Whatcha play'n?

[The Lich Tree]

my reply yesterday night was a bit rushed as i was at work, but i felt the need to get more in depth of what makes a good mmo to me and why so many fall flat. none of this is in direct relation to ff14, my analysis of it isn't really there from what little i've played but this is more of discussing what i like to see from mmos and why there is so many I just don't enjoy.

basically when I play a mmo, the main things i'm interested are things I'm gonna invest time into creating, i love the creation aspect of anything, from building a house and leveling the construction skill in my old days of runescape, to just outright building things in minecraft or building bases in survival games (rust, hurtworld, ect.) i love to build. i love to make something that leaves a lasting aspect and is easy to get into. this is first and foremost the most important aspect to me when entering a new mmo, because unlike other people this is my true endgame, this is me investing my life into making the prettiest and coolest place to call home in a virtual world. something to be proud of sinking countless hours into. all other content usually pales in comparison to me. now i know ff14 doesnt really have that but this is a huge selling point for me and an mmo and why so many fall outright flat for me. i don't think any mmo has done housing better than wildstar and just the fact they tied housing stuff into loot and skills, just is absolutely the best, but i just dont like everything else to wildstar.

my next major thing to any mmo is perhaps the loot and overall appearance as you keep going, aside from building, i absolutely love working my butt off to get cool gear and when a game pales with its gear because its trying to lure you over to its online store i get pretty upset. one of the hugest reasons why elder scrolls online fell flat for me, that includes housing cause its a bitch of overgrinding to get into. seriously hate ESO. but i think when creating an rpg world and locking anything to a store content wise cosmetic or not, your ass better be free to play. people always use the argue "it's just cosmetics" nah son! cosmetics are the end all for alot of people, almost everyone wants thier character to stand out! if you charge a subscription or full price, get the fuck on up outta here! I just feel mmos should always have the rarest coolest shit hidden behind some hard to obtain quest thats even harder or some special method of getting it to make it all the more amazing. (like you have to go to the third waterfall in so and so, climb the tallest peak and wait for night at the right moon cycle to talk to some ghost person) something that isn't necessarily a challenge all the time, something just like an event. i also just think it should be able to be gotten by all people with enough effort on thier end. if you dont feel like killing all bosses (with some absurd condition) maybe you just dont need the "dragon god armor/dye/mount/ect". but its a reward for those players who invest into thier respective content. and theres not gonna be something cooler sitting on the market for any old joe with extra cash slinging around to show off. you play to get rewarded not pay to get rewarded. i feel like i combined two topics. whatever lol.

another thing about mmos is usually the least thing i care about but after playing wildstar for awhile, i really realized it does matter. i like a good amount of classes. probably the best classes i've ever played was hunter in wow, and ranger in guild wars 2. just something about tracking down your companion and training them is fun. I'm usually all about the pet/summoner classes. i love having multiple pets if possible or multiple summons. but i'll settle with a good mage. maybe its just how mmos are designed that i've never really enjoyed the combat. maybe its just i don't enjoy what the classes do. if im gonna be pressing the same buttons over and over, i want something cool or engaging to happen, rather than just widdle down the monsters health pool. this is why i dont let combat dictate the game in mmos, to me it feels like it is the grind part of it, its not the part you're there to enjoy but the part you're there for to move forward. and its really unsatisfying. why cant there be flashy moves? like the standard level 1 fireball is fine, but why cant level 2 be more flashy, and level 3 be the most flashiest shit ever? i mean i grinded this far, i want to be able to do some really cool lookin shit! i dont know, i feel like mmos combat systems are always the most basic format and no one tries to innovate or add complexity to the skills system because it would require too much work and undoubtedly it would. to create a spell that arcs or changes, is to balance like 3 or 4 variations of the same spell for 100+ skills instead of just balancing 100+ skills. but yet if one skill had different branching versions, entirely new builds could be created for one class and the level of individuality for players could be indefinite. maybe you're that standard fire mage, but that guy over there thought mixing his ice magic and fire magic to create coldfire would be fuckin sick. and you know what, blue fireballs that freeze things are pretty awesome. i feel like im getting off track again and dreaming up impossible things when all i really want is natural progression to look cooler for combat. like level 1 fireball is a fireball, level 2 is bigger but explodes, and level 3 is bigger but explodes into a firestorm. it doesn't gotta be crazy, just has to get more flashy.

i've been writing this post for probably over an hour, so i think its time to wrap up. basically if an mmo has a really good housing/building system, or really cool gear and doesn't have an in game store. im pretty down for it as long as the classes and stuff arent too super boring. and this basically doesn't describe any mmo for me.

