The Direction of FFXIV

[Nephera]

Well man i'll answer but uh..man.

I'd like to start off by saying that I believe there are changes that have taken place for this game and planned to take place that are alienating a specific crowd. I'll agree they may be a minority. FFXIV's next generation graphics and base idea has garnered itself a lot of attention from a larger audience then that of FFXI. Due to this a lot of suggestions and arguments being made for the game are leaving behind the people hoping for an innovative new game by the creators of a great game.

Pandering to a minority for a subscription game isnt the best idea from a business standpoint, especially the hardcore minority in this case where it is difficult to pull them away from other games that they have already made a serious investment in, difficult to bring in new players because of steep learning curves and difficult to pull them BACK once they've stopped playing a hardcore game because their lives just got busier. Hardcore players have a tendency to be fickle and abrasive and tend to have opinions on how they think OTHER people should play a game.

Problems:
I think adding aggro icons and now this was and is a bad idea. I agree with the people that it makes the game too easy. To those who say turn it off: I don't think that creates an adventurous, immersive, or fair playing field. I want to know that my companions see the same thing I do when I play the game. Being able to turn this feature off is like if I hacked to make my rank 1 armor to look like a harlequinn's set; looks great to me but doesn't affect anyone else.

I wouldnt consider it particularly fair that anyone with the pc power to run in windowed can look up information about any monster via the wiki, but that doesnt ruin the game for me.

To those who say this game focuses on casual players: I don't want to believe this game will ever definitively be solely casual. FFXI is one of the few MMORPGs that took the step to be different and tough. Thus it brought on a different crowd and still had a large player base.

FFXI is also almost ten years old, born in a market that was much less saturated with options. It used a lot of tricks to make it seem more difficult than it actually was at a time where gamers werent yet pointing these out. The hardcore playerbase has been spread thin among the options it has recieved in the years since xi's release and hasnt enjoyed much growth. XI's large playebase might have been the most success a steep learning curve grinder title is going to get outside of asia(Barring lineage 2).

Targetting casual players means bigger competition for Final Fantasy XI. Every other MMORPG is very similar and targets casuals. Square Enix has proven they can make a game that is different, challenging and good. I want to see Square Enix do what they've proven to be one of the best at.

It means more competition yes, but it also means a bigger and more reliable market. casuals have exploded onto the scene in recent years and there's plenty of slices of that pie to go around. I believe square can put challenging elements into a game while still appealing to casuals.

Solution:
As I understand that I can't persuade everyone to believe this game should be the same game I want it to be I offer a sort compromise: Keep color coded or some kind of basic check system like what we have. This creates a measure of ambiguity on enemy strength and ability keeping the sense of danger. Add a a libra type ability that allows you to check an enemy and display it's stats to the party. This could simply include making the level and aggro information display next to the enemy's name like the picture shown by the OP. This could also be much more advanced or have a version II that shows more about the enemy such as weaknesses, HP, MP, battle tips, etc. This ability can be awarded to a class such as ranger to give further class uniqueness and a reason for teamwork.

Thats a fairly good compromise that works thematically, I could go for that.

There are plenty more things I could name problems alienating the people whom I represent. Even though I can't say that the market ward changes weren't necessary due to them being very poorly implemented I can't say that I'm happy how it was fixed (Mabinogi has a world that is almost completely void of any item search feature).

I'm not sure it was a bad thing. I was mildly disappointed when they implemented the search feature...but thats because i was ripping people off with outrageous prices and buying things to resell them at a higher value in the proper wards. I guess it comes down to if you think this kind of thing is fair game. But yeah there were probably other ways to fix it

Enemies no longer following players removes special parts of the game's immersion. The fact that sheep crowded your vision and your targetting to an outrageous degree is a different design flaw and could've been fixed given more time and thinking outside the box a little bit.

I...dont know i would have four or five sheep staring at me at a time, not only that they would constantly walk into aoe, which is incredibly frustrating when yellows dont give sp. But yeah i guess...other ways to fix it.

When FFXI was created it was hardly the dawn of MMOs. The idea seemed to create an image of real life living in a fantasy realm where you can create your own final fantasy. Grinding was implemented as a way to keep subscribers and also a way of defining those who would work hardest for what they wanted. Games like World of Warcraft came about and created it's own version of the genre that focused on this grind and timesink functions. This was expanded on by a million more MMOs to make the grind funner and less stressful. Not that that creates a poor game, but let us not forget what FFXI was. The immersive and breathtaking world. A world that spoke of a real fantasy.

So the game should be more stressful? Because thats immersive? I have a job for if ever want that kind of experience, I dont even..

These days the grind doesnt look like much more than a function to keep people playing the game longer. Do you know why? Because features have since been developed to make to add real difficulty, smarter bosses, encounters that make you think, puzzles, stuff like that. As for dedication based on time, well. I'm afraid while that sort of thing can be catered to in game it cant be the whole base of play, the new consumers just dont have as much time as the old ones. Heck a lot of the old ones dont have as much time as they used to.

It seems the development team is sadly moving the game in a direction that is leaving me, and the audience I represent, behind. I had faith that Square Enix was the one company that could make a game for us but now decisions are being made that throw me into doubt. Things that I liked are actually being taken away when I thought there was only room for improvement. Square Enix, please don't forget these fans.

