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Apocalypse Tribe HQ _ Final Fantasy Online _ FFXIV: ARR Public Beta Info Thread

Posted by: Crushinator Jan 7 2013, 11:26 AM

New intro video release today (although the first 5 mins or so is crap from a previous trailer).



Sign up here:

http://entry.ffxiv.com/beta/na

Here's the roadmap for the beta:


Posted by: Vitamin D Jan 7 2013, 02:07 PM

Just signed up, selected PC and Tr3y. Game looks pretty fun, and worst case scenario I can just play PSO 2. I know that game is awesome haha.

Posted by: HC82 Jan 8 2013, 01:29 PM

I signed up for the beta as well for the PC.

Posted by: Kazicht Jan 17 2013, 12:44 AM

QUOTE(Vitamin D @ Jan 7 2013, 02:07 PM) *
Just signed up, selected PC and Tr3y. Game looks pretty fun, and worst case scenario I can just play PSO 2. I know that game is awesome haha.


Ditto, on both.

Posted by: Crushinator Jan 18 2013, 01:54 PM

QUOTE(Vitamin D @ Jan 7 2013, 02:07 PM) *
Just signed up, selected PC and Tr3y. Game looks pretty fun, and worst case scenario I can just play PSO 2. I know that game is awesome haha.


QUOTE(HC82 @ Jan 8 2013, 12:29 PM) *
I signed up for the beta as well for the PC.



QUOTE(Kazicht @ Jan 16 2013, 11:44 PM) *
Ditto, on both.



Posted by: Alisha Jan 19 2013, 02:17 AM

i signed up ps3 and pc.

Posted by: AC9breaker Jan 19 2013, 04:12 AM

QUOTE(Crushinator @ Jan 18 2013, 02:54 PM) *
QUOTE(Vitamin D @ Jan 7 2013, 02:07 PM) *
Just signed up, selected PC and Tr3y. Game looks pretty fun, and worst case scenario I can just play PSO 2. I know that game is awesome haha.


QUOTE(HC82 @ Jan 8 2013, 12:29 PM) *
I signed up for the beta as well for the PC.



QUOTE(Kazicht @ Jan 16 2013, 11:44 PM) *
Ditto, on both.





godamit.

can't believe you let him sucker you guys like that.

So how is it?

Posted by: Alisha Jan 19 2013, 04:48 PM

the beta doesnt start till feb.

Posted by: Crushinator Feb 15 2013, 04:25 PM

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/60542

FFXIV 2.0 Beta starts Feb 25th. I'm not sure if invites have been mailed out yet, though. Did anyone get something in their inbox for it?



Is this a lady galka? Lookit them bigass tittyballs.

The director's update says they've added open-participation type quests (in game they're called FATE quests) kind of like Guild Wars 2 where shit just "happens" in the world and anyone in the vicinity can join in and is rewarded for participating. Events like that were one of my favorite parts of GW2, glad to see something similar making its way to FFXIV.

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 15 2013, 08:54 PM

I think that's a Highlander female. Also unless you had a minimum of 3 months paid subscription, you likely won't get in until the 3rd phase of beta testing, or if lucky phase 2, which would be April or so.

Posted by: Ellianna Feb 20 2013, 03:27 PM

I just signed up for this the other day and thought I'd come see if anyone here was planning on checking it out or possibly playing once it's released. WoW is getting old and haven't been able to find anything else that interests me. I've been waiting for elder scrolls online, but now I'm more interested to see what happens with this (my daughter is too).

Posted by: AC9breaker Feb 20 2013, 08:46 PM

I'll be playing it when it drops, since godamn Crushinator has bamboozled everyone else here into playing it. Just ordered my new laptop online about two weeks ago, should be here by the end of the month. At the very least It'll be good to get back into Starcraft again, and I might give JP PSO2 a try.

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 21 2013, 05:37 PM

QUOTE(AC9breaker @ Feb 20 2013, 08:46 PM) *
I'll be playing it when it drops, since godamn Crushinator has bamboozled everyone else here into playing it. Just ordered my new laptop online about two weeks ago, should be here by the end of the month. At the very least It'll be good to get back into Starcraft again, and I might give JP PSO2 a try.


To be fair to Crushinator, I did get in the alpha before him and was bamboozled by Square directly. mog.gif

Posted by: Ellianna Feb 22 2013, 07:52 AM

I can't blame anyone here since I haven't been around. I Actually had an urge to play ffxi again, but all my account info is gone; lost it years ago. I signed up for a free trial for the hell of it; Alyssa (daughter) wanted something other than WoW to mess around with. She's completely lost because she's so used to the user friendly UI of WoW. While I was doing that I came across ffxiv - a realm reborn. Though I dont even know if my computer will be able to run it. My laptop is acting kind of sluggish lately. Probably gonna need to have it looked at and see if it's worth upgrading; don't know if it can handle anything new.

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 22 2013, 08:52 AM

I dont have the link handy since I typing from my phone, but go to massively.joystiq.com and scroll down to yesterday's news and there is a ffxiv article with a link to the benchmark test that should help you out. On another note, I got an emal from SE this morning beigebiggrin.gif


Edit- Opps it was a Kotaku article, but here's the direct link http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/benchmark/

Posted by: Crushinator Feb 22 2013, 10:45 AM

I got a beta invite mail as well, so expect more pirate EULA breaking streams on my twitch channel! pirate.gif

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 22 2013, 10:50 AM

Perhaps a thread in the ops forum, to avoid any NDA entanglements as well.

Posted by: Ellianna Feb 22 2013, 12:43 PM

QUOTE(Knightsword @ Feb 22 2013, 09:52 AM) *
I dont have the link handy since I typing from my phone, but go to massively.joystiq.com and scroll down to yesterday's news and there is a ffxiv article with a link to the benchmark test that should help you out. On another note, I got an emal from SE this morning beigebiggrin.gif


Edit- Opps it was a Kotaku article, but here's the direct link http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/benchmark/



Thanks!

Posted by: Scan_Man Feb 22 2013, 03:10 PM

I got in too. I did the benchmark last night. . . I am officially on the hype train!

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 22 2013, 03:38 PM

From the producer letters, it sounds like the phase one beta will be more or less the same as the alpha content (Gridania), but with all the races/classes (I think) available and no level cap. As the phases progress the other regions will become available.

Posted by: Kazicht Feb 22 2013, 04:38 PM

Dammit, where's my email? :|

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 22 2013, 04:45 PM

QUOTE(Kazicht @ Feb 22 2013, 04:38 PM) *
Dammit, where's my email? :|


Spam folder?

But seriously if you are expecting one from being a legacy user or alpha tester, I saw reports (on the FFXIV forums) that Comcast was auto blocking email from Square flagging it as spam.

Posted by: Vitamin D Feb 22 2013, 09:55 PM

I didn't get an email either, I think it's because I didn't do the survey haha. My brother got in though, so there's that at least. The Benchmark got me pretty hype for the game honestly, so I'm eager to try it out!

Posted by: Alisha Feb 23 2013, 07:01 AM

i didnt get an invite either :(
but heres my benchmark results

Posted by: Kazicht Feb 23 2013, 08:38 AM

QUOTE(Alisha @ Feb 23 2013, 08:01 AM) *
i didnt get an invite either :(
but heres my benchmark results

1280x720? What is this, 2006?
I only got about 2500 score under 1920x1080, all settings maxed. Which according to the benchmark is "fairly high".

