Tayla Lyell: Witnessing the rebirth of Eorzea

With the beta for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn *completed and the game’s impending launch,*we thought it would be pertinent to share our experiences with the game’s esteemed beta test.

Below I’ve chronicled my personal adventures throughout Eorzea as a Miq’ote Lancer, battling the wilds and slowly climbing levels while cutting a slow–yet deliberate–swath through evil and freeing Gridania in the process.

My time with the beta was limited to Phase 3 and 4*and consisted of four weeks of playtime, which is condensed into basically four sets of weekends, as Square Enix only launches the beta on weekends. During that time I experimented with various tools and resources, including solo/party play, the Duty Finder (when it was implemented), juggling various classes and jobs, and other miscellaneous factors.

In terms of scope, Square Enix has outdone themselves with the sheer expansiveness of Eorzea; it’s a sprawling fantasy world that is incredibly massive, featuring a wide array of civilizations, cities, villages, NPC’s and characters–and of course a plethora of quests to take part in.

At this year’s E3 expo I was treated with the chance to go hands-on with the game via an arena-style combat scenario where a team of adventurers fought Ifrit, one of the game’s bosses. During that playthrough we were given a pre-made character with pre-assigned abilities and item sets–and my experiences with the beta allowed me to start from scratch, which in itself is joyous.

At launch, A Realm Reborn will no-doubt be one of the most well-defined and amazing MMO experiences on the market today, providing hours upon hours of unrivaled magic that will enrapture gamers across the world.

The races of Eorzea stand ever-vigilant against the Calamity–from left to right: Lalafell, Miq’ote, Hyur, Elezen and Rogaedyn (and their female counterparts).

A Brave New World

With A Realm Reborn, Square Enix has breathed life into a vibrant, vast new world that’s rife with adventure, fantasy and magic that keeps players coming back time and time again. With near-endless gameplay and a multitude of quests, side-missions and miscellaneous objectives, gamers can come back to Eorzea time and time again and never have the same experience twice.

Final Fantasy XIV: ARR reflects that distinct mystical fantasy associated with the franchise as a whole, and adequately portrays the series’ recurring characters and themes quite well. Although the beta itself only offers a taste of what’s to come with the final release in August, Phases 3 and 4 provided gamers like myself with an incredibly memorable experience that tapped into the magic of MMORPG’s.

Character customization in A Realm Reborn is impressively detailed, giving players the chance to create their very own specifically designed hero–or heroine.

Welcome to Eorzea: Character Creation & Story Introduction

FFXIV: ARR starts off just like any MMORPG, with an extensive character creation screen wherein gamers can select and customize their adventurer.

The game has five races–Hyur , a human-like race who are well-known for their heart constitution;*Elezen , the regal, tall elf-like race that originally inhabited Eorzea;*Lalafells , the gnomish humanoids who’s fierce willpower isn’t reflected by their diminutive size; the*Roegadyn , who are massive and physically power, making for intimidating fighters on the battlefield; and finally the*Miq’ote , a feline race who are adept at hunting and lead singular lives away from basic Eorzean society.

Players then select their starting job which consists of classes from two different main castes:*Disciples of War*(melee characters) and*Disciples of Magic*(casters, healers, etc). Each main caste has a variety of different classes to choose from, including range-based Archers, Pugilists who get up close and personal with their fists, Lancers who mete out swift justice and damage with their spears and lances, and of course Thaumaturgists and Conjurers who cast a flurry of powerful spells to vaporize foes or heal allies.

Changing classes is very easy in FF14: ARR–simply change your main-hand weapon and voila! It’s also worth nothing that players can assign gearsets for each class, affording for easy switching on-the-fly.

To make a viable build in FFXIV: ARR players don’t have to scour through walkthroughs or examine a theorycrafted builds as gamers can switch their class simply by equipping a new weapon.

For example, to become a Lancer, players just have to equip a lance, and the same is with wands and bows. There are requirements, however, including the completion of certain main quests that unlock a second skill profession.

Being able to switch between professions on-the-fly is one of the most unique and dynamic features of the game, and certainly affords a plethora of replayable action–as players don’t have to continually re-make new characters in order to experience a certain class.

