Forum Settings
       
« Previous 1 2
Reply To Thread

LongevityFollow

#1 Sep 05 2013 at 8:55 PM Rating: Good
***
3,530 posts
In any MMORPG there are those who, within a few days of any new goal, have already completed it: following the release of a new class, they cap it within 48 hours; the new dungeon is completed several times immediately following an update; and so on. I'm not speaking about those individuals in this post.

What presently worries me is the longevity of FFXIV's content, defined loosely. Already, about a week after release (and with half of that crippled by server problems to boot), most players with an upper-moderate amount of time are closing in on level 40 or 50 -- with both a crafting and battle class. At even a few hours each day, it seems that the average person should be capping a single class in perhaps a month, as well as hold several others in their 20s. And of course this becomes much shorter with the aid of constant FATE parties, leve exploits, etc.

The problem is further compounded by the experience bonus your high-level class grants to lower level ones, making subsequent journeys that much shorter.

I realize we've been promised new content every 3 months, and that there are many classes available to fill the space between now and then, but by the first one of these patches many people will have run out of classes they're really interested in pursuing. By the second it seems that everyone will just be sitting on their hands for most of the three month interim.

In brief, I wonder what the effect of all these high level classes will have on the game at large. With it only taking a matter of days to get a gatherer or crafter up to 30 -- or, really, one day if you try -- what will this mean for these classes economically (already I seem to be able to get low-level gear for 20 gil or so), as well as for their intended roles in the game at large? I also wonder how many people will want to stick around when, in their view, they've managed to clear the story and cap several classes during a free-trial period.

So then it comes to this: how do you feel about the pace of leveling, not only from a personal perspective, but also with the greater ecosystem in mind? Do you think there are enough long-term goals to keep people progressing for six months? For three?

For my part, as much as I appreciate the removal of huge timesinks and enjoy the ability to accomplish certain goals in smaller bursts, I can't help but thinking that some of these much-maligned barriers against progress were necessary in ensuring the longevity of an online game.

Thanks for reading a much-too-wordy post. Smiley: grin
#2 Sep 05 2013 at 9:15 PM Rating: Excellent
*
150 posts
There is a double standard in gaming in regards to mmorpgs.

Any other single player game that would offer 30+ hours of gameplay would be considered a good buy and a great game most likely.

With mmorpgs, people expect 10 hours a day (or more) of entertainment for like 5 years. Or they get pissed and call the game a flop and a failure.

So yeah, I expect most of the people racing to endgame will get bored faster, happens but people never learn.

Also, Fates and leves are NOT exploits. If people want to bypass the content they have that option. I think its more meant for your second or third trip to a maxed out class more than anything. Can you imagine getting another class up to endgame after doing all the story lines and no fate or leave "exploits" as you call them?

You would have to farm mobs, and people do NOT want that as the means to level up.

So my point is, some of these people who will no doubt race to endgame fast, burn out, and ***** about lack of content, will have logged close to 70 hours a week playing, if not more. I know plenty of people who paid $60 for games with 8-12 hours worth of content and didn't bat an eye over it.

MMORPGS can last a REALLY long time content wise if you pace yourself...few do that however.



Edited, Sep 5th 2013 11:17pm by Strangerous
#3 Sep 05 2013 at 9:29 PM Rating: Good
***
3,530 posts
Strangerous wrote:
...leves are NOT exploits... Can you imagine getting another class up to endgame after doing all the story lines and no fate or leave "exploits" as you call them?


I wasn't referring to leves in general, but the actual leve exploits described here.

Other than that, though, I see what you mean about MMORPGs high expectations with regard to playtime, but I did mention that I wasn't addressing the crowd that always rushes to cap, but rather the moderate to moderately-high player -- that is, a sizable section of the playerbase rather than the upper minority.

I think your final sentence really hits on the topic at hand, however. You say:

Quote:
MMORPGS can last a REALLY long time content wise if you pace yourself...few do that however.


Which forces one to ask: since this is a game wherein the player must actively pace themselves or risk burning through content too quickly, is some amount of timesink or barrier to progress necessary to ensure an acceptable degree of longevity across the moderately to moderately-high dedicated playerbase?

