Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - Playing Catch Up
Welcome back, Nerds!
This week I really wanted to talk about a game that I have dumped far too many hours of my life into. Final Fantasy XIV. June 20th will see the release of the second expansion for the MMO title and will also see me returning to the life sucking world of Eorzea.
FFXIV is a massive game. That's a pretty obvious statement, however I just wanted to get that out of the way for those who are for some reason still unaware that FFXIV is an MMO and not your traditional JRPG title. I wanted to write a little piece this week for people who either have not played the game, or are thinking about getting back into the game full swing but have not played in quite some time.
I want to start off this piece by stating that I am by no means an expert on either the game itself, nor MMOs in general. My expertise ends at the "I have reached the level cap" bar. Personally I have a level 60 Dark Knight and a level 55 Black Mage, I have not completed any of the raids beyond the Binding Coils, so take this advise with a few grains of salt if you will.
How do I have a Dark Knight class? Good first question, however chances are if you are asking this question you are very far away from achieving this than you may like to hear. SquareEnix made some questionable choices behind their first expansion Heavensward, one of those choices being that the three new classes introduced into the expansion (Dark Knight, Astrologian, Machinist) would be located in the first new city you enter within the expansion. How do you get there? Simple, beat the whole main story for A Realm Reborn, and all of the post patch content leading up to the Heavensward storyline. How long will this take you? For some, it may take 60 hours. For most, It will more than likely take 100+ hours. Of course, all of this is dependant on whether or not you are skipping dialogue and cutscenes. However, once you get to the Heavensward content, it is by far the best experience the game has to offer.
I know, we are off to a bit of a tough spot, but it gets much better. The good news is, the game in itself is fantastic. Playing the different classes is always fun. While the game is insanely better if you have a group of people to enjoy it with like most MMOs, FFXIV does a great job at accommodating the solo player. I myself have played many many hours solo adventuring into dungeons and slaying Primals just using in game matchmaking system. Which leads me to my next point..
The community is amazing. I haven't played every MMO, but I have played most of them available on consoles. Some MMO communities are absolutely toxic. For example, if I were still playing DCUO, I would play solo or strictly with people I knew because I can't stand looking at the chat or listening to people in game. I can only imagine how a new player must feel when stepping into that world for the first time.
Amazingly, I have found that FFXIV does not have this problem. Of course there are still going to be assholes who can't seem to get off their high horse, but I have found that you don't really experience any of those people until you reach end game content. If you are simply leveling 1-60, 9 times out of 10 you will always run into people who love helping, and want you to be able to learn the class you are playing and give you advice. Honestly, I still find that this is the case, even in the endgame. Like I said, it's only a minority of people who are going to be a complete dick to you in game.
This is all due to the fact that FFXIV will reward players for contributing. At the end of every dungeon, Raid, and Primal fight you will get to vote on which party member you felt really helped contribute to your victory. Chances are, if you are new you will want to vote for the player who has been guiding you through the dungeon for the first time, walking you through how to kill bosses and pull mobs. Eventually these votes (after hundreds of hours) will allow players to become Mentors. This is represented by a symbol next to their player name that shows everyone in the game world that they have dedicated an insane amount of time mastering the game and have experience helping others learn the game.
Also, anyone familiar with MMO games knows the endgame grind of getting the tokens/marks (In this game, tomestones) so you can purchase your endgame gear. The best way for fresh level 60 players to earn these marks is by doing your daily dungeon and trials. What this does is pair you up with someone trying to synch up a lower level dungeon, and allows you, a player who has already completed this challenge, to help someone who may not have done this already. The game then rewards you for helping a lower level player by giving you currency to buy end game gear. Yet another reason why you will be hard pressed to find someone who is going to send toxic messages to you for not knowing what to do.
Game Updates come very frequently. Significant updates at that. Yes, there is a monthly subscription (I will get more into that in a moment), which I know some may take issue with. And it is absolutely your right to do so. You may think that other MMOs such as Elder Scrolls Online, Neverwinter, and DCUO are all free to play, why cant FFXIV be free to play as well?
Great question, and as I mentioned before I am by no means an expert in the MMO development cycle. Though I feel if you have personally played all of these titles, the answer is very simple. While all the games I just mentioned are great in their own ways and still have fairly large player base. The quality of the content you are getting out of FFXIV is unmatched. Also the frequency of the updates. it has been two years since the release of Heavensward, yet the amount of updates in between that time that have come is staggering.
