Massively Speaking http://massively.joystiq.com This is the Massively podcast http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Massively SpeakingJoystiqMassively Speaking<![CDATA[The Mog Log: The Legacy rewards and what they mean]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/26/the-mog-log-the-legacy-rewards-and-what-they-mean/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/26/the-mog-log-the-legacy-rewards-and-what-they-mean/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/26/the-mog-log-the-legacy-rewards-and-what-they-mean/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
So, who here remembers the Final Fantasy XIV launch? I certainly do; I was there and I've been here since, after all. And who here remembers how the game launched to critical acclaim and overwhelming popularity?

Yeah, okay. I liked the game at launch, but that was more because of the underlying philosophies and approaches, not because the whole thing was polished to a fine shine. It was almost two years ago now, and the game has had to go through a lot of growing pains in that time, fixing a lot of elements that didn't work and adjusting stuff that was almost there but not quite. It's been a long process of hammering out fixes and improvements, one that included a long stretch of no subscription fee as the game cleaned itself up.

We're nearly at the end of that process now, but Square-Enix is trying to show everyone that the company appreciates players who have been around during the game's teething troubles. That's the Legacy program in a nutshell -- a chance for players to signify having been around for an extended period of time. A badge of honor, a show of loyalty, and arguably another little bit of bait to get people to subscribe now instead of later.

Continue reading The Mog Log: The Legacy rewards and what they mean

MassivelyThe Mog Log: The Legacy rewards and what they mean originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Generally speaking, when I celebrate anniversaries, I celebrate the point when the game actually came out in a language that I could play it. This is relevant in the case of Final Fantasy XI, since the game took a year and a half to reach the shores of America (also known as "the place I live"). I learned my lesson about trying to learn a language just to muddle through a game back with Final Fantasy III.

However, when one of our eagle-eyed readers pointed out to me the milestone that the game had hit, that made an impact because even if I couldn't understand any of the game's text back when it launched, a decade is a long time for continuous operation of anything. So rather than talking about the Legacy campaign as I'd planned, I think I'd rather talk about the legacy of Final Fantasy XI this week, including where the game has gone from its state at launch. You know, when a Black Mage could make the entire world bow and you still got attacked when riding a chocobo.

Continue reading The Mog Log: A decade of Final Fantasy XI

MassivelyThe Mog Log: A decade of Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Pet classes and I have an odd relationship. I don't generally like them, but I like having them there, and when they're done right, I'm very fond of the option. Final Fantasy XIV currently has a grand total of none of them; we have not even a summoner or beastmaster to call our own, but we've been told that this is all changing in version 2.0. And with November just half a year away, it's time to start thinking about what form these pets are going to take.

Of course, this isn't virgin territory for the game series. Final Fantasy XI featured four different pet classes, which have had differing levels of success over time. And even though Final Fantasy XIV isn't meant to be Final Fantasy XI in a new skin, the game can certainly take some inspiration from its predecessor even while forging a unique legacy. And hey, we've got at least three of the four pets from the previous game in Eorzea at this point. So let's talk about the past set of pets, where we are in the present game, and how those systems might make it into the main game.

Continue reading The Mog Log: A look forward to Final Fantasy XIV pets

MassivelyThe Mog Log: A look forward to Final Fantasy XIV pets originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>abilitiescoming-updatesconsoleconsolesfantasyfeaturedffff14ffxivffxiv-version-2.0final-fantasyfinal-fantasy-14final-fantasy-xivfinal-fantasy-xiv-2.0mog-logopinionpet-classespetssquaresquare-enixsquenixsuggestionsthe-mog-logupdatesversion-2.0Sat, 12 May 2012 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/the-mog-log-the-calcification-of-final-fantasy-xi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/the-mog-log-the-calcification-of-final-fantasy-xi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/the-mog-log-the-calcification-of-final-fantasy-xi/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Over the last couple of months, I've been trying something different. As I mentioned back in my anniversary column, I spent a year trying out a strictly alternating format for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, but it wasn't working out to my satisfaction for a number of reasons. Backing off and focusing on the game with more activity seems to be working quite well (from my perspective, anyway), but it also means that I haven't really been discussing Final Fantasy XI much.

This isn't entirely by coincidence, as the game itself hasn't changed much over the past several months. In an earlier column, I had mentioned that the roadmap made it pretty clear that if change was on the horizon, we wouldn't be seeing it until the new roadmap finally came out. And here we are, one new roadmap later. So what do I think? Is this the promised vision of the future, the prophecy to lead us all into a new era of joy and light across the game's continents?

