FFXIV: The good, Bad and that coming update

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Why I am hoping the FFXIV changes will bring new life in to the game.

When I first played FFXIV I loved it, it’s like FFXI but better in every single way.  What wasn’t there to like?

·         Graphics are tremendous

·         Music high quality

·         Content in high amounts

·         Not needing multiple characters

·         Easily switch jobs

·         Updates galore throughout the year

·         Didn’t take forever to earn anything outside the relic/HQ crafts

·         All content accessible (with Echo, no sync, story and normal modes for more difficult areas)

What did happen however is this rut I’m calling it, it’s continuation of nothing different:

·         Signing on just for weekly/daily tasks

·         Capping out tombs

·         Same old dungeons for a few months

·         Mechanics, Mechanics and less job focus

·         Archer, Ninja, Thief – The ruined jobs

·         Mess of the relic

·         Over complicated systems typical SE especially from XI

At the moment like many I simply logon to perform the daily tasks, then I think about catching up with the latest content (at the moment Palace of the Dead).  Once I’ve done the dailies it really is simply what now…  shall I bother getting in to something else just to tick a box?  Perhaps try and cap out tombs and have to wait another week before I can get a piece of gear.  This then ties in to the same old dungeons, each time they release new ones you’re basically stuck doing them for a few months.  While the old ones become pretty much useless unless you do lower level dailies etc.

Then we get to the mechanics, basically you dodge moves all day or stand in a particular spot creating a less focus on the job.  When you’re a healer this becomes a bit of a nightmare trying to keep people alive while casting cure.  It’s also why I prefer WHM it allows me to instantly cure while also having a ton of regen.  I’m becoming bored with just having to constantly learn new mechanics every update.  I’m not able to enjoy the actual content, I’m not able to look around in amazement at the scenery or even watch what every move is called.  I’m not even able to fully enjoy the job I’ve spent ages building up. The game becomes much more about maximising everything in the shortest amount of time.

The Job class system is still one of the best but they have ruined a few jobs.  The biggest gripe was Thief because SE didn’t like the name so they called it Rogue which turned in to Ninja.  I do not believe this is right.  They’ve turned a treasure hunter job in to a complicated memory job called Ninja.  Basically you have to press certain buttons in order to perform the corresponding moves.  This is another over complication of a job.  Instead of performing a simple button/macro you are performing pattern combos (something I’ve never been a fan of).  They’ve even removed the chance of Ninja ever being a tank job.  I remember counting shadows was always the most difficult part and timing it so the second you had none left you had casted the new spell on time.

Now we get to my favourite Ranger/Archer becoming BARD.  A musical singer that’s a support job for the group with average DPS at best (unless you are really geared and up against average geared DPS).  Fact of the matter is this job is a support one not just a simple DPS like Ninja/Monk/Dragoon.  It’s also got over the top bows that look half like musical instruments not to mention the singing abilities.  People will say you rarely use them but those people rarely use BRD and use it even less in groups.  The focus of this job should be about DPS power abilities not singing supporting ones.

The relic is a time consuming well worth it weapon and rightly so.  The nightmare is how they have over complicated everything, strangely enough I have two quests activated for this one single relic.  You have to resort to using endless guides to keep going (something XI was made famous for) but instead of simple they’ve done their usual over complicated system.   They’ve done the same thing in:

·         Squadrons by over complicating something that seemed pretty good at first

·         High end crafting gear (earning it)

·         Savage mode (you will struggle without teamspeak systems)

·         Upgrading old gear

·         Multiple tombs

The Expansion and the changes

Our last expansion was brilliant although it did bring us the same type of content.  The story was one of the best expansions I’ve ever had and I couldn’t criticise it at all.  And all of that was before the huge content that was provided to players.  There’s something coming in regards to losing some abilities, classes and battle changes.  Personally I’d like to see more reliance on learning how to do the job, bringing the classes back to basics and less mechanical based content.

As a healer I should be able to rely on being the healer and keeping people alive.  The most action I get on this job is mass pulling while sticking all regens up and spamming holy for DPS.  This not only pushes you as a healer but squeezes your timing to keep the tank alive with an emergency benediction just after doing quite a bit of damage.  You have to position yourself right all the time, if you have to move that’s a cure interruption if you’re too far away you can’t medica 2 (aoe heal/regen) so easily.  You also need to be in range of holy.  I’ve got to say this is the most fun you can really have as a WHM healing. 

·         I’d love to see a less mechanical reliance on this game

·         Perhaps make us have to use esuna more

·         Use all our abilities to keep the tank alive for simple mobs/mini bosses

For Archer, I’d like all songs to be scrapped without any turn around.  I’d like to see the gear improved towards a more DPS orientation of a job that looks like it can hurt.  We’ve seen a lot of questionable gear but BRD seems to be the one I completely struggle to find more than two or three sets of dedicated glamour.  It tends to be the pirate or musketeer look.  I hope to have more abilities with perhaps high cool down timers but instant damage dealing.  During XI you would have Eagle Eye Shot, Side Winder, Barrage and other abilities that gave extra power for ranged attacks.  The entire job was dedicated to ranged damage and that is the biggest difference between XI and XIV Ranger/Archer classes.  In XIV there’s limited buffs to cause extra damage although there is DOTs – I personally would very much prefer extra attacking buffs and instant damage dealing abilities.

The battle system changes I am hoping will rely a lot less on mechanics and more job focusing.  Otherwise unless there is something special in the next expansion once I’ve gotten through the story there’s a chance I will leave the game until the next expansion.  I personally feel there is too much repetition and over complicated systems in place for a game.  And considering it’s a monthly subscription I have to ask if it’s worth sticking around the whole year.  Considering half what you do at the moment is meaningless grind for slightly better gear which is replaced in a very short time in the next update.  Outside of the main scenario the story is quite average, rewards almost meaningless and a daily repetition because there’s limits in place preventing you from maximising all the jobs you enjoy to decent gear levels.  And when those gear levels are being changed a very few months….  It’s become far too difficult and lengthy to enjoy them all.  Currently I play WHM > PLD > SMN > BRD.   I’d love to play BRD more often and even SMN but the truth is it takes too much time and you have to wait to really maximise those gears.  Which is also made difficult by gear level caps on the latest content.  There are multiple amount of gears > upgrades > items to increase ilvl…  it’s a mission.

So I find my self sticking to WHM just like XI, although with XI it wasn’t through gear but instead a limited amount of available healers to do the End Game.  Those though who had endless hours of being a NEEDED job earned the right to choose a DD (DPS) job and did so for a relax/enjoyment.  XIV though forces you to effectively choose one job otherwise it becomes very difficult and 35+ hours a week to keep more than one job updated and with weekly limits.. you will wait a while to do two jobs let alone four.

The update I really do hope.. brings me and others what we wanted from day one.  I know this isn’t just me that’s facing this, many have quit FFXIV due to the above issues and some returned on the last expansion – only to discover it was content based nothing really changed.

Fingers crossed.