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My impressions of FFXIV ARR

MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422

Let me start by saying I am not trying to flame this game or what its trying to achieve in anyway, I view mmorpgs as artwork to be appreciated some will speak to you others will not for me FFXIV ARR did not speak to me.

Graphics: The graphics in this game are phenomenal from skill animations to character model detail and the world itself which makes this game very resource dependent on your Rig.  At times during huge fates and in certain areas the poor optimization client-side shines through.

Music: Excellent nuff said

Story: uhg.....where to begin well its forced down your throat like molasses on your worst day.  In my honest opinion it has been the worst Final Fantasy Story ive ever experienced, it feels as if the English version was rushed.  Not everything is voice acted which really further ruins it for me. The story missions even force you to go to dungeons which I don't mind but I know several who didn't enjoy that aspect of the game. 

Combat: Honestly run of the mill generic here with the exception of cross class abilities but even that becomes limited after unlocked an advanced job, the flashy skill effects only hides this factor for so long. The limit break system is neat but not as in depth as one would hope.

Leveling: Huge reason I have unsubscribed, The quests are dull the fates except a few just feel uninspired.  Dungeons while nicely designed don't offer enough exp versus time spent to be worth a second run through. Once you complete a quest its complete forever leaving you with less and less options to level up which turns into endless zerg rushing fates.  There is no fun in trying to race to fate before a zerg of 50+ people take it down in under 10 seconds. Leve's and Guilhests are Ok but could be much improved apon, atm there is no reason to do a guildhest mission more than once and Leve's while a good idea seem uninspired and unrealized at this time.  The thought of leveling a second class much less a third is daunting at best.

Fates: (Yes these get a special category as they are the main source of leveling) The fates in this game are incredibly dull zerg fests that turn into a race to see if you an get in a hit before they vanish, some fates are better than others in terms of fun factor.  The issue is to many people zerg them so they go down so fast your lucky to get in a hit before they are done some of them are huge boss like Fates that I feel are perfect but the smaller fates just are not worth going out of your way for most of the time.

Group Play: This I feel is the best aspect of FFXIV ARR and also the worst,  The dungeons have a decent deal of good atmosphere and typically challenge the group post level 30. The endgame is not yet complete as more content is scheduled to be released in an upcoming patch but as it stands now its a massive repetitive grind that many will not complete.  The other huge issue I had during the End Game was just honestly some of the worst players I have ever seen causing wipes and out right being nasty.  Not to mention the elitism that comes with all end game scenarios.  I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....

 

Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

 

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Comments

  • skyline385skyline385 Member Posts: 564

    This were some of the problems which turned me off

    No PvP for now

    PvE -

    1) Zerging Faiths gives you more exp and gold than Dungeons meaning DPSers are left waiting 1-2 hours in Dungeon finder. This is also amplified by the fact that Gil earning at end-game is very limited except crafting and that will saturate in some time as well as everyone will be forced to do it. 2-3 deaths in a dungeon will leave you with losing money in a run rather that earning some.

    2) No group kicker means people afk at will in dungeons especially healers and tanks because they can find groups easily besides acting like complete douchebags at times.

    3) Server side response with 0.3 sec refresh intervals means even if you move 0.3-0.5 sec before the enemy completes his spell, you still get hit by the spells. This is a pain in hard mode as well as in general since every enemy uses mostly AoE attacks and is downright frustrating.

    4) Quest givers don't even utter a single word. They are completely muted, only subtitles are there. Even some of the story quests are muted. Add to that the fact that the environment is ridiculously quiet as well and there is not even a damned single feeling of immersion.

    5) Attacks besides having a 2.5sec GCD and being ridiculously limited don't carry any immersion at all, especially the melee ones because the way the system works, if you are doing a multi-swing attack (e.g. multiple blade swings or punches) the damage taken by the enemy ticks off after you have completed all the swings. This looks ridiculously bad for archers, warriors, monks, etc. I have no idea why they had to implement such a stupid system.

     

    Did i mention how bad the community? Like seriously, it's the worst i have ever met and this is coming from a 5 year Dota/Dota 2 veteran. Even if you go to their forums General section it's full of people either complaining of grieving or people acting elitist on the forums.

