[POLL] What's in it for you?

[MeowyWowie]

Due to some recent threads discussing similar topics, I have begun to wonder what people actually look for in an MMO when they first pick up the game and install it. Yes, it's the journey vs destination argument again, but I'm really curious what those two words mean to each individual player.

Since the game is still being revamped and v2.0 is still a long ways away, I think this info would be valuable to Square Enix to help them decide how to handle level progression in the future. Let's face it, if all goes well when 2.0 launches and it really does revive the game, the people who are playing now will (hopefully) be the vast minority. Whatever they have planned for 2.0 and beyond, but 2.0 especially, should (in my opinion) be more catered to the new influx of players than the rest of us that are still here. That's not to say that we should be neglected, though. Please don't misunderstand. 2.0 should definitely include a ton of endgame content for us and, as the years pass, their focus should naturally shift towards more endgame than low-midgame content. Such is true with any MMO, I believe, and it makes perfect sense.

So, let's say you just picked up FFXIV for the first time. Forget that you ever leveled all of those classes to 50 or amassed those hundreds of millions of gil. Let's say you don't even know the basics of the game yet, maybe you've only watched a few videos and/or trailers. To you, this game is entirely new. Now ask yourself this question. In terms of level progression, what do you expect from it?

Are you the type of player that would prefer a plethora of things to do while you level up your classes. Things like quests, missions, raids, unlockables, anything to take your mind away from the "grind" and instead just have fun as you advance in level? Things that promote party play and can be used as avenues for you to meet new people and create friendships that may last for years to come. Things that you can do on your own time, without having to wait for help, as long as you have fun doing them. You'd obviously like to have the game to have a ton of content at the level cap as well, who doesn't. But for you, there's no rush. You don't mind how long it takes you to get to the level cap. The most important thing to you, as a new player, is to enjoy your journey to the level cap and have as many positive memories of it when you finally get there and get to partake in endgame events.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, are you perhaps solely interested in endgame content? Does leveling classes seem more like a chore than enjoyment, no matter how many different things there are to do as you progress? You would likely take comfort in the fact that there is real content to do besides just grinding. I don't think anyone would oppose that. But, maybe for you this really isn't that important as you don't plan on staying at a low level very long. For you, the quicker you can get to cap the better. If that means a very short leveling curve that's fine by you. You primarily enjoy endgame content and it's your top priority when you first install the game. This is why you bought the game, and you want to experience it as soon as possible.

Or maybe you fall somewhere between the two. As long as both parts of the game have enjoyable content you're fine with it. You may start off just wanting to enjoy the journey, but somewhere down the road you befriend a few people that are more focused on endgame content. Perhaps you decide you want to stay within their level range to be able to play with them as often as you can, and so you take the path of the endgame oriented player. On the flip side, you may start playing with the intention of getting to the endgame content as quick as possible, but eventually notice that you're having a lot of fun as you progress through the game. You soon realize that you don't mind that you may be getting there slower than you anticipated, but that's fine because you're thoroughly enjoying the game already, and perhaps that's really all you were looking for to begin with and just didn't know it. Overall, either outcome is OK in your book. As long as you're enjoying yourself it's all good.

For me, I'd have to say it's a difficult question to answer. When I first pick up a new game, I really want to enjoy it from day 1. I want to have good memories on my way to the level cap. I'd prefer to meet new people as I progress through the game. I want to be able to look back at my first days and say things like "Remember when that *mob* 20 lvs higher than us aggroed and we won with all but one person dead and 25hp left!? Hahaha, good times!" But I'm also the type of player that prefers to be in the top linkshell on the server when I finally reach endgame level. I take pride in our accomplishments and do my best to represent my linkshell in a positive way. Overall, I'd say I'm a combination of Red and Green, but if I had to pick one it would be Green, but it's a very, very close call. As long as I'm having fun, it doesn't matter what level I am.

What about you? I know that the tree options can not accurately describe every type of player. But if you had to choose one, which would you think best describes you? If you find it difficult to choose one or don't feel that either is a good representation of why you play, that's fine, please explain. I tried to make them as fair as possible, and I hope they don't seem like I'm taking a stab at any particular type of player, that's not what I intended. Hopefully the results from this will help guide SE to make 2.0 as good as possible for new players. It may already be too late for the majority of us to experience the game as a newb again, I know I'm not willing to start over again. But if I had to.. well yea, I've said my fair share already.

