A few thoughts on FFXIV

[Xikeroth]

When this game first came out I knew it would eventually improve, while it is far from as bad as it was at launch it isn't quite at the point of being good enough to be competitive.

When the new director took over and changes were finally being made I started having fun and enjoying the game.... until some of the more recent changes.

I'll most likely be flamed by some people... mainly the fanboys. However I am going to state my opinion here. I am a fan of SE, not a fanboy. A fan can call out on bad ideas while still liking the companies products.

Before people use the "quit" card remember this: Square Enix is a COMPANY and their ultimate goal is to make money, and I think if they keep going down this path 2.0 will not be the saving period SE as well as some fans of their games(such as myself) think it will be and will eventually lead to the games death.

Anyways, here is a few issues I am seeing.

Combat
The changes being made have a good concept behind them, but a terrible execution.

The combo system is nothing new to some MMOs and has the ability to be very fun, however it can be done without directional requirements, that is a useless addition, also the reason most MMOs don't use resources like TP is because they know building it is a boring headache and there are far superior systems out there.

This was as far as I can see it, an attempt to make "solo skillchains" without actually calling them such.

The thing that make skillchains fun to do is that they usually involved other players taking action with them so you had a common goal to reach with that for the skillchains and magic bursts for much higher damage. This combo system just lacks that.

The only person that should be in front of the mob is the tank, and if ever released, jobs like thief since that just makes sense to be behind the enemy. Anyone else should only have to move to avoid deadly attacks.

The most successful MMOs in the world follow this formula and it works far more then what SE is doing.

The other issue with the combat system is, if you're not in a raid and just soloing for whatever reason, its far too slow. Hit hit hit hit WS, combo WS, maybe a third combo WS, repeat. The combat system before kept you busy in combat by hitting more keys not just sitting there all the time.

Job System/Balance:

This has always been SE's weak point from the start. Mainly because of their very incorrect notion of "Well if they play this job and like it but its too weak they'll be forced to level this job because its useful"

I'm sorry but in FFXI as well as FFXIV, I am NOT going to level another job because the devs at SE aren't willing to actually balance them... (PLD/WAR issues anyone?)

Tanks for example... should gain a baseline enmity+ generation that way they can keep hate easier. They should also ALWAYS take less damage per hit then everyone else(providing the tank isn't completely ourgeared) or raise the amount of attacks they can avoid taking direct damage from, otherwise whats the point of them even being called a tank? Without those they are basically just a weak Damage dealer with a shield and some mild tanking abilities.

On the job system concept, I think its terrible and could have been designed so much better when it comes to advanced jobs. The advanced jobs being related to base jobs as far as unlocking go: fine that was decent in Final Fantasy Tactics however having those classes directly linked is a mistake.

Also a side note: Classes made to deal damage should NEVER be able to tank at all. That throws the balance you go on about go out the window.

Content

There is a major issue with content how its being designed: and I'll start with AF. How AF was obtained was a lot better in FFXI then here. Putting some AF pieces in raids is just a flat out terrible idea. I'd rather fight over coffer keys/chests again.

Another thing is how raids are designed and how they are run, but this is not completely SE's fault.

I for one am a casual gamer, and the way most people that play these games, design events is that "show up to more events get gear priority" I can understand its fair, however its very discouraging to casual players to even bother doing those events. If that is all your game has, good luck getting more subscribers, they'll more then likely leave before they get into it or not join at all.

If SE wants to attract the casual players they need to make content they can just get up and go do, easier then raids but gear would not be as good as those dropped in raids. Something for us to do with only 3-4 people. SE needs content for low member parties to do.

I am the kind of person that only likes running raids with a few friends in it so replying to a random shout isn't going to cut it, Since my friends are also casual gamers they aren't always all on at the same time. So this is one case that the way FFXIV is designed hurts the casual player (which again is the major money maker out of all MMO profits)

This sort of thing will be a HUGE issue if PvP is launched as well, because that won't even be touched by anyone except by those with the best gear out there, so that too will be useless unless you copy what WoW already did.(which has been seeming to be the pattern as I see more and more patch info) Which is release gear available for some sort of PvP points to help them be able to fight against others on a competitive basis. (Job balance is also a MAJOR issue in pvp)

A large amount of the MMO population is related to PvP content and that is far to large a margin to ignore however unless you make it easier to obtain gear to make people able to compete against the heavy raiders it'll never work.

