FFXIV:buffet effect

A little under a year ago, I wrote a column about how Final Fantasy XIV needs to generate a wow factor. It needs to surprise people, have something unique and special to offer. There was a lot of stuff that felt distressingly rote, and that wasn’t good.

So what’s changed since then? Well… not a huge amount, honestly. There are several features in the beta that feel like rehashes of things we’ve seen in other games, like FATEs and quests and instanced dungeons and so forth. Yet the game is clearly generating a wow factor, something that I’m happy about.

This week, I want to throw that previous article out completely. Just kick it to the curb. As I’ve been playing the beta weekends and seeing what the game has to offer, I’ve realized that there was something I was completely failing to embrace and consider. It’s the power of the buffet.

ffxiv moglog buffet 1 epl 626 Final Fantasy XIVs buffet effect

If you’ve never been to a buffet, congratulations on not being fat. But beyond that, you’ve never had the experience of dropping a fixed amount of money for as much food as you can toss on your plate at any one time. And you’ve never understood why a good buffet place is wonderful in a way that a regular restaurant isn’t, even though regular restaurants actually serve you a plate of distinct food instead of trusting you to shuffle over to steam trays and spoon in whatever you want.

The thing is, normal restaurants rely upon serving you something unique. The management isn’t rolling out the Double-Wide Super Southwestern Nacho Burger just for the heck of it; it’s because this is the only place you can get a Double-Wide Super whatever. Hopefully these unique offerings are actually good, since a restaurant can’t live on selling Bleach-Infused Chicken with Broken Glass Breading, but the core is serving you something new.

By contrast, the buffet doesn’t care if you’ve had it before. The core is variety and combination. You’ve had french fries, you’ve had pizza, you’ve had mashed potatoes. You can’t usually get all of them together. Yes, all the meals are familiar, but you can combine them however you want, and that is also valid.

I mentioned back when talking about the early beta phases that the questing in Final Fantasy XIV is fairly standard. It’s nothing bracingly unique, familiar to anyone who’s played an MMO in the past several years, without any particular novelty. You click on things and kill things and talk to NPCs, and aside from incorporating minor bits of brilliance like not making you fight over clickables, it’s pretty straightforward.

The key is that it’s supposed to be that way. The goal isn’t to create a totally new model of questing; it’s to create a series of quests that work very well in a game where you don’t have to bother if you don’t want to.

After about level 10, you really can do anything you want in the game. Even before then you have a huge amount of options, with nothing forcing you to keep questing instead of filling out your hunting log or whatever, but once you’ve unlocked levequests and other classes, the game pretty much just lets you off the rails. Don’t care about the story? Cool, here’s plenty of other stuff to do, and you can come back to it whenever you want.

ffxiv moglog buffet 2 epl 626 Final Fantasy XIVs buffet effect

Dynamic events exists. They’re not the biggest thing in the world, but they’re there, they work, and you can just jump in when you want to. If you don’t want to, you don’t lose anything by opting out. See something you want to do when you’re overleveled? You can jump over, sync down to the appropriate level, and go to town.

Want story-heavy stuff? That’s in place. Want to go your own way? That’s in place, too. Most of the limitations in place simply prevent any one model from being too functional rather than force you to do one thing or another in order to advance. You can easily tool around with different classes and make it to 50 as a crafter without ever having to worry about FATEs if you would rather just make things and sell them.

This, more than anything, is what made me fall in love with FFXIV in the first place. Yes, the launch version of the game was a mess, but the fact that you could easily find yourself on a lengthy personal quest to put together a new spear was profoundly worthy. And none of that has been removed or diminished in the new version. There are challenging multi-stage battles against bosses, there are dungeons for people who like those, and there’s stuff and stuff and stuff all over.

And you don’t have to pick. It’s all under the same roof. You can find yourself choosing to level something completely different on two different nights while playing the same game with the same character. That’s a bracing idea, and it comes back to us from other games — some departed, some still right here.

In other words, I was right that FFXIV wasn’t focusing on unique aspects, but I was wrong in thinking that the remixed version was somehow less valuable than novelty. Most of the games we remember aren’t the first ones to try ideas, just the first ones to try them with polish and panache. If creativity is a matter of combining ideas in interesting ways, I feel it’s best to point to this buffet of ideas in Eorzea and marvel.

