Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn, the award-winning Stormblood AND the...
Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn, the award-winning Stormblood AND the PEAK expansion Shadowbringer up to level 80 for free with no restrictions on playtime! (this is a meme)
Anyway, the next expansion for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has been announced: "Evercold." Comes out Jan 2027.
I've never plated FFXIV. The last FF game I finished was FFX. I played a lot of FF games via emulation (primarily the SNES ones). This being a MMORPG I realize can't really tell the same kind of...
I've never plated FFXIV. The last FF game I finished was FFX. I played a lot of FF games via emulation (primarily the SNES ones). This being a MMORPG I realize can't really tell the same kind of epic story... Anyway, a few questions for those more knowledgeable:
Is FFXIV easy to get into for a new player?
Should I coerce some friends to play with me? Some of my friends are much better at these types of games, so they'll likely out pace me...
Is it feasible to play it casually, e.g ones per week maybe, or will I feel perpetually behind and not able to interact with other players?
I always think MMOs are more fun with friends. It's a social game, right? However, it can be difficult to play with someone. Which sounds weird, because it's an MMO, right? FFXIV, to me, is a...
I always think MMOs are more fun with friends. It's a social game, right? However, it can be difficult to play with someone. Which sounds weird, because it's an MMO, right?
FFXIV, to me, is a "multiplayer single-player" experience. In the sense that if you and a friend start at the same time, but one falls behind a bunch, you can still play together, but you're stuck doing content at the level of whoever is behind. Which can be boring for whoever is ahead. And there's really no way to help that person who's behind, other than them just speedrunning content. Which if you're playing for the story, doesn't really work.
At one point, at least two other IRL friends were playing with me. And we rarely were synced up story-wise and all that. So maybe two of us were a whole expansion ahead, but the third was behind. So that third person was often just doing stuff on their own, trying to get through the story. Maybe we'd party up for the third's required dungeons, but then once it finished, OK cool, everyone go back to what they were doing by themselves. Because even us two who were ahead weren't at the same point in the story, either.
There are things like PVP arenas that can be done by everyone (provided you've all unlocked it). And those are fun; my friends and I did that a bunch. Or just doing our daily quest instances that everyone has unlocked. We'd sometimes try the "Extreme" versions of bosses, totally blind (ie we didn't look up strats or mechanics). And that was a hoot, just trying to survive and learn it together, often with other randoms.
That said, I know people who are are playing together. There's one guy in my "Free Company" (guild) who rolled a new, additional character and is essentially replaying the game with his BF, who's new. So it is possible if people commit to it.
And if you're playing with others who have limited time to devote to the game, then hey, playing with friends may work out. And there are enough systems that if you do want to move ahead without friends, you can. There's matchmaking in this game for instances. Click a button and queue and you'll get placed with randoms for whatever instances you have access to. Or ask your FC mates (definitely should join an active FC).
As far as playing, casually, yeah this is a casual MMO, IMO. In higher levels, yes, you need to know what you're doing, how to play your class, understanding mechanics, but that comes with time and experience of playing the game.
To me, the draw of FFXIV is the story and the lore (though it can be a slog, especially the base game, "A Realm Reborn"). It is a Final Fantasy game, after all. And I'd say the vast majority of instances cater to the casual. Not saying instances, especially in later game, can't be challenging and fun. They absolutely can be. That's the other part I like. But you really should never get to a point where you're throwing your mouse at your screen because you can't get some main story boss. At the very least, you can easily get carried through regular content. And then take the time to learn it by redoing the boss over and over.
So yeah, I think FFXIV is very easy game to get into. Much easier to get into and maintain than other MMOs I've played over the years. I'd say give it a try for a week or two and see what you think.
When I started, my girlfriend (now fiancée, as of this month) was already at level cap. This was back toward the end of Stormblood. I'd play MSQ and every time I hit a new dungeon or trial, I'd...
When I started, my girlfriend (now fiancée, as of this month) was already at level cap. This was back toward the end of Stormblood. I'd play MSQ and every time I hit a new dungeon or trial, I'd say I was up to that and we'd queue together for the instanced content.
That's usually how our Free Company rolls too: any time someone unlocks a dungeon or wants to do dailies, they can drop a message in chat and give the group a chance to tag along before starting the queue. (And for current-expansion content, we use names like "trial two," to keep spoilers out of the in-game chat.)
I find that approach helps with playing together but not road-blocking anyone's progress. And you can always run an instance again after if you can't wait the first time.
The roulette system also helps a lot with getting new players through older content: by giving players an incentive to run older stuff (often), it naturally means you're going to get experienced players in the mix to help with the carrying.
You're in for quite a surprise. It is first and foremost a Final Fantasy game, and an MMORPG second. It tells the main story through heavy use of cutscenes, single player instanced content, and...
This being a MMORPG I realize can't really tell the same kind of epic story...
You're in for quite a surprise. It is first and foremost a Final Fantasy game, and an MMORPG second. It tells the main story through heavy use of cutscenes, single player instanced content, and for big fights tells you it's time to queue for a dungeon (long encounter) or trial (short boss-only fight)...with the option of playing with NPCs available in some cases, though that's usually slower than playing with players.
The story builds over a decade of expansions until the stakes are fully cosmic scale and you truly feel like a decade of gameplay has lead up to it. The first installment (A Realm Reborn) is a little bit slow, since it's starting at the bottom and introducing you to the world, but it gets excellent later.
Is FFXIV easy to get into for a new player?
For the most part, yes, and Square Enix has spent a bit of effort on improving that in recent years. The community wiki will be helpful for some things, such as if you can't find an optional quest or need advice on gear, but I think the game mostly does an okay job at surfacing core mechanics.
Should I coerce some friends to play with me? Some of my friends are much better at these types of games, so they'll likely out pace me...
