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Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward |OT| Raiders of the Void Ark

Kenai

Member
What could airship ventures have gear wise though? They already have Eso, Gordian, and Void Ark gear. There's no way they introduce gear with that. So the reasons to run it would be for gil items, glamour items, and/or minion / mount items. I doubt you'll have many people motivated if no gear.

There's probably not going to be gear better than what you'll find in Alex Savage, that's for sure. This is an "off patch", remember? New higher level gear will likely be in 3.2, when more people have actually cleared the current stuff. I have been saying for a long time that the game is missing various *mid* tier content, cause the bleeding edge progression stuff is there already and no one on this forum has even cleared it once iirc (unless one of those 60 something people in the world is lurking here without my knowledge). This actually has the potential to be one of those things (or not).

This could be anything from entirely new stuff for new crafting recipes (hlighly likely, *some* of which may include stuff for potential meldable crafted gear), to easier way of obtaining current things (f you furymint), to new cosmetic gear drops or even potentially relic-related stuff. Who knows.

The problem is they put everything into the MSQ for the expac (along with new zones, dungons, classes etc) and left little for endgame. They did the same thing with ARR 2.0 as anyone who was around for the endless WP and AK speedruns will remember. You would think they would learn from this but sadly no. I remember the wait for 2.1 being long and painful as well.

What I'm worried about is that 2.1 was a huuuge patch. Besides CT there were 3 new extreme primals (4 if you want to add Ultima HM to the mix) that took people a long time to master. That's besides a new story primal, pvp, housing, Hildibrand, the introduction of Duty Roulettes, and the 3 new dungeons. It seems like from what they've announced of 3.1 yes we're getting the 24 man raid but other than that there's 2 dungeons, the equivalent of Ultima HM, and Island exploration which I'm hoping is not just glorified treasure hunts. That's a lot less and I'm a bit worried about it at this point. I hope they show more on Friday.

This is a much more articulate post that actually is closer to my concerns. We don't know enough about island exploration to really be excited about it yet, and we know about
Knights of the Round and probably Hildebrand going by the benchmark teaser
, some Gold Saucer changes, beastman dailies,relic quest, ect. But besides airship stuff those are mostly just continuations of stuff we have already seen and done before. I hope there's more, especially since there'll be less content in the DF overall most likely.
 
We need some to date character shots up in this.

PS4 Quality

6gPuJpR.jpg
 

WolvenOne

Member
If Sky Island exploration is robust enough and fills the mid tier itch, they won't need a ton of other stuff. Granted that is an IF, but they've been taking about this for a long time, so I doubt it's just more Hunts.

I mean, we will be getting the 24 man, an Extreme, and a lot of other stuff. So the sky island exploration could tip things off nicely if it's robust.
 

Ken

Member
If Sky Island exploration is robust enough and fills the mid tier itch, they won't need a ton of other stuff. Granted that is an IF, but they've been taking about this for a long time, so I doubt it's just more Hunts.

I think it'd be cool if you needed preformed teams that included gatherers who could scout for valuable nodes in an aether-compass like manner while the battle classes clear the way for them. Or just go full battle classes if focused on monster hunting. More gatherers would potentially let you get more world resources but fights would be harder unless another party in the instance helps out. Oh, and throw in a day/night cycle where much stronger monsters only appear at night or something. You also have to trek back to the starting area to leave and there's no map. Also dying cuts your collected loot.

it's just gonna be hunts but instanced
 

WolvenOne

Member
I really doubt it'll be, "Just" hunts. They've talking about this for over a year now, I doubt I'd would take them so long if they were just going to drop hunt mobs into an instance.

My suspicion is that we're going to be dealing wit a lot off add/mob management. Since they won't be able to orchestrate the encounters that maticulessly that's probably the easiest way to create some challenge.
 

Ken

Member
I really doubt it'll be, "Just" hunts. They've talking about this for over a year now, I doubt I'd would take them so long if they were just going to drop hunt mobs into an instance.

