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The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's dungeons
My interest in Final Fantasy XIV is not purely about racing to the endgame, but I am well aware there is an endgame. And while I'm easily distracted by the pursuits of other goals such as leveling Arcanist, I'd rather be on the early side to the party. There's nothing wrong with not being the first at endgame, but I'd prefer to beat the rush, if you know what I mean. So my playtime has been focused a bit more toward getting to the end of the story quick-like. This also means going through a lot of Final Fantasy XIV's dungeons. I'm not quite up to the last rush, but considering a lot of people I see are still moving into stuff I left behind a while ago, I'm still a bit ahead of the parabola. So let's take a look at the dungeons along the path from level 1 to level 50 after the initial set (which I covered back in beta).
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's Grand Companies
Wednesday's maintenance came and went, a handful of minor issues surfaced and were quickly squashed, and Final Fantasy XIV moved on. Since the maintenance, I hit a queue once or twice and that was it. This has not stopped several people from crowing that the game has already failed, but most of us have accepted that server issues happen on launch. And you're getting some extra free time out of it in a game whose chief issue is that everyone actually wants to play it. So let's move on and talk about Grand Companies. It's easy to miss the enlistment point in the Companies if you're a Legacy player focusing on other activities, and it's just as easy to enlist and then completely forget about the company since it's a different sort of progress track. So let's talk about what the companies contain, what you can get out of them, and why you should bother caring.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's launch week
It's been a week now since the start of early access in Final Fantasy XIV, and it's been a weird launch. Partly because it's not really a proper launch, it's a relaunch of a game that hadn't been playable for several months and is now back in a form that has changed so much that it's almost unrecognizable. And partly because the servers have sort of been a force of unfettered malevolence; that's definitely an issue as well. Playing the game this week has ultimately been a verbal tug-of-war between two separate but equally important groups. There are the players who can't get in and hold very strong opinions about not being able to get in, and there are the players who can get in and are just playing the game. So it's impossible to talk about the launch week without talking about the launch issues and the servers... which also requires a bit of perspective on MMOs as a whole.
The Mog Log Extra: Tips for a Final Fantasy XIV beginner
We're all kind of beginners with the new version of Final Fantasy XIV. Some of us have high-level characters already, but none of us has years of experience with the game. At best, you have memories of how things worked in the last beta test or two. But there's still a difference between having a character from version 1.0 dripping with high-level items and having a fresh guy or gal stepping off the boat into Limsa. Fortunately, the game's tutorials now do a solid job of introducing you to how the game works. But there are still some tips and tricks to consider, and it's with that in mind that I present this column. If you're new to the game completely or even just an occasional dabbler in the previous beta tests, here's some advice to help you out during your first steps.
The Mog Log Extra: Unboxing the Final Fantasy XIV collector's editions
I barely ever buy the collector's edition of any game. That's not to say I don't like the idea, but it's hard to justify the increased cost for the same game, especially when the included bonuses aren't all that good in the first place (I don't know who decided that collector boxes should come with statues that add $100 onto the box price, but I don't like that person). The original Final Fantasy XIV collector's edition, however, was one of the games on which I spent the extra money. Not just for the heck of it, but because of early access, which was tied to the special edition back in the day. So when Square-Enix sent us a review copy of the new collector's edition, I knew that there was only one thing to be done: I needed to offer an unboxing review of this new edition.
The Mog Log: Error 3102, please try to read this FFXIV column at a later time
I'm writing this column on Tuesday morning, with the last Final Fantasy XIV beta test a happy memory for me and many other people. Specifically, all of the people for whom the last beta test did not amount to strings of numerical errors over and over. On the podcast I mentioned that this affected a substantial number of people, something like 10% of the playerbase. I have no way of knowing how accurate that number is, and none of us does; someone estimated 20,000 people, which I suspect to be far fewer than 10% of the players, but the fact is that we don't know. Exact numbers aren't important; what does matter is that this was a pretty big problem for an event that for all intents and purposes was not a beta. I've gone back and forth debating this with some people, but the fact is that the fourth testing period wasn't a test. And these sorts of problems cannot be cropping up today, the early access day and practical launch for a lot of hopeful players.
The Mog Log Extra: Cross-class skills in Final Fantasy XIV
A little over a year ago, I talked about all of the really stand-out cross-class skills in Final Fantasy XIV. Astute readers will note that some of the abilities I reference in that article no longer exist, and several of them have completely different effects now. It's almost as if the game has completely relaunched or something. It's crazy. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is because cross-class skills are one of the big aspects of character customization in the game. You level up as an Archer with the expectation that you'll pick up a few more skills along the way to augment your strengths. So which ones are worth picking up? As of the last beta weekend, there are a lot of skills available, and I went through everything as best I could to try to pick out what's available. So now you can plan out your leveling in advance and know just what you want for those 10 extra slots in your class.
