[Megathread] Final Fantasy XIV

[bloodwulf]

Was not prepared for how much i missed playing with Noctis...I am an outlier that found FFXV to be one of my favorite Final Fantasys and Noctis was probably the first main character that i like since Zidane. After beating FFXV everything i did with Noct in FFXIV was tinged with a bit of sadness.

[dope_danny]

Honestly i just reminded me of how there are things to love in FFXV but its such a goddamn mess. Particularly Lunafreyas whole "i was added to replace a cut character called Stella but never got fleshed out and appear like 6 times but get treated like jesus christs second coming" and the whole mess of the game being unfinished, having stuff like a movie scene patched in to just make the story make sense and more just left me soured on the game. I think i'll give it a go just for the dlc i never got around to but with stuff like the assassins creed tie in and an attempt at turning Final Fantasy into "jrpg as a service" as original systems were cut out to the point things like summons only exist when a timer judges a fights taking too long as a pity mechanic. There were bits of a good game in FFXV but it literally was not finished and its basically Square Enixes MGSV.

Though to be fair i was already soured since the entire last gen was "the decade of lightning" where the brand was usurped by a crazy persons tulpa waifu getting pushed in everything as part of an attempt to make another 7 style sub brand lightning in a bottle. Her name was real subtle about that one.

[Granyala]

This car looks so derp when driven like this, lol.

Yup. Sure does.

[Katchii]

FFXV had good aspects, but IMO it was a pretty terrible Final Fantasy game. The camaraderie among the group was great though, but the combat was bad (it had potential to be awesome though), summoning was awful and the story was kind of messy, though I enjoyed it. I never felt compelled to explore because I honestly didn't really care about the world, just progressing the story, and once I finished it I had zero desire to go back and do anything because I honestly didn't feel like I was missing anything.

I enjoyed the event though, it reminded me of the polish FFXV had, it was a beautiful game. But I didn't feel nostalgic or sad.

I got the car after grinding through the challenge log. I had ~130k before I started and by the time I finished I had 205k a couple hours later. My friend is going to be joining me in game soon and I wanted to have a multi passenger mount for when we group up.

It does seem pretty derpy though, especially in zones you don't have the travel speed boost in. It looks stupid having a giant car like that barely moving faster than someone running next to you, or going the same speed as someone sprinting.

[bloodwulf]

FFXV had good aspects, but IMO it was a pretty terrible Final Fantasy game. The camaraderie among the group was great though, but the combat was bad (it had potential to be awesome though), summoning was awful and the story was kind of messy, though I enjoyed it. I never felt compelled to explore because I honestly didn't really care about the world, just progressing the story, and once I finished it I had zero desire to go back and do anything because I honestly didn't feel like I was missing anything.

I enjoyed the event though, it reminded me of the polish FFXV had, it was a beautiful game. But I didn't feel nostalgic or sad.

I got the car after grinding through the challenge log. I had ~130k before I started and by the time I finished I had 205k a couple hours later. My friend is going to be joining me in game soon and I wanted to have a multi passenger mount for when we group up.

It does seem pretty derpy though, especially in zones you don't have the travel speed boost in. It looks stupid having a giant car like that barely moving faster than someone running next to you, or going the same speed as someone sprinting.

See i enjoyed the combat and really enjoyed summons once you could predict them and use them. I also loved a lot of the down time stuff like the photos and fishing in the game. Again i said i was an outlier, i hated 7, like 8 and 9, thought 10 was decent and hated 12 and barely played 13. I have completed the stuff with the additional character DLC, and the game and felt it was largely complete. Also what happens to Ignis reminded me alot of some of the depressing stuff with other characters in the other FFs, like Vivi. I did not like the Lunafreya character that much though and felt she was a huge weakpoint to the plot.

[Faroth]

Honestly, FFXV, and I can't believe I'm saying this, might be a game that would have actually been stronger if they had done the episodic release they've suggested with 7 Remake.

Focus on fleshing out the first half even more and releasing it as a launch episode.

Going across the sea could have been the second episode.

A third entry giving much more in the world of darkness upon Noct's return through the conclusion.

