Right now the game is getting ripped apart and rebuilt in every major regard. No other company has either the incentive or the resources to pull off such feat. It's unlike 99% of MMO's in every possible way.
Ahhh.... let's not try to spin this as a positive, Hyan.
They're not exactly doing all of that by choice, because "they wanted to".
It's not like Yoshi said "Hey, FFXIV launched as a true AAA, world-class and excellent MMO... but we think it can be done even better! So, Tanaka-san has handed me the wheel and we're going to revise it to make it even better!"
They are, unarguably, trying to right a sinking ship at this point.
What saves SE is that they have the financial stability to do it on their own. Were they being supported by a publisher, I have a feeling the plug would have been pulled long ago. However, even SE must have the business sense to know when it's a lost cause. They have characterized the PS3 launch as "FFXIV's last chance", for example.
And, while the game is going in an arguably "better" direction (I have my qualms with decisions they're making, but that's for another topic), they haven't "made it" to the finish line yet. They're still bailing water.
The moment of truth will be when they decide it's ready for subs to be re-instated and how many people stick around, or start playing the game at that point. And even then, will they have enough retention to keep the game afloat without it being at a loss?
They're busting their asses, for sure. I sincerely applaud them for that.
We're still a long way from fanfare and party-poppers, though.
It wasn't because "no one would have paid for it" I would have paid for it. I'll admit the game at launch was crap compared to today, and hopefully the game today will be crap compared to the game a year from now (or a month) but there are no other MMO's even hinting at giving me what I want out of an MMO so damn skippy I'll give them my money until some other MMO does or they change their development philosophy to something incompatable with my tastes.
The reason that Square Enix flipped out and replaced tanaka/suspended subscription fees is because the game was an embarassment to them. It didn't meet their high standards for FF titles (and yeah blah blah you didn't like FF13 whatever millions of others did). If this was any other MMO company the game would have simply gone sub fee after the first month, and if it didn't retain a certain amount of #'s the investors would have forced them to either shut it down or go to an extortionist "free to play" model to suck every penny out of those who remained (so pretty much the route of every MMO released since WoW).
However Final Fantasy is a big deal to Square Enix, they have symphonies throughout the world who play this game's soundtrack, some of their studio's biggest names are attached to the project, they want to sell toys in their toy store for XIV, the international reputation of their flagship series is at stake. So yeah... that's why they brought Yoshi in and that's why they have a dev team bigger than many studio's maximum development team size still at work on the game.
How long until people can accept that SE didn't do what they should have done and nothing will change that? They are doing what they should do right now, and nothing else matters.
We could still say 'man, the Germans shouldn't have killed the jews! They've improved since then, but I'm still not over the fact that they did!' But at some point, it becomes a dead horse.
Roughly around the time when most people have already moved on.
Using LOL is like saying "my argument sucks but I still want to disagree".
if they were to go back to 11, they would need to give it a graphical overhaul to bring in new players.
Ah no, if the game is fun and players friendly it will continue to bring in new players. Minecraft and WoW(that is until Blizzard dropped the ball) are prime examples. FF XI does not bring in new players because the game is a huge grindfest and the gameplay make EVE looks newbies friendly. SE's current intention for FF XIV is to turn it into a FF XI clone and hope that FF XI players will jump ship. SE will not gain more revenue I'm afraid, as cannibalizing your own playerbase is obviously not a good business strategy to gain more revenue. So pretty they're trying to fix FF XIV just to save face.
How long until people can accept that SE didn't do what they should have done and nothing will change that? They are doing what they should do right now, and nothing else matters.
We could still say 'man, the Germans shouldn't have killed the jews! They've improved since then, but I'm still not over the fact that they did!' But at some point, it becomes a dead horse.
Roughly around the time when most people have already moved on.
Actually yes. FFXIV is terrible so Germans might be or are after what they did. If FFXIV will never get better, then Germans will not either. Simply Paradox as title of thread says.
FFXIV needs completely different UI and much, much, much improved battle system. Then I will accept the game. Until then I dislike it and hate it. And I wonder if FFXIV'll become better with this battle system it has got. So unplayable #@&;&@#&;@ combat.
The only way I will come back to FFXIV would be if they switch names and battle mechanics to how it was in FFXI.
FFXI's skillchain battle system was awesome. There was no need to reinvent the wheel.
People were already attached to Taru/Galka/Elvan/Mithra..... to change the names of the races just to make them appear new and different is the most retarded sequel idea that could possible be thought of....go ahead, try it. it's that retarded.
They didn't change the names to make them appear different. It's a new world, and as such new names for the races.
Why was 'human' in XI a 'hume'? The game did the same exact thing, change the names of familiar races 'for no reason whatsoever' (according to you).
Plus, the game is as much of a sequel as FFXIII is a sequel to FFX. And as such, it's pretty dumb shit to say.
Lastly, Skillchains were flawed from the very beginning and only used because the community was too rookie to optimize. A mistake that won't happen here.
Using LOL is like saying "my argument sucks but I still want to disagree".
