Yep. I think I’m pretty much done with A Realm Reborn. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s pretty fun. It’s very good looking. There are a lot of things that it does better than WoW. But when it comes down to it, well… I’d still rather be playing WoW. Or Diablo 3. (I’ve kind of been playing a LOT of Diablo 3 as of late.)
So yeah. It’s certainly not something I’d be averse to trying again in the future, especially when I have more time. But for now… I think I’d rather be in Azeroth. Or Sanctuary. (Mostly Sanctuary. Can’t lie.)
Playable Triple Triad was a really nice touch, though. Now, if only I was any good at it…
Have you ever had that problem? Have you ever had a game that you find really fun, but there’s a “but” attached?
That’s kind of where I am right now with FFXIV. I’m having a lot of fun with it. But… work is busy, and I’ve been playing other games, and if I had to drop something right now it would probably be FFXIV. Not because I dislike it. But because, well, my time is limited. And right now I’m feeling other games.
So as it stands, I’m not so sure I’ll subscribe once my free month is up. Granted, I’ve got two weeks left on my free month, and a lot can change between now and then, so nothing is final. But right now I’m not seeing at as something I’ll play long-term. Not right now, anyway.
Meanwhile, I’ve been playing absurd amounts of Diablo 3. Especially wizards. At some point I’ve gone and gotten myself addicted to wizards. It’s magic, I ain’t gotta explain nothin’.
I’m still putting along in FFXIV. My tiny little archer is now up to level 18 and just snagged himself an airship pass, so that’s exciting.
I have to say, I really like the way there’s a kind of overarching story in this game so far. It feels more cohesive than WoW’s… which perhaps is to be expected, since WoW is a colossal beast that’s been growing for the last ten-plus years. But it’s neat that FFXIV makes you feel like the hero of a single-player game which just so happens to be massively multiplayer. In WoW, sure, I’m the commander, but I’m well aware of the fact that there are millions of commanders. FFXIV somehow feels more intimate. Like you really are special. It’s a different way to go about it and I’m enjoying the change.
It’s occurred to me that I really like where WoW is at currently. It’s nice and relaxing and I have goals to work towards, like mounts and titles. I still have LFR stuff to do if I want, plus a million other optional things that are available for me if I want. I don’t know, it’s just nice and cozy right now. And I like it, although the kids don’t like it that much they prefer to go in the garden and play in one of those solid wood outdoor playhouses since this are more exciting for them.
Other stuff I’ve been playing:
FFXIV: A Realm Reborn! I’m a level 12 archer currently. There’s a lot of stuff about the game I don’t understand but I’m having fun running around killing stuff. As a lifelong Final Fantasy fan I do dig the little touches like the victory fanfare when you level up.
Diablo 3! The new season started so I kind of got back into this game after some time off. There’s something relaxing about going around murdering demons in the name of loot.
I’m a huge sucker for execute-style moves in games. You know, like Kill Shot, and whatever the Paladin one is called. So anyways in FFXIV I definitely have one now and it is fan-friggin-tastic.
Two things I like about this game so far;
You can get food that will get you an EXP bonus as part of your well-fed bonus. WTB this in World of Warcraft.
There are things called FATEs, which are basically outdoor activities that you can jump in and out of and that get you tons of bonus experience for killing things nonstop. Actually, the fact that I can kill things nonstop is one of the things I like a lot about this game. I’m just running around shooting things.
I only played a short session today because I got to the point where for the life of me I can’t figure out where some of the quests want me to go. So after Running Around Shooting Things™ for quite some time, I decided to log out for the day. I am a level eight archer on Day Two of my little excursion, so I think that’s pretty good. I mean, I assume so. I wouldn’t know, I guess!
My character has been REBORN! (Ahaha. Do you see what I did there?)
I have no real idea what I’m doing. The first thing I really liked was character customization, which allowed me to make a deliciously handsome elven young man, and then I made him an archer because duh.
This is really huntery and I like it a lot.
There was a lot of running around, a lot of “wow this is a huge world”, a lot of throwbacks and references that my inner child who has been playing Final Fantasy for two decades appreciated, and finally I got to kill some things when I was level 4 or 5 or so. I think the game auto-loots things for you? That’s pretty neat.
Eventually I got an eyepatch, so alt-universe Althalor can channel his inner Lor’themar.
I’m still not entirely 100% sure what I’m doing. I got some sort of Serpent Sting type move (remember when Serpent Sting was a thing?) and I’m doing a lot of kiting. It’s kind of fun. You have a sprint button and that saves a lot of time.
Before you ask, I am playing on the “Coerul” server. I had a LOT of different people from various places begging and wheedling me to play on their server, and because I felt bad turning anyone down in specific in favor of another group of friends, I finally opted to go the neutral route and turn EVERYONE down and roll on some server where I know no one! Whoo! I mean, I can always make alts on other servers later, right?
After getting a great deal of encouragement from both Twitter and commenters, and getting a final extra push from the fiance who finally bought me the dang thing:
Final Fantasy XIV, the new MMO hotness. It’s downloaded and installed. I’ve yet to play it, so I don’t have any first impressions yet. Look for those tomorrow, probably!
To those of you who have played it: what do you think? Any tips for a newbie?
