**OFFICIAL** FFXIV:ARR Thread

[pontifex]

So is this just another run-of-the-mill MMO?

Final Fantasy is no longer important enough in my mind to carry me through a game that's just so-so.

for the most part. nothing really stands out except it does have more of a storyline than most MMOs. There's actually like a single player style story to the game. everything but dungeons has been solo-able to me so far (31 BLM).

it lacks a lot of the extra little features that other modern mmos have that make it easier to do certain things. like comparing gear, it doesn't show both items. so say you have Sephiroth's Tightie Whities equipped and it's got 100 defense, 100 magic defense, +2 str, +1 vitality. you then get Cloud's Boxers, which are 110 def, 105 magic def, +3 str, +2 vitality.

when you look at Cloud's Boxers, it will show you the difference between the def, and magic def of both items but it doesn't compare the stats.

 

[PowerYoga]

That being said, what it does do it does very well. There's a lot of reviews you can read online about it that will describe it better than a few forum posts. Just remember that this version is A realm reborn: not the piece of shit that is FFXIV 1.0.

 

[pandemonium]

Hit 37 CUL yesterday morning! Steady Hand II is making a pretty big difference so far. Now leveling other DoH's will be that much easier.

Those leves with multiple item turn-ins are so awesome. They make life as a crafter 10x easier.

I love/hate how this game makes you want to (read as: need to) level everything. It's fun, but tasking at the same time. This game should've been called, "Final Fantasy XIV: EverythingLeadsToAnother."

I'm also itching to hit 50 to do the end game content that my FC is constantly chattering about and organizing, but I say screw it. I'll enjoy the game at my own pace, level my primary crafting jobs up with my primary class (for now, this'll be WVR & WHM) so it can support it. I'm enjoying being able to supply myself with everything I need though. I can't stand asking anyone for anything and it's incredibly rewarding knowing all of your HQ gear was made by yourself. Not to mention all of the easy money that comes along with being able to put a few HQs up for sale. ^^

 

[pandemonium]

A few pet peeves of mine I'm wondering if anyone else has too:




[General/UI]

1. An item obtained always goes into the last actively used bag until that bag is full; instead of the first open slot
2. Inventory management is generally terrible (Auto sort doesn't appear to do anything other than autostack?)
3. Talking actions/quest progression/etc. aren't permitted while mounted
4. Ability timer doesn't allow a queue system for more than .2-.3 seconds prior to global cooldown being lifted (it should at least be queue'd for 1 ability regardless of how long you have until you can perform another action)

[Crafting]

1. Melding materia doesn't seem to have much rhyme or reason (a lot of items won't get the bonus because it's "too low level" even though the item is well over the materia level of 15, 25, ...)
2. Can't see the applied bonus for melding materia until you kneel
3. Leves with stackable item turn-ins have to all be HQ or all be NQ (no combination)
4. Quick Synth Low level recipes should not have a chance to fail at all if you're 10+ levels over the recipe level and should have a more substantially increased chance of HQ if much higher level

[Other]

1. Anyone standing directly on top of (essentially covering) interactable objects or NPCs should be thrown back after 5 seconds, then teleported to 5,000m above that location if a multiple offenses occur at the same location (yes, I'm aware of how to target objects and NPCs. )

 

[nanobreath]

A few pet peeves of mine I'm wondering if anyone else has too:



[Crafting]

1. Melding materia doesn't seem to have much rhyme or reason (a lot of items won't get the bonus because it's "too low level" even though the item is well over the materia level of 15, 25, ...)
2. Can't see the applied bonus for melding materia until you kneel
3. Leves with stackable item turn-ins have to all be HQ or all be NQ (no combination)
4. Low level recipes should not have a chance to fail at all if you're 10+ levels over the recipe level and should have a more substantially increased chance of HQ if much higher level

1. 
   
   1. Each item has a maximum of each stat. A lot of low level items already max each stat from their base stats. So an item has +7vit already, and you try to add vit, but it is already at it's maximum allotment for vit so you show +0 vit for that meld. Each materia has a minim ilvl the gear must be to attach to attach that materia, (this is to prevent melding IV materia to level 1 gear).
   
   Of course I agree materia is basically pointless, but thats mainly because only crafted gear can be melded. So the only real point to materia right now is to complete relic quests...
   
