OH MY FREAKIN GOD, THANK YOU toddze. That is exaclty what I'm trying to say. So thank you toddze and Ramon, at least you two see where I'm coming from, hate fighting these battles by myself because I feel like I'm talking to people that have a 1 track mind and no matter how clear I make a point, they wont accept my point of view... dont have to own it, but at least accept it. At least I know its just those people, not me not being clear enough now.
Ok Vampry, I am not living in my own little world, I was just stating that I did it, this guy did it, and that guy did it.. HOORAY you can do it to. Also, the next part is why most people like you have a problem.. calling all the other stuff I pointed out that you can do crap? It's not my fault you dont know how to enjoy a game, and by your own words, think that grinding is the only thing in the game. I enjoy many aspects of FF and MMO's. Not just the leveling. Be more open minded and you'll be alright. Now, some of the "crap" as you called it, I added in there because I'm tired of people saying FFXI was completely group based. I'll agree it was alot, but not completely. There were options such as BST. The other stuff I put on there to also point out like I said, that there really is more to an MMO then just grind. Finaly, I put all that "crap" in there to say to people like you, hey, there is/was always plenty to do and SE did a great job.. even for you soloers.. but if it just isnt for you, then move on and stop flaming. There is not, and will likely never be a game that can cater to everyone. Of course SE said they will try to be more casual friendly, I think FFXI was casual freindly if you really wanted it to be. That casual part just had to fit you.. if it didnt, then people give dumb responces like you did. Also, since you brought it up, you said I made an uneducated remark about casual players.. so let me elaborate a little bit of what I was saying. It seems to me that a casual player is looking to be able to play 1 or 2 hours a day and after a short time be able to be at end game and do end game stuff. That is why I said what I said, because if someone hardcore was to play, they would be at end game the day after the game is released. LOL then you tell me your not flaming me after you say I made an uneducated remark.. Lastly, I'm sorry you did not have the skill to fit into FFXI, move on to an easier game like WoW and continue your poke kill level up method. I just plain and simply don't like people like you... trying to attack me when I never made one invalid point, and spoke from my more than 4 years of experience in this particular MMO. I also put my opinion out there... never did I once say.. "OK LISTEN WHAT IM ABOUT TO SAY IS STRICKLY FACTS AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OTHERWISE" Nope, I shared my experiences, opinions, and gave valid examples and options. So if all you can do after that is bash me, then go screw yourself. Oh, and just a reminder, learn how to enjoy a game.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
Ok Vampry, I am not living in my own little world, I was just stating that I did it, this guy did it, and that guy did it.. HOORAY you can do it to. Also, the next part is why most people like you have a problem.. calling all the other stuff I pointed out that you can do crap? It's not my fault you dont know how to enjoy a game, and by your own words, think that grinding is the only thing in the game. I enjoy many aspects of FF and MMO's. Not just the leveling. Be more open minded and you'll be alright. Now, some of the "crap" as you called it, I added in there because I'm tired of people saying FFXI was completely group based. I'll agree it was alot, but not completely. There were options such as BST. The other stuff I put on there to also point out like I said, that there really is more to an MMO then just grind. Finaly, I put all that "crap" in there to say to people like you, hey, there is/was always plenty to do and SE did a great job.. even for you soloers.. but if it just isnt for you, then move on and stop flaming. There is not, and will likely never be a game that can cater to everyone. Of course SE said they will try to be more casual friendly, I think FFXI was casual freindly if you really wanted it to be. That casual part just had to fit you.. if it didnt, then people give dumb responces like you did. Also, since you brought it up, you said I made an uneducated remark about casual players.. so let me elaborate a little bit of what I was saying. It seems to me that a casual player is looking to be able to play 1 or 2 hours a day and after a short time be able to be at end game and do end game stuff. That is why I said what I said, because if someone hardcore was to play, they would be at end game the day after the game is released. LOL then you tell me your not flaming me after you say I made an uneducated remark.. Lastly, I'm sorry you did not have the skill to fit into FFXI, move on to an easier game like WoW and continue your poke kill level up method. I just plain and simply don't like people like you... trying to attack me when I never made one invalid point, and spoke from my more than 4 years of experience in this particular MMO. I also put my opinion out there... never did I once say.. "OK LISTEN WHAT IM ABOUT TO SAY IS STRICKLY FACTS AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OTHERWISE" Nope, I shared my experiences, opinions, and gave valid examples and options. So if all you can do after that is bash me, then go screw yourself. Oh, and just a reminder, learn how to enjoy a game.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
So there you go Vampry, think about what your saying and maybe get your facts straight before you call someone else uneducated! This dude just wins my whole argument and you know it. All he wants is to get to end game in a short time. Eagler for the win, you no longer have the right to ever bash me again, especially making uneducated remarks like you did >.>
Whats really funny about it is that you "casuals" just dont get it.. even if this dude gets what he wants.. his friends would still be at end game wayyyyy faster. Making it "easier" for you makes it easier for your friends as well.. so they would just get there even faster.. now do you really think thats what a dev wants? Everyone to just get to end game real fast then do some end game and quit... how long do you think the MMO would last? Hell, why do't we just start making some MMO's that start us off at end game!!!
