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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: Blindsided by FFXIV's patch 1.22
I had different plans for this week's column until I realized that Final Fantasy XIV's patch 1.22 had sneaked up on me like the monster in a slasher film, except instead of stabbing me and laughing, it just brought a bunch of new content, so the metaphor doesn't really work. I'm not sure exactly how I missed the patch's coming so quickly, but I'm happy to see it's finally on the live servers. Of course, in a lot of ways, this patch is smaller than its predecessors, though not in terms of content, obviously. No, it's a smaller patch by virtue of the fact that it's a pure content patch. New systems are in short supply, but new things to do are in abundance. It's a focus patch, in other words. Recent patches have vehemently focused on trimming up the mechanics and making sure that the game plays nicely with all sorts of content; this patch focuses instead on what you can do with all of your shiny abilities and classes and so forth. And aside from a couple of missed opportunities, it succeeds at that beautifully.
The Mog Log: Forward impressions of patch 1.20
As I write this, patch 1.20 is not actually live just yet. All I have to go on is a monster list of patch notes and the various previews we've been given thus far. Of course, by the time you're reading this, the patch will have released, and I have no doubt that some people will have played through everything it has to offer a couple of times over. So I'm working at a bit of a disadvantage. In some ways I'm actually not in that terrible a spot. The last two patches have done great things for Final Fantasy XIV, and the patch notes are long enough that I can at least make some reasonable guesses about how things will play out. So I'm going to do precisely that, with the obvious caveat that I might be punching at the wind. Long story short: I'm confident about this patch; only a few bits irritate me.
The Mog Log: Love potion number 1.19
I've had another week to digest the enormous patch that we got last week, and I have to say that... I'm still not done. Really. I'm no longer in the stage of absolute baffled disbelief, but I haven't yet gotten a firm grip on all the changes. Heck, I haven't had time to explore all of them to my satisfaction. I've been questing and riding a chocobo hither and yon and noticing how repairs now cost me essentially pocket change. But I promised more talk about the patch this time around, and I've got more. I just want to emphasize how enormous this patch really is, bigger than any of its predecessors -- and considering how big several of Final Fantasy XIV's previous updates were, I'd say that's saying something. So let's talk about experience chains and powerleveling, class balance, and of course materia just past the break. Or rather, I'll talk. You know what I mean.
The Mog Log: Patch 1.19
So there was a Final Fantasy XIV patch on Tuesday. Maybe you heard about it. It was only all over the parts of the internet that care about Final Fantasy XIV, and even some that don't. This was not a patch in the traditional sense; it was a huge reworking and revamping of several parts of the game. It's a big patch, that's what I'm getting at. And I've spent the past several days diving into it with all the time I've had because this is the sort of thing that really changes a lot of core assumptions about the game. So it's been a time of empirical testing, a time of leveling, a time of dropping a lot of gil on new pieces of equipment and getting ready to tell my readers whether this patch was everything promised or fell flat. And truth be told, there's too much to address even in one column. But I can at least get started.
Final Fantasy XIV prepares a new company page in anticipation of tomorrow's patch
Tomorrow will see the truly massive patch 1.19 go live for Final Fantasy XIV, bringing with it a plethora of updates and expansions to the game as well as a renewed focus on the Grand Companies of Eorzea. So it only makes sense that before the patch goes live, the official page for the companies has been updated in full. Rather than providing a single and somewhat disorganized list, the revamped page gives each of the companies a spot for in-universe updates and a new feature honoring the recent heroes of each company. Starting on October 6th, the page for each company will track the contributions of players on each server, displaying the names of those individuals showing exceptional dedication to the cause. Each page also features one of the national newspapers reporting on the activities of the company, promising more lore and connected updates for players to follow. It's not the patch itself, but the page should give Final Fantasy XIV players just one more thing to look forward to in the coming days.
Final Fantasy XIV releases notes for patch 1.19
It's going to take another few days before Final Fantasy XIV drops the enormous patch 1.19 onto the live servers, but the patch notes have already been released. And most players will likely agree upon glancing at the extensive list of updates that the patch is well worth the wait. Several portions of the update have already been previewed, ranging from the crafting changes to the battle mechanic updates, but there's also a long list of improvements, additions, and other elements to look forward to. More details are available regarding the many additions to the Grand Company system, including Company leves, new quests, and the details for obtaining a Company chocobo along with obtaining membership. There's also a listing of new items available, a rundown of the new materia system, and a variety of updates and improvements to stats, mechanics, and abilities. The patch is planned for release on Tuesday, October 4th, a date that the game's players will likely be awaiting with bated breath.