They didn't change the names to make them appear different. It's a new world, and as such new names for the races.
Why was 'human' in XI a 'hume'? The game did the same exact thing, change the names of familiar races 'for no reason whatsoever' (according to you).
Plus, the game is as much of a sequel as FFXIII is a sequel to FFX. And as such, it's pretty dumb shit to say.
Lastly, Skillchains were flawed from the very beginning and only used because the community was too rookie to optimize. A mistake that won't happen here.
It isn't a new world, SE said themselves it's the same world just a different timeline. Even all the races look the same.
If it isn't a sequel then why is it in the same world, with the same races. To not make it a sequel when the fanbase in FFXI wanted one is stupid.
If you didn't have fun with skillchains then you had a sorry ass group indeed. Some of my favorite moments were cleaning house with an awesome group where everyone performed well.
What optimizations in FFXI nullified the use of skillchains please explain. Because outside the use of burning parties blink babysitting and powerleveling that was how to level quickly.
They didn't change the names to make them appear different. It's a new world, and as such new names for the races.
Why was 'human' in XI a 'hume'? The game did the same exact thing, change the names of familiar races 'for no reason whatsoever' (according to you).
Plus, the game is as much of a sequel as FFXIII is a sequel to FFX. And as such, it's pretty dumb shit to say.
Lastly, Skillchains were flawed from the very beginning and only used because the community was too rookie to optimize. A mistake that won't happen here.
It isn't a new world, SE said themselves it's the same world just a different timeline. Even all the races look the same.
If it isn't a sequel then why is it in the same world, with the same races. To not make it a sequel when the fanbase in FFXI wanted one is stupid.
If you didn't have fun with skillchains then you had a sorry ass group indeed. Some of my favorite moments were cleaning house with an awesome group where everyone performed well.
What optimizations in FFXI nullified the use of skillchains please explain. Because outside the use of burning parties blink babysitting and powerleveling that was how to level quickly.
Pretty sure SE never said that because it isn't true. No idea where you got that.
As fa as the races go, SE said they kept the same races with minor changes and different names so that players of FFXI would feel comfortable if they made the transition to XIV. Also, so they would be able to make an identical copy of their old characters. It IS a different world, none of this "different timeline" crap.
The game is getting immensely better. If any of the naysayers even took the time to rank up more than one class to cap and utilize the armory system then they might be able to see the great strides the dev team is making. Everything will not happen at once...it will take quite some time for the game to become what it should be.
I found this from a few years back. It highlights things that FFXI did not have at launch. Some of them took a few years for them to even adjust or add into the game. This list just shows how long it can take for some things. FFXI is a great game and i played it for many years. For those that don't know, XI was released in 2002...its about to turn a decade old...
EDIT: i made it easy on the lazy ones and hilghlighted / underlined the important stuff.
Spell Related
RDM
- Gravity did not exist, and did not lower mob evasion when first introduced.
- RDM could not use Raise.
- RDM could not use Invisible, Sneak, or Deodorize.
- Refresh was not added until February 3, 2003.
- Regen was introduced as a RDM-only spell, and could be used like Poison to prevent Sleep.
- RDM's Enfeebling Magic skill was not as high.
- Dispel did not exist, and was added much later than Magic Finale.
BRD
- The effect of BRD songs lasted longer.
- Horde Lullaby did not exist.
- Elemental Threnodies did not exist.
- Magic Finale did not exist.
- Mage's Ballad was originally stronger.
- Prelude was originally an area song.
- Etudes were originally area songs.
WHM
- Teleport-Mea, Teleport-Holla, Teleport-Dem, and Teleport-Vahzl did not exist even in the original game.
- Protectra II-IV and Shellra II-IV did not exist.
- Sneak, Invisible, and Deodorize did not exist, and when first introduced, all could be overwritten by recasting before the spell wore off.
- Reraise did not exist.
- Raise II and III did not exist.
- Erase did not exist, and when first introduced had an even longer recast.
- Cure V was not WHM-only when introduced.
- Cure V originally did not have a set hate value, but acted like other Cure spells.
- Bar-spells originally lasted much longer, took longer to cast, and cost more MP.
BLM
- Warp II did not exist.
- Escape did not exist.
- Tractor did not exist.
- Sleepga and Sleepga II did not exist.
DRK
- Absorb spells did not exist.
- Stun did not exist.
PLD
- Flash did not exist.
SMN
- In a funny error, SE claimed to introduce the elemental spirit pacts when SMN was released, but actually Thunder Spirit Pact and Earth Spirit Pact did not exist until a much later update.
Job Ability & Trait Related
- For almost 1 year of gameplay, RDM did not have Convert. It did not exist until April 15, 2003.
- Mighty Strikes used to be even shorter duration.
- WAR ability Aggressor originally gave a bonus to Ranged Accuracy.
- Sneak Attack dealt the same high damage even when subbing THF.
- Sneak Attack had a wider angle of use behind the mob.
- Treasure Hunter II did not exist.
- Trick Attack did not exist.
