Dancing for my life?

So apparently this game absolutely SUCKS without people to actually do stuff with (outside of the usual random WG shout groups). So yeah, I actually miss doing endgame stuff 5-6 nights a week. Some people do make honest mistakes not realizing their implications. Of course some mistakes carry much heavier prices than others. Oh well. Live and learn.


For now I'll just focus on plodding through DNC levels then decide what to do once it's at 80 (or whatever the new level cap is should I not get there in time). I may try Reso again (though they'll probably turn me down on account of no mythic or other crazy shit lol). I really don't want to move if I don't have to seeing as the only thing worse than not having people to do stuff with is going somewhere you know absolutely no one. Thus concludes my bored rant for today.

Why'd I even bother?

So about a week ago I decided to roam ye olde Vana'diel once again. This past update did indeed usher in a "brave new world". Apparently it is also one that can fell Absolute Virtue (for the time being). During my absence, Beyond and Volume combined to form Resonance. I left Beyond during the end of June as a result of burnout coupled with some outside factors and didn't know what I wanted out of the game anymore. Once again being an "outsider", I applied to the newly-formed linkshell. A couple days later, I spoke with one of the sacks (who was also a leader in Beyond) and we discussed a number of things, such as the current situation.

Crash test dummy: Eorzea rebooted

So phase 2 of the FFXIV beta has drawn to a close with the third phase to start later this month. In spite of its laundry list of issues (weapon bugs, poor interface and balancing issues), it is still a solid game. So far the only two classes I've explored all that much are lancer and gladiator while dabbling in a bit of pugilist and marauder here and there. I'll share a few points that I feel are worth mentioning after the past couple of weeks.

The good

1. Beautiful landscapes really bring the world to life (this sounds some song-and-dance SE would use).
2. The ability to customize stats and add abilities acquired from leveling different classes is a very nice touch. To an extent this reminds me of RO, where being able to divvy up stats as you saw fit was one of the game's strong points. Of course, if you messed up somewhere and wanted to change things, you had to re-start from level 1 but I digress.
3. The guildleve system, which provides a means of making money and gear via short quests.
4. Ease of transportation thanks to aetherite crystals.
5. A separate physical level for which you can get exp by doing things other than killing monsters (such as mining or crafting).

The bad

1. The concept of equipment decaying with use. Now I realize just what it is they're going for with this here, but still it gets irritating. I shudder at the thought of repairing rare endgame cutlery with super-pricey crafting materials (think imperial wootz used for salvage bodies). I can see this getting very expensive very quickly.
2. Anima, or rather how super slow it recovers itself. Though this could just be from the beta. I know it's to prevent people from zipping around the world so quickly, but you're screwed if it gets too low. It could get problematic for those having to move from one end of the world to another. I can see it now; "Fifty DKP minus for not having enough anima to warp to the dungeon entrance!"

It was somewhat difficult to come up with these without crossing into "it's just beta" territory. Unlike with FFXI however, my anticipation for this is nowhere near "frothing" status. When FFXI was first announced in 2000, I was extremely excited. I hung onto every piece of info I could. As a result though, it fueled very high, if not unrealistic expectations of the game once it finally came here. That also led in part to my not giving it a fair shake in the beginning. Being more mature than I was at 21/22, I look at XIV for what it is -- a brand new game that happens to have the name "Final Fantasy". Yes, it has the familiar elements of its predecessors, but in a fresh new world. This is, for the most part, what keeps me coming back over the years.

Will XIV rise to the same level of grandeur as XI? We shall see in the coming years. I do hope that SE has learned from the many things that worked and didn't work with XI. So far with some of the things in place and those that are planned, it looks that way. Though my cynical side tells me "it's SE - they'll find some way to ruin it."