Continue reading The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI

MassivelyThe Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
I had different plans for this week's column until I realized that Final Fantasy XIV's patch 1.22 had sneaked up on me like the monster in a slasher film, except instead of stabbing me and laughing, it just brought a bunch of new content, so the metaphor doesn't really work. I'm not sure exactly how I missed the patch's coming so quickly, but I'm happy to see it's finally on the live servers.

Of course, in a lot of ways, this patch is smaller than its predecessors, though not in terms of content, obviously. No, it's a smaller patch by virtue of the fact that it's a pure content patch. New systems are in short supply, but new things to do are in abundance. It's a focus patch, in other words. Recent patches have vehemently focused on trimming up the mechanics and making sure that the game plays nicely with all sorts of content; this patch focuses instead on what you can do with all of your shiny abilities and classes and so forth. And aside from a couple of missed opportunities, it succeeds at that beautifully.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Blindsided by FFXIV's patch 1.22

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Blindsided by FFXIV's patch 1.22 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Final Fantasy XI was my first MMORPG, and as such it's shaped a lot of my attitudes toward the genre as a whole. The problem was that inasmuch as one could be a typical player of the game, I was not. The details aren't relevant; what is relevant is that I would frequently look at patch notes, sort of squint a bit, and assume that any number of the features were aimed at the audience that I was not a part of. After all, there was no way the developers would add in a feature if literally no one in the game's community wanted it, right?

Time has made it clear that this was most definitely not the case. Maybe it's due to the difference between American and Japanese audiences, maybe it's something lost in the translation, or maybe it's just Square's periodic bursts of insanity manifesting itself, but Final Fantasy XIV carries on in the proud decision of listening to players and taking entirely the wrong message away. I'm incredibly impressed by the vast majority of Naoki Yoshida's work, but there are a lot of features that have been added or are being added that seem to have completely missed the point of player requests.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Giving a shotgun to a bear

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Giving a shotgun to a bear originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Final Fantasy XIV has changed a lot since launch. That's kind of the thing you say about every game, but usually you can see most of the telltale signs of where the game had been. That's not quite the case with the huge, sweeping changes that Eorzea has undergone. You can see some of the comparisons, but a lot of mechanics have been widely overhauled and altered so that it barely even feels like the same game.

This, of course, is not stuff you catch as a casual observer. Heck, there are things I don't notice because I'm knee-deep in Final Fantasy XIV and have gotten more accustomed to the changed version over the new version. So I thought this would be a good week to try taking a step back and looking at all of the things that have changed in the game since launch... or at least the major points that you might not have caught.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Ain't what she used to be

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Ain't what she used to be originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
The Final Fantasy series, particularly the online installments, is all about class. This is not entirely surprising, since the series has built up a series of character types that, while sometimes kind of random, are beloved just the same. The jumping spear-wielding Dragoons, dual-wielding and sword-throwing Ninjas, the ubiquitous Summoners... if these concepts don't exist in some form within a game, it raises some eyebrows. It's a symptom of the linking the games by certain broad pseudo-mythological concepts rather than by any actual continuity.

We've gotten our Job system in Final Fantasy XIV, we've got our classes to the point that they're at least somewhat balanced, and we've got a new version on the horizon. The question, then, is what we're getting next. What new classes or jobs can we look forward to? What do we need? What gaps are obvious within the Final Fantasy pantheon, and what is just lacking in terms of a traditional MMO setup?

Continue reading The Mog Log: Head of the newer class

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Head of the newer class originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
There are three cities that players can select to call home in Final Fantasy XIV, but there are five cities of importance. Over the past few weeks I've looked at the former group, but that leaves two important places to be covered. At the same time, those cities are by necessity harder to talk about because we haven't set foot in either. Everything we know about them is secondhand, via quests and inference and in one case the ability to longingly gaze over an ornate stone bridge.

Ishgard and Ala Mhigo both cast long shadows over Eorzea, but neither one is accessible to players. There are details about both swimming through the game, but it's always secondhand, always with one or two pieces gleaned from outside sources. In its own way, this makes both cities more alluring -- because one we know to be the heart of darkness and the other could be almost anything when the gates finally swing open. If, in fact, they ever do.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Ishgardbul, not Ala Mhigonople

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Ishgardbul, not Ala Mhigonople originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header image by A. Fienemann
Limsa Lominsa isn't like the other cities in Final Fantasy XIV chiefly because it's not a city. You can argue the definition, but cities are generally places where a group of people decided to settle down and stay for an extended period of time. Limsa Lominsa is more like what would happen if everyone went for a hike, a lot of people wound up double-parked, and then in the aftermath, all of the hikers just threw up their hands and decided to stay where they were instead of going home.