     

    I really don't like spreading hate about the games and this is the first MMO i am so angry at but seeing how so many people think this is a perfect and amazing game makes me wanna point out the ridiculous number of flaws it has.

    image
  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    I feel ya bud I just unsubbed sitting here wondering what I want to point my credit card at currently but tbh im waiting for Wildstar and I hope like hell it doesn't disappoint.
  • skyline385skyline385 Member Posts: 564
    Originally posted by Datastar
    I feel ya bud I just unsubbed sitting here wondering what I want to point my credit card at currently but tbh im waiting for Wildstar and I hope like hell it doesn't disappoint.

    Wildstar seems to be the only thing coming out in the near recent future which has any chance of not disappointing. My thing with Wildstar is that it looks like a mix of GW2 style fun combat with a good endgame. So, whether the game bombs or not i will probably be playing it for some time.

    In the meantime, back to SWTOR. This game is thriving well because of the tons of new recent content and the SSSP sounds fun as well.

    image
  • vyvozvyvoz Member Posts: 24

    this is exactly  what good criticism should look like.

    all the negatives explained well and experienced first hand by the OP.

    sorry you're leaving, you seem to be a good player to have around.

    i myself still enjoying the game, regardless of grind, i guess every MMO is a grind and i sorta got used to it.

    WoW is a grind and see how successful was it. even until now despite all the talks of it going down.

    SWTOR is a grind in the end, don't know about the new expansion, at least from my previous experience, its a grind.

    EVE Online the greatest sandbox, is all about grinding LVL4 or anoms or mining, so you can blow up ships or get free month, so you can grind further... unless you're the few very rich older vets.

    point is i can't name a single MMO that doesn't have grind in it, its just how well it being masked. correct me if im wrong.

    and sorry to say i think wildstar is going to be same ol same ol (watching it closely) sigh... hope im wrong.

     

     

  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by vyvoz

    this is exactly  what good criticism should look like.

    all the negatives explained well and experienced first hand by the OP.

    sorry you're leaving, you seem to be a good player to have around.

    i myself still enjoying the game, regardless of grind, i guess every MMO is a grind and i sorta got used to it.

    WoW is a grind and see how successful was it. even until now despite all the talks of it going down.

    SWTOR is a grind in the end, don't know about the new expansion, at least from my previous experience, its a grind.

    EVE Online the greatest sandbox, is all about grinding LVL4 or anoms or mining, so you can blow up ships or get free month, so you can grind further... unless you're the few very rich older vets.

    point is i can't name a single MMO that doesn't have grind in it, its just how well it being masked. correct me if im wrong.

    and sorry to say i think wildstar is going to be same ol same ol (watching it closely) sigh... hope im wrong.

     

     

    Thank you for taking the time to post, I really hope Wildstar is as fun as advertised.  Borderlands 2 Humor, fun combat and epic raids sound like my cup of tea.  I have also noticed a HUGE amount of character customization presented in the Dev Speak Videos which is a major plus in my books I hate feeling like a carbon copy.

  • cybersurfrcybersurfr Member UncommonPosts: 168

    Good luck to you OP. The first month, as expected, will be the first real trial for this game.

     

    It's a shame you did not like the story as I thought the writing was descent relative to other MMOs I have played. I agree that the quests are standard run-of-the-mill, but somewhat disagree as I like the small details and lore they have placed in the quest. I agree with your comments on FATEs and how it diminishes the leveling experience.

     

    There's more to the game beyond the leveling and dungeons, but it takes a different approach to appreciate those other things. I'm not sure if you tried Rift ( I was in the furthest progressed guild in Briarcliff), but as much as I respected their devs and how they polished their game, I just didn't feel connected to the world and lore they created. It's one of those intangibles that I've found in the world they created for ARR.

     

    Overall, it's a fair review. This would be helpful to those still on-the-fence with the game purchase.

  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by cybersurfr

    Good luck to you OP. The first month, as expected, will be the first real trial for this game.

