Is it safe to say that the next FF MMO will be an action game?

[Oizen]

There hasn't been a good action game made by Square Enix in a very long time.

[Ilyn]

I had the same thought , it could work as DC Universe Online has a very similar combat system to 16 . You could use like 10 different weapon types which all had unique action combos while you could choose 6 abilities that were on cds from multiple skill trees . Each class could change stance to dps or to 1 of 3 support classes (healer, tank and controller) depending on the power type and switch loadouts depending on the situation . It was actually some of the most fun I've ever had especially as far as raiding and pvp is concerned . This generation hasn't really tapped into it's full potential yet but if the Chrono Odyssey trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX1KE7mIRDE is anything to go by , an action FF mmo doesn't sound too far fetched and I'd be down for it . I like little more chaos in gameplay that an action game can provide when you factor in dodge/counter/block mechanics . Probably won't be anytime soon though , their next mainline game will probably be 18 or 19i n like 10 years

[RitsukoSonoda]

Dunno. If they keep up this whole thing about "appealing to western audiences" the next FF MMO will probably be a Fortnite clone... >.>

[BaconBits]

Dunno. If they keep up this whole thing about "appealing to western audiences" the next FF MMO will probably be a Fortnite clone... >.>

Lasted from 17 Nov 2021 to 11 Jan 2023 lmfao.

[Theodric]

Lasted from 17 Nov 2021 to 11 Jan 2023 lmfao.

It's a real shame, too, since the concept of playing a character aligned with Shinra is something that appeals to me quite a bit. It had a lot of potential...but as an actual, serious project rather than a throwaway mobile game.

[TheDecay]

It's a real shame, too, since the concept of playing a character aligned with Shinra is something that appeals to me quite a bit. It had a lot of potential...but as an actual, serious project rather than a throwaway mobile game.

One can only imagine how much better their "main" games (FF14, FF16 etc.) could be if they stopped dumping money into those projects and watch millions of dollars evaporate into the aether for chasing a clout.

[Shurrikhan]

If square released a new MMO, what would you like it to have?

Primarily, two things.

First, to be capable of, and take advantage of being capable of, highly time-sensitive player controls (e.g., which is, at the core, what separates an "Action" MMO from, say, a "Tab-target" one -- the ability to even pull off gameplay wherein timing makes a crucial difference).

Second, though of equal importance, to focus on maximizing available nuance/complexity per button in practice. Much of that is internal -- such as different parts of one's kit meshing interestingly with others to create highly conditional action-priorities (rather than a static "Do A > B > C"), but much is also contextual (such as by having incoming damage enough that your more-efficient HoT has some serious decision-making behind the risk included and that MP management can be an actual thing, to use part of one role's potential examples) or a result of the balancing between different players' outputs (such that a tank "turtling" can potentially provide an rDPS increase if timed well relative to incoming damage and their healers' incoming offensive opportunities).


Finally, though, while not absolutely essential, I would like to scrap hard roles, embrace multi-jobbing (including by hugely reducing the grind-based barriers to leveling and maintaining multiple jobs), and focus on the identities of jobs themselves, rather than making each a mere sauce added atop a role template.

I also wouldn't mind seeing the return of Character Levels separate from Proficiency Ranks ("Class/Job Levels"), allowing us largely to build our own job. The jobs themselves would be essentially a pre-packaging, but classes (which would take on all the skills but, say, those related to Chakra and Anatman on Monk, jumping/diving and Geirskogul/Nostrand on Dragoon, Enochian and Polyglossia on BLM, Lily actions on WHM, Faeries and Galvanize on SCH, etc.) would be allowed to draw from others.

And, Armor Classes would be opened up completely, with one's "role"-based capacities drawing at least as much from one's choice of Primary Stats (yes, an actual choice then, rather than just 4 different names for Power) as from one's choice of job.

Dual-wielding rapid-striking WAR dps? Add in a bit of the "caster" stats if you like and a hefty chunk of Dexterity to go alongside Strength, and have at it. Want to be a Monk flex-healer? Stack some Spirit. Elementalist mana-burst Monk? Stack some Mind. Wind-synergetic dodge-tank Monk? Dexterity and a bit of Mind (to support a cheat-death Second Wind, at which point you dip out), or Vitality (for just enough eHP to survive, assuming sufficient responsive oGCD heals).

[Raikai]

I think it's more of a 'global' question about how the next model of MMORPG is going to be. We're still living in the model that Everquest and WoW set up, which seems to be on a stale or even decline. I think this 'next gen' will still take many years, and I would't be surprised if it was a thing surfacing only in the next decade.

Thing is, I don't feel that any of the companies with major MMORPGs today will risk releasing another title under the current model when their current titles can still be milked for many years, and the OP's consideration about an 'actionMMO' feels like something for the next gen.

[RitsukoSonoda]

I think it's more of a 'global' question about how the next model of MMORPG is going to be. We're still living in the model that Everquest and WoW set up, which seems to be on a stale or even decline. I think this 'next gen' will still take many years, and I would't be surprised if it was a thing surfacing only in the next decade.

Thing is, I don't feel that any of the companies with major MMORPGs today will risk releasing another title under the current model when their current titles can still be milked for many years, and the OP's consideration about an 'actionMMO' feels like something for the next gen.

In terms of action MMORPG concepts I feel like PSO2 New Genesis is a good example of where to start. It has a good blend of action based gameplay with RPG mechanics along with providing players with build options. It does however rely a bit on instancing however the instanced areas are far more open than FF14. Though cranking up player count to typical MMO levels in most of it's content is probably more of a tech limitation currently.

FF11 was still active and popular at the time they first launched FF14, so saying a company has a profitable MMO currently running doesn't mean they couldn't be in the process of making another. We can only hope the next FF MMO will actually be an MMORPG rather than the MMO Anti-RPG story book that FF14 has become or the action only non-rpg that FF16 was made into.

[Catwho]

SE will make an MMO when they feel like they have a story or concept that is best told in MMO format.

That was the case with FFXI - they wanted to have a robust multi job system with sub jobs as an experiment, and the MMO formula seemed like a good fit for that.

With FFXIV, the concept was job changes based on weapon changes, and the MMO formula seemed a good format for that.

FFXII's Star Wars fanfiction gambit system? Better as a single player.

FFXIII's party based evolution of ATB? Better as a single player.

FFXV's bro road trip/royal armory concept (once they freed it from the XIII universe)? Better as a single player.

FFXVI's giant eikon fights in the style of epic kaiju battles? That was actually a scrapped concept from FFXIV's really early planning, if I remember right, and they realized it'd be better as a single player game. FFXVI's story was built around that after the fact. (And they did a damn good job, imo. Story is absolutely the best part about XVI. Fandom has exploded around it.)

Whatever FFXVII ends up being, MMO or not, it'll be because the ideas they had best fit the game they end up making. Maybe they'll go back to CTB because they know the fans are clamoring for it.