That having been said, I still want more options for customizing my class. Come on, people.

Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles

FFXIV CG 3 670x446 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open Beta

A couple days ago Square Enix released three mysterious screenshots of the content that will be available in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn when the open beta will open its floodgates some time next month.

Today Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida took to the beta forum to explain what those screenshots are all about, giving us a glimpse on some of the more challenging content that players will soon have to brave.

Producer and Director Yoshida here.
Though I will be touching on this in the next Letter from the Producer, I’m happy to say that the development team is working hard towards release and are currently making the final adjustments to the latter-half of the scenario, as well as the battle content. I’m participating in these checks personally, of course, and we’re also enlisting all of the hardcore MMO players in the company to help out.

Battle with Rhitahtyn sas Arvina from the Garlean Empire
This is part of the latter-half of the scenario, and it’s a battle you can use the duty finder with. Oh, and it looks like there are some pet jobs present…

FFXIV ARR 3 670x397 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open Beta

FFXIV ARR 3 670x397 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open Beta

Demon Wall in Amdapor Keep
This is a high-difficulty dungeon for four level 50 players after clearing the scenario. It’s filled with things we couldn’t do in version 1.0 and you can bet it’s hard.

FFXIV ARR 1 670x397 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open Beta

FFXIV ARR 1 670x397 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open Beta

Garuda Battle (Hard)
This is the hard Garuda battle that was in version 1.0. We’ve made adjustments for ARR’s battle system as well as other changes. I hope all you version 1.0 players check it out!

FFXIV ARR 2 670x397 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open BetaYoshida-san also mentioned that the DPS counter visible in the last screenshot is for debug purposes only, and won’t be available to players.

Also, in the debug commands shown, everyone’s DPS is displayed in the log and adjustments are made based on the data we gather for how much DPS it will take to defeat an enemy in relation to the ideal DPS value. (Even I get a little excited when people start talking about checking DPS, but for the time being we don’t have any plans on adding a DPS command. Sorry about that.)

It was also shared that while the first three phases of the beta didn’t feature voice overs, voice acting will finally be implemented for the open beta and we’ll finally be able to check out the voice work done on the main storyline. We already know that the Japanese cast is top-notch. Hopefully the English one will be up to par as well.

As a final funny tidbit, we got a screenshot of the “GM jail”, where unruly players will be put to reflect on their misgivings. Apparently the restrictions in place are really harsh, and even commands like /sit are unavailable. You’ve been warned.

While we wait for a firm date for the beginning of the open beta, make sure to check out my hands-on preview of the closed beta, nicely decorated with a whopping 723 screenshots.

FFXIV GM Jail 670x419 Final Fantasy XIV Director Teases Challenging Battles; Voice Acting Will Be Available in Open Beta

believe in Final Fantasy XIV

This week, I’m going to do something different. I’m going to talk about my wife.

Lest anyone worry that this is the start of a Paul McCartney-esque slide into sappy sentimentality, there’s good reason for this. Ms. Lady has been mentioned on previous occasions as a gaming partner and skilled roleplayer. She’s not as into MMOs as I am, but she plays them a lot and she certainly knows what she likes and what she doesn’t. And let me tell you, she didn’t like Final Fantasy XIV.

This is a point of view I hold against absolutely no one, but it sure as heck meant that she was not interested in the relaunch. She’d had enough of the game after the first couple of tries to break in. The relaunch had no hooks to pull her back in, no interesting features that stirred her interest, nothing but the promise of a game she’d already decided wasn’t good enough to play.

And that all changed.

ffxiv moglog believe 1 epl 703 Believing in Final Fantasy XIV

I make no apologies for liking the launch version of Final Fantasy XIV, but a lot of that was loving what it could be rather than what it was at the time. It’s a discussion I’ve had before, but it’s also one that’s adjusted by the fact that I am a journalist who writes about MMOs, something my wife is not. I spend a lot of time and effort examining games, and I can easily be fascinated by something that’s meant to be transparent in actual play.