You will also find in other free MMOs, a wealth of in game Micro-transaction options. Some feel absolutely mandatory to enjoy the game (DCUO), and others are just convenient (ESO). While FFXIV doesn't have an In Game store to buy things like Experience Boosters from, the optional purchases are all strictly cosmetic. The fact is, when a game as huge, and as beautiful as FFXIV charges a monthly subscription, the game wont shove micro-transactions in your face so the developers have the money to create the extra content with.
That being said, Final Fantasy has gone Free to Play in a way. For brand new players who want to try out the game and dive into the world without too many restrictions, you can play the game for free up until you reach level 35. This isn't a times access, it's permanent. Meaning at anytime if you want to hop into the game and play, you can. The restriction being, if you do not pay for a Subscription you cannot surpass level 35. Which is fantastic, that is essentially anywhere from 35-70 hours of gameplay for free. I am almost certain that the business action taken here is that if anyone spends that much time with the game, it's basically guaranteed they will end up making a subscriber out of that player.
What's there to look forward to? Stormblood! The second expansion coming to FFXIV one June 20th (Earlier if you pre order). This adds yet another story campaign to the game with new areas, cities, classes, dungeons, raids, etc. Basically hundreds of more hours down the drain. The two new jobs being introduced to the game are Red Mage and Samurai. These are both DPS jobs as opposed to Heavensward which gave us three jobs, all different classes (DPS, Healer, Tank).
Both of the new jobs have been heavily requested by fans for years, and we are finally getting to don the red cap of one of my favourite Final Fantasy classes, the Red Mage.
SquareEnix is not making the same mistake with jobs this time as they did in Heavensward. You will not have to be completely caught up in the story in order to gain access to these classes. You will however need to be at least level 50 to gain access to the NPCs who will teach you these jobs.
For those who are all caught up in Heavensward you wont need me to tell you that along with continuing the main scenario quests the level cap will also be raised from 60 to 70. Along with the mysterious new ability to swim, dive and breath underwater using "Magic".
Is Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn worth it? If you have made it this far into the article it feels a little redundant to say, but yes. This game is absolutely worth your time. if you have never touched the game and are curious due to the Stormblood announcement, or you stopped playing the game but are considering taking another dive in due to the new expansion. All signs point to yes, this game very well may become your life. But you will make friends, lose yourself in one of the most beautiful Final Fantasy games to date and have a ton of fun.
Simply put if you havent played it yet, the game is completely free to play until level 35, get on it already!
Alright, I know there are more than likely things I have left out of this piece that I will have to either add in later or just save them for another FFXIV piece, which believe me will be coming soon. If you have played the game and have questions or comment I would love to hear them and start a conversation and if you are new and have questions, same deal.
Until next time, Nerds
This week I really wanted to talk about a game that I have dumped far too many hours of my life into. Final Fantasy XIV. June 20th will see the release of the second expansion for the MMO title and will also see me returning to the life sucking world of Eorzea.
FFXIV is a massive game. That's a pretty obvious statement, however I just wanted to get that out of the way for those who are for some reason still unaware that FFXIV is an MMO and not your traditional JRPG title. I wanted to write a little piece this week for people who either have not played the game, or are thinking about getting back into the game full swing but have not played in quite some time.
 |
| From the Reveal Trailer |
I want to start off this piece by stating that I am by no means an expert on either the game itself, nor MMOs in general. My expertise ends at the "I have reached the level cap" bar. Personally I have a level 60 Dark Knight and a level 55 Black Mage, I have not completed any of the raids beyond the Binding Coils, so take this advise with a few grains of salt if you will.
How do I have a Dark Knight class? Good first question, however chances are if you are asking this question you are very far away from achieving this than you may like to hear. SquareEnix made some questionable choices behind their first expansion Heavensward, one of those choices being that the three new classes introduced into the expansion (Dark Knight, Astrologian, Machinist) would be located in the first new city you enter within the expansion. How do you get there? Simple, beat the whole main story for A Realm Reborn, and all of the post patch content leading up to the Heavensward storyline. How long will this take you? For some, it may take 60 hours. For most, It will more than likely take 100+ hours. Of course, all of this is dependant on whether or not you are skipping dialogue and cutscenes. However, once you get to the Heavensward content, it is by far the best experience the game has to offer.