On the bright side I'm glad to see the graphics engine is way more optimized then v1.0 and the spells and special effects looked impressive.
Still... needs more subsurface scattering.


Posted by: DarkEpyon Feb 23 2013, 10:01 AM

I signed up twice but forgot to do the survey on one email account. Looks like they were giving priority to legacy and alpha folks. I saw somewhere that everyone else that didn't fall under those categories has to wait until phase 3.

Posted by: Alisha Feb 23 2013, 12:45 PM

QUOTE(Kazicht @ Feb 23 2013, 09:38 AM) *
QUOTE(Alisha @ Feb 23 2013, 08:01 AM) *
i didnt get an invite either :(
but heres my benchmark results

1280x720? What is this, 2006?
I only got about 2500 score under 1920x1080, all settings maxed. Which according to the benchmark is "fairly high".

On the bright side I'm glad to see the graphics engine is way more optimized then v1.0 and the spells and special effects looked impressive.
Still... needs more subsurface scattering.


its because my monitor went kapoof. so im using a hdtv i had laying around until i repplace it. i does support 1080p but that made the text in pso 2 to small to read so i went to 720p

Posted by: Crushinator Feb 23 2013, 02:11 PM

QUOTE(Alisha @ Feb 23 2013, 11:45 AM) *
its because my monitor went kapoof. so im using a hdtv i had laying around until i repplace it. i does support 1080p but that made the text in pso 2 to small to read so i went to 720p


Hey if you have extra TVs just hanging around, how about you share the wealth?

Posted by: DarkEpyon Feb 23 2013, 02:59 PM

I use an old HDTV for my PC. Works great!

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 23 2013, 09:48 PM

Hell, even my samsung monitor is a hdtv too.

Posted by: HC82 Feb 24 2013, 01:46 PM

I got no email.

Fuck this game...

Posted by: donkeybeatz Feb 24 2013, 04:04 PM

QUOTE(HC82 @ Feb 24 2013, 01:46 PM) *
I got no email.

Fuck this game...


Posted by: Ellianna Feb 25 2013, 03:35 AM

Tried using the benchmark....wont run. Keeps giving me a message that there's a file missing

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 25 2013, 04:18 AM

Make sure to extract all files and sub folders to the same folder along with the .exe. if it says what file is missing you can try to google it.

Posted by: Ellianna Feb 25 2013, 09:02 AM

It was a directX issue, was missing a dll file so I just reinstalled directX. Ran it on 1280x720 Medium and got a score of 3163 (fairly high), so it would be default settings for me. That leaves me hopeful though that I can at least play the game. This laptop is 5 years old anyway, already assumed it would be default settings; if anything.

Posted by: Scan_Man Feb 25 2013, 06:10 PM

Game is solid. UI and mechanics. Just to be seen if the content will be there for late game. For the starting area there is quite a lot to do as is. Just wish they speed up the town intro stuff. Other stuff is minor annoyances that will be fixed if they truly value feedback.

I will go into more detail on beta forums and later here after I got a good amount of time with the game.

I will say this though, I do want to keep playing it, unlike v1.0. Especially realized I had been questing for a hour and I I open my map and there is whole other sub zone I have quest for and have yet to explore.

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 26 2013, 01:32 PM

QUOTE(Scan_Man @ Feb 25 2013, 06:10 PM) *
Just wish they speed up the town intro stuff.



Esc key, my friend

Posted by: Scan_Man Feb 26 2013, 08:08 PM

QUOTE(Knightsword @ Feb 26 2013, 02:32 PM) *
QUOTE(Scan_Man @ Feb 25 2013, 06:10 PM) *
Just wish they speed up the town intro stuff.



Esc key, my friend


I am talking about the introduction to the game. The amount of "intro" quests and running around town before you properly receive your first batch of "intro" quests to go out in the world and kill things. It feels separated and long. If 70% of new players that try WoW quit before level 10, this game is in trouble imo. It is bad pacing for what they have there so far. FFXIV v1.0 at least had the boat sequence at the start and you were already getting your first kill Leves when you zoned into town. I don't see this changing much because it's story driven and they already finished the cutscenes. Hopefully other starting areas have a different flavor in this regard.

I cannot think of one recent MMO that does not have you questing to kill stuff within 3 minutes after character creation. Usually the town stuff, basically showing you where you can find things while teaching you the non-combat and social mechanics, either comes later after they hook you with the combat and rewards systems or it's woven in while you learn combat (in between quest turn-ins at the starting quest hub). Good quests that flow well aid in this. Which is why WoW is successful. Guild Wars 2 does this a bit better imo because you have a ton of options where to go, what to do and the order you like to do it in.

Here you are dragging your feet leveling up from just running around town handing things in. I guess you can argue it's getting the bullshit out the way first, so the game can just focus on content and combat later. I don't like it, but I am reading the beta forums to see what others think and of course give my feedback.

Not to mention you get armor upgrade rewards where the requirements are several levels above the quest level. Most likely rewards are not done and it's an easy fix.

But they can speed it up, by combining quests and steps, so there is less NPC turn-ins to find within the quest chain. Which will reduce the amount of time running around town. That's all I am saying. I understand the town stuff is a bit of necessary evil.

Once you are actually out in the world killing stuff and the FF battle music is pumping the game is fine. The amount of content per area is quite good from what I have seen. This is what really matters in the long run, which is what v1.0 lacked at the start.

There are annoyances, a bit of the tedium left over from FFXIV v1.0 design, like manually handing in the fetch quest items. Which is pointless and unnecessary. Unless they were planing to add a puzzle aspect to that or multiple NPC want the same thing and you have some choice. I doubt it because here they give you the picture of what you already have and you have to drag and drop it then "left-click" confirm, or "right-click" and select the hand over option then "left-click" confirm. V1.0 had a ton of stuff like this and my opinion now remains the same, it needs to go or reduce amount of steps down to one.

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 26 2013, 09:40 PM

You can get the first killing quests right away if you want and skip the ones in the town or if you wish forgo all the quests and just grind. The only important quests are the story ones for the city and your current's class's guild which have their own icon (fancy border around the !). I don't see how options are a turn off, but to each their own.

Posted by: Scan_Man Feb 26 2013, 11:24 PM

QUOTE(Knightsword @ Feb 26 2013, 10:40 PM) *
You can get the first killing quests right away if you want and skip the ones in the town or if you wish forgo all the quests and just grind. The only important quests are the story ones for the city and your current's class's guild which have their own icon (fancy border around the !). I don't see how options are a turn off, but to each their own.




Yeah I am sure you can. But that is knowledge a new player does not have yet. A new player is collecting all the quests they see and doing them. Saying you can skip this and that because this and that is important is knowledge you have once you have played through multiple times already. The point of the introduction is to guide/teach new players the systems to play the game and hook them. The hook to nearly all MMO's is to get out into the world and kill things. That is fun or not based on combat/class mechanics and quests. Additional hooks are gathering and crafting things. That's the gameplay of MMORPGs.