[MeowyWowie]

Vote here for the Red option.

"I want to have fun on my way to level cap, no matter how long it takes me to get there!"

[MeowyWowie]

Vote here for the Blue option.

"Get me to level cap asap, I wanna beat the crap out of some shit!"

[MeowyWowie]

Vote here for the Green option.

"Who cares, I'm having fun!"

[Raldo]

I'm not terribly picky, but if I can't find a decent group of friends/community/linkshell/guild, nothing an MMO could do would be enough.

Honestly, the hardest part about keeping my interest in FFXIV right now is that all of my friends have left.

[MeowyWowie]

I think that having friends to play with in an MMO is important to everyone, even for those who prefer to solo. Look at it from the perspective of a new player joining in 2.0 though. If the potential for making a lot of friends was there, how would you likely spend your time while progressing to the cap?

[Rokien]

RED FOR THE WIN

BLUES AND GREENS GO BACK WHERE YA CAME FROM

[CSLionheart]

Honestly, I think I'm kinda a mix of red and blue so...purple? :O

[Xianghua]

The way I see it. The Journey is nice. But In a game that should last 5 years or more. It seems to be such a small part. Even more so in this game where we all already at the cap. If you make the Journey too long. The people who start late or don't pick up the game now are going to be so far behind everyone. Think about CoP after most completed it. People would spend days shouting for help and get no one. Honestly I never even heard of a MMO that was more about the Journey then about the cap/endgame/PvP. (what I mean by this is I've never heard of a MMO that made the journey last 5 years or more and was successful.)

I'll Love the Journey if it's there. But if it isn't not going to bother me much. Long as i'm having fun I'll keep playing so green. I'm not going to restart my character just to have the Journey either. So right now I care much more about what I can do at 50 and beyond.

[MeowyWowie]

The way I see it. The Journey is nice. But In a game that should last 5 years or more. It seems to be such a small part. Even more so in this game where we all already at the cap. If you make the Journey too long. The people who start late or don't pick up the game now are going to be so far behind everyone. Think about CoP after most completed it. People would spend days shouting for help and get no one. Honestly I never even heard of a MMO that was more about the Journey then about the cap/endgame/PvP. (what I mean by this is I've never heard of a MMO that made the journey last 5 years or more and was successful.)

I'll Love the Journey if it's there. But if it isn't not going to bother me much. Long as i'm having fun I'll keep playing so green. I'm not going to restart my character just to have the Journey either. So right now I care much more about what I can do at 50 and beyond.

I'd agree that, over the course of an MMO's life, endgame should be the #1 priority for the company that created it. It's the main thing that will keep people subbed over the years. There should be a ton of endgame stuff to look forward to when you're a new player. I believe this focus should be a gradual change though, perhaps starting with an equal balance of low-midgame and endgame content then eventually focusing more and more on the endgame. The rate of this shift of focus should be directly related to the leveling curve and how long it takes the average player to cap a class or two.

I view 2.0 as the game's official release, the way the game should have launched back in October 2010. If it fails to keep the interest of new players it's doomed, there's no denying that. I too would prefer to see them put more effort into endgame activities, but that's only because my journey is over already. I'm sure that this approach will likely still keep many new players interested, but how many really just want endgame? Yea, when we get there that's all we want, myself included, but we're not new players and not the main target audience for 2.0.

I'm confident we'll get a ton of endgame activities to do with 2.0. But as far as new players are concerned, I don't think they'll be as worried about catching up to us as you might think. If all goes well, we'll be the vast minority of the player base. So I think they should carefully decide how to approach the leveling curve in 2.0. Do people want to take it slow and have fun? Do they want to get it over with as quickly as possible and start dominating the endgame scene? Or does it really not matter much to them, as long as there's fun stuff to do?

As the game gets older, whatever leveling curve they choose will obviously get shorter and shorter. Their focus will naturally shift towards more endgame than low-midgame stuff. The rate of new subscribers will get slower and slower, and that's a fact. They'll eventually just have to focus on keeping their current subscribers. It's the same for every other MMO out there. But for new players, how important is it for them to get "hooked" at an early level?