I know, we are off to a bit of a tough spot, but it gets much better. The good news is, the game in itself is fantastic. Playing the different classes is always fun. While the game is insanely better if you have a group of people to enjoy it with like most MMOs, FFXIV does a great job at accommodating the solo player. I myself have played many many hours solo adventuring into dungeons and slaying Primals just using in game matchmaking system. Which leads me to my next point..
The community is amazing. I haven't played every MMO, but I have played most of them available on consoles. Some MMO communities are absolutely toxic. For example, if I were still playing DCUO, I would play solo or strictly with people I knew because I can't stand looking at the chat or listening to people in game. I can only imagine how a new player must feel when stepping into that world for the first time.
Amazingly, I have found that FFXIV does not have this problem. Of course there are still going to be assholes who can't seem to get off their high horse, but I have found that you don't really experience any of those people until you reach end game content. If you are simply leveling 1-60, 9 times out of 10 you will always run into people who love helping, and want you to be able to learn the class you are playing and give you advice. Honestly, I still find that this is the case, even in the endgame. Like I said, it's only a minority of people who are going to be a complete dick to you in game.
 |
| The famed Mentor symbol |
Also, anyone familiar with MMO games knows the endgame grind of getting the tokens/marks (In this game, tomestones) so you can purchase your endgame gear. The best way for fresh level 60 players to earn these marks is by doing your daily dungeon and trials. What this does is pair you up with someone trying to synch up a lower level dungeon, and allows you, a player who has already completed this challenge, to help someone who may not have done this already. The game then rewards you for helping a lower level player by giving you currency to buy end game gear. Yet another reason why you will be hard pressed to find someone who is going to send toxic messages to you for not knowing what to do.
Game Updates come very frequently. Significant updates at that. Yes, there is a monthly subscription (I will get more into that in a moment), which I know some may take issue with. And it is absolutely your right to do so. You may think that other MMOs such as Elder Scrolls Online, Neverwinter, and DCUO are all free to play, why cant FFXIV be free to play as well?
Great question, and as I mentioned before I am by no means an expert in the MMO development cycle. Though I feel if you have personally played all of these titles, the answer is very simple. While all the games I just mentioned are great in their own ways and still have fairly large player base. The quality of the content you are getting out of FFXIV is unmatched. Also the frequency of the updates. it has been two years since the release of Heavensward, yet the amount of updates in between that time that have come is staggering.
 |
| The three classes added in Heavensward |
That being said, Final Fantasy has gone Free to Play in a way. For brand new players who want to try out the game and dive into the world without too many restrictions, you can play the game for free up until you reach level 35. This isn't a times access, it's permanent. Meaning at anytime if you want to hop into the game and play, you can. The restriction being, if you do not pay for a Subscription you cannot surpass level 35. Which is fantastic, that is essentially anywhere from 35-70 hours of gameplay for free. I am almost certain that the business action taken here is that if anyone spends that much time with the game, it's basically guaranteed they will end up making a subscriber out of that player.
What's there to look forward to? Stormblood! The second expansion coming to FFXIV one June 20th (Earlier if you pre order). This adds yet another story campaign to the game with new areas, cities, classes, dungeons, raids, etc. Basically hundreds of more hours down the drain. The two new jobs being introduced to the game are Red Mage and Samurai. These are both DPS jobs as opposed to Heavensward which gave us three jobs, all different classes (DPS, Healer, Tank).
Both of the new jobs have been heavily requested by fans for years, and we are finally getting to don the red cap of one of my favourite Final Fantasy classes, the Red Mage.
SquareEnix is not making the same mistake with jobs this time as they did in Heavensward. You will not have to be completely caught up in the story in order to gain access to these classes. You will however need to be at least level 50 to gain access to the NPCs who will teach you these jobs.
For those who are all caught up in Heavensward you wont need me to tell you that along with continuing the main scenario quests the level cap will also be raised from 60 to 70. Along with the mysterious new ability to swim, dive and breath underwater using "Magic".
 |
| "Magic" |
Simply put if you havent played it yet, the game is completely free to play until level 35, get on it already!
Alright, I know there are more than likely things I have left out of this piece that I will have to either add in later or just save them for another FFXIV piece, which believe me will be coming soon. If you have played the game and have questions or comment I would love to hear them and start a conversation and if you are new and have questions, same deal.
Until next time, Nerds
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