those people who actually enjoys a good grind pt and I think that the journey to level cap should be long and enjoyable with a good deal of content included along the way. This journey should be measured in months, not weeks or ::shudder:: days.

[Thaigare]

Feels like I just got knocked the hell out with nostalgia, I loved those days.

[Elexia]

Journey is need and definitely the best part of any kind of RPG. It may be "2011" but that's no excuse to ignore the whole reason MUDs and MMOs were created in the first place.