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Want: Your opinion on casual progressive gameplay
AZAlex86
Member UncommonPosts: 158
I am wondering how this game would cater to a casual player that is able to devote 1-2 hours a day to the game? I'm not asking this expecting any trolls, I'd like your honest opinions.
I have read about the fatigue system, and understand it will encourage others to level other classes while they wait for the cooldown on their main class. While on the surface this appears to be great for the casual player, would I be severely underpowered if I'm not able to level up several other classes?
My #1 concern is from my very limited playtime in beta (overtime at work hindered that opportunity), I was able to run through the beginning city quest, a leve, and kill a few mobs to get around level 6. At which point do mobs switch from being rats/skunks/mushrooms, into bigger beasts? Do the quests include other objectives other than kill (X) Y?
My last question is regarding the repair system. As I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, NPCs will allow you to repair your items to 50% durability whilst other players will be able to repair to a full 100%. As a casual player, am I going to run into problems being able to sustain my own equipment?
Thanks for your time, I appreciate it; the game looks intriguing, and I'm an old school EQ1 player, so I'm not exactly looking for the fast-paced WoW gameplay. The social aspect is very important to me, but I need to feel like I'm accomplishing things and advancing as well.
Comments
The most useful cross-class skills are all found <rank 10. So no you would not be hindered by the inability to level multiple jobs to high levels.
Yes the quests include other objectives other than kill (x)y, the guildleves you did were Bronze level 1 (or maybe level 10) guildleves. Guildleves vary greatly in type, purpose, and difficulty (not the ranking system, that is different).
NPC's allow you to repair to 75% not 50%, no you have to run to the city every once and a while. However as a casual player this will be no problem at all for you because you will always have enough Anima to teleport there instantly, and you will be visiting the city regularly for guildleves.
I have several friends who can only play this game casually. The largest proponent for casual gaming in FFXIV is not the surplus system, it is the fact that you have a multiple job/one character system which guaruntees an active low level environment for years to come.
This matters even if you solo as there will constantly be gear available for low level characters, however if you group (or want to play with friends who play the game more than you) this is a wonderful feature in an MMO, because it ensures they will be able to painlessly play with you without the need to powerlevel you (included half ***** Mentor type systems in other games), or go through the trouble of creating an alt specifically to play with you.
http://xivpads.com/?1595680
http://guildwork.com/users/murugan
Objectivity is delivered with a lack of personality made for the mainstream but never used for the mainstream.
Drop the next-gen marketing and people will argue if the game itself has merit.
does anyone else find it funny that "casual" is being defined as 1-2 hours per day?
Not really. People have a choice in their entertainment. You work, come home, take care of your duties and still have maybe four to six hours to kill before it's bed time. Some may be family time, some may be relaxation time. Is it odd to watch 1-2 hours of television a day for those who do that to relax? 1-2 hours is the average movie length because after that attention span lessens, especially if seated and just watching the same thing without break. It's different for interactive content with breaks, of course. Anyway.. blah.
Objectivity is delivered with a lack of personality made for the mainstream but never used for the mainstream.
Dunno to me casual is 30-120 minutes
Core is like ~4 hours
Hardcore is 4 hours+
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I'd say you get a huge boost in progression with leaves and the lower ones are only 30 minutes long.
I dont know if higher levels are longer though...
Would suck to play for 2 months just to find out you dont have time to do basic stuff.
Drop the next-gen marketing and people will argue if the game itself has merit.
Thanks for all the responses guys; appreciated.
Haha yeah, I consider 1-2 hours per day casual for myself solely because back in the days of EQ1 my guild and I were spending 6+ hours per day, and god knows how many hours on the weekends...then age, work, and responsibilities came and that went to hell. Good news is 1-2 hours per day is still decent. Of course some weeks, my 1-2 hours per day will just have to be made up in 1 large sum during the weekend so long as my other half gives me the approval! Hahaha.
No? What would you define casual as? (less than that? or More?)
Also to the other responders I hit surplus several times during beta, on different jobs, but I played it extensively having not been able to get into closed beta.
Yes I have no life (read: I actually work very hours few a week on location giving me lots of free time to do whatever I want, whether it be research, playing video games or taking a vacation to other side of the world. Stay in school kids!! Forever.)
