I enjoyed that some quests in FFXI were so ridiculous that you had to ask around or look up on a wiki. After playing for a couple of years, I enjoyed contributing what I'd found out to that wiki. But the quests were pretty much all optional, with only the minority having an essential gear reward.

However, if quests are going to be the main source of XP in ARR they can't follow XI's format. I'm fine with that, I'm not after XI-2.

I dislike the copy/paste quest format in this video. For all those saying "this is only two quests, it's only alpha", this is an example that's been provided so we should be free to make comment. I recall forum users using that to justify telling others to shut up back before 1.0 too, so I guess it's to be expected.

Anyhow, what I don't like isn't so much the "Kill X", "Take X", "Observe X" format that a few have taken issue with; rather the similarity with existing games. The icon above the character which changes on completion, the minimap arrows (I know, we had these by the time 1.0 ended) and, a new thing here, optional quest rewards.

I know you're supposed to take the one which fits your class, but these are always sub-standard to crafted gear and so to the majority of people playing, pretty useless (notwithstanding a new player playing through their job for the first time). I always felt, in other games, that optional rewards were superfluous and would always simply check the one with the highest gold value and then NPC it as soon as possible. I'm a little sad (not raging, not quitting, not blowing this out of proportion) that FFXIV have adopted this reward mechanism.

Quote Originally Posted by nibelunc View Post
I want Final Fantasy not only with names and creatures. But also with system and innovation. They copied too many elements from other games and thats not what SE was known for.
Couldn't agree more. The story, the graphics, even the FF staples I loved; but it was the fact that each game brought a whole new system into play that keeps bringing me back.

Yes, this is just one small element. No, it's not going to stop me being enthusiastic about ARR. But it is a thing, and it didn't need to be.