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Why I Play: Final Fantasy XIV
I hate two kinds of MMO: themeparks and sandboxes. Much like "nerf," these are two terms that have been beaten into the ground until they no longer have any intrinsic meaning. The original "themepark" game was freaking EverQuest, which is not what anyone thinks of when he uses the term in a more modern sense. There's more concern given to whether or not a game fits into a given category than whether or not it's actually fun to play. And that is a bad thing. Sure, your sandbox features a great housing system, but so does The Sims 3, and the latter doesn't abandon me in a featureless wasteland that eschews actual content in favor of letting me choose my final destination (here's a hint: All those destinations are grinding). Yes, Mr. Themepark, I see you chuckling in the background, but your single leveling path followed by the exact same huge-group gear-grabbing jamboree is not better, just annoying in a different way. That's why I play Final Fantasy XIV. But I should probably elaborate a bit on that.
Massively's Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launch impressions
I failed to save Final Fantasy XIV. Back in November, the launch version of the game had its final event. I was there, fighting against the forces that would ultimately bring Dalamud crashing down upon Eorzea, but all those efforts were for nothing. And I knew it. All veteran players knew that this was a losing fight, that Eorzea could not be saved. The moon fell, destruction rained down upon the land... and the launch version of the game was no more. Now, nine months later, the MMO is relaunching to an unenviable task. Final Fantasy XIV doesn't just have to be a good game; it has be such a good game that its original launch is no longer under discussion. It has to turn itself from a punchline into a praiseworthy title. The end result, much like the launch version, is a game that's not going to be for everyone, but it's going to be just right for a lot of people who might never have expected it.
E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV's A Realm Reborn returns the game to its roots
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn stays true to its name and its lineage: What was originally a failed title, at least according to some players, will soon be revamped into an MMO that harkens back to its hardcore Final Fantasy roots. At this year's E3, Massively nabbed a hands-on experience of the game's reboot in the Square-Enix booth, and as the owner of those very hands, I can say it was a thrilling experience. My demo allowed me to choose between DPS, tank, and healer units. I myself am a lumbering tank in real life, so it felt natural to refill my virtual shoes in an epic battle against Ifrit. Action was quick, incredibly responsive, and a treat. Unfortunately, Ifrit rose into the sky and torched us all, but that's not the end of the story.
Final Fantasy XIV developer blog reveals chocobo-barding-in-progress
Today's Final Fantasy XIV developer blog is a bit on the light side, but it does provide us with a sneak-peek at the in-game model for some chocobo barding that producer Naoki Yoshida had teased in a previous Producer's Letter Live. The concept art was revealed in a batch of screenshots and artwork back in October, but now, thanks to the wily Fernehalwes, we have a shot of the barding model in progress (see above). Fernehalwes notes that the armor "appears to be lacking textures" while pointing out that "those horns have an uncanny resemblance to the ones found on a certain legendary beast... in a recent Final Fantasy XIV trailer." Gee, whom could he possibly be talking about?
Get a sneak peek at FFXIV's crafting
There's a lot to look forward to in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and now you can decide whether you're adding gathering and crafting to that list! You'll begin, as most crafters do, by gathering materials. As you run through the world, you'll have skills to triangulate gathering nodes. Upon approaching a node, you'll get to choose from a list of things you can try to gather from it -- a tree, for example, might be a place where you could find a log, or a feather, or maybe some sap. Once you've got materials, it's time to head to your crafting bench, pick a recipe, and start working. You'll have construction skills that focus on the quality and progress of your crafting. Skip below the cut to see all the fast-paced, high-octane gathering and crafting action.
The Mog Log: When the lights go off in Eorzea
The current version of Final Fantasy XIV is redefining the term "lame duck." This is a duck that is so lame it can no longer move under its own power, relying instead on a specially trained squad of ducklings to occasionally move its head toward food. How it trained the ducklings, I don't know; that's not really the point. It's not a perfect analogy. We're very close to a final character copy and a server shutdown, at which point... the servers get turned back on again, I guess. Naoki Yoshida quite openly stated that if there is a large enough chunk of players who wanted the servers back on, he will make that happen, even though nothing more would get saved. This raises a variety of questions -- chiefly, why anyone would want to keep playing the game with the explicit understanding that the whole game is getting rolled back before too much longer, but I'm not one of the ones who voted for the reactivation. But as we enter the final phase -- which is basically just through early next week, if you're not keeping track -- it seems as if it's worth discussing the servers going down and then coming back on. Really, what else do we have to occupy our minds regarding Final Fantasy XIV right now?
Forum Post of the Day: What did the pirate spec his mage?
Well, I think this collection of jokes on the official forums is absolutely hilarious -- combining my interests in both World of Warcraft and pirates -- but quite a few posters seem to feel the thread I'm about to point you to is quite groan-worthy. So if you don't feel like you can take yet another pirate pun, you may want to stop reading now. But for those of you who enjoy this sort of pure goofiness, have I got the forum thread for you. Poster Grinbomb gets us started with this joke:Q: What did the pirate spec his mage?A: Arrrrcane.And the madness continues from there:Q: What's a pirate's favorite lore character?A: Arrrrthas.True Bloodsail Buccaneers will be amused. The rest of you should go on with your lives elsewhere. (And for those of you wanting to show your allegiances, there's always this fine shirt from J!NX.)