I myself don't play too much, but even I can see myself dashing through half a class over the weekend without really intending it.
#4 Sep 05 2013 at 9:40 PM Rating: Excellent
Things need to be this way for now, especially on Legacy servers where several people have all jobs to 50. 6-12 months down the road, hopefully the cap will be raise, requiring EVERYONE to have to level again, they can then maybe adjust the experience required to level.
____________________________

#5 Sep 05 2013 at 9:41 PM Rating: Good
**
556 posts
I look at it as SE gave people the opportunity to get a level 50 fast so they could do endgame stuff with people who played 1.0 and already have 50s. I almost guarantee the grind to 50-60 and so forth is going to be a lot longer when the level cap is raised.

Edited, Sep 5th 2013 11:42pm by IamTuck
#6 Sep 05 2013 at 10:14 PM Rating: Decent
*
63 posts
It can definitely seem quick. Within a week, I'm already halfway on my main job. I'm loving it nonetheless and I'm trying to no rush myself and enjoy the journey the first time around. But I really feel that the endgame is what's going to be the meat and potatoes. The last MMO I played was DCUO and and the level grind could be done in a matter of days if you knew what was going on. But the dailies really lengthened it out as well as higher level instances. But even with that, it wasn't much.

Sure there are a lot of people 1.0 people who are level 50, but they certainly put in the time to get those levels, I'm sure. There will be things added over time.

Look at XI for instance, at launch, there was not much there, but if someone were to come in with all the expansions/add-ons, there's quite a bit to do and it can seem overwhelming for sure. But I can definitely see caps being raised, jobs added (battle, field, hand, included) as well as PvP content which may not turn out to be a bad thing. Right now I'm enjoying that I'm NOT level 50 and I have no problem taking my time even on a Legacy server.
#7 Sep 05 2013 at 10:19 PM Rating: Excellent
***
2,120 posts
I haven't been playing as much since finishing the main storyline. I enjoyed that 1st ride up, but all that's left for me is work. Farming endgame, farming achievements, making gil, leveling other jobs, crafting, gathering, etc. There's some longevity in those activities. They're not for everyone though.
#8 Sep 06 2013 at 12:55 AM Rating: Excellent
Sage
***
1,675 posts
I think for a casual, during the week player, such as myself, the progression is fine.

Sure when you hear and see people who are already in their 40s-50s, talk about running those end game dungeons, you get a bit antsy, but really I'm enjoying myself and haven't got caught up in all of that.

It's taken me since P4 to have a 26 PUG, 19GSM and 15MIN. That's nothing. And I felt like I've done so much already. The DF is a blessing, and although it takes an hour to get a group sometimes, I can mine or craft, or run a guildleve, or level another job, and then run a dungeon and be done for the night.

People will get burnt out, and people will move on. And although I have a love hate relationship with timesinks, I think that a steady pace, and (worthwhile) horizontal/diagonal content, such as in ARR is the way to go and that the onus may be more on the player's expectations and habits than we'd like to admit. Why the rush to endgame? Why not take your time, enjoy the content that is in front of you.

If it were up to me there would be no endgame, but rather just more world, more quests, and more things to do. And I think this is part of SE's content plan, whereby every few months we'll have some substantial patches and eventually expansions.

So as of now, I'm not too worried about it.
#9 Sep 06 2013 at 1:05 AM Rating: Excellent
****
4,175 posts
The pace of leveling doesn't worry me as much as the difficulty of the content at endgame. There are FATEs that are abused to give insane amounts of experience points to level up with. SA pointed out an easy route for people who store up guildleves to cap crafting classes overnight(with the exp from FATEs, why wouldn't you save them up). To be honest, none of that really bothers me.

The one and only thing that will win my subscription is longevity. I've always said that the combat and encounters will be the defining factor(personal opinion). The real problem I'm having with FFXIV right now is that I'm seeing people who never played 1.0 and just started with early access already capped and clearing hardmode content.