The Mog Log Extra: Starting an Arcanist in Final Fantasy XIV
My initial plan for last Saturday's edition of The Mog Log was foiled by the simple fact that getting to Limsa Lominsa was much more difficult than it needed to be. There was no way to get to Limsa, unlock Arcanist, level Arcanist, write a column of a thousand words or more, have it proofed, and have it readable by the time that you fine people expect to read something. My apologies are deep and heartfelt. Despite that fact, once I finally did get to Limsa, I poured myself into playing Arcansit as if it was my job. Which it sort of was. And I found that to my pleasant surprise, despite the fact that the class is everything I usually dislike in a class, I was having an absolute blast. I wouldn't say it's my favorite class in Final Fantasy XIV, but it's up there. But you don't care too much about that, do you? You want to know how to play one. Luckily, I can tell you that, too.
The Mog Log: Returning to your Final Fantasy XIV friends
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to throw open the doors and start demonstrating the wonders of Arcanist with my time in Final Fantasy XIV's open beta. I know, I'm disappointed too. I can offer a summary of what I saw from a glance at the abilities of the class, sure, but that's a little more speculation than I want to lay on people in lieu of real playtime. (The short version is that it looks interesting, and yes, there's a cure in there.) Instead, I'm going to offer some advice to my fellow players coming back into the game with older characters. Think of these not as strict guidelines but as suggestions, tips to make the path through beta and early access just a wee bit easier. I spent most of phase 3 preparing for the launch along these lines, and it might make the transition a bit more gentle for everyone.
The Mog Log: FFXIV lessons from Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XIV is in the final push to launch now, with phase 4 right around the corner and early access shortly after that. This is good news for me, since it means I can get back to actually playing the game that I write about every week after nearly a year. And, you know, the game is pretty awesome, so that's a bright point as well. It also means that the future isn't what it used to be. The relaunch has been The Future for a very long time, but now the relaunch is The Almost Right This Second, and The Future consists of patches and expansions and new classes and the like. All good things, all welcome, and all things that could take a few lessons from Final Fantasy XI. I've said before that Final Fantasy XIV was designed to fix some problems from Final Fantasy XI that it never was going to have, but that's not what I'm talking about. Instead of talking about preventing players from leveling consistently or hunting the possibility of RMT with McCarthy-level vigilance, let's look at some simple lessons to internalize in the future.
The Mog Log: You got your Final Fantasy XIII in my Final Fantasy XIV
If there was any doubt about it before, it's a known fact now: Lightning of Final Fantasy XIII will be showing up in Final Fantasy XIV, and players can go so far as to earn a copy of her outfit to wear out and around Eorzea. Odds are pretty much absolute that it will be purely cosmetic, but that doesn't make it any less unusual. Aside from ruffling the feathers of anyone who particularly dislikes Lightning, the inclusion opens up the weird snarl of non-continuity along the entirety of the franchise. I like Lightning, but this certainly does feel unusual. Even without seeing the quest, I have plenty of questions about how the games tie together, what the possible explanation could be, and how this will affect both worlds (as Naoki Yoshida has said specifically that this is Lightning herself, not someone who looks and acts as she does). So let's talk about crossovers, let's talk about Final Fantasy XIV's existing fanservice, and let's ask ourselves if this is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Metaphorically. I don't think there are camels in Eorzea.
The Mog Log: The mandatory early dungeons of Final Fantasy XIV
You're going to be exploring at least three dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV no matter what, possibly more. Progression in the main story requires a trip through Sastasha Seagrot, the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and Copperbell Mines. While I've talked a great deal about the ethics of including this grouping experience, what I haven't really discussed are the actual dungeons themselves, even though that's certainly a big deal. Let's be honest here: If this stuff isn't fun, all of the talk about the validity of forced grouping is kind of pointless. Even if you can, there are times when you shouldn't. Fortunately for the long-term viability of these dungeons, all three have more than just nice loot (which is apparently shared between them); they also offer a fun ride through regardless. So as you could probably infer from all of the text up to this point, let's take a gander at the first three dungeons in the game and the ones we know for a fact you have to clear right off.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV makes me happy in small ways
Final Fantasy XIV makes me happy for a variety of reasons. Some of them I've written about, and some things make me slightly less than happy on a whole. The point is made either way: I like the game, and there's a lot of stuff to write about, a lot of big issues that easily sustain a whole column on their own. Not everything I want to write about does that. There are a lot of things that I think the game does right that can't be discussed over the length of a column without repeating myself several dozen times. I don't want to write that column and odds are good you don't want to read it, either. What I can do instead, though, is compile several of those points into a single column. I want to look at the things that I like about the game that aren't big enough to merit a whole column but are big enough to be worth mentioning.