It's a very social game, and playing with people definitely adds to the experience. It's by no means essential, and you can absolutely experience the whole game by queueing for content with strangers (and expect civility and patience, enforced by the moderation team, unlike some games). But some of the fun is hanging out with friends in a virtual world.
It's also good to join a Free Company (guild), which often helps share resources and get through end game grind, such as if you want to craft high level gear.
Is it feasible to play it casually, e.g ones per week maybe, or will I feel perpetually behind and not able to interact with other players?
It's not only possible, but actively encouraged. The game designers are dead set on not forcing people into a sticky addiction loop. They have explicitly said that they expect people to drop and pick up whenever life gets in the way, and play when they want to.
In fact, if you are behind on the current content, it's easier to catch up. Stat scaling and gear tweaks happen so older content is deliberately easier than on launch. Players at the end game are also actively incentivized to play old content, for the benefit of new players, by tying the grind for end game gear and materials to the queue system: they get rewards for doing daily runs of dungeons, trials, raids, etc..
It is, as I said before, first and foremost a Final Fantasy game. You don't speed run to the end, you play through the story at your own pace and enjoy the journey. You can still interact with other players, but not visit new zones you haven't been to yet. And if anyone tries to coerce you into skipping cutscenes in instanced content, you're well within your rights to report them.
Kind of? It certainly helps if you're familiar with MMORPGs. It eases you into how to play your class as you level it up and your character isn't locked to the one you pick (though you gotta hit a...
Is FFXIV easy to get into for a new player?
Kind of? It certainly helps if you're familiar with MMORPGs. It eases you into how to play your class as you level it up and your character isn't locked to the one you pick (though you gotta hit a certain level to unlock other ones).
The main story is what I'd consider the biggest barrier to a new player with the first chunk being the sloggiest. The entire story is probably a couple hundred hours of mostly text only cutscenes and a fair amount of voiced cutscenes too (silent protag -- I'm in the minority feeling like this creates a strong dissonance, similar to if Tidus could only give thumbs ups and grins but you got to select his appearance). Early on is a lot of running from A to B, going from dialogue to dialogue. Pacing isn't as tight as other FF games but it is still a grand epic fantasy story. I'd say most the gameplay happens outside the main story, but is unlocked by it. One of my raid members skipped as much as possible (without buying the story skip) and still enjoyed the game his way once he unlocks stuff.
Should I coerce some friends to play with me? Some of my friends are much better at these types of games, so they'll likely out pace me...
Free trials are a bit limited in social features so y'all may have trouble partying up together, but a lot of time is spent solo in main story. I wasn't really playing with my friends outside scheduled raid hours, but the friends farther ahead would often jump into a party for a plot dungeon when someone hit it, although that's only an option once someone is on a paid account.
Is it feasible to play it casually, e.g ones per week maybe, or will I feel perpetually behind and not able to interact with other players?
You'll see a lot of other players in the first 3 capital cities and can talk to them and what not. There's a rich roleplay scene. PvP works different than normal play, you can compete once you're level 30 on an even playing field. For PvE content like dungeons, other folks with be synced down to the dungeon level and veterans are incentivized to play "roulettes" which will dump them into the specific group content you queued for. You've got a long ways to go to catch up to folks playing current content, playing that little may make it difficult to engage in the newest stuff. A common activity for guilds are treasure maps, which are casual content that can be done at max level without needing to be so terribly active (there's actually maps for each expansion, some older ones are still worthwhile for the cosmetics and so some guilds will run those too). I don't think free accounts get to join a guild though, but nothing prevents you from joining their discord and being invited to their party.
Same! Honestly, so much of what's being announced is stuff I've seen players complain about or have wished for for years. Removal of 2min burst window, moving away from job homogenization, more...
Same! Honestly, so much of what's being announced is stuff I've seen players complain about or have wished for for years. Removal of 2min burst window, moving away from job homogenization, more character customization, region-based cross-DC DF/PF, and more. So it's nice to see that SE has been listening, even if it took awhile for them to finally take action.
Some things off the top of my head that were in the keynote, since the trailer isn't going to deal with them: The Alliance raids are a collaboration with Neon Genesis Evangelion, much like the...
Some things off the top of my head that were in the keynote, since the trailer isn't going to deal with them:
The Alliance raids are a collaboration with Neon Genesis Evangelion, much like the Nier Automata raids. (Coincidentally, maybe, Yoko Taro of Nier is invoked with writing a new Evangelion film.)
Daily roulettes are being reworked into a more forgiving weekly system, where you'll earn points for upgrades (replacing Tomestones), and will even be able to dip into the previous week's quota if you missed out. Details are still preliminary, but it sounds like maybe we'll be directly upgrading gear specs from a menu instead of having as much of a gear treadmill?
You'll be able to "reflect" your highest ilvl stats onto another job, so you won't need to grind gear for every alt job.
Combat is getting a major revamp, where you'll be able to toggle between the existing system ("reborn" mode) and the new "evolved" mode. (My guess is this is transitional and unless people absolutely hate the new style, the other will be phased out.) I didn't get to watch the whole panel for that, but it seems more like the combat system in PVP modes, with fewer buttons that contextually switch, and more diversity between the jobs.
New tank and physical ranged jobs, which will be FFXIV originals and not based on other FF games.
Character creation additions (still no butt slider) allowing more flexibility, and the ability to swap animations for some actions.
From the keynote, it's nice to see the combat is getting a refresh—after not playing for over a year now, one of the big reasons I've not returned is that playing the level 90 story content is...
From the keynote, it's nice to see the combat is getting a refresh—after not playing for over a year now, one of the big reasons I've not returned is that playing the level 90 story content is tough when you can't remember how each class works, and it's hard to re-learn without spending a while playing lower-level content.
