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Thinking about picking this up - have a few questions
Cammy
Member Posts: 864
Hi guys,
As the title says - I'm thinking about giving this a go and have a few questions before I do. I admit, before yesterday I didn't know much about FFXIV but I did some research and it sounds like its non-conventional. Pretty much what Im looking for.
Im looking for a game to focus a lot on crafting/gathering as opposited to grinding mobs and questing. I've played a lot of traditional themepark games lately and Im finding they are getting stale and boring. I get to max level and there isn't anything really to do. Im looking for something more community based and just something I can login for an hour or two at a time, mess around on my character, have some fun, etc. Im kind of thinking this game might be at least worth taking a flier on.
So - a few questions about the general game play. I've heard some different things but what I can gather it's turn based combat similar to the old style FF series? I've never played XI so unfortunately this will be my first time in a FF Online game. I used to LOVE the original games when I was growing up - and having one that's an MMO sounds appealing.
I'd also like to know if its casual friendly? I don't really care about level cap type things - and I hear this game is more sandbox'ish where those things dont really matter. If that's the case - I just more or less want to know if I need to devote hours in one sitting or if I can simply play for an hour after work, do some crafts/level up.. <something> and carry on my way.
I'd love some opinions from the community. One last question - I tried to search online and I couldn't find a digital download. Anyone know where I can get one? Also Ive heard there might be a cheap option for this game, but I tried D2D and Steam and neither of them seemed to have it. If someone knows of one, please let me know. Buddy key would be appreciated too (though if I can get it for $20 bucks or so I'll gladly just pick it up). Seems like Amazon, etc are still selling hard copies for $40+ which is a bit more to pay for a flier but we'll see 
Thanks all
Comments
Well first off to answer one of your questions, this game is not user friendly. I gave it a try despite abysmal reviews, and releasing in an almost unplayable state. The thought of logging in for an hour at a time, in my opinion, does not apply to this game. The reason i say that is there are so many design deciscions they made that just make no sense, to where everything in this game, even the smallest task, takes so much longer than most games. Hardly any hotkeys other than for the map. To check your quests and objectives you actually have to go to the main menu and go through a couple tabs to get there. This may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, it gets old very very fast. Alot of things in this game are just frustrating. Now as far as crafting and gathering, the game does seem to do that aspect of it decently well. Overall this is not a game id ever pay a monthly fee for in its current state. Luckily i dont believe theyve started charging the fee yet, due to the horrible feedback from critics and its player base. I will give it one thing though, its the most gorgeous MMO ive ever played, but the overall pace is very very slow.
Currently Playing : Rift, EQ2
Has Played: Anarchy Online, SWG(Pre NGE refugee), DAoC, EQ1, EQ2, Lineage 2, CoH, CoV, Horizons, AoC, FFXI, FFXIV, Aion, WoW, DCUO, Matrix Online, Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, LotRo, Fallen Earth, Shadowbane, EQoA, ArchLord
The combat is not turn-based but it is much less frantic than average. If you've played a rogue in WoW or any copycat of the WoW rogue in another game, imagine having a rogue's energy meter and no auto-attack. All of your skills and regular attacks (which are done manually from the button bar) deplete the energy meter which immediately begins to refill.
Gathering and crafting are more interactive than other games, but the economy is pretty rough simply because there isn't much demand for items. Armor and weapons get damaged and require repairs but they never break completely and they aren't soulbound so nothing ever leaves circulation (aside from players quitting). Some raw materials fetch a decent price but most are so plentiful that people don't even bother trying to sell them. If you mainly plan on crafting to equip yourself with things that you made by hand, you'll find the crafting system satisfying (as long as you're willing to master 5-6 different crafts, or team up with a good crafting buddy). If you want to sell to other players for a profit, it'll be difficult.
It's very casual friendly, almost to the point of completely killing parties (although it seems as though they want to patch in more rewards for groups). In a 36-hour cycle, you can do 8 repeatable killing/gathering quests and 8 crafting quests (which they give you free materials for). If you can only log in for an hour or two, it's a no-brainer that you'll spend that time cranking through those repeatables.
Absolutely the best crafting and gathering of any MMO currently. If those are factors for you, then the $40 is well-spent even with the game in its current state. Major changes are coming for the combat system and class structure, but the crafting and gathering are solid. All the equipment in game is player crafted.