     

    It's a shame you did not like the story as I thought the writing was descent relative to other MMOs I have played. I agree that the quests are standard run-of-the-mill, but somewhat disagree as I like the small details and lore they have placed in the quest. I agree with your comments on FATEs and how it diminishes the leveling experience.

     

    There's more to the game beyond the leveling and dungeons, but it takes a different approach to appreciate those other things. I'm not sure if you tried Rift ( I was in the furthest progressed guild in Briarcliff), but as much as I respected their devs and how they polished their game, I just didn't feel connected to the world and lore they created. It's one of those intangibles that I've found in the world they created for ARR.

     

    Overall, it's a fair review. This would be helpful to those still on-the-fence with the game purchase.

    Yes I will say the game world itself feels alive which is hard to pull off, and there is quite a few small things that help make this happen like earrings moving when you do visible gear your wearing is on your character and weather effects and cloth movement.  As an EX-FFXI player I guess I just expected more from a FF game in terms of story delivery in 2013, the story itself isn't to bad(a little generic) but the way in which it is delivered I think is what gives it the overall feeling of being terrible.

    And I will say this don't let my impressions dissuade you from checking this game out its 30 bucks and honestly I feel I got my monies worth, I am just not sure continuing to pay for the service is the right option for me at this time.

  • Swedish_ChefSwedish_Chef Member Posts: 213

    Sorry to see you go, good luck with Wildstar. Hopefully NCSoft doesn't shut it down in a couple years, as they are wont to do with western games.

    I'll have to disagree with you about the story being the worst ever for an FF game. I myself put FFVIII & FFXIII at the front of the line for terrible stories, especially XIII. That game's story is one of the most utterly ridiculous & nonsensical things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through (well, most of it anyway).

  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by Swedish_Chef

    Sorry to see you go, good luck with Wildstar. Hopefully NCSoft doesn't shut it down in a couple years, as they are wont to do with western games.

    I'll have to disagree with you about the story being the worst ever for an FF game. I myself put FFVIII & FFXIII at the front of the line for terrible stories, especially XIII. That game's story is one of the most utterly ridiculous & nonsensical things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through (well, most of it anyway).

    I didn't play those titles, so from the sounds of it I may have been spared.  I primarily played FFVII, FFX, FFXI and ofc FFXIV ARR.

  • skyline385skyline385 Member Posts: 564
    Originally posted by Swedish_Chef

    Sorry to see you go, good luck with Wildstar. Hopefully NCSoft doesn't shut it down in a couple years, as they are wont to do with western games.

    I'll have to disagree with you about the story being the worst ever for an FF game. I myself put FFVIII & FFXIII at the front of the line for terrible stories, especially XIII. That game's story is one of the most utterly ridiculous & nonsensical things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through (well, most of it anyway).

    From what i heard, hasn't NCSoft just shut off only one of it's games? I can't recall it's name but i did heard about it. Besides, what's the point in continuing a game if it's not active much? GW and Aion are still active so i would say that claim is kinda false.

    image
  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by skyline385
    Originally posted by Swedish_Chef

    Sorry to see you go, good luck with Wildstar. Hopefully NCSoft doesn't shut it down in a couple years, as they are wont to do with western games.

    I'll have to disagree with you about the story being the worst ever for an FF game. I myself put FFVIII & FFXIII at the front of the line for terrible stories, especially XIII. That game's story is one of the most utterly ridiculous & nonsensical things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through (well, most of it anyway).

    From what i heard, hasn't NCSoft just shut off only one of it's games? I can't recall it's name but i did heard about it. Besides, what's the point in continuing a game if it's not active much? GW and Aion are still active so i would say that claim is kinda false.

    To be fair I have to Agree with Swedish_Chef on NCSOFT having a less than clean track record but in all honesty as of late they have been on the right path but only time will tell.

  • cybersurfrcybersurfr Member UncommonPosts: 168
    Originally posted by Datastar
    Originally posted by Swedish_Chef

    Sorry to see you go, good luck with Wildstar. Hopefully NCSoft doesn't shut it down in a couple years, as they are wont to do with western games.

