Tag Archives: 2012

To Play or Not to Play FFXIV

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I have a bit of time (ten minutes, really), and I am going to try to type out as much as I can to cover something I am asked every once in awhile by former players or players who have never touched the game with a yard stick: Is it worth playing FFXIV right now?

The answer to that question is complex, because ultimately the answer is up to the player themselves. What I can and will do is to provide a guideline as to what the pros are of returning now and why you might want to come back, reconsider, hold off, or find an altogether different game. Again, I am typing this with a ten minute limit so I might exclude some things or my wording might be off. Feel free to leave questions and I will address them as soon as I can.

Pros
1. You can experience content before it goes extinct with the arrival of version 2.0. I can’t remember off the top of my head if this includes two particular Primal battles, but if it does then you might want to get on if you are interested in those particular fights or weapons.

2. Leveling is VERY fast right now. Yoshi-P has mentioned that the rate of leveling will be culled back upon the arrival of 2.0. At the moment there are people who are wearing achievement crowns (actual equipment pieces) for completing level 50 on both Disciple of War and Magic classes. You can use a PL’er but its NOT that necessary unless you are struggling with finding a full party of 8. Find that full party and you can seriously go to town with the rate of exp you will be raking in.

3. See what the game looks like before its huge graphical overhaul. Again, it goes hand in hand with #1 and 2.0.

4. There have been GREAT patches coming out. Traditional jobs have been implemented and add a lot more variety and interesting play to the current system. Classes are by no means obsolete and it is up to the player to decide if the use of a job or class will best suit their needs in their solo, light, or full party make up. Two more patches are also being released that will include more content, wide scale PvE called Hamlet Defense, and then the tweaking of previously mentioned jobs.

5. It is CHEAP. Just get a six month subscription and you’ll be paying for the equivalent of a DS/PSP/3DS/Vita game!

Cons
1. The client is still buggy as hell. Be prepared to test your patience.

2. There is still no mailbox or “real” AH. There is a makeshift one, but it still might drive people crazy with the archaic way of having to put things on sale.

3. 2.0 client is coming in six to seven months. You’ll get a preview of it at E3, but before then we have no idea what the client looks like or anything! We have hints here and there, but that’s all we have.

4. There might not be a lot for the super hardcore to sink their teeth into. There is content, but the breadth isn’t as wide as some other games out there. Sure they have been out there longer, but its something to take note of when considering what you want to do. Though most likely getting the Ifrit and Moogle weapons for ALL classes is something many strive to achieve for before they are potentially gone (again, I am not 100% certain).

And there you have it. My quick and nitty guide to the pros and cons of returning. If you do return, hit me up on Gungnir. I don’t play often (curse you studying and work!), but I do try to lend a helping hand when I can if you just give me a poke on Skype or twitter. :)

Counting Down to v2.0

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There is no secret that sometimes I am frustrated with FFXIV. Often my frustrations are directed at the player-base, once in awhile the dev team, and then there is the wait for 2.0 to arrive. Though it is about 6 months (give or take) before the 2.0 client lands, I sometimes feel as though I am going to hyperventilate with anticipation of what the client will bring. Unlike another well known MMO, there is currently no idea of what the client looks like, plays like, or if anyone outside of the Square Enix offices is beta testing it. All we know is that it simply EXISTS and in some ways that is scarier than remembering how Final Fantasy XIV originally launched over a year ago.

In no particular order, here is what I am hoping the promise of 2.0 brings:

1.) A less buggy and more responsive client.
There are instances when I am literally sitting on the edge of my seat: when the system takes too long to recognize something in intense situations, spells and/or abilities not executing properly, easily cancelled skills from moving when I hadn’t intended to move, and when I need to quickly get an item and the client doesn’t want to detect that I am indeed standing in front of the invisible wall to buy items from inside the Market Wards.

2.) Better music.
I talked about this on the latest Sequence Break XIV episode – Black Mages Don’t Wear Pants, and they did promise a mish-mash of new and old music and even music to distinguish day and night. Awesome! But I am still holding my breath that people such Naoshi Mizuta, Masashi Hamauzu, Hitoshi Sakimoto, or even Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts, Parasite Eve, and *gasp* Super Mario RPG! The first three genetlemen have worked on previous Final Fantasy titles, and Shimomura is rumored to be working on music for Versus. Don’t get me wrong, Uematsu is great! I love the guy! But there are also FANTASTIC composers that work at Square Enix that don’t get as much recognition as he does and do just as a good a job.

3.) More content (quests, missions, HNMs, instances, etc).
I don’t think this needs much explanation. It IS being added with each patch, but I am hoping we can see a greater increase of this and not just the cleanup of the client we currently have.

