FFXIV

Does Any Game Truly Welcome you Back?

stargrace January 3, 2015 3Comments

I have been meaning to play a little FFXIV for some time now, but with work, holidays, and a zillion other little excuses cropping up I just had not found the motivation to download the client (again) and log in before now. I played at release but was also distracted by xyz other game and didn’t get that far.

I have a main on Diabolos, but a number of friends are over on Cactuar so I swapped. Plus I had made some annoying mistakes over on Diabolos in regards to my class (nothing permanent thankfully) so I didn’t mind starting fresh. I’m playing Velours Reveurs, a right now level 6 conjurer with aspirations of going White Mage.

I do have one issue with returning, the same issue I have in every single game I return to. Very few of them actually help a player who has been away for some time. I have no idea what changes have taken place, what is new, what has been updated, or even how to play. I wish more games had a method, perhaps a tutorial (optional of course), where everything could be laid out for a returning player. Maybe NPC that discuss the recent changes from the time your account has been inactive for – or a set period that you could select (ie: I have been away for x amount of time, please highlight the important stuff). Knowing how to play, what my hotkeys are, where I should go, etc. All of these things would do wonders in helping me get back into a game, and I would probably be more inclined to stick around. Of course there are websites and patch notes and friends and all the rest but why do we still have to rely on these in order to feel comfortable returning.

With that being said, because my character is at such a low level, I’m not overly concerned with what I have missed. I’m hoping that I can pick things up easily enough and in the mean time the game is just so incredibly beautiful and I’m sad that I never got further than level 15 my last time around. Hopefully I’ll stick with it for a bit, but knowing my nomadic gaming style, I’ll be happy if I even stick around for a month.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Playing a Game of Down Time #FFXIV

stargrace August 24, 2013 2Comments

I know, FFXIV is getting a pretty bad rap lately due to their (numerous) issues. I was able to log in for an hour or so this morning, but the rest of the day has been filled with ’emergency patches’ and updates. There are many reasons for any of this happening but overall it’s annoying for people who expected an extra three days of gameplay for pre-ordering.

It doesn’t really bug me.

I played the game enough through the beta phases to realize that I really enjoy it. I liked the simplicity of it, and the comfort that in every aspect it is a ‘traditional’ MMO with a few non traditional aspects thrown in. I’m unfamiliar with the world and I like that because it gives me a reason to learn about it. Patience is not one of my strong suits but instead of getting annoyed and bothered by the fact that every time I try to log in it seems the game is down for a few hours I’m just shrugging my shoulders. I know it will still be there down the road and I’ll still be interested in playing. Of course that calm could also just be due to the fact that I’ve been sick most of the day with the flu and I can’t comfortably play while laying down on my couch.

When I did get a chance to play I was switching my little falafel Blesse over to a Conjurer (yes, I call the Lalafell’s falafel’s). I played as a pugilist through most of beta but quickly decided that I wanted to take up my traditional MMO role, which is a healer. So I’ll be going 30 Conjurer 15 Arcanist and ending up as a White Mage by the end of it all. I’ve also spent quite a bit of time working on my crafting classes, which I quite enjoy. It’s calming and a fun little mini game that I’m used to from other MMOs.

Even with all of the issues I haven’t been swayed off of the game at all, which is a big deal to me and bodes well. I find it much better than 1.0 where I could barely figure out combat and crafting was a whole other story.

If you’re playing, you can friend Blesse Reveur on the Diabolos server and please feel free to say hello! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

FFXIV and Learning to Dye

stargrace August 18, 2013 1Comment

These are by far the cutest ugly toads I have ever seen.

Most of my weekend was eaten up by FFXIV, which doesn’t come as that much of a surprise to me. I played the 1.0 version of the game and enjoyed it quite a bit but grew frustrated with how difficult the learning curve was (personally). This time around things are going MUCH better, but again it still has a bit of learning that has to be done.

For example, dye. Apparently you can just right click a piece of gear, and then you’ll have a ‘dye this item’ option, and once you’ve gotten that far a nice interface will open up explaining things to you. OR there’s a quest NPC out in a higher level area (think 15+) who will explain how it is done. The quest involves orange juice.

Then there’s the interface. I learned a few handy tricks to getting it placed the way I want. First of all, the main chat window moves by dragging the ‘general’ tab along the bottom. You can’t move it when you’re adjusting the hud like you can every single other window. Think your windows are too large? When you are adjusting the hud (hit escape, and then go to HUD layout) you can select a piece (mouse click it) and then use contro + home to re-size it between a few options. You can drag the hotbars around by the numbers in the front, and you can turn off or on any piece you want by staying in HUD layout and right clicking on each piece.

Pretty simple, right?

Combat is what we’ve been playing for years now, and the game isn’t new if that’s what you’re looking for. You’ll be going to public quests, dungeons, even raids. You’ll run courier missions ad nauseum. The truth of the matter is that I’m not looking for a game that provides any of these things in a new or unique manor. In fact FFXIV is probably exactly what I’m looking for because of one key feature. It’s a world I have never explored with a backstory and lore that I’ve never delved into before.

Don’t get me wrong, I love pretty much every single MMO out there, and I’ve played a LOT of them. This isn’t putting those games down at all. I’m just saying that sometimes I want to go out and play a game that feels familiar but is still brand new to me. Crafting is a lot like Vanguard (but less complicated). You’re given some points, you spend those points to try to raise the quality of an item, before you run out of the durability.

Everyone can be everything and so far I haven’t done much more than work my pugilist to level 15 along with a LOT of crafting. You change “jobs” by switching out your primary, whether it’s a sword, a needle, or a hand to hand weapon. You can save gear sets (thankfully) and while I do wish there were better ways of organizing my collection of “stuff” it’s not a game breaker.

Because I was a 1.0 player I do get to play for a few weeks without subscribing, and we’ll see at that time if I’m going to keep going. I know a lot of friends are facing errors when it comes to logging in but my weekend has been bug-free. Hopefully all of the issues get solved before things go live on the 24th (early access) and 27th (release date). As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!