I wish Defiance (Trion), ESO (Zemax) and all other NA developers would take a lesson out of SE's playbook. Cross platform is the answer not multi-platform. You have to bring your entire fan base together for your game not split them in groups. Also getting 2 million players together for a single given mmorpg sounds great, but across 3 platforms including 80 million PS3s, 7 million PS4s and 400 million mmorpg players....you have to keep things in perspective.
So small fist pump for FFXIV, a sigh of relief that subs are not dead (yet) and a word of caution about shooting down other games in the genre. Mock them if you like, but we need diversity in this genre not divisiveness.
I agree but a big problem for most publishers is microsoft's refusal to allow multi-platform servers so they either dont release on microsoft consoles or have to segregate platforms.
I wish Defiance (Trion), ESO (Zemax) and all other NA developers would take a lesson out of SE's playbook. Cross platform is the answer not multi-platform. You have to bring your entire fan base together for your game not split them in groups. Also getting 2 million players together for a single given mmorpg sounds great, but across 3 platforms including 80 million PS3s, 7 million PS4s and 400 million mmorpg players....you have to keep things in perspective.
So small fist pump for FFXIV, a sigh of relief that subs are not dead (yet) and a word of caution about shooting down other games in the genre. Mock them if you like, but we need diversity in this genre not divisiveness.
I agree but a big problem for most publishers is microsoft's refusal to allow multi-platform servers so they either dont release on microsoft consoles or have to segregate platforms.
Just another reason why microsoft is a disgrace to the industry.
I feel like comparing FFXIV to other games is a bit of a fools errand. People who love the combat will find it amazing and well worth the sub while people who hate the combat will find it much worse than many free games.
Originally posted by Kyleran If they have 2M subs, they are not players from the west.
Wow really? who gives a rats ass if the subs are coming from the west or not? All high and mightymuch? borderline racist much?
Or he means it doesn't matter how many subs they have if the server you play on is empty....but reading into it and being the PC hero works too I guess.
Originally posted by Kyleran If they have 2M subs, they are not players from the west.
Wow really? who gives a rats ass if the subs are coming from the west or not? All high and mightymuch? borderline racist much?
Or he means it doesn't matter how many subs they have if the server you play on is empty....but reading into it and being the PC hero works too I guess.
You guys are both giving different interpretations on someone elses post which is fairly pointless. It is likely though that he was displaying how one is led to think it's not possible to have that much appeal for FFXIV in the west. Many people believe the asian FF fanbase is significantly larger than all other, which could be, and is most likely true for all I know but that is the stereotype.
I wish Defiance (Trion), ESO (Zemax) and all other NA developers would take a lesson out of SE's playbook. Cross platform is the answer not multi-platform. You have to bring your entire fan base together for your game not split them in groups. Also getting 2 million players together for a single given mmorpg sounds great, but across 3 platforms including 80 million PS3s, 7 million PS4s and 400 million mmorpg players....you have to keep things in perspective.
So small fist pump for FFXIV, a sigh of relief that subs are not dead (yet) and a word of caution about shooting down other games in the genre. Mock them if you like, but we need diversity in this genre not divisiveness.
I agree but a big problem for most publishers is microsoft's refusal to allow multi-platform servers so they either dont release on microsoft consoles or have to segregate platforms.
Just another reason why microsoft is a disgrace to the industry.
And probably a contributing factor as to why XB1's are sitting on shelves, while Sony struggles to keep up with demand, in Europe area at least, PS4's are outselling XB1's by a factor of 4-1, even in the US where Xbox was king, the PS4 is outselling XB1 at almost 2-1, and that was even after the XB1 became available without Kinnect. All we need now is a WiiU version of FFXIV;ARR and that would mean that the XB1 is the only console not supported
But i totally agree, segregation is a problem, not an answer, and if ESO ever manages to launch on console, then the fact that it does not support platform integration will undoubtedly hurt it.
Originally posted by Kyleran If they have 2M subs, they are not players from the west.
Wow really? who gives a rats ass if the subs are coming from the west or not? All high and mightymuch? borderline racist much?
Or he means it doesn't matter how many subs they have if the server you play on is empty....but reading into it and being the PC hero works too I guess.
