[Megathread] Final Fantasy XIV

[Wrecktangle]

So on a whim while mining crystals i decided to do /playtime and got 257 days/6000+ hours over 8 years and thought "boy thats like 20 monster hunters for me, that sure is a lot" and then googled some of the other times for other players.

I say people with over 37,000 hours. Like holy shit. I thought i was bad at an average of like 2.2 hours per day.

Ready for something funny? I've been playing since ARR 2.0. I'm an accomplished savage raider (I don't do ultimates due to time committments with people to learn, but if someone wants to Rich Campbell me, we could clear UwU or UCoB in probabaly 6-8 hours). TEA maybe 14-20 hours.

My friend who joined in Shadowbringers has more than triple my /played LOL. Some people really do live on this game.

[Merie]

I don't blame them. The final days feels less chaotic than all the crap going on in the real world these days.

[Troontown]

Something i reaaaally wonder about... what do other ff14 vets think about the influx and content of former WoW content creators.

I had this question in my mind for some weeks now but preachs last video pushed me to ask this question, because I really feel like some overhype/oversell it by quite a tad.
Content creators just being content creators or is this some kind of vengeance on the ex-girlfriend?

Its like you dont understand how these youtube leeches work.

its very simple.

Wow bad other game gud is what gets the clicks and views these days. Simple as. Especially with the lawsuit going on.

[Kittahsmash]

Something i reaaaally wonder about... what do other ff14 vets think about the influx and content of former WoW content creators.

I had this question in my mind for some weeks now but preachs last video pushed me to ask this question, because I really feel like some overhype/oversell it by quite a tad.
Content creators just being content creators or is this some kind of vengeance on the ex-girlfriend?

On one hand, I'm excited to have a lot more people around getting eyes on a great game. I'm less excited to have the usual "fan of the month"-type streamers out there creating a bunch of puff videos purely designed to get more views and money for themselves. I'm more excited to see if any of them can create some honest content that isn't totally clickbait or the usual "wow bad xiv good give me views" content, and seeing a lot of their reactions to some of the major plotpoints in the story.

As a (formerly very public, now very private) dataminer who's been poking around the game files since like Patch 2.2... I'm absolutely not at all excited to have someone like the Wowhead people poking around trying to monetize datamining for this game, because SE has always tolerated us dataminers as long as we stay under the radar. If someone like Wowhead decides to try to bring everything out into the open like what they've done with Warcraft, that'll cause some trouble for a lot of people who had been on friendly terms with SE. (Because if Wowhead starts publishing stuff out in the opening and generating buzz around it, then we'll have to do the same thing to try to "compete"...and that'll cause SE to come down on all of us, but Wowhead's a big enough community that they can just thumb their nose at SE and keep doing it, while us smaller dataminers have to actually consider the trust we've built up with SE over the past ~8 years and worry if we should break that to try to stay relevant.) But on the other hand, those people do have over a decade of experience making software to do stuff with Warcraft that I can only dream of, so if there's any chance that they might be willing to share some of those tools (highly doubtful) then I'd be all for it. All XIV has had are people doing this stuff in their spare time with no professional experience in mining. Some of the best tools we've got are from awesome programmers who left the game a very long time ago and the community has been putting bandaids on their work so we can try to keep doing what we do...it'd be nice to get some big, fresh blood in that regard, but I wonder about them wanting to keep everything private when previously the datamining community was very close-knit with one another.

So I'm both excited and apprehensive for the larger audience. This story and game absolutely deserves to have more eyes on it, but it doesn't really need the typical streamerbro's who have a toxic community come with them.

[Troontown]

endless prattle

You sound awefully self important. You do not speak for everyone. You havent built up anything with SE (aside from a billing record) let alone "trust", if anything, they despise you. If SE wanted to make a site like wowhead stop their datamining, they'll make them stop via legal means. Furthermore, there is barely anything to datamine in the first place, as the game has no test server. At best you get some tooltips for bosses in the live version or story spoilers

And you neednt worry about "toxic streamerbros" to shit up your game, the FF14 community is plenty toxic without them, which you as an oh so important dataminer should be painfully aware of.