Final suggestion on content... You need FAR more content then just instances and raids to keep people interested. HNMs like in FFXI, Triggered NMs to fight for synth materials/gear, PvP content and items, Smaller dungeons for small groups to go through so they can feel like they are making progress if they are unable to raid. All of these are major things, you started down that road but you began to make more and more mistakes and went away from it a little bit.

Conclusion

I do still like FFXIV, I don't have as much time on it as I'd like but I still hope it can improve and become more successful then ever, however unless SE makes some dramatic changes to a lot of mistakes they have made in the past(such as actually balancing jobs) and make the combat system a bit more fun it may not be as successful as it could be.

The game as a lot of potential now they just need to turn down a better path, job balance, content, combat system.. Remember just because some of us like these models doesn't mean it'll be liked by everyone... and remember SE is a company and their prime goal is to make a profit, which means making a large population happy. SE MMO's haven't seen the huge number subscriber base of other games, if they want to they will have to broaden things far more then they have.

[kazaran]

Xi is an amazign game, it is older then the likes of Wow, and had more to offer to hardvore gamers. With new additions and changes coem the need to rebalance and SE worked hard to rebalance thigns conciderign how ahead of it's time XI was.

Keep in mind XIV is new, and Liek XI early on, will continue to grow as it matures. This is not the a typical fast spamming of spells MMO. IT's more about team work and timing. Realistic cast timign versus unrealstic spamming.

THe combat system has improved but will still be diffeent in 2.0.

What is already different is story. Other MMO's are weak in that department. They do not feature the SE style and depth, nor cutscenes that pull you into it further. Just concept and you create the rest in your own mind.

Wow has a lot of imbalance itself. IT has in the past, it has had game breaking issues with updates. So has Eve, Everquest and many others. RIft was one MMO that stood otu early on as realativly bug free and balanced early on, but with there marches forward, new additions, some imbalances accured and needed rebalancing (Trio nwas jsut more effcient and fast with balancing).

Yet FF and SE has that strong story feel, and pull you into the game ability. One I couldn't replicate on other MMO's no matter how much I tried.

IT will take time.

[Xikeroth]

I know FFXIV is "newer" however its been out for over a year and while it has made much progress it still lacks in what it should have. There is little teamwork when it comes to the combo system if any at all.

The job balance i mentioned is because there are major issues with it and SE has a history(with FFXI) where job balance is never really even there. Is what I was more pointing out and I believe is a concern we should all share. Specially when it comes to tanking classes vs Damage dealing classes when it comes to tanking. PLD for example should be better then Warrior at tanking since that IS what it was made to do. Warrior can off tank yes, no problem with that, but Paladin shouldn't take a backseat like it did in FFXI to Ninja or even warrior thief and Monk in abyssea. That's the point I am trying to bring up, SE has an issue with job balance and always has.

As far as WoW is concerned: I'm only using it as a reference since it was and still is the most profitable MMO out there and a lot of the things I see being put into FFXIV has been taken from WoW or another MMO, it doesn't actually mean it'll fit into FFXIV as a whole.

The issue with the combat system is most players like to be kept busy rather then waiting for a resource which isn't very good when it comes to the TP system. There isn't much teamwork in FFXIV compared to FFXI when it comes to the combat system except for lining up with the enemy correctly. While its more teamwork based then other MMOs, the MMO community expects different, and going against that can and may effect your subscriber base.

As far as storyline goes, FFXIV will never compare to FFXI in terms of the experience. Chains of Promathia was my all-time fave expansion out of every MMO, it was difficult. Required far more teamwork then FFXIV may ever see(because of the amount of complaining behind that expansions missions being too hard even though they were easy) That expansion actually gave the players that got into it one thing no one else had.

Most people ran it with friends and it was difficult enough so that when you finished the missions you actually felt like you achieved something, I have yet to see that at all in any of FFXI's new content or anything FFXIV has even put on the table. FFXIV is far too instance/raid heavy and far less story driven or involved then FFXI was at this point in the games life.

I posted this as an opinion on whats going on and what I thought. I never once said I hated it I actually like it, but there are far more things they can do to get a larger subscriber base and the slower system won't cut it for that.