You guys are both giving different interpretations on someone elses post which is fairly pointless. It is likely though that he was displaying how one is led to think it's not possible to have that much appeal for FFXIV in the west. Many people believe the asian FF fanbase is significantly larger than all other, which could be, and is most likely true for all I know but that is the stereotype.
I don't know about the NA servers, but at least on the Euro servers, the preponderance of none Asian players would seem to indicate otherwise, unless of course, they are hiding by all speaking French or something
I can only speak for the Euro servers, but from the looks of things, i would say that Asian players, or at least those speaking Japanese, are still in a relative minority. Perhaps this is just an issue with the NA servers ?
Originally posted by drivendawnYeah those were starter dungeons it gets progressively harder and mechanics more complex as you level and very much so at endgame.
If I might ask a question here, because I'm having trouble finding a good search query with a definite answer: Are the Hard and Extreme modes necessary for Storyline advancement? Or are they more along the lines of Extra Content for Raider Types (tm)?
Extreme mode is not a requirement to complete the main scenario up to the current patch release. Extreme is more geared towards players looking for more powerful gear, bragging rights, etc.
However....if you want to unlock the tiered roulettes (which give bonus exp, myth/soldiery tomes) Low, High, and Expert, I believe you'll have to clear some of the extreme trials as well (trials being mostly primals and "Ultima's Bane"). Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
I can only speak for the Euro servers, but from the looks of things, i would say that Asian players, or at least those speaking Japanese, are still in a relative minority. Perhaps this is just an issue with the NA servers ?
Nope, not at all. Playing on US server here and I don't see these asian players. I actually moved from an EU server (Moogle) to an US one because way too many people spoke french. Nothing against them but I don't know the language and it is kinda of a big deal on a MMO.
I can only speak for the Euro servers, but from the looks of things, i would say that Asian players, or at least those speaking Japanese, are still in a relative minority. Perhaps this is just an issue with the NA servers ?
Nope, not at all. Playing on US server here and I don't see these asian players. I actually moved from an EU server (Moogle) to an US one because way too many people spoke french. Nothing against them but I don't know the language and it is kinda of a big deal on a MMO.
Wouldn't they all be playing on the JP servers anyway? Or am I misinterpreting.
2) - Now for the big one- the community. Since 14's re-release in September, I've played several other major MMOs, and in each one I've noticed that every time 14 is brought up, the conversation moves towards the game's infamously bad community. New players are treated like dirt in endgame dungeons, and it has only gotten worse since the addition of the votekick system.
It has little to do with votekicking and yes I agree, this game compared to every one else I've played has a community that is very hostile towards new players on endgame.
The reason for that is how dungeons are designed. On other MMOs if 1, 2 or 3 players in a party of 8 were below average, if the others were good they could clear it. In ARR however there are some fights in which if one messes up the fight is over. Sometimes is so unforgiving that even some stupid mistake would cause one to be removed entirely from the fight, can't be ressed back. Landslide on titan ex for example.
If you are new to some of these fights you will die, no other way around that and the other 7 will hate you for wasting their time. If you're new I suggest joining learning parties till you're comfortable enough with the fight.
For me, the community hasn't been to bad; on my server anyway (behemoth). Its when you hop into duty finder or the roulette system is when things get a little hairy; much like Edli stated. Not all parties you run into on the duty finder are that way though. If you happen to be new, just be sure to state so from the start and have at least the average I level for the particular dungeon you're running (granted, even that doesn't help sometimes). I've been lucky so far and haven't run into too many issues.
gear transmogrify so that not every endgame character would look the same
endgame consisting of grinding or a.k.a. carrot on a stick
And no you do realize that even if FF XIV had flopped SE wouldn't shut down right? Ah no you don't you stated otherwise. Well SE has many other heavy hitters that keep the company alive. Maybe you meant that if FF XIV had flopped they wouldn't continue the series? That was more likely to happen.
I wish Defiance (Trion), ESO (Zemax) and all other NA developers would take a lesson out of SE's playbook. Cross platform is the answer not multi-platform. You have to bring your entire fan base together for your game not split them in groups. Also getting 2 million players together for a single given mmorpg sounds great, but across 3 platforms including 80 million PS3s, 7 million PS4s and 400 million mmorpg players....you have to keep things in perspective.
So small fist pump for FFXIV, a sigh of relief that subs are not dead (yet) and a word of caution about shooting down other games in the genre. Mock them if you like, but we need diversity in this genre not divisiveness.
