FFXIV: A Realm Reborn - Quests And Combat (Alpha)

... I hope leveling isn't completely quest-based like WoW.

I actually enjoyed xp parties in 11. Only complaint was the fact that you had such a limited number of tanks/healers available.

And, it looks like theres no auto-attack at all? Everything is player initiated abilities?

No, there is auto attack. Just read the log and you will see it says he hits the enemy. which is auto-attack

Ah, theres just so much skill spam I couldn't see the auto-attacks in the animations (and wasn't full screen so couldnt see the log well).

Ya, seems like the skills are going to be the primary dmg. Which I like, because if you do them right then there won't really be any "Cookie-cutter" jobs. Since it will be more skill based on what skills you use/combos... Or maybe it will be the same of "Spam these three abilities on this guys, and these on this guy etc." But still looks engaging... Like ffxiii

Really loving how this game is turning out. I really hope they can bring the same amount of people in they did when it was first released.

It's definitely not skill based (or so I've heard *wink*)

With the 3 second global cooldown and no individual cooldowns on skills (damaging/healing ones atleast) it basically makes everything except for your highest damage skill/combo useless.

You're basically "stuck" spamming 12121212 the whole battle... which isn't very long because everything with the exception of bosses die in less that 10 seconds (sometimes even enemies 3 or 4 levels higher than you).

Yoshida said something about wanting to have high-exp rewarding quests for solo players. Not saying quests are solo only now or w/e, just saying that it gives everyone options. If you want to party, by all means; party! The quests are there for fun/rewards.

I'm okay with that.

It was the whole 'Do all the quests and only be forced to group when working on Elite instance quests' rigamoral that was vanilla wow.

If it's some quests here and there for gear/levels for when you're soloing, but grouping up is rewarding I'd be happy. I truly do enjoy traditional xp parties with a puller, tank, DDs, and support setup.

But I'm old-school like that. Played my first MUD when I was 11, Gemstone 3 (which is now Gemstone4).

you can still do exp parties, and as for the battle system, who really knows at this point, I'm pretty sure there will be many changes to the battle system from it's current state in the alpha to the real client when it launches, but so far, it seems a lot more fun than 1.0's battle system.

I got invited to the alpha yesterday I love it its alot better revamped cant wait till beta and release so i can work on my real toon

I hate you >_>

how did you get a thumbs up for that =( but its still awesome

Me too! I'm in there.:)

chocobo server for me

so am i :)

alot of hyperion went to moogle i chose chocobo b4 i read the forums

I chose...guess what? CHOCOBO too =P

how do i do tam tara is there a quest to open it or do i party up and walk in

I would say you can expect 2.0 to be greatly more akin to WoW than 1.0 was, and certainly more so than XI ever thought about being.

I like the idea, though, as it offers people that wish to immerse themselves an opportunity to actually do so.

Think if this were real life. Would you spend 6 hours killing squirrels to get better w/ your spells? No, you would be talking to people and exploring new areas pushing your boundaries trying to fight new enemies and learn secrets from others that have gone before you. Questing for a vast "majority" of the XP allows you to engage yourself in side stories and feel as though you are accomplishing something as you level. The rewards are much more appealing than they were in XI, too if you are getting that much XP off of simple quest completions.

XI will always hold its place, but I don't foresee SE making a carbon copy of it. This game is meant at taking a stab at WoW subscriptions and warding off those looking to take on the ESO MMO coming out next year.

I agree. Also did i see them questing for magic? or am I remembering a dream? I thought i saw a video where someone finished a quest and learned magic from it? I think that would be awesome. screw spell pages (at least for higher tier magics) make it a single quest that makes me have to learn the spell!

Edit: I don't mean that it has to be a single short quest. They can make it a handful, I don't care. But still questing to learn magic from a seasoned black mage or whatever makes a lot more sense than reading a page. (To me at least)

If there where a skill based system it would accurately reflect how killing squirrels for 6 hours straight would improve a mages skill with magic. It's plausible without a skill system also because you gain "Experience" from killing certain types of enemies and learning their weaknesses to be able to kill them faster. Sure, A knight can learn from another knight where the best strongest monsters are to kill to better themselves but if they only kill one monster that doesn't make them better because they havent fought enough of that monster to know where the weakest points on that monster species is or what weapon would best kill that monster quickly. With mages, what element does the most damage to this monster species? Do they resist the element i know how to use best? Are they particularly strong to a certain enfeeble?

I think thats the type of insight that people dont have from "role based" games. Sure, its nice to hear things from people but if you dont actually experience it you cant learn from those experiences and get better.

the questing and combat on the game are honestly in my opinion right on tap with leveling it makes the level grind more beneficial and a bit less repetitive sure you still have to grind some levels to get up to certain quests but it isnt something thats overwhelming when i started ffxiv the quests were useless for xp theyve changed that to cater to more casual players honestly playing this i couldnt for see going back to FFxi or another MMO it still has the elements we all love from FFxi without the brain numbing grind

I agree, and I like both types. It is fun to be able to grind if you've exhausted your quest options, or don't have time to look to party, or don't feel like moving around much. I was merely pointing out that I liked the idea that there is another way of leveling that has another reward aside from XP, and that reward is content.

Took the words out of my mouth.

It's cool. I just dont like to hear people say "Grinding on the same monster for X amount of hours is useless lawl" when the "class" system comes from a source material that relies on improving over time as you experience more. Like i said, Different monsters can be killed different ways and have different weaknesses. How would you know what way to kill a monster is more efficient if you havent trial and error'd it out?

I like having the option of "speedy grinding" party systems and "casual" quest grinding. I might do either option depending on if there are parties or not. I'm actually glad that option is there now that i think about it :<

I really like the idea of party bonuses and hope they return in ARR. Having a small party (four of us are friends and played together) meant taking on higher tier levequests and finishing hard quests earlier than could be done solo. This equated to better rewards and that social experience that many of us played FFXI and play FFXIV to begin w/.

Don't get me wrong. I am beyond excited that I can log on solo, play for 30 min and feel that I have accomplished something. Something I was never able to do in FFXI. Something that nearly cost me my marriage. The new "casual" option allows me to play something I really enjoy at a rate and consistency that doesn't interfere with my real life. I just hope that this new era of FF MMO doesn't kill the great social content we've come to love. I want tough, skill driven fights. I want help questing those #1 pieces for a job. I want those fun stories we can tell two years later gathered around an event.

I feel the same way i dont mind xp parties but sometimes with my schedule which isnt a busy one but sometimes life happens and I just dont have the time to xp so solo quests for this make it easier and I like the skill driven big battles requiring team work to earn gear and what not it gives a better sense of accomplishment. games that take away from that sense of accomplishment dont last too long with me it becomes routine and repetitive (DCUO).

So much NDA here :O!! j/k and those craving for mindless mob grinding at one spot ..idk what to say...but it's ridiculous to want that

I didnt say i wanted mindless mob grinding. I for one beleive the grind shouldn't be endless to get to max cap...it should be relatively easy to get EXP grinding and it should be quick. I dont want to hit the enter key for 6 hours and get max cap without ever fighting anything ever.