[Multiplatform] Final Fantasy XIV

FINAL FANTASY XIV

New info has come out from Famitsu and the Official FF14 site for NA, EU, and JP.

A run down can be found here: FFXIV Media Blitz! Famitsu, Dengeki & more! :: Final Fantasy XIV (FF14) at ZAM

Instead of Levels and Jobs, a new system will be used in FF14 called the Armoury System. Sounds a lot like FF9 if you ask me. Not sure how this is going to pan out, although being able to change your "job" at will by simply changing equip sounds nifty. I just worry that toward the end of the game, will everyone pretty much be gods with the best skills hand picked from every "job"?

Quote:

In Final Fantasy XIV, players will be able to change between jobs utilizing the Armoury System, wherein equipping different weapons and tools will instantly change your class. Classes will be organized into several "Disciplines," broader categories that contain multiple classes that appropriately represent your chosen path. There will be four disciplines, each with a number of classes, and a variety of skills for each class. The developers are still unsure whether players will be able to master every class, of if they will impose a "see-saw" effect, similar to crafting in Final Fantasy XI.

Instead of levels, a player's "main job" will be comprised of their highest level skills. The idea was for players to naturally define their own job, instead of the game locking them into a label. Even though there are named classes, anyone can change by swapping weapons, so there will be much more variety amongst players through the sets of skills they wish to focus upon.

So far it looks like the basic classes are Fighter, Sorcerer, Crafter, and Gatherers. I'm guessing your classic FF jobs will branch out from here. Equip a sword and become a fighter, and train up the skill given to you by that item. Then when you meet the requirements you equip a shield and become a paladin, or a pole arm and become a dragoon.

The races shown off so far are pretty much the same as in FFXI, with a few tweaks here and there. I'm not sure if this will be all the races, but I'm thinking it is. So those of us who were hoping for male "mithra" are out of luck. Though I am hearing rumors that Famitsu hinted that the devs were holding something back? Like they didnt want to announce everything about the races at once? So perhaps we will see something else.

There's still the debate over that "Gria" in the first picture shown off on the background of the old FF14 site.

The Taru of FF14, aka "Lalafell"

The humes of FF14, aka "Hyur"

The Elvaan of FF14, aka "Elezen"

The Galka of FF14, aka "Roegadyn"

The mithra of FF14, aka "Miqo'te"

Erm, so yeah. What do you guys think? So far it's looking to be much more laid back and casual than FF11 is. You should be able to accomplish a lot in small amounts of time, and since it's an open box like MMO you can do whatever you wish to advance.

I pretty much suck at this, I know, but there's more info in the links above.

Also do forgive me if this has been done already. I searched around and could not find anything on FF14..

Jam it back in, in the dark.

New interview with Tanaka on FF14: Gamescom - Famitsu Interviews Hiromichi Tanaka :: Final Fantasy XIV (FF14) at ZAM

An older alpha build of the game was playable at gamescon in Germany. Lots of new info and gameplay vids are out now.

There wont be an auto attack like there is in FFXI. You have to choose your actions for every attack. Looks like the UI will be customizable and the macro bar at the bottom is giving me a WoW feel.

Quote:

Action Commands, as Tanaka calls them, are lined up along the bottom of the screen as icons. Those who are grumbling about a passing resemblance to World of Warcraft will be happy to know the layout is tentative and certainly subject to change. The current setup has players selecting an ability from the from the bottom which then appears as a command in your gauge. There are two gauges - one for the left hand and one for the right hand. For example, the character that Tanaka was controlling had a shield in his left hand, so the left-handed gauge had shield commands registered to it.

To activate an ability, the player needs to store up their "Action Gauge." The strength and accuracy of a technique can be further increased by storing up the "Power Gauge." The "TP Gauge" also makes a return, which when full will alter the effects of your technique in a variety of ways. The gauges will increase when the player attacks or is attacked by an enemy. During this explanation, Tanaka unleashes Red Lotus Blade with a grin, much to the delight of the interviewer, who immediately recognizes the sword technique.

Some videos:

Final Fantasy XIV Online Video Game, GC 09: Range Gameplay (Cam) HD | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com
IGN: Final Fantasy XIV Online Trailer, Videos and Movies

One thing I am sad to hear is that pet jobs wont be making a return. I know SE fucked up the pet jobs in XI, but how can you have Final Fantasy without Summoners? I'm hoping it's going to be like XI and they will be introduced eventually..

Also, normal FF mobs make a comeback.







I'm still not happy with the whole one class and choosing abilities thing. I'm disappointed that they would go with this after stating they would use FFXI's job system and improve it. They pretty much just deserted it, not improved it. The graphics look very nice and the game play looks okay so far. I'll reserve the rest of my judgments until the open beta hits. It's still too early to spew criticism now with an old Alpha build that doesn't completely reflect what they have done so far.

There's nowhere I can't reach.