[Megathread] Final Fantasy XIV

[dope_danny]

It's going to be tough deciding what to tackle first when 4.5 goes live...

I want to do the MSQ's as much as the Return to Ivalice finale.

At least Ivalice is the ending. MSQ is going to get to a big cliffhanger and pause till the second half coming later.

Plus y'know, Fran.

[Gutler]

Gah i want to be a sexy bunny lady already.

[Granyala]

Sexy kitten >> sexy bunny any day. :<

[Wrecktangle]

Ninja Edit - I thought I spyed an Agrias Oaks armor set in the Orbonne Monastery picture. Has there been any posts confirming which are which? Better be the tank set.

I expect a lot of that is because WoW is currently in something of a content lul while the next raid opens. I can't speak for anyone else, but my Paladin is geared up to an average of iLevel 386, has all the reputations I'll need and is fully stocked on consumable items. There's very little for me to actually do when I log in. So far, BFA has been a bit of a dud. A lot of the headline features are mediocre at best, leaving the game feeling like more of the same rather than something new.

To the point where I'd really like Blizzard to poach ideas from FF14. As loathe as I am to admit it, Eureka feels more engaging and enduring than Warfronts do.

Bingo. However, Warfronts are some of the worst content I've ever experienced in an MMO (much like Eureka), I wouldn't want them to borrow that idea either. Let both ideas die please. That said, I can agree that BfA has turned out to be one of the weakest expansions to date IMO:

• Dungeon design isn't bad, in fact it's quite good, but they overloaded a lot of them with trash and makes them feel like a slog
• Warfronts are an unmitigated joke. The powerups don't matter, the buildings don't matter, the horde enemy invading parties don't matter, the resources don't matter and nothing in the instance can actually physically hurt you. I've tanked every single enemy in there as ret (including the end bosses) and you can survive with a single healer. Both end bosses I've stood still and eaten every ability and never dropped below 99% HP. I'm not like ridiculously geared either, I'm like 376 equipped
• Islands were great on paper, but they were implemented awfully. Criminally awful. The toned down the AI so you can't even lose to the horde, it came with no rewards, and all this talk of differing experiences every time was a lie. It felt the same constantly
• Content pacing - Legion was good. It should have been the model they strove for and continued. All that nonsense about "oh it was too fast guilds weren't ready for new raids". Lol ok
• Azerite was a joke on release, and will probably still be a joke after the patch compared to Artifact weapons

It has some good features and things, but they're overshadowed by the poor systems development and implementation that WoW is usually very good at.

Still, there's plenty of fights they could handle. Off the top of my head, what if there were a fight with 2 bosses that needed to be tanked and the tanks had to swap which one they were tanking, a third boss needed to be kept CCed and there were a couple of adds that needed to be kited. For an 8 man raid, that should be within the realms of possiability. Most raids have a Bard or Mech so kiting shouldn't be out of the question. In the worst case, some casters have Heavy effects on their spells, so they could potentially do it too.

Some fights where these mechanics come to mind:

• Coil 1 (snakes + kiting slimes)
• Coil 7 (kiting Giants)
• Garuda EX (had a tank swap mechanic where both tanks provoked off each other, not the ideal method, but the one the community adopted)

[threads]

looks like theyre not only nerfing pagos but pyros too. might actually go for a 2nd weapon now.

[Eleccybubb]

https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...0cf2b912d71121

Notes if anyone is interested.

AND PRIMAL PONIES CAN FINALLY FLY.

This is now officially the best patch ever.

[Faroth]

Hopped into the character select screen, hit the button at the top to upload my data.

Did a clean install of Win10 on my SSD.
New 500GB SSD installed to be dedicated to FFXIV and WoW (the 250 was getting tight sharing with Windows as the two games get larger)

Everything installed and working, re-install FFXIV, login..... realize I didn't use the launcher backup and didn't backup characters individually. Have to redo my UI and hotkey set up across all jobs and alts.

Good job, me. T-T

[Granyala]

That WHM threat reduce makes me scratch my head. What are they planning? Oo

Also 400 potency assize... well lets see how long it takes them to limit the # of targets.
@Faroth: And that's why the recommend local backups.

[Graeham]

There's a lot of QoL changes. Finally being able to teleport from inside inn rooms, for example.

