“Hear... Feel... Think.”

May 23, 2020 9:03 AM

How To Get Into Final Fantasy XIV In 2019 2020 [Kotaku] “I’ve seen a lot of curiosity from co-workers and friends about how to get started with the game. With hours and hours of content, tons of jobs to choose from, and multiple places to hop in, it can seem daunting, but it’s still well worth the time. Here’s some advice for curious adventurers eager to start their adventures. Final Fantasy XIV first launched in 2010 to a disastrous reception before being revamped into Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn in 2013. It was an immediate improvement, bringing faster combat and a more focused storyline, and the three expansions that followed brought further refinement. The most recent of these, “Shadowbringers,” came out just last week, and there are often fun events that keep things fresh, from crossovers with other games to the sudden arrival of new job classes. [...] Final Fantasy XIV offers spectacle, cool player events, tough boss fights, and more. Soak it all in and embrace the chance to really grow, not just as a Dragoon but as a person.”

• Compared to Destiny, It's Weirdly Easy to Start Playing 'Final Fantasy XIV' [Vice Games] [Waypoint Episode]

“Player onboarding can be a tricky business regardless of genre, but games in the MMO space have it particularly hard. How do you ease players into a system that has years of iteration and layers upon layers of new systems being stacked on top of each other? Do you explain everything upfront and risk overwhelming players, or throw them in with the bare minimum and hope the reason they're checking out your game is because they'll be playing with friends anyways? Do you do a soft story re-introduction at each expansion in case it's someone's first, or keep the narrative moving forward and bar an easy entrance for new players?”

• Final Fantasy XIV is still the MMO to play [Rock Paper Shotgun]

“If you’re one of the newbies, even to the genre, then that’s fine too. FFXIV teaches everything from fundamental concepts, from movement to party dynamics. The gentle ramp-up does have its issues if you’re an MMO veteran, though, as it can be slow going, mechanically and narratively. Some suggest buying a microtransaction item to skip past the story of A Realm Reborn (the 2013 base game), boost your character level and jump into the first expansion. They’re wrong, though. Part of why FFXIV is so good is because it never forgets. Even when you’re doing busywork early on, it’s actually stealthily introducing characters who crop up later. A minor NPC becomes a great hero. A seemingly pointless aside about a kingdom’s political structure ends up vital when heroic action fails. Some side-stories even unlock new dialogue options hundreds of hours later when their events reconnect to the main story. If you skip the early parts, you’ll miss out on all of that. [...] The real reason to return is the mountain of new stuff to climb, and it’s what really makes FFXIV different compared to lofty peers like World Of Warcraft, which has had 15 years to perfect it’s formula. A Realm Reborn launched online in 2013, and Square Enix have updated the game like clockwork since then. Every four months (give or take a week or two), an episodic mini-expansion lands.”

• Final Fantasy 14 is the best MMO that I hate to recommend [PC Gamer]

“MMOs are intimidating games to get into, but I think FF14 might be the worst of them. When I first started playing, it was back when it relaunched as A Realm Reborn. The original FF14 was a disastrously awful game and, to Square Enix's credit, they spent a good few years rebuilding it as an entirely new MMO. The developers even wrote the demise of the original version into the story, an apocalypse that ended the old world and birthed a new one. Though I never played the original FF14 much, the relaunched A Realm Reborn version was a revelation at the time. Square Enix improved on everything, resulting in a gorgeous, accessible MMO with an uncommon emphasis on storytelling. As a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, it was brilliant and I immediately fell in love with it. But what's kept me playing for all these years is the way FF14 has continued to evolve. With Heavensward, FF14 went from telling an OK story for an MMO to weaving a tale that confidently sits as one of the best in the entire series. And though Stormblood didn't quite reach the same high as Heavensward, it did tee up some satisfying revelations that have paved the way for Shadowbringers, which in turn promises to turn the whole world of Eorzea upside-down. Unlike World of Warcraft, where until recently expansions were largely isolated from each other, FF14's story is a consistent thread that leads from each update to the next. Everything is connected, so truly understanding Stormblood's rebellion and character arcs requires knowledge of events that came before.”