Say what you will about WoW. It probably takes only a few days to cap out in levels if you're really after it. Same said for FFXIV. The difference is that in WoW, it takes a few months for a fresh 90 to accrue enough gear to be able to start clearing hardmode content. XIV players are doing it a day or two after capping and that kinda worries me.
____________________________
Rinsui wrote:
Only hips + boobs all day and hips + boobs all over my icecream

HaibaneRenmei wrote:
30 bucks is almost free

cocodojo wrote:
Its personal preference and all, but yes we need to educate WoW players that this is OUR game, these are Characters and not Toons. Time to beat that into them one at a time.
#10 Sep 06 2013 at 3:25 AM Rating: Decent
There is way more content in FFXIV ARR than there was in EQ when it launched, FFXI when it launched and WoW when it launched.

I think this game will be ok.
#11 Sep 06 2013 at 5:29 AM Rating: Good
Avatar
***
2,689 posts
We have one guy in our group who hit 50, one who is 40 ish and a few in their 30s. I have 31 ACN (+SCH +SMN), 29 CNJ, 15 THM and something like a level 7 GLA. I'm not going to be hitting 50 any time soon. I want my sub classes done and I've only managed 10 on WVR and w/e the acronym for leather is (LTH?)

I play a few hours most days and we did as a group restart. If you super focused and just want to get up to 50 fast, good for you. I don't because I don't see the point of it yet. When the next patch is announced, then sure, it might be nice.

One thing which does annoy me about those who press ahead, is the fact that they talk about where they are as endgame. We know full well it isn't because we know the level cap will go up. I feel like effectively we got to where AF started in XI (i.e. level 50)

I won't rush, because I know I'll burn out if I do. I can see plenty for me to do for now.
____________________________
Blogging again! http://eldelphia.wordpress.com
#12 Sep 06 2013 at 5:31 AM Rating: Excellent
To the OP: The same thought hit my mind. I'm coming from an old FFXI mindset where being able to get your AF on your first job was many months in the doing. Getting from lvl 40 to 45 was a mind numbing grind that took some dedication and perseverance to do. Getting from 74 to 75 seemed like an endless journey as the XP to get was 43000 and you were still only getting 100 200 xp per kill.

Not saying ARR is bad at all with quick content…. I am just not use to this pace and wonder how I will play this MMO if the same things that took me half a year to do in FF11 only took a day to do in FFXIV
#13 Sep 06 2013 at 5:38 AM Rating: Good
**
392 posts
i have to agree w/ Stranger on the fact that there will be those who are going to blitz to 50 and stand around doing nothing and **** and moan, and eventually quit, yay for me. i feel players like this also are just aren't enjoying the game with their friends, if any. I find i slow down my pace if i'm grouping up with friends and doing fate parties or dungeon runs for gear.

Myself, i only get about 4 hrs, at the most and if i'm lucky enough with school and work, every other day in for ffxiv. I am only lvl 35 and already i can see my progress place slowly greatly. Not that I am complaing, i am loving every step of the journey, and i still have soooooo much to do. There is no shortage of things on my 'to-do' list.

Edited, Sep 6th 2013 10:17am by RyanSquires
#14 Sep 06 2013 at 6:00 AM Rating: Good
***
1,313 posts
FilthMcNasty wrote:


Say what you will about WoW. It probably takes only a few days to cap out in levels if you're really after it. Same said for FFXIV. The difference is that in WoW, it takes a few months for a fresh 90 to accrue enough gear to be able to start clearing hardmode content. XIV players are doing it a day or two after capping and that kinda worries me.


I fully agree with this. I think we should see what the whole "Crystal Tower" thing is before passing judgement though. The current hm content may just be a way to get "welfare epics", if you will, to be ready for the long roads to come when traditional tiered style raids come in to play.
#15 Sep 06 2013 at 6:13 AM Rating: Excellent
You guys do know that they eventually plan on patching in a Golden Saucer, right?

You should be thankful they are letting you out of your house while you still can.
#16 Sep 06 2013 at 6:36 AM Rating: Excellent
***
1,556 posts
Currently, much of the darklight gear requires quite a few behemoth horns. IIRC, he only spawns once every few days which provides a nice roadblock. AF2 (or AF+1..whatever) is also a little difficult to obtain.