- BST ability Leave was higher than level 35.
- BST ability Call Beast did not exist.
- Charm had a much longer recast timer.
- Charm did not Bind un-Charmable targets.
- BST ability Reward did not exist.
- MNK's Dodge, Focus, and Chakra had a 15 minute recast.
- MNK abilities Chi Blast and Kick Attacks did not exist.
- Divine Seal did not exist.
- Elemental Seal did not exist.
- Weapon Bash did not exist.
- Sentinel did not have a high enmity value.
- PLD ability Rampart did not exist.
- RNG ability Unlimited Shot did not exist.
- 2-Hour abilities originally could be reset by changing jobs.
- SMN did not originally have Clear Mind.
- SMN's Astral Flow was of shorter duration.
- BLM's Manafont ability originally allowed for spells to be interrupted.
- SAM's Meikyo Shisui did not originally fill the TP bar.
- "Killer" and "Circle" traits and abilities originally had the effect of Slow rather than Paralyze.
- DRG's Spirit Link did not exist, and when introduced, did not heal status effects.
Weapon Related
- Guns were RNG-only.
- Ammo only stacked to 12, not 99.
- Quivers did not exist.
- Ranged attacks did not generate TP. <---------LOL!!
- DRKs could not use Great Sword Weaponskills.
- PLD's could originally use Axes and Great Axes.
- PLD originally had Throwing skill.
- RDM originally had Marksmanship skill.
- BRD could not use Staves.
- RNG could not use Axes.
- Equipping a boomerang did not originally change TP, but equipping a fishing rod and bait did.
- Weather and day effects on spells did not exist.
- Half-resists on spells did not exist.
- Magic Bursts did not exist.
- The enmity system was drastically different, with more abilities having set hate amounts rather than based on damage.
Item Related
- RSE did not exist.
- Crystals were much rarer drops from enemies.
- Crystal clusters did not exist.
- Percentage-boost foods did not exist; All foods gave static bonuses.
- AF did not exist until November 26, 2002.
- The Life Belt could not be worn by All Jobs.
- Kindred Seals did not exist.
- Scrolls of Instant Warp and Scrolls of Instant Reraise cost double the amount of CP.
Area Related
- Eldieme Necropolis, Crawler's Nest, Garlaige Citadel, and Castle Zvahl Baileys were less difficult and had a lower level enemy cap.
Other Game Related
- The original Level Cap was 50.
- The highest Rank was 5.
- Crafts were capped at level 60.
- Harvesting, Excavation, Logging, and Mining did not exist.
- Gardening did not exist.
- Chests and coffers did not exist.
- Only items came from chests and coffers, not gil.
- Thieves did not have the ability to pick chests and coffers.
- Mog Safe expansions did not exist.
- Gobbiebag quests did not exist.
- It was not possible to exit to any zone in a city from a Mog House.
- There were no fame-reporter NPCs.
- Title-changing NPCs did not exist.
- Synthesis inside a Mog House was not possible.
- Changing your job required an entire other game screen, instead of the Mog House menu.
- Chocobos were not available at Crags.
- The level limit for riding Chocobos even from home cities was originally 20, not 15.
- Expeditionary Force quests did not exist.
- Non-quest BCNMs did not exist.
- BCNM orbs cost more Beastmen Seals.
- BCNM clear-time scores were not recorded.
- SMN, SAM, NIN, and DRG did not exist until April 15, 2003.
- True Sight did not exist as a mob ability.
- DRGs could not originally change their wyvern's name.
- Dying in a BC originally had an experience penalty equal to your true level (rather than your capped level).
- Jeuno originally only had 2 Auction Houses, one in Ru'Lude and one in Lower.
- The amount of PCs allowed in Lower Jeuno at any one time was restricted (due to game/server limitations).
- Desynthesis did not exist.
- Synthesis recipes for ninja tools originally produced less tools per synth.
- Cutscenes from quests could not be replayed.
- Furniture did not add any Storage.
- Moghancements did not exist.
- Wedding Services did not exist.
- Garrison battles did not exist.
- PVP in the form of Ballista was added nearly 2 years after FFXI's release.
- The Mentor system did not exist.
- The Merit Point system did not exist.
System Related
- There was only 1 window-type, instead of 8.
- /attack on & /attack off commands did not exist.
- /names command did not exist.
- The following emotes did not exist: /kneel, /sigh, /comfort, /huh, /blush, /angry, /disgusted, /upset, /panic, /fume, /doubt, /sulk, /shocked, /hurray, /toss. (In the beginning, Taru couldn't dance!)
- /sit and its associated emotes were added only after the NA release.
- The Triangle and + buttons couldn't be used to cycle through different windows.
- The log window could not be decreased in size manually.
- The log window could not be filtered into the different chat channels.
- Calling for Help did not make a target appear on nearby people's compasses.
- Valkurm Dunes was not displayed on the Title Screen.
- Text for items was not color-coded (I.E., Yellow, Green, Red, or Blue).
