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#1 Mar 23 2016 at 2:10 PM Rating: Decent
Hi all,

Looking for some input. I used to play FFXI religiously until RL got busy, couple kids, jobs, relocating a couple times and consequently stopped subscribing. I tried getting back into it when FFXIV first came out and it was nothing close to what I was expecting or willing to pay for. I've recently been thinking about getting back into the game and was wondering a couple of questions.

1. The fact that I am entering in so late in the game will I end up waiting for parties to level/enjoy?

2. Is it so late in the game that the only thing left is end game?

3. Is there an active enough community across servers to make the experience fun and enjoyable?

4. When FFXIV first came out it was at best mediocre has the game changed for the better?

Thanks for the input
#2 Mar 23 2016 at 2:49 PM Rating: Good
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1: No, there are constantly parties available for all levels of content.

2: Not sure what you're asking here. Most matchmaking is handled automatically. Deal with endgame when you get to endgame. No sense worrying about that now.

3: Yes though not universally across all servers. Different servers have different populations, and those populations aren't evenly distributed. For instance if you're interested in RP, you'll want one server. If you're interested in hardcore raiding, you'll want a different server. It depends what you're looking to get out of the game here.

4: Depends what you mean by "first came out." If you're talking about 1.0 (the original launch back in 2010) then the game has been completely overhauled since then. If you're talking about 2.0 (A Realm Reborn) then the game has continued to progress since then but wasn't overhauled a second time.
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#3 Mar 23 2016 at 2:52 PM Rating: Excellent
Quote:
1. The fact that I am entering in so late in the game will I end up waiting for parties to level/enjoy?

2. Is it so late in the game that the only thing left is end game?

3. Is there an active enough community across servers to make the experience fun and enjoyable?

4. When FFXIV first came out it was at best mediocre has the game changed for the better?


1. You'll level up to the cap without any trouble. Just be aware you need to play through the main story quest in order to unlock the full map and reach the latest "endgame" activities.

2. Once you hit the level cap, then you'll focus on advancing your iLevel cap. FFXIV is a strong vertical-progression game, and every three-four months SE installs new dungeons/raids/primals/etc. where you'll grind for higher iLevels. The downside to this is gear is "obsoleted" (a word I hate) far more rapidly than it was in FFXI. The upside is that none of your "obsoleted" gear will ever take that long to get, so it's never really a big loss. You'll either like the treadmill or you won't.

3. Yes, especially if you join a legacy server. Tons of people and lots of new players.

4. Yes, the ARR/HW version of FFXIV is light years better than the original launch of the game. But it's also a completely different game. If you really, really loved FFXI -- and if that's the kind of experience that you're looking for now -- then you probably won't like how FFXIV has changed.

Edited, Mar 23rd 2016 1:53pm by Thayos
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#4 Mar 23 2016 at 3:34 PM Rating: Decent
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sparetimeb wrote:
Hi all,

Looking for some input. I used to play FFXI religiously until RL got busy, couple kids, jobs, relocating a couple times and consequently stopped subscribing. I tried getting back into it when FFXIV first came out and it was nothing close to what I was expecting or willing to pay for. I've recently been thinking about getting back into the game and was wondering a couple of questions.

1. The fact that I am entering in so late in the game will I end up waiting for parties to level/enjoy?

2. Is it so late in the game that the only thing left is end game?

3. Is there an active enough community across servers to make the experience fun and enjoyable?

4. When FFXIV first came out it was at best mediocre has the game changed for the better?

Thanks for the input


1. You will be able to catch up and whatnot, but a lot of this game's content (and I mean A LOT) is obsolete and not worth doing as the rewards serve no purpose to you once you hit level 60, even 50-60 you just use crafted items till end game. So level 50 end-game is obsolete basically.

2. In a vertical progression game like this, yeah, End-game is the only thing left. You can do stuff like side activities if it interests you, but in terms of progression? Only thing is at the level 60 cap, stuff that came prior to it is as said obsolete. So you can do gathering and crafting and the like but if you're talking strictly playable content, unless you join a Free Company/Linkshell that does the old stuff, chances are you'll only be able to reliably do the "newer" stuff.

3. It's spotty, NA cluster's main populated servers are Gilgamesh, Balmung and Lamia, everything else has various levels. So you'd do well to research.

