So I am getting bored with FFXI and want to know a few things about FFXIV.Are guildleves the main exp source? Also what is the best DD as of now? How is the endgame as of now?
I played it for a bit when it came out and the only thing that kept my attention was the graphics mostly.
Guild Leves are the main 'solo' source of EXP, and only really gain potential as you get higher up. They changed the formula in how you receive EXP during leves and dumped most of the 'bonus' into EXP you get upon completion. Difficulty now mainly changes the level of the mobs you receive as well as mildly changing the bonus you get at the end, as well as rewards.
End game balance keeps going back and forth and it seems SE really doesn't care about balance just yet as they are still in the middle of some of their overhauls, although good majority of the 'combat' related overhauls are going to completed or near completion with patch 1.21 with jobs coming in, changes to CC priorities, and the overhaul of food and medicine and accessories. The flow of what is needed changes each major patch but right now Archer is a big player as a damage dealer, that might change in 1.21 with the bard job becoming a buffer, and other class get more damage oriented jobs (Dragoon for Lancer, BLM for Tham, and Marauder is getting defense/offense upgrade with Warrior). End game right now is anemic. Only 2 things anyone is ever doing and that is two primal fights and maybe grinding spirit bonds to get good materia. Next update will add two new raids to the mix which more or less doubles anything we have gotten in a patch for end game, it's unknown if this patch will make ifrit and Moogle battle useless, but if it doesn't that means at least 4 things to do at endgame other then grind levels.
The game is fun as is if you want to level, but a lot of people are waiting on patch 1.21 for the job update and even more are waiting for 2.0 to hit. Personally I would just wait till 2.0, that way you get a fresh new experience, but if you don't want to wait there is still fun to go around. The market ward system now nearly mimics a proper Auction House system with only the stand out feature of search by name not in it yet. (Which they commented recently is coming either before or when 2.0 releases). The crafting recipes have been simplified and its now much easier to create final items. Repair system issues has all but been eliminated, it now functions as a gil sink and an item sink. You can NPC repair every item that has durability up to 99%, and you don't get penalized till like 15% now, and unless you die a lot, that durability isn't going to go down very fast either. All around the game is playable if not fun but because they are now in the process of switching the game over to the new 2.0 client (The 2.0 client in its base form just got completed recently according to the director, they now need to customize it and port over existing content while on top of adding the new assets which are not 'scheduled' to be completed till April.) Basically outside of 2 bits of gameplay coming in patch 1.22 (Garuda Primal battle and Hamlet Defense) the rest of the games new 'gameplay' will likely be stuff relating to the seventh umbral era, and that content won't 'exist' when 2.0 comes around, so that's something I guess...