[Rokyusan]

I'm not going to address your entire post, however I personally enjoy the combat system in FFXIV and loved the combat in FFXI. I have broken 2 keyboards playing WoW just due to having fill every single global cooldown with an ability and thus wearing my keyboards out. As far as the combo system not having the teamwork of skillchains, they are intending to rework the battle regimen system and put that back in the game improved, so that should help with more teamwork in battles. I feel that positioning is a good idea to activate additional effects, but that the combo should go through whether you got the additional effect positioning right or not.

[Akumu]

Combat
The changes being made have a good concept behind them, but a terrible execution.

The combo system is nothing new to some MMOs and has the ability to be very fun, however it can be done without directional requirements, that is a useless addition, also the reason most MMOs don't use resources like TP is because they know building it is a boring headache and there are far superior systems out there.

The gameplay of FFXIV is not meant to be a spam fest action game. It's more of a slower more tactical MMO where positioning actually matters. Most MMOs these days are action spammers which is why they don't use TP or positioning in their combat system. There is a playerbase for both sides and SE doesn't have to join the flood of action MMOs.

The thing that make skillchains fun to do is that they usually involved other players taking action with them so you had a common goal to reach with that for the skillchains and magic bursts for much higher damage. This combo system just lacks that.

These are not "solo skillchains" but combos. "Skillchains" are Battle regiments that have been removed and are currently being redone like most systems that are finally piecing together in this game.

The only person that should be in front of the mob is the tank, and if ever released, jobs like thief since that just makes sense to be behind the enemy. Anyone else should only have to move to avoid deadly attacks.

All melee range gets hit with damage and being behind the entire fight isn't the best decision. The behind combo is useful for the most part but can put you in danger if that's all you do is stand behind non trash mobs. Again, the game is more tactical than Face ---> Keyboard!

The other issue with the combat system is, if you're not in a raid and just soloing for whatever reason, its far too slow. Hit hit hit hit WS, combo WS, maybe a third combo WS, repeat. The combat system before kept you busy in combat by hitting more keys not just sitting there all the time.

This is a Party > Solo kind of game. Party will always be more engaging and fun as it is the design for it. There are more than enough solo orientated games out there. Spamming 1 is also not something that kept many people entertained which is why the community killed many kittens over it.

A non Auto Attack system does not fit this style of game.

Job System/Balance:
Tanks for example... should gain a baseline enmity+ generation that way they can keep hate easier. They should also ALWAYS take less damage per hit then everyone else(providing the tank isn't completely ourgeared) or raise the amount of attacks they can avoid taking direct damage from, otherwise whats the point of them even being called a tank? Without those they are basically just a weak Damage dealer with a shield and some mild tanking abilities.

Tanking requires some skill to do and also not something you Face --> Keyboard through just because it is your role. The issue with PLD vs WAR is not a baseline enmity issue. WAR HP would be ok if PLD would get an increase in damage reduction. WAR also generates more controlled enmity than PLD because of its STR. PLD also can't over cure from increase in hate which would help the issue some.

On the job system concept, I think its terrible and could have been designed so much better when it comes to advanced jobs. The advanced jobs being related to base jobs as far as unlocking go: fine that was decent in Final Fantasy Tactics however having those classes directly linked is a mistake.

It's a "mistake" that the community pretty much asked for. It might not be EXACTLY as some ideas proposed but it is still around the general area of them. The game has had a huge positive factor once they added jobs. I wouldn't say how they went by it was wrong.

Also a side note: Classes made to deal damage should NEVER be able to tank at all. That throws the balance you go on about go out the window.

Classes are not meant to BE anything. A job is the one with the identity. The class basically just tells you where you stand during a battle as they all are grey in the end.
However, A WAR can deal damage but is mainly a tank as seen by it's Job abilities. All the pure DD jobs can out damage them though.

Content
How AF was obtained was a lot better in FFXI then here. Putting some AF pieces in raids is just a flat out terrible idea. I'd rather fight over coffer keys/chests again.

Well the game was polled to be more instanced to get rid of the "fighting". In my opinion the way XI did AF was horrible when compared so I also disagree with this.

I for one am a casual gamer, and the way most people that play these games, design events is that "show up to more events get gear priority" I can understand its fair, however its very discouraging to casual players to even bother doing those events. If that is all your game has, good luck getting more subscribers, they'll more then likely leave before they get into it or not join at all.