• Meet the Final Fantasy 14 players who marry in the game - and in real life [Eurogamer]

“It all starts with a ritual called the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding, a special rite of passage for two individuals who wish to pledge to each other a lifetime of devotion in massively multiplayer online role-playing game Final Fantasy 14. Players venture to the Sanctum of the 12, where they are permitted to host a matrimonial service accessible to any in-game friends they'd like to invite. From stunning flower arrangements to special ceremonial chocobos, these in-game marriages often result in quite the party. So much so, that players sometimes seek to replicate them in real life - eternal bonding and all. Final Fantasy 14 player marriage isn't as uncommon as it may seem, and in fact it's gone on for years. But it's rare that two players who marry in the game go on to marry in real life. [...] "It got to the point we were doing everything together." Eventually, they started making silly excuses to keep playing together long after everybody else logged off. Six months later, Andrea told him she was going to be in town for E3 2017. They arranged a meetup ahead of time, and as they booked plans for LA, they decided to get married in Final Fantasy 14 - something all of their friends were already encouraging. After a while, the in-game marriage - or Ceremony of Eternal Bonding - started to lead to some exploratory conversations. Andrea says it started to feel like they were officially dating. Then came the in-game marriage. "The ceremony made me weirdly emotional, like a total doofus, because it felt like a way I could tell everyone this was a thing I was proud of and happy about," Andrea adds. "It was a way to share with friends that we considered ourselves to be dating at that point." Andrea says it felt slightly awkward telling friends they were going to give it a shot after only having met in person once. "But it felt right," she explains. "When we finally met, it was like seeing someone I'd known for years. We instantly clicked.”

• Final Fantasy 14’s fantastic fashions and how they came to be [Polygon]

“The fashion in Final Fantasy games stands out among other Japanese role-playing games. Most video game fans can immediately recognize Cloud Strife’s iconic turtleneck sweater, Lightning Farron’s pink asymmetrical hairstyle, or the Vivi’s old-school Black Mage design in a blue robe with a yellow pointy hat. Final Fantasy 14 follows in these footsteps, with intricate character designs and hot fashion items. Fashion is honestly one of Final Fantasy 14’s selling points. After hitting a certain level, players can cast enchantments over their outfits so they can look fresh while retaining the stats they need to fight any monster. Square Enix releases new clothing to wear with just about every patch and players frequently cite fashion being the “real endgame.” There’s even a detailed camera mode to take cool pictures of your character and your in-game friends. Ayumi Namae is responsible for a bulk of the best looks we’ve seen in Final Fantasy 14. Namae has worked on important characters like Lyse and Yotsuyu in the Stormblood expansion, as well as the outfits for Ryne, Y’shtola, and Urianger in the Shadowbringers expansion. She also designs artifact gear — the iconic outfit sets that each class wears —along with for-fun fashion items to cast over their armor.”

posted by Fizz (42 comments total)

oh god fizz why

i am so vulnerable to the siren song
posted by lazaruslong at 9:37 AM on May 23, 2020 [4 favorites]

I have been thinking about trying out FFXIV since it seems to be the the last good MMO but I've been waiting for the 5.2 patch which is supposed to streamline the onboarding experience with less unnecessary quests.
posted by simmering octagon at 10:10 AM on May 23, 2020

I only know World of Warcraft Classic: is FF more role-playing? More Japanese style?
posted by alasdair at 10:20 AM on May 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

@alasdair, this article might be helpful. The main difference seems to be how easy it is to change class and playstyle. And the story (especially in late game is phenomenal).

Its been so long since I played WoW that I cannot really speak to it anymore. Someone else might be able to better answer the key differences.
posted by Fizz at 10:32 AM on May 23, 2020

I love FFXIV so so so much. I've been playing for about four years, and it's never gotton old. There's so much to do. This past month I've been getting really into fishing, and having a blast.

