FFXI kind of gave us the option to create our own classes with the sub-job system (Runes of Magic and Guild Wars also offer this). In FFXI, you couldn't be a WAR/BLM and remain effective in a group. There were specific jobs that worked well with other specific jobs (WAR/NIN, NIN/WAR, PLD/WAR, BLM/WHM, SMN/WHM, etc....). If you didn't use one of the "socially acceptable" job combinations, noone wanted you in their group.
Hopefully they will address the unacceptable combos. I like how Runes of Magic added special elite skills that each combo got so they all had something worthwhile about them. I remember PLD/WHM didn't work at all in FFXI, but Knight/Priest (pretty much the equivalent) in RoM works just fine.
One of My Friends plays a Taru Taru PLD/WHM... Whats wrong with it?
I think the main Problem is People getting the Idea that this Combo has 0.2 more DPS or healing So anything else is a Complete waste of time.
I played a Taru Taru RDM/MNK. Was I the best? No But There wasent Mutch Diffrence in My Healing or Dps, Vs say a Whm or Blm Sub. But people Would Freek Out that I wasent one of those 2 Sub jobs.
Well it's been awhile since I played FFXI, but at the time, PLD had to have WAR as a subjob for provoke or they couldn't hold aggro.
As long as he could make the WHM understand to NOT heal him he was Ok. One or two heals from anyone and he was screwed... It did make it fun to play with him
If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude; greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. Samuel Adams
FFXI kind of gave us the option to create our own classes with the sub-job system (Runes of Magic and Guild Wars also offer this). In FFXI, you couldn't be a WAR/BLM and remain effective in a group. There were specific jobs that worked well with other specific jobs (WAR/NIN, NIN/WAR, PLD/WAR, BLM/WHM, SMN/WHM, etc....). If you didn't use one of the "socially acceptable" job combinations, noone wanted you in their group.
Hopefully they will address the unacceptable combos. I like how Runes of Magic added special elite skills that each combo got so they all had something worthwhile about them. I remember PLD/WHM didn't work at all in FFXI, but Knight/Priest (pretty much the equivalent) in RoM works just fine.
One of My Friends plays a Taru Taru PLD/WHM... Whats wrong with it?
I think the main Problem is People getting the Idea that this Combo has 0.2 more DPS or healing So anything else is a Complete waste of time.
I played a Taru Taru RDM/MNK. Was I the best? No But There wasent Mutch Diffrence in My Healing or Dps, Vs say a Whm or Blm Sub. But people Would Freek Out that I wasent one of those 2 Sub jobs.
Well it's been awhile since I played FFXI, but at the time, PLD had to have WAR as a subjob for provoke or they couldn't hold aggro.
As long as he could make the WHM understand to NOT heal him he was Ok. One or two heals from anyone and he was screwed... It did make it fun to play with him
You people have to keep in mind FFXI is a Group oriented MMO, you are not only playing on your time you are playing with other people's time. If you aren't optimized to the best of your ability and refuse to be the best at whatever job U chose......it's an insult to whoever you party with. RDM/MNK........sry we're full.
If there's one thing SE concentrates on when making a game, it's teamwork. Almost everything in FFXI required teamwork. I really hope they don't divert from that mentality with FFXIV. I really hate the direction modern MMO's have taken where it's just a group of individuals spamming their attacks rather than a team of people working together. It's like playing a basketball game where each player has their own ball and they all just keep shooting baskets rather than one ball being worked around the court to score the goal. I would like to see SE stick with the skill chain idea. Perhaps take it one step further and have skill chains be more than just 2 or 3 attacks strung together. It would be cool if chains were more like 6 to 9 attacks. Perhaps have TP build slightly faster and skills not use up the full bar but still have it be much better results to perform the attacks in succession rather than just spammed at random.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game.
I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available.
I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one.
This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
Actually, people pay to play in basketball leagues. Not professionally, just for fun. In addition people play 'street ball' games where the team that works together better is typically the team that wins. No money incentives there, just a desire to win playing something you enjoy.
The same type of sentiment works in an MMO; granted it's not for everyone just like paying to play on sports teams isn't for everyone.
I'm going to join the group of people that liked the team dynamic of FFXI and hope they find a way to improve it, not move away from it.