So I can rant and rave about how cool the class guilds were, but the first quest didn’t come in until you hit level 20 and had been playing the class for a while. There were only two more after that. I can appreciate what guildleves were meant to do, but the darn things still just get thrown at you with no rhyme or reason or motivating factor to go to the next camp. I can appreciate the dynamics of class abilities, but that meant picking through dozens of skills that were functionally identical to other ones in a vain attempt to find the right configuration.

More than anything, I was willing to sit through a lot of broken choices to reach a point that most other games started at. She was not, and she honestly didn’t care.

I’d mention features to her, and she’d listen and nod but then move on. Sure, housing sounds great, and yes, a lot of changes had been made before the shutdown, but as far as she was concerned it was building upon an unsteady foundation at best. The fact was that FFXIV wasn’t fun, and all of the added bells and whistles couldn’t change the fact that the core gameplay wasn’t fun whatsoever.

So I went to San Francisco in February. I told her that I’d let her know if the game was good, and she replied with a snort. And we all know what happened on that trip because I wrote about it in great detail.

That got her attention because odds are good that if one of us raves about a game, the other person will like it as well. Fortunately for her, both of us had Legacy status, and that meant that when the first phase of beta rolled around, we were in the same boat as everyone else with Legacy status.

ffxiv moglog believe 2 epl 703 Believing in Final Fantasy XIV         Cut to now, when she is absolutely ecstatic about the impending release. It’s the first game that’s had her this fascinated since we were playing World of Warcraft together, which was many years ago now. Perhaps most curiously of all, now she almost wishes she had played the game more in its original incarnation because she sees what the game was trying to accomplish originally.

This, I think, gets to the heart of what’s changed in the game, and it’s something that some of the detractors don’t or won’t process. For all the changes the game has endured, the core concepts of the launch version are still in place. All that’s been changed is the presentation and the execution, and that makes all the difference.

At launch, you have some choices of path as I mentioned last week. Once the game had a few patches under its belt, you had more. But even if we neglect things like the Duty Finder (which I look forward to with rapt attention), the problem was that the game didn’t really go out of its way to show you where these things were or establish any sort of flow. You were still tossed out and told to fend for yourself once the opening quest stopped, the equivalent of just leaving the pieces on the table and walking away.

The relaunch gives you the tools to slowly move through the game at a steady pace, introducing you to concepts in something of a slow roll. You aren’t having your hand held; you’re being shown the options and then let out in controlled environments where you have three options, then five, then nine, and so forth. By the time you can do anything, you know how to find everything. You have a picture of the world as a whole.

It’s easy to be cynical, and the game does have issues. But it turned someone who wanted nothing more to do with the game into someone who’s excited to play each phase of testing, then excited to see the full game on launch. That’s something special right there.

Final Fantasy XIV make me happy in small ways

Final Fantasy XIV makes me happy for a variety of reasons. Some of them I’ve written about, and some things make me slightly less than happy on a whole. The point is made either way: I like the game, and there’s a lot of stuff to write about, a lot of big issues that easily sustain a whole column on their own.

Not everything I want to write about does that. There are a lot of things that I think the game does right that can’t be discussed over the length of a column without repeating myself several dozen times. I don’t want to write that column and odds are good you don’t want to read it, either.

What I can do instead, though, is compile several of those points into a single column. I want to look at the things that I like about the game that aren’t big enough to merit a whole column but are big enough to be worth mentioning.

ffxiv moglog little 1 epl 717 Final Fantasy XIV makes me happy in small waysDistinction of class

When Final Fantasy XIV launches, it will have eight combat classes. (The sooner that number increases to include Musketeer or whatever the antecedent of Ninja will be, the better.) Two of these classes are meant to be tanks, one (possibly two) acts as a healer, and four (possibly five) are DPS. We don’t know exactly how Arcanist will play out, but we do know that each class has to maintain an identity and be worthwhile when it’s got some competition.

Longtime readers know this is something that I harp on quite a bit. And I’m quite happy to say that FFXIV does a good job of making each of the classes feel distinct and playable while still retaining overall functionality, which is no small task.

Gladiator and Marauder both have the same goals as tanks, but each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Marauder is a bit less capable of providing hard mitigation and can’t block, but it hits harder and it’s great at focusing in one single targets. Lancer and Pugilist are both up-close physical damage, but Lancer is more about burst combos and positioning while Pugilist maintains a steady flow of combinations and damage.

