Check out the hottest topics from the past week of the FFXIV general forum.

As you can see by the late hour, this was a difficult week for me to write Hot Read Thursday. No, writing this entry wasn't difficult because there wasn't enough to write about -- quite the contrary, actually. I had a difficult time writing this entry because so much is happening in the game right now, and I didn't want to put down my gamepad to get to work! Hey, everyone has their moments, right? I recommended the game to a "RL friend," and we've been duoing together for the past couple weeks as lancer (him) and conjurer (me). My friend never played FFXI, so at first he was somewhat put off by the less robust UI of FFXIV, but he warmed up to the UI as soon as he got used to the controls. Now he's having a blast, and tonight we duoed, did behests and finished leves to see what kind of post-patch SP we could get. We were both pleased with the results!

Anyway, enough about my free time. This week was dominated by discussions that were probably far more important than the three threads featured here. However, one of these threads illustrates the changing attitudes toward the game, and another is a kind message to the trolls who still scavenge the forums for morsels of optimism. The last thread is a reactionary discussion to the skill point adjustment, which has definitely assuaged concerns of FFXIV being too "grindy."

And now, on with the links:

Title: I'm pretty sure I kind of like FFXIV

This guy wrote a thread a week or two earlier basically telling people why they should quit FFXIV and go play RIFT. Well, as was always the case with FFXI, now he's back. Even more importantly, he's come to the realization that there are things to like in FFXIV. He hits the nail on the head, saying Square Enix has a way of delivering a feeling that nobody else has consistently done. To be fair, Square Enix has the unparalleled advantage of having made the role-playing games we played when we were children and teenagers. That aside, I do agree with the OP. The more time we give FFXIV, the more that essence of the game begins to shine forth. So, in closing, I'd like to welcome the OP back to Eorzea. And I agree with you, too... this game isn't quite on the doorstep of being great, but I'd say it's definitely on the porch.

Title: Friendly message to lurkers on here who aren't playing XIV

Wait a minute, are you implying there are people trolling the forum who no longer play the game? I refuse to believe it! OK, so maybe I do believe it, and I know exactly what the RP is talking about. With a little luck, Yoshi-P will solve this problem by allowing linkshell sackholders the ability to boot people from the linkshell no matter where they are. Or, at the very least, perhaps give us an option for hiding the names of inactive members. In FFXI, all we ever saw were the names of people who were currently logged in. Why not go back to that?

Title: First Glance: Substantial SP gains!

Did you feel that? Just by reading the heading of this paragraph, you got 500 SP! The adjustment to skill point accumulations in groups or against tougher mobs has caused a little controversy from people who feel this makes the game too easy, but reaction to the skill points changes has mostly been positive. The reaction should be positive, given how long people complained about grinding being too slow. By the way you just gained another 400 SP. How does that feel?