So, I played FFXI. While I liked the visuals and whatnot, the grinding and lack of ability to really... solo kinda hurt it. I think MMOs can also be nice in that whole thriving world feel even if your friends aren't around. FFXIV DOES have "forced" group content- mainly in dungeons. But there is a group finder! This works like a queue in which you enter it, and a group is put together. And then you just hit the dungeon. Which is niceeeeee. If you wanted to, you could also just queue to level 50, which I'm sure some people will enjoy if they loved the grouping aspect of FFXI. Both types of players win!

Anyways, I swore up and down I'd never try FFXIV. And I didn't play the first iteration of the game. And we all know how that went down(including Amazon JP having pretty much a 1-star score for the original game).

A Realm Reborn, aka 2.0 is set to drop at the end of this month, on the 27th. For PS3 and PC. The Benchmark/Character Creation program just went online recently(http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/benchmark/index.html), and the last beta test- the open one- is set to happen soon.

The fact that you can actually do stuff by yourself is tempting me, as well as the inclusion of stuff like Magitek armor. I wanted to love FFXI so much, and I feel this is like a second chance. The game also looks gorgeous.

However, there is a sad part. There is a sub fee of 12.99 per month. I know I can cut expenses from other stuff and make that, but I know that will limit the amount of people playing. I feel this game could have done extremely well with the PSO2 model of free and then cash shop with their member program.

That being said- anyone else plan on playing here? I recall a couple people mentioning it. I am thinking of making a Dragoon probably. I really wanna try this game!

Additional Links:
Official Site: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/
The Massively tag for the game(lots of stuff!): http://massively.joystiq.com/category/F ... ntasy-XIV/
The Mog Log dealing with the changes with groups from FFXI to FFXIV(there are still some!): http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/07/13 ... ntasy-xiv/

I have sworn FF out of my life, so I will not be joining on FF14.

That's cool! I don't expect many people to be interested, either from that or the sub.

I... am considering it at the moment. Since it needs a subscription, I want to be better informed about what exactly to expect, so I wanted to talk with a friend who plays/played the beta (I think. He seems to play every MMO there has been)

I don't want to get into any mmo that isn't PSO2. But then again, where's my PSO2?


If you end up playing this for over a month, I will have to talk to you about it to see if it might be worth it for me to join.

I loved Final Fantasy XI, alongside Star Wars Galaxies (pre-update), it was probably my favorite MMO.

When I played the original beta of FFXIV, I absolutely loved it, probably even more than I liked FFXI and SWG... But I guess other people didn't hence the huge game change.

I know absolutely nothing about how the game is played now, so I'm unsure if I will play it.

Totally understandable. That's why I'm aiming to try the open beta before the game comes out.

And man, I wish PSO2 was out. Luckily, it is also F2P, so there's that! PSO2 is super fun from my own experience. I really wish it had come out sooner.

Some updates!

Open Beta(the last phase of testing) is from August 17th - 19th. The level cap is 20- and it is OB, so anyone can try out the game during this period.

Head Start is August 24th - 26th.

Game officially releases on August 27th worldwide.

In the PE3 review, I stated that I wouldn't be showing Square another dime until they've shown they care about their product and about us, the gamers.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10462

I think that counts well enough. That said, I'm afraid I'm not willing to pay for a game repeatedly until the day I stop... specially when a single game costs almost four times as much as Xbox Live.

Xbox Live:
$4.16 a month
$50 a year

FFXIV:
$12.99 a month
$155 a year

Yeah, that's not even going to happen.

Definitely fair. I honestly hope they can learn and make FFXV at least decent enough to be like FFXII or something. Plus, the sub fee was a huge downer. It costs about as much as Phantasy Star Universe did, and it does seem super out of place when Phantasy Star Online 2 is F2P. Though- they do offer a member system there(a sub basically) so you can get a ton of goodies, but it isn't required. I was earnestly surprised FFXIV ARR wasn't the same way.:X

Open beta is up at the main site and stuff. I'm getting PG's client downloaded to PS3, and we'll both be on Gilgamesh. Well, my cat dude is already on Gilgamesh and level 8, but you know.

Open beta progress carries to early access and releases, unless a huge game-breaking exploit is found in OB that would require a wipe.

I am really enjoying the game so far. I will say that it is super nice, and feels more... single player, but you can still exp chain and party up in the world, too. I like playing solo a lot of the time, so this suits me perfectly. There is a story for your character, and you get plenty of cutscenes. The quest dialogue is also quite entertaining, and the tutorials in the first town are great for FF players who might not know the first thing about MMOs. The graphics are lush, and amazing. The music is perfect. I have to say, this is a lovely game.

To me- this story beats out what FFXIII has been thus far. I mean, I think you can basically consider this a retail FF game in certain regards to solo aspects.

I downloaded the beta, made a character and proceeded to lower all of the graphics settings to their lowest options. Running at a solid 10 FPS.

New PC time is imminent.

Thank goodness! I'm glad for it.

That being said, the PS3 apparently runs the game just as well. It's nice they have a viable option for people who can't upgrade PCs yet and stuff. Mine runs it fine with everything on high except for the ambient occlusion setting, which I set to weak to gain huge performance gains.

Edit: We're on Siren right now(they closed every other server but the new ones temporarily), but I'm still hoping to get everyone on Gilgamesh eventually. This is a good backup, though.

I made a kitty-cat archer on the Faerie server (one of the two that were open when I made my character).

Loving the game, this is super fun. Probably the most fun I've had with an MMO since FFXI.

WE ARE BOTH ON GILGAMESH NOW YESSSS. Beta ends at 11 AM EST today, though.:X

EDIT: And beta is over! I didn't cap out Lancer at the beta limit, but I came close. Level 16, and it is amazingly fun to play since positioning is key. Attacks can do just about double damage if done from behind, so slows and stuns are needed in the rotation. It also rewards skilled play. I finished one solo instanced story quest without draining any of my HP for the most part by strafing in a circle and making sure to time my back attacks with my stun. Sweet nectar.

The story downright beats the CRAP out of recent FF single-player games(think FFX and FFXII-esque but with jumping and more free-roaming and stuff). Seriously. I finished the first story arc in Gridania(every city has one, for a total of three)... and now I'm at the point where I need to contact other cities for an alliance deal. I didn't get the miniature wind-up airship minion from completing that quest since I ran out of time, but it was still awesome.

I highly recommend watching an LP of the game even if you don't dig MMOs. It's entertaining. Those won't be up til Early Access at the earliest since NDA and stuff.

But yeah. This game is solid as both a story-driven RPG and MMO. I'm very impressed.

I noticed someone playing this on my PSN Friends List. Now I'm interested. Ive always wanted a console MMO I can sink my teeth into.

It is amazing. And in terms of console, it's no slapdash port- the hotkey system for PS3 looks nice(Brooke is playing that way on ours).

We're on Gilgamesh. It should be open in Early Access, considering the caps were for Open Beta. EA is in 3 days, starting at 2 AM PST on the 24th.

I just registered my Early Access code. Anything to distract at this point.

Your required dose of FFXIV ARR beta names.

http://i.imgur.com/kso99UG.jpg

AUGHHHHH

FAAAAYYYYYY! Early Access! Still can't get on the Gilgamesh server, so whatevs, playing on the Faerie server until slots open up. Feel free to join on said server if you want, I don't think it has much traffic.

So... I got tangled in this weekend Guild Wars 2's free trial... I'm probably sticking to it.