I don't think SE will make it as casual as WoW, they will just make it more casual than FFXI. As long as they don't put ? or something like that over all the quest giver's heads and sparkles on items you need for quests im cool with that. I still hope the game is group oriented as well. Sorry but im going to be a jerk and say screw people that want to solo. There are a hundred other games you can solo to max level with. Id be ok with a little solo content but if you wan't to progress at a decent rate you have to be in a group. If they use level sync and the fact that the game is new, you'll find a party in no time. If you have 2 hours to play group up and when you have to go, it will be just as easy to find a replacement.
If there's something like level sync, then I hope the skill system is implemented differently, independent of what level you're fighting at. The issue with skills falling way behind because everyone seems to want to level-sync 10+ levels below their actual level, capping their skills, is making FFXI's implementation a headache to work with.
As for symbols over NPCs heads indicating they have a quest... ugh.. I really hate that; it takes away from the immersion for me. At the same time, I recognize that it makes it less bothersome than having to go from NPC to NPC to see which one has something for you. If they allow you toggle such things off in the settings, that would be great. Let those who like having the quest helpers keep them enabled... let those who don't like them turn them off. Then everyone's happy .
Yeah that was one thing that sucked about level sync my skills were getting gimped. But if it does have a lvl sync type thing i don't think it will be a big as a problem because everyone is just starting the game and most people will be with in a few levels of each other anyways.
If they do have ? I hope you can turn them off as for the people that like them they can have it, it kills immersion for me like you said. FFXI wasn't really a quest grind which I liked, and i hope they still use cinematic scenes for the quests and not some scroll with a wall of text crap.
I loved FFXI because it wasn't like other games, I hope SE makes this game just as unique.
I played FFXI for 3 years up till the gill farmers took over. it was the best mmo experience I have ever had.
if you get in a good Linkshell they become like family. the difficulty of the game added to this feeling of belonging to a great group of people and happy that they are willing to help in whatever way they can. The casual playstyle practically eliminates this aspect of playing that made FFXI so great.
Keep in mind FFXIV is not being produced with the american market in mind. all the staff working on it are primarilly asian and cater to that tight knit long term play that FFXI has. So if you are expecting carebear or a heavy casual tilt you will be dissapointed.......very dissapointed. The same people that made FFXI are making FFXIV.
If you want to know what happens in a casual environment that takes little to no skill or time to level or amass wealth just take a look at WoW. Rampant hostility and A-h@les. Decent people are practically a rarity because they can just server transfer or roll a new toon in 2 weeks max lvl. there is no fear of having a bad rep because it is so easy to blend in or change locale.
Having an immense amount of time needed to invest in a toon to make it to the upper levels is important for the longevity of the game and for a healthy "hi Bob.....hi Jim" community. I remember farming for mats and money and shopping at the same places all the time because I knew and partied with the owner a lot.
There are people playing FFXI regularilly since the game came out ALOT, on the same toon, on the same server. they may be a hardcore bunch......but I bet 50k of the 100k still playing have been playing for at least 3 years. That kind of community isn't in casual mmo's, where a bunch of people are in the same Guild/Linkshell for 3 years. It simply dosen't happen in casual games, but very rarely.
To put it bluntly FFXI is and was incredibly popular in Japan.....where SE is located. they will cater to them because that is where the bulk of their business is done. And where the bulk of PS3's are located.
Many of you are worried about grouping....it is moot as long as you start within the first 2 years and join a good Linkshell. grouping was as easy as Travel to location>Flag on>wait a couple minutes>mbe advertiza a lil. Being a good player also helps a ton. I got tells from Japanese wanting my skills for a group on the weekends. It was awesome because they take the game much more seriously than most NA. and it was a guarranteed awesome party, every time.
Will casuals be able to enjoy the game? sure. SE might have a save dungeon feature that allows people with little time to save their progress and pick up where they left off. but that would require instancing which ruins immersion. you can play as a BM. I'm sure there will be content for Casual players. But don't expect to be able to solo any more than you were able to in FFXI
................... I know the details aren't out yet. It dosen't matter what we want, the game isn't being made for people in the US. Sure there will be elements to make the game a bit more accessible, but it won't be easier than FFXI to a great degree, it's in the same universe as FFXI......Mithra, Galka, Elvan, Taru......etc they are making a replacement for FFXI don't you pleebs get it yet???????