- The subtarget cursor did not function except when using magic spells.
- Received Friends List messages could not be read in-game.
- The search function did not exist.
- Search Comments did not exist.
- The first Search Comment function did not have any category subdivisions.
- Names in the search function were not color-coded (Blue for in-party, Yellow for party-leader).
- World Passes originally could only be used by one person per WP.
- The ! icon above the head of a player seeking party did not exist.
- Originally it was impossible to Seek Party while in a Mog House.
- /lsmes and Linkshell opening messages did not exist.
- Originally a player had to be in the same zone to invite them to your party, rather than the same region.
Interesting Points of Note
- When Behemoth was introduced, the level cap was only 55.
- When Invisible was first released, you could not see your own character at all after it being cast.
- AF was not all introduced at the same time. The six standard jobs of WAR, MNK, WHM, BLM, RDM, THF recieved their AF quests a full month before the other jobs.
- Coffers were not introduced until AF.
- "Steal II" was originally planned for THF, but was later cancelled.
- When the function was introduced, there were only call0-call3.
- Bazaar tax in Jeuno used to be different depending on which level of Jeuno the bazaar was in. Ru'Lude and Lower had a 10% tax, while Upper and Port had a 5% tax.
- Kazham, Rabao, and Norg all originally had their own seperate bazaar tax. Kazham was steepest, a hefty 15% tax.
- AOE spells originally had a similar radius vertically as horizontally, thus allowing a -ga spell to hit mobs on multiple floors.
- The first people to reach level 60 had never had access to popular leveling spots like Kazham, Crawler's Nest, Garlaige Citadel, Gustav Tunnel, Altepa Desert, Kuftal Tunnel, Cape Terrigan, Valley of Sorrows, or Boyahda Tree.
- When SMN was first released as a job, the level cap was only 65, thus making the avatar prime fights all the harder.
- SMN, SAM, NIN, and DRG were released all at the same time, but SMN did not require the Zilart expansion pack to unlock and play.
- The level cap was originally intended to go much higher, over 100. For Example, RDM was supposed to learn Blizzard III at level 86, while DRK would learn it at level 103.
- Reraise did not originally reset when changing jobs. Thus anyone with a high-enough level WHM job could have Reraise or Reraise II active.
- The spell Absorb-DEX originally contained a typo and was called "Absorb-TEX"
- An error when the job was first released allowed DRGs to summon two wyverns.
- The first NA update increased the job cap to 70.
- The level cap was increased to 75 on December 16, 2003, 19 months after FFXI was released.
- Fenrir was released almost a year after SMN was added as a job. Incindentally, Happy Birthday Fenrir! (Feb 26.)
grats if anybody read all of this.. and if anybody did and happened to be an XI player, you can clearly see some of the most basic things were not even in the game. XIV has a long road ahead but i have faith.
There are more people playing after patch 1.18 than before. I like the direction the game is going. I'd like the changes to be faster, but heck, the game is free and i'm not going anywhere.
Well dude, I don't know. Actually, I disagree with you and quite agree with OP. I was in the game during open beta and then got the collector's edition. I stayed with the game maybe two weeks. Recently I logged back in, after the auto patch. The thing is, I had forgotten to play the game, and it seemed like a hassle to find out how to play the game and I did not bother....
I don't see how this proves that the game isn't getting better. You are basically just saying that you have not motivation to play it.
Ya I was such a hugh FFXI fan that I pre-ordered the collection ed without even playing the game. I had a friend that got into beta and told me it was bad, but I honestly did not believe him till I played it. I do not know what the hell SE was working on for 5 years. I also do not understand why they released it the way it was, I mean did none of them play there own game?
This thread is kind of a moot point. It really dosen't matter whether the game gets better or not... it is dead. MMO's get one chance.
I'll agree that it is not dead...rather it is undead. It continues to stagger and stumble along like a zombie that needs to be put down but Squenix doesn't have the balls or the brains to put a bullet in it's head and move on. They can keep applying bandaids and lame "content" updates but by the time the game would be anywhere near worth a subscription cost it will be buried by the next wave of big mane MMO's, which I have to think even the worst of would be more fun than FFXIV.
Having experienced FFXIV as an unimmersive, unintersting, unfun, unintuitive, unnecessarily complicated, grindy and at times stupid looking (the Lalafell race is one the stupidest looking things I have ever seen) excuse for an MMO. I would not go back and play it if it were the last MMO on the planet.
As pointed out FFXi had some GIANT problems and SE was/is very slow to fix them. I do credit them with being very good at fixing them when they get around to it. Most other companies seem to have a really hard time doing anything without making a big mess and adding more bugs. They also screw up balance big time every time they try to adjust it. SE seems to be pretty good at not doing that.
Many people must not have been around for the NA release 50+ grind in FFXI. It was a nightmare.
I really hope they get FFXIV fixed because I want a replacement for FFXI. FFXI is still my favorite MMO and I have played many before and after it. I like the story and the world is cool to me. FFXI had/has something that other MMOs gave up on, a world that is very dangerous and I want that back.