   3. All of the 3x turn in leves do allow you to turn in NQ and HQ items. Anything thats like 10x or 9x etc, does not. (Also, the items need to already be stacked in your inventory in the quantity desired, or you won't be able to turn them in)
   
   4. All an items level determines is the maximum quality and progress required for that item. Your gear determines your completion and HQ rate far more than an items level. And as you level, you can get better gear, which then makes crafts easier. You aren't going to HQ much as a lvl 15 crafter. You just don't have the gear, or access to many cross-class abilities yet. Once you get up to mid 20's or 30's, HQing almost anything becomes almost trivial. However, you HAVE to keep your gear current, and access to the good cross-class abilities.

 

[darkewaffle]

#2 is actually the cause of #1 I think. Auto-sort designates bags for each particular type of item and if you have it enabled it will try to put all crafting items in bag 4, food in bag 3, equipment in bag 1, etc. Or something like that, there's no 'last active bag' as far as I know. I would kill for a true auto-sort, hopefully that's coming in the future.

Materia melding is based off the max allocation for an item of that item level. So regardless of materia type or grade, if an item has 20 crit rating and the engine determines that's the maximum for that item level, then a crit rating materia will have zero effect. If that item level can have, say, 23 crit rating, then you can use two +2 crit rating materia or one +4 crit rating materia and reach 23. Essentially if you're putting a materia onto an item that matches one of the item stats, chances are you will hit the cap quickly. If the materia doesn't match any of the item stats, you can probably put quite a lot of it on.

Low level recipes basically have no chance to fail and very high HQ chance once you over level them that much so long as you, well, try. You do get a progress bonus per level over the craft as well.

I managed to get through six AKs last night lol, one more tonight and I'll have my shiney weapon. Also a lot of the darklight gear is really unimpressive the closer I look at it. Like the statistical difference between it and AK gear is almost trivial.

 

[PowerYoga]

I sort my stuff manually and don't have any inventory problems. I don't really see how different it is from for example, WOW. Your stuff is all over the place and the only thing that manages it are addons. Warlock shard bag anyone?

I have potions and ingots in 1 bag, lumber and cloth and food in 2, some leather in 3, and misc ores and alchemy ingredients in 4 and I'm running around with only 10 empty spaces and never really have issues. Armory stuff I don't really sort since my gearset is generally up to date and fine. I have a syncing set and a boss tanking set, and I'll likely have my crafter set as well.

I also sort all my retainer bags, so take that as you will. >_>

Only was able to run through 2 aurum vale instances yesterday, and failed one and came down to 30 seconds for the second one. The last boss is just so AOE DPS intensive that it's difficult to do without a BLM. The rest of the dungeon is cake, so it's kinda annoying that it has to be this way.

Think I'm going to just hit 49 or 50 before I head back, I need better armor to run that place, and I want my seedling. >_>

 

[pontifex]

so i have been leveling weaver and botanist, and it seems like such a waste of time.

its so slow for one thing, boring for another...to get any use out of it, i have to level it all up to the same level as my main class, which is like twice as high in level.

i hate how you have to have a crafter the same level as an item to meld materia into it...

 

[KaOTiK]

so i have been leveling weaver and botanist, and it seems like such a waste of time.

its so slow for one thing, boring for another...to get any use out of it, i have to level it all up to the same level as my main class, which is like twice as high in level.

i hate how you have to have a crafter the same level as an item to meld materia into it...

You picked 2 of the 3 worst trades to level lol

 

[PowerYoga]

you can probably powerlevel weaver to 50 in a day or 2 if you have enough leves and gil. you don't NEED to have botanist level alongside it. If I waited to level my miner alongside my smithing jobs I'd still be level 30 because gathering is boring as shit.

 

[robvp]

hey im leveling my miner along smith , 4 levels behind and im pretty much selling excess mats, its boring as shit but its making me some cash to go along

 

[PowerYoga]

I can punch mountains for only about 1 level before I want to kill myself. I get 1 level of miner every 2-3 days. At least I am 37 miner now so I can get black alumen for my raptor skins, but mining mythril, despite how useful it is, makes me want to kill myself.

