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After playing the game for a month and liking it, I decided to stop.
Slheyas
Member UncommonPosts: 83
For two reason : Impossibility to be unique in any way, and utter predictability of everything
I don't talk about being the Chosen One in the main story, in FFXIV that's what you are anyway. I mean being able to build or gear your character in a way that no other players will, or at least find something that's rare enough to differentiate you from the masses.
At end game everybody wears the same damn gear, has the same damn stats and probably the samn damn X-Skills slotted too.
There's pretty much ONE good stat for every classes, Int for BLM, Str for MNK, Dex for BRD. Will you ever see a MNK with some dex? Or even Vit? Nope, never, there isn't a single reason to do that, it'd be harming your character in some way. To be useful you NEED to pour all your points in that ONE stat that is useful for your class. Only exceptions is for PLD with STR/DEX/VIT which all have SOME potential, but in the end most players end up stacking the same stat anyway.
The gear? AF+1 or Allagan, that's it. No crafted gear with materia, no super rare piece of gear that's extremely hard to get or at least depends on massive luck. All players wear the same 2 sets of armor, and you can't even dye it.
And X-Skills? I loved X-skills when I started, being able to get all these awesome skills from the other classes felt great. Then I got my Job and everything went to shit. I was only able to use a few skills from the two classes I could pick from, and more often than not only a few are useful. In the end, everybody uses the same skills from the very limited pool of X-Skills they have.
And then there's the element of surprise. Nothing is surprising in this game. There aren't super rare drops from dungeons, mobs only drop crafting mats and nothing else, bosses seem to follow strict rotations and thus only surprise you the first time. The only surprises come from the story, and even then, most of it is predictable as hell.
I've played this game for a long month, and I liked it, I spent a lot of time crafting. But once I was done with that aspect of the game, I was stuck with the rest, which is frankly extremely boring.
Anyway, I don't regret the money I spent, because for the hours I got out of the game it was still worth it. But I was hopeful this game would be something different, wishful thinking I know, but I was still disappointed.
Here's hoping the next big release will be something special.
Comments
My experience so far has been different from yours. Hope you find what you're looking for.
Jobs are garbage and never should have been added imo.
All they do is restrict you. You should get all those skills (all 5 of them) anyway just leveling to 50 in a class, then be able to cross slot stuff from everything that can be slotted.
Only selection should be which path at the end. Like if you want to be a scholar instead of summoner, you equip a gem and STAY ARCANIST, just get the scholar stuff instead of the summoner stuff.
I'm curious how. Everything the OP stated is true.
Unless you're not going for max efficiency, then i could see some deviation from cookie-cutter.
Yep, it's game where you do what the devs intend you to do, and it is better off for it.
Erm, but yeah, the next big thing will surely be it.
At the very least Warrior and Paladin jobs are horrible design that goes against crossclassing system; their regular non-job versions are not strong enough to compete with job versions.
As for lancer vs dragoon: dragoon has a slight, but very slight dps advantage, but lancer has far more utility through cross-classing. So that's actually one case where the job system is well-designed: it is not a no-brain decision.
Haven't analyzed other class vs job situations though.
The problem these days with any MMORPG is that a super rare drop that only an extremely lucky few will ever be able to attain will suddenly be a major point of contention among any endgame population if it gives a distinct advantage to those who have the item.
This then leads to a never ending shitstorm of complaints on the forums, guilds who aren't lucky enough to get one of those super rare items then become disenchanted with the game, and the population who does become lucky enough to obtain those super rare items congregate or get poached into guilds with multiple members owning those super rare items. This then results in that one guild dominating all the server firsts, which kills competition and drives competition away.
I have touched on this before in a different manner.It is what kept me from playing or i guess from dropping FFXI for this game.
That whole class/combat structure is not up to par because that design was all part of the original design which was badly rushed.I realize the game did need several changes and tweaks to things like UI and other aspects but imo the whole structure should have been redone to match closer to FFXI.
FFXI was by no means perfect either but was a better in depth design than anything out there.More importantly is it still had tons of room to improve and be even better yet.The FFXIV design reminds me a lot of EQ2 in a way that the developer was aiming for an easier way to implement combat and gear with never having to worry about o/p or making mistakes.They sort of did the same thing in FFXI with complex formulas that can dissect numbers and turn them into stats that are meaningless.
Potency is a stat i don't like to see.i also did not like seeing attack and damage it gave a false impression of stats.SOE did the same thing by taking several stats and turning the game into one stat for all.
The problem imo is that developers are trying to cut corners on the need for several gear options and ways to keep all fights competitive.I say lose the restrictions,let the players have some fun,quit trying to nickle and dime stats so they end up meaningless.Also put some effort into making lots of gear,developers and not just Square of course are becoming increasingly stingy and lazy.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I'm gonna have to agree with the OP. I was expecting to see a little bit of variety at the higher levels, but things are so very limited skill and gear wise. Everybody looks the same (within their class) give or take some basic colors, and there's no skill variation. Peoples rotations will pretty much be the same at a certain point.