As it was, it was a messy and rather insulting release schedule. I shouldn't be punished for supporting you at launch with needing to go back and replay it 3 years later when you've finally released all the DLC that goes backwards to fill in gaps. If you're going to have DLC in an RPG, it should be building and moving forward. I know a lot of gamers would absolutely hate the very notion of a game being divided into episodes and released every couple years, but if that makes for a larger, more grandiose and epic scale I think it could be digestible.

I enjoyed the first half and I enjoyed the cameraderie. I liked the side content like the hunts and fishing. But it really felt like the second half needed more time for them to fully flesh out what they wanted to do with it.

What we've since gleaned from the original plot, though..... I would really like to see Squenix explore the original plot of FFXIII Versus. Maybe as a fully developed anime rather than a game.


I agree, though, that doing the crossover event after finishing XV definitely had a bittersweet tinge to it.

[Sorrior]

Honestly, FFXV, and I can't believe I'm saying this, might be a game that would have actually been stronger if they had done the episodic release they've suggested with 7 Remake.

Focus on fleshing out the first half even more and releasing it as a launch episode.

Going across the sea could have been the second episode.

A third entry giving much more in the world of darkness upon Noct's return through the conclusion.

As it was, it was a messy and rather insulting release schedule. I shouldn't be punished for supporting you at launch with needing to go back and replay it 3 years later when you've finally released all the DLC that goes backwards to fill in gaps. If you're going to have DLC in an RPG, it should be building and moving forward. I know a lot of gamers would absolutely hate the very notion of a game being divided into episodes and released every couple years, but if that makes for a larger, more grandiose and epic scale I think it could be digestible.

I enjoyed the first half and I enjoyed the cameraderie. I liked the side content like the hunts and fishing. But it really felt like the second half needed more time for them to fully flesh out what they wanted to do with it.

What we've since gleaned from the original plot, though..... I would really like to see Squenix explore the original plot of FFXIII Versus. Maybe as a fully developed anime rather than a game.


I agree, though, that doing the crossover event after finishing XV definitely had a bittersweet tinge to it.

Look up Verum Rex odds are it will be the original Versus XIII ideas if it gets made for real(my guess is it will or will be tied into kh)

[dope_danny]

Honestly, FFXV, and I can't believe I'm saying this, might be a game that would have actually been stronger if they had done the episodic release they've suggested with 7 Remake.

Focus on fleshing out the first half even more and releasing it as a launch episode.

Going across the sea could have been the second episode.

A third entry giving much more in the world of darkness upon Noct's return through the conclusion.

As it was, it was a messy and rather insulting release schedule. I shouldn't be punished for supporting you at launch with needing to go back and replay it 3 years later when you've finally released all the DLC that goes backwards to fill in gaps. If you're going to have DLC in an RPG, it should be building and moving forward. I know a lot of gamers would absolutely hate the very notion of a game being divided into episodes and released every couple years, but if that makes for a larger, more grandiose and epic scale I think it could be digestible.

I enjoyed the first half and I enjoyed the cameraderie. I liked the side content like the hunts and fishing. But it really felt like the second half needed more time for them to fully flesh out what they wanted to do with it.

What we've since gleaned from the original plot, though..... I would really like to see Squenix explore the original plot of FFXIII Versus. Maybe as a fully developed anime rather than a game.


I agree, though, that doing the crossover event after finishing XV definitely had a bittersweet tinge to it.

I think its all the more glaring when you can see parts of the original story where Noctis is the demon king who awakens midway and is in ifrits place at the start/end and the 4 nifflgard soldiers we see the most of were the 4 warriors of light that took over midway in the original draft of versus XIII. You read up on Aranea being a main party member and thats no surprise when you see her in game, same with Lunas brother. But still the ideas they pulled out their ass about the twist at the end, that the empire you fought has been invading you has been dead and full voidsent since about the 20% point of the game. Walking through that totally not parts of Midgard prototyped for an early 7 remake build as its abandoned and clothes lie about like the rapture was a really cool idea that gave me some Nier Gestalt vibes. Plus theres moments where Ardyn AKA fantasy Jeremy Irons is almost the same level of charismatic crazy villain as Kefka or Kuja and i liked him as the manipulator out for revenge right till the final act where he just became a shitty early 90's anime villain.

A lot of FFXV is 'almost' before they tried to turn it into a dlc monster that like george lucas episode 4 was "never quite perfect". Just like how behind the snorefest of Lightning being a bland 'digital actress' XIII had some interesting stuff about Pulse and its ruined, ancient skyscrapers. Almost but not quite.