On the subject of grouping: I hope they move away from the carrot model of forcing groups (if you don't group you die) move to a carrot model. By a carrot model I mean grouping offers benefits over solo play. Benefits such as:
- Skill chains making it easier to kill mobs faster.
- Exp* chains and other bonuses that make it faster to advance in a group
- Less downtime for groups (as a result of skill chains and class synergy that restores resources to other classes - be it TP or MP.)
- Fluff only available to groups. (Items that look unique but provide no special bonus.)
- Spectacular views you can only see if you're in a group.
- Epic fights that aren't do-able solo
- Better chances are rare loot for groups.
All of these things would require proximity - i.e. you couldn't group up with people spread all over the world and have each person get exp and loot bonusi.
* Might not be using EXP to advance characters. In that case a bonus to whatever system they use.
If there's one thing SE concentrates on when making a game, it's teamwork. Almost everything in FFXI required teamwork. I really hope they don't divert from that mentality with FFXIV. I really hate the direction modern MMO's have taken where it's just a group of individuals spamming their attacks rather than a team of people working together. It's like playing a basketball game where each player has their own ball and they all just keep shooting baskets rather than one ball being worked around the court to score the goal. I would like to see SE stick with the skill chain idea. Perhaps take it one step further and have skill chains be more than just 2 or 3 attacks strung together. It would be cool if chains were more like 6 to 9 attacks. Perhaps have TP build slightly faster and skills not use up the full bar but still have it be much better results to perform the attacks in succession rather than just spammed at random.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game.
I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available.
I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one.
This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
I don't think the issue is designing such a game, I think the issue is getting people to think "outside the box". When you have a group of all DPS having to kill lower level mobs but at a faster rate, they don't think in terms of XP per hour, they think in terms of XP per mob. If they're getting 100 XP per kill every 30 seconds vs. the typical tank/healer/DPS group that's getting 200 XP per kill every minute, they think it's less efficient, when it's an identical rate. I believe you actually can do what you want in FFXI, but trying to convince people to do it is a challenge. I remember right before I quit playing FFXI, the most efficient group I ever had was 2 WAR/NIN's, 3 other DPS, and a BRD/WHM, but we had to kill mostly T's instead higher stuff like all the other groups. The BRD would pull a mob to us and then go after the next one because as soon as the next mob got to the group the first one was dead. The BRD would touch up our health between pulls and the WAR/NIN's would just keep shadows up and alternate provokes. After we saw how well it worked, we didn't even bother looking for a WHM.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game. I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available. I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one. This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
Although I can see your point I don't think it's something that can be changed the way you want. Each class tends to have an advantage over other classes in at least one area. Therefore it's only natural a mixture of classes will form a stronger group. It's like a rugby match, you may have some players that are great in a scrum but the rest of their game is poor. If the entire team was made up of players who's only strong point was the scrum, you wouldn't expect them to do very well.
That being said, certain situations don't always require a well balanced group. If you're taking on single mobs in a party with 6 dps classes, maybe you'll be able to take it down before anyone dies. I've played in groups without a healer before, it often just requires abit more of a strategic approach.
Another thing to remember is you don't HAVE to play a class you don't like. If you always play with the same group of friends it might be more ideal if you had a balanced group but there are always ways to compromise.
If there's one thing SE concentrates on when making a game, it's teamwork. Almost everything in FFXI required teamwork. I really hope they don't divert from that mentality with FFXIV. I really hate the direction modern MMO's have taken where it's just a group of individuals spamming their attacks rather than a team of people working together. It's like playing a basketball game where each player has their own ball and they all just keep shooting baskets rather than one ball being worked around the court to score the goal. I would like to see SE stick with the skill chain idea. Perhaps take it one step further and have skill chains be more than just 2 or 3 attacks strung together. It would be cool if chains were more like 6 to 9 attacks. Perhaps have TP build slightly faster and skills not use up the full bar but still have it be much better results to perform the attacks in succession rather than just spammed at random.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game.
I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available.
I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one.
This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
Actually, people pay to play in basketball leagues. Not professionally, just for fun. In addition people play 'street ball' games where the team that works together better is typically the team that wins. No money incentives there, just a desire to win playing something you enjoy.
The same type of sentiment works in an MMO; granted it's not for everyone just like paying to play on sports teams isn't for everyone.