I agree but a big problem for most publishers is microsoft's refusal to allow multi-platform servers so they either dont release on microsoft consoles or have to segregate platforms.
Just another reason why microsoft is a disgrace to the industry.
And probably a contributing factor as to why XB1's are sitting on shelves, while Sony struggles to keep up with demand, in Europe area at least, PS4's are outselling XB1's by a factor of 4-1, even in the US where Xbox was king, the PS4 is outselling XB1 at almost 2-1, and that was even after the XB1 became available without Kinnect. All we need now is a WiiU version of FFXIV;ARR and that would mean that the XB1 is the only console not supported
But i totally agree, segregation is a problem, not an answer, and if ESO ever manages to launch on console, then the fact that it does not support platform integration will undoubtedly hurt it.
Xb1 is only available officially in the UK and Germany for Europe, what do you expect... I still can't purchase it from my country unless I order it from somewhere else and pay some hefty customs price and taxes for that country.
My biggest issue with the game was the lack of customization and character growth. I think its funny how you started out being able to make your rotation full of different skills from all the classes, then at hitting lvl 30 the game limits you to your class and the few skills allowed from 1 other class. And end game everyone looks a like and every class uses the same rotation. That makes the game boring and its why I stopped playing. Now when they add the multitude of classes that XI had then maybe it will be worth a look
gear transmogrify so that not every endgame character would look the same
endgame consisting of grinding or a.k.a. carrot on a stick
And no you do realize that even if FF XIV had flopped SE wouldn't shut down right? Ah no you don't you stated otherwise. Well SE has many other heavy hitters that keep the company alive. Maybe you meant that if FF XIV had flopped they wouldn't continue the series? That was more likely to happen.
Maybe that was it. IDK. But again, explain with all the flaws, how this game is being preferred over many others. Others with action combat and full voice acting, etc.
How is this game, honestly, doing better than other games with features FF XIV ARR will never have?
How is it doing better in it's 10 month life span than most other mmo's out now?
This is the point I try to get across. 2.5 million "REGISTERED ACCOUNTS". Yeah I believe half are playing. That's 1.2 million people playing. And half that is 700,000.
So....who cares. Doing better than most P2P's out right now. No, you can't seperate the console and PC players. BECAUSE WE CROSS PLAY WITH EACH OTHER. So that means the numbers are added together, they have to be. There is NO seperation.
I got to so many video game sites. Game Informer, Gamespot, IGN, Masssively, EGM, Destroictoid, etc. and I read articals about an MMO, we will use Wildstar as an EXAMPLE, so don't hate.
IGN did there review. Gave it a 8.7/10. I scroll to see the comments and almost every other comment has a user saying, "Just play FF XIV ARR, it's better than anything out now".
I have seen this everywhere. At every game site. the comments get flooded with them. Most just say, "Pass i'll stick with FF XIV ARR".
"I'm not seeing anything too innovative over here. I'll be sticking with FFXIV, thanks. FFXIV finally perfected the flaws that were still evident in WoW and is the greatest MMO ever. Wildstar only comes off as yet another free to play MMO, except you have to pay for it, at least for now." - user Fennarth, IGN comments on the Wildstar review.
Granted, I might be looking into this too much but, it is being shoved in peoples faces everywhere. I love ESO but can't shake the fact that I have paid 2 months sub for nothing. I WANT to buy and play Wildstar, only when it goes on sale. We will see if I can get into it. Yes I played beta but unlike all those whiney cry babies, I do not judge a beta for a, "AAA" mmo.
BTW please do not reference WoW. I have never played nor tried the game. I do not know what it's about or anything. So referencing it wont do any good as I wont know what the hell your talking about.
I think what is making FFXIV so successful compared to other recent mmos is that you can completely ignore dungeons, raids, quests, dailies and pvp. And you can still have a fulfilling mmo experience with its crafting, gathering, economy, housing, and soon chocobo raising systems.
There are so many intertwined activities which stimulate all aspects of the game. Take for example Retainer Ventures. It required no new graphical assets. It just took what we already have, turned it into a new game system, and it created new content for every player type.
