Funnily enough, since the last few days that I've been thinking about the possibility of trying to get into FFXIV and began to read up on some stuff about it.
I've been a FF fan for many years now, but I had never had any interest in the game, due to being an MMO, so had never really read much about it, but, a few days ago, I stumbled on a couple of pieces by people saying that not only it has a great story (that alone I already found surprising, as I never associated MMOs with good stories), but it's actually one of the best, if not THE best, story of any FF to date.
I really find that hard to believe, but I've seen several people singing praises for FFXIV's story and, now, also here in the Dojo.
A couple of questions...
Is our character mute? I mean, no need for voice
per se, if I can actually say something via dialogue options, like Skyrim.
Because I've always disliked mute characters in videogames, as I've never felt that that makes us feel that we are playing as ourselves, but rather just makes me feel that I'm playing as some mute person, who acts as robot and doesn't react to anything in a convincing manner, not to mention that everyone around them never even seems to acknowledge the fact that, hey, how come you never say anything?
The only game with a mute character with a good story, that I can think of, is South Park The Stick of Truth, but that's probably because the game is populated with such tremendous characters from the show and they themselves often mention the fact that our character never says anything (Cartman said something along the lines of "He thinks he's hot shit"). Also, Okami's main character is mute, but I don't count that as playing as a mute, since we spend the entire game with Issun on our back and he pretty much acts as Amaterasu's spokesperson.
And if we do play as a mute, how does FFXIV manage to deliver a good story in spite of that?
How's the game for a non-hardcore MMO player, such as me? Can I make tangible progress by just playing a couple of hours a day (sometime more, of course, but sometime less)? I've been reading that we can play play pretty much the whole story (plus expansions) solo, other than the mandatory dungeons, but the game can arrange a party for those automatically, so you can stay kind of antisocial the whole game.
I mean, it's not like I refuse to talk to anyone, but I'm 31 years old now and I really don't have the life, nor disposition, to live a "second life" inside an MMO, with "online friends" and "events" and "guilds" and whatnot. I'm really just interested in the game for its world and its story. Is it worth paying a monthly subscription? Aren't people singing its story's praises all the time because it's a good story for an MMO, when, in fact, we can get much better by sticking to single-player RPGs? Or is the story really that good, amongst the best in the entire FF series?
Also, despite being an MMO, just how Final Fantasy is it? And does it have wonderful music, as expected from FF?
I've only played one MMO in my life, and that was WOW, way back when it launched, in 2004 or so. But I was pretty much a kid then and a lot has changed in my life, including my tastes and way of thinking. I do have very fond memories of it, but only played it for a few months, till the game's quests pretty much started to force me to play with others and then it just became a drag. I like to do my own thing, just immersed in the world.
Do we have to pay real-life money to have cool stuff, like cool mounts and armors and outifts and such? Or can they be obtained by fair means, in-game? And, if so, does that require hundreds of hours of grinding?
How's the community, overall, towards a guy like me, starting the game only in late 2017 and with very little MMO experience? Are they all elitist cunts, or a generally friendly bunch?
I guess I'll take a shot at FFXIV's free trial, though I've heard the story in the base game (A Realm Reborn) is actually nothing special and it only starts getting really good in the expansions, Heavensward and Stormblood. Is the base game still fun and doable without me wasting my life away?
The thing is, I don't think I can go back to dedicate myself to a single game, not when so many amazing games (and other things in life) are always happening. But if I can play this game casually and still feel that I'm making progress and finish the story, I guess I should be able to have fun.
FFXIV is worth playing even if you hate MMO type games. You can basically play it like a single player game outside of the times you have to do dungeons for the story.
Yep, that's pretty much what I want to do and you're not the first person I've seen saying that, which is encouraging.