[Malacite]

Originally Posted by Telera

For me roleplay is a bit of doing your homework, and taking in the lore of the game as you go. Maybe it's because I only got so far as Rank 5. In fact, I'm positive what I'm about to say is wrong because that's as far as I got, but I'm going to say it anyway: I didn't feel as personally involved/connected with the 'lore' or main story of this game. It's epic, alright, and moving, but as far as Telera's personal involvement and appreciation, I wasn't feeling it as much. Maybe it had to do with people constantly just saying 'that adventurer' as if I was one out of many. One out of many seems to be the thing XI pushed for, but for me and my taste in roleplay, I like the story to be a bit more single character focused.

Definitely rank 5 syndrome...

somebody never beat CoP or ToAU it seems. Both of those got mighty personal (especially ToAU)

[Grizzlebeard]

Originally Posted by Murasame

What server where you guys on?

Which server?
Where server?
Who server?
When server?

Heh. That was just a taste of what you ended up typing whenever you received quest text from an npc in Everquest.

I never played EQOA, I played the original EQ on the Drinal server. I still kind of miss not having a surname for characters in subsequent games. My dwarf paladin was called Grizzlebeard Thunderhand and I still remember when I hit level 20 and was able to give him that surname, I still remember how I earned that surname.

That said, FFXI was a culture shock for me coming from EQ but I don't regret it in the slightest. I love S-E's take on a fantasy universe but with their own refinements. There are so many classical fantasy MMOs out there currently that are so stale for me personally that I'm really pleased to be able to look forward once again to a new MMO release. I'd all but given up hope of anything decent releasing that would be fresh and not saturated with PvP.

[Telera]

No, I never did. Which is why I stuck my disclaimer in there twice. I had the feeling that CoP was getting that way, even as early as the Promies, but I just couldn't be assed with something that required a group every five feet.

In fact, I can't even be assed with it on LotRO. My boyfriend basically cajoled/dragged me kicking and screaming through it, and in the end I was glad I did it. But it was still a fucking pain in my ass to do, especially that dumb ass Ifrit/Odin Bastard Child in Book 6. In fact there were 3 or 4 fights in that game that I will never do again unless my life is threatened, and even then I may opt for the bullet to the brainpan. Course, you can skip things in LotRO and finish, in theory. Can't do that in XI. While it's a bit nonsensical on some levels to be able to skip, it does help for when you get stuck, and in a way I hope it gets put into XIV.

Though you feel involved without having to get past some half-way mark in LotRO. Intro mission 1: you're already feel it. Not 5 books later down the road. This is -granted- because LotRO's game story focuses more on the war to the north (Angmar) than the Fellowship, so it can do that without fucking with canon. And as it shifts more southward and now toward Dol Guldur, it's felt like a slow, natural shift.

Well except Book 15. That was just a fucking timesink.

[jenova_9]

actually I like it when my "character" is silent in the cutscenes, it really makes it feel like I'm the one they are talking to, not some scripted doll that just so happens to say something I didn't choose to say. Also roleplaying can be done, but it's best with a reliable LS that are interested in that style. but in an mmorpg, one must tolerate the whole spectrum of players and the fact that even if the story missions treated the player as that "one and only one." there is still the fact that
other people have or will defeat that Shadowlord at some point, and they helped saved the world, even if you weren't there. It's a quasi-dimensional perspective that players just have to accept in mmorpgs. we are not the only hero,
and it's better that way. It's better than the game choosing some fool that might not even be worthy of being the hero of that server/world.
So allowing anyone to be the hero, and everyone fitting in as an adventurer at least, is a humble treaty between the players and the system that connects everything, even the 'story'.


and I still think the weapons themselves may be the jobs. like a black mage can't equip daggers supposedly. for example, if someone equips a rod, then they are a black mage. if they equip something else, then they are no longer a black mage.
Jobs and their roles sound very closely connected to weapons this time, or rather, the weapons represent the jobs, not the other way around. And skills from that "job" are learned (or usable) the more you use that type of weapon.

Like if you skill up staff to lv.5, you may be able to use more advanced White Mage spells, and equip more advanced White Mage gear.

[WishMaster3K]

Or it could be that you learn spells and such from the weapons, as in Final Fantasy Tactics: A2 and/or FF9.