[Xyonai]

I found PotD funny in that Torghast is so much better but because they made it harder/longer/tied to progression people hate it

Quoted for Truth. PotD is easy as hell going from 1-50 (save for goobers who keep eating Blackblossom's AoEs and wiping the party on floor 50), but it's so easy that it goes from 'turn your brain off and just enjoy' to 'actually dull'. Torghast was wild, fun for both solo play and group play but it being directly tied to progression just made it feel miserable after a while because you couldn't -not- do it.

Here's hoping 14's next deep dungeon takes some creative inspiration from Torghast at least.

Something i reaaaally wonder about... what do other ff14 vets think about the influx and content of former WoW content creators.

I had this question in my mind for some weeks now but preachs last video pushed me to ask this question, because I really feel like some overhype/oversell it by quite a tad.
Content creators just being content creators or is this some kind of vengeance on the ex-girlfriend?

I think the people who jump into 14 from WoW actually enjoy it, but they're probably going through some hella 'Rebound Girl' shit, after breaking away from a game that they felt didn't respect their time during the middle of a gaping content drought (not to mention the lawsuit stuff that came in shortly after the Mass Exodus).

They'll continue to play it, but the more they kinda ease into things and get used to how things flow they'll either become more level headed in their veiw things or join the throngs of evangelists who spam free trial memes.

- - - Updated - - -

And you neednt worry about "toxic streamerbros" to shit up your game, the FF14 community is plenty toxic without them, which you as an oh so important dataminer should be painfully aware of.

You doin' okay there buddy? Bein' a bit hostile for no reason there.

[Sharby]

Something i reaaaally wonder about... what do other ff14 vets think about the influx and content of former WoW content creators.

I had this question in my mind for some weeks now but preachs last video pushed me to ask this question, because I really feel like some overhype/oversell it by quite a tad.
Content creators just being content creators or is this some kind of vengeance on the ex-girlfriend?

Aside from the obvious regarding streamers staying on trend to make $$$.




XIV is just the shiny new thing people are flocking to in hope that it'll give them that buzz the games they're leaving did. But I honestly feel it will drop off soon especially once the honeymoon-phase is over and the darker sides of the game surface. I do hope that Endwalker works beautifully for the devs but Shadowbringers was rife with problems that if more commonly aware would not sit well with the new folks coming to the game.

For example: Two races being released in an unfinished state and being extremely unpolished while being unable to wear certain gear AND only being one gender (for now) is something that would NEVER fly in any other MMO I've played.

The devs are quite lucky that the community is so devoted so it didn't cause much of an uproar but I doubt people coming from games that have higher standards would be content with this. Its my hope XIV community becomes more focused on their best interests so we don't have stuff like this getting greenlit and happening again.

[Graeham]

A lot of people didn't even want new playable races and instead desired the existing character models to be updated and expanded in terms of options. Perhaps that will happen in the future, because as it stands I have housing furniture with more detail than the likes of the Highlander male models which is pretty embarrassing. To say nothing of some of the weird design choices like the only normally proportioned bulky male model having only ugly faces with no actual eyebrow options.

It's utterly baffling that we're talking about a franchise that gave us good looking, tall and very muscular men like Snow, Gladio, Jecht and Basch and yet there's no real way to create a character like that in the game.

Such has consistently been one of my biggest complaints and I've been playing since ARR.

[Xyonai]

Man I don't even disagree. Love the game, and at the time I started playing I really did enjoy the - then verity of - character options. But FF14's peers have caught up and zoomed passed it and it needs to catch up and touch up on the older models to put them all in line.

Unfortunately the game's engine is held together by duct-tape and dreams, which makes sweeping changes like that much more difficult then they honestly should be.

[TidalConflux]

Im just chilling in limbo until the game gets content again. RP hasnt been good for a while and Im out of things to do for mooglestones. Playing some WoW and AC:Odyssey to pass the time with work. Note, do not play AC: Odyssey.

But I do hope Endwalker is good and not another Stormblood.

