Category: Guild Wars 2

Modernizing Final Fantasy XIV

These are suggested modifications for FFXIV to make more in line with other modern MMOs like Elder Scrolls Online and Guild Wars 2. There are several areas that, in my view, should be upgraded to keep FFXIV more in line with a better user experience and to make the new user experience better. These three MMOS are all approximately the same age and yet ESO and GW2 have modernized, or were created in a modern way that prevented some problems that with its older design FFXIV now faces.

The Leveling Experience

FFXIV is facing a severe problem with regard to leveling. The static, vertical leveling model has gone way past a reasonable limit. The amount of work that a new player faces to catch up to the current “End Game” is too daunting to expect a casual player to invest that amount of time and effort. Also the current design of the game locks the new features – new Jobs, new Zones, new Allied Races, etc. – behind this long progression. To bring FFXIV more in line with the current state of other modern MMOs changes should be made. For years now we have heard that folks must just push through A Realm Reborn and the game will get better. Well it may get better after ARR, but you are just nearing the tree line of the huge mountain you must climb to get to that class you want to play or that dungeon you want to do or that story you want to experience. “I’d like to meet the Loporrits”. Well in a few weeks you can do that.

Many MMOs that are now, sadly deceased, have tried to address progression by making the game just much easier. And this appears to fail most often. None of the suggestions here are attempting to make the game “Easier” or “Progress Faster”. The total time to play the entirety of the FFXIV game should take about the same amount of time. After more than 10 years there is a huge mountain of game play and world out there. The suggestions here are intended to add choice not make things easier. Tera changed things to make things easier. Made the game all about End Game and then after a few years died. Anyway, after many years playing Tera that was my observation.

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As MMOs Age

I’m an MMO addict. Let’s forget about Wow and ones before that. Recently I play Elder Scrolls Online, Final Fantasy XIV and Guild Wars 2. Recently I got bored and went back to Guild Wars [1], but let’s ignore that in this comparison.

In these games I have many characters:

Each game has lots of choices for classes and races and so there are lots of combinations to try. Some I don’t find that interesting – Cat People [Khajiit] in ESO for example just aren’t that interesting to me personally. All the races in ESO are just head changes on basically the same body with or without fur. And new classes appear with new expansions. We just got Arcanist with the Necrom expansion recently.

For FFXIV, all classes [ jobs ] are available to all races and in every character. So you don’t have to make a new character to try a new job. So there aren’t so much as “Combinations” as just all the race choices. And more races and jobs with each expansion.

For Guild Wars 2, all races can play one of any of the classes [Professions] and each expansion brings along new “Specializations” for the classes.

So what happens as a game ages. All these game are more than or almost 10 years old at this point. What happens to the games over time and what does that mean for new players.

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HarvestMap Add On

Update: Use Keen Eye to see nodes more clearly

Harvesting in Elder Scrolls Online is a pain without help from a plug-in. There are a few problems.

  • There is no way to see the nodes until you are on top of them. You literately have to be within a meter of the node and pointing at it with your cursor to see it. The Keen Eye passives from crafting skills mitigate this problem somewhat.
  • There is no Mini-Map built into the game, and if you use a mini-map AddOn, it does not show nodes either. Unless you use another Add On.

So HarvestMap Add On to the rescue. And it’s great, but it’s confusing to get started which is why I wrote this post. You can find the HarvestMap Add On here. I’m assuming that you know how to install Add Ons in ESO. If not there are lots of folks that will show you how.

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Too Brutal to be Fun

Guild Wars 2 has recently released a chapter called “What Lies Beneath” in the End of Dragons Expansion. I decided to start to play through the chapter and later join on another character with my friend so that we could play though. All went well for a couple of story segments and I reached a new area of the map.

Here you can see where the new map zones are and you can see that my character is max level [which is required for End of Dragons expansion] and you can see that I have a full set of Exotic Armor with the last available Elite Spec for the Guardian class which is WillBender. Which is to say that I’m not new to this game or new to the class.

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Island Sanctuary – End Game Only

In a few days we are going to get a new feature in Final Fantasy XIV – Island Sanctuaries. These are “Instanced Housing” in the form of a large island for every player. Here’s the FFXIV official page and here’s an article with some details.

