Quote Originally Posted by Elexia View Post
The same reason you "WoW Romanticists" are forcing your ideals on everyone? If "FFXI romanticists" aren't allowed to force ideals (even though they aren't) why can the other side force ideals?

It's fine to dislike FFXI, but be real here.
I never understand people's logic on "WoW clone", its setup became a standard for the genre itself. Would you say that other RPG's are clones of Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest because they use a similar interface? "Ohh this game is a turned based battle system? Its obviously a FF clone.". Chrono Trigger use the same ATB gauge system as FFIV and still considered one of the greatest RPG's of all time. Sure created by the same company, but it's RPG concepts are not completely original, interface wise. What truly makes a game of that genre good is creating your own unique twist to it. Bring people in with the sense of familiarity, and then "BAM!", give them something original feeling.

Chrono Trigger used basic RPG concepts and interface, what made it unique was it's Dual/Triple Tech system and it's time travel method on conveying a story, not to mention multiple endings and new game+. I believe FFXIV 2.0 is the same way. MMO players will come in with that sense of familiarity, then SE will slap something at them that makes the game unique compared to other MMO's. Can compare it to FPS's also, they all use the same/similar interface, but its what they bring in the game's concepts that makes it unique. Bioshock was able to use basic FPS UI concepts, and at the same time, made a very original feeling game.

FFXI purist do need to realize, while it was a great game at it's time, a lot of it's concepts are outdated and will never bring in it's large audience. SE aims at getting the big audience, not just a niche audience like FFXI. The common MMO player does not want to grind on the same monster all day, they want a fun way of progressing their character. The best solution I see to this is questing.