The Final Fantasy 14 - A Realm Reborn Thread

[KrazyKaiju]

Has anyone been part of the beta test so far? What are your thoughts on the revamped game assets, combat, job systems, ect. What's broken and what's awesome. Will Square-Enix be able to convince people to pay $40 upfront plus $13 a month in the era of free to play MMOs. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

I've been following Kim's walkthrough videos on the Yogscast and have liked what I've seen so far. I just wish Square wasn't so stingy with the beta invites. I really want to play this thing before commiting money to it, especially with the Elder Scrolls MMO on the horizon.

[+Gemintronic]

Sankaku Complex seems to think the changes are impressive. Alas, they also report stupid things like long queues are still present. Can't link due to the naughty nature of some of Sankakus content

[cimerians]

My friend is in Beta the last few months, I was in the first go around with FF14.

 

He has been sending me screenshots and the like and so far he told me it's a thumbs up. I will probably end up buying it since he's a friend and we've played FF11 together.

 

The original FF14 was quite a disaster.

[Tempest]

I'd be all over this if I had the time to invest, but I just don't. I enjoyed playing XI back when I was single and had time, but I skipped the first XIV due to lack of time (and horrendously bad reviews) and not much has changed.

[cimerians]

Ok I just got picked for the final part of the beta. I'll post some thoughts here.

[KrazyKaiju]

I got an invite for phase 4 as well. Problem is the servers won't let me sign in with my Square-Enix ID. I've tried four different times since this morning and nothing seems to be working. SE Support is pretty much nonexistent. Their only reponse had been 'Try again later'. Their servers must be completely borked.

 

I really wanted to try this game, but I'm done wasting my time just trying to log in. I know this is still beta, but if they're having these kind of problems a week and a half from launch, I see 2.0 being a repeat of the 1.0 disaster.

[cimerians]

I got an invite for phase 4 as well. Problem is the servers won't let me sign in with my Square-Enix ID. I've tried four different times since this morning and nothing seems to be working. SE Support is pretty much nonexistent. Their only reponse had been 'Try again later'. Their servers must be completely borked.

 

I really wanted to try this game, but I'm done wasting my time just trying to log in. I know this is still beta, but if they're having these kind of problems a week and a half from launch, I see 2.0 being a repeat of the 1.0 disaster.

 

I have the same issues. I'm not going to bother at all. Maybe when they get things right and I see some reviews.

 

I wasted my time with the first one and it seems the same crap is going on again with logging etc etc.

[KrazyKaiju]

I finally got through to customer service via chat. There's a known problem with the PS3 version of the launcher. When I asked about when the patch would go live, he said 'probably Tuesday'. When I reminded him the Beta would be over by then, he thanked me for using chat and then disconnected. That's an EA level of shitty customer service there.

 

I've pretty much lost all desire to have anything to do with this game.

[Rex Dart]

Hmm, my wife's been playing it since yesterday without issue.

[KrazyKaiju]

Some players on Neogaf got me sorted out. I deleted and redownloaded the launcher, then set up a new Square ID through the launcher and I'm in. Using my original ID borks it up somehow. Why the Square CS rep couldn't have just told me that is beyond me.

 

I'm feeling better about things, even though these were extra hoops that shouldn't have been there. It's a pretty game, I'll give them that. I'll post some thoughts on the gameplay after I've spent a few hours with it.

[KrazyKaiju]

I've got about 10 hours in so far, playing as a Hyur Thaumaturge. Caps are at 20 so I haven't seen any endgame content yet.

 

The good:

Character creation, while not as in depth as Neverwinter or Tera, makes it easy to roll up a good looking toon with enough individuality to stand apart from the crowd. Just keep in mind that the toon you create will have a definite Japanese asthetic, so if that turns you off this isn't the game for you. The game goes more for a 'Kawaii-desu' cuteness, not sexyness (there's no chance of mistaking it for Tera).

 

The Job system is quite varied. You have to complete your starting job's level 10 guild quest in order to switch to another, though there is a system in place to take a few of the special skills you learn in one job with you when you switch. I've switched from Conjurer to Pugilist and back to Thaumaturge, taking useful skills like Raise and Second wind with me. You can switch in and out of learned jobs just by changing out the class weapon while not actively in combat.

