[Silynn]

My Character: Nao Takeda
My World Server: Cactuar

It’s been about two years since I wrote about FFXIV AAR. In that time, I am not ashamed to say that I have spent a significant amount of time in the world of Eorzea. Since my original post (-HERE-), I have leveled all my jobs to 50-60 and explored every inch of the graphically and amazing world.

So, after two years, I have pushed the Main Story Quests (MSQs) to completion. I have to warn you that the MSQ really grabs you by the collar. Not only does it make you feel a part of the world, but a viable and *THE* important element of it. Depending on the jobs you have completed (raised to cap) and completing those individual stories, your MSQ experience is slightly enhanced. How? By the NPCs recognizing, mentioning, or referring to those key story moments (every job, or class, has its own rich story) in dialog.

The 2.0 to 2.5 MSQ was more of an introduction and getting your bearings (for the world, the factions, and the key people). However, the 2.5 to 3.0 (Heavensward) story is just… INCREDIBLY AMAZING which can turn your world upside down and, (Mazoue’s words) “Hit you in the feelings department”.

The Heavensward (HW) story (3.0+) is even grander and *more* epic, mythic really. There are more points hit you emotionally due to how well developed and connected you get to the NPCs. Also, when you are able to fly, you know you have entered the ‘epic’ realm.

The one tenant about FFXIV is that the player is forced to undertake these MSQs to progress the game. There are the game’s “gates”. That may sound ‘bad’ to some, but I’ve come to see it as a good thing. It gets you to focus and soak in the incredible story elements. If you are not into story and character development, then this MMO may not be for you. However, if you reveal and adore story and character development, then you may want to give this a spin.

On my journey to the new level cap of 60, I took my time and to ensure that I was able to soak up the fun. The HW story is like a fine wine where I savor and relish every bit of the current plot as I can before I take the next ‘sip’ per se. In between each story quest, I tend to fill in with queuing up with the Duty Finder (group finder for dungeon instances).

The Dungeons in HW are laid out very well, and the progression is well done. Not only that, the actual mechanics of boss fights make these dungeons more ‘fun’ than ‘frustrating’. Interesting enough, the battles are like a ballroom or even ballet dance. Movement and positioning is a constant factor for boss battles in this game. Some move are predictable (i.e. the Hokey Pokey maneuver) and others are random (i.e. Oh sh….). If you talk to Mazoue, he is a ‘pro’ at the random ones.

Regardless, Dungeons are incredibly friendly affairs with the usual time of 30-45 minutes for most groups. Speed groups usually are around the 25 minute mark. Thus, they are great group activities that don’t require one’s solid attention for more than an hour.

The biggest draw to the dungeons in Heavensward is the unique fashions. Each dungeon has a unique set and look for most jobs. Tank, Healers, and the various DPS. The carrot is getting that first piece that is visibly shown and represented on your character. If you are lucky, it will blend in with your other pieces, yet most likely it won’t. Thus, you start the process of running the dungeon to collect gear. The side benefit is you level fairly quickly doing so. Which opens up the next level of dungeon for you.

Besides the fashionable reasons for dungeons, they are a wonderful place to interact with other players to achieve a common goal. For the most part, the community of players in FFXIV is better than any other MMO I have experienced thus far. There are bad apples every now and then, as with anything in life. However more often than naught you run across great people who truly make your adventure together in those 30-60 minutes more enjoyable than you thought. I would venture to say that 8 out of 10 random groups/runs I do are good. Out of those 8, I would say about 5 are quite enjoyable to downright entertainingly fun. Sometimes it starts by complimenting a player’s fashion, or empathizing with an ugly non-glamour’d gear item (like an ugly helm). Other times, it is just some RP banter between Mazoue or myself. Nevertheless, the group experience in FFXIV is something that do *NOT* want to shy away from like in other games with a toxic community. Quite the opposite, you can easily forge good friendships and other people to group with.

For established Free Companies (i.e. Guilds), there is private housing. A Club House and Base of Operations if you will. The fun thing, as with most housing, is how you stylize and decorate it. Inside you add the usual amenities of a one-stop hub for banking, crafting, and waiting for your dungeon queues to pop in a comfortable environment. The Expansion added a Company Workshop for the Free Companies. In this workshop, you can work together to build airships. Currently, you can only send them out and they bring back unique and valuable materials for other crafted stuff. It is said that their function will be expanded in the future. Keeping my fingers crossed for this.

All in all, the new expansion for FFXIV has brought many players to the game (new and old). The player community is among the more friendly variety and the dev’s are really good about listening and interacting with the players (they learned their lesson with FFXIV 1.0). In fact, the current two-year anniversary event is truly about the Devs admitting their mistake with 1.0 *and* thanking the players for their help and dedication with supporting them through their feedback.

As I cap out my various jobs, I want to share some updated personnel insight on what I had commented on in my last review for Pros and Cons.

Pros:
One character "to do it all".

Aug-2013: This is a major boon for any 'completion-ist' 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.

Aug-2015: This still holds true. And is still a major reason why I love this game.


Aesthetics.

Aug-2013: 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).