[Pie]

I know I sound so super biased for saying this, but I feel that FF14 has a lot of that. XD;; especially after ARR content.

Out of the all the MMO's I've played, I haven't seen as many fashionable, cool, appealing armor pieces. A lot of ARR's pieces feel pretty normal and often kinda feel like palate/texture swaps of other ARR gear. Things definitely get more varied and interesting in the end of ARR. Here's a gear list with their item icons and you can google search them if you're curious how they look on a character. ^^ I know that it might not mean much though since you're looking at it when it doesn't necessarily apply to you currently. '_' https://ffxiv.eorzeacollection.com/glamours Here's a site that updates pretty regularly of people submitting outfit sets they've made. ^^

Housing is a really big thing where people have really done some really amazing things. Though you can't make things hang, tilting in the air, upside down, a custom sky/atmosphere effect, nor have a skate park on your house, it's still rather flexible and nice.~ https://housingsnap.com/ One thing to mention is that a lot of the furniture is made from crafters. There are even some furniture pieces that require pieces from high end raid content bosses.

There's a lot of really hard content that not everyone's able to pass, even if you're super overpoweredly geared, that offer high-end pieces, mounts, and fashion. Sometimes you just have to be a super crazy dedicated farmer in that content or super super lucky. Unfortunately though, I guess all of the hard to get items are group specific since they involve killing super tough/high-end enemies, so there's none of that "at the right place, at the right time" unless you're trying to farm world bosses, during which you'd need, like, maybe thirty people to kill.

I personally really like the look of a number of skills and I do feel like a number of the flashier ones come when you get to higher levels. I think the skills look a lot flashier than many other MMO's, though my absolute favorite would be the skills in Dragon Nest. +u+ I also like FF14's class and skill design too because the skills are generally not simply there for damage, but there're systems in place for optimal timing and situations for most skills.

As for skills changing as they get stronger, there's a liiiiittle bit of that with traits, some skills get stronger and even have their visual change now, though I admit that in the customization and skill evolution department, FF14's lacking. -which Dragon Nest has which is really awesome!~ =D The whole branching, specializing, leveling up skills that add to their functionality, so good! It's just a shame that Dragon Nest has become what it is now. -_-

As for cash shops, well, for the fashion pieces that sell on the shop, they are mainly pieces that story NPC's are wearing, or costume pieces that were once seasonal limited time event pieces from a year or more earlier. Though there are a couple that were from the China-specific events (or something like that).

Anyway, I now that FF14 might not be for you. Not everything's for everyone, but I just wanted to throw it out there that FF14 is a lot more than what you've seen, especially since the game changes so much at the end of ARR. =)

[The Lich Tree]

It's a damn shame that things dont really pick up till the end of ARR considering the free trial doesn't even really scratch the surface of the base game and honestly the base game to me feels like any other mmo. its hard to justify a purchase in something I have no idea that i'll like.

aside from that noise the housing stuff looks really pretty. the armor sets don't really tickle my fancy but i mean nothing in final fantasy's style ever really does. there's maybe one or two things i saw that i liked and i do admit there does seem to be quite a bit of variation. which is nice for people wanting to find thier own style.

i think when it comes to an mmo, i'd probably like something akin to wildstar but with better classes and stuff in it (content? idk, i never got to dive too deep in wildstar, just really liked the surface of it), maybe runescapes skill system, honestly more games should adopt a skill system like runescape, something is so satisfying about leveling up a particular skill and unlocking things specific to that skill, probably why i played it so much back in the day, but maybe im remembering it too fondly

maybe i just want something to break conventions of an mmo, to have more depth? idk. i just wonder if i poke around in the trial version of ff14 if i'll actually find something to love up to level 30. probably not cause i'm hard on mmos.

i really wish wildstar didn't die, like i loooooove the housing system, but i had to stop playing cause the ques for a dungeon last literal HOURS. and i wanted that damn sweet house loot. also hoverboards are dope. also the builder crafting system is wonky as all hell and confusing (like who thought it would be fun?).