The all-powerful Mothercrystal spreads the Blessed Light of the Crystal upon the world of Hydaelyn, and calls to a lone adventurer to save the world from certain doom.

The Crystal Calls

One of the reasons that Eorzea is such a magnificent world is partly due to the deep, fantastic lore that mirrors that of Tolkien’s masterfully spun fantasy universe.

The story capitalizes on the familiar lore set into place by previous Fianl Fantasy titles, mirroring that hint of scintillating light while incorporating a slew of unique features as well. Within the story, players are thrust into a global catastrophe as a lone adventurer, and embark upon the archetypal “Hero’s Journey” to eventually face evil–a path that unfolds in a dynamic webwork of questlines.

The game follows the events that took place after the original, wherein the legendary end-of-days myth is enacted by Bahamut–a mythical dragon–as he breaks free from the prison of the moon of Dalamud, thus bringing a new age of destruction on the world.

Bahamut, free of his prison of the moon Dalamud, is free to wreak havoc on the world and to put an end to an entire era.

After Bahamut breaks free, the Calamity spreads across Eorzea, wreaking havoc across every nation including the principle starting point of Gridania.

As players continue on their epic journey, they are selected by the legendary Mothercrystal–an all-encompassing deity that bestowed all life upon Eorzea–to save the realm and the encompassing planet (known as Hydaelyn) from the a variety of evils that threaten the land.

These evils include the Calamity, which has spread across the realm and unbalanced nature, twisting it and perverting it as rampant beastmen and primals ravage the once-peaceful nation. Along with the offset of nature, the menacing imperialistic grasp of the Garlean Empire–a tyrannical regime who’s magitek-powered war machines have forced most of the world into sovereign rule.

The sinister Emperor and his chief generals (The White Raven, The Black Wolf, etc.), have taken advantage of the Calamity by launching a conquest of the remaining lands, launching a fusillade of their most terrifying machina to lay waste to the opposition and claim the entire world as their own. The fate of the world rests upon the shoulders of one lone adventurer, and as the Calamity continues to spread, Eorzea teeters on the brink of total destruction…

The Life of an Adventurer: Game Mechanics, UI & Quests

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is much like its predecessor in basic mechanics, keeping the familiar signature hotbar wherein users assign basic abilities and skills for battle.

Additionally the control scheme is quite basic, making use of your everyday WASD movement configuration and essential keyboard shortcuts. One of the more interesting elements of the game’s UI is the option to switch between Controller mode on the fly, allowing gamers to make use of a traditional console controller rather than the keyboard/mouse configuration.

While it can take a bit tweaking here and there to customize your setup, the transition is quite easy, however it can be somewhat dizzying to find certain parameters and change them as there isn’t an explicit guide–this is remedied by a quick public message to other players who are willing to help with the basics.

Overall the mechanics are very fluid and while the reflect basic MMORPG elements, they also are quite dynamic in their own way.

The basic user interface for A Realm Reborn features a variety of on-screen elements, including a dynamic mini-map that fully charts and traces your quest paths, along with a fully customizable hotbar, and quick-menu shortcuts to the lower right.

The UI consists of a*Mini-Map*in the upper right–which is extremely useful and amazingly well-defined, making navigation from area-to-area and quest-to-quest quite a breeze; a*Quest Log*in the mid-right that shows off the current objectives; a*quick-click setup bar*that displays all of the in-game parameters from Options to your Armoury Chest, Inventory, Social Options–everything you need is ordered efficiently via the on-screen bubble list; the middle of the screen showcases the*Hotbar*with the*TP, MP and HP meters*below it and the*EXP progression bar*further below; and on the far left we have our message window that displays what gamers are saying, from whispers to shouts and party messages.

The UI is efficiently maintained and everything is where it should be; however it’s a bit frustrating trying to navigate the quick-list with a controller, despite the fact that there are various shortcuts. The bast way to move about through the various menus and such is via keyboard and mouse, yet the game is fully customizable with macros and quick-buttons to afford shortcuts for controller-users.