Maybe they're planning to throw these things in later, but I'm not betting a subscription on it.
I like the game, but sorry.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
To elaborate about very strong cross-class skills that several jobs miss:
Virus:
Reduces target's STR, DEX by 15%. Duration: 10s; 0 casting time, 90 seconds cooldown.
Eye for an Eye:
Erects a magicked barrier arround a single party member or pet. Duration: 30s; 0 casting time, 180 seconds cooldown
Barrier Effect: 20% chance that when barrier is struck, the striker will deal 10% less damage.Duration: 20s
---------------------------------------------------------------
Both of those skills come from Arcanist, and due to the long cooldown in relation to the short duration, the jobs that naturally get those skills (Summoners, Scholars, White Mages, Black Mages) won't be enough to have those skills up on correct target 100% of the time.
This is why those 2 skills are extremely useful for classes that refused to become their job versions. Unfortunely, in the warrior and gladiator case, the job versions are simply too strong. In the lancer vs dragoon case, it is far better balanced and lancer is actually viable due to this.
What the OP says is basically true. There are no surprises here. Once you finished the main storyline (which is a predictable good v. evil nonsense that's been done million times before) and you've reached the end game and the best part of the game is done. You grind your crafting, you grind the dungeons and that's it...
It's a fun but ultimately shallow game.
There can always be rare toys added that don't really matter.
Like if there was some super rare gloves for someone that had an extra 1 str 1 vit over the ilvl 90 gloves in game, it's not like it would matter if you had them or not but it'd be fun anyway.
Notorious monsters in FFXI worked out great and I never recall any problems with it.
You are not alone OP im back to WoW and currently waiting for Wildstar.
Your experience has been identical to his. It's your perception of that experience that differs. The game plays exactly the same way for everybody. Some people like it. Some people don't.
To the OP: Good, non-ranting post. Like Foomerang said, may you find what you're looking for.
god sake i hope u know ... all games are like this.. u cannot make people have different gear dude.. its not possible.. or well it might be but that would be retarded and unfair.. its not about everyone having same gear it is the dediaction it takes to get the gear.. i doubt u even got all gear yet.. and i doubt u took titan or Coli yet..
if u dont like this kind of progression i suggest u go play singleplayer games or non awarding games like Fps,Moba and so on..
what in the world do u talk about?
u must really suck as a tank..
Paladin and warrior IS tanking Classes and its not Easy to tank in FFXIV never has been.. DO NOT compare this to Wow.. cause Wow is easy as hell
they can always go throw and redesign the job system a bit theres nothing stoping them
differ in opinions - The game has its flaws (which game doesn't?), but I like the game I knew what I was getting myself into. No game will ever meet your expectations - and if you do then you are the 1% lol
Good luck on finding something you can truly enjoy.
[mod edit]
Every MMO HAS THIS...
Wow has it
Tera has it
Rift got it..
every MMO that exist has the same thing.
everyone get same gear in all mmo that is how MMO function..
Same with Rotation
In wow u have same rotations how hard can it be to understand?
there is no limitted skills.. this is not wow ..
just because its hard does not mean anything u said.. just because u suck and dont like it..
The Big difference is That all other mmo had more years on its BACK..
Those are two reasons whey I elected to stop playing but to me there's so much more reason that this game is mediocre at best. It boggles my mind why people think this game is anything special.
It's dumbed down, it's stripped down. It's a dumbed down and stripped down post WoW clone and clones are generally nowhere near as good as the originals or the classic MMORPGs to begin with. Stripping/dumbing down more isn't necessary.
The content is simplistic, the class designs are simplistic (as OP stated, no talent system or any way to make your character anything but a generic cookie) + very few and very generic skills and rotations - everybody will play their character the same because the path is obvious and there's no room to deviate, the gear is simplistic (as OP stated, nothing drops, everyone wears the same gear, no procs, no effects, just basic stats on ALL gear, crafted = quest rewards = vendor bought), the zones are simplistic (zero exploration value, just corridors with quest locs/mobs, nothing else to see or find).
The game is far too solo/individual oriented, and I'd guess that's a lot of its appeal since grouping, social, and working with people takes effort and most players are lazy and only care about themselves. Solo only story content. Solo only leves. Fates (which are the lamest thing to be in an MMORPG in ages) are all about zerging soloists (you may group, but it's not TO group, it's to max your xp gains). Duty Finder ensure YOU can get a group without knowning anybody and when content is so stupidly easy it means you don't need to be selective, just DF it up and PUG away. Even if you're in a guild there's no reason to have a shred of patience or try to coordinate with guildies to do groups because DF is there, and most content is so mindlessly easy that you can autopilot thru it with any group.
