I know, I know... heresy to most right? I am sure others will tell me that anyhow. But...

Bought FFXIV for a fiver from Amazon because, y'know, why not, and have to say I am actually suprised.

FFXIV is a charming immersive game that once you become friends with can very much draw you in. I can easily see me playing this for a while.

Saying that, I do get why others have been put off... it has issues, even now, that are NOT newbie friendly. It requires learning, note taking, and, above all, it requires the player to adapt to how FFXIV does things (both in systems and pace). Most are not willing or able to adapt, we know this. It is not suprising that they were turned off this game. I get it.

Saying that, after I made a small mental switch, stopped expecting it to be EQ2 or whatever and started accepting it for what the game is (and not demanding it be what I say it should be) it started to grow on me...

I am not saying it's enough to put me off GW2 or anything, but... yeah, FFXIV. I kinda like you. Give it time and who knows? :)

(Just thought I would share, no real point to make)

BTW, any server suggestions for me? Me and the GF are playing on Excalibur right now. Good choice?

I agree. While it isn't perfect, it's my subscription game of choice =)

I loved it. Even at launch.

I never quite understood why so many people didn't. 

In my opinion, a game like this will never appeal to everyone, and I think Square should have realized that, and followed through with what they released, instead of changing the entire game for the people that say they will never return, no matter what.

What they're doing to the game has driven me away, and I doubt I'll want to play at all when the big changes happen.

I'm kind of scared, that it is changing into WoW2, which is what I assume everyone subconsciously expected.

The immersion was definitely there, and the cutscenes, the story, the graphics, the sound. I even liked the combat. It had the true feel of a Final Fantasy world, something that was refreshing. It was a good change for the better, until they decided it was horrible for whatever reason.

I'm glad you picked it up and gave it a try, if only more would do as such.

--edit--

It bugs me pretty bad that this game is so looked down on.

I would ahve given it a go if there was a digital download version available in the UK.. sadly there aint and i hardly ever go to the shops LOL

Originally posted by Caldrin

I would ahve given it a go if there was a digital download version available in the UK.. sadly there aint and i hardly ever go to the shops LOL

Amazon.co.uk.

£5

Done

;)

Originally posted by NIII

I loved it. Even at launch.

I never quite understood why so many people didn't. 

In my opinion, a game like this will never appeal to everyone, and I think Square should have realized that, and followed through with what they released, instead of changing the entire game for the people that say they will never return, no matter what.

What they're doing to the game has driven me away, and I doubt I'll want to play at all when the big changes happen.

I'm kind of scared, that it is changing into WoW2, which is what I assume everyone subconsciously expected.

The immersion was definitely there, and the cutscenes, the story, the graphics, the sound. I even liked the combat. It had the true feel of a Final Fantasy world, something that was refreshing. It was a good change for the better, until they decided it was horrible for whatever reason.

I'm glad you picked it up and gave it a try, if only more would do as such.

--edit--

It bugs me pretty bad that this game is so looked down on.

ahh, don't let it bug you. People are herd animals with hipster opinions, we know this. It's no big deal. There seems to be enough folks around to play with, and the game has a definite future with how they are handling it IMO.

Thats really all that matters :)

I'm playing the 10 day "welcome back" campaign atm.

Pro:

-I still feel a bond with my char.

-I love my chocobo mount.

-Still the best grafics of any MMO.

-They gave me White Mage and Black Mage as playable jobs.

Contra:

-I left the game 8 months ago and the added content since then is absolutely minimal.

-SE isn't giving me the option to follow my friends who moved to an EU based server.

-Refering to the point above: I'm stuck on a JP based server and can't find parties to try the new group based content.

-The company leves still take 15 minutes each and you just pray there was a way to finish the mission early, instead of waiting for the time to run out.

-There is no scaling for caravan guarding missions, you will be the only one participating and face enemy groups of 7-10 monsters of your own level.