 

[robvp]

yeah i try to do something else while doing, i do it on my laptop and put netflix on the tv, and put the item im mining on the hotbar just so i can see the number rise, something about seeing numbers go up that keeps me motivated lol

 

[PowerYoga]

my goal is to get 2 stacks of HQ stuff to use for myself, then rest is whatever. None of the raw gemstones are valuable anyway, might try to get a stack or 2 for HQ turn ins at the GC.

 

[cbrunny]

So much of this conversation is about levelling up crafting classes... is that because the items you can make are that important? Or because you've levelled all other classes? Or just because that's what you're doing?

 

[KaOTiK]

So much of this conversation is about levelling up crafting classes... is that because the items you can make are that important? Or because you've levelled all other classes? Or just because that's what you're doing?

Probably because crafting is the most complex thing in the game really. Most of the other mechanics and systems in the game you are taught leveling up. And end game is pretty linear in the way you need to progress.

 

[PowerYoga]

I like crafting. A lot. Every single one of my crafting classes is above 35, and my "main" right now is my alchemist and goldsmith, which are higher leveled than my paladin.

 

[darkewaffle]

I like crafting because I like money. Plus it's fun being able to HQ all your own gear, do your own materia; I like being self-sufficient and being able to provide so much to my guild. Even if they are a bunch of dirty mooches.

 

[tedrodai]

Crafting is required for a lot of things in this game, but you're never required to do the crafting yourself if you're not interested. Want crafted gear? Buy it off the market wards, or get the mats and have a friend craft it for you. Want materia melded to your gear? Ask a crafter in your LS or FC, or shout for 1, or use the player search to find one and /tell your request.

To get materia melded, it's literally as easy as clicking the person, clicking "request", putting your items up in the menu, and then the crafter hits "accept". Everything stays in your inventory. Some people charge for melds, some don't.


Do you actually need to be Lv45 (for example) in a craft to meld to a piece of gear equipable at 45? It used to be similar to repairs, where you need at least Lv20 to meld to Lv21-30; Lv30 to meld to 31-40, Lv40 to meld to 41-50. Or maybe I'm misremembering.


P.S. don't try to say crafting takes forever. A friend of mine went from 30-35 CUL in an hour yesterday. Folks have gone 30-50 (in any craft) in a day. If you hate it, then quit tryin to do it. It's actually a little sickening to Legacy crafters how easy, quick, and cheap it is now compared to the past. Not bad necessarily (maybe a little too quick), but definitely sickening.

 

[PowerYoga]

Do you actually need to be Lv45 (for example) in a craft to meld to a piece of gear equipable at 45? It used to be similar to repairs, where you need at least Lv20 to meld to Lv21-30; Lv30 to meld to 31-40, Lv40 to meld to 41-50. Or maybe I'm misremembering.

Yes you definitely do. For example, I can make a raptor hide harness when it's +5 levels above me (in the next tier), I can even HQ it but I wont' be able to meld it until my LTW is the same level. I ran into this problem many times with making crafting earrings and bracelets.

"Oh I'll just meld a +Control into.... nope."

 

[pandemonium]

1. Each item has a maximum of each stat. A lot of low level items already max each stat from their base stats. So an item has +7vit already, and you try to add vit, but it is already at it's maximum allotment for vit so you show +0 vit for that meld. Each materia has a minim ilvl the gear must be to attach to attach that materia, (this is to prevent melding IV materia to level 1 gear).

Of course I agree materia is basically pointless, but thats mainly because only crafted gear can be melded. So the only real point to materia right now is to complete relic quests...

3. All of the 3x turn in leves do allow you to turn in NQ and HQ items. Anything thats like 10x or 9x etc, does not. (Also, the items need to already be stacked in your inventory in the quantity desired, or you won't be able to turn them in)

4. All an items level determines is the maximum quality and progress required for that item. Your gear determines your completion and HQ rate far more than an items level. And as you level, you can get better gear, which then makes crafts easier. You aren't going to HQ much as a lvl 15 crafter. You just don't have the gear, or access to many cross-class abilities yet. Once you get up to mid 20's or 30's, HQing almost anything becomes almost trivial. However, you HAVE to keep your gear current, and access to the good cross-class abilities.