Still, there are people who act as though they're offended at the very suggestion of a MMO coming out that might - gasp - require them to group up at some point... as though there aren't other several other MMOs already available that will suit them perfectly. There's nothing wrong with there being an option for those of us who *do* enjoy grouping as well.
I understand what you are saying however I also don't think everyone is listening to each other. While someone says one thing the one on the receiving end perceives something else, but that's why we have these discussions.
All mmos have both grouping and solo play. The older games were more group oriented and very brutal on solo players and lately we've seen a shift in the other direction, actually more like a sudden flop.
I think we're in for a balance eventually, and I really hope and expect that FF14 will the first of those.
Personally, I think they need to stop trying to cater to both play styles in the same game. They compete with each other for developer resources, only casuals tend to get the crappy end of the quality stick. Make a hardcore game and make a casual game and stop punishing the players by mixing them up.
I agree with you, or at least make 2 versions of the game and simply put it on 2 different channels.
Sure, why not. These developers can't even release one good version of an MMO these days, but let's ask them to release 2 separate versions that would have totally different game mechanics.......
For what it is worth, here is a section out of the Ign report.
What is the combat system like?
The development team won't say, but it did confirm to us that... Additionally, the heavy team-play aspect of FF11 has been deemphasized, and now exploration and battle is said to be more balanced between solo and team play.
Still, there are people who act as though they're offended at the very suggestion of a MMO coming out that might - gasp - require them to group up at some point... as though there aren't other several other MMOs already available that will suit them perfectly. There's nothing wrong with there being an option for those of us who *do* enjoy grouping as well.
I understand what you are saying however I also don't think everyone is listening to each other. While someone says one thing the one on the receiving end perceives something else, but that's why we have these discussions.
All mmos have both grouping and solo play. The older games were more group oriented and very brutal on solo players and lately we've seen a shift in the other direction, actually more like a sudden flop.
I think we're in for a balance eventually, and I really hope and expect that FF14 will the first of those.
Personally, I think they need to stop trying to cater to both play styles in the same game. They compete with each other for developer resources, only casuals tend to get the crappy end of the quality stick. Make a hardcore game and make a casual game and stop punishing the players by mixing them up.
I agree with you, or at least make 2 versions of the game and simply put it on 2 different channels.
Sure, why not. These developers can't even release one good version of an MMO these days, but let's ask them to release 2 separate versions that would have totally different game mechanics.......
lol! Unnecessary though because the game will be neither too hardcore or too casual. Look up the IGN video interview it sheds some light on this. Cooperative play will be a major part but time sinks have been done away with as well.
I'm still convinced this will be so different not many of us can actually conceive how it will be received by what type of player.
Those of you trying to tell others how this game will play based on what FFXI was (grndzro), just stop you don't know anymore then the rest of us, in fact you know less because you haven't seen the latest IGN interview apparently. The game isn't made for Japanese players first also, it's made for gamers who enjoy Final Fantasy.
Nice tid bit, character progression is not level based.... Using different weapons will affect how your character develops.
I hope the weapon stuff doesn't overshadow the game too much. I enjoyed having different skills for different weapons on each job. That and leveling up a weapon on one job made it so the next job could be leveled quicker
I dislike that it is not exp based leveling... makes me wonder if it will be like the FFX system that they had which would be very ridiculous in an online game. It almost sounds purely skill based which makes me wonder how it will function.
