[Silynn]

Character: Nao Takeda
World: Cactuar

The MMO has been out for over a month, i.e. my free play has ended and I've paid my first sub fee (so I can continue to play). I have found the game very entertaining and providing a plethora of things to do. I haven't done the final end game boss yet (Titan currently), I have done Garuda and below with my current Free Company (aka Guild) as we work to ‘gear-up’ for the end-end boss.

The first job I leveled to 50 (cap) was my White Mage. I did every story and side quest I came across with Fates (timed random community quests – similar to Guild Wars 2) supplementing the leveling. I also spent a lot of time in the dungeon instances (4-man). All in all, leveling is pretty easy for the most part. There are some 'dry areas' in that progression but it is easily remedied via dungeons.

For those of you curious about the game this is a list of my "Pros" and "Cons" during my own observations while playing.

Pros:
One character "to do it all". This is a major boon for any 'completionist' MMO player. You basically, can do every job available. You can level up every job (aka class) and craft skill with one toon. No more switching to your alt this or alt that due to being limited to a single main class (warrior, mage, etc) or trade skill. Your one character can do it all... no need to ever roll an Alt.

Aesthetics. Incredible to Amazing graphics/visuals. Top notch. What you'd expect from a current MMO. Simply... beautiful. Music is superior and fitting. Thus your visual and audio senses are thoroughly bombarded with awesomeness. And I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the physics in game. If the wind is ‘blowing’ your earrings, hair, clothing will sway/blow with the wind. Such a little thing but sooooooo incredible in my opinion. Standing in a snow storm makes you feel like you are there (without the cold of course).

Displayed Gear. What you are wearing shows on your character, down to the necklace, rings, earrings. Every gear item (except for belts) is represented visually on your character.

Progressive gameplay. More than any other MMO, the learning curve on this game is quite easy. There are quests that actually teach you about your ability and the reason/story behind it. In dungeons, you are exposed to the mechanics. Boss 1 ability, Mob 2 ability, Boss 2 ability… and then when you face the ‘final boss’ he will have all of these abilities which you have to contend with. It’s pretty fascinating, but likely not wholly original. The game does a good job of teaching you (and providing a story background) as you progress.

Community mobs. The 1st to tag something doesn’t really hold here. In fact, as long as you do a decent (20-25%, I think) of damage to a mob, you not only get XP, you get your own chance for item drops, and any quest credit (if that mob was on your quest list). How neat is that? Truly wonderful and I used this mechanic to the fullest while leveling up. If I see someone fighting something, I’ll likely pitch in and help.

Amazing Story. The main story and job story lines are just incredible. Well written, though some grammar police may have issues with the written dialogs due to the Japanese to English translation. Still, the story arch is pretty epic with of course you, the special hero who made it all happen. It is like part epic episode series and part video game. Though it is linear, meaning you can’t really affect different outcomes like in SWTOR, it is a Final Fantasy game and you are a ‘good hero’.

Quest Titles. This is very minor but very awesome in my opinion. A lot of nice and witty thought went into naming them. For those that don’t read the quests or titles, they are missing out on some nice laughs and ‘oh right on!’ moments.


Cons:
Party or Group Leveling is kind of wonky due to Story mode quests. If you are partying for the random kill X or find Y quests, partying is awesome. However, if a Story-Mode quest is in there, it makes for some irritation. As you see, Story-mode quests have to be done solo. If you are in a party/group, you have to drop group to initiate it. Thus, for the first time through, the game expects you to be mostly solo. Likely as many of the cut scenes have dialog to read or listen through. And we know everyone reads at their own pace or some may just click through and never read anything. Nevertheless, if playing through for the first time, be prepared for these moments.

Gil (aka Gold) Spammers. The game is rife with them… and they are incredibly annoying. There is no easy right-click and ban/black list method. You have to manually (or ctrl+c and ctrl+v) input the offenders into your black list. Though, a recent post/update said that Square Enix is working diligently on taking these guys out.

AoE mechanics/Hit Boxes. This is a bit wonky but something I’ve learned to live with. From my understanding (and experience) the AoE attack is determined like 0.3 seconds from the moment it is initiated. In FFXIV AAR, this means the mob or boss mob will place a colored red area (cone, line, circle, etc) on the ground for you to see and informing you of an impending attack. Now, unless you are out of that ‘hit box’ in 0.3 seconds you will be hit. If you have bad lag, you may think you are not only out of the attack by the time the attack hits. Or even 15 yards from the attack box. But according to the game, you were in the box and will be hit (often this is a massive attack that will kill you). It’s my biggest gripe as it’s almost counter-intuitive. “I was out of the area when the attack struck.” Yet the game is programmed that it resolves the attack 0.3 seconds after it was displayed. Which is not a lot of time to exit the danger area. Being quick on your feet (fast fingers on the controllers) must be learned.

Fates. The community quests are easy mode and mind-numbing. The current leveling method for fast grinding is to “Fate Grind”. Meaning you join a group of 8 and run from Fate to Fate. You typically will get 1.5 to 2x (sometimes 5x) the normal quest XP from a “Gold Medal” finish. Due to this the countryside that you are questing in could be full of fate groups. These groups are like locust. They swarm the area, kill things in a blink of an eye and leave. Thus any solo player questing and trying to undertake a Fate will often be left in the dust.

Limited Spawns of Critically needed (for crafting) mobs. If you are pursuing a tradeskill, particularly something like Leatherworking or Weaving (aka Tailoring), you will hit major road blocks. You will need materials from certain creature mobs that are all horribly farmed to death. It’s kind of ironic, as before you sign-up to be a Weaver, the Weaver Guildmaster (teacher) asks you, “Are you ready to suffer?” What foreshadowing. Anyhow, you have to work with friends to farm the needed mobs in order to progress in those trade skills. Not impossible, but not something a casual player would like to put up with.


Summary
Though, this is definitely not a ‘Star Trek’ game. It is a wonderful fantasy game. This game certainly appeals to those who like the immersion and variety. The scenery and just atmosphere of playing in a world that seems alive is alluring. However, if you are the type of player who hates to read quest dialog and just wants to rush to the end to 'beat the game', Final Fantasy XIV may not be for you.

I’ll post up some pictures later tonight.

If anyone is looking to start up and play during PST (-8 UFP) friendly times, hit me up on Cactuar (information at the top). I'm on weeknights from 6pm PST (0000 UFP) to about 10pm PST (0400 UFP). Weekends varies but usually in the early morning and after dinner times (PST).

[Devincean]

Nice post agree with most the stuff tho I find some other cons. I'm on Gilgamesh with a few friends have a 1 character so far who is a 50 WHM 50 SCH 50 SUM 45 BRD 30 PAL 30 WAR 30 BLM 20 PUG 25 LNC and a bunch of crafting classes.

Really I found the game very simplistic which as much as I love the game in a whole story/group content/combat.It falls very flat in how easy it is to level up and how the end game is always the same 3 dungeons 3 tier sets and working on a relic weapon. While I give the game a A+ for graphics, compelling story, lively combat it fails in making levels feel like they mean anything in the game and tier roulette end game is just WoW clone of everyone wearing same thing and insta kicking those not "geared right".

The main reason I fell back in love with STO and came back was they changed the end game made it matter again not just for tier gear, but abilities from rep, special items from helping a fleet. I like end games that take awhile to get to I love when a end game challenges me to work with friends and guilds to accomplish things and not just kill a boss.