Indeed. I have 6 jobs to 100. SGE, RDM, MCH, VPR, PCT, and NIN (the most recent). I main RDM and just recently maxed NIN, so been using it a bunch. But the others I haven't used regularly or...
Indeed. I have 6 jobs to 100. SGE, RDM, MCH, VPR, PCT, and NIN (the most recent). I main RDM and just recently maxed NIN, so been using it a bunch. But the others I haven't used regularly or touched at all in several months. MCH and VPR might be at least a year. VPR I never really got a handle on even when I was using it. Even my SGE is a bit rough at the later-game content (first time ever doing a healer class in any MMO).
And yeah, because I don't touch those other classes, I can't really do lategame content with them. Or I choose not to for fear of being the weakest link. But if I have a chance to relearn them under the Evolved mode, maybe that might be a good thing.
I’m at Fanfest! I am so so tired! That’s all! i have commentary on the announcements made so far but i don’t think i’ll have time to sit down and write them out until i get home
I’m at Fanfest! I am so so tired! That’s all!
i have commentary on the announcements made so far but i don’t think i’ll have time to sit down and write them out until i get home
Hope you had fun! Looking forward to hearing you comments if you'd be willing to share them. Also, glad to see we have a little FFXIV community here on Tildes!
Hope you had fun! Looking forward to hearing you comments if you'd be willing to share them.
Also, glad to see we have a little FFXIV community here on Tildes!
warning, this is unhinged battle system update ranting. Ok so as background I started playing during the 2020 lockdowns. I really got into the high end raids at the end of Shadowbringers and have...
warning, this is unhinged battle system update ranting.
Ok so as background I started playing during the 2020 lockdowns. I really got into the high end raids at the end of Shadowbringers and have completed every single "high end duty" released since, with every Savage tier being cleared W1 (W2 for exceptions like Abyssos, W2 for the last two tiers because our static disbanded and I opted to PF instead) and every EW+ ultimate cleared on-patch. I'm providing this context because there has been a huge divide between the endgame raiding community (which by itself consists of a HUGE spectrum in sweatiness level) and the casual playerbase. I exist staunchly in the former. I also am very aware that the high end raiding community is filled to the brim with players who do not realize that we are an extremely small percentage of the overall playerbase, with that percentage growing increasingly small once we start talking about higher levels of Ultimate progression.
I have been complaining about the 2 minute design since Abyssos, or mid-2022. I understand why it had to be done; I was far more casual when I did raid in Shadowbringers and didn't experience the full extent of the the divide between the most optimal job composition vs. the least optimal job composition, but I don't think it takes much imagination. Meeting a DPS check with minimal gear at the start of the raid tier is, IMO, just as valid a part of sweaty raid progression, which means the raid designers need to design a DPS check that can be cleared by all jobs, but that also places a lot of importance on making sure those jobs are all balanced... which is not a simple task because the very design of those jobs and how they dish out DPS is fundamentally different. You see this in ultimates often, where say, Reaper can do very poorly in phases with many periods of boss downtime (ie. periods where you cannot actively attack the boss) because their job design from the ground up relies on hit boss -> generate resources -> use resources. Or people saying FRU was too easy (and it was pretty easy from a mechanical standpoint) when they happened to have an unnerfed Pictomancer on their party that made DPS checks a joke, which also meant they could get through phases with damage downs/deaths. And some of the changes they've made to the battle system be inclusive of all jobs have had some consequences that just remove small areas of player skill expression... whether it's doubling the range of party buffs, doubling the range of healing skills, limiting the amount of mechanics that are going off during 2 minute windows. I could go on a whole extended rant on the 2 minute burst job design, like actually, but I am trying to keep that soapboxing to a minimum.
And that's even before I start talking about the design of the jobs themselves! I don't play Gunbreaker anymore, there just isn't a point when GNB's DPS looks good only when you're hitting a dummy, compared to the sheer lack of effort you need to put in on WAR/PLD/DRK. I'm actually a huge modern PLD design hater and I can extrapolate but really, nobody asked (yet) so... anyways. In their general quest for allowing all jobs to stay as close to possible to each other they have tunneled into a very similar loop for every single job no matter how unique they are: press many buttons in a 20 second window every 2 minutes when buffs are up, and press minimal buttons until the next 60s / 120s window. And they have designed a lot of these jobs into a corner - look at how the vast majority of 90->100 really just added a single extra OGCD or GCD.
Since DT release I've been really wanting them to look at adjusting the DPS rotations to increase damage done outside of burst. Right now with how important the burst phase is compared to the off-burst phases, on top of how mechanically simple the off-burst phase is, you just don't see a big enough divide between players who are on top of their shit vs. players who can't press anything more complicated than a 123 combo while executing mechanics. That's not me flaming people based on skill level; that's me wanting the encounter design and job design to challenge us to go from "flailing to do mechanics while DPSing" to "performing mechanics while DPSing". That's progression!
So I'm... a little optimistic about the announcement regarding the "evolved" playstyle, because at the very least it is a recognition of the fact that it's very difficult to have unique jobs with unique playstyles with raiding balance in mind. Shifting away from the 2 minute burst window philosophy is a required step even if it is not a perfect one (because buff alignment is also another avenue for group skill expression AND unique job identity).
Ok so i went on this whole nonsense rant about my opinion on job design. I will now step back and note that genuinely very little of this even matters to the vast majority of the playerbase, including more casual or "midcore" Ultimate raiders. I cleared TOP on patch with players who were in absolutely no place to complain about the raid design or damage variance and honestly, the loudest TOP complainers I had to listen to personally were players who just weren't interested in sweating a bit harder and preferred to blame the design instead. I don't think the developers should be paying attention to people like me OR them when the fact remains that what we have suffices for 99% of players. Heck, I feel a little weird about how much I ranted above because I really do recognize that I'm in a minority and the things I have issues with are so miniscule in the grand scheme of things.