Compared to World of Warcraft Classic it's a much more modern MMO. For example fast-travel is everywhere and the game expects you to use it. You can play all the classes on one character. Fizz's article is a little old now. A typical WoW quest will ask you to kill 12 monsters per step, a typical FFXIV quest will have you talking to a few people, looking around, and then killing 2 monsters.

I could gush about the story for a while too, though of note is that there is a LOT of content. My partner started playing about a year ago and has only just reached the most recent patch. The story and questing in the earliest part of the game has been shortened (or so I've been told) but it is some of the weaker content gameplay and storywise. There was a post here previously [link] about why, which is a great story in of itself.

If you've never been able to get into an MMO before (I couldn't) I can't reccomend it highly enough.
posted by Braeburn at 10:43 AM on May 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm playing slowly and I just got into the game around 6 months ago. I finished a realm reborn and I am currently in that wierd patch space between that and the first expansion. But it's been amazing. I've never gotten into an MMO before. It's been so easy to play and flexible and the pace in which it introduces things has been good for me. Sometimes it's felt agonizingly slow (which it gets better about I hear) but then tiny details get stuck in my mind. When I revisit places for new things I remember the little interactions before it where bizzare things that happened. I have an idea where things are and who is there . I have a perfered city. I've gotten really attrached to my character. I ended up in a free company. I enjoy the side quests and some of the little details. I love that if I get stuck or frustrated I can just pick up another class or just do something else for awhile before coming back. There's parts of the game I've actively ignored, and it's not really been to my determinant. And if when I want to explore its right there. The game play is usually not super challenging but just constantly interesting and immersive and I love it.

I wasnt sure I could like an MMO in general I've tried others but find the controls to fiddly to stick with it. But this one I love.
posted by AlexiaSky at 11:03 AM on May 23, 2020

The big style differences I see with FF14 to WoW is the emphasis on the story, it's at the level I'd expect of a good single player roleplaying game. WoW, with a bit of work you can pick up the story as you go or you can ignore it, in FF14 it's centred. That story is great, especially when you get into the expansions, they clearly know where they're going, have themes they want to explore and they stick to it.

It's Japanese style, but the English translation is very much a localisation so it doesn't sound/read as Japanese style as most Japanese RPGs, although visually it clearly is. It can get a bit odd if you're British and like me get thrown when fantasy characters sound both in accent and idiom like they could live down the road. It's not quite as obvious in the initial game, but when you hit the expansions there's no missing it. I just don't expect to hear 'Geezer was doing his nut' in my Japanese RPGs.

If you fancy a story based MMO, even if Japanese RPGs aren't usually you're style, it's a great one to try. I do agree with the warning a lot of people give about it though, the first part is a bit of a slog with too much filler. It was still fun, but as you approach the first expansion it starts to shine.
posted by SometimeNextMonth at 11:04 AM on May 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

So the key differences are:

• FFXIV has a core questline that everything is locked behind - including expansion content. It's a single coherent story, and it's honestly not bad. What this means for new players is that you don't have that experience when you play an MMO that's being going on for a while where you get a bunch of popups telling you about stuff you have no context for. It also means it's going to be a long while before you're playing "current" content.
• FFXIV has 'jobs' instead of classes - your character starts off with a starting job, but will learn other jobs that they can swap to. Each job has its own skills, level, role (as in tank-healer-damage), main weapon, allowed equipment, and questline. If you level a second job, you earn more XP and can take advantage of everything you've unlocked.
• Half the jobs are non-combat jobs - so instead of levelling a crafting or gathering skill, each discipline is a job, with its own gear, mechanics, and end-game.
• The main story quest goes through dungeons. In WoW, you can solo to max level if you want. You have to group to finish FFXIV, at least as of now - they introduced an option in the most recent expansion where you can have the main characters join you in dungeons, but that option is only available from the most recent expansion.
• FFXIV has a greatly expanded version of the dungeon finder - I don't think you're even able to enter dungeons without using it. Critically, there's a system called the Duty Roulette where max-level players earn max-level rewards for joining a low-level dungeon (with their level capped to whatever the dungeon's level is).
• People seem a lot nicer, on the whole.

posted by Merus at 11:23 AM on May 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

I just started playing one month ago. My learnings!