Alternatively you could become a freelance computer technician, these two professions appear to be among the most allowing for hardcore gaming habits, or really anything you'd rather do than wage labor.
http://xivpads.com/?1595680
http://guildwork.com/users/murugan
Mostly everything has been answered, but I'll add a few things regarding the Crafting/Repairing issues.
Here's what the FFXIV Beta Manual says regarding Condition and Repair of Equipment:
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Through the natural course of use, all equipment-weapons, armor, and tools alike-will suffer from deterioration and a decline in effectiveness. At the hands of a skilled crafter, however, such equipment can be restored to prime condition.
- Do-It-Yourself Repairs
First, ensure that the proper tool is equipped. From the main menu, access the Item List and then Inventory. Choose the item you wish to restore, then click the Repair button to initiate the process.
- Enlisting the Aid of Other Adventurers
From the main menu, access the Item List and then Inventory. Choose the item you wish to restore, then click the Seek Repair button to initiate the process. You may choose to offer a certain amount of gil or an item as payment for the repair.
- Emergency Repairs
Certain NPCs located in city-states can perform emergency equipment repairs upon request. Be warned, however, that the subsequent quality of equipment repaired in this manner will fall short of those worked upon by honest-to-goodness crafters.
*To repair equipment, you will need to have the necessary materials for the item to be repaired.
?By using appropriate, high quality materials, you may be able to cut down on the materials used.
--------------
As far as finding actual Crafters and not NPCs, I'm expecting FFXIV to have a solid Crafter player-base so it shouldn't be much of an issue as long as you can get your hand on the materials to repair your items (which can easily bought from other players or through retainers)
Hope this helps.
Edit: Also regarding catching up to Hardcore and such. Great video that explains Fatigue System
It actually really does you no good to purchase the repair items yourself if you are looking for a quick repair.
The quickest way to get an item repaired is to put it up for repair in your bazaar for a price comensurate with the cost of the repair item/crystal. That way the player does not need to initiate a trade with you. If you are willing to leave your character on while afk for a few hours (or overnight) you can always get your item repaired this way (in beta, at launch it should be much easier with many more crafters looking for work).
http://xivpads.com/?1595680
http://guildwork.com/users/murugan
I guess that for me "casual" would be less... When I play casual, I'm playing 30-90 minutes... not necessarily every day... then some days when I've got lots of time maybe i'll get in 2-3 hours... 1-2 hours per day, every day, seems like a bit more than casual to me, that's all.
Per day does not necessarily mean every day. I'd categorize myself as a hardcore MMO player, but I don't play everyday of my life.
Doing anything everyday of your life (other than basic necessary actions) I think qualifies as an addiction.
http://xivpads.com/?1595680
http://guildwork.com/users/murugan
I'm planning on playing FFXIV as a half-casual. That to me is 1-2 hours a day and more on weekends if I dont have other RL things to do first. If I am gaming on the weekends though it can easily be 6-10 hours on a single play session.
My weekdays I plan on rotating through 2 characters, one every other day. That way my first can cool-down on levequests and be fresh the next day I hop back on it. This may not be a factor at all anymore though if they lower the levequest timers as they hinted towards. If they do that I plan on focusing one character towards adventure and one towards crafting.
To be honest though, I really haven't much of a care how long it takes me to level either character up. I know each time I log in on either that they will be gaining xp and going up, its just a matter of time for them to progress. To me, this is what a 'casual gamer' is. Not the amount of time you play, more the mentality behind HOW you play the game. A hardcore player to me is someone who spends every minute in-game worried about getting maximum results and the best possible reward for thier time played. I have know people who play 2 hours or less a day, but are hardcore. They simply HAVE to twink every stat, every ability, and maximize thier grind to get the most done in the shortest amount of time. Its a mentality thing, the way I see it.
All that being said, it makes it difficult ot answer your question of is it viable to play casually and still be progressive. Guess it all depends on what you view as casual and progressive.
(DISCLAIMER - The use of the word YOU in the above post is not directed at any one person in particular, but towards those who fall into the category itself - there is no personal attack here, neither intentional nor implied.)
