MMORPG Explorer: Final Fantasy 14 Patch 3.3

So, I know that I should probably start at the beginning to discuss the massive world that is Final Fantasy 14 (FF14) but I'm going to start at the latest content patch of 3.3. To break that down a bit though, 1.0 is the original version of FF14, 2.0 is FF14 A Realm Reborn and 3.0 is the Heavensward Expansion. All of the .xx stuff if the actual content that they add during the course of the expansion but anyway, moving on.

This patch added several new features:

• More main story quests (MSQ) that conclude the current crisis in the game, the Dragonsong War
• The Niddhog Normal and Extreme trial which drop I235 weapons
• More story regarding the Warring Triad story line with a mission attached
• The next tier to the 24 man/player raid called the Weeping City
• 2 new dungeons call Sohr Kai and Hullbreaker Hard Mode
• New Hildebrand quests (although they are short)
• Another map to the 72 man/player PVP (Player versus Player) mode called Frontlines: Shatter
• A new addition to the Dragonskin Map system that has a 50% chance to spawn a dungeon area called the Aquapolis for rare loot drops, lore tomes and Gil
• The next step to the Anima (relic) weapon story line. 
• They also added the last Moogle Beast Tribe Quest which focuses on leveling crafters

There were other quality of life adjustments added as well: 

• like being able to create different HUD layouts for each character or battle mode
• the addition of new furniture and flower pots, new gear for crafter, gatherers and battle classes
• adjustments to the crafter/gatherer script system and numerous other things that they put into the game that I can't even begin to name. 
• They also added something called the Raid Finder that allows for players that want to participate in the highest tier raids called "Savage" but can't find players to group with, the ability to find others in the same situation across their particular data center.

That's a lot of stuff included and all of it was great. For now, I wont mention any spoilers because it's barely 2 weeks old but, I finished the main story and the conclusion was satisfying although shorter than I thought it would be. It would be important for everyone to remember that we are still halfway through this expansion and 3.55 will probably be the long cinematic story that we are looking for. I think the most surprising thing was the Niddhog Normal mode battle because most people couldn't dickroll through it like the we normally do. That caused the player base to be kind of confused and I haven't seen this kind of frustration from the casual/midcore crowd outside of hardcore raiding. It was refreshing and I was all for it. (I cleared it with my 1st party btw :))

I got to play the Warring Triad Mission as well and it was very informative as well to the identity of the mysterious boy who has been leading us to fight these primals or Eikons as he calls them. This too was shorter than I wanted it to be but still satisfying. I played through both of the new dungeons and they were both pretty decent. Hullbreaker was definitely boring looking aesthetic wise in comparison to the other dungeon or content but hey, we have to slack of somewhere right?

Now, The Weeping City (or Wiping City according to the player base lol) has been the most surprising content this patch. The director of FF14, Yoshi P admitted that the development team made the 1st tier, Void Ark way to easy and this difficulty is how the 24 man raids will be from this point forward. This content has been very challenging because you have to coordinate with 23 other people to not fuck up mechanics of each fight and well... that hasn't gone too hot lol. I didn't clear it the first day and it took forever to clear it the 2nd day. Most people were probably waiting for online guides so they could get the mechanics right and some people have yet to do that. Its been frustrating but damn its a good time and I hope they continue to make content like this.

I've been typing a lot so i'll finish it up. I have yet to finish the Hildebrand side quests and my Anima weapon is not even close to being done. I'm not trying to burn out on the game like a lot of my Free Company (FC) members have managed to do. I'm taking it one day at a time and I'm waiting for the next patch that's going to add Deep Dungeon. All of the improvements are exciting so I'll continue to cover this content.

Sources:

All images are the property of SquareEnix

FF14 3.3 Patch Notes:
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/197e9c8b2f04efdecffe26bebe43b40551d1e3e8

MMORPG Corner: Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn Into Heavensward

So around February of 2015, I decided to try my first MMO which just so happened to be Final Fantasy 14. Mind you, I don't own a PC and as of now have no plans of changing that, but this one was available on the PS4. I had done my research which had led me into the world of Let's Plays on YouTube and Twitch to watch streamers play the game, (I'm definitely going to talk about that phenomenon at a later time), so I could know what I was getting in to since I was a noob. I approached this game like a person who plays single player games and that was a good and a bad thing. 

I was used to playing alone so relying on other real people instead of characters that I can control was definitely anxiety inducing. As a matter of fact, the idea of interacting with real people in a game where people could dissect your play style if it was different was another anxiety inducing thing. It introduces another not so fun aspect into playing games which I wasn't sure I could mesh with. Plus it had a 12 dollar a month subscription fee which I also wasn't sure I wanted to deal with lol. But what the hell right? I went for broke and played it anyway and loved it.

This game is super friendly to casual people, adults mainly, who have other shit to do than play games all day much to our chagrin. It eases you into the mechanics of the game and treats you as if this is your first MMO which probably blew the hell out of people who were seasoned vets. Another thing that is apparently different is that you can level all classes/jobs on one character so there is no need for multiple subscriptions or accounts. Then there was the story, my God if this isn't a Final Fantasy game, and its cinematic, massive and epic. 

On top of all of this, I found out that this game had been released once and was horrible as shit to the point where they blew the game up (all story based) and remade the whole damn game from the ground up. This is probably the only game in history that flopped and managed to recover to a profit. I could be wrong about that and you're free to correct me in the comments if you like.

But anyway, I say all this to say that I plan on discussing this game at different points on here so ill get into detail about a lot more things. In the meantime, I'm going to link a few things for you guys.

Here is the link to the free trial:

http://www.ffxiv-freetrial.com/na/

The trial is 14 days and lets you play up until level 35 to get a feel for the game. Mind you, you can play this game on PS4, Steam and PC. PC and Steam are different and if you want more details you can definitely leave me a message. 

Here is the link to the reddit for the game:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/

Now keep in mind this is a reddit forum so be careful as you surf and interact lol. Most of the people are friendly and helpful so be sure to follow the rules of the forum. Also, check the different tabs before asking questions because a lot of beginner things you can find there.

And the last one is this Wiki:

http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/

This site answered a lot of beginning questions that I had before I went to reddit so if you're a bit shy start here.

I can't wait to share my adventures in Eorzea with you guys.

Credits:

Final Fantasy 14 game and its images are trademarked by SquareEnix