At this point i am treating the game with skepticism. There have been a ton of mmo's out since FFXI hit the scene and many of them are lackluster. If they can hold true to the realism of the game, the story and the immersiveness that FFXI had i will enjoy it alot. Anything WoW related is goign to make me hate the game, i played it for a little while, tired of it and would like to not see it again... too much QQ in there.
edit and i also want a crafting system in depth like it was on FFXI. The time of day, direction and everything affected how you could craft yet actually crafting was not super complicated. On top of that only those with the ability to actually level it up could do it. You didn't get a level every time you crafted something and even when you did craft it was not a guaranteed success... on top of that when you did level it was usually a 0.1 or 0.2 or if you were really lucky a 0.3
I hate games like WoW where everyone has a max level craft just because there is so much junk floating around. At the same time though the "soulbound" item was an amazing idea that really bumped up demand for some things but too bad wow dropped so many items crafted stuff was garbage most of the time. I hope they can match an idea like this if they do not give a limit on the inventory again. Having the items that are crafted that can only be used by one person will really make the economy much stronger , i know ffxi only had a strong economy for food because all the pots did virtually nothing(like hp pots @90 hp? thats only good at level 1).
Grouping because you are forced to group is a chore and will be disliked by players.
Grouping because you need to in order to survive and dying has a sting to it makes for great gameplay.
If this game has some sting to dying, then I would think that the grouping will be quite exicting, and the building of bonds among players will be welcome as well. The true spirit of MMO's is community (Comrades-in-arms).
(Oh, and I hope there are "trains" (aggroing monsters onto others) in this game.)
For what it is worth, here is a section out of the Ign report.
What is the combat system like?
The development team won't say, but it did confirm to us that... Additionally, the heavy team-play aspect of FF11 has been deemphasized, and now exploration and battle is said to be more balanced between solo and team play.
This is a good thing so long as it IS ballanced. I loved FFXI, but due to the REQUIREMENT to group, and the job I was attempting to level, I reached a stumbling block at about lvl 30. I could not level, and I did not have the time (or inclination) to sit around in the empty area of the jungle to attempt to try and get a group.
On the other hand, If they go the route of many other games (AOC for example) and make solo play TOO EASY then the players won't really have an incentive to group. I find my self bored playing an MMO Single player. As a single player, MMO's just aren't as much fun.
However, one thing I am excieted about is that FFXI had great atmosphere and drew you into the world. If XIV can do that as well, then I will happily fork over my money to play.
I totally disagree with OP that it will be casual like WoW.
WoW is perhaps the most casual game i have played in a long time. They dumb it down every patch, make it easier to level by dropping the exp needed, give more skills, give everyone a skill that someone of another class has. Everything in the game is so blended its hard to tell what is what. On top of that they push endgame content so much everyone only want to have a lvl 80. The old endgame content is forgotten and never used again.
I think there are extremes. WoW on the one hand with way too easy and way too casual and FFXI being one of the harder MMO's had virtually no solo play with the exception of beastmaster and the new dancer job(he could manage at lower levels now sure about higher though). If you were a whitemage or blackmage you suffered hard once you hit 8 or so because you needed to be in a party or duo'ing with someone. Downtime was ridiculously long too then kinda caught up at higher levels but still long.
I think the comment made by the developers is that they will make it more user friendly in flexibility terms. In FFXI i know people complained because it took a long time to get anywhere and the developers tried to compensate by offering items with limited use to move you places but they were valued and lackluster at best. Parties had to be developed precisely well if you wanted to grind faster and enjoy more with limited wipes unless you had a power leveler. With a 10% experience wipe people often didn't want to experiment or anything. Once my blackmage hit 50 i couldn't find parties at all, it was "solo or wait for party for 2 hours" deal. Solo'ing was also dangerous since if you died... 1 hour to get back to where you were.
I HOPE that they keep the world, immersiveness, party play and everything very similar but give people the flexibility to do other things. I loved the job system the way it was and by now there are mogs in places where they are actually needed.
The special item stuff in FFXI was also not very good, dominated by bots that would just camp the monster till he spawned, kill adn get the item to sell for a small fortune on the auction house. They fixed it in the end by making items bound to you but the damage was done by that point...
Overall i have not been this excited in a game in a long time. I bought FFXI on PS2 N/A release and loved it to death. Killing mandy's in Yhutunga/Yhoator jungle was a blast. The music although repetitive gave the game a unique and exciting feeling when you entered a new area. If there is any way to get in on this beta since it's a worldwide release... i will be there... full force!