Just like with v1.0, I know what new players expect. But if you have the mindset of a veteran, someone that has ton of experience playing the beta, or even a fan that was going play regardless, you ignore and overlook the flaws because you know where everything is. That's what happened with the developers on v1.0, they designed the game so "it must be fine" because they already have knowledge of the game. They selectively listened to feedback that praised the game by the folks that were fine with the game as is. While the rest of us who were pointing out the flaws got ignored and the game ended up being shit.

All that was required was stepping out the "all knowing" bubble and see the game through the eyes of a new player. That would of seen that v1.0 was a mess long before alpha and beta.


With that said the introduction has pacing problems. It's like the first thing that jumped out at me while playing through it.


How is a new player suppose to know they what they can skip, when in MMOs you get quest for an area and complete the chain until gives you quest to go to a new area? The quest flow in this game is the same as WoW. And that's a flow most people coming into this game will be used to. You get the kill quest, but there is more "!" on my map in town to do.

Seriously, typical new players don't skip quests that are marked on the map like that unless the conveyance and quest flow is shit (like warps you or leads to a very far off area). Whatever your opinions on WoW are, they have trained MMO players to talk to NPCs with "!" to accept quests. The fact the quest have level ranges further incentives the urgency to "get these done" in your quest log as they are near by on the map.

I never said options are a turn off. They I said Guild Wars 2 does this because because you have options and I will add it's clear from the start you can do whatever you want.

New players are not going to understand the symbols right away. They will see "turn-ins" and new quests "!" marked on their map and will inclined to do them.


I want this game to be good for new players, WoW players, Guild Wars 2 players, FFXI players, and anybody else. I am focused on the town introduction right now because everything else I played is good for the most part. That introduction is suppose to hook players. And I just don't see it happening with the current pacing. If WoW has issues hooking 70% of new players with it's pacing. What is this game going to do with it's much slower pacing? You know even Guild Wars 2 answer was to make a faster paced intro than WoW and they don't have the subscription model hanging over their heads.

Understand I am not speaking from a die hard fan perspective. A die hard will have knowledge of where the meat of the game is either through playing beta, or researching via forums and guides. They will know where the fun is and how to get to it quickly. But for a new player they are clueless as to where the game will take them next, and usually assume all starting quests are important to progression. So "you can skip it," when clearly it's there to lead new players, is not a fix.


Edit: I get the impression you think by me bringing up these issues I am asking for help or advice. Not the case, since I thoroughly go through everything and test multiple times with the time I have. The idea is to point out good points and flaws and find bugs. I never said I had issues finding the skip cutscene button or press ESC twice to get the dialogue box to skip; which by the way was bugged on some cutscenes. Again I test this content multiple times, going through watching all cutscenes, skipping cutscenes, and skipping some and not others to see if there is any weirdness. To get a feel what it's trying to convey to the player. That's how you test. Just noting that particular chunk of content is slow and needs to direct you into combat faster.

Posted by: AC9breaker Feb 27 2013, 07:36 AM



I'm ready I guess.

Posted by: Crushinator Feb 27 2013, 10:14 AM

QUOTE(Scan_Man @ Feb 26 2013, 10:24 PM) *
stuff



Are you posting this same feedback on the Beta forums? I know you want to make your point clear to Knightsword but its probably better served on the official forums.

I do agree that you should be "up and killing shit" within a few minutes of starting, I felt like this was a problem with the alpha too. You get all these in-town quests and it took me a good 30+ minutes to even figure out where the gate was to get outside and fight stuff. I think the ideal setting is starting you OUTSIDE the town and you have to fight your way "in" while being tutorialized, then the game can branch from there.

Posted by: HC82 Feb 28 2013, 12:12 PM

QUOTE(Crushinator @ Feb 27 2013, 11:14 AM) *
QUOTE(Scan_Man @ Feb 26 2013, 10:24 PM) *
stuff



Are you posting this same feedback on the Beta forums? I know you want to make your point clear to Knightsword but its probably better served on the official forums.

I do agree that you should be "up and killing shit" within a few minutes of starting, I felt like this was a problem with the alpha too. You get all these in-town quests and it took me a good 30+ minutes to even figure out where the gate was to get outside and fight stuff. I think the ideal setting is starting you OUTSIDE the town and you have to fight your way "in" while being tutorialized, then the game can branch from there.



I agree with Crush about how a game should handle a starting Zone.

Ergo...

Fuck this game

Posted by: Knightsword Feb 28 2013, 04:21 PM

My issue is every mmo starts off with combat, and frankly 6 of this then kill 6 of that right off the bat makes me think that they spent no time with world building and fleshing the npc's. FFXI was bad at this as that was the only way to gain anything was through combat, and even WoW quest's are little more then a text box that gets ignored for more killing. If a player can't make up their own mind and ignore the ! and turn around and walk out the gate. That's on the player, not the game. The diablo method of rpg's can be just as boring to people as classic rpg questing is to you guys.

Posted by: DarkEpyon Mar 2 2013, 03:34 PM

Honestly, what else is there though? It's still "travel from point A to point B and slaughter x number of whateverine or bring back y number of whateverine penises" no matter how you gussy it up.

Posted by: Vitamin D Apr 9 2013, 04:00 PM

Well, at least I got into Phase 2. It apparently starts this weekend. Um... ballin?

Posted by: Crushinator Apr 9 2013, 04:21 PM

Nice, we can all be man-cats together! Are they rolling out the PS3 version this weekend too?

Posted by: Vitamin D Apr 9 2013, 04:46 PM

Naw, next the next phase is for the Tr3y. If I get the opportunity to test both platforms, I definitely will haha.

Posted by: Ellianna Apr 10 2013, 07:20 AM

Got my email for beta test this morning, yay!

Posted by: Crushinator Apr 11 2013, 10:41 AM



Holy shit! I love it, and the homage to FF6's opening is fantastic.

Posted by: Ellianna Apr 12 2013, 06:40 AM

So what server are you guys using? >.>

Posted by: Crushinator Apr 12 2013, 09:32 AM

I'm on chocobo, to be honest I haven't even seen anyone else from AT online this phase of the beta lol...

Posted by: Vitamin D Apr 12 2013, 09:47 AM

When I made my character, Chocobo was full, so I have a character on Atomos. Chose that because my brother has a character there too. If I can sneak a character onto Chocobo later, I'll do so.

On the game itself, I like what I'm playing. It's easy to get into, especially since there are shades of FF XI in its style. This phase also came with the option to play on a gamepad. Considering I spent 3 years playing FF XI on PS2/360, I went with the option, and it controls really nicely. I'll be messing with the game more through the weekend, but so far so good haha.

Posted by: Ellianna Apr 12 2013, 10:03 AM

yea chocobo is full :/ I started on Behemoth, but if people decide to get together on one I'll switch over.

Posted by: Crushinator Apr 12 2013, 11:16 AM

If Atmos is still open I have no problem just starting a new guy there. I'm only level 12 on chocobo anyways.

Posted by: Ellianna Apr 12 2013, 02:49 PM

It was when I looked earlier, going to log in now and make a char. there if it's still open.


yup still open conj. made - Ellianna Cuthrell

Posted by: Crushinator May 23 2013, 12:05 PM



New areas look amazing.

Posted by: AC9breaker Jun 1 2013, 08:53 AM

So what the hell is up my ninjas? You ninjas playing this shit or what? Gimmie some feeback!