    I'll have to disagree with you about the story being the worst ever for an FF game. I myself put FFVIII & FFXIII at the front of the line for terrible stories, especially XIII. That game's story is one of the most utterly ridiculous & nonsensical things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through (well, most of it anyway).

    I didn't play those titles, so from the sounds of it I may have been spared.  I primarily played FFVII, FFX, FFXI and ofc FFXIV ARR.

    Funny how I consider myself not an FF fan (more into Baldur's Gate, Planescape, etc.) and more of an RPG fan in general, but I've played a lot of FF titles. That aside, you ought to check out FFVI and FFIX. I played FFVI in my childhood and it still has the best FF story I've played to-date.

  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by cybersurfr
    Originally posted by Datastar
    Originally posted by Swedish_Chef

    Sorry to see you go, good luck with Wildstar. Hopefully NCSoft doesn't shut it down in a couple years, as they are wont to do with western games.

    I'll have to disagree with you about the story being the worst ever for an FF game. I myself put FFVIII & FFXIII at the front of the line for terrible stories, especially XIII. That game's story is one of the most utterly ridiculous & nonsensical things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through (well, most of it anyway).

    I didn't play those titles, so from the sounds of it I may have been spared.  I primarily played FFVII, FFX, FFXI and ofc FFXIV ARR.

    Funny how I consider myself not an FF fan (more into Baldur's Gate, Planescape, etc.) and more of an RPG fan in general, but I've played a lot of FF titles. That aside, you ought to check out FFVI and FFIX. I played FFVI in my childhood and it still has the best FF story I've played to-date.

    Out of all the FF stories ive personally played through I found FFX to be the most epic fun experience ive ever had in a game to date, it was simply a moving story to me.  I will have to check out FFVI perhaps I can find an emulated version as much of my old consoles went the way of the dinosaur.

  • GaoxinGaoxin Member UncommonPosts: 198

    I agree with most of your points, but the problem is that everything else is old/well known. What else is there to play? I guess if you have a good clan/guild you can play FF14 for a few months, but even then, if you are in a progress guild, then you are either done with the content or missing a single boss. <_<

     

    I'd play Aion, but gameforge is such a big pile of shit of a publisher (raping community with the ig shop like no other). And sadly the US version lags like hell if you play from EU.

     

    bleh!

  • TwoThreeFourTwoThreeFour Member UncommonPosts: 2,155
    Originally posted by Datastar

    Let me start by saying I am not trying to flame this game or what its trying to achieve in anyway, I view mmorpgs as artwork to be appreciated some will speak to you others will not for me FFXIV ARR did not speak to me.

    Graphics: The graphics in this game are phenomenal from skill animations to character model detail and the world itself which makes this game very resource dependent on your Rig.  At times during huge fates and in certain areas the poor optimization client-side shines through.

    Music: Excellent nuff said

    Story: uhg.....where to begin well its forced down your throat like molasses on your worst day.  In my honest opinion it has been the worst Final Fantasy Story ive ever experienced, it feels as if the English version was rushed.  Not everything is voice acted which really further ruins it for me. The story missions even force you to go to dungeons which I don't mind but I know several who didn't enjoy that aspect of the game. 

    Combat: Honestly run of the mill generic here with the exception of cross class abilities but even that becomes limited after unlocked an advanced job, the flashy skill effects only hides this factor for so long. The limit break system is neat but not as in depth as one would hope.

    Leveling: Huge reason I have unsubscribed, The quests are dull the fates except a few just feel uninspired.  Dungeons while nicely designed don't offer enough exp versus time spent to be worth a second run through. Once you complete a quest its complete forever leaving you with less and less options to level up which turns into endless zerg rushing fates.  There is no fun in trying to race to fate before a zerg of 50+ people take it down in under 10 seconds. Leve's and Guilhests are Ok but could be much improved apon, atm there is no reason to do a guildhest mission more than once and Leve's while a good idea seem uninspired and unrealized at this time.  The thought of leveling a second class much less a third is daunting at best.

    Fates: (Yes these get a special category as they are the main source of leveling) The fates in this game are incredibly dull zerg fests that turn into a race to see if you an get in a hit before they vanish, some fates are better than others in terms of fun factor.  The issue is to many people zerg them so they go down so fast your lucky to get in a hit before they are done some of them are huge boss like Fates that I feel are perfect but the smaller fates just are not worth going out of your way for most of the time.