Actually, it's very comparable to WoW. You grind dungeons to get tomes to buy 'epic' (blue) gear and use that gear to do harder things (like hard mode Titan/Garuda/etc). Don't knock the endgame content until you've tried it. I've seen so many complaints about the difficulty of the dungeons from FC mates that it's just funny. After doing a few of the dungeons, including Amdapor, I would say it's exploited and broken. The current fad, similar to GW2, is to have the tank run ahead and die while the rest of the party follows and forks off in another direction. You can bypass almost all of the trash this way. Incredibly stupid and I'm surprised it hasn't been addressed yet.

I think they've bought themselves enough time till the predicted 3 month new content release deadline. Even if you get to level 50, you are far from done. You have your AF, relic weapon, your primal weapon (Ifrit HM), your AF2, darklight, GC current max rank weapons, etc. THEN, you need to go about leveling quite a few jobs (at least for THM) to the upper 30s to obtain some of the nicer cross class skills. Leveling a job the 2nd time around probably won't be as easy either and I'm sure most people will try it. I can barely manage to get CNJ to 12 for resurrection. :X

Then, on top of all that, you have Bahamut Coils to contend with. Good freaking luck!

Edited, Sep 6th 2013 8:41am by HitomeOfBismarck
#17 Sep 06 2013 at 6:43 AM Rating: Decent
I too think people rushed themselves. And really, capping one class or craft on your character isn't that big a whoop - considering the legacy characters that already had all the classes except the new one at 50. When a person on a new server has all the classes at fifty, all the crafts at fifty, AF for all the jobs, and every single FATE title, then I'll be worried about people running out of content.

If SE's track record with XI is any indication, they'll release the content in infusions every month or so. This gives the "hurry up and get 'er done" crowd an enforced pace, while allowing the more casual folks an opportunity to catch up.

#18 Sep 06 2013 at 6:52 AM Rating: Good
**
425 posts
I'm already having doubts about how long I will be playing. If there's lack of help, I'm not gonna last long. I got pretty lucky in FFXI.

Attrition from rushing has also always been my #1 worry in MMOs.
#19 Sep 06 2013 at 7:07 AM Rating: Decent
Avatar
****
4,780 posts
Catwho wrote:
I too think people rushed themselves. And really, capping one class or craft on your character isn't that big a whoop - considering the legacy characters that already had all the classes except the new one at 50. When a person on a new server has all the classes at fifty, all the crafts at fifty, AF for all the jobs, and every single FATE title, then I'll be worried about people running out of content.


I am absolutely not worried at all. I've got my eye trained to the Endgame scene, and from their indications, you're not running out of content anytime soon. The Binding Coil of Bahamut is brutal. It may be possible to grind nonstop to get the gear you need to run it, but the execution you need to clear it is demanding - even for the hardcore crowd.

And that's not considering that most won't be pushing at that breakneck pace to begin with.

Then we think of Crystal Tower and all the other things that are getting patched in that don't even consider expansions in the work, I'm not concerned in the least.
#20 Sep 06 2013 at 7:08 AM Rating: Good
**
448 posts
I last a long time because I get so distracted by other stuff. Ii am a jack-of-all-trades type personality and I like knowing and being able to do a crap load of stuff - not an expert, but good enough to pass. I started my CNJ and opened up WHM and got everything else to 15 as not to worry about having to make that drudge again. However, tanking has intrigued me and I find myself on my MRD much more than I thought I would. I'll oscillate back and forth until a DD class gets involved, then I'll be a huge bloody mess of classes and jobs and confusion.
#21 Sep 06 2013 at 7:14 AM Rating: Decent
*
70 posts
I'm too lazy to go look for it but in one of the early Letters from Yoshi when ARR was being created was that he wanted to focus on an end game rich game to keep players playing and to keep things exciting. I think the team has a lot planned and maybe at first people may feel they have run out of things to do because they want to rush but in the future I hope to see lots of end game content. I've waited to long to play Final Fantasy 14 even though it took them 2 tries i have a lot of expectations and the drive they seem to have I don't think they will let me down this time.
#22 Sep 06 2013 at 7:22 AM Rating: Good
**
530 posts
A lot comes down to the individual. Some people like to blow through the levels and then come back and do everything else. Some like the journey to max level and pace themselves.