I hope they don't make the game too casual. I honestly believe the difficulty of FFXI was the reason for the community being so great. I met a lot of people and made lots of deep friendships, a lot of whom I've stayed in contact with outside the game. Other MMOs I've played I would usually just group with someone and then never hear from them again. I think grouping needs to be a lot more rewarding then solo but solo should be viable. I think soloing should be left for if you don't have very long too play or while you are lfg. Solo content doesn't have to be just leveling either. Hopefully there can be a lot of sideways character progression that can keep people busy while LFGing or burning an hour.
I'm hoping the game will have better UI and controls as well. I didn't mind the way FFXI played when I played it but after getting used to the way other MMOs played you can really feel how clumsy its controls are. I wanna be able to control my character and pan my camera with my mouse like current games. I also would like to be able to keybind my abilities instead of using the macro system FFXI uses. Or just keybind macros. I liked how you would keep different gear sets and macro them in for different abilities so hopefully they don't get rid of macros all together.
The impression I get is that it will be exactly like FFXI as far as difficulty and forced grouping, only with some solo / casual content tacked on as an after thought. In other words, you will still get the best progression, loot and quality content for groupers, wtih XP / Faction grinding and minimal rewards type activities for soloers. Sure, you might be able to solo to max, unlike FFXI, but what are the chances that it will be fun AND rewarding.
If they even hope to survive.. past the initial free month (which will surely be given) they won't just tack on anything.
The impression I get is that it will be exactly like FFXI as far as difficulty and forced grouping, only with some solo / casual content tacked on as an after thought. In other words, you will still get the best progression, loot and quality content for groupers, wtih XP / Faction grinding and minimal rewards type activities for soloers. Sure, you might be able to solo to max, unlike FFXI, but what are the chances that it will be fun AND rewarding.
If they even hope to survive.. past the initial free month (which will surely be given) they won't just tack on anything.
I partially agree with this - they won't just tack on anything for solo/casual content if they hope to make FFXIV a bigger success than FFXI. I don't think survival is the problem for Square Enix, FFXI "survived" quite well with mainly players that accept party play and dedicate a lot more time than average online gamers.
My current assumption is that FFXIV will allow players to solo their way to max level and to do it (however long it'll take) with less than an hour at a time. This is an assumption and I won't count on it until beta or launch.
With many big .. (giant.. really..) name titles coming down the line.. they can't completely duplicate many of the hardcore tendencies of FFXI. ... They are going to be competing again Bioware's Old Republic, Blizzard's new untitled MMO which will probably be a huge contender and countless other titles.
Regretfully - I never managed to make it past level 40 in FFXI, so I can't really speak much about the mechanics of the game other than knowing full well that it was probably too difficult to level. With the amount of time I had to invest in such games back then i'm surprised I never made it further. With many more responsibilities today I couldn't hope to play a game that required as much to play as FFXI.
Comments
If there's something like level sync, then I hope the skill system is implemented differently, independent of what level you're fighting at. The issue with skills falling way behind because everyone seems to want to level-sync 10+ levels below their actual level, capping their skills, is making FFXI's implementation a headache to work with.
.
As for symbols over NPCs heads indicating they have a quest... ugh.. I really hate that; it takes away from the immersion for me. At the same time, I recognize that it makes it less bothersome than having to go from NPC to NPC to see which one has something for you. If they allow you toggle such things off in the settings, that would be great. Let those who like having the quest helpers keep them enabled... let those who don't like them turn them off. Then everyone's happy
Yeah that was one thing that sucked about level sync my skills were getting gimped. But if it does have a lvl sync type thing i don't think it will be a big as a problem because everyone is just starting the game and most people will be with in a few levels of each other anyways.
If they do have ? I hope you can turn them off as for the people that like them they can have it, it kills immersion for me like you said. FFXI wasn't really a quest grind which I liked, and i hope they still use cinematic scenes for the quests and not some scroll with a wall of text crap.
I loved FFXI because it wasn't like other games, I hope SE makes this game just as unique.