I could go back to FFXI but I would have to buy a new computer or XBOX and game so I could and really dont want to do that.
I do agree that SE has produced a lot of bad games lately but they have pulled off a few games I really liked, Kingdom hearts games where pretty good for example. My biggest issue is they have moved to a very linear style of game so full of animations that you spend as much or more time watching them as you do playing the actual game and it gets kind of old. If I am going to lose control and be told a story it better be good like FF 6,7,8,9, and Chrono Trigger and Cross. Their current model seems to be
1) Let player follow set path with specific characters and monsters they can fight for 3 minutes and cut to story time for 2 minutes
2) Repeat 1 untill near the end of the game.
3) Allow player to select who is in their party and allow some freedom for the last 3 hours of the game.
The only thing I see that hasn't changed is their ability to produce a game that pushes the limits of what they can do graphically. Their games are still pretty but pretty isn't what made me play SE games. Gameplay, story, music and replayability is why I played Square games. Being nice to look at was just a bonus.
The only thing I see that hasn't changed is their ability to produce a game that pushes the limits of what they can do graphically. Their games are still pretty but pretty isn't what made me play SE games. Gameplay, story, music and replayability is why I played Square games. Being nice to look at was just a bonus.
i agree with this 100%. Unfortunatly we are a dyeing breed. these kids these days want shinny graphics first and gameplay, story second. Then they wonder why their game sucks.
You can have good story with top notch graphics, but gameplay will always suffer when you push the limits on graphics. And really the good story left when square soft became square enix. Atleast imo.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore) Now Playing: N/A Worst MMO: FFXIV Favorite MMO: FFXI
Comments
It wasn't because "no one would have paid for it" I would have paid for it. I'll admit the game at launch was crap compared to today, and hopefully the game today will be crap compared to the game a year from now (or a month) but there are no other MMO's even hinting at giving me what I want out of an MMO so damn skippy I'll give them my money until some other MMO does or they change their development philosophy to something incompatable with my tastes.
The reason that Square Enix flipped out and replaced tanaka/suspended subscription fees is because the game was an embarassment to them. It didn't meet their high standards for FF titles (and yeah blah blah you didn't like FF13 whatever millions of others did). If this was any other MMO company the game would have simply gone sub fee after the first month, and if it didn't retain a certain amount of #'s the investors would have forced them to either shut it down or go to an extortionist "free to play" model to suck every penny out of those who remained (so pretty much the route of every MMO released since WoW).
However Final Fantasy is a big deal to Square Enix, they have symphonies throughout the world who play this game's soundtrack, some of their studio's biggest names are attached to the project, they want to sell toys in their toy store for XIV, the international reputation of their flagship series is at stake. So yeah... that's why they brought Yoshi in and that's why they have a dev team bigger than many studio's maximum development team size still at work on the game.
http://xivpads.com/?1595680
http://guildwork.com/users/murugan
We could still say 'man, the Germans shouldn't have killed the jews! They've improved since then, but I'm still not over the fact that they did!' But at some point, it becomes a dead horse.
Roughly around the time when most people have already moved on.
Ah no, if the game is fun and players friendly it will continue to bring in new players. Minecraft and WoW(that is until Blizzard dropped the ball) are prime examples. FF XI does not bring in new players because the game is a huge grindfest and the gameplay make EVE looks newbies friendly. SE's current intention for FF XIV is to turn it into a FF XI clone and hope that FF XI players will jump ship. SE will not gain more revenue I'm afraid, as cannibalizing your own playerbase is obviously not a good business strategy to gain more revenue. So pretty they're trying to fix FF XIV just to save face.
Actually yes. FFXIV is terrible so Germans might be or are after what they did. If FFXIV will never get better, then Germans will not either. Simply Paradox as title of thread says.
FFXIV needs completely different UI and much, much, much improved battle system. Then I will accept the game. Until then I dislike it and hate it. And I wonder if FFXIV'll become better with this battle system it has got. So unplayable #@&;&@#&;@ combat.
The only way I will come back to FFXIV would be if they switch names and battle mechanics to how it was in FFXI.
FFXI's skillchain battle system was awesome. There was no need to reinvent the wheel.
People were already attached to Taru/Galka/Elvan/Mithra..... to change the names of the races just to make them appear new and different is the most retarded sequel idea that could possible be thought of....go ahead, try it. it's that retarded.
Eh I'm playing again after the bombed launch and I think it has come along way from launch, but it still has a long way too go.
Why was 'human' in XI a 'hume'? The game did the same exact thing, change the names of familiar races 'for no reason whatsoever' (according to you).
Plus, the game is as much of a sequel as FFXIII is a sequel to FFX. And as such, it's pretty dumb shit to say.
Lastly, Skillchains were flawed from the very beginning and only used because the community was too rookie to optimize. A mistake that won't happen here.
It isn't a new world, SE said themselves it's the same world just a different timeline. Even all the races look the same.
If it isn't a sequel then why is it in the same world, with the same races. To not make it a sequel when the fanbase in FFXI wanted one is stupid.