    Group Play: This I feel is the best aspect of FFXIV ARR and also the worst,  The dungeons have a decent deal of good atmosphere and typically challenge the group post level 30. The endgame is not yet complete as more content is scheduled to be released in an upcoming patch but as it stands now its a massive repetitive grind that many will not complete.  The other huge issue I had during the End Game was just honestly some of the worst players I have ever seen causing wipes and out right being nasty.  Not to mention the elitism that comes with all end game scenarios.  I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....

     

    Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

     

    My review of your review:

     

    You either posted in wrong section of this forum, it was moved to there wrongly or my forum account is bugged. It doesn't belong in the pub XD.

     

     It is certainly not a full review in the sense that you did not even mention and perhaps not even test a huge part of the game: the crafting and specially its economy. It is a per definiton a  limited review which for the most part seems to try to build on reasonable conclusions, but at times stray away from reason, such as with "I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....", when it is evident that first and foremost the console players playing this game are FF fans.

     

    Nonetheless, given that it is a non-official review in this site, that's good enough. I don't expect more. 

  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour
    Originally posted by Datastar

    Let me start by saying I am not trying to flame this game or what its trying to achieve in anyway, I view mmorpgs as artwork to be appreciated some will speak to you others will not for me FFXIV ARR did not speak to me.

    Graphics: The graphics in this game are phenomenal from skill animations to character model detail and the world itself which makes this game very resource dependent on your Rig.  At times during huge fates and in certain areas the poor optimization client-side shines through.

    Music: Excellent nuff said

    Story: uhg.....where to begin well its forced down your throat like molasses on your worst day.  In my honest opinion it has been the worst Final Fantasy Story ive ever experienced, it feels as if the English version was rushed.  Not everything is voice acted which really further ruins it for me. The story missions even force you to go to dungeons which I don't mind but I know several who didn't enjoy that aspect of the game. 

    Combat: Honestly run of the mill generic here with the exception of cross class abilities but even that becomes limited after unlocked an advanced job, the flashy skill effects only hides this factor for so long. The limit break system is neat but not as in depth as one would hope.

    Leveling: Huge reason I have unsubscribed, The quests are dull the fates except a few just feel uninspired.  Dungeons while nicely designed don't offer enough exp versus time spent to be worth a second run through. Once you complete a quest its complete forever leaving you with less and less options to level up which turns into endless zerg rushing fates.  There is no fun in trying to race to fate before a zerg of 50+ people take it down in under 10 seconds. Leve's and Guilhests are Ok but could be much improved apon, atm there is no reason to do a guildhest mission more than once and Leve's while a good idea seem uninspired and unrealized at this time.  The thought of leveling a second class much less a third is daunting at best.

    Fates: (Yes these get a special category as they are the main source of leveling) The fates in this game are incredibly dull zerg fests that turn into a race to see if you an get in a hit before they vanish, some fates are better than others in terms of fun factor.  The issue is to many people zerg them so they go down so fast your lucky to get in a hit before they are done some of them are huge boss like Fates that I feel are perfect but the smaller fates just are not worth going out of your way for most of the time.

    Group Play: This I feel is the best aspect of FFXIV ARR and also the worst,  The dungeons have a decent deal of good atmosphere and typically challenge the group post level 30. The endgame is not yet complete as more content is scheduled to be released in an upcoming patch but as it stands now its a massive repetitive grind that many will not complete.  The other huge issue I had during the End Game was just honestly some of the worst players I have ever seen causing wipes and out right being nasty.  Not to mention the elitism that comes with all end game scenarios.  I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....

     

    Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

     

    My review of your review:

     

    You either posted in wrong section of this forum, it was moved to there wrongly or my forum account is bugged. It doesn't belong in the pub XD.

     

     It is certainly not a full review in the sense that you did not even mention and perhaps not even test a huge part of the game: the crafting and specially its economy. It is a per definiton a  limited review which for the most part seems to try to build on reasonable conclusions, but at times stray away from reason, such as with "I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....", when it is evident that first and foremost the console players playing this game are FF fans.