I played FFXI for 3 years up till the gill farmers took over. it was the best mmo experience I have ever had.
if you get in a good Linkshell they become like family. the difficulty of the game added to this feeling of belonging to a great group of people and happy that they are willing to help in whatever way they can. The casual playstyle practically eliminates this aspect of playing that made FFXI so great.
Keep in mind FFXIV is not being produced with the american market in mind. all the staff working on it are primarilly asian and cater to that tight knit long term play that FFXI has. So if you are expecting carebear or a heavy casual tilt you will be dissapointed.......very dissapointed. The same people that made FFXI are making FFXIV.
If you want to know what happens in a casual environment that takes little to no skill or time to level or amass wealth just take a look at WoW. Rampant hostility and A-h@les. Decent people are practically a rarity because they can just server transfer or roll a new toon in 2 weeks max lvl. there is no fear of having a bad rep because it is so easy to blend in or change locale.
Having an immense amount of time needed to invest in a toon to make it to the upper levels is important for the longevity of the game and for a healthy "hi Bob.....hi Jim" community. I remember farming for mats and money and shopping at the same places all the time because I knew and partied with the owner a lot.
There are people playing FFXI regularilly since the game came out ALOT, on the same toon, on the same server. they may be a hardcore bunch......but I bet 50k of the 100k still playing have been playing for at least 3 years. That kind of community isn't in casual mmo's, where a bunch of people are in the same Guild/Linkshell for 3 years. It simply dosen't happen in casual games, but very rarely.
To put it bluntly FFXI is and was incredibly popular in Japan.....where SE is located. they will cater to them because that is where the bulk of their business is done. And where the bulk of PS3's are located.
Many of you are worried about grouping....it is moot as long as you start within the first 2 years and join a good Linkshell. grouping was as easy as Travel to location>Flag on>wait a couple minutes>mbe advertiza a lil. Being a good player also helps a ton. I got tells from Japanese wanting my skills for a group on the weekends. It was awesome because they take the game much more seriously than most NA. and it was a guarranteed awesome party, every time.
Will casuals be able to enjoy the game? sure. SE might have a save dungeon feature that allows people with little time to save their progress and pick up where they left off. but that would require instancing which ruins immersion. you can play as a BM. I'm sure there will be content for Casual players. But don't expect to be able to solo any more than you were able to in FFXI
................... I know the details aren't out yet. It dosen't matter what we want, the game isn't being made for people in the US. Sure there will be elements to make the game a bit more accessible, but it won't be easier than FFXI to a great degree, it's in the same universe as FFXI......Mithra, Galka, Elvan, Taru......etc they are making a replacement for FFXI don't you pleebs get it yet???????
I understand what you are saying however I also don't think everyone is listening to each other. While someone says one thing the one on the receiving end perceives something else, but that's why we have these discussions.
All mmos have both grouping and solo play. The older games were more group oriented and very brutal on solo players and lately we've seen a shift in the other direction, actually more like a sudden flop.
I think we're in for a balance eventually, and I really hope and expect that FF14 will the first of those.
Personally, I think they need to stop trying to cater to both play styles in the same game. They compete with each other for developer resources, only casuals tend to get the crappy end of the quality stick. Make a hardcore game and make a casual game and stop punishing the players by mixing them up.
I agree with you, or at least make 2 versions of the game and simply put it on 2 different channels.
Sure, why not. These developers can't even release one good version of an MMO these days, but let's ask them to release 2 separate versions that would have totally different game mechanics.......
[b]
did someone really say this...? oh dear.
For what it is worth, here is a section out of the Ign report.
What is the combat system like?
The development team won't say, but it did confirm to us that... Additionally, the heavy team-play aspect of FF11 has been deemphasized, and now exploration and battle is said to be more balanced between solo and team play.
Source : http://pc.ign.com/articles/991/991522p1.html
I understand what you are saying however I also don't think everyone is listening to each other. While someone says one thing the one on the receiving end perceives something else, but that's why we have these discussions.
All mmos have both grouping and solo play. The older games were more group oriented and very brutal on solo players and lately we've seen a shift in the other direction, actually more like a sudden flop.
