It's Raining Content

25 Jul 2014
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Eorzea's Voice Article 5-2.fw

Welcome to the fifth installment of Eorzea’s Voice, the column that contains the voices, loud and quiet, of fellow adventurers in Eorzea. This installment will focus on the aspects of the mini-patch (2.28), as well as 2.3 and the future speculations of 2.4.

To begin, 2.28 was released just a little over a month ago, on June 5th, 2014. It featured a lot more for those that were not as interested in the previous “PvP” patch, such as the introduction of the next installment of Relic weapon quest involving Novus, new poses, gear preview, the channeling line for cover, and many more quality of life updates. Players can refer to the full patch notes here: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/450816f57ade2015876e7675c3d06dca30386770.

Anyway, most were excited about what the Novus portion of the Relic quest would be like. As soon as many found out, they were no longer as enthused. Unfortunately, the quest required either more FATE grinding, more Myth grinding, or a combination of both. Just thinking about it has the potency equivalent to a brain freeze. Luckily, the developers introduced new methods of obtaining the 75 alexandrite (the item needed for Novus) in 2.3.

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Furthermore, what everyone was most interested in lied in the E3 highlights relating to 2.3 + 2.4. The major announcement revealed at the show was the introduction of the Rogue class and Ninja job, which will be released in 2.4. It has been stated that Ninja will be quite unique from the other jobs, being considerably faster than other jobs and also harnessing the ability to create skills using a combination of hand-signs (Forewarning: Naruto macros incoming upon patch release). Ninja will be rather complex, which will provide a good challenge for players who wish to master the job. When I think of the planned system, I think of it being equivalent to Sabin’s (yes, from Final Fantasy VI) command inputs that create a powerful monk ability that would “bum rush” enemies. If Ninja proves to be anything on that caliber, I will gladly place it as my secondary job.

Nevertheless, it’s not all just about Ninja being introduced. In fact, there were plenty of immense updates, most importantly the recently released 2.3 update, which included a plethora of content that can be found here in the patch notes: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/2977e520e828067bb82917156c809e71a48adb5a

That being said, I was incredibly excited about 2.3. Being a PvE player junkie, I looked forward to having my face smashed in a dragon in the new Stone Vigil hard mode. Unfortunately, upon release, no dragons were really fought. In all honesty, Stone Vigil HM probably was my least liked dungeon with Tam-Tara hard mode being my favorite (I had a personal hatred with this dungeon back in normal mode days) due to the amount of story the devs implemented in it. I still look forward to someday tackling the savage version of The Second Binding Coil of Bahamut. Ramuh Ex is also a battle I still look forward to completed, especially with the battle theme in play (/drool). Luckily, all this content was only the tip of the iceberg. There were a lot more on the list that I did not cover, but players were downright excited for the release of this patch. Many were unable to wait to tackle Ramuh or beat each other to a pulp in the flea-ridden PvP mode, Frontlines.

Honestly, one of the inclusions of the patch I was most looking forward to was to be able to dye my old AF gear. Who wouldn’t want Snowy-colored Dragoon gear? Sadly, that came with plenty of hoops to leap through in order to dye it. At least private FC rooms turned out fantastic!

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And how have players been reacting to these patches, including the distant future patch? Well…

(Note: Most of these people were questioned before 2.3 was released)

The roulette changes in 2.28 have really helped my lazy mates get the mythology they needed for their animus now that I drag them to do the roulettes each day. I like the Novus line, gave a use for Materia/Gil and the daily quest gives you a steady flow of Alexandrites which is always better than a % chance of obtaining one.