Ok Vampry, I am not living in my own little world, I was just stating that I did it, this guy did it, and that guy did it.. HOORAY you can do it to. Also, the next part is why most people like you have a problem.. calling all the other stuff I pointed out that you can do crap? It's not my fault you dont know how to enjoy a game, and by your own words, think that grinding is the only thing in the game. I enjoy many aspects of FF and MMO's. Not just the leveling. Be more open minded and you'll be alright. Now, some of the "crap" as you called it, I added in there because I'm tired of people saying FFXI was completely group based. I'll agree it was alot, but not completely. There were options such as BST. The other stuff I put on there to also point out like I said, that there really is more to an MMO then just grind. Finaly, I put all that "crap" in there to say to people like you, hey, there is/was always plenty to do and SE did a great job.. even for you soloers.. but if it just isnt for you, then move on and stop flaming. There is not, and will likely never be a game that can cater to everyone. Of course SE said they will try to be more casual friendly, I think FFXI was casual freindly if you really wanted it to be. That casual part just had to fit you.. if it didnt, then people give dumb responces like you did. Also, since you brought it up, you said I made an uneducated remark about casual players.. so let me elaborate a little bit of what I was saying. It seems to me that a casual player is looking to be able to play 1 or 2 hours a day and after a short time be able to be at end game and do end game stuff. That is why I said what I said, because if someone hardcore was to play, they would be at end game the day after the game is released. LOL then you tell me your not flaming me after you say I made an uneducated remark.. Lastly, I'm sorry you did not have the skill to fit into FFXI, move on to an easier game like WoW and continue your poke kill level up method. I just plain and simply don't like people like you... trying to attack me when I never made one invalid point, and spoke from my more than 4 years of experience in this particular MMO. I also put my opinion out there... never did I once say.. "OK LISTEN WHAT IM ABOUT TO SAY IS STRICKLY FACTS AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OTHERWISE" Nope, I shared my experiences, opinions, and gave valid examples and options. So if all you can do after that is bash me, then go screw yourself. Oh, and just a reminder, learn how to enjoy a game.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
The problem is this Zaylin. FF XI was not a game for people who had kids/familes and a full time job (well, mostly the kid/families part, I could see someone who worked from 8am to 5 pm then playing FF XI till about 9-10pm). If you made FF XIV more solable, then you will alienate the original fanbase from FFXI. Thus, the game will have to depend on more people like you to fill those empty ranks. And if that failed, then FF XIV will end up being the next EQ2 example.
I'm sorry, but I just don't see the solo/casual player working well with FF XIV if it ends up being based off of FF XI's basic ideals. More solo aspects will kill the group aspect of FF XI.
I played FFXI since almost the North American release date, it's the only Pay2Play MMO I've ever played and I played it on and off up to a few months ago. I have to say I was pretty fucking sick being a dragoon looking for a party for two hours and spending hours and hours getting enough gil to get my snipers and food and whatever I needed at the time. The downtime in the game was absolutely horrible, and it killed it off for me eventually so I decided to be jobs like PLD just so I could get parties. I like that they are introducing a "more casual gaming experience" but at the same time I'd hate to see the team work aspect dissapear. If I was Enix, I'd maybe make the ideal party maybe four members, instead of 6, or maybe the more party members you eventually get the more experience you can earn so maybe if you're looking for members you can still be leveling with three members but the output wont be as rewarding as having 6 members. You have to admit waiting over 30 minutes nevermind over an hour to gain some experience is bullshit.
I don't know what else to say other then I have strong faith in FFXIV and I will buy it the day it comes out. I hope it gives me the same feeling I got the first 3 years I played 11.
I'm just throwing in my two cents here. I played FFXI since almost the North American release date, it's the only Pay2Play MMO I've ever played and I played it on and off up to a few months ago. I have to say I was pretty fucking sick being a dragoon looking for a party for two hours and spending hours and hours getting enough gil to get my snipers and food and whatever I needed at the time. The downtime in the game was absolutely horrible, and it killed it off for me eventually so I decided to be jobs like PLD just so I could get parties. I like that they are introducing a "more casual gaming experience" but at the same time I'd hate to see the team work aspect dissapear. If I was Enix, I'd maybe make the ideal party maybe four members, instead of 6, or maybe the more party members you eventually get the more experience you can earn so maybe if you're looking for members you can still be leveling with three members but the output wont be as rewarding as having 6 members. You have to admit waiting over 30 minutes nevermind over an hour to gain some experience is bullshit. I don't know what else to say other then I have strong faith in FFXIV and I will buy it the day it comes out. I hope it gives me the same feeling I got the first 3 years I played 11.
Contradiction!
How is the rest any different from Final Fantasy XI? You're absolutely capable of duo-ing and forming 'incomplete' parties of 3-5 members, and that's exactly what happens; you might not be able to take out that Incredibly Tough++ Goblin Weaver in Valkurm Dunes, but you can kill other monsters for slightly less exp, and that's exactly what people do until they form a full party. Only a moron would choose to sit and wait and do nothing.
Making this hodge-podge party work usually proves to be a huge payoff than just pulling random craptacular players from a massive pool. You had players that stuck with the party because they wanted to party, not just because there was nothing better to do. That's the way it should be. I don't think the partying aspect should be all that different than it is now.
EDIT: I'm seeing those who Eagler & the others mention that just complain about everything. They say they're making the game more 'casual friendly' and now allofasudden you get someone griping about how PARTYING should be easier, too. Just... go play WoW. Or play some offline multiplayer console games. Final Fantasy:Dissidia is coming out soon. Get that instead?
I was going to quote some of the past several threads but there were just too many. All this arguing over "forced grouping", "cant play with my high level friends", "takes too long to level", "waiting for hours to get a party", etc. has already been resolved in FFXI.
I just restarted FFXI after a 4 year hiatus. And these "problems" don't exist anymore now that FFXI has been dumbed down. I was in Qufim pulling level 60's down into my party for Level Sync for crying out loud. And dont even get me started on the Field Support. I have played very casually for 5 weekends and am already level 27 and rank 3 with mid-level Sandy Fame.
Don't get me wrong I am going to keep playing it. But more and more things are popping up like Super Kupowers that just throw great gobs of easyness at the new player... I can teleport to windhurst from sandy,,, for 300gil??!!? I dunno its just not the same game it used to be, they are definitely taking a page from blizzards book.
So with all this and FFXIV is going to be the game that is aimed at casuals? looking bleak my friends. looking bleak.
(on a side note does anyone know of a game with a difficultly level on par with the original FFXI that I can try out?)