Anyways.
I would like Shadowbringers Summoner design back, and Kaiten, and 90 second GNB Bloodfest. Thank you!
I guess I might resub. I stopped around 7.2 I think? Dawntrail was worse than Heavensward for me. In fairness, pretty hard to follow up on the blockbuster ending that was Endwalker. I did tell...
I guess I might resub. I stopped around 7.2 I think? Dawntrail was worse than Heavensward for me. In fairness, pretty hard to follow up on the blockbuster ending that was Endwalker. I did tell myself that if Dawntrail was bad, I'd just sit it out and the next one would be better.
Hopefully the QoL changes are enough to keep me subbed this time. Some of the reasons for not playing are my own fault, but a lot has to do with Squeenix decisions (or lack thereof). The bots were especially bad in 7.x, it was really difficult to do anything on the market board if you weren't online 24/7. Or you would get stuck in a bot party via DF. Or you'd have to mute half the world because it was bots shouting about gold selling.
At the end of the day, I just didn't enjoy my experience in DT. Maybe this'll be better. And I'm not letting myself get hyped either - that was a big personal issue because I was really excited for DT originally but most of my friends weren't, so the social aspect was sorely missing. And while the game can be played solo, it's a very densely populated lonely world.
I'm on Aether-Sargatanas so maybe I'll see some of you around :)
Huh, I wonder if that's a world-specific thing with the bots. I'm on Primal--Famfrit. I feel like I rarely see RMT spam anymore (though they did also add keyword filtering to chat and I have that...
Huh, I wonder if that's a world-specific thing with the bots. I'm on Primal--Famfrit. I feel like I rarely see RMT spam anymore (though they did also add keyword filtering to chat and I have that set up). And bots in instances? Idk...some players are just so bad, even in normal DF, hard to tell who is or isn't a bot. And I'm inclined to believe they're not bots since they often actually talk in party/alliance chat.
Agreed though that DT was worse than EW. Especially the first half. But like you said, it was it ways going to be a tall order to be as good as EW or even SHB. Hopefully Evercold being the start of a new arc will be a return to form of sorts. That said, I would like to see a more "interactive" MSQ. Feel like so much of the MSQ these days is just fetch or walk/teleport then talk to NPC quests and then long-ass cut scenes. It's like a VN these days.
"Pray return to the Wakin...." NO FFS Minfilia, if it's that important, you come here or just call me on the linkpearl!! I actually made the effort to not skip cutscenes or speed through anything...
Feel like so much of the MSQ these days is just fetch or walk/teleport then talk to NPC quests and then long-ass cut scenes.
"Pray return to the Wakin...."
NO
FFS Minfilia, if it's that important, you come here or just call me on the linkpearl!!
I actually made the effort to not skip cutscenes or speed through anything in DT. It... didn't really help much tbh. But I wanted to fully enjoy the story instead of rushing through to endgame.
I can't say I've ever come across bots in the game, and gold spamming is fairly infrequent and gets mass reported quickly. I'm guessing you're on a low population sever? I've been on Mateus...
I can't say I've ever come across bots in the game, and gold spamming is fairly infrequent and gets mass reported quickly. I'm guessing you're on a low population sever? I've been on Mateus (Crystal) since before Shadowbringers came out, and the main areas are usually lively and full of conversations. I remember having to make my character at 2AM, because it always had queues and it wouldn't be allowed due to congestion.
I liked DT overall, but I also had specific expectations that it was going to be like another ARR/a filler vacation episode with some setup slowly teased for the next major arc. A necessary change of pace to prevent endless story scale creep, but not likely to be a fan favorite. We ended up with some solid raid content (Arcadion is great) and I really liked the 7.4 story.
My activity definitely has been lower in the post-expansion patches this time around though, but I skill hop on occasionally to do treasure map runs with my FC when we're between content drops.
Edit since this turned into a lengthy rant and I don't like being so negative: Things I did enjoy were the raid series, up until my static fell apart and I didn't have the desire to find 6 new...
Edit since this turned into a lengthy rant and I don't like being so negative:
Things I did enjoy were the raid series, up until my static fell apart and I didn't have the desire to find 6 new people I meshed well with. I enjoyed Viper quite a bit and mained it for most content, though I do miss my Samurai. The world was also beautiful and of course the music was phenomenal.
Sargatanas is one of the legacy servers (I've been playing since Heavensward) - it's definitely not low pop lol. It's frequently congested for character creation and logins.
Kinda surprised you haven't seen bots, though I've not been on Crystal much so I can't say much about the state there. And my interests possibly don't align with yours in game. Ironically though, treasure hunting is where I've seen the most bots outside of gathering/mining. When you've been playing for years, you learn to spot them pretty easily - they're everywhere once you recognize the patterns. Granted I've not played in a year+ but I still talk to friends and nobody has really said "wow the bot situation has really improved" or they're all just accepting of it.
It's especially difficult if you want to make money crafting because there are bots farming the mats and selling for cheap, bots crafting gear and selling for cheap, bots buying up more expensive things and relisting them for cheap, etc. so it makes it not even worth it when you have to spend an hour farming stuff and crafting only to be able to sell it for maybe 75000 gil because you get undercut every five minutes.
If you look at the market board right after a major patch you'll definitely see a difference in prices (higher), volume (lower), and undercutting (less) because the third party tools take 24-72 hours to be updated, typically. Though some of the paid bot tools are updated even faster so there's less of a window. Doesn't really help me since I can't really get online at 3am after a patch to sell things.
Bots also ruined hunting - players running stuff like GatherBuddy often have Sonar turned on and if you're unaware they're in the zone and you put in the effort to kill 300 mobs for a rare S-rank spawn, only to have the bot indiscriminately alert everybody and somebody with a bone to pick zones in and starts killing the mark (which usually melts because everybody else using the sonar plugin piles on so they don't miss out on the rewards) before most people who don't want to use third party tools can show up and then they get mad at you because they missed out, well it's a bit disheartening.