2.3 has so much being brought in that I will be like a little kid at Christmas time. Looking forward to gearing alts in CT2, chocobo raising (colour choice? yes please!), daily/weekly hunt providing more Alexandrite and sand/oil(s) of time, Item desynthesis (finally my hoarding pays off) and so much more. As I was watching the trailer I was excited about everything I saw. Really looking forward to it. 2.4 Rogue/Ninja… love that the new class/job is being introduced in a patch rather than expansion, as it gives me hope for more of the classic Final Fantasy jobs. A special mount for partaking in an Eternal Bond… now all I have to do is find that special someone to bond with (could take a while I’m quite demanding lol). Shiva, what can I say one of the most well-known summons in Final Fantasy history so looking forward to her story. All in all, I love the way this game is going and can’t wait for more installments!

– Gelesto T’ki, Moogle

I can definitely agree that 2.3 is the patch this one has been looking for. I, unfortunately, blew through a good chunk of the content within a couple days. That being said, there is still plenty more for me to do. So much untouched… hunts, more hunts, even more hunts, Naul, Naul… think I have everything covered for my to-do list.

The most interested aspect for me in 2.3 is job balance. I am looking forward to how SE is gonna nerf or buff DPS (hopefully not just nerf). However, still no clue how they are gonna roll out yet.

– Altimis Farron, Aegis

Seeing the buffed DPS, it’s definitely apparent in black mage. Black mage so overpowered now!

I love the new quests, but I hate virtually everything related to the zodiac weapons. It’s like they intentionally designed it to not only be unpleasant, but as mind-numbingly grindy as possible purely to satisfy a minority of players who enjoy doing the same 2 actions for the entire duration of their play time. 2.3, I’m most interested in the continuation of the story missions and more Hildebrand. Frontlines is really a non-event as far as I’m concerned since no amount of window dressing can fix the critical issues plaguing PvP.

2.4, Rogue… gimme. Granted everyone and their mothers will be playing this class, but who am I to fight the tide? I’m just as excited about this new class as I was when I first stepped into Eorzea, so it’ll be interesting to see if it lives up to expectations.

– Lemuria Glitterhands, Ragnarok

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I am not exactly for or against the zodiac weapon system. I’ve been taking it extremely slow, doing a few FATEs here or there or using daily roulette (expect for one book) and treasure maps to collect mythos. However, THE 2.3 HILDIBRAND quests were amazing in 2.3. For those who are not currently on the quests, I strongly urge you players to do them. I never would have thought that I would have laughed so hard in this game, but Square Enix deserves an A+ in humor for the Hildibrand quests. Unfortunately, the (re-)introduction of Parley is not bad, but the mini-game does become old without incentive with a low failure rate.

I Like Novus… but… dat Materia thing… uh-uh. 2.28 had lots of QoL stuff, which is nice. Sightseeing thing was a big disappointment. Like an FC member said: you kind of need the stars to align. It would have been ok if you didn’t have to jump up on stupid places, and stand around for hours, doing nothing, and waiting for the right weather. PVP stuff… great to be able to use all skills, kind of bleh, that you’re restricted to how many PvP skills you can use, as with cross-class skills. Would need to remove them every time you wanna swap around jobs; still better than before.

Gear preview = nice

Save *show helm on/off* to gear sets = nice

Teleport from map = nice

FATE progress on map = nice

Saved Poses = nice

Nothing that I disliked…

Most of the stuff from 2.3 trailers look nice. And hopefully there’s plenty more QoL stuff.

I’m kind of dreading all the new vanity sets also… already full inv/retainers QQ. Hopefully hunts are a bit more like Map-Chimera, where you NEED to have a pt. If you can solo hunts, it would suck… but I’m sure there’s some low-end marks that you can solo, and that’s fine I guess; but I hope there’s plenty of 8-man Hunts. For 2.4 they might remove 2nd coil lock-out and add echo. And then in 2.5, add 3rd coil. I think XIV iteration of Shiva… looks a bit bland… I like FFX Shiva the most. But either way, we’re getting new zones so that’s nice anyway. More story.