It's your character so you play it your way.
#23 Sep 06 2013 at 10:34 AM Rating: Decent
**
448 posts
I think the big sticking point that this game has had to deal with which no other game has had is the fact there were already limit capped people starting on day 1 (of EA or release) with the legacy players. So the dev team had to fully aware that the game at lvl 50 had to be there for those people, as well as the rest of the levels with all the fresh babies coming in. In those terms, I can see why you can fly through the levels to cap.
#24 Sep 06 2013 at 11:15 AM Rating: Decent
***
2,214 posts
I have every combat and gathering job/class to 50 and half my crafting classes to 50 (with the exception to Acn which is like 4...).

So far, I have gottten my Pld, BSM, ARM, and Miner quest lines done, and made it to Haukkue manor in the main storyline quest. At my current rate, I will be done with the current content in 1-2 years. At that point I will review whether or not I want to continue:). Which is better than 1.0, I never actually ran out of things to do, but typically had all the quests completed within one week, and just continued to level grind to find out different jobs/classes.

I am currently pleased with the content in ARR. And with the leveling speed. While I understand that people don't necessarily want leveling to be a grind, SE learned the hard way that by making it a grind it only punishes those who don't play excessively. Those who play excessively will still chew through levels faster than imaginable, leaving a massive gap in the player base (look at 11 in it's first 5 years, there were players like me that were still not even at 50, while others had killed kirin so many times they were bored with it).

Now you have content you can't just steam-roll, but levels that you can. This brings players who can't dedicate their lives to the game up to the point where they can be in the harder content while it's still desirable to play.
____________________________
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/729735/
#25 Sep 06 2013 at 5:59 PM Rating: Decent
***
1,004 posts
FilthMcNasty wrote:
The pace of leveling doesn't worry me as much as the difficulty of the content at endgame. There are FATEs that are abused to give insane amounts of experience points to level up with. SA pointed out an easy route for people who store up guildleves to cap crafting classes overnight(with the exp from FATEs, why wouldn't you save them up). To be honest, none of that really bothers me.

The one and only thing that will win my subscription is longevity. I've always said that the combat and encounters will be the defining factor(personal opinion). The real problem I'm having with FFXIV right now is that I'm seeing people who never played 1.0 and just started with early access already capped and clearing hardmode content.

Say what you will about WoW. It probably takes only a few days to cap out in levels if you're really after it. Same said for FFXIV. The difference is that in WoW, it takes a few months for a fresh 90 to accrue enough gear to be able to start clearing hardmode content. XIV players are doing it a day or two after capping and that kinda worries me.


trust me, those people who only started during P4 that already have jobs to 50 have been playing A LOT. I think i have been playing way more than i should be since school just started, and my arcanist is only 42. I already have 50's so i'm getting the bonus experience along with all the quest and FATES and i'm not capped yet after a few weeks of playing. The leveling gets a lot slower starting at 30. Those people capped have most likely been playing none stop for 2 weeks. I'm at the point in the story where i'm at coerthas, and it boggles my mind how people had all this done in a few days.

Leveling is slow, it will take an average player a LONG time to get all the jobs to 50 so i wouldn't worry about longevity. I do see that crafting exploit patched soon though, i doubt that was intended.

also, don't forget about the eventual level cap increase. 50 and beyond will be time consuming, and players who start later are going to have their hands full. The one downside of being here when the game launches is that we will always be up to date with content, so it will only seem like there isn't enough to do.

Edited, Sep 6th 2013 8:00pm by Keysofgaruda
#26 Sep 07 2013 at 6:52 AM Rating: Good
**
425 posts
I'm half and half on other players rushing. They wanna keep up with their friends, and that's understandable.

The atmosphere in FFXIV makes me feel that I can do it. And that alone is one of the things that will keep me in the game for a long time. Unless my PS3 becomes the ultimate troll and yellow lights on me, or Comcast rebels against the nation and shuts all their datacenters down.

Edited, Sep 7th 2013 8:53am by TwilightSkye
« Previous 1 2
Reply To Thread

Colors Smileys Quote OriginalQuote Checked Help

 

Recent Visitors: 296 All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (296)