Wow so much ignorance and intolerance in this thread. Sounds like most of you havn't been around very long since the only view you have of soloing is WoW soloing. There was a time when soloing was vastly more dangerous then striking out with a group of friends. Death came swiftly if you didn't know your limits and prepare yourself. There was a time when you grouped with friends and strangers to stay alive and push on further and faster not because I need X people so I can get some piece of shit items to make your character better or a hardcoded that makes is so you can't wipe your own ass. There was a time when a characters strength wasn't determined by his ability to farm but his ability to play.
It is truely sad the genre has devolved into a single player rpg with multi-player options and most of the player base are loot whoring children that can't look past their own noses.
Report me all you want mmos have been going down hill a long time since some idiot thought it was a great idea to take a single player rpg and break into a multi-player rpg.
I was going to quote some of the past several threads but there were just too many. All this arguing over "forced grouping", "cant play with my high level friends", "takes too long to level", "waiting for hours to get a party", etc. has already been resolved in FFXI. I just restarted FFXI after a 4 year hiatus. And these "problems" don't exist anymore now that FFXI has been dumbed down. I was in Qufim pulling level 60's down into my party for Level Sync for crying out loud. And dont even get me started on the Field Support. I have played very casually for 5 weekends and am already level 27 and rank 3 with mid-level Sandy Fame. Don't get me wrong I am going to keep playing it. But more and more things are popping up like Super Kupowers that just throw great gobs of easyness at the new player... I can teleport to windhurst from sandy,,, for 300gil??!!? I dunno its just not the same game it used to be, they are definitely taking a page from blizzards book. So with all this and FFXIV is going to be the game that is aimed at casuals? looking bleak my friends. looking bleak. (on a side note does anyone know of a game with a difficultly level on par with the original FFXI that I can try out?)
Yet another example of how the WoW disease has irrevocably damage the MMORPG genre. No doubt the formula worked great for Blizzard, but it's destroyed everyone else trying to make a new game. The selling point of these games used to be their longevity. Now days, things are just so easy (i.e. soloable) that I'm "done" in a few months (and I'm a very slow leveler) and my interest in the game is lost unless they can keep pumping out end-game content to keep my attention. But who am I to complain, that's what the people want, right? Nice and casual.
I'm sure a lot of you are like me, hoping when you start a new MMO that it will be your new love, but after 6 months of playing you're already looking ahead to the next "attempt" (Aion, Star Wars, Star Trek, FF XIV, etc). Is that what the MMO genre has come to?
As the saying goes... be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
If there's more money to be made by making a fun game that caters to a wide audience than to a small select audience, what company is going to go after the small select audience, especially if they're a publicly owned company?
SE already "has" a game for the small niche market, and I'm sure they won't want to steal customers from their existing product to fill their new one, so they have to draw in new customers, and it won't happen if they remained with the same structure of game as their existing one.
You mentioned Warhammer, which is ironic because that's a prime example of why trying to copy WoW and put your own spin on it doesn't work. They're losing players left and right and Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs (who was with the company for 20+ years) got fired as a result of that debacle. Why? because people didn't go to Warhammer wanting WoW+RvR, they went to Warhammer wanting DAoC 2.0.
Thats exactly right about WAR
IF FF XIV tries to make a FF:WoW then it will dissapoint the WoW fans and the FF fans and be in the exact same boat as WAR is.
If they make a FFXI 2.0 It will be just as succesfull if not more so than FFXI was. Of course an FFXI 2.o wont break into the millions in subs(because its somewhat of a niche, but 500k subs over the next 8 years is a very nice pretty penny.
I always thought WAR failed because they tried to go to the extreme end and do something WoW wasn't good at, which was PVP. They left out PVE, didn't detail PVP good enough and had many broken mechanics (zones flipping, server crashing, class imbalances etc). But I do see your guys' point on the spin+WoW thing.
What these guys are talking about is exactly why people already bash on Aion. They think it is supposed to be the WoW 2.0 successor aka WoW clone perfection. Aion has its OWN spin on things without adding onto what WoW copyrighted (not created, because nothing in the game is original).
Ok alienating fanbases and blending american style mmo's will definitely hurt the games title. as far as alienating, im sure it would not hurt them as much since FFXI is respectfully (gameplay) old and outdated (besides new patch testings for XIV). i bet majority of the fans have a WoW account to the side (i did, but sold; still have my FFXI, my 3rd one). you gotta play wow atleast to know what all (Pay2p) developers been trying to achieve. i would hate to have a western style feel for the next FFXIV, though i SERIOUSLY doubt it because japanese folks are the majority of the fans <--- these dudes are default. i know some of you guys want it FULL japanese oriented style MMORPG but from the looks of the developers interview they wants to pull westerners in and to do that is to implement parts of it. i dont even think japanese subsribers really care, shit, they are the ones beta testing and all based on their opinions, im just hoping this FFXIV beats WoW off the bat along with AoC or LoTR.
i predict western style MMO will evolve to Post-Apocolyptic scenerio MMO's for next several years while asia will continue create fantasy base worlds. if this goes right, western and asia will not compete each other as the game style will totally be different along with equal share of the consumers taste.
i refuse to play another MMO with ELF race along with another MMO with ANOTHER ELF race, its too cliche. and also makes MMO RPG's TOO CLICHE
I just don't believe SE will make the entire game more casual friendly. My thoughts, at this time, is that they are going to do something along the lines of making it more soloable from levels 1-20 instead of 1-10. The dunes alone is probly a good reason to do this. I'd bet SE lost more customers because peole just starting out went to the dunes and couldnt handle it so they quit more than just about any other part of the game.
So I'm thinking they will make it easier to solo to about 20.. where you finaly get some better abilities and spells and it acutally makes sence to start partying up. I mean hell, THF didn't even get sneak attack until 15.. which kinda made them useless til then.. and if you had one in your party.. they really didnt do very much if you think about it besides pull. White mage had what.. cure? and it only cured 30 HP. I can go on but I made my point. So I'm thinking they will do something like that.. let people get to level 20 solo which would be good, because they can get to know their job and by that time there will be abilities that make partys worthwhile at that level... and not to mention, if they "help" people get that far, that person is more likely to stick around.