I’ll rush-cap Ninja! I was planning to make Novus for it, but dunno… seems too bothersome, since I can just buy soldiery weapon and get sand from CT, and voila, 110 weapon. By that time I might already have T9 on farm too, so both soldiery and Novus will be kind of meh. And if they remove coil-lock, can just farm for HA stuff.

– Austen Bloodspatter, Balmung

Sadly, I forgot sightseeing existed, even after the improvements. Glad this comment reminded me, considering I am a minion hunter! Baby Apkallu, here I come! However, completely disagree with Shiva looking bland. She is… less colorful, yes, but her animations seem very expressive.

2.28 was a great overall QoL patch. Self-repairing past 100% was probably single-handedly the best change for that patch. I can’t think of anything offhand I disliked about it. I JUST got my Novus quest last night. I’m in no particular rush to get it done since I already have an i110 weapon and my group is getting closer to getting T9 down, and I feel I’ll get the High Allagan weapon before I get a Novus. I’ll still do my daily Expert just to accumulate the Alexandrite and work on it at my own pace, same as I’ve treated the Atma and Animus.

2.3 has me really excited. Probably looking forward most to the continued main story and Crystal Tower story arcs. I feel like the main story is really about to get rolling now, and I hope with CT we learn a bit more about the Allagan civilization. All the other little extra stuff is nice too: chocobo raising, desynthesis (this one is particularly intriguing), the Hunts (look forward to doing these with FC members), and the Ixal beast quests. I plan to try out Frontline as well, and may consider a GC change if necessary to group up with friends while doing it. I think I’m going to forego the private rooms and just wait for personal housing to be released. They said at E3 that they plan to release it before 2.4, so it should only be a couple months at most after 2.3 launches that we should hopefully have that option. I don’t want to decorate a room with rare items only to have to remake them again when I get my own pad.

2.4. We still don’t have much info on this. We know there will be a main story continuation and new Coil story. Maybe Shiva will make her appearance? Definitely going to try out Rogue/Ninja since I’ve already maxed out my levels on my other classes, so it will be fun to learn a new class.

– Orophin Calmcacil, Excalibur

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Self-repair was the savior of all and made me pick up crafting again, just so I was able to self-repair. Now, it’d be great if we could repair friends’/allies’ gear… Also, I jumped instantly on housing. In fact, it was the very first thing I did in game when 2.8 released. Was so happy! Been gathering mats constantly and begging friends to craft things (since I haven’t exactly mastered any crafts). I can’t help it, I want a nice room for me to chill in! While desynth is oddly fun for me, I am a bit disappointed in chocobo raising. I wish it was a bit more interactive in some manner.

Nobody mentioned the best thing to happen with 2.28 – “auto skip cutscene function.”

– Aria Jade, Leviathan

Very true unless others are watching the CS/are stuck on CS. Then I am just twiddling my thumbs, waiting.

Uh want muh gold saucuh!

– Carson Warson, Goblin

ME TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! /cry

Only thing I’m looking forward to is Ninja! I’ve been waiting on that class ever since I saw the Fuma outfit in CT. Hopefully both Ramuh and Shiva are more challenging than Titan Ex, as I thought Leviathan and Mog Ex were a little easy compared to Titan Ex. Hunts look like they can be fun – at least the Elite hunts. Though we will be able to acquire Sands, Oil, gear, and alexandrite from them, I fear the cost may be so that it takes what feels like forever for a single purchase, especially since Elite hunts are only weekly. Based off of screenshots shown by SE, the daily hunts look like no type of challenge, so not too excited about the daily hunts.

I almost forgot; I’m especially excited to see changes to all the jobs in 2.3. How much stronger will BLM become in single-target? How much weaker will it become in AoE to balance out the single-target buff? What abilities will be getting changed? How will the other classes get rebalanced? Can’t wait to see these changes!

– Kuroyasha Tenshi, Mateus

The Ramuh exploit/bug with the Titan-Egi was amazing (from what I heard), but seemed a little cheap if it was able to bypass an import mechanic. Clever, but does make the fight a lot easier. I always preferred a challenge!

