Ron and I had played Final Fantasy XI for a long time (this is how we met, became friends and more, and then got married!) and then Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn came along. Many of our friends from XI had already made the transition to Final Fantasy XIV and asked when we were going to play. We finally got the game two weeks ago and it's been a lot of fun to play!
I had played as a samurai class and a bard class in Final Fantasy XI. I really loved both, but bard always had a special place in my heart. I was glad to see they had the bard class in XIV. You do start out with a primary class job and for me it was Archer. At level 30 you can unlock the job, so I was able to unlock bard. There are a variety of primary classes to choose from ranging from marauder to arcanist which unlock the job that complements them at level 30 such as arcanist becomes scholar.
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| Pirotess in full bard artifact armor with a spiffy compound bow |
You can also level other job classes and use the skills learned from those classes with your main job class known as cross class actions. For example with my bard; pugilist and lancer skills work really well. There are crafting classes too such as goldsmith, carpenter, and botanist to name a few. You can also use the skills learned from these with your main job class as well.
Leveling is actually fun with a variety of quests and hunting logs (you hunt specific mobs for credit) that you get experience points for. There are also FATE events in which you can join with other players and get experience points, Gil (the currency there), and seals for whichever Grand Company you decide to join. There are dungeons, raids, and trials you can do as well with other players. One thing that I feel is a great change from Final Fantasy XI is the Duty Finder. Gone are the days of what feels like a century of waiting for a party or shouting for one. In Final Fantasy XIV if there is a dungeon, trial, or raid you wish to do you can find it listed in the Duty Finder log and click the join tab. It will give you an estimated time of how long a wait you have as it finds other players who have also joined and once you have a full party, it will begin. You really don't have to wait that long with a few exceptions such as a raid known as Crystal Tower because that involves a 3 party alliance (24 players), but once it gets going it's great.
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| Exploring the Crystal Tower with fellow adventurers |
The linkshell system is still in place which still works very well. There is also a Free Company system which is a player created guild and that works great as well because you are able to do many of the dungeons, FATE events, and raids with your Free Company or linkshell group. Ron and I were lucky that we found a great linkshell and a great Free Company thanks to our good friends on the Famfrit server (shout out to Flames of Paradise! You guys rock!) and everyone has been really friendly and helpful. There comes a quest where you get to decide which Grand Company you want to join and you can do various quests and jobs to get seals which you can trade in for items and armor.
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| Pirotess at the Twin Adder Grand Company |
For some of the silly fun stuff you get minions that follow you around everywhere. My favorites are the wind up Moogle and the Cactuar. They don't do anything other than look cute. Think like collecting cards or stamps. You can also check out the casino called The Gold Saucer (yes, a Final Fantasy VII reference) to unwind and play mini games for a variety of prizes. You also get your own chocobo via a quest so you can have your own mount. You can also train your chocobo to fight with you which is very cool. You can change the color of your chocobo as well depending on the types of food you feed it. Thanks to the help of a friend, I was able to change the color of my chocobo to purple.
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| Pirotess and her purple chocobo Mouse |
There is plenty to do in Final Fantasy XIV and it's fun to explore and discover all the things it has to offer. The main story quests are interesting and well thought out. The game play shows that Square Enix really took to heart what players had to say about what would make Final Fantasy XIV better and the improvements are noticeable and they really shine through, making a world that is beautiful and worth exploring. The promise of the new job class of Machinist with the Heavensward expansion just adds to the excitement of playing the game. Final Fantasy XIV is worth the paid subscription and definitely a MMORPG that is enjoyable to play. If you decide to check it out, Ron and I are on the Famfrit server as Pirotess Dragontamer and Sheitara Dragontamer. So come on in and say hello!
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| Pirotess and Sheitara Dragontamer |