The Mog Log: Proof of concept
Final Fantasy XIV's last major patch was back in March, when 1.16 brought out the first iteration of the game's quests. Sure, we've had updates since then, but even 1.17 didn't really have the appeal and the energy that you'd expect from a major patch. And 1.16 was something of a disappointment at the time -- not bad, but not nearly what the game needed. There was an awful lot missing there, stuff that seemed basic. I wasn't happy, in other words. Well, here we are now, at 1.18. Any better? In a word, yes. A lot of the stuff that needed to be fixed has been, and a lot of the improvements the game has needed have come through. I've unfortunately only had a little time to play around with the update, but what I've played has been pretty uniformly positive. Positive except for the notable issues that the game was having with the login server right after the patch, but who actually expects patch day to go smoothly? (Other than me, I mean.)
Final Fantasy XIV launches patch 1.18
Final Fantasy XIV players have been waiting for patch 1.18 to drop for quite some time, but the wait is finally over. Players can finally access the variety of updates and improvements that the newest patch has promised, including a large overhaul to the combat system that ushers in auto-attack functionality and the addition of the new Grand Companies. While the former is just the first step toward making a more thorough overhaul of the game's combat engine, the latter will give players rank 22 and up new missions to participate in while attempting to safeguard Eorzea. Other improvements include a streamlining of the enmity system complete with in-game warnings, improvements to repair functionality, and a general streamlining and adjustment of the guildleve system. All told, it's quite a large change to the existing elements of the game, something that Final Fantasy XIV players will no doubt want to devote a fair chunk of time to exploring.
Final Fantasy XIV opening up the Grand Companies
They've been previewed on the main page, they've been hinted at in quest texts, but the Grand Companies of Final Fantasy XIV haven't been seen in the game -- at least, not until now. Along with all of the mechanical shifts, patch 1.18 is also bringing the long-awaited organizations into play, offering players new opportunities for adventure and advancement. A new official preview has placed the process for joining the Companies and adventuring with them in the spotlight, giving a clearer picture of what can be expected from the upcoming patch. As previously noted, there will be a company in each of the three city-states, but players are not required to join the company corresponding to their home state. Rather, characters past rank 22 will be presented with a mission, and success will give the opportunity to join the company. There will also be a new part of the UI added to track a character's standing with the Company of choice. The full preview should help get Final Fantasy XIV players excited for the patch, due to release late next week.
The Mog Log: Company car
The silence that had been hanging over Final Fantasy XIV since the end of the supremely creepy Hatching-tide event has finally been broken, with more Grand Company information as well as what appears to be the first dungeon preview. And yes, it's all pure lore rather than major mechanical updates, but there's still an abundance of interesting stuff to peer into within the update, especially when you take it in light of some previous statements made by the development team. Among the information shared, the note that membership in the Grand Companies doesn't have any ties to national allegiance is a good thing when we consider the different foci of the organizations, but it also makes me wonder about what we're going to see in terms of player rewards. It seems like this is one of the first steps toward making the game's content even more open than it's previously been, with plenty for players to do straight on down the line.
Final Fantasy XIV updates Grand Company page with more details, dungeon preview
The Grand Companies of Eorzea have been getting quite a bit of foreshadowing in Final Fantasy XIV, but they haven't yet made their full appearance. Patch 1.18 promises to change that, however, and in preparation for the game's next major patch, the official page on the Companies has been updated with information on the process of joining in the war effort. Each Company will have a distinct ethos and overall goal, and it will be up to each individual player to determine which of the organizations to work alongside. In addition, the page details the first of the promised dungeons, starting with the Gridanian prison of Toto-Rak. Originally meant to house truly vile criminals, the dungeon has become a recent hotbed of Garlean activity, and there are ominous hints that something even worse may be lurking in the depths. Final Fantasy XIV players can look forward to the update itself in June, but the promised content certainly looks ambitious thus far.
Final Fantasy XIV unveils the Grand Companies
The nations of Final Fantasy XIV are scattered, and odds are high that if the Garlean Empire invades once again there will be no chance of resistance. But large-scale threats are nothing new to Eorzea, and the tradition that has defended the continent before is being revived once more, in the form of the Grand Companies. Hinted at several times by producer Naoki Yoshida, today's patch is the start of the new content associated with these overarching gatherings, with the corresponding lore page explaining what these companies are and what threats they face both within and without. Each of the three companies -- the Order of the Twin Adder, the Maelstrom, and the Immortal Flames -- is detailed on the official page, with information about the past and present of each organization. They also lie at the heart of some of the new sidequests released with this update. Patch 1.17 also contains new notorious monsters, new equipment that requires rather than favors specific disciplines, and changes to party size and Behest. Final Fantasy XIV players are encouraged to read the full patch notes as well as the Grand Company page -- it looks as if the game's storyline content is starting to move forward after the past several system tweaks.