     

    Nonetheless, given that it is a non-official review in this site, that's good enough. I don't expect more. 

    I actually did test the crafting, Goldsmith to 50 and Mining to 50 as well as Fishing to 50, and to be brutally honest that was the most awful trade skill system ever devised just leveling them was enough to give a person nightmares for years to come.  Although I enjoyed fishing tremendously to bad its worthless. I just didn't feel the crafting was important enough to even touch on.

  • TwoThreeFourTwoThreeFour Member UncommonPosts: 2,155
    Originally posted by Datastar
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour
    Originally posted by Datastar

    Let me start by saying I am not trying to flame this game or what its trying to achieve in anyway, I view mmorpgs as artwork to be appreciated some will speak to you others will not for me FFXIV ARR did not speak to me.

    Graphics: The graphics in this game are phenomenal from skill animations to character model detail and the world itself which makes this game very resource dependent on your Rig.  At times during huge fates and in certain areas the poor optimization client-side shines through.

    Music: Excellent nuff said

    Story: uhg.....where to begin well its forced down your throat like molasses on your worst day.  In my honest opinion it has been the worst Final Fantasy Story ive ever experienced, it feels as if the English version was rushed.  Not everything is voice acted which really further ruins it for me. The story missions even force you to go to dungeons which I don't mind but I know several who didn't enjoy that aspect of the game. 

    Combat: Honestly run of the mill generic here with the exception of cross class abilities but even that becomes limited after unlocked an advanced job, the flashy skill effects only hides this factor for so long. The limit break system is neat but not as in depth as one would hope.

    Leveling: Huge reason I have unsubscribed, The quests are dull the fates except a few just feel uninspired.  Dungeons while nicely designed don't offer enough exp versus time spent to be worth a second run through. Once you complete a quest its complete forever leaving you with less and less options to level up which turns into endless zerg rushing fates.  There is no fun in trying to race to fate before a zerg of 50+ people take it down in under 10 seconds. Leve's and Guilhests are Ok but could be much improved apon, atm there is no reason to do a guildhest mission more than once and Leve's while a good idea seem uninspired and unrealized at this time.  The thought of leveling a second class much less a third is daunting at best.

    Fates: (Yes these get a special category as they are the main source of leveling) The fates in this game are incredibly dull zerg fests that turn into a race to see if you an get in a hit before they vanish, some fates are better than others in terms of fun factor.  The issue is to many people zerg them so they go down so fast your lucky to get in a hit before they are done some of them are huge boss like Fates that I feel are perfect but the smaller fates just are not worth going out of your way for most of the time.

    Group Play: This I feel is the best aspect of FFXIV ARR and also the worst,  The dungeons have a decent deal of good atmosphere and typically challenge the group post level 30. The endgame is not yet complete as more content is scheduled to be released in an upcoming patch but as it stands now its a massive repetitive grind that many will not complete.  The other huge issue I had during the End Game was just honestly some of the worst players I have ever seen causing wipes and out right being nasty.  Not to mention the elitism that comes with all end game scenarios.  I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....

     

    Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

     

    My review of your review:

     

    You either posted in wrong section of this forum, it was moved to there wrongly or my forum account is bugged. It doesn't belong in the pub XD.

     

     It is certainly not a full review in the sense that you did not even mention and perhaps not even test a huge part of the game: the crafting and specially its economy. It is a per definiton a  limited review which for the most part seems to try to build on reasonable conclusions, but at times stray away from reason, such as with "I think the mix of very easy leveling content and console players and pc players on the same server just spells disaster, now im not saying console players are bad but there were a few times where I had to tell someone he's not playing call of duty and to stop pulling packs of mobs in the dungeon please.....", when it is evident that first and foremost the console players playing this game are FF fans.

     

    Nonetheless, given that it is a non-official review in this site, that's good enough. I don't expect more. 

