WoW to FFXIV transition guide..

[Valantrix]

Hey everyone, I have a couple friends who play what they consider a more traditional mmo, but have made the attempt at playing ffxiv. I have played ffxi since 2003 and ffxiv since before launch. I have also played a lot of other mmos but apparently I am not able to explain to them how to transition. Ill admit it and im fine with that. I guess what I am trying to find here is a relivant and up to date guide that will help them. I really enjoy playing games with them and they are tired of the same ol same ol. I really think FFXIV could be what they are looking for.

Thanks in advance!

Valantrix

[Gentaro]

You must be ready that the string that guides you through the game from lvl 1 to lvlcap doesn't exist in ffxiv - if you're willing to learn and don't expect the game to tell youeverything you have to do you won't get into trouble :3

[Felis]

What exactly want they to know?

[Valantrix]

What exactly want they to know?

Honestly, Im not exactly sure. They both have complained about the difference in controls. The thing is, my seven year old started playing this game and has lvled a Paladin to 38.... He is able to play without much input from me, quite well. He also has played other mmos such as SWG, SWTOR, Rift. He crosses over quite easily. >.<

[Griss]

Honestly, Im not exactly sure. They both have complained about the difference in controls. The thing is, my seven year old started playing this game and has lvled a Paladin to 38.... He is able to play without much input from me, quite well. He also has played other mmos such as SWG, SWTOR, Rift. He crosses over quite easily. >.<

Kids are learning and adapting machines. Old fogies not so much.

As far as them not liking the default control scheme tell them to "quit yer bitchen and fix it". The keyboard is fully configurable in game under the config menu. Outside of that just make sure they know the basics. But i don't know what the new user experience looks like these days. So I dont know where to start giving advice.

[Priya]

Kids are learning and adapting machines. Old fogies not so much.

As far as them not liking the default control scheme tell them to "quit yer bitchen and fix it". The keyboard is fully configurable in game under the config menu. Outside of that just make sure they know the basics. But i don't know what the new user experience looks like these days. So I dont know where to start giving advice.

It's actually NOT fully configurable. Not at all. Honestly, the complete LACK OF configuration is going to be a HUGE turn off for someone coming from a game that let's them use virtually any button they want for their skills.

Unless you boot up some AutoHotkey script or something similar, your options are 1-0, ctrl+1-0, and alt+1-0. You don't get shift as a modifier, you do not get to map skills to letters or to your mouse. You do not get mouse over macro capabilities (it will always be click thing to target it > hit applicable button) Your life as a mouse/keyboard user is going to involve an awful lot of clicking as well. The best way I've personally found to deal with any of this is map my action bar shifts to Q and E-- at least then I can scroll to my next bar and hit 1-5 a bit more quickly.

I played XI as my first MMO for 3.5 years (and I still LOVE it) before I touched WoW, but I can't go back to the two hands on the keyboard now. The only reason I don't ditch this game over keybinds is because 2.0 promises I will have more control.

It's going to be hard for anyone without loving nostalgia for a game like XI to stick with a game like XIV when most of the controls are so outrageously sub par. That's where this game tries to "hand-hold." They give you very few options for anything other than their way.

If you love Final Fantasy in general and are very lore-centric, it helps deal with the lack of functionality in other areas. The two Final Fantasy MMOs present their stories more prominently and much better than WoW does.

[lordvr]

Kids are learning and adapting machines. Old fogies not so much.

As far as them not liking the default control scheme tell them to "quit yer bitchen and fix it". The keyboard is fully configurable in game under the config menu. Outside of that just make sure they know the basics. But i don't know what the new user experience looks like these days. So I dont know where to start giving advice.

It is not, and that's a huge issue. There's really no way to hot key individual skills unless you use a macro keyboard to remap certain keys to ctrl / alt + # and use macros for every single ability. The ui is obviously meant for controller, and not keyboard.

[Hycinthus]

I think the most apparent difference for me, between WoW-style MMOs (WoW, TERA, Rift, Aion, SWTOR, AoC, EQ2, LOTRO, GW) and FF14, is the questing system. All of the WoW-style MMOs have quest hubs. You go into this quest hub, pick up 8-10 quests, and you do a loop through the zone, and finally, the final quest leads you to the next hub. And then to the next zone. Your hand is being held the entire time through. When you logon, you continue questing. Usually these quests have their own mini-arch-plot. At the end of the zone, the quest usually concludes with defeating a mini-NM, or some group quests.

In FFXI and the current FFXIV, there is no such thing really. That's what they have to understand. They cannot expect to go to one quest hub, and pick up 8-10 quests. But this may change for 2.0? I don't know because Yoshida says he has been looking at WoW for their systems, etc. For me this is the major cultural shock.

[Hycinthus]

I think the most apparent difference for me, between WoW-style MMOs (WoW, TERA, Rift, Aion, SWTOR, AoC, EQ2, LOTRO, GW) and FF14, is the questing system. All of the WoW-style MMOs have quest hubs. You go into this quest hub, pick up 8-10 quests, and you do a loop through the zone, and finally, the final quest leads you to the next hub. And then to the next zone. Your hand is being held the entire time through. When you logon, you continue questing. Usually these quests have their own mini-arch-plot. At the end of the zone, the quest usually concludes with defeating a mini-NM, or some group quests.

In FFXI and the current FFXIV, there is no such thing really. That's what they have to understand. They cannot expect to go to one quest hub, and pick up 8-10 quests. But this may change for 2.0? I don't know because Yoshida says he has been looking at WoW for their systems, etc. For me this is the major cultural shock.

In reply to my own post, I just read this interview:

RPG Site: As far as gameplay goes, how will grinding vs. quests work for leveling? Will players find more reward from taking on more quests as opposed to just outright level grinding?
Yoshida: We will be moving away from a grind-oriented leveling system to a quest/content-driven leveling system. No longer will randomly defeating public monsters be the most efficient way to level your character.


So there we go, hopefully in 2.0 it will be easier for your friend to transition, because it is more questing system now.

[Maxthunder]

I think the most apparent difference for me, between WoW-style MMOs (WoW, TERA, Rift, Aion, SWTOR, AoC, EQ2, LOTRO, GW) and FF14, is the questing system. All of the WoW-style MMOs have quest hubs. You go into this quest hub, pick up 8-10 quests, and you do a loop through the zone, and finally, the final quest leads you to the next hub. And then to the next zone. Your hand is being held the entire time through. When you logon, you continue questing. Usually these quests have their own mini-arch-plot. At the end of the zone, the quest usually concludes with defeating a mini-NM, or some group quests.

In FFXI and the current FFXIV, there is no such thing really. That's what they have to understand. They cannot expect to go to one quest hub, and pick up 8-10 quests. But this may change for 2.0? I don't know because Yoshida says he has been looking at WoW for their systems, etc. For me this is the major cultural shock.

I dont like how Yoshi is doing this, I prefer that the FF series be completely different from other so called MMO's. IMO Yoshi is borrowing too much from other games.