What I Know Going In
-The main thing I’ve heard is that FFXIV is part of the World of Warcraft generation of MMOs. Similar polish, similar systems, and far less grindy and punishing than FFXI.
-I saw a Tonberry logo for an FFXIV expansion. So either Tonberries will be a playable race (PLEEEEEASE) or they become a prime enemy.
-FFXIV’s first incarnation was so bad that it was pulled and re-released as “A Realm Reborn.”
-I know that the world is called Eorzea because I saw an article about the Eorzea Café, an FFXIV-themed restaurant in Tokyo: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Eorzea_Cafe
A moogly dessert.
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Prologue Video
-This prologue video plays before I create a game. It sets the stage for FFXIV ARR, showing the end of FFXIV before “A Realm Reborn.”
-Two armies clash. The moon above splits open, and Bahamut emerges. He roasts the planet.
-Some good guy casters try putting up barriers. It doesn’t really work. Neither do their attempts to reseal Bahamut inside a moon-like shell. One old caster manages to buy enough time to teleport a party out of the maelstrom.
-Flash forward to a bright and happy scene. The future. Montage of the world.
-Then, the oddest thing happens: the party that was teleported out of Bahamut’s destruction appears. This is where they teleported to. The future. Not sure whether the party’s time travel is metaphor or real.
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Character Creation
-I’m surprised that the races mirror FFXI’s races so closely! FFXIV has the Hyur (Hume), Elezan (Elvaan), Lalafell (Tarutaru), Migo’te (Mithra), and Roegadyn (Galka). The Migo’te and Roegadyn are thankfully not gender locked.
-I like the variety within race choices. Like, you can be either a wood- or cave-dwelling Elezen, a dune- or plains-dwelling Lalafell.
-There’s a sixth race called Au’Ra, but I don’t have the expansions yet and don’t have access to them.
-Now, these so-called “friends” I mentioned read my FFXI posts. They know how terror and loathing of Tarutaru. So of course, they have me create a Lalafell.
-My Lalafell will be one of the Dunesfolk. Her home is in the desert city state called Ul’dah that prides itself on trade, money, individualism. (At least in sound, reminds me of Bastok to no small degree.)
-I get to pick my birthday! Not sure if this is just for flavor.
-There are twelve gods I can choose as my patron deity. They all sound new to me – not Ifrit/Ramuh/etc. Those must have some other role than deities. Random.org picks Nald’Thal. A twin god, overseer of commerce and death. (…hee! Death and taxes.)
-Really in-depth appearance customization! I randomize it. Since I don’t get to pick how I look in real life, I enjoy being surprised by character’s look.
She looks BADASS. She’s got these three green camouflage tattoos across her face, which I’ve been told make her look like Rambo and the image stuck in my head.
-I get to pick a starting class. Something that’s different from a job, though I don’t yet know how. The classes seem to generally line up with jobs I’ve seen in prior FF settings.
Gladiator = Warrior
Pugilist = Monk
Marauder = Berserker
Lancer = Dragoon
Archer = Ranger
Conjurer = ?? IDK? This is the only one I don’t really know, but by process of elimination, probably white mage.
Thaumaturge = Black Mage
Arcanist = Summoner? Maybe?
Note: I’m probably wrong on some of this, and that’s okay. This is just first impressions. I’m sure I’ll learn where I’m wrong before long in-game.
The first classes are Disciples of War, and latter three Disciples of Magic. My current guess is that “jobs” are ascended versions of classes. Like how in FFI, you start as warrior, black mage, thief, monk, and after a quest with Bahamut you become knight, black wizard, ninja, master.
-The last thing my friends pick for me is the class: “Thaumaturge.”
I’m a wizard, Harry!
-I don’t “RP” in MMO taverns, talking to strangers in-character, but I like having an idea of my character’s morality, personality, goals,e tc. I’m going to model this character on Doctor Shantotto in FFXI. Cute, gleeful, murderous, power-hungry, sadistic. Wheeee!
-There are three starting cities: Gridania (woodsy), Limsa Lominsa (port city), and Ul’dah (desert). Lalafell Thaumaturges can only start in Ul’dah.