-Get some friends in there! Literally the only reason I started playing this game is it works across PC, Mac, and PS4, meaning my normally platform-bound buddies could join me. To be honest the game is not what any of us would choose normally but playing with each other is great and very very easy. Hop on Discord together and hang out while questing.
-You can play up to level 35 for free, but you can't trade or start parties among other things. It's a good way to see if you can handle the game though.
-Try a couple jobs, they're very easy to start, all viable and fun and one or another may fit with your play style better. You can start switching at level 15, which you can reach in a couple hours.
-But keep in mind that there is generally an overabundance of DPS type jobs and a demand for tanks and healers. If you choose a DPS job you may be waiting for quite a while to matchmake with others for dungeons and such unless you have a crew. So consider leveling up a healer or tank AND a DPS so you can switch roles when it comes to it. This really isn't hard to do, I promise!
-The 1-50 "A Realm Reborn" or ARR story missions (also known as main sequence quest or MSQ) are a slog, especially at the beginning before you have access to dungeons or most of your abilities. Focus on these to the exclusion of pretty much everything else, because they unlock all the game systems and locations. You can safely blast through these not really paying attention to what's going on - you're not missing much! You can always watch a catch-up video later.
-Skip all "normal" side quests, they're never worth it. Side quests with a + sign indicate new abilities, systems, or locations and some you should definitely do. Check a guide online.
-Don't worry too much about your gear during the 1-50 grind. You'll constantly be getting new stuff from MSQ rewards. If you have a piece more than 5 or 6 levels behind, you can buy perfectly good armor from merchants in the main hubs. But the gear level thing doesn't matter until much later. Just accept right now that you're not going to look cool for a long time.
-Similarly don't worry too much about money - you'll mainly use it for teleportation for MSQ because they send you all over the place for ridiculous reasons. Doing a handful of extra quests, fates (map events), and leves (little quests-on-demand) will net you enough to keep rolling.
-If you want to level up quickly, don't do side quests or leves. Just get on the duty finder and jump in a random dungeon where someone needs a hand. Waaaay more xp.
-Crafting is a whole separate game practically, but an easy one to get the feel for it and get actually useful rewards is culinarian. You can make food that boosts a lot of stats and give it to your friends.
-I'm super angry they're streamlining MSQ days after I finish it.

Hope this helps anyone considering getting into the game!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:58 AM on May 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

Although I've played for 6 yrs I can't feel sad about streamlining MSQ since it means more ppl can enjoy the new expansions than grinding out quests for hours. It's a very laid-back MMO and it's the few games that doesn't make getting new gear a nightmare for everyone.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 12:02 PM on May 23, 2020

for folks that are already playing it - are there clans / guilds? split servers? a mefi group?
posted by lazaruslong at 1:31 PM on May 23, 2020

I've tried getting into this twice on a PS4. The controls are well mapped out, but the menus are daunting. It's amazing how much they pack in without a keyboard, and I really started to get the hang fit.

But man: the beginning levels are SLOW. I appreciate that they emphasize the story. And I did like what was there. But oh, man... running back and forth in those opening cities at levels 1-10 is long, and very, very slow. VERY SLOW.

Ultimately as an MMO I would want to keyboard to be able to chat and ask questions. And I'm just not set up to play this on a PC and I can't bother with a keyboard on my PS4.

I can see there's a great MMO here, but I just can't right now.
posted by SoberHighland at 2:25 PM on May 23, 2020

for folks that are already playing it - are there clans / guilds? split servers? a mefi group?

Clans/guilds: In FFXIV, these are called free companies (FCs), and are server based. There are other, more widespread communication platforms, such as linkshells (which can be cross server.) FCs can own a house, which provides a number of tools to members, including personal apartments, and have a common company chest for collectively storing materials and gil (the primary currency of the game.)