4. Depends. If you like the general MMO template from 2005-2009 "WoW is king" era gameplay, it's better. XIV 1.0 was never finished or optimized so there's really nothing to compare it to other than FFXIV ARR repurposed 1.x then expanded from there. So if you like "Rotation based battle system" that OLD WoW used, you'll love the gameplay. It really depends. In comparison to XI, this game is missing quite a bit of gameplay systems that make life easier that XI is even still introducing to this date, but it has everything a "basic MMORPG" has. Just don't be surprised or shocked by slow queue times on content that came out in 2013-2015 outside of Heavensward content.
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#5 Mar 23 2016 at 3:40 PM Rating: Excellent
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3. It's spotty, NA cluster's main populated servers are Gilgamesh, Balmung and Lamia, everything else has various levels. So you'd do well to research.


I'd recommend NOT joining those servers. They're too populated, and they tend to experience more congestion and problems.

I'm on Hyperion, which has a very healthy population without being overpopulated. If you find a site that guestimates population figures, then I'd recommend joining a server that's roughly Hyperion's size. You won't be disappointed.

Also...

Quote:
2. In a vertical progression game like this, yeah, End-game is the only thing left.


Keep in mind that most of the level 60 content -- even the newest stuff -- isn't "endgame" in the traditional sense. Outside of a single eight-man "savage mode" raid, there is really no content in this game where people form statics/linkshells/etc. to grind for rewards on a regular basis. You'll queue up and be matched with strangers for most of the level 60 content -- you simply don't need established groups to do most of it.

In my opinion, what it comes down to is this:

If you're a hardcore-style player who tends to play for several hours at a time -- and if you want a game that you really want to have to be able to pour time into in order to be successful -- then you're probably not going to like FFXIV. You'll either be irritated by gear being "obsoleted," or you'll run out of things to do.

If you've become more casual in how you play video games -- or if you simply don't have the time to be hardcore about gaming -- then you may appreciate FFXIV's more casual approach. It's easy to hit the cap, and it's easy to get caught up again if you take a break. And if you can play just a little bit a few times per week, then it's pretty easy to stay caught up, too.

But I'm sure you can see how that approach swings both ways for different types of gamers.

Edited, Mar 23rd 2016 2:49pm by Thayos
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#6 Mar 23 2016 at 9:50 PM Rating: Decent
Thanks all for the info.

It was disappointing to see a rather unglorious game(1.0) after leaving XI. I don't have the hours I used to pour into it; so, it sounds as though it may fit my current play style. Though.. now I wonder if I might be disappointed just because I loved XI so much and it seems as though a lot of the gameplay has changed.

Anyways, we'll see and I'll start patrolling for active servers.

Thanks for the help all and if anyone knows of active servers other than those listed above please let me know!!
#7 Mar 23 2016 at 10:04 PM Rating: Decent
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sparetimeb wrote:
Thanks all for the info.

It was disappointing to see a rather unglorious game(1.0) after leaving XI. I don't have the hours I used to pour into it; so, it sounds as though it may fit my current play style. Though.. now I wonder if I might be disappointed just because I loved XI so much and it seems as though a lot of the gameplay has changed.

Anyways, we'll see and I'll start patrolling for active servers.

Thanks for the help all and if anyone knows of active servers other than those listed above please let me know!!


Excalibur
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#8 Mar 23 2016 at 10:58 PM Rating: Excellent
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3,737 posts
sparetimeb wrote:
Thanks all for the info.

It was disappointing to see a rather unglorious game(1.0) after leaving XI. I don't have the hours I used to pour into it; so, it sounds as though it may fit my current play style. Though.. now I wonder if I might be disappointed just because I loved XI so much and it seems as though a lot of the gameplay has changed.

Anyways, we'll see and I'll start patrolling for active servers.

Thanks for the help all and if anyone knows of active servers other than those listed above please let me know!!


There is a 14 day trial. I'd say if you're at all unsure about whether you want to spend money on it, go for that and see what you think.
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svlyons wrote:
If random outcomes aren't acceptable to you, then don't play with random people.
#9 Mar 23 2016 at 11:41 PM Rating: Decent
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Speaking of free trials, lol https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/3d2i67/my_friend_took_his_free_trial_a_bit_too_seriously/
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