I’ve just now got around to starting my Relic quest, so I have no opinion regarding Novus quite yet (other than being a decent way to farm up Grand Company seals, I guess). While I do sympathize with people getting bad luck with RNG, sometimes I think maybe a very slight increase to the drop rate would help.

Once the patch comes out, I will probably try everything out that I can (I’m not quite as caught up as others yet, even in my own FC). I liked what I saw in the trailer, mentally commented on how the environments in Syrcus (CT2) looked. I’m interested in the introduction of Ramuh and Shiva, and, of course, more Hildibrand (even though I didn’t like him at first). I will certainly try out chocobo raising, unless they’ve put it behind some form of gating (meaning requiring level 10). I’ll check out private rooms if it doesn’t cost too much.

I’m looking forward to trying out Rogue/Ninja. Eternal bonding doesn’t interest me at all, even from a role-playing perspective.

– Ganth Fyrion, Leviathan

Before Eternal Bonding has been even released, it seems like invitations have been flying every which way between players. To me, it seems like Valentione’s Day with a bit more flair…

2.28 had the wonderful distraction for me that is the Sightseeing Log what I am still going through to get those finnicky jumps and elusive time/weather combinations what never really seem to happen.
The auto skip for CS was a great addition as was the party duty finder.

2.3 The entire community has taken up The Hunt by storm although I myself have not taken it up to any extent other than the daily hunts the competition is fierce for all the ranks of hunt at least here everyone can take part and gain something from it.
With the new dungeons added I am glad the rewards have been split to keep people in the party until the end, if only they weren’t all doing The Hunt and Syrcus Tower. I particularly enjoyed Tam-Tara although even more so after reading all the logs in the dungeon although I now feel somewhat responsible for this incident there.
Hildibrand was hilarious as always and unexpectedly so with the Moogle Porter quests, here’s looking at you Hunberct Longhaft!

2.4 Although we don’t have a lot of information on this patch as 2.3 has pretty much just launched there is at least a little information now that we can at least comment on.
I know a lot of people are looking forward to this one for two things, Rogue and Ninja.
I can see Duty Finder crying out for Tanks and Healers as always and you could expect the queue times to be excessive as on certain servers a lot of players have most if not all of the combat classes at level 50 already myself included.
I myself am looking forward to the continuation of the Hildibrand and Main scenarios as I am particularly enjoying both. As more information trickles in I’m sure there should be plenty about for us to get excited about!

– Draziel Fury

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Same here, Draz! The Hunt is just overkill for me, so going to wait a month or so when the crowds begin to dissipate. I hate the amount of competition in it, and people can be a bit impatient when it comes to pulling. As for ST. ME WANT ONION KNIGHT MINION! I am glad you are enjoying it much, as am I. The story has picked up, and I’m glad that it has! Desynthing, I have learned, also makes a bit o’ gil. Highly recommended if you’re a crafter.

2.3, thus far, has been a patch that’s been very fun, and I’m sure will keep people busy for a little while (especially with Frontlines, since I’ve yet to try since the Maelstrom —- > Adder swap (temporarily, just so I can collect all the minions!), but I think that it has been rather fun. I have been putting a lot more time into crafts, minion hunting, desynth, my private room, etc. And to say I have made a dent in the content may only be half-true. With that stated, I’m already excited for 2.4. Ninja, and… well other stuff, I guess, but Ninja! Though I probably won’t have the chance to play it until it’s out of many players’ systems… What about you all, my fellow players? Has 2.3 lived up to your hopes and dreams for the patch? Is there something you felt lacked in the patch? Could there have been improvements, on let’s say… the hunts? Please do share your thoughts using our Twitter and Facebook pages, or email me at [email protected]! Tune in next time on Eorzea’s Voice, featuring an insight on Frontlines and Hunts (including the exploit aspects)! Till the sea swallows all!