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The Mog Log: Where in the world is Seekers of Adoulin?
Square-Enix has long had a very different approach to MMOs compared to the rest of the world. In some ways, this is understandable; I know that every company operates in its own way. But where American and European companies are playing the electric guitar and Korean companies are playing keytar/acoustic duets, Square seems to be bringing out the xylophone to do a heartfelt rendition of Long Distance Runaround. (For those of you not willing to click the link, that song is not normally played with a xylophone.) As a result, on one level I'm not surprised that we know virtually nothing about Final Fantasy XI's next expansion beyond the upcoming jobs and the fact that it's not going to be released for the PlayStation 2 here in America. I am also completely baffled that in the time since the expansion's announcement we have heard nothing about it. We first found out that the expansion existed in any form back in June, and we've learned pretty much nothing new since... and that's not a good sign.
The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information
Not so long ago I was getting upset at a lack of hard information on Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch. (All right, I was getting upset at a lack of hard information on stuff to make people currently long gone care about the game, but that was tied into a lack of hard information.) Over the last two weeks, we've received a lot of hard information on the relaunch. Well played, Naoki Yoshida. Well played. Metacommentary aside, we've actually gotten some useful bits, chiefly in the form of a fully translated Letter from the Producer LIVE and an update on what's happening with items and money when the relaunch happens. There's a lot of information to hit there, so I'm just going to take it piece by piece and cover what I see as the highlights. I wouldn't say that this information really fixes some of the communication concerns I've had, but it certainly mollifies me for the moment.
The Mog Log: Two years of spinning wheels in Final Fantasy XIV
Has it really been two years since Final Fantasy XIV launched? My collector's edition box was purchase two years ago, and I wrote my last anniversary column a year ago, so I guess it must have been. And yet I still don't feel as if it's actually happened yet. You'll note that last year's column was mostly about what happened as a result of the game's launch. That wasn't by accident. Launch led to a massive restructuring of the game's design team, and not too long after the one-year mark, the team announced that it was basically remaking the game from the ground up. That fact has dominated the past year, and it's impossible to overstate the importance that announcement has had for the Final Fantasy XIV community. Everything circles around the promise of 2.0 these days. What has that meant for the actual years of the game's operation? Sadly, nothing good. The game has made huge strides, but we as players have been stuck in a nasty little loop.
The Mog Log: Generating a wow factor in FFXIV
The more I see about Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch, the more anxious I get. If there's any doubt remaining in the minds of others, let me be entirely transparent: I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy XIV. Wonders never cease, I know. To say that I'm looking forward to the new version is pretty much irrelevant. Of course I'm going to play it when everything changes over; I'm playing it now and would continue to do so even without the promise of rebirthing realms. But while I was discussing the game over dinner with Ms. Lady a few nights ago, she said something that struck me as very relevant: "It's going to need to really be awesome to pull me back." And she has a point. I'm getting a bit anxious because the new version thus far seems to set the bar at a very respectable level that's still nowhere near as high as it needs to be, and I wonder whether it's even possible to hit the mark it needs.
The Mog Log: It's the countdown
On November 1st, it's the end of the world as we know it. I'll let you know then how I'm feeling. All right, the game will still be online for another week or so, but November 1st is the last day that any progress is getting saved. You can go ahead and ignore Final Fantasy XIV after that last server photograph, unless you had an urge to spend all of your gil on airship rides but couldn't bear the thought of being broke. Not that you'll even need to worry about that after September 29th if you're not currently subscribed, as that's the last chance for people to come back even if it's just for a short period of time. It's hard to avoid looking forward to the end of the game as it stands, and the fact that we have a precise timeframe only exacerbates the problem. We've got 45 days until the ending hits, and while I've already talked about what to do with the time you have left, there are questions that need to be asked as we look at the numbers.