Aug-2015: Even better with the update for DirectX 11 (DX11) support. Simply beautiful.


Displayed Gear.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: OMG… with the introduction of the Glamour system… imagination is the limit. Helm, Chest, Hands, Legs, and Feet are all the main slots that are visually represented for gear. Accessories are earrings, necklaces, wrists (bracelets), and two rings (1 per hand). There is so much fashion in the game, that the most difficult part is your bank space to store it all in. The below are some of the examples. Particular of note is Mazoue as the crazy “Man Moogle” or “Man Bear”.


Progressive gameplay.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: The above still holds true. One has to learn to walk before they can run. Knowing your abilities is not only important, but knowing how they synergize with other jobs makes some difficult challenges easier.


Community mobs.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: This still holds true. And it’s even better with the addition of “Hunt” dailies. Hunts are basically bounty quests to hunt a laundry list of mobs. Yet among these hunts are the alpha bounties (A-rank) and super (S-rank) bounties. Those familiar with SE games, are familiar with this rank system. Nevertheless, these A and S-rank ‘world bosses’ take a large number of players to down. Everyone participating is rewarded.


Amazing Story.

Aug-2013: 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’.

Aug-2015: Voice overs! For stuff 2.5 and through the new expansion your familiar NPCs now have voices. Square Enix did a good job with matching the voice to the character. So much so, that on the parts where I have to read their text bubble, I actually hear their voice in my mind saying the part. Immersive this game is plenty. The story itself is… stellar. More so with the stuff leading up to the expansion and the expansion itself. Truly epic heroic feelings. 1000 years of war between dragons and man… and you come to put a stop to it in a very general plot sense.


Quest Titles.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: Still very true. Pop culture is incredibly on target and wonderful to find/see these “Easter eggs”.


Cons:
Party or Group Leveling

Aug-2013: This 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.

Aug-2015: This hasn’t really changed. I have accepted this as I guess *I* (as the player) am the only ‘true’ hero of this game. Thus, it doesn’t make sense for others to come into *my* story and take (share) *my* glory…


Gil (aka Gold) Spammers.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: No real change. Though the on bank end, SE purges 100s-1000s every two weeks. One just have to go in and clear out their Black List from time to time. I typically do this while waiting for a queue.


AoE mechanics/Hit Boxes.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: Two years makes a difference in that I’ve become adept at avoiding them. Mazoue, still is unable to… he was born with two left feet. But on a serious note, every ‘boss’ has some mechanic that is unique in regards to their telegraphed hit boxes. This really makes every fight a beautiful fluid dance of sorts. Battles tend to be graceful and beautiful if you have the opportunity to watch them from the dirt or floor (as Mazoue often describes to me).

This is definitely one that I can move back into the “Pro” column.


Fates.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: Fates have been improved a little and the significance of them has increased. Meaning, that various fates, if completed add to the ‘spawning’ chance of various world bosses for that zone. These world bosses are always sought out as ‘super fates’ due to the very nice rewards for relatively little time. I’d have to move Fates to the “Pro” column for 2015.


Limited Spawns of Critically needed (for crafting) mobs.

Aug-2013: 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.

Aug-2015: This has radically changed with the addition of Retainer ventures (you send your NPC followers on missions to gather/obtain items) and the better drop rates of crafting materials. Karakul (sheep) wool used to be like 1 drop per 3 kills on avoid. Now you can get from 1 to 6 wool drops off 1 kill. For levels 1 thru 50 this can moves back to the “Pro” column. For 51 to 60, I am going to reserve judgment for now.


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.

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).

If you are interesting and looking for perhaps trialing the game (I think you can play for free for two weeks), let me know. I can send you a reference trial code.



http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/heavensward/

[Minnow Raydor]

Well done on the review was a good read but.......reaily a big yellow bird as a mount

[Kains]

I spent wayyyy too much of my life in FFXI (Dynamis can go to hell), but I still have fond memories of my time there and made a lot of good friends.

Glad to see this is continuing to improve and that folks are having fun!

[Mazoue]

You are too kind Sylinn, also my quote should have read "It hits you right in the feelz!" lol. However, it is quite fun playing dodge the aoe...

Well done on the review was a good read but.......reaily a big yellow bird as a mount

That is only one of many many mount! The Fat Chocobo, however, is by far he most hilarious one... though oddly quite agile flyer compare to his much thinner brethren...

Playing FFXIV is a blast and a half and the story is of a magnitude higher than I've seen in other mmos. Square Enix are really experts above the rest there. Let me summarize that by saying if you need a box of tissues because you get emotional over a cut scene then they've done their job right.

So yes! if anyone would like to join our adventures, on top of starting off with a two week trail we can assist with the Recruitment program which will offer you some neat rewards if recruited.

It's fun! if you guys have any inclination towards fantasy, this is definitely something to check out!

[Mark Okuda]

Ah yes Final Fantasy. My favorite RPG next to Legend of Zelda. Fond memories of playing FF2 and FF3 on the SNES and FF7 and FFX on the PS2. I really liked on FFV14 that you can change classes without reolling your character. Too bad i usually only stick to one paying MMO at a time.