Those FF games you and I both loved when we grew up had seemingly no influence on FFXIV when it was released. New dev team says they are adding FF appeal- still waiting.
Combat is not turn-based. Auto-attack is being added. I don't know what else they have planned for the combat revamp, but currently attacks and skills/spells are used one after another until mob dies. It works, but let's just say I will be happy to see whatever changes the future holds.
FFXIV is definately casual-friendly. If you only have 30 minutes or a couple hours to play each day there will always be something productive available for you.
Not sure about digital download, I bought my copy from Wal-Mart at the beginning of February. It will remain free-to-play after initial purchase until the producer decides the game experience is worth a subscription. That time will likely coincide with the PS3 release. Don't hold your breath waiting for a buddy key.
Thanks guys - I broke down and picked up a copy
Gonna give it a try.
Do you guys have any suggestions on what world I should roll on? I assume the 3 chocobos means higher population? I'm on NA - EST time zone if that matters at all.
Also - any suggestion on which race? Is there any advantage of taking one over the other if I want to craft/mine/gather? I will be primarily focusing on those - at least starting out... though Im sure Ill do some battles as well. Haven't decided my class yet but I may go with a Lancer for battles, and Miner/Armor for the crafting side.
Anyways Im a complete and total noob at this game and as I said in my OP - I haven't even played FFXI. So, its going to be interesting. Anything you can do to steer me the right direction is appreciated
See you in game!
XIv launched very much for the player who likes sandbox elements. Flexible class systems, controls over every function in battle, a market system that while not as functionable as traditional AH does provide some immersion for rp or people who like different things, stat tailoring at level up, crafting is not one click and done, and they arr or were working on player driven guilds with the options of guild airships and team based crafting of boats, cakes, and cannons.
Alot of the sandbox is being replaced with more traditional themepark systems. I don't know how much of the game though. I hope you have fun and enjoy your time in Eorzea.
More chocobos means more population, and it's a safe bet that you'd rather be on a high population server... although if you join a linkshell (guild) that you really like, it doesn't matter that much how many people are in the rest of the world.
There isn't really any advantage of one race over another. If they do have different stats (I don't actually remember), the differences are negligible because they don't grow farther apart as you level up. You assign your own bonus stats at each physical level.
Keep in mind that you will most likely dabble in a few classes other than your mains. For example, playing Marauder a bit for Bloodbath or Pugilist for Second Wind will give you some ability to heal yourself while you're on Lancer. A few levels in either magic class will also give you an option to heal. Taunt from Pugilist and Provoke from Gladiator will let you tank, and so on. Mining is going to get you a lot of gemstones which could be used in goldsmithing, and anything you make as an armorer is likely to require parts made by weavers and leatherworkers. And even if you intend to try to buy those parts instead of making them from scratch, it's useful to have several rank 15 crafting skills from the various professions: you'll be able to use some or all of them while you're on Armorer.
Thank you - right now its a little confusing. Not exactly sure what Im doing and its very different than traditional MMOs.
How do you normally progress? It seems questing is more of an afterthought (which is fine...). Do you gain experience for gathering and crafting as well?
I'm going to go read the stickies to see if I can find some help links. The tutorial was useful but still doesn't really explain much in the way of gameplay.
Some of the guides at Lodestone might help; check the Play Guide section. Normally for some good general tips and explanations I'd recommend looking for someone doing a video walkthrough on YouTube, but that might be a bit unreliable because of how many things have drastically changed between the September release and the current version.
The repeatable guildleve quests are a main method of progression. Once you have done those, you are left just fighting whatever random enemies you care to hunt down. Gathering and crafting both give your experience points towards your physical level whether or not you do them as part of a guildleve.
Thank you. Im determined to give it a fair shake, though right now I can't seem to do anything. I couldn't even do the simple first task I was given as a miner :X Not sure how to find points - even after using my ability.
Could be in for a rough go
but I found games like EVE a bit tough to pick up at first - eventually I had some fun. Hopefully I can do the same here. Thanks for the link and advice, Ill hopefully know more of what Im doing throughout the week. So far the UI wasn't so bad and I find the game runs smooth. The starting area is also rather nice and the cut scenes are well done. Similar to other FF games I like - except for the fact I have zero clue what Im doing and I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off lol 
I hate to say it but Im pretty lost. Kind of reminds me of my first 5 hours in EVE Online where I just simply had no clue what I was in for lol.
