Been a really long time... Just wondering how things are.

[Dispo]

So I was all over this in beta, I'm a Legacy member but I just felt like the game really really fell short, I even played it for almost a year during 1.0 and then I just couldn't handle it anymore... So now I'm wondering with the new expansion out, should I give it a try, from what I hear they've turned a profit on the game now and they really listen to the player base but I remember before was a ridiculous grind, like abysmal... Guilds/LS (whatever they were at the time) were literally useless, ect. Just wondering how the game is now? Should I buy the expansion and give it a go? Do I need the expansion? What do you guys think?

 

[Galadín]

Hello and a warm welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy your time with us!

I didn't play the original game so I can't make any comparisons, but it is largely agreed (particularly around these parts!) that ARR and Heavensward is more than worth the buy. In regards to the Linkshells, guilds/ what I'm assuming is the equivalent of ARR's Free Companies you can have a look at our FC section here and get a feel of what we do and how we as a community make this game an enjoyable experience.

As far as I know, I haven't heard anyone say that the game is a ridiculous grind fest (except for Linnaete when she put off her crafting classes for too long ). Personally, I think that if you have the right kind of players around you, helping out and giving advice, playing should feel like time well spent.

Honestly speaking I had no intention of ever playing FFXIV until I was convinced to give it a go with the one month's free sub. I did and have loved every minute since. So now. in turn, I'll pass on the good word and hopefully convince yourself to try the game out and if possible, get the expansion too. Heavensward isn't necessary to play the game though (it's just pretty awesome) so if you want to get a feel for ARR first, I would recommend you chat to a few of our resident FFXIV junkies, and then join us online where we'll be more than happy to be of use!

 

[Linnaete]

Don't worry yet about the expansion, because you would need to complete every story mission of the base A Realm Reborn game and its subsequent 2.x numbered patches before you can enter Ishgard and beyond.

The current FFXIV is a very story-oriented MMO. Most of the features that you can unlock (such as Chocobos) are usually gated behind story scenario missions that you have to complete at some point. Just bear in mind Square Enix's maniacal love for padding out the story in the most roundabout ways possible, so you will still be running back and forth as Eorzea's favourite delivery boy/girl, while occasionally killing crabs. If you're not very invested in the story (and believe me, it takes eons for the story to kick into anything I would remotely call compelling), it can and will feel like a slog if you treat it as one. I treated it as a slowly unravelling journey and I loved it, despite the horrendously weak 2.0 narrative. The expansion's narrative is shockingly superior in every way, so there's some motivation!

As far as I know, I haven't heard anyone say that the game is a ridiculous grind fest (except for @Linnaete when she put off her crafting classes for too long ).

Oh, child. You have not witnessed the torrential despair flooding both FFXIV's Sub-Reddit and the official forums. Gearing up the esoteric tomestones is supposedly a horrendous grind, because there aren't many effective ways to cap the numbers weekly aside from an Expert Roulette that only throws you into one of only two possible endgame dungeons.

In all seriousness, incessant grind treadmills are part and parcel of the MMO genre. There will be plenty of grinds ranging from reasonable ones (levelling up a second job to the max level) to downright absurd (endgame crafting and the whole scrips system...). As Galadín has astutely put it, it's about how you spend that time. It will ultimately fall upon what you choose to do in that monthly window of time. If you decide to completely dedicate yourself to a grind, answering that obnoxious obligation to cap on everything you possibly can for a week, because falling behind on something is simply out of the question, you will naturally be fatigued. An optimal FFXIV experience will be to balance that grind with a generous side order of more relaxing solo content and community-oriented fun.

I would say that joining Free Companies and Linkshells is an imperative part of anyone's experience with the game. It can do so much to alleviate the feeling of monotony. With friends, you can embark on casual dungeons runs, deliberate dungeon challenges (such as undersized party runs of difficult fights), and simply have people by your side for a myriad of shenanigans. FFXIV alone would just be a pitifully subpar experience that I can't imagine would have been any effective at maintaining my interest span for more than a few weeks.

Any further questions, feel free to ask away!

 

[Dispo]

Then I suppose my only other questions I have is how is the end game content? Like does everyone end up with the same end game gear or is there a lot of varried gear at the end, some people are rich, some people are poor, can you trade the best items in the game, is the currency system good? Is the trading system good? Is finding gear as you level good? How about end game raids? Mid game raids?

 

[Linnaete]

Then I suppose my only other questions I have is how is the end game content?

By the time you reach endgame, it may look a little differently.

At the moment, the endgame scene has reached a lull, because the next patch has been delayed until next month. The hardest raid in the game (Alexander Savage) has hilariously enough been panned for being too difficult, and blamed for group statics falling apart. It will largely depend on the server. Smaller servers like Lich, or mid-sized servers such as Lamia are probably not the most conducive for a hardcore raiding scene. It's typically in ones such as Gilgamesh and Leviathan that have the raiding pedigree. Plenty of players wishing to take on Savage thus transfer to these servers. Finding a static however, is like finding a full time job. Group leaders do demand experience with each level before they take you on.

