It has been a while since I have scribbled something on my blog due to different reasons one of which include being busy at my new job. Well, today I would like to write a short review of the new online game Final Fantasy XIV. I would say that you’re lucky if you haven’t got a chance to check this one out. Though the graphics is pretty impressive along with the storyline, the grind will really drive you crazy as the focus is mainly on professions or crafting which can be improved by obtaining local leves, and regional leves that focus on killing specific mobs within 30 minutes, but the catch is that you can only obtain a certain number of leves every 36 hours. After you hit the level 20 mark, it gets really hard to increase the level or rank on your main profession due to availability of only limited number of quests and some of the level 20 quests can only be completed with a larger group of more than 4 or 5 players with the right level/class etc. So in short, in order to keep players from quitting and attracting new players, I think the game developers really need to focus on improving the game play and reduce the time lag for each window to load especially when you are crafting. Funny, how you don’t have the capability to search “all retainers” for the item you want to buy but instead it is a cumbersome task of looking individually at every bazaar setup by players and the worst part is that you cannot setup your retainer to buy items if you don’t have at least one item with you which is ridiculous. This can be applied to shards or crystals but how can you buy a weapon to setup a shop for buying the same thing on your retainer, since you would only need a single weapon after all so it does not make any sense to me.  The capability to use more than one retainer would be a great addition or the ability to increase your inventory space like other games and increase the maximum number of items that can be setup for sale on your retainer. Worst of all, is if you are looking for crafting recipes which are supposedly ideal for your level, say 10 on blacksmith and you find one, don’t rejoice so fast since there will be at least one material required for the craft that will certainly fail since it is ideal for a higher level say, 15, so what good will that be to you. Overall, I am not really happy with these aspects in the game and if it is not improved soon, pretty sure that I will quit trying it out and go back to the older MMORPGs that have improved the game play over the past few years.

Since this game is fairly new and the fact that I haven’t really explored all aspects in the game, there is a possibility that some of the above mentioned functionalities may exist but I am not really aware of it, like some of the other players who are in the same linkshell as me. Well, if it exists then my advice to the game designers, is to start providing random tips to the players.