So yeah, that would make the game more "casual friendly" would it not? Oh, and before people start flaming, I know there won't be levels, so w/e is in place of those "levels". I only used the word "levels" to address my point of view.
For all you people out there that keep saying " well SE said it will be more casual friendly" and are interpereting it as "yes I can play 2 hours a day for a week and then start end game"... start thinking outside the box O.o
I'm just throwing in my two cents here. I played FFXI since almost the North American release date, it's the only Pay2Play MMO I've ever played and I played it on and off up to a few months ago. I have to say I was pretty fucking sick being a dragoon looking for a party for two hours and spending hours and hours getting enough gil to get my snipers and food and whatever I needed at the time. The downtime in the game was absolutely horrible, and it killed it off for me eventually so I decided to be jobs like PLD just so I could get parties. I like that they are introducing a "more casual gaming experience" but at the same time I'd hate to see the team work aspect dissapear. If I was Enix, I'd maybe make the ideal party maybe four members, instead of 6, or maybe the more party members you eventually get the more experience you can earn so maybe if you're looking for members you can still be leveling with three members but the output wont be as rewarding as having 6 members. You have to admit waiting over 30 minutes nevermind over an hour to gain some experience is bullshit. I don't know what else to say other then I have strong faith in FFXIV and I will buy it the day it comes out. I hope it gives me the same feeling I got the first 3 years I played 11.
Contradiction!
How is the rest any different from Final Fantasy XI? You're absolutely capable of duo-ing and forming 'incomplete' parties of 3-5 members, and that's exactly what happens; you might not be able to take out that Incredibly Tough++ Goblin Weaver in Valkurm Dunes, but you can kill other monsters for slightly less exp, and that's exactly what people do until they form a full party. Only a moron would choose to sit and wait and do nothing.
It's not a contradiction, you'd still be playing as a team, just a smaller team to give more parties.
And yes I know you can play 3-5 member parties, but I'm not really intrested in fighting something that's not going to give me a lot of exp for a lengthy time, and then have to rest for a few minutes after. You can't disagree that FFXI had a lot of downtime and when playing it sometimes it felt like a huge waste of time, as much as I loved it. It was alright though because when looking for a party or something I'd just do homework until I got an invite.
One thing I would like to point out here, alot of you are complaining because you "sit in jeuno lfp" because there are no tanks and/or healers.. well if you make smaller parties, then you need even more tanks and healers.. so yall need to stop running in circles, coming up with halfassed solutions and really put thought into it if your going to make a suggestion.
I saw an interesting concept that SE talked about with the new system of the original role based system from FF XI. SE plans to do something called a sphere grid, and the weapon/equipment you wear can help determine your "role." In my opinion, this sounds alot like FF XII. You could work on any skills you wanted with a character, and the weapon/equipment did help determine your role, but those weapons could allow someone to do unorthodox "roles."
In FF XII, I tried a rather unusual setup. I armed one of my support roles characters (I hooked up Penelo with White, Green and Arcane Magic) with a katana, a weapon that was powered by magic power. This made Penlo strangely powerful at close range if the enemy had weak mag. def., but she was still technically a support healer/buffer. In other words, imagine a white magic caster that could deal incredible tank damage.
If the sphere grid and weapon/equipment ideas are derived from FF XII, I think the developers found the way to replace the old role system with a new system that still encourages role playing but gives players better customization (like my white mage example that could deal tremendous tank damage).
The potential problem here is that this type of customization might lead to more solo aspects, so to avoid that, the enemies have to eventually become so powerful that eventually you will have to party with others to survive. Also, in this grid system, working on a particular magic would benefit you with powerful spells of that type. So just because a tanker could learn semi-powerful white magic won't mean it will be good, a person that worked completely towards white magic would be benefitted with powerful white magic spells (and potential benefits, like increased healing from white magic spells if you worked so far into it). Therefore, you could technically create a "jack of all trades" character that's good, but a person that specializes in a particular area will become very powerful on those particular areas.
This is speculation however. But if FF XIV plans on using FF XII's methods of customization, that does sound quite interesting.
In my server there was never a shortage of healers and tanks. Smaller parties would help you be able to gain expeince faster because you're not waiting for that random DD that doesn't have Tele-Altep. Besides I'm pretty sure it clear the Enix is going to go away from the standard Final Fantasy jobs and create something maybe closer to The Elder Scrolls character building (just a guess). I think it would be cool if they made the standard party 3 members like most Final Fantasys that you don't nessisarly need a healer or tank, maybe they'll make potions actually useful and leave the harder stuff to huge battles.
Nutter, if you have read any of my previous posts, you would see, I agree with you. I was just making a point to those people that keep saying they sit in Jeuno all day lfp because there are no tanks and healers. I never had that problem personaly. I don't particularly care if parties are 3 or 4 or 5 or 6.. or if 3 is good but 5 would be better... just keep the grouping idea the main aspect... I just don't want to see 100% complete soloability, that can also get people to endgame in a short time. If I wanted to play a solo game... why would I look into an MMO? So I can talk to people while I play by myself? No thanks.
Anyway Nutter.. I wasnt personally complaining about that, but that one guy was.. then he wanted to suggest smaller parties.. so I had to point out that smaller parties means needing more tanks/healers.
I've also seen those acceleration grids.. but for now I'd prefer to stick to refering to FFXI because it is something we are all familiar with first of all.. and it is whats in place atm. I don't want to start using that grid as a reference until it is CONFIRMED thats what it will be.. because that is just stupid if you think about it.
I say just have faith in Square thats all maybe it won't be as amazing as FFXI was or will be who knows? just give them a chance if they put in some solo stuff that be cool but in the end i am sure it will still be mostly group centric game which if it was a solo game then it wouldn' tbe a FF game now would it?