The Mog Log: Getting up to speed on Final Fantasy XIV as it is
If you're just joining us after a rousing session of Final Fantasy XIV, this column may not exactly be for you because this week isn't about speculation; it's about discussing the many things that people don't like about Final Fantasy XIV which either no longer exist or are known to be removed in version 2.0. This might seem like it's kind of silly, but honestly, I think there's a lot of stuff that people not actively following FFXIV don't know about. The game's biggest burst of visibility happened when it launched, just like every other game in the history of anything ever. While the game isn't for everyone now any more than it was a year ago, the development staff has taken pains to address gaps in the structure and improve the play experience for everyone. So here's an article about just that. And while you might already know the content of the article, the next time you know someone worried about something in the game that's long since been excised, you can point him back here.
The Mog Log: Lessons from Guild Wars 2 for Final Fantasy XIV
If you read all of the columns I write in a given week, then I believe that you're a wholly fictional creature. But beyond that, you'll remember that my Wednesday column was all about the systems that City of Heroes could comfortably borrow from Guild Wars 2. You may also be expecting the same sort of column here. That is definitely not the case. For starters, neither Final Fantasy XI nor Final Fantasy XIV is in a state where it can borrow anything. The former is set in its ways, and the latter has a major update around the corner that makes suggestions about mechanics pretty suspect. Furthermore, neither game is really into the whole "borrowing" routine, preferring instead to reverse-engineer a concept into some bizarre reinvention of the wheel that makes both games at once wonderful and incomprehensible. No, today I'm looking not at mechanics but at lessons for Final Fantasy XIV. The game is going to be relaunching soon, and that's when Naoki Yoshida's core principles will really be put to the test. And as the development team puts the final touches on the game, I think there are a few things to be garnered from the design of Guild Wars 2 that might nudge development around a touch.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy and free-to-play
Subscriptions are dying. There's no two ways about it. Star Wars: The Old Republic is switching over, and whether or not they liked the game, fans of Final Fantasy XIV have no room to throw stones about the game's success. That leaves a handful of holdouts in the normal subscription space, and that doesn't include the next major release on the horizon, as Guild Wars 2 is under the same buy-to-play model as its predecessor. Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI are two of the holdouts. And in a world increasingly dominated by games without subscription fees, that's pretty significant. So the question becomes whether or not the games will embrace the free-to-play option, whether or not they should, and how this sort of option could work in the game's favor rather than against it. After all, there are some roadblocks to making the system work quite right, but there's a lot of pressure on the market for a change.
The Mog Log: I won't miss you when you're gone
If you needed any more reminders that the end is coming to this version of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida kindly provided several during his time at Gamescom 2012 this week, and they weren't subtle ones, either. He didn't come out and say, "Enjoy the game now because it might not be here next month," but there were definitely some implications. The shutdown before the resurrection is coming soon. There's some worry inherent in that change. I've talked about that before. But there are also a lot of parts of the game that I am not going to miss in the slightest. There are changes coming that I welcome with open arms, elements of the game that will be gutted and removed that I will bid farewell without regret. Some of these elements are things I've never liked. Some of them are actually systems I've been fond of in the past but I won't miss once they're gone. But all of them appear to be going the way of the dodo -- or at least they should -- and I'm not going to weep any tears when they shuffle off.
The Mog Log: A bucket list before 2.0
Doom approaches Eorzea. It's nice to think that we as players won a temporary victory and a brief respite from that oncoming destruction, but let's face it: We all know from trailers and outside sources that it's just a momentary win. Cities will burn, lands will be razed, and the best we can hope for is that when we emerge once more, the world is a better place. Final Fantasy XIV is getting a lot of upgrades in version 2.0, but a whole lot of the game is going to be flushed away first. How long do we have? The rest of the month, certainly. Most of September, probably. More than that? Dubious. So it's time to start making a bucket list for Eorzea-that-is before it becomes Eorzea-that-was, since we all know that a lot of things are changing by then. I'm not talking about finishing out the storyline missions; if you haven't already done that, then odds are you're not too concerned about doing so. I'm talking about the things you need to do in order to prepare for the end, stuff that you should start knuckling down and doing. Maybe some of it won't be necessary after all, but it's better to assume that the clock is running for you to take a last look.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy's bargain bin villains
The Final Fantasy series has always had some spectacularly memorable villains. Sometimes that's been a challenge; this is a series in which your main antagonists have included an evil tree, a general who dresses up like a clown, and an adult version of the creepy kid from grade school who can't breathe very well. But for some reason, this has never carried over into the online installments. And with Final Fantasy XIV's first major villain debuting in the current patch, it's worth talking about. I don't mean to say that Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV haven't had antagonists or anyone to step into the role of "villain." They certainly have. Final Fantasy XI has an entire rogue's gallery with Eald'narche, Promathia, the Shadow Lord, and whatever we were fighting in Abyssea. (I think it was the dread monster Apathy, but I sort of clocked out for a while there.) But compare it to the villains of Star Wars: The Old Republic or the single-player installments of the franchise. Heck, compare them to the villains of World of Warcraft. The villains here just don't quite get to a memorable level, and I think there are a few good reasons.