Now you are outfitting retainers with gear that needs stats, which means you are giving crafters a new niche market, which means gatherers are busy gathering, which all serves to re-stimulate the economy. Its just smart game design which rewards all types of gameplay not just raiding.
Same thing with Glamours, gardening, housing, and soon Frontlines which is heavily crafting dependent as well as being 72 player pvp.
They are doing a good job of making sure every playstyle is represented with each new feature.
That is something that I see a lot of other mmo developers neglect.
I think what is making FFXIV so successful compared to other recent mmos is that you can completely ignore dungeons, raids, quests, dailies and pvp. And you can still have a fulfilling mmo experience with its crafting, gathering, economy, housing, and soon chocobo raising systems.
There are so many intertwined activities which stimulate all aspects of the game. Take for example Retainer Ventures. It required no new graphical assets. It just took what we already have, turned it into a new game system, and it created new content for every player type.
Now you are outfitting retainers with gear that needs stats, which means you are giving crafters a new niche market, which means gatherers are busy gathering, which all serves to re-stimulate the economy. Its just smart game design which rewards all types of gameplay not just raiding.
Same thing with Glamours, gardening, housing, and soon Frontlines which is heavily crafting dependent as well as being 72 player pvp.
They are doing a good job of making sure every playstyle is represented with each new feature.
That is something that I see a lot of other mmo developers neglect.
O......M......G....... You just summed it all up perfectly !! Honestly, some day's I just despise doing dungeons and raids. Crafting is a perfect distraction. I can't wait for Chocobo raising. That will be a welcome distraction between gear grinding my Dragoon.
It's doing well because it oozes quality from every aspect of the game. When players, who are paying monthly, see exactly where their money is going, they are happy to keep playing. Very few, if any, mmos' bring this much content in 3 month cycles.
FFXIV may have a "old school" combat system but it's not half-assed. It's responsive with very high quality animations. The dungeons are designed well with back story, fan service bosses, and cool mechanics. They may be easy, but they're still fun to do. This game has been out 10 months and it already has +20 dungeons.
People may complain that it doesn't give enough verticle content, however, it does give you A LOT of thigns to do in the game. It's well balanced for a variety types of players that's why it has such a high subscriber base. It's not catering to one type while neglecting the other (pvp excluded).
The game also looks gorgeous which you shouldn't discount. I enjoyed Wildstar but the cartoony style seems like a downgrade rather than a sidegrade to FFXIV.
to each his own, but aparantly more people think FFXIV is doing something right than wrong, hence why believe it will remain p2p for probably 5+ years, if not as long as FFXI did (10+ years).
SE has a cash cow on their hands and that means we'll get great content for years and years to come.
I've found a home, and i think many people have to.
Don't get me wrong here, I think wildstar is a fantastic mmo and I am currently subscribed to both. But look at the difference in the gardening systems and you can tell the ffxiv devs are working on another level.
This design approach is apparent in all of their content.
Anybody notice how fantastic this game is doing compaired to ESO and SWTOR, etc.
This implies it's got more people playing or makes more money not, "I like it better". So how many people are playing it ?
Last I heard they were talking about free to play. Not actually switching but the developers thoughts on free to play and how the markets changed and they may change one day too.
No, they were talking about it specifically in the context of how free to play works in a game like league of legends but it would never work in the vision they have for FFXIV. He did mention a hybrid-model, which just means selling stuff like character re-customization (which they are doing now, and they were already giving one for free)
Originally posted by Kyleran If they have 2M subs, they are not players from the west.
Um what? Final Fantasy is absolutely massive in the west. The game is as popular in NA as it is in Japan. Quite a few of the highest pop servers are NA servers.
Originally posted by AndrewGoat One of the things that irritated me about FFXIV when I played it was how much better ranged DPS was than melee. Particularly Bards. Did that ever get fixed?
I don't remember this ever being true. The classes have always been exceptionally balanced tbh. Black Mages are a bit behind now in movement intensive fights but they're fixing that. Monks have always had massive damage (which goes along with the high skill-cap) if anything, bards probably have the lowest DPS because they're a damage/support hybrid.
Comments
Wow really? who gives a rats ass if the subs are coming from the west or not? All high and mightymuch? borderline racist much?
I agree but a big problem for most publishers is microsoft's refusal to allow multi-platform servers so they either dont release on microsoft consoles or have to segregate platforms.