Sorry again for posting twice but the LFG isn't that bad in FFXI it depends on time and servers remember its a world server... You just have to put yourself out there its not liek wow where you put your flag up and bam you get a group you have top try and get your group i can play all day and get good groups and sometimes id on't so this game isn't dead at all meaning FFXI
I say just have faith in Square thats all maybe it won't be as amazing as FFXI was or will be who knows? just give them a chance if they put in some solo stuff that be cool but in the end i am sure it will still be mostly group centric game which if it was a solo game then it wouldn' tbe a FF game now would it?
I have faith in Square Enix too. However, with the idea of solo play, this is what I hope will happen with FF XIV:
1. Game is 100% solo, but it completely sucks in all ways to group play. Therefore those people that want to solo can play FF XIV, but they get inferior rewards compared to grouping, they take longer to advance into the game, and basically they will feel the pain for not grouping like the game (hopefully) intended you to.
2. Game is soloable for only the first levels. I would say maybe around level 10-20 is when you start sucking when you solo. This way, you can get a feel for the game (and at these levels you usually would start seeing the better spells if the game follows FF XI in this example). But, afterwards, solo would be suicide and you have to group.
Look, I know many people who liked solo wished they could've played FF XI, but the fact is that game was completely group-centric. The original fanbase grew up on group content, so if FF XIV started having a solo play that you could 100% solo and get equal rewards to grouping then the grouping aspect would be killed. You would alienate the FF XI crowd, and either the game gets an entire new fanbase or it dies. This would be like EQ2.
Ok Vampry, I am not living in my own little world, I was just stating that I did it, this guy did it, and that guy did it.. HOORAY you can do it to. Also, the next part is why most people like you have a problem.. calling all the other stuff I pointed out that you can do crap? It's not my fault you dont know how to enjoy a game, and by your own words, think that grinding is the only thing in the game. I enjoy many aspects of FF and MMO's. Not just the leveling. Be more open minded and you'll be alright. Now, some of the "crap" as you called it, I added in there because I'm tired of people saying FFXI was completely group based. I'll agree it was alot, but not completely. There were options such as BST. The other stuff I put on there to also point out like I said, that there really is more to an MMO then just grind. Finaly, I put all that "crap" in there to say to people like you, hey, there is/was always plenty to do and SE did a great job.. even for you soloers.. but if it just isnt for you, then move on and stop flaming. There is not, and will likely never be a game that can cater to everyone. Of course SE said they will try to be more casual friendly, I think FFXI was casual freindly if you really wanted it to be. That casual part just had to fit you.. if it didnt, then people give dumb responces like you did. Also, since you brought it up, you said I made an uneducated remark about casual players.. so let me elaborate a little bit of what I was saying. It seems to me that a casual player is looking to be able to play 1 or 2 hours a day and after a short time be able to be at end game and do end game stuff. That is why I said what I said, because if someone hardcore was to play, they would be at end game the day after the game is released. LOL then you tell me your not flaming me after you say I made an uneducated remark.. Lastly, I'm sorry you did not have the skill to fit into FFXI, move on to an easier game like WoW and continue your poke kill level up method. I just plain and simply don't like people like you... trying to attack me when I never made one invalid point, and spoke from my more than 4 years of experience in this particular MMO. I also put my opinion out there... never did I once say.. "OK LISTEN WHAT IM ABOUT TO SAY IS STRICKLY FACTS AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OTHERWISE" Nope, I shared my experiences, opinions, and gave valid examples and options. So if all you can do after that is bash me, then go screw yourself. Oh, and just a reminder, learn how to enjoy a game.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
The problem is this Zaylin. FF XI was not a game for people who had kids/familes and a full time job (well, mostly the kid/families part, I could see someone who worked from 8am to 5 pm then playing FF XI till about 9-10pm). If you made FF XIV more solable, then you will alienate the original fanbase from FFXI. Thus, the game will have to depend on more people like you to fill those empty ranks. And if that failed, then FF XIV will end up being the next EQ2 example.
I'm sorry, but I just don't see the solo/casual player working well with FF XIV if it ends up being based off of FF XI's basic ideals. More solo aspects will kill the group aspect of FF XI.
I beg to differ {in a non rude tone} I played FFXI,lol matter of a fact it was my very first mmo. And at the time I had a full time job wife and kid.Yes I had challanges doing things by my self and leveling,I got into some GRrreAT parties when I had the time.did I complain about FFXI not having enough solo content or being solo freindly ?Nope. I enjoyed the challanges that FFXI had. By all means I would not want it toned down to fit my schedule. But I do agree to make a game so solo friendly that you can get all the uber gear and would never have to group WOULD be lame. Yall who got more time to put in DO deserve to have some better gear,and thats just simple. ya I deserver better gear too, but it will take me longer than the person with more time to put in. hope that clears up some of my statement that was not fleshed out. good discusion
FFXI had to many unnesssisary time sinks. It took a much longer time than it really needed to be on a lot of things in that game. Groups huddling around one monster was not very "Final Fantasy Epicness" to me.
Just because something becomes or is said to be more "casual" friendly does not mean "easy" mode. Ugh, FFXI had such a snobby community...At least on the Titan server anyway..
Hopefully there will be major improvements to the interface, quest/mission structure, and less time sinks. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing people on a boat as a sailed to a new land, but for 5 minutes? Especially when I just have one simple task to do? Yeah, no thanks.
Comments
I'm glad it's going to be more casual personally.
OH MY FREAKIN GOD, THANK YOU toddze. That is exaclty what I'm trying to say. So thank you toddze and Ramon, at least you two see where I'm coming from, hate fighting these battles by myself because I feel like I'm talking to people that have a 1 track mind and no matter how clear I make a point, they wont accept my point of view... dont have to own it, but at least accept it. At least I know its just those people, not me not being clear enough now.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
So there you go Vampry, think about what your saying and maybe get your facts straight before you call someone else uneducated! This dude just wins my whole argument and you know it. All he wants is to get to end game in a short time. Eagler for the win, you no longer have the right to ever bash me again, especially making uneducated remarks like you did >.>
Whats really funny about it is that you "casuals" just dont get it.. even if this dude gets what he wants.. his friends would still be at end game wayyyyy faster. Making it "easier" for you makes it easier for your friends as well.. so they would just get there even faster.. now do you really think thats what a dev wants? Everyone to just get to end game real fast then do some end game and quit... how long do you think the MMO would last? Hell, why do't we just start making some MMO's that start us off at end game!!!