Okay, that makes sense that there's a stat limit to each item which is why adding that stat materia to the item won't produce a result. Thanks for pointing that one out!

You missed my point for #3. Try turning in 2 NQ stackable items and 1 HQ stackable item. You can't. I'm not talking about non-stackable (e.g. pants).

#4 I forgot to mention Quick Synth being the point. My mistake. >.<

For the record, I HQ most of my stuff @15+, btw. Steady Hand II, Rumination, and Waste Not Want Not make for fairly consistent HQs. Ninety-five percent of my gear is as current level as possible and HQ with +control/craftsmandship/CP slotted.

 

[pathos]

You can have a crafter do it for you. You can buy the weapon off the AH, buy the 2 materia off the AH (and 2 grade 5 carbonized matter), and find a crafter willing to help. Then click that person to bring up a menu that includes something along the lines of "request meld". Easy and 100% chance of success.

There is also a pretty concise guide to the steps of that quest floating around. Easy to find via Google.

Well, I bought the weapon yesterday, since it was a slight upgrade anyway. Took a look at savage aim 3's on the auction house....and they are asking for 30k apeice on those....

I have like 32k total, since I don't do crafting, and havent put any of the gear I've random'd out of dungeons up for sale.

Heck, even if i did sell all my excess gear, I'd probably still be pretty short on what I need for 2 of those things. I'm going to have farm some money somehow if I want the artifact weapon, for sure.

on another note, I started farming CM for tomb's last night. Well, when I say I started farming, I went though it 1 time. That 100 tombs was enough to give me 500 (had 400 for the random dungeons I'd done up to this point). So, I actually have enough for 1 accessory. And, that's what needs the upgrade the worst. I'm sort of halfway tempted to keep saving, and replace my visible armor first though (that's how much I dislike the looks of my current armor).

I also ran 1 instance of wanderer's palace. I liked the dungeon, but 30 tombs for 1 run means I probably wont be farming that one. Especially since I haven't seen a single piece of general dow gear drop since like the early 40's.

I did a rough calculation in my head, and figured it would probably take, what, 7k tombs to get a full set of the starter gear, if you started at 0? Thats 70 CM runs. I realize most people probably just get enough of that gear to start running hard modes and primals, and then stop collecting it...but, seriously, this is what I don't like about end game for mmo's. Doing the same thing over and over again, forever and ever.

And considering that I have to wait anywhere from 15-45 minutes for 1 run...I have lost all motivation :\

 

[darkewaffle]

Holy god was it ever laggy last night. Cleared up after a few hours at least. Did manage to get one AK run in which was enough for my +1 bow finally.

I still think it's ugly though.

 

[PowerYoga]

Decided to get 50 on paladin last night, and converted a bunch of purple gear to materia while I was at it. Got 2 battledance 3s, 3 savage aims 3s and a few other less useful ones. Pretty good run I'd say.

Now I just gotta finish up my storyline... What's the major thing to do once you hit 50? Start farming tomes? Or is it possible to do HM ifrit for the weapon first?

 

[nanobreath]

Okay, that makes sense that there's a stat limit to each item which is why adding that stat materia to the item won't produce a result. Thanks for pointing that one out!

You missed my point for #3. Try turning in 2 NQ stackable items and 1 HQ stackable item. You can't. I'm not talking about non-stackable (e.g. pants).

#4 I forgot to mention Quick Synth being the point. My mistake. >.<

For the record, I HQ most of my stuff @15+, btw. Steady Hand II, Rumination, and Waste Not Want Not make for fairly consistent HQs. Ninety-five percent of my gear is as current level as possible and HQ with +control/craftsmandship/CP slotted.

I forget quick Synth even exists. I agree though it should be 100% for crafts so much lower than you, and better HQ chance, but I guess they see it as the tradeoff there. But because it can fail, i just tend to ignore it.

Do you not have Manipulation yet? I find it makes HQ on 40 durability much easier than waste not. Waste not really makes using Tricks of the Trade difficult. (though I don't really try to HQ these much anymore)

I actually kinda wish they made HQing a little more difficult than it currently is. Once you have a few cross-class skills, it's just so easy to HQ. You don't even need to use HQ mats to guarantee an HQ at higher levels. It makes it so that if you don't HQ, the item is basically worthless.