My suspicion is that we're going to be dealing wit a lot off add/mob management. Since they won't be able to orchestrate the encounters that maticulessly that's probably the easiest way to create some challenge.

You know what else they talked about a lot? Individual player housing.
 
So I know most of you here are seasoned vets passing the time complaining about lack of content and all, but speaking as someone who just came back to Heavensward having not played the game since 2.0, the amount of stuff left for me to do is kinda mountainous.

i just got to the point in the story where I recieved my Black Chocobo and Aether Compass - whats the best course of action here? Should I focus on unlocking Aether Currents as soon as I possibly can or should I just continue with the story until some obvious point where I'll need/can access flying?

I know some currents are tied to side quests and I tend to skip those in favor of just doing dungeons. Is this going to hinder me or is it fine to just look up which specific quests I need and do them later? If they're all part of big chains I might as well just bang them out now.
 

Ken

Member
So I know most of you here are seasoned vets passing the time complaining about lack of content and all, but speaking as someone who just came back to Heavensward having not played the game since 2.0, the amount of stuff left for me to do is kinda mountainous.

i just got to the point in the story where I recieved my Black Chocobo and Aether Compass - whats the best course of action here? Should I focus on unlocking Aether Currents as soon as I possibly can or should I just continue with the story until some obvious point where I'll need/can access flying?

I know some currents are tied to side quests and I tend to skip those in favor of just doing dungeons. Is this going to hinder me or is it fine to just look up which specific quests I need and do them later? If they're all part of big chains I might as well just bang them out now.

The only place you absolutely need flight is in Sea of Clouds for the Neverreap dungeon at 60. Everything else is just side quests or convenience (sometimes hunts spawn in flight required areas but no one cares about hunts at the moment). It's very nice for traveling but it's designed in a way that you'll traverse all the areas needed by feet first before getting flight, so it's never really required except for the aforementioned dungeon.

Just keep doing the story, I say.
 

JORMBO

Darkness no more
So I know most of you here are seasoned vets passing the time complaining about lack of content and all, but speaking as someone who just came back to Heavensward having not played the game since 2.0, the amount of stuff left for me to do is kinda mountainous.

i just got to the point in the story where I recieved my Black Chocobo and Aether Compass - whats the best course of action here? Should I focus on unlocking Aether Currents as soon as I possibly can or should I just continue with the story until some obvious point where I'll need/can access flying?

I know some currents are tied to side quests and I tend to skip those in favor of just doing dungeons. Is this going to hinder me or is it fine to just look up which specific quests I need and do them later? If they're all part of big chains I might as well just bang them out now.

I just hit the aether current locator item on occasion while questing to gather up the currents located in the zone. There are a bunch of them gated behind quests too. I think most of the zones had one current gated behind the last MSQ quest in each zone. I found by the time I was done exploring and doing the MSQ in a zone I had collected all the currents, and then just used flying to wrap up all the side quests quicker before moving to the next zone. But as mentioned above, you don't really *need* flying aside from the one zone to unlock a dungeon.
 

Silvawuff

Member
I just got into Heavensward after quitting a little bit after WoD. I think those of you who stuck around for content doldrums probably burned out on this content quicker -- it is more of the same, but it does have that fun, character-building addictive quality that makes it attractive to level all the things. Comparing this to FFXI really isn't fair; they're two different games that followed two very different paths. They may be spiritual siblings, but it's unfair to expect one game to adapt things from the other.

I do think XIV needs some variety. The fun thing I miss about FFXI was the sheer amount of outdoor fun content to do, sky, looking for NMs (not camping them, but it was really fun to stumble across a rare one), Dynamis, etc. Yeah, stuff never dropped, but it felt SO good to get a rare drop. You could look at someone and instantly know their dedication and skill toward the game.

I think ultimately we should dispel our idea that this one game should be our one source of gaming entertainment. Some people don't like to throw their faces at Alexander Savage 3 nights a week. I have a friend who leveled one dps job to max then maxed all his craft jobs. That's the game to him, and who am I to criticize how he enjoys the game? I think the beauty lies in that you actually do have a choice how to enjoy the game, and you'll often enjoy it more if you play with friends, even if it's content you've plowed through already.