[Eleccybubb]

There's a lot of QoL changes. Finally being able to teleport from inside inn rooms, for example.

Yeah or being able to use the FC tab/see which members are online in instances...

Only took them 5 years to add stuff that's been in MMOs since forever hehe.

[Faroth]

That WHM threat reduce makes me scratch my head. What are they planning? Oo

Also 400 potency assize... well lets see how long it takes them to limit the # of targets.
@Faroth: And that's why the recommend local backups.

I actually copied my FFXIV folder to a second drive. Apparently I did not grab the *right* folder from "My Games" that has all the character data.

I mean, I tried to just copy the entire FFXIV folder, use the backup in their system, and I still managed to bumble both. Again, way to go, me. -_-

[Gutler]

so i have a question and was wondering if anyone can answer it. I have the original authenticator that came with the CE of FFXIV (v 1.0) but the battery seems to be giving out (takes a few presses before i get a code) does anyone know how to switch it to the smart phone authenticator.

[Wrecktangle]

That WHM threat reduce makes me scratch my head. What are they planning? Oo

Also 400 potency assize... well lets see how long it takes them to limit the # of targets.
@Faroth: And that's why the recommend local backups.

Not sure if you do cutting edge Savage, but WHM's generate stupid amounts of threat, even playing optimally. I have to watch our WHM more than a top 10 BRD I played with and they also generate stupid amounts of threat.

[Faroth]

so i have a question and was wondering if anyone can answer it. I have the original authenticator that came with the CE of FFXIV (v 1.0) but the battery seems to be giving out (takes a few presses before i get a code) does anyone know how to switch it to the smart phone authenticator.

Log into account management and you'll be able to find the option to remove the token.
Then download the smart phone authenticator and follow instructions for getting it linked to your account.

Absolutely make sure you save your code for removing this software token from your account. I've had the token reset itself, making it impossible to access account management (when it resets, you need to access account management to re-register it but you need your token code to access account management). Write it down and put it somewhere safe, save it in a spreadsheet somewhere on the computer (do both!) or whatever you need to do, but be sure you keep a copy of that removal password!

[Granyala]

Yeah or being able to use the FC tab/see which members are online in instances...

Cool, bet we still can't whisper though.

- - - Updated - - -

I actually copied my FFXIV folder to a second drive. Apparently I did not grab the *right* folder from "My Games" that has all the character data.

Yeah alas they use MS default folder mess to store your data. Bleh.
Oh well it gets pumped into my cloud anyway, but I would prefer them storing the data in the XIV game folder.

- - - Updated - - -

Not sure if you do cutting edge Savage, but WHM's generate stupid amounts of threat, even playing optimally. I have to watch our WHM more than a top 10 BRD I played with and they also generate stupid amounts of threat.

Naah not cutting edge, got Midgard down and are working on O11s... well.. just got past the lolmonitor phase, so you get the picture.
Our tanks also chuckle regularly at my aggro, esp when heals land into overheal... but so far it has never been a problem.

[StrawberryZebra]

That said, I can agree that BfA has turned out to be one of the weakest expansions to date IMO

Without a doubt.

Warfronts were a huge letdown for me. I could probably write an entire essay on them but this isn't the time or the place. It's just a confusing mess of ideas thrown together, and I expect even play testers in Alpha brought that up.

Eureka, despite all it's faults, still has more value for me than Warfronts do. Sometimes I just like to put on some music and do some low-effort grinding for an hour or so. That's something notably absent from WoW these days.

Islands I would have liked them to take a page from FF14 and have them be something akin to Deep Dungeons. A procedurally generated mini-dungeon of sorts. Something that would be interesting in it's own right rather than something you begrudgingly do for rewards.

Azerite is very awkward as a progression system. I'm still using healing gear thats 40 iLevels lower than the rest of my gear because one of the traits on it is just that good. Like Warfronts, I have a lot of issues with it, but most pressing right now is that every time you get a new piece you need to run and sim it to see if it's actually better. Or worse, if you're going to have to completely change your rotations based on the traits. It's awful not being able to tell by if something is better by looking at it or not and worse having to relearn your spec to fit in around the traits.