There doesn't seem like there's much direction - would you guys agree? It seems like questing is not really much of a thought here (which is fine - I actually like that part) but.... Im really struggling to figure out where to go/what to do. I get a quest, it tells me I have 30 minutes to complete it and I panic trying to figure out where to go/what to do to get that accomplished.
Is there any tips I'm missing? I don't even mind grinding - as I find it's just as productive as questing - however, right now Im just lost and not sure how to progress. It can't JUST be grinding mobs (can it?) - that would be kind of lame IMO....
Mostly though - Im interesting in crafting and gathering classes/roles... but even then Im having troubles figuring out how I'm supposed to do it. Thankfully Im patient and Im determined to figure it out - but the lack of direction is a bit of a concern.
So more "advanced" questions.... what do you guys normally do when you login? I noticed - there doesn't seem to be an AH where I can sell my goods - is there one and if so - where do I find it?
Sorry for all the questions - right now Im running around like a chicken with his head cut off
Been playing myself for only 2 days, and i found those things out:
1. There is no AH, there is some market with different instanced zones based on the type of things that you are trying to sell, and is totally terrible for me. In essence, you need to hire a retainer and open a shop in the market wards (you are directed to those in the starting town's Adventure Guild) but as i said, it is complicated, messy and not needed. An Auction House would just get rid of all that mess.
2. There are a few quests other than leves, they open as you level up your job, i've done some at lvl 8, some at lvl 10. They rewarded me equipment instead of "xp", i love the idea.
3. The gathering is awesome, some form of mini games which i enjoy a lot. The part which i would change is that, when you gather from a low level node, it should be either instant, or a more forgiving minigame.
4. The crafting is terrible on one aspect: you actually do not have a recipe list, you do not know how to use the things you gather. I've read lots of guides and found recipes for different things, but it is all very confusing.
BTW, to became a gatherer or crafter or whatever you need to buy the tool for that job from a vendor (usually there is a "zone" where those are in your starting city) and equip it.
I do not mind the grind, i actually find it relaxing. I also do not mind the combat interface THAT much, i am sure i can get used to it. What i mind tho is the crafting thing, no recipes, no idea what to do with the things i gather. For sure i have no will to hit my head on the wall trying to sell those things to other players because of the terrible market system.
After 2 day's play, i had an inventory filled with 85 items, around 20 of them were tools or weapons for different jobs, the rest being just "stuff" i got from killing and gathering, with no clear purpose. For example, i did some mining, i found some worms (yea i know, pretty weird) and some bone pieces and some copper ore. I said "well cool, copper ore, i'm gonna change to blacksmith and smelt it and stuff", changed to blacksmith and well, i did not know how to do it. Then i asked around and someone told me that i need exactly 4 pieces of ore and to have 10 fire shards in inventory to be able to "smelt" it... how was i supposed to know?
Game mechanics like Auction House, recipe list when crafting, marked npc's (icon on mouseover is fine) have proven to work in many many many games. Implementing those does not stop someone to produce a nice unique game with crafting minigames, open world, grinding advancement and all that. I won't even get started on the interface. On the other hand, from what i've read they're working on fixing things, that's very good news. I've enjoyed the world a lot, and i think there's not a lot of fixing necessary, just some order in all that mess. Considering that i've paid 8 bucks for it on Amazon and that it's free till they consider it playable, i am happy with my investment.
Thank you very kindly for your post.
Im going to head home and give it another try based on your feedback - maybe Ill have a bit of an easier time this round.
Im actually a bit thankful it isn't just me being a complete noob. I've never played either of the FF Online games but I've played a ton of the originals and I've played virtually every other MMO on the market the past 7-8 years... I like the unique idea's this game offers, I also like I don't need to quest constantly from quest hub to quest hub .... but the direction is severely lacking, making it challenging to get going.
Either way - thanks for the feedback and wish me luck
good goss save your money, you can have my CE
Sorry, I should have linked YG from the get-go: http://ffxiv.yg.com/
You absolutely need this site (or a similar site) to craft. There is no in-game recipe list, only a list of the recipes you have recently done. YG will also show you where in each city the level 1 starter weapon/tool is sold for each class. That's all you have to buy to start gathering or crafting. Later on, if you have a lot of combat gear that you want to switch out for crafting gear, you'll want to make a macro to switch it all at once. (It was a very poor design to make the player do this instead of remembering what they had equipped.)
