The more I read about Final Fantasy XIV, the more strange quirks I find in the game. Square certainly looks to stab the conventional MMO in the heart yet again with this title, and changes not only from Final Fantasy XI, but other traditional MMOs leave us with a myriad of thoughts, ranging from cool to…what?
Foremost, Final Fantasy XIV is a casual game, with aspects designed to bring in fans of the series that haven’t tried MMOs due to the perceived hardcore nature of the games. That isn’t to say that the game itself will be a casual title, just that it will appeal to a wider audience than Final Fantasy XI, which Square was quick to point out currently boasts over 2 million active characters. The game is focusing less on group systems and more on balancing what is possible on solo, and group, encounters.
Final Fantasy XIV is built upon Final Fantasy XI, and as a result will be bringing back the odd restrictions, and will not feature jumping, climbing, or swimming. Another factor coming from XI is the focus on PvE (or PvM), where player vs player combat will be more of an afterthought (or a brain fart) than a true feature of the game, and will be reminiscant of Final Fantasy XI’s PvP system of events and mini-games. The official statement on PvP is that it causes too much harassment and grieving, that goes against Square’s intention on a fun place to play.
Square also looks to play to those who became tired of issues with PlayOnline, by ditching it completely. Final Fantasy XIV will instead use a new system with a Square Enix ID. The auction house has also been thrown out the window. Expect more information on that in the months to come.
Final Fantasy XIV is confirmed to have no levels and no experience, and the job system has been thrown out the window. That being said, the game appears to function much like Darkfall or Ultima Online where you raise various stats through doing the activity, that randomly increases your proficiency. Fight with a sword, and you’ll become better with the sword. Want to tend to your garden? You’ll gain quite the green thumb. If Darkfall and Ultima Online have anything to say about this system, it won’t be too different than players are accustomed to, albeit more complicated. The game will feature a class system depending on what you’re doing.
Eorzea, the world of Final Fantasy XIV, will be “the same size or slightly smaller” compared to the world of Vana’Diel in FFXI, but Square promises that they are running for a quality, not quantity, approach and that the slightly smaller world will be chock full of things to do. When addressed with the question of a lack of things to do outside of crafting and fighting, the official response is that FFXIV will incorporate plenty of fun activities outside of the two regular activities.
- Casual game with more focus on solo than FFXI
- PvE focus, PvP afterthought
- No more PlayOnline, Square ID introduced
- No levels, No experience, No jobs
- Ultima Online stat raising system
- The world is about the same size, but packed much more tightly
Right now FFXIV is in an alpha stage, and a lot is set to change before the game ships in 2010. If Square has taught us anything with Final Fantasy XI, it’s that we can expect just the same, if not even better, from the spiritual sequel. Expect more information in the coming months.
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