Early Access ProsFollow

Not part of the EA crew here, but definitely envious ><;

If my account wasn't Japanese, I would have pre-order the game again just for the early access, sadly only the physical collector edition gets EA in Japan.

Something good I can see about EA:

- Formally start over the weekend rather than on a Tuesday
- Continuing with the story early gives you a better chance to find the key monsters and areas less convoluted which is as awesome as it gets in a MMORPG

After beta 4, I started on a NA/EU Legacy server to join former LS mates from XI. To be honest, this is a joy in itself, as they all quit XI long before Abyssea because well.. we are getting old, and we all have families of our own that need out attention. But excited, we all came to XIV to pay once more. This to me is the single greatest thing to happen with 2.0.

Since launch of early access, I've experienced all issues associated with it. But I've played more hours than there has been downtime. That equals a win, given the fact I anticipated much worse. (because I've played too many MMO launches to know it never goes smoothly) So that's a win in my book. And I know they'll work out these EA issues.

Highlight was working on my MRD and getting to the point of the main story quests that needed me to duty up to complete each of the 3 starting instances. I felt sorry for the first group I was with, as I was learning button config for the controller while trying to tank. I quickly picked up the pace by the end, and the next 2 dungeons went smoothly. The quest after that involved a fight in U'dah was awesome.. original FF battle fanfare played.. I nearly lost it because of it... it felt great to hear the tune as I did the fight.

I've been fishing with frustration.. there's bound to be one or two fish in a zone's area of fishing that I cannot seem to grab up, making my fishing log go incomplete. Even in Limsa, lower deck.. I am missing one damn fish to complete that in the log. I've tried all baits, time of day and weather. But that in itself is the fun of the goal.. figuring it all out.

I've yet to see an end to my enjoyment with the game. And the breaks caused by server issues only help me realize I needed a break to begin with. Yet I knew this would happen on some level. I am presently surprised it's been as stable as it's been.

I know they'll work out the issues eventually, and my heart goes out to those that feel so negatively about their own experiences. I'm having fun.. I guess that is all that matters.

Quite possibly the coolest thing yet! :P

I love seeing my character go to sleep as I head off to bed myself. And the music that plays is great!

I've had a blast so far. Slowly progressing through the story. I'm doing the envoy part where I take the letters to the different cities. Finally got out of Ul'dah and must say...the other cities are sooo pretty in comparison.

Going to work on other classes for a while so I can use cross class abilities soon!

What I liked is waay more than I disliked. My most recent experience being FFXI before Beta 4, everything about this game has suprised me. Let me start.

1. The number of visible armor customization options is awasome (even earrings show up)
2. The ability to dye your armor is excellent.
3. The crafting system is closer to reality than anything I have played and is fun and addictive.
4. FATES are way cool when you hit mid 20s and realize some of them give you 10-12k exp for completion. (a couple are in Shroud and involve leading a mead handler and protecting three gates from attackers)
5. I can cure myself on my black mage by adding the acn cure spell, making me a solo machine.
6. The quest map system and ability to find your quest target is efficient and saves me time.
7. My chocobo is cool!
8. Getting the WHM teleport and the THF /flee on any character is highly efficient.
9. Repairing stuff is not as expensive as I thought.
10. Breaking down items to materia is fun
11. I like the way they set up retainers and the auction house.
12. The graphics are much better than FFXI (me likey textures)
13. The storyline is better than I had hoped.
14. I like how they make you wait to unlock jobs (makes them more special)

Ok, this is what I didn't like.

1. "This world is full"

That is all.

read it again ;)


I have also enjoyed myself quite a bit, playing for about 19 hours on saturday.

I love mining and doing FATEs when they pop up . I'm having a lot of fun gathering and crafting and FATEing for GC points. Gotta get some better weapons for my 50s ASAP.

What i haven't been doing is main story quests, at least since i got GC access. This is more by choice than circumstance, but it turned out to be a good one considering the tech issues.

Loving this game so far. I played Xi and never fished but I found myself Fishing all dang weekend. Every where I went, doing duties for other classes if I spotted water I fished. I didn't expect that to be so fun.
Enjoying crafting so the waits for the duty finder didn't bother me I just logged for the duty then crafted until my name was called.
Finally got a retainer and I'm feeling the fact that you can design your own I was expecting something generic but not the luvly Mzkitka.

Other than the log in/world full issues, which im hoping will clear up, I can see this is going to be a wonderful ride.

I really did enjoy the character creation.
That's all I was able to do, but I took my time and explored all the options.
Once we realized we weren't getting a chance to play my wife and I ended up creating 5 characters (which sadly may never see the light of day) but even so this was truly fun.

That's about as many "pros" as I'll be able to mention, given my extremely limited access to the game.

It sounds to me like you had an awesome time, OP!
Ifrit fight!!!
Minions!!!
Night sky in Thanalan!!!
Chocobo porters!!!
A decent understanding of the layout and maps of the major areas!!!
That's great!!!

Congrats!

Wish you could dress them up in something besides that goofy tacky blue/red butler/maid outfit.

Ah, well either way i have enjoyed what i've done thus far and am past the point of frustration and now just eagerly awaiting when i can get back in. Until then, I enjoy reading about what others enjoyed about ffxiv.

Even wearing plate mail, when I jump my boobs bounce when I land....


Seriously though, I am enjoying the game immensely.
-Crafting is easy to understand and I love the interface for it.
-Really enjoying botany.

Ha! Young Man you do not know to which pixel I am referring, do you?