I'm going to join the group of people that liked the team dynamic of FFXI and hope they find a way to improve it, not move away from it.
On the subject of grouping: I hope they move away from the carrot model of forcing groups (if you don't group you die) move to a carrot model. By a carrot model I mean grouping offers benefits over solo play. Benefits such as:
- Skill chains making it easier to kill mobs faster.
- Exp* chains and other bonuses that make it faster to advance in a group
- Less downtime for groups (as a result of skill chains and class synergy that restores resources to other classes - be it TP or MP.)
- Fluff only available to groups. (Items that look unique but provide no special bonus.)
- Spectacular views you can only see if you're in a group.
- Epic fights that aren't do-able solo
- Better chances are rare loot for groups.
All of these things would require proximity - i.e. you couldn't group up with people spread all over the world and have each person get exp and loot bonusi.
* Might not be using EXP to advance characters. In that case a bonus to whatever system they use.
You're on the right track. There should be incentives to grouping. One MMo I've played (cant remember which) had a system where being in a grp the grp had an expereince system where the actual group concept leveled the longer the group stayed together and killed mobs. The higher the group level the more exp bonus and chance of loot drops was increased I think plus I believe the group recieved buffs as level increased.. Was a very innovative system. FFXIV should do something like this and make the rewards ultimately superior to soloing.
Hi Everyone, A few threads having been popping up along the lines of 'What should they include from FFXI', 'What would you like to see in FFXIV' etc. I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread to discuss specifically the combat system. Here's what I would like to see: Combos
More blood + Fatalities (perhaps if you finish a mob with a special attack you get some sort of buff?)
Skills Chains/Magic Bursts or something similar. I think it's important that there's something in there to reward a well co-ordinated group.
Important skills - I find alot of MMOs give you skills that you very rarely need to use. I'd like every skill to be important and would prefer quality over quantity.
Faster Combat with less downtime - Nobody likes sitting around for 5 minutes everytime you kill something while the group regains mana. I think downtime should be kept to a minimum. That'll do for now but i'm sure i'll think of plenty of other things to add later.
I want them to improve the mechanics such as for one the Magic Bursts.I was bummed out to see how most players watered down the game by totally ignoring skillchains and MB's.Square needs to get that back into the game.
The biggest part for me is i do NOT want to see any more favorites in job design.The RDM in FFXI was ridiculously favored,it had more tools to play with than pretty much 3 other jobs put together.The Paladin was one class that was bigtime frowned on,the ygave that job virtually nothing as compared to the RDM.I believe their is people inside,be it family members or staff friends that are cohercing decisions made in their games.I just want to see something that looks obviously fair,even if there is a slight advantage or one class gets a little more,i just want to see the effort to keep it fair across the board.RDM...WHM...BLUE all were given ridiculous better tools to work with.
One thing for sure this game will need is more leveling options.Every new game has overcrowded areas,that creates chaos in a game,players do not want or like to spend hours of their day wandering all over hells acres looking for a leveling spot,because all two fo them have been taken.I would like to see more effort in designing leveling spots,so some maybe slightly better but more risk or some might need a certain job to work that area,but deffinitely we need viable options for all party setups.
One other biggie tha treally miffed me in FFXi was the ridiculous weapon damage variances.It shoudl be cut and dry,the larger weapons cause more damage then down the scale from there.There could also be better forms of damage based on the mob such as taking the piercing/slashing a lot further,it was basically unoticed in FFXI.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Comments
Hopefully they will address the unacceptable combos. I like how Runes of Magic added special elite skills that each combo got so they all had something worthwhile about them. I remember PLD/WHM didn't work at all in FFXI, but Knight/Priest (pretty much the equivalent) in RoM works just fine.
One of My Friends plays a Taru Taru PLD/WHM... Whats wrong with it?
I think the main Problem is People getting the Idea that this Combo has 0.2 more DPS or healing So anything else is a Complete waste of time.
I played a Taru Taru RDM/MNK. Was I the best? No But There wasent Mutch Diffrence in My Healing or Dps, Vs say a Whm or Blm Sub. But people Would Freek Out that I wasent one of those 2 Sub jobs.
Well it's been awhile since I played FFXI, but at the time, PLD had to have WAR as a subjob for provoke or they couldn't hold aggro.
