Yet another interview..Kotaku however.

[casker]

Pretty decent interview. The only thing that really bugged me was some of the reader comments, like people saying GW2 has good combat. LOL. GW2 is so massively overrated in every department. Know what, I actually prefer FFXIV's combat over it, even with the broke ass engine. If they wanted to mention good combat, they should have mentioned TERA or something, not "stand back and shoot for 10 minutes, dodge circles" the game. In terms of combat TERA did everything GW2 tried to do, but actually did it properly rather than slapped it together.

[Aion]

Pretty decent interview. The only thing that really bugged me was some of the reader comments, like people saying GW2 has good combat. LOL. GW2 is so massively overrated in every department. Know what, I actually prefer FFXIV's combat over it, even with the broke ass engine. If they wanted to mention good combat, they should have mentioned TERA or something, not "stand back and shoot for 10 minutes, dodge circles" the game. In terms of combat TERA did everything GW2 tried to do, but actually did it properly rather than slapped it together.

care to elaborate? never tried those games

[Preypacer]

Totally agree with you, i had a post a long time ago about removing the aggro sign above each mob name. Turned out they made the icon smaller only in the end. I think the world should be dangerous to be in. Like XI, you had to learn what mobs had aggro or not. Such a small thing can make a huge difference in gameplay.

It makes you respect the environments and the "wildlife" a lot more.

It also was cool because you had to learn their means of aggro, and then learn to navigate the landscape carefully to get around them, timing was important, etc.

People will say "all the danger discouraged exploration". Not for me or others I knew. Not at all. I loved going into dangerous areas to explore. A friend of mine and I once ran around Ulegrand Range (however you spell that), dodging the mobs, and looking around. We almost made ti completely around 'til a mob came just a *little* bit too close... We ended up dying lol. And it wasn't a big deal. It's just xp you'd lose. You get it back. In any case, for me it didn't discourage exploration at all. It made it more interesting and challenging. It made reaching those remote areas all the more fun.

Now, you can say XIV 1.0 had that same thing.. high level mobs and such. Unfortunately, due to various problems with 1.0 - the narrow corridor like areas in many places (even in Thanalan and Coerthas you had them) made it difficult to get past something. And the fact that mobs wouldn't show up on screen 'til you were right on top of them made it impossible to safely work out any kind of route around them. XI's areas were actually much more permissive in that way - even some of the dungeons.

I used to *love* the run from Garlaige back to Jeuno when I'd be done xp'ing for the night. Doing the whole "mob-dodging" routine on the way back always made it fun to me. It was never a cake-walk. Well, of course not until I was high enough level where nothing would aggro me and I could drop it if it did. By then, though, I wasn't leveling in Garlaige anymore

But that's one thing XI did brilliantly... put a fear of entering a new and dangerous area into you. And I loved how missions/quests required you to go into such places, using sneak and invis, or just some extremely careful timing, combined with knowledge of the mobs in the area. Like, getting the strange coral for Windurst mission.. I believe it was 2-1 (Lost for Words) and then later trying to find Nana Mihgo's "Mahogany Door" via the Horutoto Ruins. I loved the use SE made of those zones, how they worked them into the game and such. I loved how you could go into them and just explore, come across other people, say hello, toss a few friendly buffs.. maybe even group up with them for a common cause.

That's one reason I really don't like Yoshi's idea to make all dungeons instanced. He's basically eliminated that element of the game by doing so. I don't know what he has against having instances only for Raid or maybe "quest-based" type content, but having open world dungeons, caves and such to just be additional open world areas. I just don't get that at all. It's like he's taken an all or nothing mindset to it, and went for "all". In any case, it's something I'll miss in ARR.

[Nuru]

Pretty decent interview. The only thing that really bugged me was some of the reader comments, like people saying GW2 has good combat. LOL. GW2 is so massively overrated in every department. Know what, I actually prefer FFXIV's combat over it, even with the broke ass engine. If they wanted to mention good combat, they should have mentioned TERA or something, not "stand back and shoot for 10 minutes, dodge circles" the game. In terms of combat TERA did everything GW2 tried to do, but actually did it properly rather than slapped it together.

I would disown both GW2 and Tera and play FFXIV 1.0 or PSO2 any day. Funny thing about Tera is how that game stopped me from buying a copy. I played CBT 5 and got to level cap in one weekend. When open beta was announced, I started a character and played for 5 minutes, then figured the game just got too boring. :P

Many of the friends I made in CBT were telling me that the "real game" starts at level 35+. To put it brief, all i said was that the real game should start at level 1. Sounds exactly what YoshiP is focusing on story-wise and content-wise. Not a game where you can reach level cap on a weekend, or in a week, nor even a month perhaps.

One thing I am most interested in and hoping to test out in the alpha or beta, is the battle system and gameplay mechanics. I want to mess with stats and see exactly how much of a value they hold.

[casker]

care to elaborate? never tried those games

Well, sure, any chance to go on an internet rant.

TERA combat is a software engineering feat that plays significantly different from most other MMOs. The way abilities work and connect with enemies are more based on movement, timing, zoning, etc. Has stuff like dodging, blocking, and no tab targetting. Each projectile for example has its own hit detection, so you can dodge it during travel. Etc. Plays sort of like an action game with MMO styled abilities. If players are skilled enough the idea of "trinity" is moot.

TERA combat overall: The gameplay was designed with principles like positioning, timing, and space, in mind so you can see the effects at every facet of gameplay: your own abilities, enemy abilities, enemy behavior, animation, etc.

GW2 tried to do similar things but just slapped the concepts together onto a WoW template.
GW2 version of hit detection -> WoW except if the range on your ability isn't enough, you can still shoot, it just won't connect. Has nothing to do with actual hit detection.
GW2 version of dodge -> a command that throws you in some direction and makes you invulnerable for the duration.
GW2 version of removing trinity -> Make everyone a ranged character.