The game is packed with quality of life problems. No stats on tooltip compare (this is a super basic thing that exists in almost any game with stats and gear and definitely in *RPGs). Inventory system is horrible. Armoire is worse. Bank/market system is clunky and lame. Choco behavior is goofy (can't talk to npcs, no autodismount for activity, no upgrade from a slow 50% speed). No gear preview (doesn't much matter when there's no choice, as the OP says, I guess). There are long lists of these kinds of things that others have compiled.
The graphics are pretty in a way but only if you compare them to other MMORPGs or weak console games. As far as PC gaming goes, they are good but hardly anything to get worked up over. Plus, the engine is kind of weak, it can't handle a lot of people in one place, and will just not render people when they're packed together. Since seeing and doing things with others is somewhat of an MMORPG staple, this is one reason why MMORPGs are usually designed for performance over glitz. Do Svara, do Odin, do Behemoth - you'll see what I mean. At the last Odin I did I could see about 20-30 people even though there were probably 1-200 there and most of the time the boss itself didn't render at all even though I was standing right on top of him.
This is a big deal if it ends up impacting performance in 24-man down the road, or in PvP if they offer anything other than small group battlegrounds.
Speaking of down the road. This game plays FAST. You can level up and vaporize the bulk of endgame very quickly. That's kind of what happens when the game is the easiest of easy modes ever and when fate grinding is xp welfare. MMORPG history is what it is - no company has ever churned out content quickly. It doesn't happen. Trion did the most amazing job with Rift early on - they put out new stuff at an inhuman rate - and no other company has come remotely close to matching that. Ever. SE themselves have "big plans" (talk is one thing, let's see what the reality is) for their first patch, but it's not coming until sometime "this year" (which means probably late in the year or they wouldn't be so general). Dates often slip too, or features get left out when reality hits.
Amongst this little things bother me too. Here's an example. If you are running towards a town zone in, you hit it, and you zone in. If you're on a choco and do this, you get a prompt asking if you want to dismount and zone in. Why? If a fool might accidentally zone in shouldn't they always be prompted? Or how about, no prompt at all and if you zone in by accident you zone back out and LEARN to pay some attention to your surroundings. This game has a lot of confirmations that really aren't necessary and out of the plethora of options there's none to turn them off. On the flip side, if you pull out your choco companion while queued for duty, you will BOOM just leave the queue. No warning. Wouldn't THIS be a good place for one of those annoying confirmations? You might lose 30+ minutes of queue time if after your brain is turned to mush from doing mindless things while queued you space and whip out your choco to do some if its miserable grind.
Oh yeah, speaking of zoning. Haven't some of you people played MMORPGs before? Heard of the concept of seamless worlds? It's what has been happening in games like WoW and many others for, oh, nearly a decade now. It's the idea of as few zoning/loading screens as possible. FFXIV utterly fails here (probably due to the fact that it has to run on an outdated and archaic console for no even remotely good reason). Way too many zone transitions with loading screens. Even the tiny/simplistic cities are multi-zone which is ridiculous. Loading screens going in/out of cutscenes. Loading screens going in/out of buildings (minfilia's sands, for ex). This is 2013. Modern times. Why has FFXIV gone dramatically backwards for technology? It kills immersion and flow. Hell, if it weren't for all the damn loading screens most players could probably shave a few HOURS off of their already insanely speed leveling curve.
So, tons of people are already way into endgame. This game has very little to DO at endgame. You can work on you DF set. You can work on your relic. That's about it. There's no factions to grind, no other content to do, no PvP (I hate PvP but it's something many end up doing to keep busy), not much of anything. The designer himself says the real game is endgame? Really? Grinding CM, a joke of an instance that's one small step beyond fate grinding for challenge. Grinding trash in AK. Some one-off single boss encounters towards a relic. One raid that's likely so much harder than all the easy stuff before it that many may never complete it. That's endgame. There isn't much/any more. That's the real game.
So what are you going to do that'll be worth a sub while you wait months at a time for more content to come out?
I'm usually an altaholic but alting in this game has limited appeal to me because the only content you have to do is any leftover boring simplistic quests you didn't do, and fate grinding. Tons of fate grinding. The saddest excuse for content ever created. Do your time, get your easy xp, don't lift a finger, try not to fall asleep while playing, that's fate grinding. I personally run dungeons over and over when I level my alts but outside of tank (which was my main class) and healer you'll have 15-45 minute queues and you need to do something while waiting - so it's boring fates, tedious gathering, or tedious crafting.
Plus there's just less appeal to alt for me. The classes play different, for sure. You can try out different roles. But the gear and everything about this game is so generic that even trying it thru "different eyes" doesn't really spice it up any. My friends and I did EVERY instance while leveling 3-5x ea, because we love instances (glad we did too since endgame is so boring). So even when I focus on instances with an alt, it's content I've already done a lot.
