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The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's big fanfest reveals
Christmas came early for the forward-looking Final Fantasy XIV player this year. I know some people are upset at the fact that there were more revelations in the Japanese fan festival than in the ones in Vegas or London, but the timing is different. (I'd also point out that the expansion was announced in Las Vegas.) We've gone from having only a dim view of what's coming to having a pretty clear picture of what awaits through the next few month. One of the things that awaits is, of course, endless yelling about Machinist. Because boy. So let's start unpacking the stuff we learned from Tokyo. I say "start" because there is no way to get everything in one column, certainly not with deadlines and other considerations to take center stage. It's going to be a few months, but there's a lot to chew on just about 2.5, even if we ignore all of the expansion stuff, which I have no intention of doing.
Final Fantasy XIV introduces two new jobs and new races for Heavensward
The last Final Fantasy XIV fan festival of the year is going on now in Japan, and the event's keynote speech has already contained big revelations for the game's first expansion, Heavensward. Players can look forward to the first new race for the game, the Au Ra, a race of dragon-esque people from Othard. It's been established that heretofore masked NPC Yugiri belongs to this race, and she will be revealing her face in patch 2.5. Fans were also treated to preview footage of the Dark Knight in-game as well as two new jobs, the Machinist and the Astrologian. Astrologians are a new style of healer, drawing cards from decks to aid party members while debilitating enemies. Machinists are ranged DPS with a single large handgun and a style of play based on laying down turrets and paying attention to positioning. The keynote also contained information on the next multi-part raid and the Collector's Edition for the game, currently scheduled for release in spring of 2015.
Final Fantasy XIV is now offering a PlayStation 4 two-week free trial
Final Fantasy XIV may be intriguing you ever since it won of our Most Improved MMO of 2014 this past week. If you haven't bought into it yet and have a PlayStation 4, then you now have a free option to sample this acclaimed title. Square-Enix announced today that it has begun to offer a 14-day free trial on the PlayStation 4 before requiring a subscription. There are a couple of caveats for these trial accounts, however; players can level only to 20 and have a few in-game activites restricted for the duration of the two-week trial. [Source: Square-Enix Press release]
WoW and FFXIV see boosted playtime on Raptr; ArcheAge playtime 'cratered'
Another month, another Raptr report. Yesterday Raptr.com posted its most played PC games list for November, and MMOs did rather well. Unsurprisingly, World of Warcraft surged up the list to #2 thanks to the Warlords of Draenor expansion. "The MMO's monthly play time was up 71.3% versus October," Raptr's press release says. And though WoW "likely" drew from League of Legends' numbers, it couldn't quite usurp the MOBA's #1 seat. Among other MMOs, ArcheAge playtime "cratered by 39.97%," but World of Tanks and Final Fantasy XIV both saw rises in theirs. Guild Wars 2 rose in rank, Raptr says, but lost playtime in November vs. October. SWTOR fell two places since October. As always, Raptr roundups come with the caveat that they represent Raptr users on PC, not all gamers; some MMO studios are also known to boost their Raptr numbers with in-game incentives. But since some of these games refuse to release population data, you might call this the next best snapshot of popularity outside of touring the servers yourself.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's Eternal Bond
Weddings in MMOs always feel like content aimed directly at me. However many side benefits might exist, weddings are fundamentally roleplaying tools, ways for people to mark themselves as bound together in a virtual space that serves no purpose beyond character establishment. So even if I weren't planning on taking part in the marriage ceremony in Final Fantasy XIV, I'd be happy it existed for that reason alone. Of course, since my actual real-life wedding was objectively the best day of my life and the best possible wedding, there's no way that the Eternal Bond setup could quite match that. But for roleplaying purposes, my character was engaged, so I was still looking forward to it. All that's left is to take part in the actual ceremony, but there's a lot of stuff to be looked at about how it's handled thus far and what's praiseworthy or just plain baffling in the setup stages.
Final Fantasy XIV rolls out the Starlight Celebration
You could be forgiven for not remembering the imminent Starlight Celebration in Final Fantasy XIV. After all, there are weddings to worry about now. But it's back again, and like most holidays in the game, it brings with it a new outfit and a new minion for players to procure. Even better, it also brings a variety of housing decorations to help turn your room, house, or guild hall into a festive wonderland. A stuffed qiqirn is appropriate for any house all year round, after all. The celebration starts on December 18th and runs until December 31st, with a main questline as well as daily quests for event rewards. Another batch of goods will also be made available to players starting on December 24th, so you'll want to be ready for more as the event rolls on. So take a little time away from wedding planning and relic weapon upgrades to celebrate the reason for the season. Also to unlock fake moustaches; that's pretty great.