I just remember walking through the ghost town of Nifflgard's capital finding notes talking about a 'starscourge' that started out in some mining towns and spread around the nation and slowly demons started to appear as the population dwindled and it felt like there was a much better story that we didn't see and only got notes on after the fact. Which just like Horizon, BotW and MGS5 shows that a reccuring symptom of games chasing the open world meme is that far too much of what would be great story moments are turned into backstory because they are too linear for an open world.

Also World of Ruin felt cut as shit. With time and money i dont doubt that would have been a FFVI style new final act where you team up with older characters like Gladios "monster hunter" sister whos never seen to retake the world leading to a confrontation with all the people you helped as a kings army against ardyns forces, instead of just Neo vs Agent Smith in an empty city that screams 'we ran out of budget'.

[Graeham II]

I enjoyed FFXV for what it was, though the original draft really did seem a lot more interesting and mature. I'm tired of open world RPG's. The Witcher 3 is one of the few recent open world games to do it right and that is largely due to the strong narrative focus across the board. A lot of FFXV's side quests were just uninspired.

[Onikaroshi]

I enjoyed FFXV for what it was, though the original draft really did seem a lot more interesting and mature. I'm tired of open world RPG's. The Witcher 3 is one of the few recent open world games to do it right and that is largely due to the strong narrative focus across the board. A lot of FFXV's side quests were just uninspired.

It's sad, SE used to do "open world" (if you could call it that, when they have overmaps) so well. I miss that.

[Advent]

OW rpgs are the only takes I seem to click with tbh. Except for ffxv, because it felt so shallow. The world was as empty of life and events as ffxiv is.

[dope_danny]

I enjoyed FFXV for what it was, though the original draft really did seem a lot more interesting and mature. I'm tired of open world RPG's. The Witcher 3 is one of the few recent open world games to do it right and that is largely due to the strong narrative focus across the board. A lot of FFXV's side quests were just uninspired.

Open world games by and large are a grand case of the gamers dreams of freedom of choice and the reality completely conflicting with each other. We all love the idea of a virtual fantasy world to just get lost in and every so often something like The Witcher 3 or Morrowind show up and become a time void. But almost every other open world game suffers due to the very nature of them: you cannot make a truly effective story and resort to backstory to carry the load.

Think about a lot of open world games, even ones people love in the last few gens and you will notice a pattern if you look for it.
-Halo ODST: The Rookie walks around and shoots some covenant while finding an item that leads to the player occupying another character in the past to do something much more interesting.
-Horizon Zero Dawn: Aloy walks to a few places to chase a maguffin to stand around watching holographic videos or listening to audio logs talking about a much more interesting event.
-Breath of the wild: Link fucks about cooking stuff, clearing shrines and the world is reset every bloodmoon, but the backstory about an oracina style hyrule digging up these huge robots and going to war with ganon while link trains with all these champions is shown in flashbacks of a much more interesting story
-MGSV: Venom Snake does a lot of ubishit map busywork while listening to tapes about vastly more interesting events that happened while he was in a coma.
-FFXV: you largely do mmo busywork while the empire has this star scourge outbreak and their own people turn into demons and the population tries to struggle against this not knowing Ardyn is behind it all while acting as one of their trusted leaders.

I'm sure you can see a rough pattern here from a few examples. I only really noticed it when working on a script for work that involved the history of Remedy Entertainments Alan Wake. It was announced in 2004 as a open world survival horror from the creators of max payne. It was about a guy exploring an open world washington state while living out a Stephen king horror novel. Then it went dark for over 2 years and came back as a linear shooter. The developers said it was simply because open worlds dont work well with story focussed games without padding them with side quests or relying almost totally on flashbacks for exposition. To say nothing of their understandable "How could we make a full open world with unique characters with routines, voice actors and storylines without copy pasting none entities like grand theft auto". Simply saying "in an open world how do you stop the player starting at the end of the breadcrumb trail and missing all the build up?" and realise events like the stuff that goes down in the entire first disc of FFIX or FFX in general would never have worked in an open world setting.