4.) Linkshell Administration
I am not making it a secret that I wanted to get rid of someone from my LS to the point of first creating a bounty on his head to have him kicked and then dissolving the LS when the first plan didn’t work out (thankfully we are small enough for this to work out just fine). The thing is… I don’t think I should have to wait for: a.) the person to be online or b.) to be standing directly next to him in order to boot him. In most cases, yes, the leader should be able to talk to the member before booting them. But then you have some vermin who just won’t go or will fight being booted out no matter what. LS Leaders need to have the option to boot people like this and save themselves the headache of having to hunt people down who no longer deserve to be in their LS.

5.) More epic fights.
I know this ties in with #3, but it also deserves its own spot. Because I miss having fights that are a real struggle against and that need more than a bunch of archers, black mages, or what have you thrown at it. Plus, being able to team up with others in greater numbers also has its place and is rather fun at times, too. Yes, I am fond of and am a huge supporter of smaller parties but I also like banding together as an alliance to get things done. Something about that is just satisfying, since it is often many people working together as a team to get something incredible done.

There is probably more, but there is one thing I am hoping won’t change:

The Graphics.
Yeah, let me take a moment to duck and hide from the stones being cast. I understand that the graphics, as beautiful as they are, is also a huge part of the problem for people wanting to play the game. They simply cannot play the game because the system specs are too high for their PC to be able to handle, and some will have to drastically reduce their graphics to Commodore 64 levels in order to play. For those of us who are able to handle the game in all (or most of) its glory: the game looks simply breathtakingly awesome. I find that the way my Lalafell looks is so beautiful compared to graphics in most Western MMOs out there. Part of it has to do with the different sets of styles for Eastern and Western studios, but the intricacies of my armor, the environment, and the general look and feel of my character is something I love dearly. I sat for FIVE MINUTES just noticing all the intricate detailing of my WHM AF. Its kinda insane how much work they put in that!

At the end of the day, however, I am still very excited for the arrival of 2.0. It honestly can’t come soon enough…

Blackout, Schmackout

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So, today the internet is supposed to be taking its stand against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out their sites. For a few reasons, I am not doing so. To be honest, I think it is silly to do for a smaller site like the ones I run.

Wikipedia and the larger sites blacking out their websites are doing so as a symbolic gesture and bring awareness to the masses (I’m sure there are many users out there who still have no flipping idea what SOPA or PIPA is or what it could mean for them). They can get away with it because millions of people view their site everyday seeking information or content that the SOPA/PIPA bill may affect. But the smaller sites who are attempting to make the same gesture? I’m not really convinced it does much of anything. My audience are net savvy people, and pretty much know what is going on out there in the world. They know that SOPA/PIPA is something that could pretty much damage the internet as we know it today. Will they honestly give a flying fuck if my blog is down? Most likely not. Maybe one or two individuals will, but in the overall grand scheme of things it doesn’t really do anything. It is like taking out one grain of rice out of a bowl full of them. Are you really going to miss it? Is that ONE grain going to make a difference? Even if you take out many more, what message does it really send? Its just gone and gone for a short intermittent amount of time. In a few hours (or a day), the grains of rice will come back into my bowl and I don’t have to really concern myself with, “Fuck, I have no more rice.”

Now, I’m not really saying that I am against people taking action or that I am for SOPA/PIPA (that couldn’t be further from the truth). I’m just saying to do something that is actually meaningful if you really care all that much. I can’t really push myself to do something that a.) I don’t feel right about and b.) doesn’t logically make sense to me no matter how I slice it. And trust me… I can easily bend things to make things seem justifiable. Blacking out my sites? I can’t. Even though SOPA/PIPA has the potential to adversely affect the things I love to do online besides gaming, my webpages being blacked out temporarily isn’t really proving to do anything that is meaningful to the cause against these propositions. Cause let us be honest with ourselves here; the people who will be putting to vote on this damn bill aren’t looking at all these webpages thinking, “Well, damn, son. We gotta git this bill turned down cuz these durn webpages are going offline ‘ere.”

This here? This is what I am going to do. I am going DIRECTLY to the people who will shape our future. Not the ordinary Jack and Jill. The people I voted into power will care if I reelect them or not. Keep tabs on WHO votes for or against it, or who is going for or against it and let them know you support or are against them and why. They are there to serve you because, hey, they were voted into that power. Talk to em. Cause taking down a page for a day ain’t really doing shit, and I think if you want to really make a difference then going the extra mile to contact the powers that were voted to be will go a much longer way than taking down your website for a day.