I think we're in for a balance eventually, and I really hope and expect that FF14 will the first of those.
Personally, I think they need to stop trying to cater to both play styles in the same game. They compete with each other for developer resources, only casuals tend to get the crappy end of the quality stick. Make a hardcore game and make a casual game and stop punishing the players by mixing them up.
I agree with you, or at least make 2 versions of the game and simply put it on 2 different channels.
Sure, why not. These developers can't even release one good version of an MMO these days, but let's ask them to release 2 separate versions that would have totally different game mechanics.......
lol! Unnecessary though because the game will be neither too hardcore or too casual. Look up the IGN video interview it sheds some light on this. Cooperative play will be a major part but time sinks have been done away with as well.
I'm still convinced this will be so different not many of us can actually conceive how it will be received by what type of player.
Those of you trying to tell others how this game will play based on what FFXI was (grndzro), just stop you don't know anymore then the rest of us, in fact you know less because you haven't seen the latest IGN interview apparently. The game isn't made for Japanese players first also, it's made for gamers who enjoy Final Fantasy.
Nice tid bit, character progression is not level based.... Using different weapons will affect how your character develops.
(,,,)=^__^=(,,,)
I hope the weapon stuff doesn't overshadow the game too much. I enjoyed having different skills for different weapons on each job. That and leveling up a weapon on one job made it so the next job could be leveled quicker
I dislike that it is not exp based leveling... makes me wonder if it will be like the FFX system that they had which would be very ridiculous in an online game. It almost sounds purely skill based which makes me wonder how it will function.
At this point i am treating the game with skepticism. There have been a ton of mmo's out since FFXI hit the scene and many of them are lackluster. If they can hold true to the realism of the game, the story and the immersiveness that FFXI had i will enjoy it alot. Anything WoW related is goign to make me hate the game, i played it for a little while, tired of it and would like to not see it again... too much QQ in there.
edit and i also want a crafting system in depth like it was on FFXI. The time of day, direction and everything affected how you could craft yet actually crafting was not super complicated. On top of that only those with the ability to actually level it up could do it. You didn't get a level every time you crafted something and even when you did craft it was not a guaranteed success... on top of that when you did level it was usually a 0.1 or 0.2 or if you were really lucky a 0.3
I hate games like WoW where everyone has a max level craft just because there is so much junk floating around. At the same time though the "soulbound" item was an amazing idea that really bumped up demand for some things but too bad wow dropped so many items crafted stuff was garbage most of the time. I hope they can match an idea like this if they do not give a limit on the inventory again. Having the items that are crafted that can only be used by one person will really make the economy much stronger , i know ffxi only had a strong economy for food because all the pots did virtually nothing(like hp pots @90 hp? thats only good at level 1).
Grouping because you are forced to group is a chore and will be disliked by players.
Grouping because you need to in order to survive and dying has a sting to it makes for great gameplay.
If this game has some sting to dying, then I would think that the grouping will be quite exicting, and the building of bonds among players will be welcome as well. The true spirit of MMO's is community (Comrades-in-arms).
(Oh, and I hope there are "trains" (aggroing monsters onto others) in this game.)
This is a good thing so long as it IS ballanced. I loved FFXI, but due to the REQUIREMENT to group, and the job I was attempting to level, I reached a stumbling block at about lvl 30. I could not level, and I did not have the time (or inclination) to sit around in the empty area of the jungle to attempt to try and get a group.
On the other hand, If they go the route of many other games (AOC for example) and make solo play TOO EASY then the players won't really have an incentive to group. I find my self bored playing an MMO Single player. As a single player, MMO's just aren't as much fun.
However, one thing I am excieted about is that FFXI had great atmosphere and drew you into the world. If XIV can do that as well, then I will happily fork over my money to play.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
I totally disagree with OP that it will be casual like WoW.
WoW is perhaps the most casual game i have played in a long time. They dumb it down every patch, make it easier to level by dropping the exp needed, give more skills, give everyone a skill that someone of another class has. Everything in the game is so blended its hard to tell what is what. On top of that they push endgame content so much everyone only want to have a lvl 80. The old endgame content is forgotten and never used again.
