Thread: leveling in 2.0 content over grinding.

So we know Yoshi wants us to level our classes/jobs through clearing content. That the "camp and grind" will take a back seat for level progression.

This works well in a game where you have 1 character locked into 1 job/class. There is enough content to consume that will get you from level 1 to cap w/o much repeat.

So how will this work in XIV when you have 1 character that can be 8 battle classes? Will content be repeatable? aka exp rewards upon each repeat dungeon clear, re-questable missions?

I'm worried that there is going to be content available with excellent exp/item rewards that will get your first class/job to level 50(cap) but for everyother class/job you take on the content becomes less and less, or rewards aren't as gainful the 2nd/3rd-7th time around which will force us back to square 1, camp and grind.

My main concern is that given the fact there needs to be enough quests to sustain a system like this they will be very throw away quality quests that are repeatable since as said it's mostly a 1:1 playstyle in MMORPGs, not the kind we have in FFXI/FFXIV.

If SE were smart about this, they can make monster griding the main progression and quest chaining a supplement to it, much like they did in FFXI with Fields/Grounds of Valour -- barring alliances (in XI) you gain monster kill exp + completion bonus which goes up to 1k-4k a pop and self-repeating.

Originally Posted by Jennestia

If SE were smart about this, they can make monster griding the main progression and quest chaining a supplement to it, much like they did in FFXI with Fields/Grounds of Valor

That's exactly what leves are. Killing some mobs, and get an Xp reward for it.

And besides, progression by grinding is just utterly boring. It was in FFXI and it is in FFXIV although they made levelling much quicker than the old FFXI.

They should do a lot of class quests. Not automatically enough to go 1-50, but enough to get the vast majority of your Xp that way. Since class quests are...well...tied to your current class, you'd have no problem levelling multiple class on your character.

And besides, they sould arrange the content like a real adventure. Starting in you town and visiting further and further while doing quests (And earning Xp for exploration). I know some people will flame me for the comparison, but that's what was done in WoW, and it felt much more fluent. It's no accident it's the number one selling MMO.

If you think about it, off-line FF worked the same way too.

Originally Posted by Reynhart

That's exactly what leves are. Killing some mobs, and get an Xp reward for it.

And besides, progression by grinding is just utterly boring. It was in FFXI and it is in FFXIV although they made levelling much quicker than the old FFXI.

They should do a lot of class quests. Not automatically enough to go 1-50, but enough to get the vast majority of your Xp that way. Since class quests are...well...tied to your current class, you'd have no problem levelling multiple class on your character.

And besides, they sould arrange the content like a real adventure. Starting in you town and visiting further and further while doing quests (And earning Xp for exploration). I know some people will flame me for the comparison, but that's what was done in WoW, and it felt much more fluent. It's no accident it's the number one selling MMO.

If you think about it, off-line FF worked the same way too.

I would like this.

Originally Posted by Reynhart

And besides, progression by grinding is just utterly boring.

Yeeeeeppppp

What is the difference between completing a leve quest that says kill x number of mobs, or completing a "class" quest that says kill x number of mobs? People try and disguise all these leveling ideas as being different but it just boils down to kill a ton of mobs over and over again, kill a ton of mobs and receive a bonus every once in a while, or kill a ton of mobs in an instance then run the instance over and over. Did anyone really derive far more enjoyment from WoW quest hubs than they do from leves? Its still a grind, and nearly all FF games have required you to grind at some point.

Unique quests like Maat etc would be great and I hope they add them, but I don't know how they can create enough content like that to level multiple jobs to max level.

I'd rather level slower in content based leveling then grind with a group of random people with no set goal in sight at all. The quicker the leveling the worse the game experience. I was a huge fan of FFXI until abyssea came out and turned the game to garbage.

Content based leveling will also make gear slightly more important (if slower)and will help crafters of all brackets. The xp party grinds at our current speed makes almost everything worthless. Content has more importance in an MMO then leveling speed. It should be quick, but not quick to the point you can reach level cap in no time with almost no effort.

Lower level players and new players are bored and quit before they hit 20-30 because of nothing to do. Toto-rak is a pathetic joke as far as content goes. the time limit makes it a turn-off and the fact they have to wait til that level range to do it is discouraging.

Lets not forget: games with content based leveling destroy BOTH FFXI and FFXIV combine in sales and population. I think if you add FFXI and FFXIV's population together you don't even get 5% of WoWs overall current population. Not to mention the off-spins of WoW have a higher playerbase then both FF games as well. Even free-to-play MMOs can turn a better profit if enough play them.