As long as he could make the WHM understand to NOT heal him he was Ok. One or two heals from anyone and he was screwed... It did make it fun to play with him
If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude; greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
Samuel Adams
Hopefully they will address the unacceptable combos. I like how Runes of Magic added special elite skills that each combo got so they all had something worthwhile about them. I remember PLD/WHM didn't work at all in FFXI, but Knight/Priest (pretty much the equivalent) in RoM works just fine.
One of My Friends plays a Taru Taru PLD/WHM... Whats wrong with it?
I think the main Problem is People getting the Idea that this Combo has 0.2 more DPS or healing So anything else is a Complete waste of time.
I played a Taru Taru RDM/MNK. Was I the best? No But There wasent Mutch Diffrence in My Healing or Dps, Vs say a Whm or Blm Sub. But people Would Freek Out that I wasent one of those 2 Sub jobs.
Well it's been awhile since I played FFXI, but at the time, PLD had to have WAR as a subjob for provoke or they couldn't hold aggro.
As long as he could make the WHM understand to NOT heal him he was Ok. One or two heals from anyone and he was screwed... It did make it fun to play with him
You people have to keep in mind FFXI is a Group oriented MMO, you are not only playing on your time you are playing with other people's time. If you aren't optimized to the best of your ability and refuse to be the best at whatever job U chose......it's an insult to whoever you party with. RDM/MNK........sry we're full.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game.
I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available.
I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one.
This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
Actually, people pay to play in basketball leagues. Not professionally, just for fun. In addition people play 'street ball' games where the team that works together better is typically the team that wins. No money incentives there, just a desire to win playing something you enjoy.
The same type of sentiment works in an MMO; granted it's not for everyone just like paying to play on sports teams isn't for everyone.
I'm going to join the group of people that liked the team dynamic of FFXI and hope they find a way to improve it, not move away from it.
On the subject of grouping: I hope they move away from the carrot model of forcing groups (if you don't group you die) move to a carrot model. By a carrot model I mean grouping offers benefits over solo play. Benefits such as:
- Skill chains making it easier to kill mobs faster.
- Exp* chains and other bonuses that make it faster to advance in a group
- Less downtime for groups (as a result of skill chains and class synergy that restores resources to other classes - be it TP or MP.)
- Fluff only available to groups. (Items that look unique but provide no special bonus.)
- Spectacular views you can only see if you're in a group.
- Epic fights that aren't do-able solo
- Better chances are rare loot for groups.
All of these things would require proximity - i.e. you couldn't group up with people spread all over the world and have each person get exp and loot bonusi.
* Might not be using EXP to advance characters. In that case a bonus to whatever system they use.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game.
I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available.
I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one.
This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
I don't think the issue is designing such a game, I think the issue is getting people to think "outside the box". When you have a group of all DPS having to kill lower level mobs but at a faster rate, they don't think in terms of XP per hour, they think in terms of XP per mob. If they're getting 100 XP per kill every 30 seconds vs. the typical tank/healer/DPS group that's getting 200 XP per kill every minute, they think it's less efficient, when it's an identical rate. I believe you actually can do what you want in FFXI, but trying to convince people to do it is a challenge. I remember right before I quit playing FFXI, the most efficient group I ever had was 2 WAR/NIN's, 3 other DPS, and a BRD/WHM, but we had to kill mostly T's instead higher stuff like all the other groups. The BRD would pull a mob to us and then go after the next one because as soon as the next mob got to the group the first one was dead. The BRD would touch up our health between pulls and the WAR/NIN's would just keep shadows up and alternate provokes. After we saw how well it worked, we didn't even bother looking for a WHM.
Although I can see your point I don't think it's something that can be changed the way you want. Each class tends to have an advantage over other classes in at least one area. Therefore it's only natural a mixture of classes will form a stronger group. It's like a rugby match, you may have some players that are great in a scrum but the rest of their game is poor. If the entire team was made up of players who's only strong point was the scrum, you wouldn't expect them to do very well.
That being said, certain situations don't always require a well balanced group. If you're taking on single mobs in a party with 6 dps classes, maybe you'll be able to take it down before anyone dies. I've played in groups without a healer before, it often just requires abit more of a strategic approach.
Another thing to remember is you don't HAVE to play a class you don't like. If you always play with the same group of friends it might be more ideal if you had a balanced group but there are always ways to compromise.