    I actually did test the crafting, Goldsmith to 50 and Mining to 50 as well as Fishing to 50, and to be brutally honest that was the most awful trade skill system ever devised just leveling them was enough to give a person nightmares for years to come.  Although I enjoyed fishing tremendously to bad its worthless. I just didn't feel the crafting was important enough to even touch on.

    Fishing is not worthless, since it is necessary for the ingredients for  "shark oil", which happens to be necessary for a certain alchemy quest and many crafted gear. One of the two shark-types needed for it goes easily for 5k gil each on my server, Phoenix.

     

    As for importance: whether or not you find them important for your enjoyment of the game is very much different from the importance in the game itself.  The interdependency between crafting professions, the crafting class quests, the seperate leveling, the way drop tables are assigned, the crafting stats, the way retainers are designed, the way the market board is designed, the anti-"item mall" stance, all points towards that crafting is a major  focus in this game. 

     

    You may not find that crafting was fun and that is fine though. The leveling is rather quick, specially if you do the tradecraft leves; without leves, you only need to craft about 70 items properly to go from lv49 to lv50 (lv50 is max in the game for those who do not know).

     

    However, rushing to 50 may far from always be the best idea from an economic standpoint. Doing an economical analysis of the market for different products is crucial to make decisions about which items to produce. This may change from day to day; as an example the cobalt ingot market sucked hard for those selling ingots for like 4 days, then suddenly either the supply decreased a lot, or the demand increased a lot, because the prices over trippled. (Since I am aware of fluctuations, I kept my cobalt ingot in my storage, waiting for the fluctuations to kick in so that I would get higher prices, and that strategy paid off bigtime.)

     

    An example of how it can be more profitable to focus on a lower level product compared to a higher level product can be seen in the current Phoenix "Undyed Woolen Cloth" vs "Undyed Felt" markets. Undyed Woolen Cloth is currently more profitable than Undyed Felt despite the Felt one being a higher level craft. 

    -------------------------

     

    An example of how scenarios where you got interesting decisions to make is following that actually happened to my alchemist:

     

    So my alchemist is lv40, which means he has access to lv40 leves.  There are two versions of the "good" lv40 leves though: one requires High Quality lanolin and the other requires high quality smelling salts. Due to Lanolin only having 40 durability, it is far harder to succeed in making the high quality, compared to Smelling Salt which has either 70 or 80 (don't remember exactly XD).  Both those items "non-quality" version have extremely limited demand since lanolin is only used to craft 3 equips while smelling salt is just a very situational consumable.  

     

    The ingredients for them are rather expensive as well. So from an economic standpoint, I won't really like leveling with either of those choices. Keep also in mind that we get a limited amount of leves everyday (can save up to 100), so if I spend my leves on my alchemist, I can't spend them elsewhere. 

     

    There is though a 3rd alternative: I could craft the lv43 recipie "Mega potion". Unlike the lanolin and the smelling salt, Mega Potion is actually a consumable that there is significant demand for. I notice that I can at the very least break even economically crafting them and this is without spending leves. A drawback is that since I am 3 levels below it, there is a significant level penalty involved which makes it significantely harder for me to craft them properly; which means I need to pay more attention.

     

    In the end, I chose the 3rd alternative.

    ------------------------------------

     

  • DibdabsDibdabs Member RarePosts: 3,203
    Well-written reviews, backed up by commentators.  I also think the phrase someone else used earlier on, saying they were still enjoying the game "despite the grind", says a lot too!!  Grinding is the absolute pits, and just means lazy game design.  I think I'll save my money and give this game a miss.
  • vyvozvyvoz Member Posts: 24
    Originally posted by Dibdabs
    Well-written reviews, backed up by commentators.  I also think the phrase someone else used earlier on, saying they were still enjoying the game "despite the grind", says a lot too!!  Grinding is the absolute pits, and just means lazy game design.  I think I'll save my money and give this game a miss.

    yeah i said that, i know a lot of people hate grinding, apparently i can't find any RPG online that doesn't have grind in it.

    even the single player ones. i still remember grinding my ffvii to defeat weapon. grinding my ffx char to defeat the arena's unique monsters. you know you won't be able to defeat those w/o grinding.

    i even grind baldurs gate to defeat drizzt lol

    so, i believe you're going to have a hard time trying to find a playable online RPG that doesn't have grind in it.

    i mean how else you're going to level up?

    and if you somehow managed to find one, do share with us. or just me =D

    i wouldn't recommend for you to miss on trying the game tho, who knows if its actually "the game" for you.