Anyway obviously I burnt myself out a bit, as evidenced by my lengthy rant. I probably got a bit too into things. Maybe I'll be even more casual on Evercold. Perhaps won't even touch hunting this time around, since that is rife with drama. Crafting and hunting were the two things I enjoyed the most and the bots and lack of response from Squeenix were a big part of me stepping away, so maybe I just need to focus on the non bot-infested portions and enjoy the simpler things in life.
I suppose I should say it's not so much that I haven't seen bots as they don't really effect me much in the things I engage with. I'm in a very crafting heavy FC, and they probably run into it...
I suppose I should say it's not so much that I haven't seen bots as they don't really effect me much in the things I engage with. I'm in a very crafting heavy FC, and they probably run into it more, while I tend to lag behind on that and get their help for things like gearing. (Just yesterday I got half my Courtly Lover's gear by collecting and crafting the precursor materials and handing them to an FC member to make them.)
Hunting is something I haven't gotten into much, precisely for the potential for drama lol. I've seen, at distance, enough arguments about people sniping marks or not waiting for a shield train or whatever.
I absolutely do love crafting for people. Always made me really happy when friends would come back and I'd greet them and make the latest set for their favourite class so they could jump back in....
I absolutely do love crafting for people. Always made me really happy when friends would come back and I'd greet them and make the latest set for their favourite class so they could jump back in. But then one of them decided to sell everything I made them without even using it (obviously since it wasn't soulbound) and said nothing to me, so that really sucked. I don't talk to them anymore for other reasons (extreme misogyny among them) but that was the beginning of the end.
I'll still do it for friends I really know and trust, just not less-acquainted raid friends.
I also love glamming and I know that has had a ton of improvements, so at least I've got that to encourage me :)
Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn, the award-winning Stormblood AND the PEAK expansion Shadowbringer up to level 80 for free with no restrictions on playtime! (this is a meme)
Anyway, the next expansion for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has been announced: "Evercold." Comes out Jan 2027.
I've never plated FFXIV. The last FF game I finished was FFX. I played a lot of FF games via emulation (primarily the SNES ones). This being a MMORPG I realize can't really tell the same kind of epic story... Anyway, a few questions for those more knowledgeable:
Is FFXIV easy to get into for a new player?
Should I coerce some friends to play with me? Some of my friends are much better at these types of games, so they'll likely out pace me...
Is it feasible to play it casually, e.g ones per week maybe, or will I feel perpetually behind and not able to interact with other players?
I always think MMOs are more fun with friends. It's a social game, right? However, it can be difficult to play with someone. Which sounds weird, because it's an MMO, right?
FFXIV, to me, is a "multiplayer single-player" experience. In the sense that if you and a friend start at the same time, but one falls behind a bunch, you can still play together, but you're stuck doing content at the level of whoever is behind. Which can be boring for whoever is ahead. And there's really no way to help that person who's behind, other than them just speedrunning content. Which if you're playing for the story, doesn't really work.
At one point, at least two other IRL friends were playing with me. And we rarely were synced up story-wise and all that. So maybe two of us were a whole expansion ahead, but the third was behind. So that third person was often just doing stuff on their own, trying to get through the story. Maybe we'd party up for the third's required dungeons, but then once it finished, OK cool, everyone go back to what they were doing by themselves. Because even us two who were ahead weren't at the same point in the story, either.
There are things like PVP arenas that can be done by everyone (provided you've all unlocked it). And those are fun; my friends and I did that a bunch. Or just doing our daily quest instances that everyone has unlocked. We'd sometimes try the "Extreme" versions of bosses, totally blind (ie we didn't look up strats or mechanics). And that was a hoot, just trying to survive and learn it together, often with other randoms.
That said, I know people who are are playing together. There's one guy in my "Free Company" (guild) who rolled a new, additional character and is essentially replaying the game with his BF, who's new. So it is possible if people commit to it.
And if you're playing with others who have limited time to devote to the game, then hey, playing with friends may work out. And there are enough systems that if you do want to move ahead without friends, you can. There's matchmaking in this game for instances. Click a button and queue and you'll get placed with randoms for whatever instances you have access to. Or ask your FC mates (definitely should join an active FC).
As far as playing, casually, yeah this is a casual MMO, IMO. In higher levels, yes, you need to know what you're doing, how to play your class, understanding mechanics, but that comes with time and experience of playing the game.
To me, the draw of FFXIV is the story and the lore (though it can be a slog, especially the base game, "A Realm Reborn"). It is a Final Fantasy game, after all. And I'd say the vast majority of instances cater to the casual. Not saying instances, especially in later game, can't be challenging and fun. They absolutely can be. That's the other part I like. But you really should never get to a point where you're throwing your mouse at your screen because you can't get some main story boss. At the very least, you can easily get carried through regular content. And then take the time to learn it by redoing the boss over and over.
So yeah, I think FFXIV is very easy game to get into. Much easier to get into and maintain than other MMOs I've played over the years. I'd say give it a try for a week or two and see what you think.
When I started, my girlfriend (now fiancée, as of this month) was already at level cap. This was back toward the end of Stormblood. I'd play MSQ and every time I hit a new dungeon or trial, I'd say I was up to that and we'd queue together for the instanced content.
That's usually how our Free Company rolls too: any time someone unlocks a dungeon or wants to do dailies, they can drop a message in chat and give the group a chance to tag along before starting the queue. (And for current-expansion content, we use names like "trial two," to keep spoilers out of the in-game chat.)
I find that approach helps with playing together but not road-blocking anyone's progress. And you can always run an instance again after if you can't wait the first time.