Servers: The game is divided into eight data centers - 3 in Japan, 3 in the Americas, and 2 in Europe. Each data center is then divided into a number of servers - but players can freely travel between the servers in their home data center. Basically, data centers are now functionally megaservers with defined separations internally.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:05 PM on May 23, 2020

The big style differences I see with FF14 to WoW is the emphasis on the story, it's at the level I'd expect of a good single player roleplaying game. WoW, with a bit of work you can pick up the story as you go or you can ignore it, in FF14 it's centred. That story is great, especially when you get into the expansions, they clearly know where they're going, have themes they want to explore and they stick to it.

Part of that centering is on the player. In WoW, a lot of the story happens around the player, with them basically being an observer to history. In FFXIV, the player is very much part of the story, and their steps echo - there's a reason that, once you get far enough in the story, NPCs start talking about you in a tone of reverence or terror (The usual epithet the Garleans use for you is "eikonslayer", which is pretty much "godslayer", and usually said with the appropriate amount of terror.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:18 PM on May 23, 2020

As for crafting and gathering - there's a reason it's routinely referred to as a rabbit hole, as it is an entirely separate section from combat. (At this point, crafters/gatherers just need to complete the main story up to 3.3 to get access to their endgame area (the Firmament), and then can more or less subsist on the market boards and Diadem.) Crafting items isn't automatic - you actually have to go through a process to shape and create the item, which impacts whether or not it comes out as high quality. There's even a form of ranked crafter PvP now as well.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:30 PM on May 23, 2020

Oh interesting re: data centers. I wonder if there's enough ppl playing here on MeFi to warrant a MeTa post. Even if playing with other MeFites was a far off possibility, I'd hate to choose one of the 8 regions in which most people aren't playing.
posted by lazaruslong at 5:18 PM on May 23, 2020

lazaruslong: There's only 3 main DC so it's either Aether or Primal for more players vs Crystal. You can world visit each different world on the same DC and join groups except for FC. Also you can server transfer for money b/t the DC every 3 months b/t moving if you have friends who are on different places.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 6:25 PM on May 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

oh dope, ty chrono_rabbit
posted by lazaruslong at 7:07 PM on May 23, 2020

One thing to note is that the devs constantly add quality of life improvements that we don't expect (one major one coming in 5.3 that gobsmacked us - flight in ARR zones.) A lot of times, these are just little things that we don't even really notice until they get changed.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:34 PM on May 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Mr. Objects and I used to play. We mostly stopped because Baby Objects came along, and copious amounts of free time became a distant memory. But her second Birthday was yesterday, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and can see getting back into it soonish (Once playdates are no longer off the table for health and safety reasons).

I really miss playing. I've always played a Tank, and Mr. Objects likes to be a Healer. We never have to wait in queue! I need to reach out and see if our Free Company is still going strong...
posted by sharp pointy objects at 2:56 PM on May 24, 2020

okay well i bought it earlier today and am now level 13.

i played wow on and off for like 8 years or something so i know my way around an MMO - definitely feels like they did a good job hiding an RPG inside an MMO. also a ton of tiny quality of life stuff that i haven't seen before in MMOs, but without abstracting away all of the detail if you really want to dig in.

yay! thanks, fizz et al, and also goddamnit. =)
posted by lazaruslong at 3:26 PM on May 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

lazaruslong: When you hit 15, go do the Hall of the Novice - completing the tasks will not only net you a good set of gear that will last you for 5 or so levels, but also the Brand-New Ring, which grants the wearer +30% EXP gain while level 30 or below (and which stacks with other EXP gain boosts.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:35 PM on May 24, 2020 [2 favorites]

lazaruslong: Also, if there are any seasonal or holiday events going on, take part! Lots of times, one of the rewards available will be some sort of jewelry that grants extra EXP gain until level 30 or so too.
posted by sharp pointy objects at 3:44 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

We're coming up on the Make It Rain not-holiday, which boosts gains at the Gold Saucer (which looks like a Las Vegas casino - we've joked that the first FanFest was in part research on designing it) and will have a short storyline centered there. We do get a number of holidays in-game, which always have a storyline and rewards:

