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.

[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.

[nasomi]

Get a controller. If you try to play it like wow, it won't work. You have to play it like ff7-10. When I went to xi from eq back int he day, i struggled for a long time with the controls. THen my friend gave me a controller and said "pretend it's ff7" and BAM, right away the controls were perfect and easy to navigate.

When my kids started, hte dual analogs were tricky to master, but after a few weeks, they got it down, with movement, camera angle, and targeting all at the same time.

[Kasathar]

All I can say is that this game is as far from the "traditional" style as it can get, that's not to say that it is a good or a bad thing, but for the non trained gamer it might be a dramatic change and can even push him away (like it did to my wife)
Making it middle ground would be great.

[Keres]

Get a controller. If you try to play it like wow, it won't work. You have to play it like ff7-10. When I went to xi from eq back int he day, i struggled for a long time with the controls. THen my friend gave me a controller and said "pretend it's ff7" and BAM, right away the controls were perfect and easy to navigate.

Movement, I agree. Combat, though, I think is far more difficult with a controller.

In particular, selecting skills on the action bar by hitting LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT SELECT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT SELECT UP SELECT DOWN LEFT LEFT LEFT SELECT is really frustrating to me when I can just hit a few number keys instead.

From my own perspective as an ex-WoW player, I think the things that will take the most adjustment for people making the transition are:

1. Controls (stiffness of mouselook, buying/selling things, the overall menu-based interface)

2. Pace of combat (there's a slight delay before any action you select is executed, you can't move while performing an action, things are slower-paced in general)

3. Leveling experience (far more mob-grind-focused than story-driven in general, far less variety in the things that you do and far more combat-focused from 1 to 50)

All of these things (except perhaps #2) are likely to change in 2.0, though.

[Valantrix]

I think is all really good info and I certainly appreciate the positive feedback. Any other advice from past WoW players or games with similar controls/play style, dont be afraid to chime in with your own frustrations that you felt and how you overcame them!

Thanks,
Valantrix