Just another reason why microsoft is a disgrace to the industry.
Played-Everything
Playing-LoL
Or he means it doesn't matter how many subs they have if the server you play on is empty....but reading into it and being the PC hero works too I guess.
You guys are both giving different interpretations on someone elses post which is fairly pointless. It is likely though that he was displaying how one is led to think it's not possible to have that much appeal for FFXIV in the west. Many people believe the asian FF fanbase is significantly larger than all other, which could be, and is most likely true for all I know but that is the stereotype.
Played-Everything
Playing-LoL
And probably a contributing factor as to why XB1's are sitting on shelves, while Sony struggles to keep up with demand, in Europe area at least, PS4's are outselling XB1's by a factor of 4-1, even in the US where Xbox was king, the PS4 is outselling XB1 at almost 2-1, and that was even after the XB1 became available without Kinnect. All we need now is a WiiU version of FFXIV;ARR and that would mean that the XB1 is the only console not supported
But i totally agree, segregation is a problem, not an answer, and if ESO ever manages to launch on console, then the fact that it does not support platform integration will undoubtedly hurt it.
I don't know about the NA servers, but at least on the Euro servers, the preponderance of none Asian players would seem to indicate otherwise, unless of course, they are hiding by all speaking French or something
I can only speak for the Euro servers, but from the looks of things, i would say that Asian players, or at least those speaking Japanese, are still in a relative minority. Perhaps this is just an issue with the NA servers ?
Extreme mode is not a requirement to complete the main scenario up to the current patch release. Extreme is more geared towards players looking for more powerful gear, bragging rights, etc.
However....if you want to unlock the tiered roulettes (which give bonus exp, myth/soldiery tomes) Low, High, and Expert, I believe you'll have to clear some of the extreme trials as well (trials being mostly primals and "Ultima's Bane"). Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Nope, not at all. Playing on US server here and I don't see these asian players. I actually moved from an EU server (Moogle) to an US one because way too many people spoke french. Nothing against them but I don't know the language and it is kinda of a big deal on a MMO.
Wouldn't they all be playing on the JP servers anyway? Or am I misinterpreting.
Played-Everything
Playing-LoL
Yeah they have their own servers.
For me, the community hasn't been to bad; on my server anyway (behemoth). Its when you hop into duty finder or the roulette system is when things get a little hairy; much like Edli stated. Not all parties you run into on the duty finder are that way though. If you happen to be new, just be sure to state so from the start and have at least the average I level for the particular dungeon you're running (granted, even that doesn't help sometimes). I've been lucky so far and haven't run into too many issues.
stale old school combat
non voiced quests, hello its 2014
gear treadmill
gear transmogrify so that not every endgame character would look the same
endgame consisting of grinding or a.k.a. carrot on a stick
And no you do realize that even if FF XIV had flopped SE wouldn't shut down right? Ah no you don't you stated otherwise. Well SE has many other heavy hitters that keep the company alive. Maybe you meant that if FF XIV had flopped they wouldn't continue the series? That was more likely to happen.
Xb1 is only available officially in the UK and Germany for Europe, what do you expect... I still can't purchase it from my country unless I order it from somewhere else and pay some hefty customs price and taxes for that country.
Maybe that was it. IDK. But again, explain with all the flaws, how this game is being preferred over many others. Others with action combat and full voice acting, etc.
How is this game, honestly, doing better than other games with features FF XIV ARR will never have?
How is it doing better in it's 10 month life span than most other mmo's out now?
This is the point I try to get across. 2.5 million "REGISTERED ACCOUNTS". Yeah I believe half are playing. That's 1.2 million people playing. And half that is 700,000.
So....who cares. Doing better than most P2P's out right now. No, you can't seperate the console and PC players. BECAUSE WE CROSS PLAY WITH EACH OTHER. So that means the numbers are added together, they have to be. There is NO seperation.
I got to so many video game sites. Game Informer, Gamespot, IGN, Masssively, EGM, Destroictoid, etc. and I read articals about an MMO, we will use Wildstar as an EXAMPLE, so don't hate.
IGN did there review. Gave it a 8.7/10. I scroll to see the comments and almost every other comment has a user saying, "Just play FF XIV ARR, it's better than anything out now".
I have seen this everywhere. At every game site. the comments get flooded with them. Most just say, "Pass i'll stick with FF XIV ARR".