-Broken joypad controls*

*Back then I was playing with a Playstation 2 Pad and it kept messing the camera up - spinnin nonstop. I figured the pad was old and broken so I bought a new pad. In fact the official FF14 paid available on amazon. I calibrated the pad and it's working fine with all my games except for FF14 itself. Camera keeps moving upwards over and over and over again. Recently my char started moving forward on itself which is lovely when you invade an enemy base and try to stay in the corners to avoid agro...

I still think it's a decent game but  SE ruins the experience with stupid decisions.

Originally posted by Dakeru

snip

...SE ruins the experience with stupid decisions.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

They can make a good game, that's for sure, but it's almost as if they can't make up their mind with what they want to focus on, and instead we just get seemingly random, un-needed changes.

I think it would have been better if they just focused on content after launch, and didn't do this whole revamp thing.

As for your server issues, that sucks pretty bad, have you talked to them about your situation? With enough pestering I don't see why they wouldn't transfer you.

Originally posted by NIII

 

As for your server issues, that sucks pretty bad, have you talked to them about your situation? With enough pestering I don't see why they wouldn't transfer you.

I can't post on Lodestone cause it tells me that I don't have an active account. Apparently the welcome back campaign only works for the game itself - not for the forum.

Hmm and while I enjoy the game I don't see myself paying fees anymore.

2.0 will get another chance from me but the few changes they did since I stopped playing are rather dissappointing.

Originally posted by NIII

Originally posted by Dakeru

snip

...SE ruins the experience with stupid decisions.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

They can make a good game, that's for sure, but it's almost as if they can't make up their mind with what they want to focus on, and instead we just get seemingly random, un-needed changes.

I think it would have been better if they just focused on content after launch, and didn't do this whole revamp thing.

Yep, that is the main issue. I keep coming back to it, since I really want to like it. Ultimately though, it's just not working properly at the core. The base of the game has some real issues where different game systems and mechanics just don't fit together, but work against each other instead. Instead of redesigning that underlying framework, they just keep piling new systems on top of it. When all is said and done, the game world is very promising and inviting, but the game design is ... old. And not old in a good way, but stale, outdated.

And the screenshots of 2.0 don't make me very enthusiastic. The style is very much XIII, not a good role model at all, and style is not what the game is lacking in the first place.

If they would make the first 20 levels of the game more fun and less grind,  I would resub.  The welcome back campaign annoys me to no end because it says "come and enjoy new jobs like black mage and warrior" yet fails to mention that you need to hit level 30 on a class just to get the option to unlock them.  So, I have to literally grind mobs from 1 to 30 in the most boring lackluster combat I have seen in a game to get to the good stuff.  Even if they just gave me small milestones/goals to achieve every 5 levels or something, like an epic quest line that takes you to level 30 just to mask the grind, I would be happier.

Glad some of you enjoy it but I can't stand mindlessly killing mobs over and over for hours on end anymore with no real incentives to do so for such a gap of leveling time.  Aion pulled the same BS as well as Tera, with it's Oh, it gets better at 25+.  Be good at level 1 or go away.

Good lord... this thread got negative really quickly lol ;)

Anyhow, I am enjoying it.

Originally posted by elocke

If they would make the first 20 levels of the game more fun and less grind,  I would resub.  The welcome back campaign annoys me to no end because it says "come and enjoy new jobs like black mage and warrior" yet fails to mention that you need to hit level 30 on a class just to get the option to unlock them.  So, I have to literally grind mobs from 1 to 30 in the most boring lackluster combat I have seen in a game to get to the good stuff.  Even if they just gave me small milestones/goals to achieve every 5 levels or something, like an epic quest line that takes you to level 30 just to mask the grind, I would be happier.

Glad some of you enjoy it but I can't stand mindlessly killing mobs over and over for hours on end anymore with no real incentives to do so for such a gap of leveling time.  Aion pulled the same BS as well as Tera, with it's Oh, it gets better at 25+.  Be good at level 1 or go away.

I have adjusted to the combat speed and am finding it pretty good now, and I don't honestly need positive encouragement every few levels to have fun...