Besides Savage, there is a whole wealth of things to do. If a new player hits endgame by next month, I'd say there's no better time. Hopefully Square Enix will incentivise the existing three 24-man raids (Crystal Tower series from FF3) so people will be regularly running them again. A new 24-man raid will arrive called the Void Ark. Alexander also has a "story" mode that is less difficult than its Savage counterpart, but can still be challenging enough for a party of random players. There are a good handful of 'hard mode' dungeons, as well as 'Extreme' versions of Primal fights such as Garuda, Titan, Ravana, et al. There's a feature that allows players to run dungeons and trial fights as undersized parties, which can be another fun challenge to set for yourselves. The obsolete hardcore raid prior to the expansion, the Coils of Bahamut, are also an option for undersized groups.

However, much of endgame is also preparation. The aforementioned Expert Roulette and esoterics? Yes, these are among ways to gear up a character's Job with armour and weapons sufficient enough in item level to take on endgame content. Unfortunately, it's this gearing up process that can be exceptionally grindy (and always has been) if you want to gear up multiple Jobs. It's why I recommend people balance this weekly grind with something fun to break up the monotony.

Like does everyone end up with the same end game gear or is there a lot of varried gear at the end

Actual gear sets can seem limited, but there is a Glamour system to allow you to change the appearance of your weapons and armour into something else, permitting you have the catalyst item to do so. Some people have been very creative with this, even if it's not the most robust system.

some people are rich, some people are poor

Yyyyyyup. Capitalism in general!

can you trade the best items in the game

You generally cannot trade most endgame weapons and armour. Any crafted item and gathered item can naturally be traded and sold.

It depends what we mean by "best". The best weapons and armour? Untradeable. Some of the most hard-to-craft/find and coveted items you attain from crafting and gathering? Usually yes.

Is the trading system good?

Marketboard trading is annoyingly limited to your two default retainers (unless you pay real money monthly for more!). Trading to other players is okay. There's a mail system you can use as well, but there's a finite space.

Is finding gear as you level good?

So long as you update your gear as you go along regularly, indeed. They can be crafted or from dungeon coffers. It is most important for a tank to be as up to date as possible, because it can severely dictate how painless a dungeon run will be.

Last two questions I have sort of covered above. Consider Alexander's story mode and some of the Extreme Primals to be mid-level.

 

[Dispo]

Awesome Awesome, I'm fairly certain at the end of my initial grind back ways when I decided to delete my character so if I was to download the game and give it a boo again, what's the fastest way to level up your first character? Just play the story? Once raids open, should I just constantly que those?

 

[Linnaete]

what's the fastest way to level up your first character? Just play the story? Once raids open, should I just constantly que those?

For your first class/job?

- Main story
- A few sidequests. Saving a good number for a second class/Job can be a good idea.
- Dungeons!
- Roulettes. These are daily things and they throw you into a random dungeon/trial fight and give you EXP boosts.
- Challenge log. Unlock this and there are opportunities to gain extra EXP on a weekly basis.
- Guildhests. They're instances that essentially teach you things. They require a light party to tackle and it has its own Roulette.
- Combat levequests. Repeatable kill quests.
- Beast Tribe Quests. You come across these later (at least level 43(?) to start them. They're repeatable quests that you have a finite number of allowances for daily.

Once your first job hits the max level (50 without Heavensward. 60 with Heavensward), you will have a thing called the Armory Bonus. Levelling up subsequent classes/Jobs should be noticeably quicker with this.

Most raids you can easily queue for if you unlock them, yup. Alexander Savage is the only raid that you CANNOT enter without a preformed party.

 

[Dispo]

Aweome, thanks for everything. Now how about finding a good group of people to play with? Where do I locate this? xD

 

[Linnaete]

FFF has its own little FFXIV community. Details and various things can be found here.

If you wish to join us, we're on Lamia server and we have our own Free Company guild. Comes with our own little house nestled next to some trees in the best residential zone in the whole game. We're a laid-back lot and like to help each other out when we can.

I say "we", but I've quit the game for life reasons. xD

 

[Dispo]

Well I just bought a 6 month sub, let's give er. Worst case I just wasted another 50$... I don't know what server I'm on but I'll double check once the game is done downloading.

You said hitting end game content by next month would be best case current scenario, how long /many hours would that take?

 

[Jake]

Well I just bought a 6 month sub, let's give er. Worst case I just wasted another 50$... I don't know what server I'm on but I'll double check once the game is done downloading.

You said hitting end game content by next month would be best case current scenario, how long /many hours would that take?

Hitting end game, from where exactly?

If you're starting fresh - as in 2.0 or even 2.5 - then... haha. It's very unrealistic to be thinking about getting there so soon. The Heavensward expansion itself is actually rather long too, so you'd be hard pressed to burn through it (which would be a mistake anyway, because 3.0 is actually really enjoyable in terms of story). I can't say in hours but it took me months.