Posted by: Crushinator Jun 3 2013, 09:14 AM

I played the beta quite a bit, its really improved on what I saw in the alpha.

They've essentially dumped most of what was originally in FFXIV 1.0 at this point, save for the Leves (which are still limited BUT there is so much content in the game otherwise that it balances out and isn't a problem now.)

The combat is very fast paced, with an awesome UI with lots of visual cues. If you've played FF12, its similar to that, how it draws an arcing line to highlight which player is attacking which mobs. You also get lines indicating which mobs will link to the ones you pull. It also has an on-screen display of the time remaining to EXP chain, nothing is really hidden from view to the player. Because of how quickly your TP and MP regenerate, you flow quickly from one fight to the next and can easily XP chain over the course of a quest which is nice. Camping and grinding XP isn't necessary compared to FFXI, thank god.

There are mini job-specific quests in your notebook like "kill 9 squirrels" that you can do as you proceed through the normal quests. The regular questing is the main source of XP and money, and is basically in line with any other Post-WOW MMO. It feels very much like Guild Wars 2, which is a good thing. You also have public-quest type things where everyone in the vicinity can jump in and help fight a giant monster or swarm of unique monsters, and gets rewarded for their contribution.

They've implemented the controller options, I played it using a dual shock 3 for a bit but to be honest KB/M is much better for this game. The improvements to the UI have gotten it up to speed to being on par with any modern PC game, and it just feels easier to me to play this type of game with the KB/M. Controller is completely serviceable though, it maps your shortcut keys to holding down the triggers and pushing the face buttons/d-pad.

Graphics are great, and its nice that they added the "missing" races/genders. Remember that they didn't have female highlander humans for no good reason too? Now you have lady galkas, man cats, and all.

The current beta cycle has ended, I'm not sure when the next phase will begin. Hopefully they add the additional starting areas, and all the starting jobs as the limitations of the beta content are starting to show. I'm very excited for the full release though, it's really unprecedented for ANY game to have this much of an improvement from such a terrible retail release.

P.S. Here are the details for the collectors edition below. Good news is, if you already bought the FFXIV 1.0 collectors edition back in the day, you'll get all the bonuses in this one too. All of us who already bought the game (regular or SE) will not need to buy it again to play ARR.


Posted by: Vitamin D Jun 3 2013, 10:12 AM

I honestly was impressed with the game, despite the amount of time I spent with it. The lack of playtime was because of very few jobs and well, Monster Hunter. The game itself is oozing with quality and content. There was always something to do, and even wandering around the various maps was fun. I think I'll be more involved once the class I want is available. Dat Pugilist/Monk, Son. Either way, the beta impressed me enough that I'll buy it. at-emote1.gif

Also, Jobs.


Posted by: Alisha Jun 8 2013, 01:09 AM

i played phase 2 as you can see in the ops thread and will be in phase 3 as well

Posted by: Crushinator Jun 8 2013, 05:33 PM

Unless they add a lot more content I'm done fucking around with the beta. They announced the official launch date is Aug 27th, so I'll be sitting back until then most likely.

Posted by: Knightsword Jun 11 2013, 04:38 PM

Phase 3 is suppose to have the other cities and their regions

Posted by: Alisha Jun 11 2013, 07:56 PM

rest of the classes too sans arcanist

Posted by: DarkEpyon Jun 14 2013, 07:32 AM

Well I got my key this morning. I'm still fighting my first enemy....


The forum registration

Posted by: Ellianna Jun 14 2013, 09:15 AM

I've gotten to level 4, but now i keep getting disconnected.

Posted by: Crushinator Jun 14 2013, 09:30 AM

Oh damn I didn't know it was back up this weekend! Time to play some new classes.

Posted by: Knightsword Jun 14 2013, 09:07 PM

I'm roll'n on Diabolos for this round.

Posted by: Crushinator Jun 15 2013, 09:38 PM

Making a new doob on Diablos right now.

Posted by: DarkEpyon Jun 16 2013, 09:33 AM

I definitely liked what I saw in the time I had with it. Definitely a total 180 from what 1.0 had. It's good, but I wouldn't call it "restore the good name of the FF brand" good.

Posted by: Knightsword Jun 20 2013, 07:11 PM

The beta of the new http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com is up and running.

Posted by: Scan_Man Jun 22 2013, 12:58 AM

Man the producer of this knows what the fuck he is talking about. If you have beta forum access, check out the article he wrote "Design Concepts" in the Comment from the Producer sections. Definitely interested to see how the game shapes up at launch.

Posted by: HC82 Jun 22 2013, 10:01 PM

Don't have beta access forums. Could you copy and paste what this dude is saying?

Posted by: Scan_Man Jun 23 2013, 05:42 AM

Yeah sure. Didn't think to do that because I had just got done playing the beta all night and was pretty out of it after ending that session by going through the beta forums. By the way Ul'dah is a better starting zone than Gridania imo and leaves a better impression on the game compared to what I was saying earlier. Music in the questing area during the day has this FF10 and Chrono Cross thing going on; really sets you in a roaming the overworld Final Fantasy type of mood. I still need to try Limsa Lominsa. Maybe next testing session.



QUOTE
Producer and director Naoki Yoshida here.

You've been providing us great feedback on all aspects of FFXIV: ARR, and I can't thank you all enough. With phase 3 well underway, we have testers coming from a wide range of backgrounds, whether they're unfamiliar with Version 1.0, coming in from another game, dropping in to test the FFXIV out, or simply new to MMOs as a whole.

With such a diverse group of testers here, I thought it would be best to speak with you all about the design of FFXIV and the direction the game will be heading. MMOs are fairly large games, and as you'd expect of a large game, this post will be fairly long, and perhaps a little complicated. Some of you may be thinking "Well as long as the game is fun, your plans are fine with me." If you not overly concerned with the way game is progressing, you're free to skim through this post if you'd like. If you have questions or concerns about core game designs, and are considering leaving feedback, pull up a comfy chair and perhaps grab a snack. Hopefully by the end of this post, your questions will be answered.

I know I said this just a moment ago, but this post is fairly long, and I could probably give a lecture based on its contents. For those of you planning to read this, prepare yourselves for the flood of text that's coming.

I'll begin by talking about the early stages of MMOs, followed by a look at them from a business standpoint, and finish with a few words on content design in FFXV: ARR.
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Yoshida: The Hardcore Gamer vs. Producer and Director

As an avid gamer myself, I'd like to start with a comparison of two viewpoints with respect to the start of MMOs—Yoshida the hardcore gamer, and Yoshida the producer and director.
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Yoshida the Hardcore Gamer

I've played online games for nearly 20 years now, and whenever there's a new release, you can be sure I'm going to try it. When I do, however, there's always that longing for a magic button that will instantly take me to the level cap.

No matter the MMO, there's a certain standard expected of every game. This includes the chat system, party system, and features such as guilds to foster the community. There are also standard UI elements making it easy to move from one game to another. Since there's little you need to remember changing over from one game to the next, one may think these games are designed to quickly get to the level cap and start playing through endgame content.

It goes without saying that the leveling system, skill system, and many other aspects of the game are important, but all of these things can be figured out at the level cap. As a result, players can feel frustrated with only one or two skills at the beginning of the game, wanting to quickly rush through everything and get to the cap.