[Cthulhu 2020]

XIV is just the shiny new thing people are flocking to

I always find this claim weird. FFXIV has been slowly growing for 8 years. People say FFXIV's success is only due to WoW's failure. Does that mean WoW has been failing for 8 years?

There has been recent explosive growth due to streamers adopting the game, but they're literally jumping on board an 8 year old game that's been in a pre expansion content lull for months. Nothing about the game is "Shiny new". New World was the most recent hype game that flopped horribly. FFXIV's success is built on years of content as well as devs who are themselves avid MMO gamers along with their open communication with the player base.

If anything, FFXIV's steady growth over the last 8 years bespeaks of its ability to retain players. There are no massive peaks and deep valleys. There are bumps and dips, but nothing as dramatic as New World, WoW, or most other games that get overhyped.

[dope_danny]

I always find this claim weird. FFXIV has been slowly growing for 8 years. People say FFXIV's success is only due to WoW's failure. Does that mean WoW has been failing for 8 years?

I believe the kids call it "rejected by my girlfriend, but they'll be back!" brand copium.

[Sharby]

I always find this claim weird. FFXIV has been slowly growing for 8 years. People say FFXIV's success is only due to WoW's failure. Does that mean WoW has been failing for 8 years?

There has been recent explosive growth due to streamers adopting the game, but they're literally jumping on board an 8 year old game that's been in a pre expansion content lull for months. Nothing about the game is "Shiny new". New World was the most recent hype game that flopped horribly. FFXIV's success is built on years of content as well as devs who are themselves avid MMO gamers along with their open communication with the player base.

If anything, FFXIV's steady growth over the last 8 years bespeaks of its ability to retain players. There are no massive peaks and deep valleys. There are bumps and dips, but nothing as dramatic as New World, WoW, or most other games that get overhyped.

This was not a dock on the game, I actively enjoy it and am eagerly awaiting Endwalker and I agree that it has successfully been pulling its own weight as a good game.

The question was why streamers seem to hype it up so much, and I was explaining that since WoW is no longer "king" (in theory) people are flocking to what they consider a viable successor.

There is a lot of clout to be had promoting/engaging with XIV and given the sensational nature of influencer culture, we have people claiming XIV is the best. That's all.

[Auxis]

Hey folks, looking for input on a situation that I've experienced twice now. (didn't want to start a new thread, didn't think it was worth it for this topic alone)

The other day, I ran a matched HoH 21-30 with 2 Hrothgar's and a DRK. Nothing was said besides the o/ and greetings at the start until maybe the 3rd or 4th floor. The other player and I were standing on the Passage as it had activated, while the 2 Hrothgar's were clearing the rest of the floor. One of the Hrothgar's pipes up calling us out for AFKing, and that we should be clearing the entire floor as he wants to do the content rather than rush through it (basically thats what he said off the top of my head).

He threatened to report us and "smile for reddit" for standing in the Passage "afking" - apparently he thinks we were AFKing because the DRK and I were standing still at the start because we were putting actions onto our bars? Anyways, I tried to vote disband the group to disband the group so none of us would would be penalized but the vote didn't pass (I believe it was either 50/50 or 1v3 in favour of continuing, this will be elaborated on soon). The Hrothgar called me out, said I need to clear the floors. I ended up clearing the floors, then snarked at him when I noticed he was in the Passage not clearing.

I ended up leaving, dealt with the penalty, moved on.

Until today. Running HoH again. Encountered the 2 same Hrothgar's (I believe they are running together, so thats why the vote may have not passed, as the other player they were raging at seemed bothered by the attitude, too). Again, nothing was said at the start. Nothing was said until floor 26 when the new other player (DRG) was standing in a passage (I was clearing floors, I didn't want to deal with this guys attitude after last time and I didn't want to leave and deal with another penalty).

The Hrothgar calls out DRG, tells them to move their ass. I said "don't start", I knew it was coming. I called out the Hrothgar, asked if he followed up on his threats. He didn't recognize me until then, realizing that I was the "guy who rage quit". Bickered back and forth, eventually he revealed that he was there for Aetherpool. The DRG said that he should have said something at the start, not 7 floors in. I said he should say something at the start of each run, rather than get pissed at people because they have no idea of your intentions and they are playing how they normally run HoH.