If you didn't have fun with skillchains then you had a sorry ass group indeed. Some of my favorite moments were cleaning house with an awesome group where everyone performed well.
What optimizations in FFXI nullified the use of skillchains please explain. Because outside the use of burning parties blink babysitting and powerleveling that was how to level quickly.
Pretty sure SE never said that because it isn't true. No idea where you got that.
http://xivpads.com/?1595680
http://guildwork.com/users/murugan
As fa as the races go, SE said they kept the same races with minor changes and different names so that players of FFXI would feel comfortable if they made the transition to XIV. Also, so they would be able to make an identical copy of their old characters. It IS a different world, none of this "different timeline" crap.
The game is getting immensely better. If any of the naysayers even took the time to rank up more than one class to cap and utilize the armory system then they might be able to see the great strides the dev team is making. Everything will not happen at once...it will take quite some time for the game to become what it should be.
I found this from a few years back. It highlights things that FFXI did not have at launch. Some of them took a few years for them to even adjust or add into the game. This list just shows how long it can take for some things. FFXI is a great game and i played it for many years. For those that don't know, XI was released in 2002...its about to turn a decade old...
EDIT: i made it easy on the lazy ones and hilghlighted / underlined the important stuff.
Spell Related
RDM
- Gravity did not exist, and did not lower mob evasion when first introduced.
- RDM could not use Raise.
- RDM could not use Invisible, Sneak, or Deodorize.
- Refresh was not added until February 3, 2003.
- Regen was introduced as a RDM-only spell, and could be used like Poison to prevent Sleep.
- RDM's Enfeebling Magic skill was not as high.
- Dispel did not exist, and was added much later than Magic Finale.
BRD
- The effect of BRD songs lasted longer.
- Horde Lullaby did not exist.
- Elemental Threnodies did not exist.
- Magic Finale did not exist.
- Mage's Ballad was originally stronger.
- Prelude was originally an area song.
- Etudes were originally area songs.
WHM
- Teleport-Mea, Teleport-Holla, Teleport-Dem, and Teleport-Vahzl did not exist even in the original game.
- Protectra II-IV and Shellra II-IV did not exist.
- Sneak, Invisible, and Deodorize did not exist, and when first introduced, all could be overwritten by recasting before the spell wore off.
- Reraise did not exist.
- Raise II and III did not exist.
- Erase did not exist, and when first introduced had an even longer recast.
- Cure V was not WHM-only when introduced.
- Cure V originally did not have a set hate value, but acted like other Cure spells.
- Bar-spells originally lasted much longer, took longer to cast, and cost more MP.
BLM
- Warp II did not exist.
- Escape did not exist.
- Tractor did not exist.
- Sleepga and Sleepga II did not exist.
DRK
- Absorb spells did not exist.
- Stun did not exist.
PLD
- Flash did not exist.
SMN
- In a funny error, SE claimed to introduce the elemental spirit pacts when SMN was released, but actually Thunder Spirit Pact and Earth Spirit Pact did not exist until a much later update.
Job Ability & Trait Related
- For almost 1 year of gameplay, RDM did not have Convert. It did not exist until April 15, 2003.
- Mighty Strikes used to be even shorter duration.
- WAR ability Aggressor originally gave a bonus to Ranged Accuracy.
- Sneak Attack dealt the same high damage even when subbing THF.
- Sneak Attack had a wider angle of use behind the mob.
- Treasure Hunter II did not exist.
- Trick Attack did not exist.
- BST ability Leave was higher than level 35.
- BST ability Call Beast did not exist.
- Charm had a much longer recast timer.
- Charm did not Bind un-Charmable targets.
- BST ability Reward did not exist.
- MNK's Dodge, Focus, and Chakra had a 15 minute recast.
- MNK abilities Chi Blast and Kick Attacks did not exist.
- Divine Seal did not exist.
- Elemental Seal did not exist.
- Weapon Bash did not exist.
- Sentinel did not have a high enmity value.
- PLD ability Rampart did not exist.
- RNG ability Unlimited Shot did not exist.
- 2-Hour abilities originally could be reset by changing jobs.
- SMN did not originally have Clear Mind.
- SMN's Astral Flow was of shorter duration.
- BLM's Manafont ability originally allowed for spells to be interrupted.
- SAM's Meikyo Shisui did not originally fill the TP bar.
- "Killer" and "Circle" traits and abilities originally had the effect of Slow rather than Paralyze.
- DRG's Spirit Link did not exist, and when introduced, did not heal status effects.
Weapon Related
- Guns were RNG-only.
- Ammo only stacked to 12, not 99.
- Quivers did not exist.
- Ranged attacks did not generate TP. <---------LOL!!
- DRKs could not use Great Sword Weaponskills.
- PLD's could originally use Axes and Great Axes.
- PLD originally had Throwing skill.
- RDM originally had Marksmanship skill.
- BRD could not use Staves.
- RNG could not use Axes.
