(Curses, foiled by that aquatic mammal, the manatee!)
Welcome, Leencat! Let me be the first (second...manateeeee! *shakes fist*) to welcome you theoretically to Gilgamesh (and I'll officially welcome you when you buy the game and join us!).
I'll try to answer some questions!
1. Is the lore and general story of the game fairly easy to learn? Is the story and lore presented coherently and logically, such that I won't feel overwhelmed by small details or feel like I need to research every other thing? (I'll try to clarify if that doesn't make sense.)
Well, yes and no. There's not a wiki quite as robust as, say Wowpedia for WoW, but there are sources out there that are ever growing and of course there are plenty of helpful people on these forums happy to answer questions. That said, the only lore knowledge I had of Eorzea was basically watching the End of an Era video (which is also the opening cinematic for A Realm Reborn). But you start the game as a traveler arriving in Eorzea's city states (1 of 3), so it's actually really easy to have little to no lore knowledge because you can simply not be from around there. The main story is easy to follow and explains things and helps catch you up on prior events rather well in my opinion, though.
Of course, there are plenty of little details to pour over and learn as you explore the game and ask questions.
2. Do the mechanics of the game compare to the mechanics of other newer games? (Basically, does the game offer me more than point-and-click mechanics?)
It's not doing anything tremendously new in this area. If you've played WoW, you pretty much have a basic grasp of the overall feel of the UI. Target enemies, use abilities. However, the things they've taken from other games are put together beautifully in a smooth way. There are still a few things that some would argue could be streamlined for quality of life (like clicking items from inventory to put in a window to "hand over" to an NPC), but I love them. They had a tiny bit of "believable feel" to me.
3. What are some of this game's very unique features in your opinions and/or what makes it worth its monthly fee?
Imagine WoW, GW2, etc, etc. Imagine getting abilities and leveling up and end game. Now imagine that ladder climb applied to crafting. Crafting has its own jobs and abilities and mini-game to make items of varying quality. It's also designed to be extremely difficult to be totally self sufficient so there is co-dependence among the crafting professions.
I'm only level 17 on my highest adventuring job (pugilist) but I am really enjoying the game. There's not a lot brand new to me yet, but I would argue it's worth the monthly fee for the same reason WoW was at launch. "It takes all the good things about other MMOs on the market, polishes them, and puts them in a well made bundle."
The key thing it does better than others is the story. FFXI was fantastic on main story presentation, and ARR is right there. I find myself annoyed that I'm waiting on friends to catch up because I don't care about leveling, doing other jobs, unlocking classes, or getting gear.....I want to see the next part of the story. But even when I get to max level and see the main storyline through, there's so much to do still.
4. My friend told me that this game offers a lot of PvE. Can several of you confirm this? I don't care much for PvP and prefer to have plentiful PvE, lest I get bored quickly.
There is definitely a lot of PvE options. FATEs are sort of like GW2 dynamic events. There are dungeons and raids. Leves are sort of like daily quests in a way. And bear in mind that one character can access every job. I started as a pugilist (fist fighter), but I'm also level 3 archer, gladiator, and conjurer. I've also gotten to about level 6 as a cook, tailor, leatherworker. I've heard fishing is actually addictive as well. And then getting combinations like pugilist/lancer unlocks classes like monk (others are dragoon, paladin, etc). It feels like there's a lot to do. At the very least enough to make the purchase and a few months subscription worth it.
5. For anyone with very good knowledge of computer hardware, would you be able to tell me if my computer (the exact model detailed here) will handle the game at least on low settings? (I'm not getting my new video card or power supply for a few more months yet, but I know that the video card really needs a replacement. Extra points if you can recommend a video card and/or affordable power supply that you can confirm would work with my compute and fit in it that would make a significant difference. If it helps, it handled Guild Wars 2 on low settings with a few medium settings.)
I'm sure someone can link the benchmark, which will let you see how your PC will run. If they don't, I'll link it from home tonight! I agree with manatee, I think you might be okay on standard settings. Your video card is better than mine and I can play on standard/high settings just fine. You only have a little less processor and RAM power than me.