[Yellow Mage]

Originally Posted by Telera

I don't want to be just one 'adventurer' out of 23904823423 they send out on reconnaissance and battle. Not a merc. Not a hired hand. I want to be able/want to incorporate it into my story, not avoid it because it seems too wide-hitting to really fit on a personal level. Develop a friendship and rapport with some of the characters without every other mission or two slinging that 'adventurer' word in there to shut down every emotional connection I'm trying to tether in. I try real damn hard to connect, but I kept feeling like XI was shutting me down.

TM. Aldo sig. STAT.

Originally Posted by WishMaster3K

Or it could be that you learn spells and such from the weapons, as in Final Fantasy Tactics: A2 and/or FF9.

Heh. I can already hear Armando's cry:





Side note, and I really can't freaking believe I didn't think of this sooner, but for anybody really interested in FFXI in-character roleplay stuff, check out He Says, She Says - a Final Fantasy XI podcast

It is basically an e-mail show, wherein almost everything is done in-character (only notable exceptions being the two ".5" episodes, covering post-2008 FanFest in Episode 5.5 and the S-E Podcast Tour Episode in 11.5). If you're looking for a new avenue for role-playing your character, it is as simple as writing an e-mail to the show. Episode 12 should be coming up any day now, and it may feature an e-mail from <me>, but until then try listening to some of the earlier episodes to get a feel for the show. The level of interaction that is possible with the show is quite great. The hosts are admittedly loose with what they will or won't allow to be accepted in to the show's own set of lore (the only thing is that it obviously can not directly or indirectly contradict well-established canon of FFXI, so basically no "manthras" aside from that Lehko guy), however, I am certain that you will not be disappointed.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

A lot of FFXI's tone was initially determined by the Japanese and people actually treated FFXI like it was Japanese home turf, conforming to their norms, their overconservative style of play and lack of willingness to roleplay.

This time, they don't get the advantage of setting the tone or the trends.

But we're still going to have the morons that thing simply being born asian gives you innately awesome gamers skills. And kids will be inevitable, though I don't personally see how a MMO themed after a popular movie trilogy would get out of it.

I totally love that there's no experience points. This means also no "levels" to grind through. Just raw character growth. That's going to disarm a lot of the so-called hardcore players who need something like levels to symbolize their success with the game.

It would be amusing if the ditched gil along the way, too. Make it about resources. The Star Trek MMO is going to do this because, well, there is no money in the Star Trek universe and they have to adhere to that. You're going to negotiate with alien races or battle Klingons for resouces. I wonder what will happen to RMT in that game when they try to horde a planet and they're surrounded by angry Klingon and Federation ships. I imagine temporary alliances would be forged and they'd be photon torpedoed to hell.

[Kurb]

i like the way it's going to be suited slightly to people who don't have alot of time to play.The only thing i hated about ffxi other than the ppl on my bl is the party system.Pop in lfp then try to make a party.No luck so you solo. 1 hour later invite BANG party disbands.
I wish i could try this new lvl sync/ solo system /cry

[jenova_9]

I don't think that it will be like FF9 where you learn abilities/skills/magic from specific weapons. I think it will be entirely based on class. well okay. a lv.1 staff can't give you Cure IV, but ya I guess advanced whm gear can be equipped once your staff skill is high enough. So in a sense, only advanced gear would let people learn more skills from that job set.

But I think it should still be based on weapon level instead of specific weapon. like a lv. 5 Star Staff should allow people
to learn Protect spell, just like a lv. 5 Moon Staff. cause I know gil/money will return ( I doubt this world is like the Star Trek federation where everything is harmonious and they don't need money since they follow a system where everyone is
provided with the essentials.) that being said, AH may be a real pain trying to get a specific weapon just to learn a possibly needed skill. It may be as bad as the prices Utsusemi: Ni scroll goes for, and if the farming/crafting is a grind like before,
some might not stand for it.

Originally Posted by Kurb

i like the way it's going to be suited slightly to people who don't have alot of time to play.The only thing i hated about ffxi other than the ppl on my bl is the party system.Pop in lfp then try to make a party.No luck so you solo. 1 hour later invite BANG party disbands.
I wish i could try this new lvl sync/ solo system /cry

level sync helps but advanced levels don't skill up which is bad later on and people end up missing and not having ws needed for the mobs they should be fighting around their levels. I really hate how Campaign there's no opportunity to skill up anymore, this forces people to skill up later instead of being rewarded with xp AND skillups at once.


also people who think it's strange that XIV doesn't have experience levels, should remember that FFII didn't have experience levels either, and it still had a growth system.