For example, let's say until yesterday, there's a particular game I've devoted all of my time to. I'm max level, I have all the best gear—I'm a top ranked player on my server. When I log into the game people take notice, and there are few who haven't heard of me. If it's time for a large-scale raid, I take the lead gathering my guild mates, and we press on to victory. Nothing beats the thrill of life and death battles with raid bosses, lasting well through the night until my eyes are bloodshot the next day. With every relevant gaming site bookmarked, I'm always up to speed on and any and everything so that no one could ever doubt my skill.

But today I started a new game, and I have no experience or assets to speak of. The epic encounters I'm accustomed to are gone, and my only choices in combat are A > B or B > A. I don't see any demanding gameplay, and all there is to do is explore the large maps.
Thankfully I have a lot of general gaming experience, so I can make use of my time fairly efficiently. As I begin pouring my time into the game, I can only help but think "Why couldn't there be some faster way to reach level 50. If they won't let me speed to level 50, the least they could do is make the beginning of the game a little harder. Maybe then I could have a little more fun until cap. This game needs to pick up soon, or I'm out of here."

The important thing to remember here is that the people getting bored at the beginning are gamers who play and think like I do. These gamers have realized that combat is the the primary focus of the MMO experience.

Although this is a fairly extreme example, to all of you skilled players with long gaming histories, let me ask one question. When playing a new game for the first time, have you ever thought it was a bit dull or underwhelming in the beginning? With MMOs in particular, as players continue to move from game to game, they tend to get burned out easily. My hardcore MMO gamer friends are like this as well, saying they'll never waste so much time trying to get into a game ever again. The beginning of the game seems dull and uninteresting, but there's still that longing for something to ignite a passion for the game.

Another common phenomenon among MMO players is something I like to call "first love syndrome." A new game comes out and you play from beta through to the free trial, and although there are a lot of things you like, you always go back to your first MMO. You feel the updates were always so much better in your first MMO, focusing on the things you can no longer do in the other games you try. This is just how people are after playing a particular game for a long time, getting stuck in their old ways.

I'm sure anyone who's had to change schools because of their parents or change jobs because of company troubles can relate. Suddenly finding yourself in a new environment can be stressful, and there's always that desire to go back to the way things used to be. Even small details reminiscent of "the good old days" can be reassuring.

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Yoshida the Producer and Director

Looking at the game objectively as a developer for an MMO, the game looks completely different compared to my hardcore gaming alter ego. The first thing I often think of is the stress felt by first time MMO players and the high barrier of entry.

Looking at an MMO from the viewpoint of those who tend to avoid them, the following qualities define your typical MMO:
A game for hardcore players. (A game they can't relate to)
A game that requires a constant internet connection. (Stressful)
A game where you have to chat with people. (Stressful)
A game that requires partying to progress, forcing interaction with others. (Stressful)
A game that lacks a good story. (Low expectations)
A game with too many windows and interfaces. (Confusing)
A game with too many things to remember, making it unplayable. (Intimidating)
A game with too much terminology. (Difficult)
A game where you may be abruptly killed by another player. (Misconception)
A game that looks like too much trouble. (A vague sense of uneasiness)

The truth of the matter is, all of these points are often applicable to MMOs.

When speaking from a hardcore gamer's point of view, I mentioned there are many things that are simply to be expected in an MMO. For a person who's never played an MMO, however, these can sometimes be seen as insurmountable obstacles.
An online playing environment (more affordable in recent years)
Chat system
Battle system
Party gameplay
Real-time battle system
A basic interface allowing prolonged gameplay
A guild system such as linkshells and free companies
Crafting and gathering
Trading
Markets
Character development that doesn't require resetting

Although they may be seen as drawbacks, these are all necessary in an MMO. These are also what make MMOs so interesting.

Just as FFXI was there for gamers 11 years ago, we want FFXIV to introduce a new generation of gamers to MMOs. Considering the shortcomings of Version 1.0, we want the beginning of the game to be stress-free, giving players an incentive to give it a try. Although gaming veterans tend to focus on the battle system, one should also consider the following:
Exploring the expansive areas in the game
Potential new friends always running about as you explore
An environment that's constantly changing in real time
Conversation with NPCs revealing the world's lore
The thrill of a good fight
Trying on a newly obtained piece of gear
Leveling up and learning a new skill
Acquiring return and teleport to travel between areas
Progressing to an area you've never seen before

I believe playing an MMO should be about enjoying the world as a whole. My first MMO was Ultima Online, and I have to admit I wasn't the fastest learner starting out. The world was huge, everyone I met was from another country, and I didn't understand English. After carefully checking all the menus, I managed to get out into the field to fight a chicken...but I was barehanded. To make matters worse, I was PK’ed shortly after (lol). Despite all these frustrations, however, it was an incredible gaming experience. I never realized games like that existed before. The beginning of FFXIV: ARR has been designed to offer newcomers that same sense of wonderment.
Create a quality character to represent you, be it manly, cute, rugged, or sexy.
Enjoy a beautiful, expensive world that's constantly changing.
Connect with other players from around the world.
Speak with NPCs and reveal the game's story.
Take your time as you use the map and explore.
Take on fearsome looking monsters and revel in your victories.
Enjoy the freedom of progressing through the story alone or with friends.
Discover something new each time you visit your favorite places.
Follow the story of a crystal, befitting a FINAL FANTASY title.
Start off as a fledgling adventurer and grow to be something greater.
Board an airship and set out on a great adventure.

As a FINAL FANTASY game, I feel these elements make for a solid beginning in an MMO. What's important is whether or not players feel comfortable in the world of Eorzea. Players should find the game easy to get into, but also fun and exciting.

If players don't find the game intuitive, they're not likely to make use of the UI, chat system, or the party system, let alone play through the main scenario quests. Even now we're conflicted over the best way to explain the game's systems and features. Videos may prove more helpful than text, but would prove to be costly when updating. Too much text and the game will push players around everywhere, so it has to be simple. The problems go on and on.

For a player new to MMOs, the individual systems that make up the game are small pieces of a beautiful all-encompassing world. Eventually, they may realize these small systems make up a much greater part of the game than they first thought. Nevertheless, players aren't thinking that far ahead at the beginning of the game. Above all else, players should feel the game offers a world they can enjoy.

For the first 15 levels, when players are still adjusting to online gameplay, there are no elements in the game that force you into playing in a party. This way, as players are still learning the ropes, there's no worry of strangers in a party yelling at them or trying to order them around while trying to play. However, this may not necessarily be the case for endgame.

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The Business Challenge of an MMO

With each passing year, it becomes increasingly difficult to release a large-scale MMO. The rush following Ultima Online and Everquest reached its peak with Blizzard's World of Warcraft. That's not to say WoW started off without criticism. When it first released, there were many complaints about the simplicity of quests, that there was a lack of adventure. There two factions were poorly balanced in PvP, and general impressions would lead one to believe the game was no fun. Looking at WoW now, it's almost unimaginable.

However, instead of giving up, Blizzard switched their plans to be more user/community-centric from their second year of operation on, and became dominant by increasing the new MMORPG users through supplementation of thick scenarios, quest lines, and end-game content. WoW didn’t become what it is today by acquiring all of the existing MMORPG players at the time, they became what they are today as the result of breaking into new territory and as a result of that secured all of the existing MMORPG players.