Are you talking about how a linkshell is ran? If casual gamers don't like stone set rules don't join a Hardcore linkshell. SE can't force people to run their shells how YOU or anyone else that's not the leader(s) of the shell.

If SE wants to attract the casual players they need to make content they can just get up and go do, easier then raids but gear would not be as good as those dropped in raids. Something for us to do with only 3-4 people. SE needs content for low member parties to do.

It's called content finder. That will be your casual friendly tool. It will be cross server so that ensures there will be a good chunk of people willing to do what you want to accomplish.

This sort of thing will be a HUGE issue if PvP is launched as well, because that won't even be touched by anyone except by those with the best gear out there, so that too will be useless unless you copy what WoW already did.(which has been seeming to be the pattern as I see more and more patch info) Which is release gear available for some sort of PvP points to help them be able to fight against others on a competitive basis. (Job balance is also a MAJOR issue in pvp)

PvP will NOT be a main focus like SWTOR/WoW or any of the others. PvE is the main focus and I see Classes being used more for such an event. There isn't much balancing needed as I see it, ALL classes are grey in the end.

A large amount of the MMO population is related to PvP content and that is far to large a margin to ignore however unless you make it easier to obtain gear to make people able to compete against the heavy raiders it'll never work.

Those looking for a WoW/SWTOR like system will be leaving if that's the only reason they joined. It has already been stated this will be PvE focused.

Conclusion

I do still like FFXIV, I don't have as much time on it as I'd like but I still hope it can improve and become more successful then ever, however unless SE makes some dramatic changes to a lot of mistakes they have made in the past(such as actually balancing jobs) and make the combat system a bit more fun it may not be as successful as it could be.

How much more of a dramatic revamp could a MMO do? They are finally finishing up on a lot of core revamps after a year plus and you think they need to be do something even more drastic?

Remember just because some of us like these models doesn't mean it'll be liked by everyone... and remember SE is a company and their prime goal is to make a profit, which means making a large population happy

.

No matter what SE does there will always ONLY be SOME people that enjoy it. No MMO
is enjoyed by all especially these days. WoW is so massive because an entire family from 3 years old+ could play and win. They can keep their kiddie playerbase and massive immaturity among them.

SE doesn't need a "large" playerbase to turn a profit. They only need a solid one. One of SWTOR issues currently is opening so many servers among their "large" base and now that only the solid remains it is spread thin among the servers. FFXI lived this long, was successful to SE, AND made(and continues to make) a profit because it's playerbase was solid, yet it never reached 1 million subs(even though abyssea since has shaken the once stabilized playerbase).


If you currently have such major issues with the game, and the OP seems pretty major to me, this game probably won't be for you once 2.0 releases.

[Majidah]

I disagree with most that was said in here.

[NefarioCall]

I disagree with most that was said in here.

i agree with most that was said by OP.

[bobbygunz]

I agree that combat is pretty boring. If you play archer or a mage, it's not so bad. But PUG/MNK or MRD/WAR are both basically tantamount to very boring TP generation, especially solo. Combat hasn't really improved at all since release. For all the work they've put into it, it really doesn't show at all. I mean that in the nicest way ^^,

At the moment FFXIV is just a costume game, and then there is "content" which you do in order to get the costumes.

[Alhanelem]

When this game first came out I knew it would eventually improve, while it is far from as bad as it was at launch it isn't quite at the point of being good enough to be competitive.

Which is why they're rebuilding the enigne from the ground up to allow them to address most of the problems they can't address with the current system.

[Xatsh]

OP your best bet is to quit this mmo, because it was not made for you.. the revamp is also not being made for your taste.

I agree with some points to a small degree but disagree with most of them.

Combat is fine as is once they add regiments back in. If you want an action mmo play tera, FF is not an action mmo it is not being designed to be one, and it will never be one.

If you want a solo focus mmo, play ToR. This is a party focused mmo with the option to solo for less reward and slower progression. (mmos are group based games)

This is a Final Fantasy and is Heavily PvE focused. IF you want a strong PvP game, play Tera/GW2/ToR/or WoW. The devs stated that was not their focus when making the game.

Story line, the new storylines are not that bad. They are not CoP from XI, but they are better then alot of the garbage other mainstream mmos shove down your throat.

Basically you want a mmo that is solo/low man focused with quick fast paced action and a heavy focus on PvP. This is the worst mmo you could play. And Honestly I hope SE ignores most of your suggestions.