Final Fantasy XIV has 2.5 million registered accounts
At the very end of Final Fantasy XIV's Eternal Bond trailer on Tuesday, there's a small line imploring watchers to join 2.5 million adventurers worldwide. The last official word from the game on numbers was two million registrations back in April. It was easy to miss that line at the end, but it was caught by blogger Syncaine, and we reached out to Square-Enix to confirm that the game has indeed passed the 2.5 million mark in registrations. Registered accounts is obviously not the same thing as active subscriptions, but it's still a milestone for the game, especially with an expansion on the way in spring of next year. That's good news for both the Final Fantasy XIV team and the players who will have plenty of other people to adventure with.
Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Improved MMO
Massively's end-of-the-year awards continue today with our award for the Most Improved MMO of the year. Pretty much all MMOs were eligible for this particular award, even if they didn't launch in 2014, as long as they improved significantly in 2014. All of our writers were invited to cast a vote, but not all of them chose to do so for this category. Don't forget to cast your own vote in the reader poll at the very end. The Massively staff pick for Most Improved MMO of 2014 is...
Final Fantasy XIV adds weddings with Patch 2.45
Whether you're a roleplayer or just someone who likes planning weddings, you'll be happy to know that Final Fantasy XIV's patch 2.45 has added the option for everyone to get married to a partner of his or her choosing. The Ceremony of Eternal Bond is now available in the game, complete with special outfits, rings, and premium options for those who want a bit more spice to their ceremonies. Because who wouldn't want a moogle officiating the ceremony? Patch 2.45 also includes further developments in the Zoidac Weapon quest chain and a new set of postmoogle quests. Dragoons have also been buffed with the removal of most positional requirements and several shorter recast timers, while Ninjas have slightly increased TP costs and a reduction to damage buffs from poisons. The patch is available now, but for those of you who can't download and start playing right this moment, we've included the Eternal Bond trailer just after the break.
The Daily Grind: What's the worst character name you've ever seen in an MMO?
In writing his article about Final Fantasy XIV's character rename service, Massively's Eliot rattled off a few silly names he's seen in-game that could really use a rename token. What you didn't see was the list of awful names he passed along to the writers behind the scenes: Combyo Beard, Carfullof Whiteboys, Sharing Needles, Stupid Name, Popular Character, Avengers Assemble. And here I was thinking Ffxiv Blows and Mycat Isanimro were pretty wretched, but I should have known better. There's always something more wretched to reset the wretchedness scale. How about you, Massively peeps? What's the worst character name you've ever seen in an MMO? Bonus points if it makes me laugh. Bonus-bonus points to the first person to call me out for the joke name I used for my Second Wind Torchlight II character. Names are serious business. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Mog Log: The two-way community street in Final Fantasy XIV
If there's one thing that hit me after the live letter this weekend, it's that the Final Fantasy XIV community is kind of a mess. I've been working around this game since before it launched, and there have always been weird issues going on with the way the community has worked. Part of this is because the game's community has a weird sort of isolationist streak, as if the online installments of this particular series are the only online games in existence, but part of this is also a matter of dealing with a community team that reports to bosses who aren't speaking the same language as the US playerbase. Community management is a two-way street, and this weekend's antics served to remind me of how many elements of this really need to be addressed. So let's talk about how both the players and the community team can improve our overall culture from both sides.
Perfect Ten: Mobile apps to enhance your MMO lifestyle
We're living in the age of smart phones, when there are more cell phones than there are people on this planet. I can't go anywhere without seeing people constantly whipping out their little rectangular companions for the constant stream of information, social connection, and Candy Crush interludes. While MMOs aren't making great headway on these devices, in part due to the limited input scheme, several wise studios have made good use of the mobile market to give players a way to keep in touch with their games even while AFK. Today we're going to count down, count up, and count sideways 10 official mobile apps that will enhance your MMO lifestyle.
Choose My Adventure: The final Final Fantasy
It's amazing how time flies when you're punching things. Just a few weeks ago our Choose My Adventure-forged Final Fantasy XIV pugilist was an aspiring adventurer with no pants; today, she's a certified hero (still with no pants). It's been an impressive ride to say the least. Square Enix has done some things so phenomenally right it's hard to believe the studio botched the game so badly the first time around. Final Fantasy XIV is definitely a traditional fantasy MMO. But it makes enough changes and innovates in enough places to make itself feel unique and compelling. If I had to pay a subscription for a game (which I hate doing), FFXIV would be the one to get my credit card number.