The roulette system also helps a lot with getting new players through older content: by giving players an incentive to run older stuff (often), it naturally means you're going to get experienced players in the mix to help with the carrying.
You're in for quite a surprise. It is first and foremost a Final Fantasy game, and an MMORPG second. It tells the main story through heavy use of cutscenes, single player instanced content, and for big fights tells you it's time to queue for a dungeon (long encounter) or trial (short boss-only fight)...with the option of playing with NPCs available in some cases, though that's usually slower than playing with players.
The story builds over a decade of expansions until the stakes are fully cosmic scale and you truly feel like a decade of gameplay has lead up to it. The first installment (A Realm Reborn) is a little bit slow, since it's starting at the bottom and introducing you to the world, but it gets excellent later.
For the most part, yes, and Square Enix has spent a bit of effort on improving that in recent years. The community wiki will be helpful for some things, such as if you can't find an optional quest or need advice on gear, but I think the game mostly does an okay job at surfacing core mechanics.
It's a very social game, and playing with people definitely adds to the experience. It's by no means essential, and you can absolutely experience the whole game by queueing for content with strangers (and expect civility and patience, enforced by the moderation team, unlike some games). But some of the fun is hanging out with friends in a virtual world.
It's also good to join a Free Company (guild), which often helps share resources and get through end game grind, such as if you want to craft high level gear.
It's not only possible, but actively encouraged. The game designers are dead set on not forcing people into a sticky addiction loop. They have explicitly said that they expect people to drop and pick up whenever life gets in the way, and play when they want to.
In fact, if you are behind on the current content, it's easier to catch up. Stat scaling and gear tweaks happen so older content is deliberately easier than on launch. Players at the end game are also actively incentivized to play old content, for the benefit of new players, by tying the grind for end game gear and materials to the queue system: they get rewards for doing daily runs of dungeons, trials, raids, etc..
It is, as I said before, first and foremost a Final Fantasy game. You don't speed run to the end, you play through the story at your own pace and enjoy the journey. You can still interact with other players, but not visit new zones you haven't been to yet. And if anyone tries to coerce you into skipping cutscenes in instanced content, you're well within your rights to report them.
Kind of? It certainly helps if you're familiar with MMORPGs. It eases you into how to play your class as you level it up and your character isn't locked to the one you pick (though you gotta hit a certain level to unlock other ones).
The main story is what I'd consider the biggest barrier to a new player with the first chunk being the sloggiest. The entire story is probably a couple hundred hours of mostly text only cutscenes and a fair amount of voiced cutscenes too (silent protag -- I'm in the minority feeling like this creates a strong dissonance, similar to if Tidus could only give thumbs ups and grins but you got to select his appearance). Early on is a lot of running from A to B, going from dialogue to dialogue. Pacing isn't as tight as other FF games but it is still a grand epic fantasy story. I'd say most the gameplay happens outside the main story, but is unlocked by it. One of my raid members skipped as much as possible (without buying the story skip) and still enjoyed the game his way once he unlocks stuff.
Free trials are a bit limited in social features so y'all may have trouble partying up together, but a lot of time is spent solo in main story. I wasn't really playing with my friends outside scheduled raid hours, but the friends farther ahead would often jump into a party for a plot dungeon when someone hit it, although that's only an option once someone is on a paid account.
You'll see a lot of other players in the first 3 capital cities and can talk to them and what not. There's a rich roleplay scene. PvP works different than normal play, you can compete once you're level 30 on an even playing field. For PvE content like dungeons, other folks with be synced down to the dungeon level and veterans are incentivized to play "roulettes" which will dump them into the specific group content you queued for. You've got a long ways to go to catch up to folks playing current content, playing that little may make it difficult to engage in the newest stuff. A common activity for guilds are treasure maps, which are casual content that can be done at max level without needing to be so terribly active (there's actually maps for each expansion, some older ones are still worthwhile for the cosmetics and so some guilds will run those too). I don't think free accounts get to join a guild though, but nothing prevents you from joining their discord and being invited to their party.
I've been watching some of the keynote from the US fan fest, seems like we should be getting some good QoL changes with this expansion!
Same! Honestly, so much of what's being announced is stuff I've seen players complain about or have wished for for years. Removal of 2min burst window, moving away from job homogenization, more character customization, region-based cross-DC DF/PF, and more. So it's nice to see that SE has been listening, even if it took awhile for them to finally take action.
Some things off the top of my head that were in the keynote, since the trailer isn't going to deal with them:
The Alliance raids are a collaboration with Neon Genesis Evangelion, much like the Nier Automata raids. (Coincidentally, maybe, Yoko Taro of Nier is invoked with writing a new Evangelion film.)
Daily roulettes are being reworked into a more forgiving weekly system, where you'll earn points for upgrades (replacing Tomestones), and will even be able to dip into the previous week's quota if you missed out. Details are still preliminary, but it sounds like maybe we'll be directly upgrading gear specs from a menu instead of having as much of a gear treadmill?
You'll be able to "reflect" your highest ilvl stats onto another job, so you won't need to grind gear for every alt job.
Combat is getting a major revamp, where you'll be able to toggle between the existing system ("reborn" mode) and the new "evolved" mode. (My guess is this is transitional and unless people absolutely hate the new style, the other will be phased out.) I didn't get to watch the whole panel for that, but it seems more like the combat system in PVP modes, with fewer buttons that contextually switch, and more diversity between the jobs.
New tank and physical ranged jobs, which will be FFXIV originals and not based on other FF games.
Character creation additions (still no butt slider) allowing more flexibility, and the ability to swap animations for some actions.
From the keynote, it's nice to see the combat is getting a refresh—after not playing for over a year now, one of the big reasons I've not returned is that playing the level 90 story content is tough when you can't remember how each class works, and it's hard to re-learn without spending a while playing lower-level content.