Here's one way to look at it:
Final Fantasy XI is a game that, according to the Vana'Diel Census, has most players logging in 1-3 hours a day.
Final Fantasy XI does not have the casual-assisting mechanics of Guildleve limits, the Fatigue system, nor Teleportation that Final Fantasy XIV does.
So, yeah, I'd say you can definately handle the game as a casual player, provided you can get over the GUI learning curve.
The fatigue system allows the developer to set a hard cap on the player's advancement on a single class.
Therefore, there is no need for excess grinding to gain a single level on a single class.
Basically, to grow a single class, casuals like you are not going to have any trouble.
But if you want to level more than a few classes, it's going to be slower, yet still doable. It will start to feel like your normal grind at that point however.
It is certain that you are expected to level more than one class, but it is not so bad because the grind has been set so low.
op, you answered your own question right away, a causal gamer will NEVER get into FF XIV because its brimming with wrong design choices.
To put it simply, I don't think any such system should ever be in place if you are paying for that time to play it, just seems like a way to lengthen the span of subscriptions to me.
lol
What does grind do exactly
What system would that be again? The one that supposedly stops you from gaining xp after....no, no, couldn't be that one since it doesn't actually do that after 8 hours. Hmmmm, maybe its the system that FORCES you to...no, no, couldn't be that one either because it doesn't actually force you to do anything. Hmmm, maybe its that system that forces lazy, I want everything, and I want it right NOW and handed to me so I dont have to actually look for it on my own people to NOT play this game. Yeah, thats the system isn't it? Or am I wrong here, was there another system you were thinking about?
(DISCLAIMER - The use of the word YOU in the above post is not directed at any one person in particular, but towards those who fall into the category itself - there is no personal attack here, neither intentional nor implied.)
You are not helping.
Hahaha, yeah I know, but someone had to...no your right - DON'T FEED THE TROLLS...gotcha.
(DISCLAIMER - The use of the word YOU in the above post is not directed at any one person in particular, but towards those who fall into the category itself - there is no personal attack here, neither intentional nor implied.)
This is probably the most well written post i've ever seen on the casual vs hardcore debate.
I've grown older and with MMO's i've found that in order to progress I need a plan, I can't just log in and wait for things to happen. A persons ability to progress is dependant on more than time put in, there is also focus, dedication, efficiency and organization to consider....if you can incorperate those characteristics into your game time you'll find that there are very few hardcore games.
No that is not a real obstacle preventing players progressing. In fact because the difficulty of the leves can be set by the players, they can progress even without grouping. Consequently, you will see a large player population playing XIV sorta casually. There is not bad thing in that as SE will probably take 6 months to patch in a descent amount of end game anyway.Depends on your version of the casual player.
If you mean the casual player who likes to take their time in an MMO, take in all the game has to offer and enjoy the game for what it is, then they might find the game progression to be enjoayble.
If you mean the casual player who wants everything given to them or to progress through the game at the same rate as a hardcore player, then the progression might be a hair pulling experience for them.
Problem is 'casual' player is too broad a term. There are casual players who really don't give a damned if they ever hit max level or get into end game content. There are also casual players who want the most progression and rewards for little time invested.
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
It's funny, because I have the exact opposite vision. To me, a "casual" player doesn't put much time in a game, yet it doesn't mean he/she doesn't play very well (twinking stats etc). A Hardcore player, on the other hand, puts many hours in the game, and if that time allows him/her to gain more knowledge—thus usually results in better "playing"—I've seen many hardcore players that are actually quite bad at what they do. The time poured into the game is the only reason they are beyond "casuals", yet less efficient time-wise.
I take my own history as a basis for that: I used to be hardcore, but work became the most important thing in my life at some point, and if I can't play more than 2 hours a day in average, I definitely try to make the best of those hours. It can be interpreted as a matter of efficiency, that's true, but ultimately it's a matter of pleasure: I like being good at games, that's my thing. I like reading a lot, theorycrafting and knowing as much as I can about the game.
So, am I a casual or hardcore player?
I think the former. Which doesn't mean I don't play games as smartly as I possibly can. Hell, this is a FF forum, I don't think we see much more "intelligence" required for games as FF asks of us players.