So I got interested in this game from hearing about it basically every week on the Best Friendcast for a good while. I've had basically no interest in MMOs ever, more or less swearing them off because I know they're time vampires. But that's a pretty poor reason to not play a good game when you're probably spending an equivalent amount of time on other games anyway.
The thing is, I love MMO-style combat. Games like Battleheart on my phone and Xenoblade Chronicles gave me an appreciation for autoattacking, pulling aggro, deploying skills, and positioning. Again, I don't give a fuck about MMOs. They're brain-meltingly huge, in both world size and mechanics to learn, they're time abysses, you have to have multiple characters to have different classes, the communities can be caustic and elitist, and none of them, to me, have art styles and worlds that I think are good and interesting. Except...
I DO give a fuck about Final Fantasy.
I played a lot of the remakes of the first 4 games and Tactics Advance as a kid. I love the recurring themes and characters. I especially love the job system. So I heard on the Friendcast that FFXIV had pretty good fighting, that it had all the classic jobs that you could max out on one character, and that it had a very good, classic-style Final Fantasy story. Like, "Yo, you see those crystals? PROTECT THEM." Which, for someone like me who prefers the classic games anyway, sounded perfect. People on the Friendcast and GAF alike were saying FFXIV is the best Final Fantasy in years, and that is what caused me to be very attentive. (And, I won't lie, the presence of my favorite job, Dark Knight, and the fact that they wield greatswords as SHINING BEACONS TO PROTECT THE MEEK may have piqued my interest a little.)
So, around the holidays last year, I played the free trial. I made a silly anime catgirl, chose pugilist, since punching things is cool, and got thrown haphazard into Ul'dah in an enormous world for an enormous experience where I had no inkling of what to expect.
And...I loved it. I got totally sucked in to both the mechanics and the world. Wow, this stance-changing fighting is pretty neat! Whoah, Ul'dah is so cool! I just killed a big-ass golem!
This is amazing!
I was so enamoured with the game that I got it for Christmas, but since I was starting college soon after that, I decided to hold off on it to focus on my studies. Fast forward to now. I've got insane cravings for some form of Final Fantasy. I nearly started The War of the Lions, since I've never played any version of the original Tactics, but then I remembered-didn't I say I was going to play FFXIV when summer started and I have the time?
I just got to Coerthas. I decided to start over with a new character now that I actually have a whole free month of playtime, and I got the expansion back at Christmas too, so I made a burly Au Ra marauder. (Then deleted and remade him for two reasons. 1. his face was bothering me and 2. I wanted to start in my beloved Ul'dah again.) I speedran gladiator so I could switch back to marauder ASAP. I'm now a level 42 Warrior. As fun as pugilist was, I love two-handed weapons more than anything, so I've been having a blast wrecking everything with my GIANT AXE. Tanking was pretty scary at first, having to protect the whole party and all, but now I'm finding it to be a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience than when I was on DPS.
I am having SO MUCH fun with the game. The fighting is great, the world is great, and it's good to be playing a really awesome Final Fantasy again. (Other than Bravely Default, but I fell off of that game.)
I applied to the free company, since I knew there's a pretty active and friendly community for the game on GAF and I know MMOs are at their best when you have people to play them with. (Also, Gather Against Fate is the sickest name) So I figured I'd post this to give my thoughts on the game and, more importantly, to say hi to everyone here, so I didn't just say nothing to no one before applying.
The thing is, I love MMO-style combat. Games like Battleheart on my phone and Xenoblade Chronicles gave me an appreciation for autoattacking, pulling aggro, deploying skills, and positioning. Again, I don't give a fuck about MMOs. They're brain-meltingly huge, in both world size and mechanics to learn, they're time abysses, you have to have multiple characters to have different classes, the communities can be caustic and elitist, and none of them, to me, have art styles and worlds that I think are good and interesting. Except...
I DO give a fuck about Final Fantasy.
I played a lot of the remakes of the first 4 games and Tactics Advance as a kid. I love the recurring themes and characters. I especially love the job system. So I heard on the Friendcast that FFXIV had pretty good fighting, that it had all the classic jobs that you could max out on one character, and that it had a very good, classic-style Final Fantasy story. Like, "Yo, you see those crystals? PROTECT THEM." Which, for someone like me who prefers the classic games anyway, sounded perfect. People on the Friendcast and GAF alike were saying FFXIV is the best Final Fantasy in years, and that is what caused me to be very attentive. (And, I won't lie, the presence of my favorite job, Dark Knight, and the fact that they wield greatswords as SHINING BEACONS TO PROTECT THE MEEK may have piqued my interest a little.)
So, around the holidays last year, I played the free trial. I made a silly anime catgirl, chose pugilist, since punching things is cool, and got thrown haphazard into Ul'dah in an enormous world for an enormous experience where I had no inkling of what to expect.
And...I loved it. I got totally sucked in to both the mechanics and the world. Wow, this stance-changing fighting is pretty neat! Whoah, Ul'dah is so cool! I just killed a big-ass golem!
I stomped an ambush party, beat down a creepy sorcerer, reclaimed the crown of Ul'dah, and now the sultana is throwing a banquet in my honor??
I was so enamoured with the game that I got it for Christmas, but since I was starting college soon after that, I decided to hold off on it to focus on my studies. Fast forward to now. I've got insane cravings for some form of Final Fantasy. I nearly started The War of the Lions, since I've never played any version of the original Tactics, but then I remembered-didn't I say I was going to play FFXIV when summer started and I have the time?
I just got to Coerthas. I decided to start over with a new character now that I actually have a whole free month of playtime, and I got the expansion back at Christmas too, so I made a burly Au Ra marauder. (Then deleted and remade him for two reasons. 1. his face was bothering me and 2. I wanted to start in my beloved Ul'dah again.) I speedran gladiator so I could switch back to marauder ASAP. I'm now a level 42 Warrior. As fun as pugilist was, I love two-handed weapons more than anything, so I've been having a blast wrecking everything with my GIANT AXE. Tanking was pretty scary at first, having to protect the whole party and all, but now I'm finding it to be a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience than when I was on DPS.
I am having SO MUCH fun with the game. The fighting is great, the world is great, and it's good to be playing a really awesome Final Fantasy again. (Other than Bravely Default, but I fell off of that game.)
I applied to the free company, since I knew there's a pretty active and friendly community for the game on GAF and I know MMOs are at their best when you have people to play them with. (Also, Gather Against Fate is the sickest name) So I figured I'd post this to give my thoughts on the game and, more importantly, to say hi to everyone here, so I didn't just say nothing to no one before applying.
