So this is definitely a first impression from myself, having not experienced XI, XIV 1.0 and the previous betas of XIV: ARR. The first time I got to play was Friday morning before the servers locked up. Although after reading a ton about ARR, seeing various videos and spending hours on the character creator and benchmark beforehand, I was really excited to get started.
I can say without a doubt that excitement still exists.
Games such as WoW really burned me out of traditional MMORPGs and I never really got into Terra or other games, I figured since then that I wouldn't find another RPG which I would find fun or be drawn into. However there's something about this game that has me really feeling it, but I'll break it down to categories to help my thoughts or this whole post will be a jumbled mess.
Combat: I'm really enjoying it, I love the combo system and that enemies can perform area attacks which you have to move away from. I mean it's enough to keep you on your toes and thinking without being overwhelming and it makes combat feel a bit more dynamic.
Also the Fates, Guildhests, Guildleves and hunting log are really good, quick distractions that isn't "quest number 2984".
Visuals: Yeah we all know it all looks good, I can't really say more than that. I'm liking the design style a lot though and I felt truly badass when I received my first full set of matching armour. Combat also looks pretty spectacular and I can hardly see the enemies in Fates because of the huge amount of rainbow bleeding in from your eyes to the back of your skull, which should be a bad thing but it's quite awesome to gaze upon.
Sounds: I spent 10 whole minutes renting a just to listen to the song. I'm also really liking the environmental ambiance and location songs, they really put you in the mood. It's just a shame the sound jitters a lot when the area is busy.
Feels: The last FF game I played was XII and I have to admit that XIV reminds me somewhat of that, partly because of the art style and partly because of (from memory) the gameplay is similar at times. Regardless, although I didn't feel it at first, XIV definitely feels like an FF to me now, I just had to get into the world proper (or ride a ).
I have to say though the NPC dialogue is amazing in Lominsa, the "shites" and "arses" were totally unexpected and I never, ever expected to see "colder than a dead whore's crotch". Certainly makes me feel like I'm in a port city (just like the one I live in IRL) and I don't know if vulgarity gives NPC character, but it definitely makes me read what they have to say out of shear amusement.
So there's already a ton more I could say but this is already too many words. I mean all the time I'm writing this is all the time I could be playing, which I definitely will be doing for the foreseeable future. I just wish it performed better on my computer, it definitely isn't running as fast as the benchmark.
But I'm hooked and that's all there is to it really.
I can say without a doubt that excitement still exists.
Games such as WoW really burned me out of traditional MMORPGs and I never really got into Terra or other games, I figured since then that I wouldn't find another RPG which I would find fun or be drawn into. However there's something about this game that has me really feeling it, but I'll break it down to categories to help my thoughts or this whole post will be a jumbled mess.
Combat: I'm really enjoying it, I love the combo system and that enemies can perform area attacks which you have to move away from. I mean it's enough to keep you on your toes and thinking without being overwhelming and it makes combat feel a bit more dynamic.
Also the Fates, Guildhests, Guildleves and hunting log are really good, quick distractions that isn't "quest number 2984".
Visuals: Yeah we all know it all looks good, I can't really say more than that. I'm liking the design style a lot though and I felt truly badass when I received my first full set of matching armour. Combat also looks pretty spectacular and I can hardly see the enemies in Fates because of the huge amount of rainbow bleeding in from your eyes to the back of your skull, which should be a bad thing but it's quite awesome to gaze upon.
Sounds: I spent 10 whole minutes renting a just to listen to the song. I'm also really liking the environmental ambiance and location songs, they really put you in the mood. It's just a shame the sound jitters a lot when the area is busy.
Feels: The last FF game I played was XII and I have to admit that XIV reminds me somewhat of that, partly because of the art style and partly because of (from memory) the gameplay is similar at times. Regardless, although I didn't feel it at first, XIV definitely feels like an FF to me now, I just had to get into the world proper (or ride a ).
I have to say though the NPC dialogue is amazing in Lominsa, the "shites" and "arses" were totally unexpected and I never, ever expected to see "colder than a dead whore's crotch". Certainly makes me feel like I'm in a port city (just like the one I live in IRL) and I don't know if vulgarity gives NPC character, but it definitely makes me read what they have to say out of shear amusement.
So there's already a ton more I could say but this is already too many words. I mean all the time I'm writing this is all the time I could be playing, which I definitely will be doing for the foreseeable future. I just wish it performed better on my computer, it definitely isn't running as fast as the benchmark.
But I'm hooked and that's all there is to it really.