Welcome, Leencat! Let me be the first (second...manateeeee! *shakes fist*) to welcome you theoretically to Gilgamesh (and I'll officially welcome you when you buy the game and join us!).
I'll try to answer some questions!
1. Is the lore and general story of the game fairly easy to learn? Is the story and lore presented coherently and logically, such that I won't feel overwhelmed by small details or feel like I need to research every other thing? (I'll try to clarify if that doesn't make sense.)
Well, yes and no. There's not a wiki quite as robust as, say Wowpedia for WoW, but there are sources out there that are ever growing and of course there are plenty of helpful people on these forums happy to answer questions. That said, the only lore knowledge I had of Eorzea was basically watching the End of an Era video (which is also the opening cinematic for A Realm Reborn). But you start the game as a traveler arriving in Eorzea's city states (1 of 3), so it's actually really easy to have little to no lore knowledge because you can simply not be from around there. The main story is easy to follow and explains things and helps catch you up on prior events rather well in my opinion, though.
Of course, there are plenty of little details to pour over and learn as you explore the game and ask questions.
2. Do the mechanics of the game compare to the mechanics of other newer games? (Basically, does the game offer me more than point-and-click mechanics?)
It's not doing anything tremendously new in this area. If you've played WoW, you pretty much have a basic grasp of the overall feel of the UI. Target enemies, use abilities. However, the things they've taken from other games are put together beautifully in a smooth way. There are still a few things that some would argue could be streamlined for quality of life (like clicking items from inventory to put in a window to "hand over" to an NPC), but I love them. They had a tiny bit of "believable feel" to me.
3. What are some of this game's very unique features in your opinions and/or what makes it worth its monthly fee?
Imagine WoW, GW2, etc, etc. Imagine getting abilities and leveling up and end game. Now imagine that ladder climb applied to crafting. Crafting has its own jobs and abilities and mini-game to make items of varying quality. It's also designed to be extremely difficult to be totally self sufficient so there is co-dependence among the crafting professions.
I'm only level 17 on my highest adventuring job (pugilist) but I am really enjoying the game. There's not a lot brand new to me yet, but I would argue it's worth the monthly fee for the same reason WoW was at launch. "It takes all the good things about other MMOs on the market, polishes them, and puts them in a well made bundle."
The key thing it does better than others is the story. FFXI was fantastic on main story presentation, and ARR is right there. I find myself annoyed that I'm waiting on friends to catch up because I don't care about leveling, doing other jobs, unlocking classes, or getting gear.....I want to see the next part of the story. But even when I get to max level and see the main storyline through, there's so much to do still.
4. My friend told me that this game offers a lot of PvE. Can several of you confirm this? I don't care much for PvP and prefer to have plentiful PvE, lest I get bored quickly.
There is definitely a lot of PvE options. FATEs are sort of like GW2 dynamic events. There are dungeons and raids. Leves are sort of like daily quests in a way. And bear in mind that one character can access every job. I started as a pugilist (fist fighter), but I'm also level 3 archer, gladiator, and conjurer. I've also gotten to about level 6 as a cook, tailor, leatherworker. I've heard fishing is actually addictive as well. And then getting combinations like pugilist/lancer unlocks classes like monk (others are dragoon, paladin, etc). It feels like there's a lot to do. At the very least enough to make the purchase and a few months subscription worth it.
5. For anyone with very good knowledge of computer hardware, would you be able to tell me if my computer (the exact model detailed here) will handle the game at least on low settings? (I'm not getting my new video card or power supply for a few more months yet, but I know that the video card really needs a replacement. Extra points if you can recommend a video card and/or affordable power supply that you can confirm would work with my compute and fit in it that would make a significant difference. If it helps, it handled Guild Wars 2 on low settings with a few medium settings.)
I'm sure someone can link the benchmark, which will let you see how your PC will run. If they don't, I'll link it from home tonight! I agree with manatee, I think you might be okay on standard settings. Your video card is better than mine and I can play on standard/high settings just fine. You only have a little less processor and RAM power than me.