Anyways, we finished the run, nothing was said since the back and forth described.
So, all of this happened because he's assuming we are running the way that he wants to run, without stating any intention at the beginning of the runs.

I don't want to have to go through the rigmarole of reporting him, I don't think it's worth the effort. I just want to get your opinion on whether this is normal behaviour for Deep Dungeons, who's in the right, who's in the wrong (if any).

[Dakhath]

You're a more adventurous person than I am, I'd never run Deep Dungeons with randoms.

[Auxis]

For me, it's usually fun and easy with randoms. A lot of chaos can come from that place and it brings up some nice banter between us.

[Merie]

What's more egregious than rabbits not being able to wear hats is how the hair and gear looks downright pixelated in most cutscenes. Maybe if close up pans weren't such a huge part of the MSQ it wouldn't be a big deal, but the textures are just so low rez it's nearly enough to shatter my immersion.

[Xyonai]

This was not a dock on the game, I actively enjoy it and am eagerly awaiting Endwalker and I agree that it has successfully been pulling its own weight as a good game.

The question was why streamers seem to hype it up so much, and I was explaining that since WoW is no longer "king" (in theory) people are flocking to what they consider a viable successor.

There is a lot of clout to be had promoting/engaging with XIV and given the sensational nature of influencer culture, we have people claiming XIV is the best. That's all.

As I said to another player about this subject, I feel a lot of the evangalizing by Ex-WoW folks is what I like to call the 'Rebound Girlfriend' Effect. The game's more than good on its own, but WoW players who were fed up with WoW's systems, pacing, and/or plot and came over to 14 treat it like a breath of fresh air because it's not associated with a company they've grown scornful of and they've got eight years of concurrent content to catch up on; so it's all wonderfully shiny and new to them. And then that hype gets amplified by the people who follow those content creators (IE: Bandwagoners/WoW Dislikers/Genuinely curious people) and it kinda exploded from there.

I'm sure some folks' attitudes will simmer down once they've had a hand-on with the game for more time, and/or catch up to the point where they're following the patch cycle releases for content like other long-term players. Though with how explosive the game grew in the passed four months, and with the Expansion literally six/ten days away, I don't imagine we'll see the falling off point for a while.

- - - Updated - - -

For me, it's usually fun and easy with randoms. A lot of chaos can come from that place and it brings up some nice banter between us.

Folks in places like HoH and PotD can be hilariously impatient - myself included sometimes - because the runs are supposed to be 'quick'. It's a leveling avenue, and folks don't like being held up for any reason. Now this doesn't justify him going aggro on you immediately off the gate, just kind of puts into perspective the mindset on some folks.

[xmirrors]

I don't want to have to go through the rigmarole of reporting him, I don't think it's worth the effort. I just want to get your opinion on whether this is normal behaviour for Deep Dungeons, who's in the right, who's in the wrong (if any).

I have not experienced such a thing, but...anecdotes are anecdotes.

As for who is in the right...I think the majority of players doing a deep dungeon are there for the experience while leveling a new job. Therefore, the expected behavior is to rush each floor as quickly as possible. It was these two who deviated from this, so they should have announced their intention to do full clears for aetheryte gear upgrades at the beginning of the run instead of being dicks about it.

[Kathranis]

What's more egregious than rabbits not being able to wear hats is how the hair and gear looks downright pixelated in most cutscenes. Maybe if close up pans weren't such a huge part of the MSQ it wouldn't be a big deal, but the textures are just so low rez it's nearly enough to shatter my immersion.

I'm kind of shocked that they didn't switch to higher rez textures with Stormblood, when they discontinued the PS3 version. Or that they haven't at least implemented better texture filtering.

Apparently they're preparing to do a phased rollout of updated textures starting some time in the future, of which the 4k UI assets in 5.5 were the first step. But it sounded like they were still trying to figure out the best way to go about it.