The 30 minute timer for a leve doesn't start until you actually go to the aetheryte crystal, use the menu, and begin the leve. And at that point, there should be a glowing yellow area on the map/minimap that shows you exactly where to go to find the target.
It is definitely very different than the linear single-player FF games. Most MMOs lead you around by the nose so that you always feel as though there's something you should be going. FFXIV goes in the total opposite direction and probably goes a bit overboard in that respect. It is not unusual to feel like there's nothing you're being told to do.
Last I checked, the market wards in each city are not accurately marked on the map. But they're always located near the Aetheryte crystal inside the city. The wards in Ul'dah are marked as The Dunes. Before you can set up a retainer in there to store and sell your excess stuff, you need to pick one (or two) out from the counter near where you get your guildleves.
Thank you very much for the post and link. That website will likely be my crutch for the next little while... tons of good info there and definitely what I need.
Also, Im glad you mentioned the part about no instruction and opposite of other MMOs. I think this can be both good and bad (for various reasons) - I actually dispise questing and having to level in a linear path, which is why I think I'm so bored with all the themepark MMOs. RIFT, for example, is a fantastic game, but I haven't logged in for a week... why? Cause - its go to hub, gather 5 quests - go kill X rats, gather Y cloth - return. Pick up 3 more quests and go to next hub. Repeat x a million...
I'm actually looking for something "off the rails"... BUT - that being said, I'm not really grasping what there really is to do in Final Fantasy overall. I mean, how do you level the non-crafting professions for example? It seems in games like this - you can just "go anywhere" and likely fight higher level mobs. I'm assuming there's that sort of progression as I've seen levels and various other levels for each job. I'm just - confused how you get there I guess
I ask more for the war/mage type jobs, because I suspect the crafting/gathering ones are self explanatory. Do the activity, gain levels/points, etc. Ive read most of the economy is player made, hopefully that's true because I think games like that have huge potential.
I'd love to hear how it works. I guess I'll soon find out as I start to level and figure my way out.
My feeling is that progress depends A LOT of how much you play. So far for me it is like this:
The leves are the "must-do" things, doing 16 of those every 36 (or 32, i'm a bit confused here) hours should be enough for casual play. The starting leves are easy but i bet that later in the game they will get harder and take more time. Another thing which i would love to see here is a countdown timer for those 36 (32?) hours. When having the choice, i'm taking battle leves before crafting ones, and i am focusing on one fighting job (seems that "new content" - progression quests - unlocks with your battle job level, not physical).
The pure grinding of mobs is the second "advancement" path for me, that combined with gathering and crafting. They both give physical level XP. Ideally, "camping spots" for higher level mobs should arise (like in the good old times) as soon as a community is forming. Right now i've read there are some camps where some npc's come and organize some sort of raids for players but i did not experience it and cant say much about it.
I took the game with a "casual" attitude and i think i've got benefits from that. For me FFXIV is a filler now (nothing worth playing on the market atm for me, maybe EvE but that game does not "catch" me, no idea why), but it surely has the potential to become "the main game" if things improve. I'm saying "casual" not in of "how much do you play" (i've played a few good hours so far) but about taking things slow, looking around, reading, trying to understand things. The game gives me the feeling that "it's not a race", which is a good thing.
Yes, i am not a big fan of the lack of direction, i think we should get a bit more but not too much, because the other extreme where Rift stands... well i cannot digest that. Also, because i can compare it to modern MMO's, i find the interface annoying. I am always thinking that those who designed it lived under a rock for the last 5 years - this is the market, this is my product, if my product feels like 10 years ago, it is not good, change it. The same goes for no crafting recipes and Auction House, what were they thinking... those are, so far, the game breaking elements for me. I bet things will change tho.
Cammy, if you are mainly interested in crafting and gathering over battle, make sure you grab all 8 of your crafting leves every 36 hours. They can all be for 1 type of craft (depending on your rank) or for different crafts.
Also, there are gathering leve's that the Battle leve NPC can give you, just keep in mind you can only get 8 leves from the Battle NPC so if you take 3 gathering leves you will only be able to take 5 battle leves in the 36 hour period. You can get 8 crafting leve's on top from a seperate NPC.
If the NPC runs out of leves to give you but you have not taken your full allocation of 8 and 8, you can go to another city and they will have more for you