The Soapbox: Six reasons MMOs should abandon raiding, part 2
In yesterday's Soapbox, I had some things to say about why it's time to dump raiding. I'm writing this before I've seen the comment responses, but I'm willing to bet that a fair amount of angry shouting was involved in the comments because that's what I usually expect. But I wasn't done, as suggested by the whole "part 1" thing in the title header. For those don't feel like reading the whole thing, the short version is that raiding is too expensive to develop for too small a portion of the players. This is a solid argument, but it's standard: You hear it every time this debate comes up. In some ways, it's the foundation of the argument against raiding beyond the reality that most people say they just don't like raiding. There's more to be said, though, and there are more serious issues up for discussion. Raiding isn't just expensive in terms of development. It's expensive in lots of ways.
The Mog Log: The end of Final Fantasy XIV's 2.0 cycle
It's going to be a little while until we see the next major patch for Final Fantasy XIV. I'm not expecting to see patch 2.5 in the wild until February, to be honest. That's a little longer than the standard three months, but we've also got a holiday season through there and a not exactly clockwork schedule to begin with. It's enough time to get plenty of Poetics kit, make headway into Second Coil, and get thoroughly sick of the expert roulette dungeons. Perhaps the game shouldn't always just keep the three most recent dungeons on there... But we still have interquel patches to consider, starting with the promised inclusion of Eternal Bonds in 2.45. While we've still got a little bit of time until the next Live Letter (which will no doubt reveal more about what's coming for the next few months), we've got enough information to speculate, prognosticate, and forecast, which is exactly what I want to do for this week. It's a thing I do.
One Shots: Nowhere to hide
Generally, I don't like to be pessimistic, but I have to say that things don't look good for reader Brad here. Sooner or later his childish game will fall apart, and when that happens, it will be all teeth and claws and slavering fangs. But at least it's for a good cause, right Brad? Oh, it's just to level up his skills. "To get your skills up in Ultima Online, you had to use them over and over," Brad explains. "As they got higher, you had to do more difficult things with some skills. This was me trying to up my hiding skill. Lets just say, trying to hide in front of this many Ophidians, was not easy... but I was gaining skill! They could not get to me up here." Who here feels bad for the Ophidians? Raise your hands please. I thought as much.
Choose My Adventure: Final Fantasy XIV's thaumaturgery
One of the more frustrating elements of helming Choose My Adventure is that I start every game with hopeless incompetence and spend four weeks trying desperately to reach some level of understanding with that game's core mechanics. MMO players take for granted the basic masteries they have over the systems they command and forget that the first 20 or so levels of any new game are usually spent in a fog of half-understandings and misconceptions. Because it's so difficult to continually learn a game's idiosyncrasies, I was a bit wary of last week's Choose My Adventure polls. Having just grown comfortable with our Miqo'te Pugilist and the basic rotations that power her damage, I found the thought of taking on an entirely new class fairly intimidating. Aren't Thaumaturges hard to play? Don't they have confusing ability combos and weird buffs? Luckily, Final Fantasy XIV understands the challenge in switching classes and isn't afraid to babysit you while you re-learn the ropes.
Final Fantasy XIV has been besieged by DDoS attacks
If you've been playing Final Fantasy XIV over the past few evenings, you've probably noticed some issues: odd disconnections, login difficulties, things like that. Turns out it wasn't just some general server weirdness; apparently the game is being hit by DDoS attacks that are leading to heavy server load and all of the fun that comes along with it. The official post states that the attacks are being carried out by a currently unknown third party, with Square-Enix working to try to stop the attacks from all possible angles. It also apologizes for the issues that players are having. So the good news is that it's not just your connection, and the bad news is that someone decided that it's fun to be a jerk. Again.
One Shots: Mutant masochists
One of the quickest ways to my heart -- and to the top of a weekly One Shots column -- is to send me in something that I haven't seen before or an MMO that hardly ever makes it to my inbox. That's why I'm kicking off with this submission from Zulika featuring Auto Assault, the post-apocalyptic vehicle game that lived but for a brief time. "Notice the faint quest marker above the head of the lady suspended by chains and hooks. If I remember correctly, this was taken in some quest hub full of mutant masochists. Even though it was just in a game, it still felt odd," wrote Zulika. Odd in most situations, true, but for MMO players it's just the latest in a long calvacade of weirdness that we witness every day. Let's get this parade going!
Choose My Adventure: So much punching in Final Fantasy XIV
Last week's Choose My Adventure polls on Final Fantasy XIV were very close. With a few more votes in one direction instead of another, we'd be playing a Roegadyn arcanist or a Lalafell thaumaturge. Unfortunately for people who hate human-animal hybrids, voters selected a Miqo'te pugilist by the hair on a cat's tail (Is this a saying? It should be a saying). Consider our character's cat ears the Massively version of growing a Movember moustache. With our hero forged and her job chosen, it's time to start adventuring.