Even if you ignore the city's ridiculous origin, however, you're stuck with a city that's still ridiculous in its own way. The city's government is determined by boat races, the local pirates come standard so long as they adhere to a few fairly simple rules, and pretty much everyone has an eye toward becoming the top dog. The result is a place that's refreshingly open about all of its dangers, but despite that, it's no less threatening. You'll be threatened by brute force rather than subterfuge, but you're still facing down the wrong end of a weapon.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Living large in Limsa Lominsa

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Living large in Limsa Lominsa originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
So patch 1.21 has finally come out, after what feels like a wait of several thousand years. It's the biggest patch since the last one, certainly, and headlining the whole thing is the introduction of the Job system. Final Fantasy XIV players the world over can finally experience the game as one of the iconic classes that have pretty much been the other shoe waiting to drop since the game's launch. But there's also chocobo barding, new dungeons, new functional improvements, private rooms... the usual confluence of many separate elements in a single patch. It's the biggest one since the last one, in other words.

The problem this patch faces with its marquee element, of course, is that jobs are something players have anticipated for so long that there's no right way to do them. However jobs get put into the game, some players will be happy and some won't. The best outcome has never been a perfect implementation so much as an implementation that's done consistently and hits the right notes. And that's arguably what happened, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll agree that this was the best implementation possible.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Point two one

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Point two one originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log
At first glance on a trip through Final Fantasy XIV's cities, Gridania probably seems like the nicest city in Eorzea. Ul'dah always has the smile of a used car salesman, Limsa Lominsa stinks of fish and is full of pirates, Ishgard isn't welcoming even without the dragons, and Ala Mhigo sort of has a bad case of Garlean occupation. But Gridania is built in the middle of rather nice forest territory, and it doesn't seem to suffer from any of the power struggles or unfriendly residents that your other options have. Sure, the forest can be a bit tempermental, but it's a peaceful spot.

But as you may have guessed, it only looks that way until you actually spend some time there. Then you realize that the city is not nearly so welcoming as you initially thought -- it's a hotbed of activity, stuffed to the brim with spirits that do not necessarily have the best interests of adventurers or anyone else at heart. Gridania doesn't suffer the internal conflicts of the other cities, but that's mostly because the place is already being crushed too thoroughly by all of the external threats it has to face just to keep treading water.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Staying off the grid in Gridania

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Staying off the grid in Gridania originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header image by A. Fienemann
I like Final Fantasy XI, and not just because it was the game that introduced me to how awesome MMOs could be, although that's certainly a part of it. I like the game because it has a lot of things that are genuinely likable, several elements that are well-designed, and some really excellent parts that stand out even now. So keep in mind that everything I'm about to say is said on behalf of a Final Fantasy XI fan.

Specifically, the rant that's about to ensue about how the idea of remaking it is a terrible idea.

This suggestion crops up pretty regularly, largely among people still disappointed that Final Fantasy XIV was what it was at launch. There's some thought that somehow cloning FFXI with the models from Final Fantasy XIV would lead to a glorious revival. And I can understand the thought process, but there are two very good reasons why that shouldn't happen -- not won't, which is already obvious, but shouldn't.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Apparently I enjoy receiving hate mail

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Apparently I enjoy receiving hate mail originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
In a way, each of the cities in Final Fantasy XIV resembles a non-capital city from Final Fantasy XI. Gridania has shades of Kazham; Limsa Lominsa has shades of Norg. But Ul'dah has a clear line to Al Zahbi, center of Aht Urhgan. It's the jewel of the wasted, barren region of Thanalan, a bustling hub of commerce, a place where even the lowliest adventurer might find fortune and fame in the arenas or via careful self-promotion.

Of course, it's also the most dangerous. Sure, there are spirits woven throughout Gridania and pirates in every corner in Limsa Lominsa, but Ul'dah is filled with those who'd smile to your face and then shiv your spine as soon as you turn around. Beneath a glittering facade lies a horrid hive of cruelty, and the journey to the top the city is rife with backstabbing and strife. If you're not a native, you might not realize just how bad the place really is -- or how far the city's powerful members are willing to go to ensure that Ul'dah remains at the center of trade.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Ul'dah on 15 gil a night

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Ul'dah on 15 gil a night originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Grouping with other players is inconvenient. It can also be a lot of fun, but it takes more work to get a half-dozen people running in the same direction compared to just operating on your lonesome. But you're a lot more likely to stick with a game if you can find other people to play with, and thus both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV have offered different approaches to grouping and encouraging parties.