I think there are extremes. WoW on the one hand with way too easy and way too casual and FFXI being one of the harder MMO's had virtually no solo play with the exception of beastmaster and the new dancer job(he could manage at lower levels now sure about higher though). If you were a whitemage or blackmage you suffered hard once you hit 8 or so because you needed to be in a party or duo'ing with someone. Downtime was ridiculously long too then kinda caught up at higher levels but still long.
I think the comment made by the developers is that they will make it more user friendly in flexibility terms. In FFXI i know people complained because it took a long time to get anywhere and the developers tried to compensate by offering items with limited use to move you places but they were valued and lackluster at best. Parties had to be developed precisely well if you wanted to grind faster and enjoy more with limited wipes unless you had a power leveler. With a 10% experience wipe people often didn't want to experiment or anything. Once my blackmage hit 50 i couldn't find parties at all, it was "solo or wait for party for 2 hours" deal. Solo'ing was also dangerous since if you died... 1 hour to get back to where you were.
I HOPE that they keep the world, immersiveness, party play and everything very similar but give people the flexibility to do other things. I loved the job system the way it was and by now there are mogs in places where they are actually needed.
The special item stuff in FFXI was also not very good, dominated by bots that would just camp the monster till he spawned, kill adn get the item to sell for a small fortune on the auction house. They fixed it in the end by making items bound to you but the damage was done by that point...
Overall i have not been this excited in a game in a long time. I bought FFXI on PS2 N/A release and loved it to death. Killing mandy's in Yhutunga/Yhoator jungle was a blast. The music although repetitive gave the game a unique and exciting feeling when you entered a new area. If there is any way to get in on this beta since it's a worldwide release... i will be there... full force!
If it's casual at all, it will be more like WoW than FFXI in terms of difficulty.
they said they will add content so people who only want to play 40 mins a day or play all day.
March on! - Lets Invade Pekopon
I hope they don't make the game too casual. I honestly believe the difficulty of FFXI was the reason for the community being so great. I met a lot of people and made lots of deep friendships, a lot of whom I've stayed in contact with outside the game. Other MMOs I've played I would usually just group with someone and then never hear from them again. I think grouping needs to be a lot more rewarding then solo but solo should be viable. I think soloing should be left for if you don't have very long too play or while you are lfg. Solo content doesn't have to be just leveling either. Hopefully there can be a lot of sideways character progression that can keep people busy while LFGing or burning an hour.
I'm hoping the game will have better UI and controls as well. I didn't mind the way FFXI played when I played it but after getting used to the way other MMOs played you can really feel how clumsy its controls are. I wanna be able to control my character and pan my camera with my mouse like current games. I also would like to be able to keybind my abilities instead of using the macro system FFXI uses. Or just keybind macros. I liked how you would keep different gear sets and macro them in for different abilities so hopefully they don't get rid of macros all together.
If they even hope to survive.. past the initial free month (which will surely be given) they won't just tack on anything.
If they even hope to survive.. past the initial free month (which will surely be given) they won't just tack on anything.
I partially agree with this - they won't just tack on anything for solo/casual content if they hope to make FFXIV a bigger success than FFXI. I don't think survival is the problem for Square Enix, FFXI "survived" quite well with mainly players that accept party play and dedicate a lot more time than average online gamers.
My current assumption is that FFXIV will allow players to solo their way to max level and to do it (however long it'll take) with less than an hour at a time. This is an assumption and I won't count on it until beta or launch.
With many big .. (giant.. really..) name titles coming down the line.. they can't completely duplicate many of the hardcore tendencies of FFXI. ... They are going to be competing again Bioware's Old Republic, Blizzard's new untitled MMO which will probably be a huge contender and countless other titles.
Regretfully - I never managed to make it past level 40 in FFXI, so I can't really speak much about the mechanics of the game other than knowing full well that it was probably too difficult to level. With the amount of time I had to invest in such games back then i'm surprised I never made it further. With many more responsibilities today I couldn't hope to play a game that required as much to play as FFXI.