GW2 combat overall -> design concepts are half-assed and slapped together, resulting in sloppy gameplay. In dungeons, melee are at such a severe disadvatange its stupid to ever do anything other than shoot all day. And yes, I mean all day, because they give bosses about 20x the amount of health they need. Boss behavior is basically "throw a billion circles under the player so they have to use the dodge (see invulernability) command." It's so all or nothing and binary. This has the effect of morphing the general gameplay into an experience of "stare at the ground and make sure you're not standing in venn diagram hell." The design is so shoddy it's barely functional. Melee literally isn't functional in comparison to ranged.

ANYWAY the whole point of this is that people should stop paying lip service to GW2 and stop going along with it when people fanboy that game to hell and back.

[Totorixiii]

It makes you respect the environments and the "wildlife" a lot more.

It also was cool because you had to learn their means of aggro, and then learn to navigate the landscape carefully to get around them, timing was important, etc.

People will say "all the danger discouraged exploration". Not for me or others I knew. Not at all. I loved going into dangerous areas to explore. A friend of mine and I once ran around Ulegrand Range (however you spell that), dodging the mobs, and looking around. We almost made ti completely around 'til a mob came just a *little* bit too close... We ended up dying lol. And it wasn't a big deal. It's just xp you'd lose. You get it back. In any case, for me it didn't discourage exploration at all. It made it more interesting and challenging. It made reaching those remote areas all the more fun.

Now, you can say XIV 1.0 had that same thing.. high level mobs and such. Unfortunately, due to various problems with 1.0 - the narrow corridor like areas in many places (even in Thanalan and Coerthas you had them) made it difficult to get past something. And the fact that mobs wouldn't show up on screen 'til you were right on top of them made it impossible to safely work out any kind of route around them. XI's areas were actually much more permissive in that way - even some of the dungeons.

I used to *love* the run from Garlaige back to Jeuno when I'd be done xp'ing for the night. Doing the whole "mob-dodging" routine on the way back always made it fun to me. It was never a cake-walk. Well, of course not until I was high enough level where nothing would aggro me and I could drop it if it did. By then, though, I wasn't leveling in Garlaige anymore

But that's one thing XI did brilliantly... put a fear of entering a new and dangerous area into you. And I loved how missions/quests required you to go into such places, using sneak and invis, or just some extremely careful timing, combined with knowledge of the mobs in the area. Like, getting the strange coral for Windurst mission.. I believe it was 2-1 (Lost for Words) and then later trying to find Nana Mihgo's "Mahogany Door" via the Horutoto Ruins. I loved the use SE made of those zones, how they worked them into the game and such. I loved how you could go into them and just explore, come across other people, say hello, toss a few friendly buffs.. maybe even group up with them for a common cause.

That's one reason I really don't like Yoshi's idea to make all dungeons instanced. He's basically eliminated that element of the game by doing so. I don't know what he has against having instances only for Raid or maybe "quest-based" type content, but having open world dungeons, caves and such to just be additional open world areas. I just don't get that at all. It's like he's taken an all or nothing mindset to it, and went for "all". In any case, it's something I'll miss in ARR.

I agree with you 100% Casker.

God, I wish all the dungeons can be enter as solo and does not required a party of 4 or 8!!!! It's annoying when you have to be in a party to enter a zone such as a freaking dungeon!?!?

I want to be able to explore areas without time limits and enjoy explorations and find coffer keys etc. This one of many things makes FFXI great!

Please, less restriction on dungeons by having no timers and solo entrance! <-- Like if you agree with this!

[Lucke]

I read the article. Pretty good, but those comments....ug, those people don't know crap from poop! 99% of those comments are: "I'm not playing if I have to pay!". Seriously...

[Valmonte]

Yea those people who say's im not playing if i have to pay, will end up playing (most of them) when ARR does really well. And if they don't they are losers who can't admit they are stupid (in denial), lower than human standard, has a brain smaller than a sesame seed and need to take Economics 101 and on top of that, still drinks off of baby bottles.

bet those same people would kick your ass in farmville

[Dannythm]

aside from UI...from the videos and screenshots so far, do you feel it is WOW in disguise? hope some veteran WoW players can point out...

Cannot now until we play it, but I've played 7 years of WoW and the only thing that ARR reminds me of it is the constant jumping.

[casker]

I would disown both GW2 and Tera and play FFXIV 1.0 or PSO2 any day. Funny thing about Tera is how that game stopped me from buying a copy. I played CBT 5 and got to level cap in one weekend. When open beta was announced, I started a character and played for 5 minutes, then figured the game just got too boring. :P

Many of the friends I made in CBT were telling me that the "real game" starts at level 35+. To put it brief, all i said was that the real game should start at level 1. Sounds exactly what YoshiP is focusing on story-wise and content-wise. Not a game where you can reach level cap on a weekend, or in a week, nor even a month perhaps.

One thing I am most interested in and hoping to test out in the alpha or beta, is the battle system and gameplay mechanics. I want to mess with stats and see exactly how much of a value they hold.

Yeah, TERA has it's own problems. Just wanted to say that combat wise it had a lot of potential and engine wise was pretty impressive. When I look at GW2 it feels like they just looked at what games like TERA and Blade&Soul were doing, shat bricks, and half-assedly tried to copy them. Thanks to marketing they somehow got this image of being innovative when a lot of the game is a hot mess.

I am actually a little wary of the ARR battle revamp, I mostly liked the tempo and somewhat reactive feel combat had in 1.0. But I'll wait and see.

@Totorixiii - think you meant preypacer ^^