     

  • JemcrystalJemcrystal Member UncommonPosts: 1,983
    I also think this thread subject is posted in the wrong section but I don't care that it was.  If FFXIV-ARR was the only rpg with elf chars in existence I would care more about it.  This game does not have anything unusual that stands out and beats the competition, so I'll pass.  


  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by Jemcrystal
    I also think this thread subject is posted in the wrong section but I don't care that it was.  If FFXIV-ARR was the only rpg with elf chars in existence I would care more about it.  This game does not have anything unusual that stands out and beats the competition, so I'll pass.  

    I apologize if I posted this review in the wrong section I usually don't make my own posts on this site, I normally just comment on others posts. 

  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    I find it ironic that after posting this review someone comes along on the main highlights of the site and does a "Prettier" review that is so far off the mark and my post gets buried as some form of damage control.  While I value to opinions of others I do believe in giving honest opinions.
  • HyanmenHyanmen Member UncommonPosts: 5,357
    Originally posted by Datastar

    Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

    A summary: If you play the game wrong, you won't like it.

    Good advice for all those who play the game wrong - don't subscribe!

    Using LOL is like saying "my argument sucks but I still want to disagree".
  • MachkeznhoMachkeznho Member UncommonPosts: 422
    Originally posted by Hyanmen
    Originally posted by Datastar

    Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

    A summary: If you play the game wrong, you won't like it.

    Good advice for all those who play the game wrong - don't subscribe!

    Well if you call taking my time, exploring and trying out all the game has to offer playing wrong then I would love for you to tell me how to do it better.  I love FInal Fantasy as an IP I just cant see this game lasting very long it has to many design flaws, for instance fates are a main source of leveling up after you complete all the quests but what happens when everyone is done leveling up a lot of those fates you cant solo...what then endlessly grinding mobs? Leve's? lol all I have to say.

  • HyanmenHyanmen Member UncommonPosts: 5,357
    Originally posted by Datastar
    Originally posted by Hyanmen
    Originally posted by Datastar

    Final Thoughts: The game is fun for a couple of weeks in its current state but I cannot justify a subscription fee at this time, while I appreciate the IP and Final Fantasy as a whole I feel like they are going to have to seriously step it up if they wish to be a pay to play mmorpg in todays market, I wish SE the very best and I will be keeping a close eye on the forums to see if any of the issues get ironed out but as with many of the mmorpgs I have played you can always smell an impending flop and its best to jump ship before you get sucked under.  Though I hope im proved wrong I really do.

    A summary: If you play the game wrong, you won't like it.

    Good advice for all those who play the game wrong - don't subscribe!

    Well if you call taking my time, exploring and trying out all the game has to offer playing wrong then I would love for you to tell me how to do it better.  I love FInal Fantasy as an IP I just cant see this game lasting very long it has to many design flaws, for instance fates are a main source of leveling up after you complete all the quests but what happens when everyone is done leveling up a lot of those fates you cant solo...what then endlessly grinding mobs? Leve's? lol all I have to say.

    If you "took your time" you wouldn't be finished with the game in a few weeks. After a month maybe 10-15% of players are in the lvl41-50 range as per data provided by SE so you are speaking for merely a fraction of the playerbase here. I've yet to hit lvl30 on my first battle class after more than a month.

    That you say FATEs are main source of leveling up is incredibly hilarious to me considering I've done more dungeons on my secondary class which give nice exp, loot and teach me how to play a new role. Of course DPS has to wait for the DF queue but for that purpose FATE's are as good as any. I personally find dungeons tons more fun than FATE's, but obviously you just "have to do solely FATEs" because they give like 10% more exp per hour or something as silly.

    In a nutshell if you play the game wrong, you won't like it. If that's the case, listen to this review and don't subscribe!

    Using LOL is like saying "my argument sucks but I still want to disagree".
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