- Equipping a boomerang did not originally change TP, but equipping a fishing rod and bait did.
Battle Related
- **Experience Chains** did not exist. @__@ ;
- Weather and day effects on spells did not exist.
- Half-resists on spells did not exist.
- Magic Bursts did not exist.
- The enmity system was drastically different, with more abilities having set hate amounts rather than based on damage.
Item Related
- RSE did not exist.
- Crystals were much rarer drops from enemies.
- Crystal clusters did not exist.
- Percentage-boost foods did not exist; All foods gave static bonuses.
- AF did not exist until November 26, 2002.
- The Life Belt could not be worn by All Jobs.
- Kindred Seals did not exist.
- Scrolls of Instant Warp and Scrolls of Instant Reraise cost double the amount of CP.
Area Related
- Eldieme Necropolis, Crawler's Nest, Garlaige Citadel, and Castle Zvahl Baileys were less difficult and had a lower level enemy cap.
Other Game Related
- The original Level Cap was 50.
- The highest Rank was 5.
- Crafts were capped at level 60.
- Harvesting, Excavation, Logging, and Mining did not exist.
- Gardening did not exist.
- Chests and coffers did not exist.
- Only items came from chests and coffers, not gil.
- Thieves did not have the ability to pick chests and coffers.
- Mog Safe expansions did not exist.
- Gobbiebag quests did not exist.
- It was not possible to exit to any zone in a city from a Mog House.
- There were no fame-reporter NPCs.
- Title-changing NPCs did not exist.
- Synthesis inside a Mog House was not possible.
- Changing your job required an entire other game screen, instead of the Mog House menu.
- Chocobos were not available at Crags.
- The level limit for riding Chocobos even from home cities was originally 20, not 15.
- Expeditionary Force quests did not exist.
- Non-quest BCNMs did not exist.
- BCNM orbs cost more Beastmen Seals.
- BCNM clear-time scores were not recorded.
- SMN, SAM, NIN, and DRG did not exist until April 15, 2003.
- True Sight did not exist as a mob ability.
- DRGs could not originally change their wyvern's name.
- Dying in a BC originally had an experience penalty equal to your true level (rather than your capped level).
- Jeuno originally only had 2 Auction Houses, one in Ru'Lude and one in Lower.
- The amount of PCs allowed in Lower Jeuno at any one time was restricted (due to game/server limitations).
- Desynthesis did not exist.
- Synthesis recipes for ninja tools originally produced less tools per synth.
- Cutscenes from quests could not be replayed.
- Furniture did not add any Storage.
- Moghancements did not exist.
- Wedding Services did not exist.
- Garrison battles did not exist.
- PVP in the form of Ballista was added nearly 2 years after FFXI's release.
- The Mentor system did not exist.
- The Merit Point system did not exist.
System Related
- There was only 1 window-type, instead of 8.
- /attack on & /attack off commands did not exist.
- /names command did not exist.
- The following emotes did not exist: /kneel, /sigh, /comfort, /huh, /blush, /angry, /disgusted, /upset, /panic, /fume, /doubt, /sulk, /shocked, /hurray, /toss. (In the beginning, Taru couldn't dance!)
- /sit and its associated emotes were added only after the NA release.
- The Triangle and + buttons couldn't be used to cycle through different windows.
- The log window could not be decreased in size manually.
- The log window could not be filtered into the different chat channels.
- Calling for Help did not make a target appear on nearby people's compasses.
- Valkurm Dunes was not displayed on the Title Screen.
- Text for items was not color-coded (I.E., Yellow, Green, Red, or Blue).
- The subtarget cursor did not function except when using magic spells.
- Received Friends List messages could not be read in-game.
- The search function did not exist.
- Search Comments did not exist.
- The first Search Comment function did not have any category subdivisions.
- Names in the search function were not color-coded (Blue for in-party, Yellow for party-leader).
- World Passes originally could only be used by one person per WP.
- The ! icon above the head of a player seeking party did not exist.
- Originally it was impossible to Seek Party while in a Mog House.
- /lsmes and Linkshell opening messages did not exist.
- Originally a player had to be in the same zone to invite them to your party, rather than the same region.
Interesting Points of Note
- When Behemoth was introduced, the level cap was only 55.
- When Invisible was first released, you could not see your own character at all after it being cast.
- AF was not all introduced at the same time. The six standard jobs of WAR, MNK, WHM, BLM, RDM, THF recieved their AF quests a full month before the other jobs.
- Coffers were not introduced until AF.
- "Steal II" was originally planned for THF, but was later cancelled.
- When the function was introduced, there were only call0-call3.
- Bazaar tax in Jeuno used to be different depending on which level of Jeuno the bazaar was in. Ru'Lude and Lower had a 10% tax, while Upper and Port had a 5% tax.
- Kazham, Rabao, and Norg all originally had their own seperate bazaar tax. Kazham was steepest, a hefty 15% tax.
- AOE spells originally had a similar radius vertically as horizontally, thus allowing a -ga spell to hit mobs on multiple floors.
