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Originally Posted by Vampyr
The group of friends I typically play online games with are pretty excited about it, so that probably means I'll end up getting it too. :P
How different is it from WoW? Still a quest-hub based system?
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The questing system is actually very similar to WoW. It's not a quest hub, there's quests everywhere in random spots (as you progress). There seems to be enough quests to keep you occupied at your level. I only got to play to level 10 with a friend though, the beta was open 2 days and closed lol.
The friend I played with is a hardcore MMO player, and she stated that the game is a step backward for most modern MMOs, but still feels like one of the most complete launch MMOs she has played.
But some things to note:
-I noticed you get more exp in a group then you get solo.. I don't know how common that is these days, but from XI and WoW I got used to the group exp penalty. The downside is every time you attack something, the next closest mob links when you're in a group. It was bad one time becsause when we were level 5, I attached something near a level 12 treant and it linked... and started a massacre because an outsider healed.
-I actually like WoW's questing system more because there's a story to follow in every quest in WoW... like each zone has a line of quests leading to an ending (well most of them). While XIV was better for pick up and playing with a partner because most every quest is one and done and I haven't seen anything that requires extensive travel.
-FFXIVs map is better than WoWs, but when it comes to finding objectives on the map, WoW is superior. The City I started in had a weird design and it took me 15+ mins to figure out how to get out of town.
-XIV has zoning like XI, so don't expect flying mounts ever lol.
-The main storyline quests is the only quest line that seems to progressively keep moving, and it all seems to be soloable at this point.
-Like old school WoW, you can actually accept quests that are a couple levels above you, and win items you can't even equip yet.
-Character customization is amazing (keep in mind I've only played WoW and XI.. well and EQ way back lol). It was extremely rare to encounter two characters who look alike. I'd put it on the same level or better than any solo RPG I've played (obvlivion, Kingdoms of Amular etc)
-They kept the funky job system from the original XIV. Since I'm not high level I don't understand what made them go that route... but it's simple really. You play a 'Class' (i.e. Gladiator, Marauder, Lancer) that's built for solo play and decided by the weapon you equip. The abilities of the different classes overlap if you level multiple ones... but eventually when you hit level 30 you can opt to switch to a 'Job' (i.e Paladin, Warrior, Dragoon) which is built more for group play. Right now the ratio of classes to jobs is 1 to 1, but in the future they plan on making the classes change into multiple jobs. Like I'd expect a Marauder (2 hand axe) to be able to switch into a Dark Knight and Viking eventually instead of just warrior.
-To add to my last huge point: SE wants to eventually release all of the classes from the series to make XIV like a Final Fantasy encyclopedia. They also plan on having skirmishes and bosses that are built from previos FF games... and they've already mentioned they're trying to put Lightning into the game somehow lol. Weird, but might be cool depending on how they do it.