FFXIV needs to Inovate!

[RemnantWolf]

This thread is for placing ideas that you would like to see in FFXIV that are NOT from previous games. What are some things that you think could be good ideas that would fit FFXIV? Lets pull all our ideas into one thread to show and discuss (because they seem to Notice things with lots of replies). And remember this is not a thread for things that should be brought back from previous titles but new ideas that you feel would make the game better.
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I think that with the way they are going to a "Auto attack" format opens a lot of possibility. One thing I would like to see to improve the strategy of the game would be a "stance system" The stance system (as I will refer to it from here on) is an addition to what SE is trying to do with the battle system, so it could still be implemented. But the basics are that you can change stance depending on the situation. It would add good strategy to solo play as well as a new dynamic to party play. You could change stance to hid harder, faster, to defend or to dodge and so on. It also adds to the need to know your enemies as different stances will work better on different opponents, to provide best DPS, or best defense. I would like to see new animations for each stance but until they have time for that I would be ok with some small indicator to remind players of what stance they are using.
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I would like to see some form of the physical level stay because I like being able to have some control over my character's development. Maybe like an upgrade system where all your gained exp doesn't go to making your character grow levels but you gain it and spend it on upgrades. Like more dexterity or more HP. This system would have the benefit of being easy to add to, so they could add more than stats if they chose to, like effectiveness with certain kinds of attacks (blunt or slash) or resistances to certain elements or even the effectiveness of certain kinds of armor.

Or maybe they attach a stat or two to every class and you grow depending on what class you have equipped. Because people tend to choose classes with stats they like this would be a great way to let people choose what stats are important to them.

And if we kept the amount of influence of the stat points down it wouldn't take from class uniqueness but still give people the ability to choose how their characters develop.
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I would like to see more dialog options for NPCs. If I could talk about more things it would give the developers a great chance to add a lot of life and lore to the world (two things that seem to be lacking) Maybe I could talk about things like rumors or legends that could lead to secret quests. You guys took a good step forward with lore by adding side quests but the more their is the more reason to explore.
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I think NPCs acting differently around me depending on the quests I've taken would add some realism and life to the game. I would think that after doing some things for these people they would act like I'm less of a nuisance and more of a friend. I would love it if doing things for them made them more likely to trust me and more likely to give me info or quests or talk to their friends who would also give me more quests. It would be a great way to add to the players impact on the world and stop people from becoming the same line of dialog for the whole game. And it would be great if after some time, and doing some work for them they may act as if they recognize you, maybe wave as you go by or something. That would add a lot of movement to the world.
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I wish there were more ways to interact with others in the game. We have lots of emotes but we never seem to really interact. It would be nice if you could shake the hand of a new linkshell member or business partner, hug an old friend or dance WITH (not at the same time, WITH) a friend at the completion of a particularly hard NM. Using these could be easy enough, one person uses the correct emote and then the target player gets a indicator saying that Player so and so wants to shake your hand, you then accept or decline, or walk away is an option so as to not interrupt gameplay.

It would also be nice if these extended to NPCs as well. Don't just find the kid and tell him to go home (after which he mysteriously disappears) grab his hand and lead him home.
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It would be nice if the seasons changed. And while any kind of distinction between seasons would be a huge plus it would be amazing if the world actually changed. Paths open up when the water freezes but it also closes off some paths. Fall has leaves clogging up some rivers which cause flooding but fallen branches mean paths that you can cross. The heat of summer causes some creature to dig burrows underground and create new passages to underground tunnels. By changing the way people traverse the world based on the season it keeps the world fresh and interesting.
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What about everyone else, unique ideas go here, as well as your thought on others ideas. Lets give the developers some great ideas on how to make the game really different from other MMOs out there.

[DarthTaru]

Great ideas. I especially like the seasonal changes.
I'd like to see every mob in the game, from a marmot to an Ogre, be a potential place-holder for one (or a few) of the biggest, baddest HNMs in the game. Not only would we avoid the tedious camping but how great would it be for Tiamat to pop right outside of Ul'dah because her window was up and some level 3 killed a beetle?

[Rydin]

I'd like to see the Soldiers near the gate of each town be more active... doing rounds... possibly slaying any MOB that gets close to the town walls

[AivasTlamunus]

I'd like birds flying around, to see a moby randomly in the sea. I like the idea from Rydin to see a more "alive" city, some villages with people travelling, kids playing.... I would enjoy seeing a dragon flying and then its land on the ground near a city to rise its fly again after 15 minutes (if no one can claim it) and leave to another place of Eorzea (maybe a hidden cave in the middle of the ocean, maybe at the top of a Gridanian tree or in a tower of Limsa Lominsa).
A Coliseum for pvp (player vs player, party vs party...Linkshell vs Linkshell)
Maybe I'd like impossible things, I'm not sure.

I'd like to see instanced battles like Chains of Promathia ones :P
I'd like a more dynamic crafting system. Spamming several buttons and waiting for the exact moment to push it.
I'd like special places to talk and roleplaying.
I'd like customizable instanced areas for every linkshell.
I'd like to pay (gil) for my own house in game. A house Rare/ex of course lol.
I'd like to see a Lancer with a shield, like in the trojan war.

[Mack]

I'd like to see some life in the overworld because right now its basically just big for the sake of being big...there is no substance. They need to either split up the zones and vary them or add many areas of interest. I ran across all of La Noscea pretty much and everything looks the same and nothing is anything...in the higher level regions they are basically packed with dormouse...so lame...I wanna see this change.

[Gilgamesh_VII]

More then one type of monster in one mob so for example all you see is rabbits as a mob but mix it up with rabbits a sheep and moles, like in previous FF games you just didn't fight a group of goblins, you fight goblins and warrants.

and Something like henchmen like they do in guild wars to help with people that just what to play alone or if no one can find people to help with harder quests.

[RemnantWolf]

I am glad to see some people coming up with some really cool ideas. I especially like the ideas to bring the world to life, as I feel it is a very big issue with the game.

I have another Idea I think would add some extra depth to the game.

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I feel MMOs suffer from being killing fests, and dungeons are just longer, glorified mob smashing event. Now I like combat and have no problem with it but I wish Dungeons had something more, it gets kinda repetitive. What I would like to see in dungeons are puzzles, like in Zelda games, It would be great to see puzzles where you have to throw switches, push blocks, use your echo power to see where something you need is, or even split up to keep opening up paths before your team mates. This could even be used on the bosses. I think it would be awesome if you were fighting something like an imperial tank, and before you could do damage to it you had to cut down a large rock hanging from a tree to smash its armor.

Like I said, I am fine with combat but adding some good logic puzzles to the game's dungeons would add some depth to what is otherwise a mob run.

[Cichy]

I'd like to see battle grounds/missions/quests that would incorporate the cooperation of combat classes, crafters, and gatherers.
For example, missions where:
- you fight your way through enemies to reach a mining/gathering point and the gatherer picks up the valuable resources while the party members defend him from on going attack.
- you make your way through tunnels into enemy hideout and a certain rank miner has to dig the way through.
-you make your way through a overgrown part of the forest and you need a botanist to chop the branches down for party to proceed.
- your party needs to make their way to an overwhelmed outpost where Garlean army is attacking and Blacksmith has to fix the cannons while the rest of the party helps defend the fort.
- you defend a fort while blacksmiths and armorers craft weapons for NPCs that need to be armed, you can hold back the attacks but ultimately the crafters have to create enough weapons for NPCs to hold the enemies on their own

Just some ideas