- The first people to reach level 60 had never had access to popular leveling spots like Kazham, Crawler's Nest, Garlaige Citadel, Gustav Tunnel, Altepa Desert, Kuftal Tunnel, Cape Terrigan, Valley of Sorrows, or Boyahda Tree.
- When SMN was first released as a job, the level cap was only 65, thus making the avatar prime fights all the harder.
- SMN, SAM, NIN, and DRG were released all at the same time, but SMN did not require the Zilart expansion pack to unlock and play.
- The level cap was originally intended to go much higher, over 100. For Example, RDM was supposed to learn Blizzard III at level 86, while DRK would learn it at level 103.
- Reraise did not originally reset when changing jobs. Thus anyone with a high-enough level WHM job could have Reraise or Reraise II active.
- The spell Absorb-DEX originally contained a typo and was called "Absorb-TEX"
- An error when the job was first released allowed DRGs to summon two wyverns.
- The first NA update increased the job cap to 70.
- The level cap was increased to 75 on December 16, 2003, 19 months after FFXI was released.
- Fenrir was released almost a year after SMN was added as a job. Incindentally, Happy Birthday Fenrir! (Feb 26.)
grats if anybody read all of this.. and if anybody did and happened to be an XI player, you can clearly see some of the most basic things were not even in the game. XIV has a long road ahead but i have faith.
apparently someone needs to look up death in the dictionary.
Apparently stating the truth in my sig is "trolling"
Sig typo fixed thanks to an observant stragen001.
I don't see how this proves that the game isn't getting better. You are basically just saying that you have not motivation to play it.
Ya I was such a hugh FFXI fan that I pre-ordered the collection ed without even playing the game. I had a friend that got into beta and told me it was bad, but I honestly did not believe him till I played it. I do not know what the hell SE was working on for 5 years. I also do not understand why they released it the way it was, I mean did none of them play there own game?
I'll agree that it is not dead...rather it is undead. It continues to stagger and stumble along like a zombie that needs to be put down but Squenix doesn't have the balls or the brains to put a bullet in it's head and move on. They can keep applying bandaids and lame "content" updates but by the time the game would be anywhere near worth a subscription cost it will be buried by the next wave of big mane MMO's, which I have to think even the worst of would be more fun than FFXIV.
Having experienced FFXIV as an unimmersive, unintersting, unfun, unintuitive, unnecessarily complicated, grindy and at times stupid looking (the Lalafell race is one the stupidest looking things I have ever seen) excuse for an MMO. I would not go back and play it if it were the last MMO on the planet.
As pointed out FFXi had some GIANT problems and SE was/is very slow to fix them. I do credit them with being very good at fixing them when they get around to it. Most other companies seem to have a really hard time doing anything without making a big mess and adding more bugs. They also screw up balance big time every time they try to adjust it. SE seems to be pretty good at not doing that.
Many people must not have been around for the NA release 50+ grind in FFXI. It was a nightmare.
I really hope they get FFXIV fixed because I want a replacement for FFXI. FFXI is still my favorite MMO and I have played many before and after it. I like the story and the world is cool to me. FFXI had/has something that other MMOs gave up on, a world that is very dangerous and I want that back.
I could go back to FFXI but I would have to buy a new computer or XBOX and game so I could and really dont want to do that.
I do agree that SE has produced a lot of bad games lately but they have pulled off a few games I really liked, Kingdom hearts games where pretty good for example. My biggest issue is they have moved to a very linear style of game so full of animations that you spend as much or more time watching them as you do playing the actual game and it gets kind of old. If I am going to lose control and be told a story it better be good like FF 6,7,8,9, and Chrono Trigger and Cross. Their current model seems to be
1) Let player follow set path with specific characters and monsters they can fight for 3 minutes and cut to story time for 2 minutes
2) Repeat 1 untill near the end of the game.
3) Allow player to select who is in their party and allow some freedom for the last 3 hours of the game.
The only thing I see that hasn't changed is their ability to produce a game that pushes the limits of what they can do graphically. Their games are still pretty but pretty isn't what made me play SE games. Gameplay, story, music and replayability is why I played Square games. Being nice to look at was just a bonus.
This looks cool, but game needs more changes in core like battle and UI.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-7vGJiVtqs&feature=feedu
i agree with this 100%. Unfortunatly we are a dyeing breed. these kids these days want shinny graphics first and gameplay, story second. Then they wonder why their game sucks.
You can have good story with top notch graphics, but gameplay will always suffer when you push the limits on graphics. And really the good story left when square soft became square enix. Atleast imo.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
The good story left when you grew up.
And that's not an opinion.
FFXIV just made too many absurdly simple mistakes. The die-hard community can try to defend it; but it's quite obvious. -_- back to FFXI I go!
Played - M59, EQOA, EQ, EQ2, PS, SWG[Favorite], DAoC, UO, RS, MXO, CoH/CoV, TR, FFXI, FoM, WoW, Eve, Rift, SWTOR, TSW.
Playing - PS2, AoW, GW2