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
The problem is this Zaylin. FF XI was not a game for people who had kids/familes and a full time job (well, mostly the kid/families part, I could see someone who worked from 8am to 5 pm then playing FF XI till about 9-10pm). If you made FF XIV more solable, then you will alienate the original fanbase from FFXI. Thus, the game will have to depend on more people like you to fill those empty ranks. And if that failed, then FF XIV will end up being the next EQ2 example.
I'm sorry, but I just don't see the solo/casual player working well with FF XIV if it ends up being based off of FF XI's basic ideals. More solo aspects will kill the group aspect of FF XI.
I'm just throwing in my two cents here.
I played FFXI since almost the North American release date, it's the only Pay2Play MMO I've ever played and I played it on and off up to a few months ago. I have to say I was pretty fucking sick being a dragoon looking for a party for two hours and spending hours and hours getting enough gil to get my snipers and food and whatever I needed at the time. The downtime in the game was absolutely horrible, and it killed it off for me eventually so I decided to be jobs like PLD just so I could get parties. I like that they are introducing a "more casual gaming experience" but at the same time I'd hate to see the team work aspect dissapear. If I was Enix, I'd maybe make the ideal party maybe four members, instead of 6, or maybe the more party members you eventually get the more experience you can earn so maybe if you're looking for members you can still be leveling with three members but the output wont be as rewarding as having 6 members. You have to admit waiting over 30 minutes nevermind over an hour to gain some experience is bullshit.
I don't know what else to say other then I have strong faith in FFXIV and I will buy it the day it comes out. I hope it gives me the same feeling I got the first 3 years I played 11.
Contradiction!
How is the rest any different from Final Fantasy XI? You're absolutely capable of duo-ing and forming 'incomplete' parties of 3-5 members, and that's exactly what happens; you might not be able to take out that Incredibly Tough++ Goblin Weaver in Valkurm Dunes, but you can kill other monsters for slightly less exp, and that's exactly what people do until they form a full party. Only a moron would choose to sit and wait and do nothing.
Making this hodge-podge party work usually proves to be a huge payoff than just pulling random craptacular players from a massive pool. You had players that stuck with the party because they wanted to party, not just because there was nothing better to do. That's the way it should be. I don't think the partying aspect should be all that different than it is now.
EDIT: I'm seeing those who Eagler & the others mention that just complain about everything. They say they're making the game more 'casual friendly' and now allofasudden you get someone griping about how PARTYING should be easier, too. Just... go play WoW. Or play some offline multiplayer console games. Final Fantasy:Dissidia is coming out soon. Get that instead?
Abraxas [365]
I was going to quote some of the past several threads but there were just too many. All this arguing over "forced grouping", "cant play with my high level friends", "takes too long to level", "waiting for hours to get a party", etc. has already been resolved in FFXI.
I just restarted FFXI after a 4 year hiatus. And these "problems" don't exist anymore now that FFXI has been dumbed down. I was in Qufim pulling level 60's down into my party for Level Sync for crying out loud. And dont even get me started on the Field Support. I have played very casually for 5 weekends and am already level 27 and rank 3 with mid-level Sandy Fame.
Don't get me wrong I am going to keep playing it. But more and more things are popping up like Super Kupowers that just throw great gobs of easyness at the new player... I can teleport to windhurst from sandy,,, for 300gil??!!? I dunno its just not the same game it used to be, they are definitely taking a page from blizzards book.
So with all this and FFXIV is going to be the game that is aimed at casuals? looking bleak my friends. looking bleak.
(on a side note does anyone know of a game with a difficultly level on par with the original FFXI that I can try out?)
Wow so much ignorance and intolerance in this thread. Sounds like most of you havn't been around very long since the only view you have of soloing is WoW soloing. There was a time when soloing was vastly more dangerous then striking out with a group of friends. Death came swiftly if you didn't know your limits and prepare yourself. There was a time when you grouped with friends and strangers to stay alive and push on further and faster not because I need X people so I can get some piece of shit items to make your character better or a hardcoded that makes is so you can't wipe your own ass. There was a time when a characters strength wasn't determined by his ability to farm but his ability to play.
It is truely sad the genre has devolved into a single player rpg with multi-player options and most of the player base are loot whoring children that can't look past their own noses.
Report me all you want mmos have been going down hill a long time since some idiot thought it was a great idea to take a single player rpg and break into a multi-player rpg.
Yet another example of how the WoW disease has irrevocably damage the MMORPG genre. No doubt the formula worked great for Blizzard, but it's destroyed everyone else trying to make a new game. The selling point of these games used to be their longevity. Now days, things are just so easy (i.e. soloable) that I'm "done" in a few months (and I'm a very slow leveler) and my interest in the game is lost unless they can keep pumping out end-game content to keep my attention. But who am I to complain, that's what the people want, right? Nice and casual.
I'm sure a lot of you are like me, hoping when you start a new MMO that it will be your new love, but after 6 months of playing you're already looking ahead to the next "attempt" (Aion, Star Wars, Star Trek, FF XIV, etc). Is that what the MMO genre has come to?
As the saying goes... be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
If there's more money to be made by making a fun game that caters to a wide audience than to a small select audience, what company is going to go after the small select audience, especially if they're a publicly owned company?
SE already "has" a game for the small niche market, and I'm sure they won't want to steal customers from their existing product to fill their new one, so they have to draw in new customers, and it won't happen if they remained with the same structure of game as their existing one.
As long as there is more to do in the game then grind monsters for levels and run a lot, I'm sure FF XIV is going to be just fine...
Your opinion is immaterial.