I'm really enjoying the story in Heavensward -- it beats anything I've experienced preceding it, and I've felt a tremendous value going through it. I think I'll be happy after I see the credits rolling, and anything after that is just a bonus. I might level a few more jobs and help out FC mates; maybe by then 3.1 will drop and we'll have yet more to do, especially with new relics to grind out. When the game gets boring, I'll unsub and play something else until it's interesting again. At least they've kept the systems unchanged enough that you don't have to completely relearn your class after logging in after a sabbatical, like WoW tends to do -- but I would have liked to see a bit more tweaking.

Ultimately the game has a lot of content, albeit less variety. As with anything else, if it's not fun any more, take a break and enjoy something else. This game will be there when you return.
 

AwShucks

Member
Anybody on Ultros going to be in or around Ul'dah tonight (like 10:30 to 11:30 PST)? I'd like to submit my FC application but didn't see any GAF people last night. Or alternatively if it's allowed, having somebody send me an invite?

Character name is "Needles Kane"
 

Wilsongt

Member
Hiding the SMN boots under a long skirt? For shame.

I have the Proto-Gordian boots on. True story, I don't have many Eso pieces because I haven't been capping.

Getting the legs next. Plus, I don't think I look good in thigh highs. Steel thong or nothing.
 
Anybody on Ultros going to be in or around Ul'dah tonight (like 10:30 to 11:30 PST)? I'd like to submit my FC application but didn't see any GAF people last night. Or alternatively if it's allowed, having somebody send me an invite?

Character name is "Needles Kane"

If you visit the FC house (Mist, ward 1) or do a search for online players, you can view the company profile and apply without being immediately nearby an FC member.
 

AwShucks

Member
If you visit the FC house (Mist, ward 1) or do a search for online players, you can view the company profile and apply without being immediately nearby an FC member.

Ok cool, I imagine I'll have to wait until level 15 (currently at 10) before I can get there easily but I'll do it ASAP.
 

WolvenOne

Member
I think ultimately we should dispel our idea that this one game should be our one source of gaming entertainment.

Agreed. I've been enjoying the game a lot more since I picked up Mario Maker (pre-ordered it months ago,) and have been tinkering with it during slow times. Don't get me wrong, FFXIV takes care of the bulk of my entertainment needs, but no game can do it alone all the time.
 
The funny thing is, I'm a random low level character that was near the railroad tracks near Ul'dah.

But it's not a female and I haven't submitted my GAF FC application yet. For a second I thought it was me...

Just to be sure, you were talking about post 2.0 patch cutscenes? I'm just starting out and hoping it doesn't take me FOREVER to do the story as that's what I'm most interested in. I've heard the patch story stuff is nearly as long as the main story quests. I really hope it doesn't take me something like 80 hours to do all the story.

Honestly, it might... Depends on what you do of course.

If you literally ONLY do MSQ, and only do dungeons required by MSQ and only grind to level up in case you fall behind MSQ requirements, I'd still say you're in the 75-100 hour ballpark to get to Heavensward.

When you start doing sidequests, dungeons for fun, leveling other classes, etc, then it will take longer. It took me about 185 hours to get to Heavensward, but I spent time doing side quests (Hildibrand is awesome, and I enjoyed the post moogle quests), dungeon running, ex primals, raids, etc etc... I was always excited about MSQ, but there is so much content in this game to enjoy that I didn't want to particularly rush it.
 

AwShucks

Member
It doesn't take 75 to 100 hours to get to Heavensward.

I've seen so many different numbers thrown around when searching. People saying anywhere in the ranges from 20-50 hours (depending on skipping cutscenes or not) for 2.0 and patch stuff being another 20-50 hours depending on who you ask.

So...from my random investigation, getting to Heavensward apparently takes somewhere between 40 and 100 hours. I have no idea what to believe. I can play probably an average of 1.25 hours a day. My goal is to get to the end of 2.0 before my free month ends.
 
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