How disappointing. I had assumed that they would be available at, oh say, 30 or 50. So I could take my friends who are new to the game and show them my Island Sanctuaries. Or as an alternative activity for my 2 dozen alts. But no. The Island Sanctuaries are locked behind a tall, tall ladder of level 90 and Endwalker. Current housing is locked behind scarcity and high cost in Gil and Island Sanctuaries are “End Game Content” at least now. In a couple of years it won’t seem like End Game any more.

And of course the other obvious question would be why can’t the whole account share the same Island? All the alts could work to progress the same island.

All of my Alts are 50+ and about half have completed Heavenward that’s 3.0. And my friend started more recently and of their half dozen alts they only have a couple beyond Heavensward and one at Endwalker which is 6.0. Are you seeing a theme here?

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FFXIV Event is Boring

This Moogle event is supposed to keep us busy while we get ready for the next patch. But it is so boring that I can’t stand doing it.

I’d like the gorilla mount for my Lalafel characters. Nothing is cuter than a Lalafel carried around by a gorilla. BUT.

It’s too boring to get these rewards. It requires 7 RUNS of Praetorium, which takes about 40 minutes each, and a run of something else. After running this dungeon dozens of times it is Soooooo Boring. I can’t stand it. I have several Lalafel characters, but I guess they will have to do without their mounts.

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What Wow Gets Wrong with Dragon Mounts

World of Warcraft has been accused of copying Guild Wars 2 mounts for the upcoming Dragonflight expansion. Let’s review Guild Wars 2 mounts for those who don’t know. Mounts were added to Guild Wars 2 in Path of Fire. Before that travel was limited to Teleporting to Waypoints, and Gliding. There were some other things like mushrooms and lava tubes in some limited zones.

Guild Wars 2 Mounts

There are a few mounts in Guild Wars 2 and they each have their special abilities that are increased with Masteries in the game. All mounts and mount skins are account wide in GW2, just like Wow.

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Dress up for Role Play

I just found some outfits from a vendor in Rata Sum. There are other vendors like this around I’m sure, but I tripped across this one and was looking through his wares. Outfits. And they cost “Endless Tonics”. Endless Tonics are “dress up” novelties that last only a limited time and not in combat. But this vendor will upgrade those Tonics to “Outfits” which work all the time, in combat or not. Here is the vendor and the outfit. And outfits are account wide so here it is on one of my girls. Not fancy. But more “Comfortable” than the armor.

Here’s the skinny on these items. Check out the trivia section at the bottom for the history of these items.

The thing is that most of these “Endless Tonics” are very expensive on the market board. But one of them is very cheap. 10 SILVER. Search for “Endless Common” on the market board. It’s only 10 silver as I’m looking. Others are very expensive as you can see. Then swap the “Endless Tonic” at the vendor for the “Outfit”, which you can wear on all your characters all the time if you like.

Enjoy,
:ww

Protect Your Eyes From the Sand

While doing some events in a Sand Storm in Dry Top, I was opening some Buried Lost Chests, I found an Adventurer’s Spectacles. When I looked them up I found that they can be used to craft a better looking Adventurer’s Mantle. I was afraid I would have to grind more chests in Sand Storms or pay a lot of gold to get them, but nope. They are cheap on the Market Board.

As you can see, a set of 3 Specs, and Scarfs doesn’t really cost that much. I guess the drop rate is pretty high from the chests. Also there are the pictures of the Light and Heavy versions. They all look the same actually. These parts are all dye-able.

So you can craft the mantles if you have Tailor, Leatherworker, or Armorsmith at about level 400. Follow the links in the Wiki for crafting instructions and use Discovery for the Recipes.

:ww

Ghost Ship in the Cursed Shore

There was an old forum post, but the ship looks different and I don’t see the disturbed water in this post.

Old GW2 Forum Post

Not sure what’s going on. The ship stays around for a few seconds and then disappears, but appears later. Not sure the schedule or how long it really lasts.

Here’s a segment of video I took of the ship:

Ship is at 3:30 in this video

:ww