With FF14 it boils down to a simple "Are the numbers on this bigger?". It's not as exciting, but it doesn't expect you to be simming your character 4-5 times a day just to figure out what to equip and how to play it.

When it comes to Allied races, I've got just one single character. One. I have neither the time nor the willpower to slog through 120 levels to just to find that I have to complete all the content again when I get there. Given the number of Void Elves I see they're clearly a hit, and probably the only successful feature of BFA right now.

The Dungeon and Raid content is the only reason I'm still playing. Uldir wasn't anything special but was good enough. I love M+ though, being able to scale the difficulty to a a level that suits my group is excelent. It means no easy mode dungeons that your group just walks over in 5 minutes. The Affixes help keep it fresh from week to week. Credit where credit is due - They've done a great job here.

Some fights where these mechanics come to mind

They've included each of them individually, but never in one package as far as I know. I don't think a council type fight is completely out of the question for FF14, it would be a bit of a flustercluck, but aren't they all? I've said this a lot, but Squenix really do play it too safe sometimes.

That WHM threat reduce makes me scratch my head. What are they planning? Oo

Given how it's just WHM getting it, my first assumption would be that it came about as a result of a coding error. If the WHM had higher than intended threat on their spells, then bringing them back into line is the appropriate thing to do.

Guess work on my part of course, but given how threat has never been an issue in FF14 (Not even when all your tank does is spam Shield Lob!), I can't see it being a required change outside of bringing WHM threat into line with that of other healers.

Or I could be completely wrong. Only Squenix know, and I doubt they're going to tell.

[Wrecktangle]

Naah not cutting edge, got Midgard down and are working on O11s... well.. just got past the lolmonitor phase, so you get the picture.
Our tanks also chuckle regularly at my aggro, esp when heals land into overheal... but so far it has never been a problem.

There's your answer lol. For additional context, ASTs and SCHs generate near 0 enmity in my experience in Savage. WHM's, even poor ones, generate far too much.

Sometimes I just like to put on some music and do some low-effort grinding for an hour or so. That's something notably absent from WoW these days.

Speaking personally - I'd rather watch TV as my low effort "grinding". It's more enjoyable to me. Gaming's always been what I turn to for engagement, so low effort stuff turns me off quickly.

Islands I would have liked them to take a page from FF14 and have them be something akin to Deep Dungeons. A procedurally generated mini-dungeon of sorts. Something that would be interesting in it's own right rather than something you begrudgingly do for rewards.

Yeah for sure - you've seen my Eureka proposals. I'm all about that, the concept of wanting to do something because it's fun, and getting a reward is the side bonus.

Azerite is very awkward as a progression system. I'm still using healing gear thats 40 iLevels lower than the rest of my gear because one of the traits on it is just that good. Like Warfronts, I have a lot of issues with it, but most pressing right now is that every time you get a new piece you need to run and sim it to see if it's actually better. Or worse, if you're going to have to completely change your rotations based on the traits. It's awful not being able to tell by if something is better by looking at it or not and worse having to relearn your spec to fit in around the traits.

Yeah that's nuts. Fortunately for DPS, 40 ilvl is a staggering amount of mainstat to throw away that I'm fairly confident it's not too common.

With FF14 it boils down to a simple "Are the numbers on this bigger?". It's not as exciting, but it doesn't expect you to be simming your character 4-5 times a day just to figure out what to equip and how to play it.

Speaking personally again here. I don't sim. I just equip what looks good. Hell for fun I had a set that had 3 stacks of Expurgation. This is one of Ret's weakest traits if you go by bloodmallet. I also resocketed/gemmed all into crit. Conventional wisdom said that was a bad setup, but I still posted 99% logs on nearly every single fight that week.

I know the whole sim this sim that math this math that gets a lot of say, but I literally ignore it and the results are the same for me.

I can't stand FF14s gearing, I'd honestly be happier if they removed gearing in its entirety and just based everything on what stats you're "supposed" to have at any given point and turn all that 'tuning' effort into making new/better content. I'd be 100% fine if gear was strictly cosmetic in this game because that's how little I care about it, in fact, other than ilvl it's the ONLY thing I care about in FF14 LOL.

When it comes to Allied races, I've got just one single character. One. I have neither the time nor the willpower to slog through 120 levels to just to find that I have to complete all the content again when I get there. Given the number of Void Elves I see they're clearly a hit, and probably the only successful feature of BFA right now.