The Mog Log: The zone design of Final Fantasy XIV
I love Final Fantasy XIV, something that comes as no surprise to regular readers of this column. But the game's zone design is not its highlight. This is one of those design aspects that really bothered everyone in the world when the game launched, and it was for good cause, but I think there's more to it than simply condemning the whole thing out of hand. There are several places where the zone design isn't actually bad and in fact is downright brilliant. You could say that it's a variation on Final Fantasy XIV's theme right there: brilliance mixed in with average and awfulness. Obviously, zone design will be changing in a big way when version 2.0 launches, something that gets closer with each passing day. Still, it's worth examining where we are now if for no other reason than to hopefully identify what a good revision would look like. This is not a horrible mess; this is a few great elements mixed in with several elements that just aren't well thought out.
The Mog Log: The zone design of Final Fantasy XI
Gustaberg is one of the ugliest zones in Final Fantasy XI. For better or worse, it's a bunch of bland plateaus swarming with vultures, worms, and bees. It wasn't a visual treat when I first saw it, and the years have certainly not been kind. But the fact of the matter is that even after several years, I still get a little smile on my lips when I walk into that dessicated husk of a land. From the waterfall near the Wadi to the narrow pass to the Highlands, Gustaberg is painfully nostalgic. Final Fantasy XI created a lot of magnificent regions for players to explore right from the moment it launched, and every subsequent expansion has added new areas without making them feel redundant. Considering that the game's next expansion is on the way, I thought it was apropos to look at what makes the zones so wonderful as well as what mistakes the designers might try to avoid when making the new areas in the west.
The Mog Log: Distinct linked games
By early next year, the environment will be an interesting one for both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV. Both games will have a major update out, whether that update is a large-scale revamp or a trim new expansion. (Speculation on that last one, yes; munch on a grain of salt as we proceed.) They'll both be poised for players to enjoy, each with its own distinct flavor... possibly. See, there's a definite problem with all of the coming updates in the online Final Fantasy space. Both games need a distinct identity, and yet they're also both overlapping in several core areas. Square-Enix clearly wants players to be able to enjoy Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV as two different experiences, but is that really possible? I'd like to think it is. I think that both games can deliver a rich experience for players of all stripes without becoming mirrors of one another, even disregarding superficial elements like jumping. I think both games also need to come together on certain points of common ground, so players of either can enjoy certain shared features that would otherwise be taken for granted.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's baroque crafting
If you liked absolutely nothing else about the launch of Final Fantasy XIV, you have to admit that the development team really went the distance to try and make crafting relevant and unique. Even though a lot of games add some depth to crafting beyond waiting for a bar to fill, most of those games make the actual craft process start and stop with a click. Not so in the advanced and in-depth synthesis that the game has always sported, from the needlessly ornate original version to the more streamlined system the game now features. A claim that Final Fantasy XIV's crafting is one of its biggest draws is just a statement of fact. But the crafting system isn't flawless, and since we know it's due for more revision with version 2.0, now's a fine time to look at what about it is so spectacular and what could use some serious revisions, especially after I've spent most of my time in-game over the past week hammering, burning, and grinding may way to the higher levels of a craft.