The only problem I have with your analgy is that in that basketball game - those players are there because that's what they get paid to do, or they have an obligation that over rules any ofther obligation. if I'm not getting paid to do something, or some other higher force or calling mandates my being there - then I don't have to be there. Much like a video game.
I don't want to pay for the opportunity to wait for a group of people to come together. I also don't want to pay for the opportunity to play an online game - solo. What I want to pay for, is a game like you described - only I don't have to have the healer, if I don't want one or there isn't one available.
I want to pay for the game where I have the game you are decribing, only I get to play with my friends, regardless of what classes we want to play. In other words, a group of 1 Warrior and 2 Theives should be just as capable to accomplish any task as well as a group of 1 Warrior, 1 Black Mage, and 1 White Mage. There should never ben the circumstance where 2 guys out of the group pick their favorite class, but the third HAS to play the Healer, because they have to have one.
This was exactly the problem FFXI had. This is exactly the reason i stopped playing it. This is exactly why I DO NOT want FFXIV to behave any way like this. This is exactly the reason why I will not play an MMO where this sort of Holy Trinity concept exists. I don't like the idea of HAVING to play a class i don't like, because the game requires it to be there, anymore than I like the idea for someone else to be in the same position.
Actually, people pay to play in basketball leagues. Not professionally, just for fun. In addition people play 'street ball' games where the team that works together better is typically the team that wins. No money incentives there, just a desire to win playing something you enjoy.
The same type of sentiment works in an MMO; granted it's not for everyone just like paying to play on sports teams isn't for everyone.
I'm going to join the group of people that liked the team dynamic of FFXI and hope they find a way to improve it, not move away from it.
On the subject of grouping: I hope they move away from the carrot model of forcing groups (if you don't group you die) move to a carrot model. By a carrot model I mean grouping offers benefits over solo play. Benefits such as:
- Skill chains making it easier to kill mobs faster.
- Exp* chains and other bonuses that make it faster to advance in a group
- Less downtime for groups (as a result of skill chains and class synergy that restores resources to other classes - be it TP or MP.)
- Fluff only available to groups. (Items that look unique but provide no special bonus.)
- Spectacular views you can only see if you're in a group.
- Epic fights that aren't do-able solo
- Better chances are rare loot for groups.
All of these things would require proximity - i.e. you couldn't group up with people spread all over the world and have each person get exp and loot bonusi.
* Might not be using EXP to advance characters. In that case a bonus to whatever system they use.
You're on the right track. There should be incentives to grouping. One MMo I've played (cant remember which) had a system where being in a grp the grp had an expereince system where the actual group concept leveled the longer the group stayed together and killed mobs. The higher the group level the more exp bonus and chance of loot drops was increased I think plus I believe the group recieved buffs as level increased.. Was a very innovative system. FFXIV should do something like this and make the rewards ultimately superior to soloing.
I want them to improve the mechanics such as for one the Magic Bursts.I was bummed out to see how most players watered down the game by totally ignoring skillchains and MB's.Square needs to get that back into the game.
The biggest part for me is i do NOT want to see any more favorites in job design.The RDM in FFXI was ridiculously favored,it had more tools to play with than pretty much 3 other jobs put together.The Paladin was one class that was bigtime frowned on,the ygave that job virtually nothing as compared to the RDM.I believe their is people inside,be it family members or staff friends that are cohercing decisions made in their games.I just want to see something that looks obviously fair,even if there is a slight advantage or one class gets a little more,i just want to see the effort to keep it fair across the board.RDM...WHM...BLUE all were given ridiculous better tools to work with.
One thing for sure this game will need is more leveling options.Every new game has overcrowded areas,that creates chaos in a game,players do not want or like to spend hours of their day wandering all over hells acres looking for a leveling spot,because all two fo them have been taken.I would like to see more effort in designing leveling spots,so some maybe slightly better but more risk or some might need a certain job to work that area,but deffinitely we need viable options for all party setups.
One other biggie tha treally miffed me in FFXi was the ridiculous weapon damage variances.It shoudl be cut and dry,the larger weapons cause more damage then down the scale from there.There could also be better forms of damage based on the mob such as taking the piercing/slashing a lot further,it was basically unoticed in FFXI.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.