Indeed. I have 6 jobs to 100. SGE, RDM, MCH, VPR, PCT, and NIN (the most recent). I main RDM and just recently maxed NIN, so been using it a bunch. But the others I haven't used regularly or touched at all in several months. MCH and VPR might be at least a year. VPR I never really got a handle on even when I was using it. Even my SGE is a bit rough at the later-game content (first time ever doing a healer class in any MMO).
And yeah, because I don't touch those other classes, I can't really do lategame content with them. Or I choose not to for fear of being the weakest link. But if I have a chance to relearn them under the Evolved mode, maybe that might be a good thing.
I’m at Fanfest! I am so so tired! That’s all!
i have commentary on the announcements made so far but i don’t think i’ll have time to sit down and write them out until i get home
Hope you had fun! Looking forward to hearing you comments if you'd be willing to share them.
Also, glad to see we have a little FFXIV community here on Tildes!
warning, this is unhinged battle system update ranting.
Ok so as background I started playing during the 2020 lockdowns. I really got into the high end raids at the end of Shadowbringers and have completed every single "high end duty" released since, with every Savage tier being cleared W1 (W2 for exceptions like Abyssos, W2 for the last two tiers because our static disbanded and I opted to PF instead) and every EW+ ultimate cleared on-patch. I'm providing this context because there has been a huge divide between the endgame raiding community (which by itself consists of a HUGE spectrum in sweatiness level) and the casual playerbase. I exist staunchly in the former. I also am very aware that the high end raiding community is filled to the brim with players who do not realize that we are an extremely small percentage of the overall playerbase, with that percentage growing increasingly small once we start talking about higher levels of Ultimate progression.
I have been complaining about the 2 minute design since Abyssos, or mid-2022. I understand why it had to be done; I was far more casual when I did raid in Shadowbringers and didn't experience the full extent of the the divide between the most optimal job composition vs. the least optimal job composition, but I don't think it takes much imagination. Meeting a DPS check with minimal gear at the start of the raid tier is, IMO, just as valid a part of sweaty raid progression, which means the raid designers need to design a DPS check that can be cleared by all jobs, but that also places a lot of importance on making sure those jobs are all balanced... which is not a simple task because the very design of those jobs and how they dish out DPS is fundamentally different. You see this in ultimates often, where say, Reaper can do very poorly in phases with many periods of boss downtime (ie. periods where you cannot actively attack the boss) because their job design from the ground up relies on hit boss -> generate resources -> use resources. Or people saying FRU was too easy (and it was pretty easy from a mechanical standpoint) when they happened to have an unnerfed Pictomancer on their party that made DPS checks a joke, which also meant they could get through phases with damage downs/deaths. And some of the changes they've made to the battle system be inclusive of all jobs have had some consequences that just remove small areas of player skill expression... whether it's doubling the range of party buffs, doubling the range of healing skills, limiting the amount of mechanics that are going off during 2 minute windows. I could go on a whole extended rant on the 2 minute burst job design, like actually, but I am trying to keep that soapboxing to a minimum.
And that's even before I start talking about the design of the jobs themselves! I don't play Gunbreaker anymore, there just isn't a point when GNB's DPS looks good only when you're hitting a dummy, compared to the sheer lack of effort you need to put in on WAR/PLD/DRK. I'm actually a huge modern PLD design hater and I can extrapolate but really, nobody asked (yet) so... anyways. In their general quest for allowing all jobs to stay as close to possible to each other they have tunneled into a very similar loop for every single job no matter how unique they are: press many buttons in a 20 second window every 2 minutes when buffs are up, and press minimal buttons until the next 60s / 120s window. And they have designed a lot of these jobs into a corner - look at how the vast majority of 90->100 really just added a single extra OGCD or GCD.
Since DT release I've been really wanting them to look at adjusting the DPS rotations to increase damage done outside of burst. Right now with how important the burst phase is compared to the off-burst phases, on top of how mechanically simple the off-burst phase is, you just don't see a big enough divide between players who are on top of their shit vs. players who can't press anything more complicated than a 123 combo while executing mechanics. That's not me flaming people based on skill level; that's me wanting the encounter design and job design to challenge us to go from "flailing to do mechanics while DPSing" to "performing mechanics while DPSing". That's progression!
So I'm... a little optimistic about the announcement regarding the "evolved" playstyle, because at the very least it is a recognition of the fact that it's very difficult to have unique jobs with unique playstyles with raiding balance in mind. Shifting away from the 2 minute burst window philosophy is a required step even if it is not a perfect one (because buff alignment is also another avenue for group skill expression AND unique job identity).
Ok so i went on this whole nonsense rant about my opinion on job design. I will now step back and note that genuinely very little of this even matters to the vast majority of the playerbase, including more casual or "midcore" Ultimate raiders. I cleared TOP on patch with players who were in absolutely no place to complain about the raid design or damage variance and honestly, the loudest TOP complainers I had to listen to personally were players who just weren't interested in sweating a bit harder and preferred to blame the design instead. I don't think the developers should be paying attention to people like me OR them when the fact remains that what we have suffices for 99% of players. Heck, I feel a little weird about how much I ranted above because I really do recognize that I'm in a minority and the things I have issues with are so miniscule in the grand scheme of things.
Anyways.
I would like Shadowbringers Summoner design back, and Kaiten, and 90 second GNB Bloodfest. Thank you!
I guess I might resub. I stopped around 7.2 I think? Dawntrail was worse than Heavensward for me. In fairness, pretty hard to follow up on the blockbuster ending that was Endwalker. I did tell myself that if Dawntrail was bad, I'd just sit it out and the next one would be better.
Hopefully the QoL changes are enough to keep me subbed this time. Some of the reasons for not playing are my own fault, but a lot has to do with Squeenix decisions (or lack thereof). The bots were especially bad in 7.x, it was really difficult to do anything on the market board if you weren't online 24/7. Or you would get stuck in a bot party via DF. Or you'd have to mute half the world because it was bots shouting about gold selling.