You mentioned Warhammer, which is ironic because that's a prime example of why trying to copy WoW and put your own spin on it doesn't work. They're losing players left and right and Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs (who was with the company for 20+ years) got fired as a result of that debacle. Why? because people didn't go to Warhammer wanting WoW+RvR, they went to Warhammer wanting DAoC 2.0.
Thats exactly right about WAR
IF FF XIV tries to make a FF:WoW then it will dissapoint the WoW fans and the FF fans and be in the exact same boat as WAR is.
If they make a FFXI 2.0 It will be just as succesfull if not more so than FFXI was. Of course an FFXI 2.o wont break into the millions in subs(because its somewhat of a niche, but 500k subs over the next 8 years is a very nice pretty penny.
I always thought WAR failed because they tried to go to the extreme end and do something WoW wasn't good at, which was PVP. They left out PVE, didn't detail PVP good enough and had many broken mechanics (zones flipping, server crashing, class imbalances etc). But I do see your guys' point on the spin+WoW thing.
What these guys are talking about is exactly why people already bash on Aion. They think it is supposed to be the WoW 2.0 successor aka WoW clone perfection. Aion has its OWN spin on things without adding onto what WoW copyrighted (not created, because nothing in the game is original).
Ok alienating fanbases and blending american style mmo's will definitely hurt the games title. as far as alienating, im sure it would not hurt them as much since FFXI is respectfully (gameplay) old and outdated (besides new patch testings for XIV). i bet majority of the fans have a WoW account to the side (i did, but sold; still have my FFXI, my 3rd one). you gotta play wow atleast to know what all (Pay2p) developers been trying to achieve. i would hate to have a western style feel for the next FFXIV, though i SERIOUSLY doubt it because japanese folks are the majority of the fans <--- these dudes are default. i know some of you guys want it FULL japanese oriented style MMORPG but from the looks of the developers interview they wants to pull westerners in and to do that is to implement parts of it. i dont even think japanese subsribers really care, shit, they are the ones beta testing and all based on their opinions, im just hoping this FFXIV beats WoW off the bat along with AoC or LoTR.
i predict western style MMO will evolve to Post-Apocolyptic scenerio MMO's for next several years while asia will continue create fantasy base worlds. if this goes right, western and asia will not compete each other as the game style will totally be different along with equal share of the consumers taste.
i refuse to play another MMO with ELF race along with another MMO with ANOTHER ELF race, its too cliche. and also makes MMO RPG's TOO CLICHE
I just don't believe SE will make the entire game more casual friendly. My thoughts, at this time, is that they are going to do something along the lines of making it more soloable from levels 1-20 instead of 1-10. The dunes alone is probly a good reason to do this. I'd bet SE lost more customers because peole just starting out went to the dunes and couldnt handle it so they quit more than just about any other part of the game.
So I'm thinking they will make it easier to solo to about 20.. where you finaly get some better abilities and spells and it acutally makes sence to start partying up. I mean hell, THF didn't even get sneak attack until 15.. which kinda made them useless til then.. and if you had one in your party.. they really didnt do very much if you think about it besides pull. White mage had what.. cure? and it only cured 30 HP. I can go on but I made my point. So I'm thinking they will do something like that.. let people get to level 20 solo which would be good, because they can get to know their job and by that time there will be abilities that make partys worthwhile at that level... and not to mention, if they "help" people get that far, that person is more likely to stick around.
So yeah, that would make the game more "casual friendly" would it not? Oh, and before people start flaming, I know there won't be levels, so w/e is in place of those "levels". I only used the word "levels" to address my point of view.
For all you people out there that keep saying " well SE said it will be more casual friendly" and are interpereting it as "yes I can play 2 hours a day for a week and then start end game"... start thinking outside the box O.o
Contradiction!
How is the rest any different from Final Fantasy XI? You're absolutely capable of duo-ing and forming 'incomplete' parties of 3-5 members, and that's exactly what happens; you might not be able to take out that Incredibly Tough++ Goblin Weaver in Valkurm Dunes, but you can kill other monsters for slightly less exp, and that's exactly what people do until they form a full party. Only a moron would choose to sit and wait and do nothing.
It's not a contradiction, you'd still be playing as a team, just a smaller team to give more parties.
And yes I know you can play 3-5 member parties, but I'm not really intrested in fighting something that's not going to give me a lot of exp for a lengthy time, and then have to rest for a few minutes after. You can't disagree that FFXI had a lot of downtime and when playing it sometimes it felt like a huge waste of time, as much as I loved it. It was alright though because when looking for a party or something I'd just do homework until I got an invite.
One thing I would like to point out here, alot of you are complaining because you "sit in jeuno lfp" because there are no tanks and/or healers.. well if you make smaller parties, then you need even more tanks and healers.. so yall need to stop running in circles, coming up with halfassed solutions and really put thought into it if your going to make a suggestion.
I saw an interesting concept that SE talked about with the new system of the original role based system from FF XI. SE plans to do something called a sphere grid, and the weapon/equipment you wear can help determine your "role." In my opinion, this sounds alot like FF XII. You could work on any skills you wanted with a character, and the weapon/equipment did help determine your role, but those weapons could allow someone to do unorthodox "roles."
In FF XII, I tried a rather unusual setup. I armed one of my support roles characters (I hooked up Penelo with White, Green and Arcane Magic) with a katana, a weapon that was powered by magic power. This made Penlo strangely powerful at close range if the enemy had weak mag. def., but she was still technically a support healer/buffer. In other words, imagine a white magic caster that could deal incredible tank damage.
If the sphere grid and weapon/equipment ideas are derived from FF XII, I think the developers found the way to replace the old role system with a new system that still encourages role playing but gives players better customization (like my white mage example that could deal tremendous tank damage).