January: Heavensturn - Western/Lunar New Year
February: Valentione's Day - Valentines Day
March: Little Ladies' Day - Girls' Day
April: Hatching-tide: Easter
May-June: Make It Rain - No real world correlation
July: Moonfire Faire - Japanese summer festivals
August: The Rising - Commemoration of the relaunch of FFXIV
October: All Saint's Wake - Halloween
December: Starlight Celebration - Christmas

There are also other special events that aren't tied to the calendar - we're currently in one right now, where running specific duties will reward players with moogle tomestones, which in turn can be turned in for rewards that are usually locked behind hard fights.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:57 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Also, one of the fun things for bards in game - since bards are known for performing music, they can unlock Performance Mode that lets them do...exactly that. It's even gotten several updates, including systems for better enabling group performances and a number of instruments.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:06 PM on May 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

That's so ridiculously neat. I love it.

As someone who played like 6 other FF games, it's also really sweet to encounter familiar music motifs in MMO settings. This game rules.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:55 PM on May 24, 2020

The game is so very much a love letter to the series as a whole. The game routinely references other titles in the series, not with just little throwaway elements, but that entire major areas in the game are imported wholesale into the world from other games in the series - the first 24 man raid is based on FFIII, we had another 24 man raid based on FF Tactics (and they even brought the producer back to write the scenario for that raid) - hell, there's an area in the game that's just - well, it's called Doma. Make of that as you will.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:51 AM on May 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm at Level 11, archer, cat-boy. I plan on bard, once I hit that level that allows me to switch classes. Also, I've discovered how nice it is to turn off the in-game music (yes it's nice but it gets a bit repetitive) and instead throw on something from Spotify. It's kind of surreal battling monsters as a cat-boy while NIN is playing in the background.
posted by Fizz at 6:04 AM on May 25, 2020

Bard isn't a switch from archer, but an evolution - once you hit level 30 and complete the class quests for archer, you'll get a quest that will unlock bard, which will use all your archer levels.

Gladiator (GLD) -> Paladin (PLD)
Marauder (MRD) -> Warrior (WAR)
Conjurer (CNJ) -> White Mage (WHM)
Lancer (LNC) -> Dragoon (DRG)
Archer (ARC) -> Bard (BRD)
Pugilist (PGL) -> Monk (MNK)
Rogue (ROG) -> Ninja (NIN)
Thaumaturge (THM) -> Black Mage (BLM)
Arcanist (ACN) -> Summoner (SMN)
Arcanist (ACN) -> Scholar (SCH)

Dark Knight (DRK), Astrologian (AST), and Machinist (MCH) require reaching the city-state of Ishgard to unlock.

Samurai (SAM) and Red Mage (RDM) require completing the ARR (2.0) MSQ and having a job that is level 50.

Gunbreaker (GNB) and Dancer (DNC) require reaching level 60 and story progression.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:08 AM on May 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

I love this game so much. I've played it since the first expansion, and it gave me something to occupy myself with at a time when I had given up on basically everything and was just going through the motions.

They really do put so much QOL stuff in without even being asked. I'm looking forward to the upcoming update where they plan to shorten the old quest lines, as there are a lot of tedious fetch quests and back and forth in there.

I love getting the story dungeons for old expansions in duty roulettes and telling the new people what a treat they're in for. Oh, to arrive in Ishgard for the first time! Jealous.
posted by the liquid oxygen at 8:58 AM on May 25, 2020

***I created a MetaTalk for people to share their MMO-related gamer tags/contacts/character names so that we can go on raids together. Cheers.***
posted by Fizz at 10:47 AM on May 25, 2020

I'm leveling up as a gladiator tank, I think. Level 13 cat-girl.

Not 100% sure I understand how multi-classing works yes, and that's okay.

But the invaluable advice on here to basically ignore everything that isn't the main sequence during early leveling has been great.