Nope, sorry, I really don't see why people are acting like this game is so great. It is mediocre at best. It's worth checking out but I just don't see it being worth a sub, and since what I really want is an MMORPG with some longevity, I saw no point in subbing to this game, and thus, no point in continuing to play. It really boggles my mind that people are saying they like this game so much. I try to be objective and I just don't see the good to counter all of the mediocre or bad.
The only thing I can come up with is that a lot of people just love incredibly simple games, and incredibly simplistic games, and don't want to really think, or be challenged, or have any real sense of accomplishment, or, and this saddens me, that they actually do feel some sense of accomplishment in a game like this when they hit level 50 even though leveling is beyond easy, super fast, and is all but given to you, or they do feel accomplishment when they buy their DF pieces even though they got tombstones grinding CM, which is nothing more than trading some time for stones (there is no effort involved). It's sad that MMORPG players have evolved to care more about soloing, their own weak accomplishments, and getting everything done as fast as humanly possible just to get it done, and don't seem to actually care about the quality of the gaming experience they're having.
PS - I also despise the 2.5s GCD. I didn't play FFXIV and I can't recall any other MMORPG ever having such painfully slowed down combat. Players aren't idiots and don't need already easy and simplistic combat slowed down. When your character's skills are so streamlined and few, and when there are AE markers on the ground only a total dimwit could miss, you don't need eternities to act. The only thing the 2.5s GCD does is help cover up for server side lag when it's happening. In most other MMORPGs 2.5 cast times on spells are reserved for specialty or very hard hitting spells. In FFXIV 2.5 cast times are the norm. It just feels so slow compared to almost every other MMORPG.
PSS - I would agree with the OP that static content really needs to be something the genre gets away from. Instances with the exact same mobs in the exact same spots every single time thru and bosses that do the exact same abilities at the exact same times on a script are just very low grade. Would it really be so terrible if mobs spawn locs varied from time to time or patrol routes varied, or especially if bosses had a pool of abilities they used with more variety - anything - anything that would cause players to have to think occasionally or react to things on the fly or adapt? The whole, at 25% the boss does this, at 50% the boss does that, at 75% the boss does this thing is just so amazingly cheese.
Is beating the same exact instance or boss, doing the exact same script, really good gaming? We've been doing it for years across many MMORPGs and I've long felt that there could be something more to this. The way I approach it is that I try to beat the content more soundly every time thru, or beat it faster, or be more perfect, or whatever - SOMETHING to add personal challenge to it because the level of challenge from the content itself is pretty low. I think this is pretty sad.
I'm not a fan of "speed runs" and think that's a sign of poorly designed content and game and I'm never truly in a hurry, it's just that efficiently massacring content you're doing for the 10th, 20th, whatever-th time is one of the few ways I can make the mundane challenging for myself - and I think a lot of people end up approaching repetitive content this way.
There are some really smart people involved in game design and coding. I don't know why nobody can come up with something more compelling for this. LDON from EQLive was one of the more amazing bits of content I've ever seen in the MMORPG genre and I'm surprised that nobody has ever revamped/reused that in a modern MMORPG. There has to be SOMETHING else that can be done to spice up the repetition in endgame grind.
Premium MMORPGs do not feature built-in cheating via cash for gold pay 2 win. PLAY to win or don't play.
o.O
I was refering to the balance cases: marauder vs warrior and gladiator vs paladin. Currently Paladin and Warrior are too strong; marauder and gladiator are not viable. That's a massive game design flaw due to limiting the effect of cross-classing.
This isn't true at all.
Ragnarok Online has huge customization, even at end game, nobody is exactly the same, the gear is different, the cards in the gear are differents, some of the stats aren't the same, same for the skills.
Rift has a lot of room for customization with the Soul system, sure some builds are obviously optimal, but nothing prevents you from trying things out and finding what suits you.
TSW has a gigantic pool of skills to pick from, and make a build you like using all those skills. And there's huge cosmetic customization.
GW1 also has a gigantic pool of skills, and dual-classing.
LOTRO has traits and virtues, endgame weapons can be customized to your liking..
GW2 has traits, weapon sets and the amazing dye system.
So no, not all MMOs are the same as FFXIV in that regard. The list above is mostly modern ones, if you go for older MMOs the examples are even more plentiful.
Just as I suspected. It's not important whether it makes sense or not, the most important thing is that there are a lot of skills with most of them being completely useless.
Other MMO's use one optimal build since it is the optimal one. ARR uses the optimal build since the fat has been trimmed.
Some people still haven't gotten used to the idea that there are ultimately no choices, only an optimal build and inferior builds. Sure was different back then when the games were not challenging, just time consuming.