At the end of the day, I just didn't enjoy my experience in DT. Maybe this'll be better. And I'm not letting myself get hyped either - that was a big personal issue because I was really excited for DT originally but most of my friends weren't, so the social aspect was sorely missing. And while the game can be played solo, it's a very densely populated lonely world.
I'm on Aether-Sargatanas so maybe I'll see some of you around :)
Huh, I wonder if that's a world-specific thing with the bots. I'm on Primal--Famfrit. I feel like I rarely see RMT spam anymore (though they did also add keyword filtering to chat and I have that set up). And bots in instances? Idk...some players are just so bad, even in normal DF, hard to tell who is or isn't a bot. And I'm inclined to believe they're not bots since they often actually talk in party/alliance chat.
Agreed though that DT was worse than EW. Especially the first half. But like you said, it was it ways going to be a tall order to be as good as EW or even SHB. Hopefully Evercold being the start of a new arc will be a return to form of sorts. That said, I would like to see a more "interactive" MSQ. Feel like so much of the MSQ these days is just fetch or walk/teleport then talk to NPC quests and then long-ass cut scenes. It's like a VN these days.
"Pray return to the Wakin...."
NO
FFS Minfilia, if it's that important, you come here or just call me on the linkpearl!!
I actually made the effort to not skip cutscenes or speed through anything in DT. It... didn't really help much tbh. But I wanted to fully enjoy the story instead of rushing through to endgame.
I can't say I've ever come across bots in the game, and gold spamming is fairly infrequent and gets mass reported quickly. I'm guessing you're on a low population sever? I've been on Mateus (Crystal) since before Shadowbringers came out, and the main areas are usually lively and full of conversations. I remember having to make my character at 2AM, because it always had queues and it wouldn't be allowed due to congestion.
I liked DT overall, but I also had specific expectations that it was going to be like another ARR/a filler vacation episode with some setup slowly teased for the next major arc. A necessary change of pace to prevent endless story scale creep, but not likely to be a fan favorite. We ended up with some solid raid content (Arcadion is great) and I really liked the 7.4 story.
My activity definitely has been lower in the post-expansion patches this time around though, but I skill hop on occasionally to do treasure map runs with my FC when we're between content drops.
Edit since this turned into a lengthy rant and I don't like being so negative:
Things I did enjoy were the raid series, up until my static fell apart and I didn't have the desire to find 6 new people I meshed well with. I enjoyed Viper quite a bit and mained it for most content, though I do miss my Samurai. The world was also beautiful and of course the music was phenomenal.
Sargatanas is one of the legacy servers (I've been playing since Heavensward) - it's definitely not low pop lol. It's frequently congested for character creation and logins.
Kinda surprised you haven't seen bots, though I've not been on Crystal much so I can't say much about the state there. And my interests possibly don't align with yours in game. Ironically though, treasure hunting is where I've seen the most bots outside of gathering/mining. When you've been playing for years, you learn to spot them pretty easily - they're everywhere once you recognize the patterns. Granted I've not played in a year+ but I still talk to friends and nobody has really said "wow the bot situation has really improved" or they're all just accepting of it.
It's especially difficult if you want to make money crafting because there are bots farming the mats and selling for cheap, bots crafting gear and selling for cheap, bots buying up more expensive things and relisting them for cheap, etc. so it makes it not even worth it when you have to spend an hour farming stuff and crafting only to be able to sell it for maybe 75000 gil because you get undercut every five minutes.
If you look at the market board right after a major patch you'll definitely see a difference in prices (higher), volume (lower), and undercutting (less) because the third party tools take 24-72 hours to be updated, typically. Though some of the paid bot tools are updated even faster so there's less of a window. Doesn't really help me since I can't really get online at 3am after a patch to sell things.
Bots also ruined hunting - players running stuff like GatherBuddy often have Sonar turned on and if you're unaware they're in the zone and you put in the effort to kill 300 mobs for a rare S-rank spawn, only to have the bot indiscriminately alert everybody and somebody with a bone to pick zones in and starts killing the mark (which usually melts because everybody else using the sonar plugin piles on so they don't miss out on the rewards) before most people who don't want to use third party tools can show up and then they get mad at you because they missed out, well it's a bit disheartening.
Anyway obviously I burnt myself out a bit, as evidenced by my lengthy rant. I probably got a bit too into things. Maybe I'll be even more casual on Evercold. Perhaps won't even touch hunting this time around, since that is rife with drama. Crafting and hunting were the two things I enjoyed the most and the bots and lack of response from Squeenix were a big part of me stepping away, so maybe I just need to focus on the non bot-infested portions and enjoy the simpler things in life.
I suppose I should say it's not so much that I haven't seen bots as they don't really effect me much in the things I engage with. I'm in a very crafting heavy FC, and they probably run into it more, while I tend to lag behind on that and get their help for things like gearing. (Just yesterday I got half my Courtly Lover's gear by collecting and crafting the precursor materials and handing them to an FC member to make them.)
Hunting is something I haven't gotten into much, precisely for the potential for drama lol. I've seen, at distance, enough arguments about people sniping marks or not waiting for a shield train or whatever.
I absolutely do love crafting for people. Always made me really happy when friends would come back and I'd greet them and make the latest set for their favourite class so they could jump back in. But then one of them decided to sell everything I made them without even using it (obviously since it wasn't soulbound) and said nothing to me, so that really sucked. I don't talk to them anymore for other reasons (extreme misogyny among them) but that was the beginning of the end.
I'll still do it for friends I really know and trust, just not less-acquainted raid friends.
I also love glamming and I know that has had a ton of improvements, so at least I've got that to encourage me :)