The Mog Log: Forced group quests in Final Fantasy XIV
There are certain things I hate in MMOs. One of those things is a forced group quest. Final Fantasy XI introduced me to this idea in a roundabout way by giving every player a single quest ("accomplish something") and forcing him or her to group for pretty much all of it. I didn't need a group to walk around San d'Oria, but pretty much anything else required a full group. It made me give up on Dragoon, and it meant that I've spent most of my life feeling that forced grouping is one of the worst things that a developer can implement. That having been said, I think Final Fantasy XIV might have actually gotten it mostly right. Not perfect, but considering that the development team felt it was important to include these quests, I think they've at least provided us with the best possible implementation for this content. So the inclusion doesn't really bother me after all.
Dragon Quest X working on a PC port, overseas release
Did you know that there's a Dragon Quest MMO? The popular and long-running RPG series came out with a console MMO version in Dragon Quest X, although to date it's been confined to the boundaries of Japan. This may be changing, however, as Square-Enix is eyeballing the PC and overseas market. Producer Yosuke Saito confirmed that the studio is working on a PC port of the console MMO: "The drive to release a PC version was there from the start of Dragon Quest X development. The biggest reason was that, when thinking about which platform was most likely to be connected to a network, the PC was the first that popped into our minds." The PC port of the game will be available in Japan in September. Square-Enix has been a little more secretive about an overseas release but did say that it's in the works. The studio isn't sure that it'll be rolled out in the same way that Final Fantasy XI was, as Saito thinks that Dragon Quest X will need to be released on separate servers for various countries and regions. "This is just my personal viewpoint, but different countries consume their games at different speeds and the way the communities are run also differ," he said.
The Mog Log: Believing in Final Fantasy XIV
This week, I'm going to do something different. I'm going to talk about my wife. Lest anyone worry that this is the start of a Paul McCartney-esque slide into sappy sentimentality, there's good reason for this. Ms. Lady has been mentioned on previous occasions as a gaming partner and skilled roleplayer. She's not as into MMOs as I am, but she plays them a lot and she certainly knows what she likes and what she doesn't. And let me tell you, she didn't like Final Fantasy XIV. This is a point of view I hold against absolutely no one, but it sure as heck meant that she was not interested in the relaunch. She'd had enough of the game after the first couple of tries to break in. The relaunch had no hooks to pull her back in, no interesting features that stirred her interest, nothing but the promise of a game she'd already decided wasn't good enough to play. And that all changed.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's buffet effect
A little under a year ago, I wrote a column about how Final Fantasy XIV needs to generate a wow factor. It needs to surprise people, have something unique and special to offer. There was a lot of stuff that felt distressingly rote, and that wasn't good. So what's changed since then? Well... not a huge amount, honestly. There are several features in the beta that feel like rehashes of things we've seen in other games, like FATEs and quests and instanced dungeons and so forth. Yet the game is clearly generating a wow factor, something that I'm happy about. This week, I want to throw that previous article out completely. Just kick it to the curb. As I've been playing the beta weekends and seeing what the game has to offer, I've realized that there was something I was completely failing to embrace and consider. It's the power of the buffet.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV is home again
For all the good things I had to say about Final Fantasy XIV's beta test, there was one negative thing I didn't say because it just wasn't fair: For all the improvements, the game didn't feel like home. For all the frustrations I've had with Final Fantasy XIV over the years, somehow, at the end of the day, stepping into Eorzea always felt familiar in a way that only Final Fantasy XI could match. But the first two beta phases felt, well, restricted. They were supposed to be like that, but I still found myself straining at the limits simply because there was some indefinable soul not yet in place. As it turns out, that soul was Thanalan. Phase 3 is importing old characters this weekend, and that will really solidify it, but testing the waters in the first weekend's test was what made me feel as if I could go home again after all.
WAKFU's Haven Worlds update postponed
WAKFU is pushing back its Haven Worlds update a week to June 25th as the team cites testing concerns. "Our forums and internal discussions, as well as the internal playtest, raised concerns on some of the main aspects of the Haven Worlds," Ankama posted. "Since our intention is to offer quality content that matches your expectations, we decided to take one more week to improve a few gameplay details." The team decided not to implement tollbooths in the patch but created a more "malleable" system to fill the role. Several other small changes, including those to taxes and GvG features, are detailed in the delay post. To fill the void between now and the 25th, Ankama has put up a new dev diary to show off Haven Worlds and all the goodness that is to come. Check it out after the break!
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV beta phase (E)3
The third phase of Final Fantasy XIV's beta is here, and with it, the NDA is summarily gone. Images from phase 3 can be posted; video and audio cannot. This is the fast track to finally being back in the game for real, to play your old characters once again, to enjoy the game again. Am I excited? Of course I am because I haven't been able to play yet. I'm writing this from the past, and by the time you read this, I will be awash in Eorzea. There was also a major industry event this week, one that's known officially as the Electronic Entertainment Expo and known more colloquially to everyone in the world as E3. Final Fantasy XIV was there making an impression, revealing jobs at long last, and generally carrying on as if it owned the place. So let's talk a little bit about what we saw from E3 if you can tear yourself away from the beta client for, like, five minutes.
