Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

[emeraldpearl]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

Don't worry, you'll get frustrated with that as soon as you see how fast your Anima runs out and how slow it regenerates and there isn't any other way to get around except begging for teleports or walking.

Well after 5 hours of playtime today ^^ ive now got no anima...... teleport is bullsh**.... can not be bothered to edit my post but yeah teleport mechanic is pure bull.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

Lol, I don't think anyone cares if you censor that. Many of us say far worse.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

Well after 5 hours of playtime today ^^ ive now got no anima...... teleport is bullsh**.... can not be bothered to edit my post but yeah teleport mechanic is pure bull.

OMG...sitting here eating pizza and laughing my ass off....so is my son...and we both agree!

[Malacite]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

Tiddly Wank.

[Fliegar]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

I logged in today for the first time in 2 weeks, teleported around a few times to do some leves and headed back to Ul'Dah with 60 left. Bleh.

[Karinya]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

2. Solo ability. Oh my days, feels so much better to be able to solo and not feel pressurised (a word?) to find a party.

Am I the only one who thinks that could be a *bad* thing? As much flak as FFXI's compulsory (ish) partying has taken, I think it's the reason other MMOs (WoW for example) are full of players with little inclination and less ability/experience for teamwork and FFXI... isn't. The game shapes its playerbase, both by experience and by determining who stays and who bails. And solo-oriented games are full of solo-oriented players. So it's kind of disturbing to hear that FFXIV is solo-oriented.

[Aeni]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

Am I the only one who thinks that could be a *bad* thing? As much flak as FFXI's compulsory (ish) partying has taken, I think it's the reason other MMOs (WoW for example) are full of players with little inclination and less ability/experience for teamwork and FFXI... isn't. The game shapes its playerbase, both by experience and by determining who stays and who bails. And solo-oriented games are full of solo-oriented players. So it's kind of disturbing to hear that FFXIV is solo-oriented.

Your fears are unfounded. FFXIV is not solo-oriented (not sure where you derived that from) but is more friendly to casual players. You still require a group to get ahead in the game. Here's my problem. They made it insanely difficult to organize in this game. They've made it become anti-social (chat problems, difficulty with organizing, etc) But this does not mean the game is inherently built for soloing, because it's not.

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

I think it's the reason other MMOs (WoW for example) are full of players with little inclination and less ability/experience for teamwork and FFXI... isn't.

If you haven't played WoW recently you can be forgiven for thinking that. Since the introduction of the LFG tool levelling via partying through dungeons is infinitely preferable to solo grinding quests/mobs. You simply select which role (Tank/Healer/DD) you are capable of playing and join a cross server queue. Waiting times for parties on my server are generally 5-10 minutes, less if you're a healer or tank, and once your party is assigned you're instantly teleported in to the dungeon. Let's compare that to seeking for days on a DD job in FFXI, a party-orientated game.

Generally, the average max level player in WoW has a considerably better understanding of how to play their character than their FFXI counterparts do. Even moreso after the introduction of colibri burns and lolAbyssea afk levelling.

[Maju]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

Well after 5 hours of playtime today ^^ ive now got no anima...... teleport is bullsh**.... can not be bothered to edit my post but yeah teleport mechanic is pure bull.

Did you spend all of that 5 hours just teleporting back and forth? I seriously don't know how you managed that. At my current rate my anima is going to last for weeks. Too bad we probably won't have chocobos or airships by then. In any case, when you give players the ability to instantly be wherever they desire, you remove the feeling of a large persistent world. I would not like that.

If you haven't played WoW recently you can be forgiven for thinking that. Since the introduction of the LFG tool levelling via partying through dungeons is infinitely preferable to solo grinding quests/mobs. You simply select which role (Tank/Healer/DD) you are capable of playing and join a cross server queue. Waiting times for parties on my server are generally 5-10 minutes, less if you're a healer or tank, and once your party is assigned you're instantly teleported in to the dungeon. Let's compare that to seeking for days on a DD job in FFXI, a party-orientated game.

Generally, the average max level player in WoW has a considerably better understanding of how to play their character than their FFXI counterparts do. Even moreso after the introduction of colibri burns and lolAbyssea afk levelling.

Things change, I guess. Still, can you really say a cross server queue with automated teleportation like this is desirable? Convenient? Sure. Immersion and community breaking? Very much so! WoW apparently ruined PVE instancing the same way they ruined PVP instancing: by turning it into a sea of anonymous players you'll never see again. There is no sense of server community left in that game. It was smashed when battlegrounds were made cross realm and I guess PVE instances were the final nail in the coffin.

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

WoW apparently ruined PVE instancing the same way they ruined PVP instancing: by turning it into a sea of anonymous players you'll never see again. There is no sense of server community left in that game. It was smashed when battlegrounds were made cross realm and I guess PVE instances were the final nail in the coffin.

I think if they add raids to the LFG tool it'll be a sad day. They're already trying to funnel people in to 10 man raids by offering the exact same loot as their 25 man counterparts (just less of it). Many feel that this is a precursor to LFG 10 man cross server raids.

I agree with you though, I miss the community feel but if we're both honest that hasn't existed in FFXi for a long while either. I'd even argue the last time I experienced real community was Everquest because at least there you had strong guild loyalty and competition with other guilds over claims/kills. The linkshell system in FFXI was a departure from that loyalty in my eyes although I'm sure others would disagree.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

I never felt any sense of community in WoW to begin with. In FFXI I would recognize most people running around Whitegate, you'd see the same people over and over. In WoW (to me) there was none of that really, everyone seemed anonymous to me. I never joined a PUG with anyone I recognized. Opening it up cross-server wouldn't make much of a difference to me.

The one thing that FFXI has over every single MMO I've played is the chat window. XI's chat window was by far my favorite. You'd notice it. The game I'm playing now it's very inconspicuous and small and I never notice if anyone is talking to me. It was like that in WoW, too, unless I was actually paying attention to the chat log specifically. Maybe it's also that in XI people would actually talk about real stuff in the channels. In WoW I've noticed it's all abbreviated, utilitarian. It didn't feel as "community friendly" to me.

[Aeni]

Re: Honest First Impressions? (For those of us still on the fence)

The linkshell system in FFXI was a departure from that loyalty in my eyes although I'm sure others would disagree.

It's non-existent in WoW. Case in point, there's been no less than 50 players that walked through our door (the guild I helped to create) who already had walked through several doors in just a few weeks prior. With guild achievement, they are trying to re-establish that feel, but in my opinion, it's too little, too late. This is why I'm not going to play WoW anymore. I'm really just waiting around for Diablo 3 because I'll be playing it with my closest friends and I've already cut my gaming time down to just a few hours a week. I only log in FFXIV to craft and that's about it.