Lifemend Stump

 

A Realm Reborn is off to a bit of a rough start, but when you consider it from the standpoint of “Massively Multiplayer Online Releases” it’s on par with other successful releases.

I say successful, because the issues plaguing players are those of over population. Too many people want to play this game, and that’s a good problem to have. Unfortunately, their success is a double edge sword. Angry mobs are forming around access points to instances (Lifemend Stump comes to mind), and internet forums are filled with people that can’t enter the world at all due to Log-In restrictions.

Square-Enix has apologetically responded with increased capacity, and additional servers. “We didn’t know we were so popular!” They are confident enough in their fixes that they have lifted the lock on New Character creation. I just hope they’ve taken the time to fix the server queue problems. I’d take a 1 hour wait timer over spamming log in requests any day, and I suspect SE would prefer that as well.

On the subject of the actual game I must say I am enjoying myself thoroughly. The biggest change from 1.0 I have noticed is the quest and level progression path. Like many modern MMOs you are pushed through zones according to your level, and quests are made available as you advance through each story branch. There are several ways to level outside of questing if that’s not your thing, which I appreciate a great deal. The worlds are beautiful and feel alive. I just wish NPCs didn’t stand around waiting to be chatted up or punched in the face, but that’s something RPG gamers have grown to accept. It would do wonders toward breathing more life into an already beautiful world.

I am close to level 30 with my Conjurer, and gearing up to start my Arcanist on the path towards a White Mage. I traditionally play as a damage dealer, leaning toward Black Mage, or Rogue-type, but I’m enjoying the fresh party mechanics to learn, and the short queue times are refreshing. The story so far has been pretty good. I have approached questing in FFXIV:ARR differently than I have MMOs in the past. I have limited myself to five quests at a time. This often means I have my Main Quests, and those of the surrounding region active at one time. This has done wonders to improve cognition of the over arching stories, as well as those smaller plots going on within a city or region. I have a new appreciation for the way these stories are interwoven with my character’s progression, and my travels through the game world.

I look forward to returning to Eorzea soon barring my account isn’t frozen due to service confusion. The future is bright for this rebirth.

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