"I'm not seeing anything too innovative over here. I'll be sticking with FFXIV, thanks. FFXIV finally perfected the flaws that were still evident in WoW and is the greatest MMO ever. Wildstar only comes off as yet another free to play MMO, except you have to pay for it, at least for now." - user Fennarth, IGN comments on the Wildstar review.
Granted, I might be looking into this too much but, it is being shoved in peoples faces everywhere. I love ESO but can't shake the fact that I have paid 2 months sub for nothing. I WANT to buy and play Wildstar, only when it goes on sale. We will see if I can get into it. Yes I played beta but unlike all those whiney cry babies, I do not judge a beta for a, "AAA" mmo.
BTW please do not reference WoW. I have never played nor tried the game. I do not know what it's about or anything. So referencing it wont do any good as I wont know what the hell your talking about.
I think what is making FFXIV so successful compared to other recent mmos is that you can completely ignore dungeons, raids, quests, dailies and pvp. And you can still have a fulfilling mmo experience with its crafting, gathering, economy, housing, and soon chocobo raising systems.
There are so many intertwined activities which stimulate all aspects of the game. Take for example Retainer Ventures. It required no new graphical assets. It just took what we already have, turned it into a new game system, and it created new content for every player type.
Now you are outfitting retainers with gear that needs stats, which means you are giving crafters a new niche market, which means gatherers are busy gathering, which all serves to re-stimulate the economy. Its just smart game design which rewards all types of gameplay not just raiding.
Same thing with Glamours, gardening, housing, and soon Frontlines which is heavily crafting dependent as well as being 72 player pvp.
They are doing a good job of making sure every playstyle is represented with each new feature.
That is something that I see a lot of other mmo developers neglect.
O......M......G....... You just summed it all up perfectly !! Honestly, some day's I just despise doing dungeons and raids. Crafting is a perfect distraction. I can't wait for Chocobo raising. That will be a welcome distraction between gear grinding my Dragoon.
It's doing well because it oozes quality from every aspect of the game. When players, who are paying monthly, see exactly where their money is going, they are happy to keep playing. Very few, if any, mmos' bring this much content in 3 month cycles.
FFXIV may have a "old school" combat system but it's not half-assed. It's responsive with very high quality animations. The dungeons are designed well with back story, fan service bosses, and cool mechanics. They may be easy, but they're still fun to do. This game has been out 10 months and it already has +20 dungeons.
People may complain that it doesn't give enough verticle content, however, it does give you A LOT of thigns to do in the game. It's well balanced for a variety types of players that's why it has such a high subscriber base. It's not catering to one type while neglecting the other (pvp excluded).
The game also looks gorgeous which you shouldn't discount. I enjoyed Wildstar but the cartoony style seems like a downgrade rather than a sidegrade to FFXIV.
to each his own, but aparantly more people think FFXIV is doing something right than wrong, hence why believe it will remain p2p for probably 5+ years, if not as long as FFXI did (10+ years).
SE has a cash cow on their hands and that means we'll get great content for years and years to come.
I've found a home, and i think many people have to.
Don't get me wrong here, I think wildstar is a fantastic mmo and I am currently subscribed to both. But look at the difference in the gardening systems and you can tell the ffxiv devs are working on another level.
This design approach is apparent in all of their content.
Simply put ... they put the RPG back in MMORPG.
It's an all around great game with tons to do.
The game you are looking for requiring no PvE completion and where you can just jump in and start mindlessly shooting at people is that way - >>>>
... it's called an FPS.
Quit ruining the MMORPG genre with your constant "PvE grind" whines.
No, they were talking about it specifically in the context of how free to play works in a game like league of legends but it would never work in the vision they have for FFXIV. He did mention a hybrid-model, which just means selling stuff like character re-customization (which they are doing now, and they were already giving one for free)
Um what? Final Fantasy is absolutely massive in the west. The game is as popular in NA as it is in Japan. Quite a few of the highest pop servers are NA servers.
I don't remember this ever being true. The classes have always been exceptionally balanced tbh. Black Mages are a bit behind now in movement intensive fights but they're fixing that. Monks have always had massive damage (which goes along with the high skill-cap) if anything, bards probably have the lowest DPS because they're a damage/support hybrid.