Sure it would be nice to hit end game so you can experience everything in 3.1 for the first time along with everyone else, but there's nothing wrong with taking your time.

 

[Dispo]

What's 2.0 vs 2.5? Yeah, I'd be 100% fresh regardless.

Euhm.... So what are the odds of me finding people to do vanilla stuff with?

 

[Jake]

What's 2.0 vs 2.5? Yeah, I'd be 100% fresh regardless.

Euhm.... So what are the odds of me finding people to do vanilla stuff with?

I suppose the distinction doesn't really matter at this point 2.5 is just additional content that wasn't part of the 2.0 release. Leads up to 3.0 (Heavensward). Lots and lots of additional quests to do.

As for vanilla content... it depends. Dungeons are fine. There are still loads of people playing those and depending on your class (tank/healer) the queue times can be really short. It's a bit hairy for DPS but overall you shouldn't have too much trouble. The raids and [some] Primals can be kinda hit or miss though... I'd say the majority of players have moved on at this point. But most of that stuff is optional anyway, so unless you really want to complete everything, you'd probably be okay just skipping past at least temporarily. In my opinion, of course

 

[Linnaete]

What's 2.0 vs 2.5? Yeah, I'd be 100% fresh regardless.

2.0 is Realm Reborn itself.

After its launch and up to Heavensward (which is 3.0), there were numbered patches that have their own "episodic" story content, if you will

2.1 A Realm Awoken - went live December 2013

2.2 Through the Maelstrom - went live March 2014

2.3 Defenders of Eorzea - went live July 2014

2.4 Dreams of Ice - went live October 2014

2.5 Before the Fall pt. 1 - went live January 2015

2.55 Before the Fall pt. 2 - went live March 2015

All the above must be completed before you can access Heavensward.

Euhm.... So what are the odds of me finding people to do vanilla stuff with

There will always be people doing the early content as well! Other new players, as well as more experienced players who are doing their daily roulettes (there's a levelling oulette that people often use to level up daily, which can throw them in any dungeon from the very first 2.0 one up to the lvl 57 library one in the expansion) will ensure that there's always someone to run any dungeon.

Except for something like Ultima Weapon's hard mode difficulty. No one does that these days. And like I mentioned, the Crystal Tower raids need incentives for people to return to, because their queues are astronomical otherwise.

| shuddup, you
v

 

[Mitsuki]

Linnaete is the biggest FFXIV nerd, ever. Just so you know.

You don't have to worry about missing out just because people are doing end content. =] There's still plenty of people in our FC who do low-level dungeons (leveling up their other classes). I have a few classes I'm interested in that I hope to tackle soon, and that means starting from level 1. But my main class is a level 60 dragoon. If I'm not making out with the floor, you can see me looking up the Market Board next to our small FC house. Or crafting/gathering.

We also have a forum linkshell so members who belong in a different FC (but are part of our FFF community) will be around should you have any questions. While we are pretty small in size, we've known each other (well, most) for years so it makes gaming more fun and memorable. We are actively recruiting slowly while trying to build our connection with players, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll fit right in with us. But I definitely agree with randomrosso - take your time with the game. Treat it as an adventurous journey and you'll see a difference.

In the meantime while your game is downloading, I recommend going through the threads in the FFXIV section as well as the FC Board. You can read some of our members' personal experience with the game. =]

And welcome to the community! It's cool that you happen to stumble upon us.

 

[Dispo]

I don't know if you can see it or not but this is my character here, I guess I restarted on 2.0 and didn't stick around and clearly forgot!

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/2902650/

Am I on the right server to join you guys? Should I play with this character or make a new one? How do I know if I have the best tank gear at-present LOL?

Your clan/guild/ls (whatever you call it) of tightly bound comrades sounds pretty amazing.

 

[Linnaete]

FFF are on Lamia, unfortunately.

If you want to come over, there's the option of a server transfer, but it won't be worth the money at all. You may as well start over with a fresh new character. It's ultimately up to you though. Balmung's the unofficial roleplaying server for North American data centres, so if RPing is your thing, that'll be the server for you.

 

[Dispo]

Definitely not in the role playing lol, I want to PvP/Raid.

 

[Soulcorruptor]

Sadly it seems the pvp aspect is also low on our server with long wait times but the raids are not as bad, so if ya want to start from scratch we will be glad to have you.

 

[Linnaete]

Yeah, FFXIV is absolutely not the MMO for someone who likes PvPing. They've tried, but it's a complete afterthought. Sticking with the whole 3 Grand Companies setup has not done it any favours.

Raiding...well, it depends on what kind of raiding you're after. At this point, as you've barely played the game, you're unlikely to know for sure. Lamia's good enough for the more casual and mid-tier raiding. You want the most hardcore of content that requires statics to constantly practise with set schedules? It's probably not the best server for that. Gilgamesh and Leviathan are the raid-oriented servers I can think of.

Of course, server switching is an option (for a fee), so if it ever comes down to that, it's there. Hopefully you won't have to!