They can always put in content for you but it will probably be ancillary. if the entire game really does have to revolve around the hardcore playerbase for you to stay I'm afraid that you are going to be looking for another game even if they do take the game in that direction. Its just not a financially safe option and it could cause the game to collapse. Not to mention that square already has a game that is known in the hardcore market.

Square Enix honor what it was you stood for. Bring back what it meant to live in a Final Fantasy. Not what it means to live in a modern MMO.

Meh, what it means to be final fantasy means different things to different people. I certainly wouldnt want to see the series get left behind.

edit: darn i thought that was my 600th post so i went extra long.

[Peregrine]

I wonder, Peregrine, since you seem to be the pinnacle of an MMO gamer...do you hate the in-game FAQ systems MMOs generally have?

No, I like the online guides and ask the devs sessions. I'm all for clarifying the voodoo. Just not holding your hand out in the field.

[solracht]

Have I ever said I needed (or wanted) the icons? Acknowledging how something works, or why something would be good to have, has absolutely nothing to do with whether you agree with it or not.

Since we're calling each other out now: You're the kind of player that has locked himself in a bubble and refuses to see anything beyond that. Your views on these things are those of a dying MMORPG player breed, and that's why it's hilarious to argue with you.

I'll play with all icons off, btw.

EDIT: I see you edited in more stuff. I'm just going to say it again: You're not even arguing skill, you're arguing information. If you feel more skilled because other players have to find information on the internet rather than simply reading from the game itself, fucking lol

[Elexia]

If they tune the game to my level of effort and thought, it becomes frustrating and harrrrrd for players like you.

Get better. I can't get worse.

Ironically, this is why MMOs are becoming more casual, hell gaming in general, because the whole "hardcore" days are over.

[Kilta_Firelotus]

Again, I simply laugh at your need for information I already had. Blue-green-yellow-orange-red essentially already gave me the mob's level, and it's given me their level since beta.

You're just the kind of player that needs that number because you can't figure it out. Juuust like you can't figure out how to navigate zones you're not familiar with without agro assist on.

It's a skills issue and you're just not putting enough thought into the game. That renders players like me overqualified. If they tune the game to your level of effort and thought, it becomes a snorefest for players like me.

If they tune the game to my level of effort and thought, it becomes frustrating and harrrrrd for players like you.

Get better. I can't get worse.

go get poked by a dutch boy already. Stop being a selfish person. The game was adertized as casual friendly. They are just doing that they promised. Aggro icons are not making the game any easier. It just make ppl avoid aggro faster.

[Nephera]

the icon is plain useless IMO, it makes no difefrence having one or not having one.
Can Anyone here name Mobs that don't look like they are aggro? I think its pretty obvious.
When i started with the game, i was not sure if the crabs are aggro but other than that, i never had the issue.

I got murdered by a vulture by thinking "oh vultures are non predatory birds i'll be fine ARGH WHY"

[Kilta_Firelotus]

No, I like the online guides and ask the devs sessions. I'm all for clarifying the voodoo. Just not holding your hand out in the field.

which what a guide does actually. it tells you second by second what to do where to go. Aggro icon don't.

pere if you want a hard game here is a suggestion

1 play the game with names off
2 walk only
3 never do a levequest
4 only kill mobs 4 level above you
5 never party.

there, that is how you can make ffxiv more challenging. will you stop being such a wet blanket about this. I accepted this a long time ago.

honestly if you want to see a REAL easy game look up DCUO. that "ezmode" game is also highly praised and is in worst state then ffxiv.

[Aramil]

I saw the words; skill, easy mode appear a few time when talking about the aggro icon, but could anyone tell me what skills have to do with that.

I mean with an aggro icon, player X avoid an aggressive monster. Why did he avoid it? Because of the icon. Ok, no skill involve.

Without aggro icon, player X avoid an aggressive monster. Why did he avoid it?

A: Someone told me it's aggressive.
B: I looked it up on the net.
C: It attacked me earlier.
D: It look like it's aggressive.

I don't really see the skills in those answer too...

And in both case, if you didn't avoid the monster, either you didn't pay attention or didn't knew what the icon meant/that the monster was aggressive and will pay attention next time.

Also, between aggro icon and mini map, I'd say the mini map is what make avoiding aggro easy. Aggro icon just give you the information that it's aggressive. The mini map show every monster near you, even those you can't see and how far they are. With just the aggro icon and not mini map, you would still get attacked by nearby spawn and monster that are in your camera dead angle. With the mini map, aggro icon or not, you can avoid anything as long as you pay attention. And yet, all the complain about the game being easy are directed to the aggro icon and not the mini map...

[Peregrine]

Ironically, this is why MMOs are becoming more casual, hell gaming in general, because the whole "hardcore" days are over.

This isn't about hardcore. You all have gotten so careless that not knowing how Ringtail Pterocs will treat you by the time you see them is suddenly hardcore? I'm not hardcore. You're just not even paying ATTENTION any more.

You learned everything you needed to know about Pterocs by level 10, and you should have learned by experience.
-Nonagro mobs
-watch the backflips
-drop wind shards

I don't have to look that **** up. I knew that back in beta. If/when a pteroc agroes me, I'll get hit. But I'll sure as hell remember what kind of pteroc that was. I still remember the kinds of doblyns that agroed in beta, and they don't even exist any more.

This is not hardcore. This is standard. If that's hardcore to you, your standards are just getting lax.

[Kilta_Firelotus]

i can name several ffxi mobs that don't look like they aggro and do.
crawlers
bats
bettles
tri bats
worms
bunnies
trees/trents
slime.