The Dungeon and Raid content is the only reason I'm still playing. Uldir wasn't anything special but was good enough. I love M+ though, being able to scale the difficulty to a a level that suits my group is excelent. It means no easy mode dungeons that your group just walks over in 5 minutes. The Affixes help keep it fresh from week to week. Credit where credit is due - They've done a great job here.

They've included each of them individually, but never in one package as far as I know. I don't think a council type fight is completely out of the question for FF14, it would be a bit of a flustercluck, but aren't they all? I've said this a lot, but Squenix really do play it too safe sometimes.

Preach.

Guess work on my part of course, but given how threat has never been an issue in FF14 (Not even when all your tank does is spam Shield Lob!), I can't see it being a required change outside of bringing WHM threat into line with that of other healers.

You must not have been in the same group I was. Aggro was all over the place. It was a shit show lol.

[Faroth]

Without a doubt.

Warfronts were a huge letdown for me. I could probably write an entire essay on them but this isn't the time or the place. It's just a confusing mess of ideas thrown together, and I expect even play testers in Alpha brought that up.

As a very brief aside on this - after I did Warfronts a couple times, I thought it would have been kind of fun if they had tooled it just a little more differently and made it like Wintergrasp with a mix of PvE and PvP with a raid boss unlocked for whoever wins for a while. Despite not caring about PvP whatsoever, I did generally enjoy Wintergrasp quite a bit.

- - - Updated - - -

This might be venturing into "hot take" territory, but...I still kinda think that's not a bad thing. I feel like "Item Level" has become this strange object of worship for some people, especially in WoW. It seems to have just led to more and more bland choices because if a 310 item is better than a 320 people lose their minds and act like the developers failed at life or something.

Instead of choices or learning about their stats, people just want gearing to be, "Me Grog, Grog think 2 bigger than 1. Grog like 2."

Personally I miss the days of it being perfectly acceptable to use lower item level gear because of your stat distribution. I kept several items from a tier or more behind - one time even a full expansion behind, although I guess that might be a tad extreme - because of the stat distribution or multiple sockets or what have you. I've never seen that as a bad thing. :/

It just led to people using third party sites and addons to math out the stats and determine BiS that dictated what Grog needed to go after, so in a sense the ilvl just streamlines not going to those third party indicators telling people what to get.

I'll agree, however, there was something more appealing about the mix and match nature pre ilvl, but I think a large factor is the progression raids design rather than the BC era design where there was a lot of lateral gearing across multiple raids and you'd have raid groups farm the first couple bosses of a new raid to get an edge on the last boss or two from the previous. Now the first boss of the new raid just blows the last boss of the previous out of the water and drops something for everyone (not to mention the multiple raid difficulty loot drops having their impact).

[icausewipes]

Sexy FEM ROE >> sexy bunny any day. :<

Fixed that for ya.

[Katchii]

This might be venturing into "hot take" territory, but...I still kinda think that's not a bad thing. I feel like "Item Level" has become this strange object of worship for some people, especially in WoW. It seems to have just led to more and more bland choices because if a 310 item is better than a 320 people lose their minds and act like the developers failed at life or something.

Instead of choices or learning about their stats, people just want gearing to be, "Me Grog, Grog think 2 bigger than 1. Grog like 2."

Personally I miss the days of it being perfectly acceptable to use lower item level gear because of your stat distribution. I kept several items from a tier or more behind - one time even a full expansion behind, although I guess that might be a tad extreme - because of the stat distribution or multiple sockets or what have you. I've never seen that as a bad thing. :/

If an item that's literally an entire expansion behind is better than an item tuned and geared for your spec and class from the current tier because of stat distribution, that's just stupid IMO. Bad? No...it's just numbers, use the best one.

I use Pawn in WoW to have a really easy "is this better" decision when I just chug through content and I'm currently leveling through Northrend on my Void Elf. I can't tell you how many times I see a blue item drop from a dungeon end up being SIGNIFICANTLY worse than a quest green from Duskwood...which was the first zone I leveled in after creating my character. That's ridiculous.

I also find it fun to balance the right stats for my favored play style, but when you find this kind of discrepancy in a game based on item levels, that's just dumb.