 

The environments are large and open. If you can reach it on foot nothing will prevent you from visiting an area, though some areas have creatures with high level that agro immediately on sight.

 

The bad:

The environments reuse graphical assets to an extreme degree. This wouldn't be such a problem if everything wasn't colored 'desert bland'. Get used to seeing the same identical structures reused all over the map. This problem is magnified in the main hub city due to a lack of recognizable landmarks. Even using the HUD map, you will get lost. Alot.

 

There is no way to customize the look of your equipment. When you reach level cap, everybody looks the same because they have the same five pieces of top level gear. There is supposed to be a way to dye your gear, but the game doesn't make it clear how this is done. DC Universe gives you hundreds of possible combinations to make the character your own. FF14 fails miserably in this regard.

 

Combat is mediocre at best, primarily consisting of approaching an enemy, hitting an attack button, waiting for the timer to count down, then hitting another attack button. From what I've been able to tell, character placement during battle has nothing to do with damage input or output. There is no steath mechanic nor any kind of dodge mechanic. You just stand there trading blows until somebody dies. You can run away if neccessary, but I've found that most mobs can still connect even at range. For me this is the weakest part of the game.

 

Quests are boring. Really boring. 95 percent of the game consists of fetch quests. Kill 3 of such and such, deliver this item to so and so. And it's not limited to just the sidequests, even the 'main' story quests have their own fetch quests. It gets ridiculous really. 10 hours in and I feel more like a courier than an adventurer.

 

Log in issues are rampant. Aside from the problems with the game launcher not accepting pre existing Square IDs, long waits to que up are common. Servers will kick you without warning. There isn't currently any way to switch servers once you start a character, so make sure you know which server your friends are on beforehand, assuming the server is accepting new characters at all.

 

This doesn't feel like a game that has been in development for 3+ years. There are the bones of a good game here, but this still feels like an early alpha. There isn't much meat to the story missions, and the side (fetch) quests seem more like filler than anything. I'm afraid many of the complaints about the first game carry through to this one unaddressed, save for a fresh coat of shiny paint.

[cimerians]

Thanks for the update, a friend of mine has been a little more positive about it when I read his emails.

 

I'm really not going to bother now because it probably ended this morning and on top of that when it's released in a week or so its going to be crap. Opening day on MMO's are never good.

[SoulBlazer]

A friend of mine who had been part of the earlier Beta's convienced me to try it this weekend. Sat and Sunday were open (free play) to anyone. For the record, I played on my PC. Spent about 10 hours on it and got my Gladiator up to Level 16. While I agree with some of the complaints posted above, overall I thought it was a fun game. It 'felt' like a Final Fantasy game with the farmilar enemies, magic attacks, items, and so on. Really great remix of the Crystal Theme (and the Chocobo theme isn't bad either). Love the fact that you once you atune to a crystal and Chocobo station you can easily fast transport around. The FADE's are also interesting and fun. The main story DOES seem interesting, from what I've seen so far on it, and partying with a group can make you unstoable, especily once you get a Limit Break going. While there are some issues to work out, I was hooked enough to pre-order the game for download from the Square-Enix website. Tuesday (tomorrow) is the last day to do so, and open access for those who did starts on Friday, with the game going live to everyone next Tuesday. Oh, and I had NO problems with lag or getting booted. It ran smooth as silk. I think the PS3 just sucks for this.

[cimerians]

I found this, shows upper level dungeons and some of the monsters/bosses in em. That crazy malboro is at 5:55:

 

[cimerians]

Looks like the beta on the PS4 is starting next month, I'm tempted to try it now.

 

http://www.gamezone.com/news/2014/01/02/every-ps4-owner-gets-immediate-entry-into-final-fantasy-14-s-beta

 

Anyone still playing on PC or PS3? Current thoughts?

 

I keep reading it feels more like an FF game and that it plays like a single player game with all the quest available for solo play. Mostly good reviews by FF vets and bad reviews by WOW fans.