I am really not feeling the 'grind' tbh, but then I am not overly sensitive to it in any game... we are having a good time, and I perosnally wouldn't call the game in general 'mindless'. I have had to pay a ton more attention learning how things are then in any game for a long while.

I guess what I was trying to say in my OP is that I HAVE found it good since L1. I am sorry it dosen't suit you as a game though. I fully get that it definitely isn't for everyone (as I said in my OP).

Originally posted by Vesavius

Good lord... this thread got negative really quickly lol ;)

 

Anyhow, I am enjoying it.

Yea it's ok, FF games aren't for everyone. The people who want FPS style gameplay in their MMORPGs won't like games like FFXIV. Luckily SE doesn't have to please everyone. They'd be wise to remember that.

Originally posted by Naqaj

Originally posted by NIII

Originally posted by Dakeru

snip

...SE ruins the experience with stupid decisions.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

They can make a good game, that's for sure, but it's almost as if they can't make up their mind with what they want to focus on, and instead we just get seemingly random, un-needed changes.

I think it would have been better if they just focused on content after launch, and didn't do this whole revamp thing.

Yep, that is the main issue. I keep coming back to it, since I really want to like it. Ultimately though, it's just not working properly at the core. The base of the game has some real issues where different game systems and mechanics just don't fit together, but work against each other instead. Instead of redesigning that underlying framework, they just keep piling new systems on top of it. When all is said and done, the game world is very promising and inviting, but the game design is ... old. And not old in a good way, but stale, outdated.

And the screenshots of 2.0 don't make me very enthusiastic. The style is very much XIII, not a good role model at all, and style is not what the game is lacking in the first place.

I for one love XIII, but I also enjoyed XIV as it was. If the game turned into XIII-online, I wouldn't not enjoy it, but that's not what this game is. XIII has a more tech feel, this game has more of a fantasy feel. I would rather it keep what it has.

it requires the player to adapt to how FFXIV does things (both in systems and pace). Most are not willing or able to adapt, we know this. It is not suprising that they were turned off this game. I get it.

 

Saying that, after I made a small mental switch, stopped expecting it to be EQ2 or whatever 

 

This is a shame and big reason that MMO's today cannot be anything more than "WoW Clones."

I'm glad to see you take an interest in FFXIV.  That being said I'm once bitten by that game.  I doubt I'll give it another chance.

Originally posted by Grakulen

it requires the player to adapt to how FFXIV does things (both in systems and pace). Most are not willing or able to adapt, we know this. It is not suprising that they were turned off this game. I get it.

 

Saying that, after I made a small mental switch, stopped expecting it to be EQ2 or whatever 

 

This is a shame and big reason that MMO's today cannot be anything more than "WoW Clones."

I'm glad to see you take an interest in FFXIV.  That being said I'm once bitten by that game.  I doubt I'll give it another chance.

Even if they give free play time for you to have a look?

Seems somehow unfair to remark on the state of the market like you have here if you're not willing to be a little flexible towards it. We will only get different games by supporting those that are different... :/

Not having a go, just saying.

Originally posted by Vesavius

Good lord... this thread got negative really quickly lol ;)

 

Anyhow, I am enjoying it.

Wasn't my intention. I envy you, I wish I could enjoy the game the way you do.

Edited my previous post to add the joypad bug which pisses me off big time.

Originally posted by Dakeru

Edited my previous post to add the joypad bug which pisses me off big time.

I haven't actually had a problem with the gamepads working with the game. Just when the pads mess up themselves, and yes, I can totally see how that can tick you off. I had converter for the PS2 controllers to PC and that worked pretty well until the converter went bad and would move my character little by little on its own. I got one of the FFXIV pads and eventually had the same issues with the camera spin. Also one I had was it would move my character by itself. I could deal with the character randomly moving since before you could move to cast spells. Wasn't so lucky with XI though... I got another one of the XIV controllers (for half the price -.-) and this one works just fine.

So it might just be a bad controller. It could also be the driver. The best controller I have though is an AIRFLO. The only downside to those is they don't make them anymore, and they don't rumble.