I started FFXV up again for the first time in over a year today and saw it starts with "a final fantasy game for fans and newcomers" and i couldn't help but feel like this is a little bit of a desperate attempt to paint "chasing the open world meme" and something other than "throw the net over the widest, blandest catchment area possible" when thats really a statement that is describing exactly what it says on the tin so to speak.

[Wrecktangle]

FF15 was one of the worst experiences I've ever played. Not only was the story one of the most half assed, rushed, doesn't know what it wants to be, but it just didn't get anything right except GFX, something I really hoped that FF13 taught them wasn't good enough.

Actually I lied. The ability to listen to any music while in the car/chocobo and the way chocobo's handled were actually pretty cool and fit with the world surprisingly well.

Combat was awful and uninspiring, magic was handled poorly IMO, summons were LOL. Items/gear felt completely useless. The time skip was like the worst experience in gaming I've ever felt. I almost put the game down right there TBH and my favorite game of all time is Xenogears so I know how a shitty 2nd act feels (but even XG had a redeeming way about it). The MMO busywork wasn't welcomed. The world felt hilariously empty and when I was like cool I can't wait to see what area we visit next the game just ended after a brief stint in a hallway simulator I couldn't even navigate. Oh Ok...

Update -

So of my friends who tried FF14, they all agree that the leveling is awful. One did purchase the game and is going to give it a shot, but the other is buying a boost and will try end game but already feels uninvested.

They really should be giving a boost and story skip for free at this point in the games lifecycle or revamping the process. I understand why they aren't, but I honestly don't think the integrity of the story is more valuable than the UX.

[Granyala]

I can imagine it being pretty awkward to start FF-XIV right now. So much to do before you get to the MMO aspect.
With the advent of a replay mode of the story, they should decouple the main story of ARR/HW & SB from the leveling & unlocking experience and make it optional.

[Katchii]

So of my friends who tried FF14, they all agree that the leveling is awful. One did purchase the game and is going to give it a shot, but the other is buying a boost and will try end game but already feels uninvested.

They really should be giving a boost and story skip for free at this point in the games lifecycle or revamping the process. I understand why they aren't, but I honestly don't think the integrity of the story is more valuable than the UX.

I can imagine it being pretty awkward to start FF-XIV right now. So much to do before you get to the MMO aspect.
With the advent of a replay mode of the story, they should decouple the main story of ARR/HW & SB from the leveling & unlocking experience and make it optional.

Agreed, somewhat. I don't think it should be completely decoupled, but significantly streamlined. I'm just not completely sold on making the story completely optional, given how story driven Final Fantasy is as a franchise. That's part of what makes this a Final Fantasy game.

I agree that the experience from level 1 to catch up current content is ridiculously long and that the leveling+MSQ aspect is pretty boring for the most part. But that doesn't mean I think the story should be completely decoupled from the rest of the game.

Have skips+boosts for everything up to the current expansion with a synopsis of the story so far, but I think the current expansion shouldn't be able to be skipped at all.

[Dugna]

decoupling or disconnecting the MSQ from unlocks and other things would kill dungeon participation hard and make running older content useless. should some inbetween quests be strung together or simplified like instead of kill 10/10 enemies you kill 5/5 or smaller sure but thats it.

[Eleccybubb]

I'm fine with them gutting down the story a bit.

Outright removing it as a requirement? Hell no.

I like having to do the story as this game series is focused on it. Plus it's actually a decent story for the most part.

[blackpink]

Idk about other people for me I have 0 interest in the story in ff14 because of the way it's presented.

pick up quest, teleport to a million different places only to hand in 1 thing to the npc or to have a short dialogue with them. Add in some cutscenes here and there. In a singleplayer game this would be equivalent to forcing people to backtrack a bunch of times to different locations to advance the story. Obviously it's not exactly the same since in ff14 we just teleport but there's loading screens and idk it just completely breaks the immersion for me.

[Jinxz]

Which classes do you guys enjoy the most? I recently came back and I’m almost at the point of quiting cuz I haven’t found a fun class to play. I was trying dark knight but tanking anything outside of dungeons scares me.

[listo95]

Which classes do you guys enjoy the most? I recently came back and I’m almost at the point of quiting cuz I haven’t found a fun class to play. I was trying dark knight but tanking anything outside of dungeons scares me.

What do you normally enjoy doing in games?

Personally I'm a fan of Scholar, Dragoon, Bard, and Red Mage.