Instead of choosing sides, they persisted and made it attractive to both groups, and began expanding with a focus on Blizzard fans. While the scale is slightly different, FFXI was more than likely in the same boat 11 years ago. Blizzard has been quoted saying that “MMORPGs are a service industry.” This was a tremendous shock to Blizzard fans at that time when Blizzard who possesses such great confidence in their game design said this.

Moving forward to 2013, their user numbers are continuing to fall; however, World of Warcraft reigning as the absolute king of the MMORPG industry has not changed. We arrived to where we are currently with the MMORPG rush during 2007 as well as the additional large scale rush of last year.

There are 3 main difficulties for launching an MMO.
Content volume
High-quality user interface
New and unique elements

To overcome these 3 difficulties and launch a game is by no means an easy matter. Amongst the large number of MMORPGs that are trying to launch, there are many cases where their content volume is compared to other MMORPGs who have been running for a long time, and end up suffering immensely. Additionally, the impressions of the beginning of the game between the gamer and the new MMORPG player that I mentioned before are as different as night and day. With this, it’s uniqueness that largely increases the difficulty.
I want to target MMORPG gamers as much as possible
I want to acquire as many new players as possible

Recent MMORPGs are beginning to shift to a more action based game; however, I personally feel that this is one element that acts as a reverse effect for MMORPGs that are striving to operate for a long time with a subscription-based model (This is separate from cases where you are shortening the lifecycle for a single MMORPG user. In that case it is correct.). As I mentioned previously, the road blocks on the way to getting used to an MMORPG are too high and adding action elements into the mix, while definitely exciting, makes it extremely difficult for the common player to repeat these battles everyday for hundreds of hours.

Furthermore, it becomes difficult to churn out battle content from a balance perspective, and as a result content volume is affected. Due to this, a more fitting business model would be the free-to-play model which allows for retention of the game through low estimations of total play time, a higher churn rate of new players, and the average spending per customer (also known as microtransactions).

As a numbered title in the FINAL FANTASY series, we are striving to make FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn a game that operates steadily for a long time, and one where we provide a steady flow of updates and content to you all. With that said, when we made the decision to build A Realm Reborn from the ground up while working on updates for 1.0, the first thing we decided was to eliminate action elements as best as possible.

With the advent of stronger internet connections, recent MMORPGs have come to be able to have defensive and evasive skills similar to offline stand alone games. Despite this, I feel that this does not fit with our customers who play FINAL FANTASY online, and I would like to have everyone play this game steadily for as long of a time as possible, which is why we’ve eliminated action elements to the best of our ability.

With these goals in mind we have built the content and the battle system.
Visually noticeable AoE attacks that you can avoid by moving
A system where you can boost damage by attacking from certain positions
Freedom to put things together by executing skills that follow a specific route
Being able to fixate on dealing the most damage while giving consideration to TP/MP costs in the end-game.
Jump not being essential for clearing content

While it might be thought of as simplistic, the end-game after reaching the level cap is where a good deal of player skill differences will start to appear, especially when adding equipment into the mix. We started designing this game by making the first goal of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn having everyone enjoy this aspect.

This is the reason why there are no action elements in FFXIV content and battle. While I’m repeating myself, just like FFXI was trying to show FINAL FANTASY users the excitement of MMORPGs at that time, we would like to show players of the current time period the excitement of MMORPGs once again through FFXIV. Showing that it’s possible to play and enjoy it by spending time, without rushing, at their own pace.

A fetch-quest game vs. a game with clear purpose
Now then, FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn has adopted the quest form game design that was established by World of Warcraft. However, even since the old days of RPGs there have been small stories from towns that when cleared lead into larger stories, and this isn’t just related to WoW.

On the other hand, the world of an MMORPG is vast and is not like a regular game where you simply pass through and move on. As there are multiple classes and jobs, having players adventure through the entire world would result in a gigantic number of quests. Of course there are people who don’t want to read quest text and want to be able to finish them with a single click, so after WoW there have been many discussions on this topic.

However, without a pile of quests, it’s not possible to have players learn about the world, and there are ton of benefits for having these so users can play the game with a sense of progression.

In order to make it so FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn does not just become a fetch quest game we decided to add some variety and flavor. Of course, we’ve created a really large story since this is a new FINAL FANTASY title after all. However, for the so-called side-quests that have been spread along the main questing line, we’ve done our best to reduce the text, making it so the text can be skipped by spamming through it. For quests where major characters appear, we’ve made this clear by adding a special icon, and also spruced them up to make them exciting by adding voices and cutscenes. While we did not add voices to class and job quests, we still made them with the same thought process.

When it comes to hardcore MMORPG players like myself, it’s all about skipping text by spamming the mouse left-click to get to upper ranks of leveling and content. However, this is something that is sure to be fresh and new for the MMORPG newcomer, and we’d like to see gaps form between peoples’ various images of MMORPGs in a positive way, such as “whoa, there are a huge amount of quests,” “Just when I thought I was done there is another one,” and “Isn’t an MMO something you play with parties?”

The game design will largely change after the level 15 instanced battle quest. All of you adventurers will then begin taking on dungeons with parties throughout the main storyline so that you can meet new allies.

While I understand that there are some of you who feel that it would be better if you could clear everything by yourself, from an MMORPG business perspective, there is a necessity to make it so a large amount of players continue to play for a long time. Because of this, it’s critical that players interact with each other and build a strong community. This is why we have implemented party content in the main quest line and removed the stress of forming parties with the Duty Finder which automatically matches players.

Of course the real loss is if people get tired of the game on the way to level 15, but as I have written, I feel that it’s critical to make the beginning of an MMORPG one such that anyone can progress, and in the case that there are people that drop out or are not satisfied with the development of the game ahead, I feel this is fine as everyone has their own preferences. To some degree, the ideal for the beginning of the game is to get through it as fast as you can and moving on.

Other MMORPGs have a guild system you can set up after starting the game and playing for two hours. In FFXIV: ARR, we have Free Companies, but this can only be created after joining a Grand Company, which is different from other MMORPGs. Especially for those players who are new to MMORPGs, explaining guilds is difficult. The beginning of the game contains too many things to remember and if we had Free Company invitations added to the mix people would be completely lost. However, for those players who wish to form a Free Company right away, you can speed through the beginning and reach that point before you know it. We would like all kinds of players to succeed in this game, so while it might be somewhat of a nuisance for the advanced players, this was designed like this intentionally.

FFXIV: ARR Party Content Design
We’ve put in a considerable amount of work to add as much of the playable scenario as possible for launch. We’d like both MMORPG players and those new to MMORPGs to play the game comfortably while enjoying the newest story in the FINAL FANTASY series.

As I have already mentioned, the party dungeons that will start from level 15 will not require you to worry about finding parties as we have prepared a feature known as the Duty Finder which will automatically form parties (During the third test of Beta Test phase 3 we will be performing Duty Finder stress tests.). With that said, the only things you really need to worry about are leveling up to level 50 and dungeon difficulty.

The difficulty for the 2 dungeons from level 15 has been set you can get excited about your victory and not worry about wiping with the first party of players you meet. With the third dungeon there will be some special mechanics, and for primal battles within the scenario that take place after that, you’ll come to learn that for large boss battles you’ll need a solid strategy to win.