The potential problem here is that this type of customization might lead to more solo aspects, so to avoid that, the enemies have to eventually become so powerful that eventually you will have to party with others to survive. Also, in this grid system, working on a particular magic would benefit you with powerful spells of that type. So just because a tanker could learn semi-powerful white magic won't mean it will be good, a person that worked completely towards white magic would be benefitted with powerful white magic spells (and potential benefits, like increased healing from white magic spells if you worked so far into it). Therefore, you could technically create a "jack of all trades" character that's good, but a person that specializes in a particular area will become very powerful on those particular areas.
This is speculation however. But if FF XIV plans on using FF XII's methods of customization, that does sound quite interesting.
Eagler777
In my server there was never a shortage of healers and tanks. Smaller parties would help you be able to gain expeince faster because you're not waiting for that random DD that doesn't have Tele-Altep. Besides I'm pretty sure it clear the Enix is going to go away from the standard Final Fantasy jobs and create something maybe closer to The Elder Scrolls character building (just a guess). I think it would be cool if they made the standard party 3 members like most Final Fantasys that you don't nessisarly need a healer or tank, maybe they'll make potions actually useful and leave the harder stuff to huge battles.
Nutter, if you have read any of my previous posts, you would see, I agree with you. I was just making a point to those people that keep saying they sit in Jeuno all day lfp because there are no tanks and healers. I never had that problem personaly. I don't particularly care if parties are 3 or 4 or 5 or 6.. or if 3 is good but 5 would be better... just keep the grouping idea the main aspect... I just don't want to see 100% complete soloability, that can also get people to endgame in a short time. If I wanted to play a solo game... why would I look into an MMO? So I can talk to people while I play by myself? No thanks.
Anyway Nutter.. I wasnt personally complaining about that, but that one guy was.. then he wanted to suggest smaller parties.. so I had to point out that smaller parties means needing more tanks/healers.
I've also seen those acceleration grids.. but for now I'd prefer to stick to refering to FFXI because it is something we are all familiar with first of all.. and it is whats in place atm. I don't want to start using that grid as a reference until it is CONFIRMED thats what it will be.. because that is just stupid if you think about it.
I say just have faith in Square thats all maybe it won't be as amazing as FFXI was or will be who knows? just give them a chance if they put in some solo stuff that be cool but in the end i am sure it will still be mostly group centric game which if it was a solo game then it wouldn' tbe a FF game now would it?
Sorry again for posting twice but the LFG isn't that bad in FFXI it depends on time and servers remember its a world server... You just have to put yourself out there its not liek wow where you put your flag up and bam you get a group you have top try and get your group i can play all day and get good groups and sometimes id on't so this game isn't dead at all meaning FFXI
I have faith in Square Enix too. However, with the idea of solo play, this is what I hope will happen with FF XIV:
1. Game is 100% solo, but it completely sucks in all ways to group play. Therefore those people that want to solo can play FF XIV, but they get inferior rewards compared to grouping, they take longer to advance into the game, and basically they will feel the pain for not grouping like the game (hopefully) intended you to.
2. Game is soloable for only the first levels. I would say maybe around level 10-20 is when you start sucking when you solo. This way, you can get a feel for the game (and at these levels you usually would start seeing the better spells if the game follows FF XI in this example). But, afterwards, solo would be suicide and you have to group.
Look, I know many people who liked solo wished they could've played FF XI, but the fact is that game was completely group-centric. The original fanbase grew up on group content, so if FF XIV started having a solo play that you could 100% solo and get equal rewards to grouping then the grouping aspect would be killed. You would alienate the FF XI crowd, and either the game gets an entire new fanbase or it dies. This would be like EQ2.
But then the solo/casual player will still cry around on the forums because he couldnt get to end-game in a day.
It is a never ending cycle and most of it boils down to lazyness and jealousy. Some people need to realize they cant be an elite player due to RL obligations, there is nothing wrong with that. Play it and enjoy it.
its not always layzyness or jealousy, but for some, like people who have kids/family and a full time job dont always have the time to look for/participate or put in the effort it CAN take to get into a party, but at the same still want to be able to enjoy the game. I LOVE to get into partys when I can, but I dont always have the time to; so to ME the solo content is nice to have so that I dont get stuck at low levels while all my friends with out kids or more time to play dont get way past me or make it take me foreeeeeeeever to catch up and play with them at end game.
The problem is this Zaylin. FF XI was not a game for people who had kids/familes and a full time job (well, mostly the kid/families part, I could see someone who worked from 8am to 5 pm then playing FF XI till about 9-10pm). If you made FF XIV more solable, then you will alienate the original fanbase from FFXI. Thus, the game will have to depend on more people like you to fill those empty ranks. And if that failed, then FF XIV will end up being the next EQ2 example.
I'm sorry, but I just don't see the solo/casual player working well with FF XIV if it ends up being based off of FF XI's basic ideals. More solo aspects will kill the group aspect of FF XI.
I beg to differ {in a non rude tone} I played FFXI,lol matter of a fact it was my very first mmo. And at the time I had a full time job wife and kid.Yes I had challanges doing things by my self and leveling,I got into some GRrreAT parties when I had the time.did I complain about FFXI not having enough solo content or being solo freindly ?Nope. I enjoyed the challanges that FFXI had. By all means I would not want it toned down to fit my schedule. But I do agree to make a game so solo friendly that you can get all the uber gear and would never have to group WOULD be lame. Yall who got more time to put in DO deserve to have some better gear,and thats just simple. ya I deserver better gear too, but it will take me longer than the person with more time to put in. hope that clears up some of my statement that was not fleshed out.
good discusion 
FFXI had to many unnesssisary time sinks. It took a much longer time than it really needed to be on a lot of things in that game. Groups huddling around one monster was not very "Final Fantasy Epicness" to me.
Just because something becomes or is said to be more "casual" friendly does not mean "easy" mode. Ugh, FFXI had such a snobby community...At least on the Titan server anyway..
Hopefully there will be major improvements to the interface, quest/mission structure, and less time sinks. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing people on a boat as a sailed to a new land, but for 5 minutes? Especially when I just have one simple task to do? Yeah, no thanks.