What's unique about FFXIV:ARR?

[Nayto]

The console release and cross-platform play. That's what I liked about FFXI as well since I had more players to interact with.

I'm able to play with people not fortunate enough to have a gaming rig/individual PC that's not custerfuged by their random torrenting from siblings/parents/roomates and screwing over the damn PC in general, making it unusable.

[Digirotta]

(TL;DR at the end of this post)

It doesn't matter how many times i tell my friends how much i enjoy this game. I always stutter, when they ask me,

"What makes that game so special?"

To be honest, i've never had a clear answer. Even if i did, it'd be really hard to explain what my answer means. I'm honestly starting to think, that only after you've played the game, you start to realize it's value.

First off, crafting and gathering has been made to something, that you can't just go clicking on whenever you feel like it. To become a crafter or even gatherer, one must really make an effort towards it. Tera and Aion are good examples of how the modern game industry sees them. You run around questing, stumble upon a bush or a rock and click it. No tools, no effort whatsoever is needed, you only need to make sure your skill level is sufficient. And you have a raw material or another in your hand.

Well, yeah. Every game makes crafting and gathering a bit differently. Everyone who has done them in past, knows, that there's usually a good source of income attached to them. That alone doesn't make the game special.

The second thing i always use to describe the game, is the level of quality and responsibility Square Enix offers to the gamers. Now this is where it gets really tricky. Every time i use that claim, someone reminds me of 1.0's launch over two years back, and i really can't argue with that. Many got burned and social media arranged a terrible scene. The Metascore is still there, and it doesn't lie. Though we all who decided to play and support the game, know differently. The announcement of Tanaka's retirement and the official letter of apology is something i won't ever forget as SE's customer. The decision to remake the whole game and stand tall when the tomatoes were flying on the stage was... wow... They've really gone through a tough phase. And they're about to pull it together with a great remake. That is the feeling of quality and responsibility cannot describe to a friend.

Yeah, well. It's an industry standard that people get a little pick-me-up if they have to wait in login queue, or a weekly maintenance takes longer than planned.

At this point i start to think, that the friend i'm trying explain my passion to, is not even remotely intrested. That, or he's too scared to trust, because he might get burned again.

Explaining the armoury system is a tedious task, even to me, after achieving almost 900 class/job levels. In a nutshell i try to explain, that one character is free to pursue any goal he wants. He can be a simple handyman, or a jack-of-all-trades. You can combine skills from another classes and you are not required to grind through the same repetitive quests and the usually-so-bland-main-storyline over and over again, in order to have both a healer and a tank at your hands. Lately, with the new info being released from ARR, i've been expanding my claims to active events, levelling dungeons and the good old groupgrinding. All brought nicely together with a cross-server search tool. And i always mention, that PvP will be there, and that it will be kept separate from PvE. There will be no griefing/ganking when you want to take your time looking around and exploring.

Yeah... i guess i could take a look at the game when i have some spare time...

After playing so many MMO's for almost 10 years now, i have to say; it's no wonder that western audiences are very sceptical and sometimes even completely paranoid. I believe our understanding of quality gaming, good fun and responsibility of forgiveness has been blurred out to be a gray mass of disappointments, bitterness, unhappiness and ridiculously high expectations and dreams, that has been torn down by so many oversimplified mechanics and meaningless pat-to-back rewards throughout games. Not to mention today's trends regarding launch conditions and DLC-milking.

So far the marketing around ARR has been really modest. It's understandable, as SE is trying something that hasn't been done before. They need to be very careful for a good reason. Pleasing the demanding audiences in both west and east, bridging the gap between casual and hardcore gamers, while trying to maintain their lore-setting and re-balancing combat mechanics, is no easy task. Not to mention that is not nearly enough to succesfully launch their most ambitious title yet.

Oh snap; i guess i got a little off there.
TL;DR: I'm not sure if there is still a definite thing or gimmick to distinguish ARR from today's MMO's, or make it really shine in the gameshelf. I'm not even sure a game needs one, i mean, why re-invent the wheel, if it's otherwise a good wheel? I personally think the quality of service, stunning visuals and compelling story are a unique thing to mention. Like they've been in so many FF-titles.

[Spy]

I also forgot, >>this<< is what also kept me in 1.x and what will help me stay attached to this game for 2.0. Because I know there will be a ton more adventures ahead of me that tend to stand above other mmo's :3

[Deli]

I also forgot, >>this<< is what also kept me in 1.x and what will help me stay attached to this game for 2.0. Because I know there will be a ton more adventures ahead of me that tend to stand above other mmo's :3

/bearhug spy nice video ^^

[Spy]

Yay! I lovel's bear hugs! Just hope my tiny lala body can withstand it XD