Final Fantasy XIV: Week 1 - Player's Perspective

Upon creating a new character and choosing a server, I was asked to pick a starting location out of three. This was the first of many similarities carried over from Final Fantasy XI, the biggest difference being that instead of Vana'diel, the game takes place in Eorzea, a setting that is slightly more technologically advanced but still rife with monsters, magic, and Chocobos (well, at least now it is). The character races all return from FFXI, albeit with modified designs and new designations (Mithras, for example, are now known as Mi'qote, while Galkas are now called Roegaydns) while still sticking to the fixed gender roles of the original (players choosing the Mi'qote race are limited to a female gender, while Roegaydns are all-male).

Limsa Lominsa was my area of choice, consisting of a community filled with cavalier riflemen and cutthroat pirates. Upon arrival, my character is beckoned by a friendly sea-farer who gives me a linkpearl (which are normally used for flesh-and-blood players to interact with one another, but now feature NPC pearls that offer advice) and suggests that I try to enlist with one of the nearby guilds.

Visiting the different factions place my character in an "Instance", isolated areas where no other players can interfere. To get out of these Instances require speaking to a certain NPC in order to move the plot forward, which are represented on the mini-map above the screen with an ! icon.

Visually, the story-based cutscenes are a far bigger improvement from Final Fantasy XI; your custom character no longer stands around with a deadpan expression, but instead emotes and animates appropriately to each situation. NPCs also feature full expressions and mannerisms, lending a visual style that's nearly equal to modern FF games. The dialog is also conveyed well and features a good number of "interesting" lines, including slurs about whores, balls, asses, manhoods, and other salty sailor-talk that fits right at home with a sea-faring setting. Being that the majority of townsfolk are also pirates, there are also plenty of hyphenated speech patterns that has long been established as traditional pirate-speak.

The downside to this is that it also becomes a bit of a pain to read between the "arrs" and "th's" littering the dialog. While the game does feature cutscenes with spoken voice acting, these moments are so rare they're virtually nonexistent. It's unclear why the development team chose to use voice acting so sparingly, as it would have made these introductory bits much less of a chore to read through.

Furthermore, while the story does feature a few seeds that are destined to bear fruit later on (including a mysterious, possibly mystical Mi'qote who follows your character on every turn, as well as an internal plot with suggestions of betrayal and war), much of the early story portions consist of your character trying to make a name for himself by enlisting in each guild, only to be rejected and thrown out the door almost immediately. It is only upon joining the Fisherman's Guild where you are given your first real assignment, which is escorting a skittish Lalafell as she makes a routine stop to a lighthouse. For adventurers hoping to make a name for themselves in this new world, the game certainly starts you off at the bottom of the food chain.

Several hours of exposition and rejection later, the game assigns me to take part in my first Guildleve. Guildleves are essentially quests where you are tasked to perform a certain feat within a designated time limit. In one example, you must kill a certain number of rats under 30 minutes, the reward usually being a combination of experience points, Gil (the currency present in every Final Fantasy), and an item or two. Each quest falls under a specific category that pertains to the different jobs and classes in the game; taking up a Fisherman's quest, for example, usually has you fishing for a certain type of fish, while a Miner quest has you mining for ore, and so on.

As far as solo experiences go, Guildleves are easily Final Fantasy XIV's biggest positive. Though the game does restrict you with the number of quests you can sign up for at a time, as well as a cooldown period before you can re-attempt a quest (even if you succeeded), the Guildleve process is nearly streamlined to perfection; you can instantly teleport to the locations that kick-start the quests (once you make the first required contact with the area's Aethercyte, large crystals that serve as checkpoints throughout Eorzea), the on-screen objectives (such as the required enemies and items you must farm) are exclusive to each player, eliminating competition. You can even adjust the difficulty level, which can largely increase the experience bonus upon completion. Should you perish in the middle of a quest, you'll be sent back to the checkpoint and can immediately continue, so long as time doesn't run out.

A couple of cumbersome elements keep Guildleves from becoming easily accessible, however. First, in order to take part in a quest you must visit the appropriate NPC, select the quests that they offer and then teleport or visit the Aethercyte crystal that corresponds to it. Even if you've already done the quest before, you'll still have to sign up for it again instead of just restarting it on the corresponding checkpoint.

This wouldn't be an issue if getting around town wasn't so cumbersome; as a port fishing town, Limsa Lominsa is built with multiple floors, spreading out its guilds and apothecaries all over the place. While it's always typical for new players to get lost in an MMO-sized town or area, the in-game map does little to ease newbies in; while the in-game journal keeps track of all your quests and shows the location on where you need to go to advance, it doesn't show where are your character is located in relation to the objective (for example, opening the map through the quest list would show a location on the third floor, but to find out what floor you were currently on, you would have to back out and open the regular map).

And that, ultimately, is the very crux of Final Fantasy XIV's issues: a lack of direction. From the very moment you step into its world, FFXIV seems to gently help you along, displaying on-screen controller/keyboard prompts for basic controls, highlighting the different parts of the menu to perform many of the required features, and even a brief look into the battle system with a few staged battles.

But it is only a scant few minutes before the game hastily removes the training wheels and sends you plummeting into the nearest wall. Your NPC buddy will make suggestions such as to go buy new equipment or visit a certain area in town, but won't tell you how to actually get there. When undertaking a quest that requires you to make use of the emote system, the game tells you to perform specific emotes (from waving to clapping) but does not clarify how to actually perform the command. Even the most basic-yet-insurmountable information is only provided to you partway, such as forming parties, crafting, or changing jobs (more on that below).

While hardcore gamers tend to applaud games that choose not to hold their hands through every aspect and feature (such as the critically acclaimed Dark Souls), Final Fantasy XIV seems determined to push newbies out the door without so much as a gist of what to do next. Completing the starting story quest yields little information beyond a few venues and locations, while heading out into the vast open field without proper guidance (or levels) will only result in a quick demise from a higher-leveled monster. And don't expect the NPC's linkpearl to offer any substantial hints…with the dwindling number of players who mostly keep to themselves, the best bet is to find an actual linkshell that is willing to help newcomers make a dent in this elusive world.

Even the solo-friendly Guildleves are filled with unanswered questions. While the questing mechanic puts restrictions on players for not fulfilling a certain level requirement, it does not offer the same limit for players not possessing the required equipment (such as a fishing pole, or even bait). This is because there are also no details on how to switch between classes, which is simple enough in execution that it could be summed up in a sentence or two.