The Mog Log: Unabashedly squealing about Seekers of Adoulin
It seems almost unbelievable, but it's here. It's coming. Seekers of Adoulin is the fifth expansion for Final Fantasy XI, the first one in what seems like an eternity, a genuinely new experience for players above and beyond the many recycled bits that have dominated the game for years now. It's a new region, a new set of challenges, all sorts of new. It's what players have been asking for for years on end, and as surreal as it seems, this is a reality. That it's not coming until next year almost seems like a footnote. Needless to say, I'm excited. I think that if handled correctly, this is a great opportunity for Square-Enix to revitalize Final Fantasy XI in the wake of Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch later this year. It's a chance to give the game a new audience and let players come back to enjoy it on their own terms. Most of all, it's a chance to show how much life the older game really has, possibly to players who would never have seen it otherwise.
The Mog Log: Starting fresh in Final Fantasy XIV, pre-2.0
So you're interested in Final Fantasy XIV version 2.0. You're not alone; really, a lot of people are. But you don't want to be the guy struggling to catch up when the change happens. No, you're buying your copy now and heading into the game, figuring that anything good you accomplish now will be well worth the effort after the end of the world. And truth be told, you're probably right, since you'll be free to bask in all of the newfound glory of the updated game with plenty of money and resources to start. Of course, none of that helps with the fact that you're jumping in to a game that doesn't make the road easy for a new player. It's not like other MMOs. It's a game that seems to have followed a wholly divergent evolutionary path, one that I've previously compared to a species of carnivorous dinosaur lumbering alongside modern tigers. So what would I suggest to someone starting Final Fantasy XIV right now? A lot of things. Let's cover some basic advice for new players who'd like to see the game as it is while they wait for the game that it will be.
The Mog Log: Worthwhile cross-class skills in FFXIV
One of the downsides to writing about a game as in-flux as Final Fantasy XIV is that something that's true today may be false tomorrow. Case in point: Several articles that I did a year or so ago about character building and picking out abilities are now entirely irrelevant because the systems for both have changed immensely. So it's high time to start revisiting these topics, and the best way to start doing that is by examining the abilities that are worth leveling for. (Especially since the excellent Mr. Matt Daniel is playing the game again and could use a bit of a guide.) Fortunately, leveling another class for abilities is easier now than it used to be. Most abilities past the early 20s can't be equipped on other classes in the first place, and the very heavy utility skills are generally grouped early. Depending on your playstyle, you may actually find yourself struggling to come up with all of the cross abilities that you can equip, since your core class will generally have a large enough array of utility. But let's look at what abilities are generally useful for almost every class -- or at least useful to consider.
The Mog Log: What we saw of FFXIV at E3
When it became clear that we weren't getting our 2.0 trailer at this year's E3, I sort of assumed that Final Fantasy XIV fans would have to be content without much new information. As usual, Naoki Yoshida proved me wrong in the most excellent way possible. So while we've only seen the tip of the iceberg about what's coming into the game, that tip is providing quite a bit of fascinating information all on its own. My first thoughts on seeing the screenshots for the second version was that it might as well be an entirely different game. It's familiar elements ported into an altogether unfamiliar setting. I've been looking forward to it before, but I think this was the first time that I truly believed that this was going to happen and that it would be awesome. So if you've been following along with the game's E3 coverage across the web -- and I know you have -- let's just dive into reaction.
The Mog Log: What crafters can do in Final Fantasy XIV
A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with one of our fellow writers about MMO design. This, as you might imagine, is actually a fairly common topic of discussion amongst Massively staff members. (It's beaten out slightly by talk of cats and horrible puns, but still.) Said writer was lamenting the fact that we haven't seen a game in years that allows players to really focus on a non-combat role and level up without having to march out and kill things. "Yes, we have," I countered. "Final Fantasy XIV lets you do that." "Well, yeah, but you have to kill stuff to get materials and get money to start with, right?" "No, you can just craft the whole way through." And as I said it, I realized that one of the real shames of the game's launch was that everything the crafting and gathering systems do correctly wound up being overshadowed by other issues. There's a reason I started calling the game a sandpark when I was writing my first impressions, because the devotion to non-combat gameplay options is almost peerless among more modern games. And it's worth some tribute.