For the Legacy members who have done the end-game content up until the end of 1.0, as well as for players who are familiar with other MMORPGs, the content that you encounter while leveling up to the cap will be a walk in the park. However, the most important point here is that you can have fun and clear content as players with different levels of knowledge will be matched and grouped by the Duty Finder.

The difficulty will increase as the story progresses. Likewise, you role as a particular class will become clearer as you learn weapon skills, magic, and abilities, and the number of times you wipe will gradually increase in the event that you do not properly formulate a battle plan that involves the skilled use of abilities and attack positioning.

We’ve paid extremely close attention to the design of this content so that the balance and difficulty increases, the clear need for strategies to clear content, and the need for equipment can be easily understood. Similarly, this is also the biggest reason why we’ve also made the battle system foundation as simple as possible. The MMORPG battle system and the battle content design are one and the same.

Additionally, once you start getting into crafting and gathering, the game will become even more in-depth and a ton of content you can do each day will be introduced. We’d like you to enjoy the world of Eorzea relaxed in your own style and at your own pace.

Once the main scenario reaches its first major milestone, I believe the meaning behind the opening will become clear.

Doing the quests and reading the story text without leveling another class, continuing to play straight through for 60-80 hours you can see the world’s longest list of credits, and even after that continue to adventure through Eorzea. There will begin to be a difference in player skills as large enemies appear and players gather equipment to combat these foes. There are a ton of plans in store: primals that are summoned in to Eorzea, the housing system, what happened to Bahamut, the Crystal Tower, large scale PvP, company crafting, and more. The feeling that you are living in Eorzea will really take place after the “ending.”

It’s at this point in time where you will start to need multiple level 50 classes and jobs, battle strategies, efficient usage of skills, and intense analysis from players passionate about research. This is why the early stages of the game and the core battle system have been simplified. The much discussed length of GCD is because you have time to think at the moment, yet once you reach end-game, that free time will be all but gone as what you need to do will increase, so with that said we do not plan on eliminating this.

In closing
I still have so much I could write, but eventually it would just turn into a book…
I apologize for making this so long, but FFXIV: ARR is a game that we have designed with these core concepts in mind. While it may seem a huge list of reasoning, once you start playing, this reasoning could matter less, so though I am yet again repeating myself, we are placing the utmost importance on making sure everyone enjoys the game.

The development team has been checking Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other sites in addition to the forums to get a wide view of impressions of Beta Test phase 3. Also, please know that we are not making decisions solely based on the number of “Likes” a post has on the forum. There are a lot of differing opinions on the forums and it’s the important work of the operations team to read this data objectively and collect it so there is no bias, reporting it as a ratio of those who post from the total player population.

As long as there are likes and dislikes for games, there will always be conflicting opinions. There are a lot of cases where if we decide to adopt A, then adopting B becomes impossible, so in order to prevent missteps when making decisions, we think about your feedback extremely carefully.

In the Player Feedback Status List that we released the other day, there were items that we addressed as well as those that we did not along with a clear explanation. Since MMORPGs are a service industry, I feel that all of these discussions are extremely important for MMORPG operation, so instead of only “they did this,” “they are not doing that,” “I think this,” “I think it should be this way,” it’s my sincere wish that everyone takes a step back a bit and have fun talking about the game.

Before posting, I’d like to ask you to please check to make sure that your post won’t have a negative effect on those around you. Up until now Square Enix has been a pretty closed off company, so I’m sure there are some players who really want to state their demands. Of course we will listen to them sincerely, but please base them all on having fun first and foremost.

I’m repeating myself, but there is no need for players who are experiencing MMORPGs for the first time to overthink this. We’ve made it so you can have fun and reach your goal by preparing a ton of exciting and fun cutscenes and making balance adjustments as we go.

We actually tried testing out early battles where the maximum TP was lowered so you would have to really pay more attention to it. However, it was tiring to repeat that kind of battle over and over on random fodder monsters. With 1 on 1 battles, your efficiency in avoiding enemy skills improves around level 5, and you learn that only attacking enemies from the front in instanced quest battles will result in death.

I definitely understand spicing things up, and that’s why it has to be just right. However, as I stated previously, the beginning of an MMORPG is not only focused on battle. There is a world, people, time passes in real-time, battles, crafting, gathering, chatting, and creating your ideal characters.

In order to have you all enjoy the world, we’ve prepared the battles at the beginning of the game to be just the first step before shifting into the more difficult aspects (We plan on reducing the difficulty for the level 15 instanced battle quest a little bit more.). If you don’t think this shift was done very well, then that is my fault.

In Beta Test phase 3 the level cap has been set to level 35, and the difficulty for the Brayflox dungeon has been set slightly harder than the official release version. For those who are dying for a challenging dungeon, please give it a shot!

In order to satisfy all kinds of players, we have our goals set very high, but we will continue to work as hard as possible, and would love for you all to stay with us for many years to come!

Posted by: Gabriell Aug 17 2013, 10:06 AM

Just made a character on Diablos. Gabriel Verst.

Posted by: Wiryu Aug 17 2013, 01:15 PM

Dude on Ultros. Wiryu Eam.

Posted by: Vitamin D Aug 17 2013, 01:35 PM

Oh yeah, forgot the actual game releases soon haha. I need to get me some levels. Did we decide on Diabolos? Ultros? Is Crushinator a robot, cyborg or an android? SO MANY QUESTIONS. crash.gif

Imma make a character when I get off work tonight. Who's still down to play this?

Posted by: Wiryu Aug 17 2013, 07:04 PM

I hope it's on Ultros! I'm so pimped out! SO PIMPED!

Posted by: Crushinator Aug 19 2013, 09:01 AM

Wait is this shit out for realreal now? I completely lost track of FFXIV over the summer. "AT is so lame they don't even have an official server!" beigelaugh.gif

Posted by: Kazicht Aug 19 2013, 10:00 AM

QUOTE(Crushinator @ Aug 19 2013, 09:01 AM) *
Wait is this shit out for realreal now? I completely lost track of FFXIV over the summer. "AT is so lame they don't even have an official server!" beigelaugh.gif


Officially drops on the 27th. Ultros it is then.

Posted by: DarkEpyon Aug 19 2013, 05:03 PM

Image dump ahoy!


Just thought this one looked cool.


Messing around in the inn room.

The last hour or so found me doing a bit of sightseeing.


Mor Dhona is a place full of metal with robots and soldiers that want to kill you!


Snowy place Coerthas!


Warming up by the fire.


Apparently the gate to Ishgard. LET ME IN GODSDAMMIT!

Perhaps I shouldn't say that since it IS said to be the holy city.


Nothing more to see here. Time to GTFO!


A parting shot.


Posted by: Wiryu Aug 20 2013, 09:30 AM

I feel like the big reunite of AT calls for a pre AT radio special.

Posted by: Wiryu Aug 20 2013, 09:57 AM

So during this last Beta period, I got a little carried away and leveled 4 different jobs to 20, included which are two crafts. I have a little bit of know how now, so I'm gonna put up some pro tips!

First and foremost. The link below is a benchmark and character creation combo. You can see how well your machine can handle the game, but more importantly? Make your dude now so that when the game drops, you can load up the saved character info and get to the fighting faster.

http://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/benchmark/en/download/index.html

Onto the bullet points.