We haven’t seen Arcanist yet, but I can feel confident that it will be unique while working within the established framework of the game. That strikes me as pretty darn awesome.

Beauty in the details

Saying a game is gorgeous is really pointless because a lot of games are gorgeous. It’s also subjective as heck, saving virtually nothing about the overall quality of the gameplay or setting or mechanics or anything else. I’ve seen remarkably beautiful things in every game I’ve played, even when the game didn’t deliver on all of the promises of that beauty. It’s praise without any actual meat.

That having been said, there is a camp on hot springs with changing stalls.

Verisimilitude is a word I throw around so much I take a five-cent hit on my paycheck every time I use it, but to me, that’s a new class of gorgeous beyond just having nice graphics. There are so many little visual treats all over, little details that make the world feel like a place where people live and work. Some of them are easter eggs, some of them are graphical touches, but all of them make the game feel alive and energetic.

I’ve always loved the look of the game, even back in its first incarnation. The revamped game looks to just be even more attractive in motion.

ffxiv moglog little 2 epl 717 Final Fantasy XIV makes me happy in small waysThe roleplaying community

I freely admit this is wholly irrelevant to most of the population, but the community on Balmnug is one of the most familiar roleplaying environments for me, and having it back is a big deal to me. I look forward to getting to run around freely once more.

Smart little touches

Some elements of FFXIV are still remarkably archaic. There’s little reason why you should be forced to drag items over from your inventory to trade them to NPCs when there are countless better ways to execute the same system. But then you run into something that’s so elegant and graceful that you wonder why it wasn’t done before, or if it was done before, why it hasn’t been copied in every game.

For example, while the Armoury Chest is occasionally inelegant, it’s a great way to make sure that you can keep all of your equipment in the right place across multiple different classes. Then there’s the way that Aethernet in the cities allows you to teleport straight to the gates if you’ve attuned to every location. I also love the little gauges right by each item that show you at a glance how damaged an item is and how close it is to being fully spiritbonded. And lest I forget, I’m thrilled that quests you can’t yet accept are shown with a little red icon along with an explanation of when you can accept that quest.

Oh, and the game stole Guild Wars 2′s habit of making gathering nodes and interaction items unique for each player. It’s used to great effect, and I approve wholeheartedly.

Some little bits and pieces of the game still feel oddly lacking, bearing the markings of a bird that did not, in fact, descend from the same dinosaurs as every other avian. Despite that, there are just as many touches that speak of a singular vision and talent, and that just makes me happier than I can possibly explain. So I’m pleased about the game for a lot of little reasons aside from just the big ones.

Final Fantasy Xiv classes of Conjurer

460px Conjurer Final Fantasy Xiv classes:Conjurer

Lore

Conjury calls upon the elements of earth, wind, and water and concentrates them to a potency at which spells can be weaved. Through practiced meditation on the essences of creation, conjurers draw forth and absorb aether from their immediate surroundings. A wand or cane made from unworked wood is then utilized to focus the aether until it manifests as the desired spell.

Versed also in magicks that restore and strengthen, conjurers are regarded as accomplished healers.

Combat Role

Conjurers produce spells by calling on the elements of earth, wind, and water. They are able to use spells that heal or strengthen players.

During battle they will be in the back lines using their repertoire to help keep their party members alive. Being part of the Disciples of Magic causes them to have lower health than most other classes, so they must take care to avoid damage at all costs.

Final Fantasy Xiv classes of Carpenter

460px Carpenter Final Fantasy Xiv classes:Carpenter

Lore

The foremost workers of wood, carpenters possess expert knowledge of the hardness, pliability, weight, and value of all types of timber. Their creed is to bring these natural traits to bear in the form of various wares, from the implements of war to the tools of various trades.

The greatest advancements in the craft have been made in the Twelveswood, home to the highest quality timber in Eorzea. Gridanian carpentry produces everything from the masks used in their religious ceremonies to the enormous waterwheels erected throughout their city.

Crafting Role

A Carpenter is going to be using the various lumber found around Eorzea. Most items that contain wood as their primary ingredient will be crafted by this Disciple of the Hand.