-The last thing is the name. I randomized the name in FFXI, and I do so again here.
HURRAY FOR LAST NAMES BTW! I love when games let me pick both a first and last name. The randomizer gives me the name Ququshu Qushu. I love it.
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Intro Cinematic
-Dream sequence to start out. A clearly evil dude telling me to “hear, feel think,” seems to want to imbue me with evil power.
-I wake up in a caravan. My travel companion, Brendt, says my sleep moaning must’ve been “the aether.” The weather? Some kind of illegal drug? Idk. (The aether must flow!)
-Some Ul’dah guards stop us to inspect the caravan. They basically ask for a bribe for us to pass.
-Suddenly, the Amal’jaa attack, a local group of big lizardy beastmen. We flee as the Brass Blade engage.
-Brendt asks me why I became an adventurer. I go with “power.”
BRENDT: “Power? As in, er, power to do good? Like protectin’ the weak, an’ fightin’ for what’s right, an’ all that?”
….sure. Let’s go with that. Certainly not the power to blow up those who annoy me for fun. Heavens, no.
-This caravan is Ul’dah bound. Ruled by the “sultana,” but the Syndicate holds the power. I’m already getting memories to Aht Urhgan, a city ruled in name by the Empress but in practice by the blue mages.
-Ul’dah has two main factions: the Monetarists (commerce-driven) and the Royalists (loyal to the sultana).
-I love the look of this city! Domes and spires, rising in the desert. To say nothing of the ridiculously beautiful graphics.
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Adventuring!
-Momodi Modi, a Lalafell bartender in the local Adventurer’s Guild, is ADORABLE.
-Although the Amal’jaa are a tangible threat, the Garlean Empire is out there. Lurking. Plotting.
-Five years ago, the moon cracked open like an egg, Bahamut emerged, and he megaflared the crap out of Eorzea. People’s memories have been fuzzy since then. But a band of adventurers helped save things. (This is apparently the end of FFXIV before it was pulled and turned into “A Realm Reborn.”) Those players are now known as the Warriors of Light.
-FFXIV has a fast-travel system based around aetheryte crystals.
-The Thaumaturge class hall is NOTHING like I expected. I expected something typically black magey. People studying fire and ice and lightning, zapping each other, reading books. Basically Mysidia from FFIV.
Instead, it’s an ossuary. A house of the dead.
The Ul’dah Thaumaturges are basically magic morticians. They eventually learned that burning and freezing could be useful in war, but they started out learning about those magics simply to assist in preparation of the dead. Cremation, storage, etc.
What a cool, original take on mages! And it fits with my gleefully murderous Lalafell.
-The controls take some getting used to, but the system is 700% smoother than FFXI’s.
(I’ll try to go easy on FFXI comparisons, but they help me get my bearings early on.)
-The thaumaturge is so much fun to play! The class mechanics center around fire and ice. Fire magic does more damage but rips through my mana. Ice magic does less damage but boosts my mana regeneration. A nice cycle between them.
-The early quests are straight-forward. Killing bugs in the desert newbie zone, local fetch quests, that sort of thing. It’s mostly a chance for me to get used to the combat system.
-There’s a public quest system in FFXIV called “fates.” A fate starts in a certain area (kill x monsters), and just by getting close I join the fate.
-I have to add how frigging CUTE this world is. I’ve seen a few different companions (non-combat pets) walking around and it adds such delicious flavor. My three favorites so far are a Morboling, a li’l Behemoth which looks like a furry purple piglet, and a tiny wind-up Bartz & Boko pair.
Purely cosmetic, purely awesome.
-Aaaaand with that, I’m off and running in this new world.
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Next time: Story, mechanics, crafting, achievements, I HAVE NO IDEA.
Oh yeah, one more thing: it took me a while to figure out what I was going to write about for FFXI, how I was going to organize it. It’ll be the same thing with FFXIV. I’m just gonna wing it and write stuff that impacts me, catches my eye, or I find interesting (in addition to whatever the main story ends up being).
Let me know if there’s particular stuff you’d be interested in hearing more about!