I played a main tank / guild leader / raid leader in WoW for like 8 years so tanking is something I already love, not shocked they are in demand as they usually are in MMOs.

edit: Dis me
posted by lazaruslong at 11:03 AM on May 25, 2020

I have been told that you should not miss out on levelling up your main weapon/guild. So I'm focusing on my archery skills/missions and main story missions. We'll see what happens. I plan on jumping into it heavy this evening. I've got that MMO itch.
posted by Fizz at 11:31 AM on May 25, 2020

Oh yes, also doing all of the gladiator quests. Just those and the main sequence. Haven't picked up any other guild questlines yet, still waiting to make sense of the multiclassing thingy.

And yeah, i am feeling dat itch too. I spent like half an hour watching a YT video last night in order to customize my UI to be more clean. Hooboy.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:41 AM on May 25, 2020

Wow yeah hall of the novice stuff is nice. Also a crapton of XP.
posted by lazaruslong at 12:52 PM on May 25, 2020

And I just finished reaching omni80 on my jobs, with Ninja being the last.
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:53 PM on May 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

grats!
posted by lazaruslong at 9:22 PM on May 25, 2020

Speaking of events, they just announced that they are rerunning The Maiden's Rhapsody - a FFXI crossover event that can net you a nice set of glamour gear.
posted by NoxAeternum at 6:46 AM on May 26, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've been playing both JRPGs and Everquest clones my entire adult life, and I've never seen anything blend the genres together as well.

You can absolutely treat this game like a single-player JRPG if you want to -- just turn off the nameplates of people not in your party, and you can enjoy the main storyline as a single human surrounded by NPCs with weird AI. You're rarely forced to interact with other players, but even when you are the community is extremely friendly and supportive. Saying "I'm new" absolves you from any mistakes, and most of the time other players will be happy to explain things to you.

There's a ridiculous amount of side content, quests, and minigames, and very little of it is obsolete/irrelevant the way such things in WoW quickly become when the next expansion hits. You should really check this game out.
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 6:29 PM on May 26, 2020 [2 favorites]

I should also mention the fabulous documentary Noclip made about the fall and rise of FFXIV after the underwhelming initial release. It's what inspired me to try the game a few years ago because apparently I play whatever videogame Danny O'Dwyer tells me to
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 6:34 PM on May 26, 2020 [2 favorites]

Oh, have we talked about the music? Because we need to talk about the music in this game. There are So. Many. Amazing. Songs. that play throughout, with a number of remixes from prior games as well as original pieces for the game. The bulk of the composing for ARR (and all of it since Uematsu's de facto retirement) has been done by Masayoshi Soken, who has amazing talent (and is just an energetic, endearing goofball when he's been at the various FanFests.) Some notable songs:

*Answers, which plays over the Legacy end trailer/ARR open trailer. A beautiful, melancholy song about loss. Yet another Uematsu classic.

*Good King Moggle Mog, in which "This Is Halloween" and the moogle theme are put in a blender set to frappe. Adorable yet threatening - like a moogle.

*Fallen Angel, Garuda's theme. A powerful yet sad song, I really recommend seeking out the Primals version if you have Apple Music, as it has additional lyrics and stagecraft.

*Battle On The Big Bridge, in which Soken remixes a Uematsu classic. Greg has never sounded better.

*Rise, the theme for Alexander Prime. A very industrial theme befitting a giant mechanized primal.

*Shadowbringers, the first main theme done by Soken, which he hit out of the park.

*A Long Fall, probably one of the most well regarded dungeon themes, takes two raid themes and merges them with a driving beat to create an intense experience.

*Weight Of The World - Prelude Edition, in which one of the major songs of NieR: Automata gets a FF twist.

If you have Apple Music, many of the soundtracks are available for listening through the service.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:48 PM on May 27, 2020 [3 favorites]

Wow, thanks NoxAeternum. I'm a decently big FF music nerd myself, and I'm loving the headnods toward classic motifs and the new stuff at the same time. I love that they even included a goddamn like, jukebox thing? Haven't used it yet but just another of the million thoughtful touches they seem to have included here.

Also, not for nothing Nox, but given your clear command of info about the game, would be lovely to have you around in Discord chat. No pressure, just throwing it out there. The info is over the Gray thread.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:01 PM on May 29, 2020