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The Mog Log: Living large in Limsa Lominsa
Limsa Lominsa isn't like the other cities in Final Fantasy XIV chiefly because it's not a city. You can argue the definition, but cities are generally places where a group of people decided to settle down and stay for an extended period of time. Limsa Lominsa is more like what would happen if everyone went for a hike, a lot of people wound up double-parked, and then in the aftermath, all of the hikers just threw up their hands and decided to stay where they were instead of going home. Even if you ignore the city's ridiculous origin, however, you're stuck with a city that's still ridiculous in its own way. The city's government is determined by boat races, the local pirates come standard so long as they adhere to a few fairly simple rules, and pretty much everyone has an eye toward becoming the top dog. The result is a place that's refreshingly open about all of its dangers, but despite that, it's no less threatening. You'll be threatened by brute force rather than subterfuge, but you're still facing down the wrong end of a weapon.
The cities and world of Final Fantasy XIV
If you're all about living the life of a pirate, then odds are good you don't mind being restricted to Limsa Lominsa in the Final Fantasy XIV beta. But if you've done the sea serpent tango more than once, Ul'dah and Gridania are no doubt sounding pretty good. So it's a good thing that MMOSite is reporting that the next phase of beta will start in September and will include the two heretofore unseen cities as playable areas. Considering the recent hands-on experience with the starter cities, we think it's well within the realm of possibility. Of course, one of the major components to making each of the starting cities and subsequent areas stand out is the worldbuilding efforts of the development team. The most recent Making of Eorzea documentary covers precisely this, and not coincidentally, it can be viewed past the cut. With a discussion of the scenery and the visual culture of the game's landscape, the video is something every Final Fantasy XIV player can enjoy, and it shows that the vibrancy of the world has been a big priority during development.
A peek at Gridania and Ul'dah in Final Fantasy XIV
Square-Enix has been as good as their word when it comes to obfuscating the details of Final Fantasy XIV, even through testing. Testers have been confined to the port city of Limsa Lominsa all through the beta phases, but last week Square gave a small hands-on to a handful of sites showing off the other two cities. FFXIVCore happened to be among them, and offers an extensive rundown of the experience in both Ul'dah and Gridania -- both of which are very different from the thoroughly-tested pirate-themed opening. Gridania's opening takes place within the dense forests surrounding the city, with a crashed airship and a rather unexpected encounter with wolves. Ul'dah, on the other hand, features a great deal of pageantry being disrupted by the untimely freedom of a goobue. Both include certain common elements from the Limsa Lominsa opening, most notably the meteor shower and the disembodied voice, but the rundown indicates that players starting in different settings will have a memorable start to their adventures as well. That's good news for Final Fantasy XIV's future players, although perhaps a bitter pill for the testers not yet able to play these cities.
World map and points of interest in latest Final Fantasy XIV update
When news starts coming from Famitsu regarding Final Fantasy XIV, it usually heralds information coming direct from Square-Enix shortly thereafter. Only a short time after the leak that gave us a look at the world map and some of the points of interest, the official site updated with more information on the world. While there was some information accessible from the prior scans, the new section on Limsa Lominsa details the city extensively, as well as adding sections for the two other city states, Ul'dah and Gridania. Although the three states each bear some similarities to Final Fantasy XI's great nations, they're quite different in feel and in scope. The biggest similarity seems to be that much like the previous game, they're filled with distinct personalities and locations. Limsa Lominsa is the only city to get full detailing on its landmarks, but those range from the former pirate dive that's been turned into the adventurer's guild (The Drowning Wench) to the city's center at an ancient swamped battleship (The Mizzenmast). Final Fantasy XIV fans are encouraged to take a look at the official site for its updates, which continue to paint the world of Eorzea in broad strokes.
New Final Fantasy XIV screens explore Eorzea's metropolitan side
Click to metro-size The latest batch of screenshots for Square Enix's second stab at MMO-ifying its flagship brand, Final Fantasy XIV, doesn't really focus on the diverse ecology of the world of Eorzea. Rather, it shows off a few of the noteworthy locales in the whimsically named City-State of Limsa Lominsa, one of the three main territories players will take residence in. If you're one of those MMO players who likes to stick to the safety of trading and crafting within a massive metropolitan stronghold, you can get an early glimpse at some of your future surroundings in the gallery below. For even more details about the alliterative municipality, check out the game's official site. %Gallery-93383%
Final Fantasy XIV site updated with new story and game information
We're very happy with all this Final Fantasy XIV news lately, and at the same time are fairly amazed it keeps coming so rapidly. First it was the removal of levels and experience, then info on the new race names and jobs. Now, Square Enix has updated the official website with new information on the Eorzea and its races' history as well as the job system. Plus, there's tons of new screenshots, so let's dig in!For instance, we now know that players may specialize into four differing job branches however they see fit, also known as forging a Discipline. The four are: Disciple of War, Disciple of Magic, Disciple of Land and Disciple of Hand, which correlate to melee combat, magic combat, gathering crafting materials and crafting, respectively.Then there's Guildleves, which is a way for players to tailor a quest to their party makeup, whether that be themselves or a larger group of differing job types. If players attempt a riskier Guildleves, the reward is also improved as well. So it would seem that, interestingly enough, Final Fantasy XIV may be looking to attract people looking for all sorts of difficulty in their MMO.%Gallery-69600%