YouTube - Final Fantasy II (Dawn of Souls) - Part 27

YouTube - Final Fantasy II (Dawn of Souls) - Part 27

2:01 has the menu

YouTube - Final Fantasy II (PSP) - Dark Emperor (Good Quality)

YouTube - Final Fantasy II (PSP) - Dark Emperor (Good Quality)

but anyway, the advantage is that FFXIV is new so everyone here hopefully will be playing it at launch, therefore, there will be no problem finding parties. This really is gonna be the real utopia of mmorpg gaming.

[Caspian]

Originally Posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten

I totally love that there's no experience points. This means also no "levels" to grind through. Just raw character growth. That's going to disarm a lot of the so-called hardcore players who need something like levels to symbolize their success with the game.

Yeah, but there will still be a max of some sort where your character can nolonger grow anymore and I'm sure there will be people who will use whatever max is in place to determine who is better. At the very least there will be something that they latch onto in order to define their own heirarchy. Most DEX wins.

[jenova_9]

Originally Posted by Caspian

Yeah, but there will still be a max of some sort where your character can nolonger grow anymore and I'm sure there will be people who will use whatever max is in place to determine who is better. At the very least there will be something that they latch onto in order to define their own heirarchy. Most DEX wins.

yea but chances are, that information won't be displayed like experience levels did back then. so people won't be able to flaunt those numbers. or prove it much.

but you know, I think there will be a rank system, because how can advanced players know if a party member is gimped in stats or not? will they only be able to trust their word that their skill levels are as high as their own? :p


I wonder if moogles will be a playable race. I think race stats shouldn't matter too much of a difference this time. I mean, there was a difference in XI but that didn't stop galka's form being mages, or tarus from being tanks. But ya, moogles size and
shape would be troublesome with gear fitting on them. Plus no one wants to see a moogle get hurt even though VI had one, well there was also that group at the beginning.

I wonder how the aggro system will work this time. and how people will hold hate. are food/drinks going to be "needed" for decent accuracy/refresh?

[Caspian]

Originally Posted by jenova_9

yea but chances are, that information won't be displayed like experience levels did back then. so people won't be able to flaunt those numbers. or prove it much.

Was that in an interview that I missed? I imagine there will be some way (likely numerical) of keeping track of your own progression, otherwise you'd have people trying to "grow" their character for ages without realizing it wasn't accomplishing anything anymore.

[jenova_9]

Originally Posted by Caspian

Was that in an interview that I missed? I imagine there will be some way (likely numerical) of keeping track of your own progression, otherwise you'd have people trying to "grow" their character for ages without realizing it wasn't accomplishing anything anymore.

well it could be like the weapon skill levels from before in profile and combat skills menu.

Those numbers can be viewed by the player, but no one else.

[Caspian]

Originally Posted by jenova_9

Those numbers can be viewed by the player, but no one else.

If thats the only way to know how you're progressing then I certainly don't think it will stop people from proclaiming their skill level to show how leet they are.

Also, if there is no way to see how "grown" or "skilled", or whatever you want to call it, is then how will you know if the random person you just had join your party to kill a very "high level" mob isn't actually the equivalent of a level 10 character who lied?

[jenova_9]

Originally Posted by Caspian

If thats the only way to know how you're progressing then I certainly don't think it will stop people from proclaiming their skill level to show how leet they are.

Also, if there is no way to see how "grown" or "skilled", or whatever you want to call it, is then how will you know if the random person you just had join your party to kill a very "high level" mob isn't actually the equivalent of a level 10 character who lied?

that's why I think there might be a rank system of some kind that kind of classifies what degree of skill that player is compared to other players. if its like that I think ranks will have more broader comparisons than say a lv. 10 with a level 12.

there might be more tolerance levels within the range of skill levels. and with no experience levels, this may entirely eliminate the dreaded Level Gaps. and even if that wasn't the case, the devs already learned from Level Sync if that is ever needed.

so if anything the ranks might follow a letter structure instead of number structure. and there are fewer ranks than there are
experience levels, otherwise they might as well be called levels.

Ranks may overall encompass a certain spectrum of skill levels across the board. and once a player exceeds that range, then
they've moved on to the next rank. that's how I see how it might work out.