-Do the main quest line. It unlocks a lot of capabilities for your character including dungeon finder, hunting log, guild leves, and other important shit. Most of this gets unlocked around level 10 provided you complete story quests.
-Your server will be full. A lot. Don't get too discouraged. With enough persistence and fast clicking, you can almost always get through the mess of people in under 5 minutes.
-If you see a FATE? Do it. With very little effort, you can get a nice chunk of experience points. Plus, most of them are pretty fun.
-What is a FATE? It's an active world event that shows up on your map as a blue circle. Basically it's an impromptu area quest.
-Kill everything. You can get quest credit for already claimed kills provided you contribute to the kill adequately, so no more waiting on one quest forever because the area is loaded with people.
-Dungeon parties run on parties of 4. Tank, Healer, and two DPS. If you choose to be a DPS, you will wait for a very long time to get into that dungeon finder. Not so much for Tank or DPS.
-Much like in XI, there is a benefit to leveling other classes. You can take abilities from other jobs to use for your current job. You just need to be using something within the same hand. (Hand of magic, Hand of war etc.)
-Crafting and Guild leves. Crafting is unique and fun under certain crafts, but it takes a while. Save some of your leves for when you want to craft, because the extra exp from the quest rewards is IMMENSELY helpful. Also, turning in HQ versions of the requested items grants you a triple exp reward from the quest.
-What are Guild Leves? Basically just accumulated numbers that let you do (or repeat) dailies. You get 3 allowances every twelve hours, and they accumulate up to 100.

I'll come back with more, but this is a good start for now. Don't need to get TOO crazy.

Posted by: DarkEpyon Aug 20 2013, 02:23 PM

Another note on FATEs - they'll give you seals which you can use to rank up and purchase gear from a city's grand company.

Hopefully you guys held onto your leve allowances from P4 since that's also a great way to get seals.

Posted by: Crushinator Aug 21 2013, 11:57 AM

Those snow and mechanical areas look awesome, I'm excited for the full release.

We definitely need to do an AT reunion podcast!

Posted by: DarkEpyon Aug 21 2013, 12:29 PM

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ub3og-QK4Kg

Posted by: Scan_Man Aug 21 2013, 02:26 PM

I am excited. Though I still do not care for the first 3-6 hours in the starting zones, except Ul'Dah (Is it just the how the city and starting areas are laid out or what?). Might have to find a min-max leveling guide for Arcanist or something because Limsa Lominsa feels just as bad as v1.0 beta to me.

How they are handling preorder and early access is a bit silly. Code for a code, really?

Posted by: DarkEpyon Aug 21 2013, 03:56 PM

Yeah, really. Their site's been pretty messed up and NA people have complained about getting EU codes and not being able to register them.

Posted by: Kazicht Aug 23 2013, 02:09 PM

I'm planning to preorder the PS3 version tonight so that I can get early access in the morning.

Anybody else gonna be on this weekend?

Posted by: Wiryu Aug 23 2013, 05:08 PM

All day every day! Wiryu Eam. ;)

Posted by: Vitamin D Aug 23 2013, 09:26 PM

Have the game pre-purcahsed and just waiting a bit to jump in. I'll also play some before work tomorrow. We in there! guitarist.gif

Posted by: Ellianna Aug 25 2013, 06:23 AM

Reserved a copy through gamestop before I knew about the freakin codes when you order through SE...bummer. I think my daughter got more damn play time in beta than I did, We'll be fighting over the computer. 2nd generation gamer in the making >.<

Correction: I went back to game stop and got a code...apparently they weren't available when i reserved a copy, but became available after..i could have been playing!!!! -.-

Posted by: Ellianna Aug 25 2013, 02:20 PM

Ultros isn't excepting new characters

Posted by: Vitamin D Aug 25 2013, 09:06 PM

QUOTE(Ellianna @ Aug 25 2013, 02:20 PM) *
Ultros isn't excepting new characters


It was that way for me too on the last beta test. I'd check on it every now and then, and again when the game officially comes out Tuesday. Either way, there's been a lot of server issues and whatnot, so you're not missing a whole lot haha.

Posted by: Ellianna Aug 25 2013, 09:29 PM

have to keep refreshing the world list. I saw Ultros come up once, but couldn't create a new character daughter and I both had multiple characters from playin different realms in beta...Now I've gotta go through it all over again lol. Sadly though I've gotta be up early to get her to school around 6:40 and then I gotta go to work ; ;

Posted by: Scan_Man Aug 25 2013, 09:58 PM

Maaaan I was really getting into this game early this morning; getting my class quest done and doing FATES. Then error 9000. Could not long on anymore after than because of another error. Really killed it for me.


Looked at a guide for leveling and I am excited to see to the later content though.

Posted by: Ellianna Aug 25 2013, 10:16 PM

Finally made a character (Ellianna Cuthrell) got onto Ultros and got that Error 9000.

Posted by: Kazicht Aug 26 2013, 09:15 AM

Got to level 10 Lancer after a few hours this weekend. Game is dope. I'm really impressed with the changes and progress, especially with the battle system.

Game definitely feels like an evolution of FF11 with modern MMO conveniences, which is a good thing. It's fun.
I'm looking forward to what high level and group play offers with the limit break system.

One thing I really like is that they really go out of their way to make you feel like your in a Final Fantasy world. From atmosphere to audio.

Also like the updated "Armory" website for our characters: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/2901910/

Posted by: Vitamin D Aug 26 2013, 09:55 AM

There have been a bunch of problems for me trying to log in, but when I can, I have so much trouble putting the game down. In other words...



I've been having a great time when I can actually play haha. Like I said before during earlier betas, the game is great for times when you just want to wander and explore. When you need to get down to business, the main and jobs quests get you the exp and equipment you need.

Anyway, this is ol' Vitamis Dzan so far http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/2902399/ My days off are today and tomorrow, so I'll plenty of time to play. Well, provided the actual launch goes well... haha.

Posted by: Alisha Sep 4 2013, 12:45 AM

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/2968299/
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/2170543/
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/2977883/

Posted by: Crushinator Sep 5 2013, 10:22 AM

Alisha, I can't figure out what the heck you're thinking when you post.

We already have a topic open for the regular launch of FF14, but you come in and post on the old beta topic.

And then your post is just links to your characters with no context and some 30 second video of the game we've already played?

Seems like everything you've posted lately (granted, infrequently) has been like this. Just a link or some weird random picture without actually saying something.

Don't get me wrong, it would be great to play with you again and get AT rolling deep on FF14 like in the old days... but just what is going on with your weird context-less posts!? beigeconfused.gif beigeconfused.gif beigeconfused.gif

Posted by: Alisha Sep 6 2013, 03:42 PM

QUOTE(Crushinator @ Sep 5 2013, 12:22 PM) *
Alisha, I can't figure out what the heck you're thinking when you post.

We already have a topic open for the regular launch of FF14, but you come in and post on the old beta topic.

And then your post is just links to your characters with no context and some 30 second video of the game we've already played?

Seems like everything you've posted lately (granted, infrequently) has been like this. Just a link or some weird random picture without actually saying something.

Don't get me wrong, it would be great to play with you again and get AT rolling deep on FF14 like in the old days... but just what is going on with your weird context-less posts!? beigeconfused.gif beigeconfused.gif beigeconfused.gif

didnt know said topic exists

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