Although a players first instinct will be to craft weapons, a Carpenter can also produce tools and other items not related to combat to help better the lives of the inhabitants of Eorzea.

Final Fantasy Xiv classes of Blacksmith

460px Blacksmith Final Fantasy Xiv classes:Blacksmith

Lore

It is in the fires and on the anvils of blacksmiths that weapons and tools of metal are crafted. Their work is in demand far and wide, whether it be hammering the blade of a sword at the forge, or whetting the edge of an axe at camp.

Limsa Lominsa has been renowned for its blacksmithing tradition since antiquity, though the advanced metallurgical techniques passed on today bear little resemblance to the simple practices of ancient times. The relatively recent birth of firearms has created an entirely new area of expertise which is being adopted with fervor by many ambitious smiths.

Crafting Role

The trusted Blacksmith is the man to seek when you want a new sword or axe. Their job is to bend, shape and hammer metals into weapons and tools for the other classes to use.

Having a Blacksmith friend is key for anyone looking to play as a Disciple of War. Couple that with someone who is an Armorer and you will constantly have a supply of gear ready for you at each level.

Final Fantasy Xiv classes of Armorer

460px Armorer Final Fantasy Xiv classes:Armorer

Lore

Armorers treat and work the malleable metals of Eorzea into all forms of armor. By binding together sheet, stud, and link, they are able to produce garb of plate and chain that has saved the lives of countless adventurers.

Though the armor trade once fell within the realm of blacksmithing, advancements in both metallurgical techniques and material refinement led to its necessary specialization, and it is now recognized as an official profession by all nations.

Crafting Role

An Armorer is important for any player looking to be in the front lines of combat. Their job is to create the best, sturdiest armor to take the hits and keep tanks and warriors alive.

Final Fantasy Xiv classes of Goldsmith

460px Goldsmith Final Fantasy Xiv classes:Goldsmith

Lore

Goldsmiths work precious metals and stones into a multitude of accessories that appeal to the Eorzean aesthetic. Their wide-ranging finery, painstakingly fashioned from delicate metals and gemstones, can be see adorning the ears, fingers, and necks of the distinguished everywhere.

Ul’dahn goldsmiths always have a ready supply of raw materials, owing to the vast mineral resources of Thanalan. Due to the high value of these resources, however, most artisans also make it their business to stay abreast of market trends.

Crafting Role

A player seeking to be a Goldsmith should expect to be creating high value items. Your goal is to make the most potent and powerful jewelry for players to wear. The items involved in this process tend to be very valuable, but a smart Goldsmith can turn those initial losses into great profits over time.

Saito: Dragon Quest X is Perfect, FFXIV is for the Hardcore

dragon quest x characters 670x418 Saito: Dragon Quest X is Perfect for MMO Beginners, FFXIV is for the Hardcore; Will Last 10 or 20 Years

Many were surprised by the timing of the PC release of Dragon Quest X,  even more so because it’ll come just a month after another MMORPG by Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, will hit the shelves. Dragon Quest X producer Yosuke Saito isn’t too worried about internal competition, as he told Famitsu as part of an interview:

“I believe Dragon Quest X is the perfect entry point for those that play a MMO for the first time. I don’t think we can compete with the historical legacy and the rich content of Final Fantasy XI, while Final Fantasy XIV  has an user interface that makes it aimed to hardcore gamers. Dragon Quest X’s interface has less information at a glance, so it’s more user friendly right from the start.”

He also shared his plans for the future of the game and of the series:

“In the end I’d like to create a place where people that like Dragon Quest can gather. Of course we’ll add new stories, additional scenarios and new bosses to fight, but that’s not all. Our aim is to have a cozy place for people that love Dragon Quest, and that’s the most important thing. Of course the series will continue with Dragon Quest XI and Dragon Quest XII and so forth, but I’d like Dragon Quest X to continue at the same time as a world where people can also chat about Dragon Quest XI and Dragon Quest XII. I’d like Dragon Quest X to last ten or twenty years.”

That sounds like a plan, even more so now that we know that Square Enix is planning to release the game in the west. Bring it on. My body is ready, even if I’m not a beginner.