When you think of Final Fantasy...

Someone in the official forum started a thread and asked us when we think of Final Fantasy just what is it we think of.  Here was my quick and dirty reply:

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I think of a story that starts out as a personal one and grows to include the fate of the world. A wide open world and a sense of adventure and danger.

I think of NPC's that say clever things, dancers that twirl around the tavern and homes where I plunder potions from pots. Saving my gil because I suspect I'm about to get to a new town where I can buy my next oversized sword. 

I think of princesses and love stories and the bad guy that gets in the way. Getting stuck and talking to every npc in a town to find my way. Exploring caves, castles and ruins to get this or that item that some NPC needs. 

I think of wandering too far out and being squished by ogres. Secret passages and time travel. Head-scratching plots and epic boss battles. 

Also, fantastic music, chocobos, tents, canoes, ships, airships, crystals, summons, magic, Cid and all the usual suspects.

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What do you think of when you think of Final Fantasy?

Wherefore art thou Wandering Minstrel

1.23a patch has dropped and while my LS was scheduled to run Aurum Vale we ended up doing some of the new quests instead.

The following contains spoilers, you have been warned.

The dauntless raven rises up.

Like many of my fellow adventurers I have been spending some time battling Legatus Nael van Darnus. It took a few tries but I blame the plague of disconnects and my PC overheating on most of the tries. Once we knew his moves it was pretty straightforward.

It was a very fun fight and the zone, the CS and the music were very, very good.

I give it an A+ ^^

(Gather Together) (Gridania) 

Here we go!

Of course then Cid wanted to have a word with us. 

Wow, would have never figured out to talk to him without the giant ! over his head...

I used the seals awarded to buy a spiffy new Gridanian Officer's Overcoat. I like how it goes with the yellow feather in my cap ^^

We decided to do a little skirmish and new faction leaves.  If you don't know already the new faction leaves reward you with some pretty skimpy armor.

Cannot be unseen...

Obviously the threat isn't over as there are menacing looking ships being spotted all over the place.

I have a bad feeling about this

More random stuff please!

What if...

I believe that a lot of the current ingame content could be spiced up by the relativity simple addition of random events/mobs/whatever. SE could hang quests and achievements off these random encounters. It would give us one more reason to revisit older content.*


How much more exciting would a behest be if a random NM would spawn once and awhile with a somewhat rare drop? Bonus points if the drop is something you can actually use.


What if actually killing mobs in DH gave a % chance to pop a Imperial Garlean Captain?   Say our new captain's capture or defeat would satisfy a new Grand Company quest requirement!


Not every event needs to reward us in equipment either. I would be thrilled at seeing a cutscene furthering a storyline or unlocking a new questchain/map/shady npc.


Now I have to  admit that FFXI and the ferry ride is one of my favorite FF memories.  The sea horror on my first ride! Attacked by pirates! Arriving dead on the dock on the other side!  Raising people smashed by the sea horror on the other side! The quest that had me riding the ferry back and forth waiting for pirates.  Switching from my fishing rod to my weapon when I hear that unforgettable music!


And no, I don't want to go back to FFXI or to copy everything from that game, I just want this one to be at least as fun as that one was.  If anything I want FFXIV to be way more exciting and dynamic than FFXI ever was with lots of brand new ideas and fresh content. But nothing wrong with using a formula that works for some things. Wheels are still round after all, no need to reinvent them....


*Good call SE, making the raid drops trade-able for GC seals!