When I started playing MMOs back when Final Fantasy XI launched, I wound up being soured by the game's insistence on grouping for a long while. These days, I can take a much more objective view of both sides because for all the hiccups that the system brings, Final Fantasy XIV's much more open environment has its own pitfalls -- some a result of basic game design, some a result of the less demanding approach. But why just look at this from the top down?

Continue reading The Mog Log: Get together

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Get together originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Final Fantasy XIV takes place in Eorzea, which is one of the continents of Hydaelyn. It's also the smallest continent, and it's generally sort of off in the middle of nowhere. The land is surrounded by tiny islands, it's filled with bickering city-states of varying influence, and it generally seems to be seen as a place that's both wild and not always particularly pleasant. And from the player's perspective... well, we don't even see all of the continent.

So every single player adventure has taken place on a small portion of the smallest continent in the world. And yet despite this, this tiny little land mass has apparently become massively important.

The Garlean Empire is preparing to sweep into the land with all its might, and the land has become a hotbed of activity as the various city-states try to stop stabbing one another long enough to mount a defense. But all of that prompts the question about what, precisely, makes Eorzea noteworthy. Why is this tiny little corner so important?

Continue reading The Mog Log: Who mourns for Eorzea?

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Who mourns for Eorzea? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
Today does not quite mark the two-year anniversary of The Mog Log. That was back on January 24th, but I decided to run just a wee bit late with annual retrospectives. We're now close enough to the year mark for argument's sake, which gives me a chance to look back at how the past year of the column has shaken out, what's gone right, and what hasn't. That ties into the issue that one invariably finds when a single column covers two games: There's a split.

Whether or not you like Final Fantasy XIV, you can't argue that the past year has brought an onslaught of changes to the game. On the flip side, there's been less going on in Final Fantasy XI than in any of the game's previous years of operation. As a result, I've had a difficult dilemma to try to juggle: There's one game moving at high speed and one staying rather stagnant, but I don't want to give undue attention to one over the other.

Continue reading The Mog Log: One year, two courses

MassivelyThe Mog Log: One year, two courses originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
If you think about characters in the online Final Fantasy games compared to the console-based equivalents, you have to come to a kind of demoralizing conclusion: Your character online is pretty weak. In Final Fantasy XI, you can cap out your Black Mage and you'll still never learn Ultima. In Final Fantasy X, by the time you have your Black Mage using Ultima, you've still got most of the endgame ahead of you. Final Fantasy XIV might move the power scale upward, but at this point your character hasn't even actually mastered being a Paladin, much less summoning anything. Final Fantasy VII, by contrast, gave us three different versions of Bahamut to summon just to keep him relevant, and he was still nowhere near the best.

And you know what? It makes the games much more fun to have these barriers in place.

Players have been clamoring for high-end summons in Final Fantasy XI since forever ago, and the fact that it's not even on the visible horizon for Final Fantasy XIV is disheartening to some. But there's something to be said for a play environment where these touchstones of power remain out of reach, certainly for now and possibly forever.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Weakness is strength

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Weakness is strength originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header image by A. Fienemann
One of the funny things about writing a regular column is that sometimes, when you start out writing a series of connected columns on a topic, you have a point you want to make. Other times, you find a point making itself as you go, and you realize that it's a pretty good point. After our first three columns covering the various classes in Final Fantasy XI, that effect is on my mind, especially as I move into the fourth installment.

As before, the standard caveats apply. Nothing below is meant to debate relative power levels or overall worth; instead, I'll judge the class solely on its own merits -- how much does it offer other jobs, does it have a unique mechanical identity or not, and how cool is the darn thing. With that in mind, let's round out the advanced jobs from the core game with Beastmaster, Summoner, and Bard!

Continue reading The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XI classes, round four

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Final Fantasy XI classes, round four originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
One of the big selling points of Final Fantasy XIV before launch was that there were many classes devoted to doing things other than fighting. The promise was made, more than once (if memory serves), that even non-combat classes would get to take part in the main story, and it was also stated that these classes would still be useful to an adventuring party even if not quite as good as another Disciple of War or Magic.

At this point, of course, we can confidently say that part was a lie. A Botanist is about as useful in combat as an actual botanist in a fistfight. But Naoki Yoshida has gone on record that the former part is a lie as well -- that if you want to take part in the main storyline, you really do need to level a combat class. It wasn't something that was really highlighted, but it was still there, and it's worth unpacking as we look forward to another year of the game's ongoing development. If you came in expecting to only craft and gather, you're no longer going to have your run of the place.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Adventures equal battles

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Adventures equal battles originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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