The full map of Eorzea is wondrously defined and beautiful to look at, showcasing Square Enix’s brilliant attention to detail and is yet another instance of the game’s sprawling fantasy world.

One of the most useful elements of the UI is the mini-map, which is amazingly detailed and is an invaluable tool for both navigation and orientation in your travels.

The map itself can be zoomed in and out, showing refined local areas as well as state-wide locations and even the massive continent of Eorzea, complete with fully-rendered areas. The map itself chronicles the entirety of Eorzea, and truly invokes that distinct feel of magic as players are introduced to a brand new world full of vibrant creatures and growing civilizations. We will likely see access to more landmasses and continents of Hydaelyn in upcoming patches for the game.

Questing is the core for general character and story progression, and serves as the bulk of linear gameplay. While gamers can spend hours upon hours hacking trees via the Botanist occupation, or sawing said collected branches to fashion a variety of items, the only real way to move forward is via quests.

One of the optional crafting classes, Carpentry, can be a lucrative profession and goes hand-in-hand with other occupations like Botany.

There are a variety of quests to take part in–main quests, side quests, job quests, profession quests and Guildleves–each of which have their own rewards. Main quests offer rewards that prepare gamers for general progression, with helpful choices like upgraded items, gear, and incremental EXP/Gil rewards.

The quests themselves are offered by NPC’s and players can stack a hefty amount of tasks at the same time. The quests are pinpointed via the in-game mini-map, offering a supremely helpful mechanism for tracking and taking the cryptic elements out of questing–one of the more user-friendly UI elements.

The main quests are offered by the Adventurer’s Guild, which is the general guild for all players and sets in motion the main storyline. The class-specific quests are unlocked via various guilds that pertain to your associated class; for example, Lancers seek out the Lancer’s Guild for class-specific tasks, whereas Archers would seek out the Archer’s Guild, etc.

Once players hit level 10 and complete various required quests, they get access to various perks including Guildleve quests, optional occupations (Carpentry, Botany, etc.) and they will also start to earn 3 stat points per level up. Levequests are optional tasks wherein players can net bonus EXP and items via rewards for completing a variety of mission types, including Battlecraft and Tradecraft leves.

Players can plot their unlocked skills on the hotbar, giving them easy access to various helpful attacks and abilities.

Back to the Grindstone: Combat & Character Progression

Combat in A Realm Reborn is much like it’s predecessor, which makes use of standard skill usage via a hotbar and a mix of real-time action. Each skill has its own parameters and cool-downs, and as a Lancer, gamers will use the TP resource pool to dish out damage.

EXP is gained via quest rewards and general enemy kills, along with additional bonus EXP from things like chaining kills (killing multiple enemies in a certain amount of time) as well as Hunting Log challenges. Every enemy–whether its a fearsome Ixal birdman or a bumbling treant–is categorized in your Hunting Log, and exterminating various increments of enemies can net you nice experience bonuses–as well as Gil and item drops here and there.

As you level a job up, certain abilities automatically unlock and are available to place on your hotbar. There are various abilities that include class-specific skills such as Cure for casters and attack-based abilities for melee characters.

Combat starts off against easy opponents and gradually becomes more difficult as players level up and progress, offering different tactics and strategies for taking down harder enemies.

The abilities themselves often have cool-downs, especially powerful ones, and they spend the various pools of TP (for melee characters) and MP (for casters) to cast. There are also passive-based abilities that add bonuses to players and their team-mates, complimenting the active-based skills quite nicely.

Combat in A Realm Reborn is a basic point-and-click structure wherein players highlight their target and cast the appropriate attacks. While using a gamepad, you can lock in on a selected enemy, which is extremely helpful as it can be easy to switch between baddies on the fly. Battle is in real-time within the environment, and other players can often jump and give you aid if you’re aggro’ed an enemy who’s much too powerful for you to tackle.

The progression system is based mainly on a linear set of quests and missions, all of which are progressive in nature in that they get harder and harder as players level up, but consequently offer more substantial EXP and item-based rewards.

Players have a wide range of stats to weigh with their character, including resistances and major attributes.

When it comes to attributes and stats, the game offers a nice array of extensive parameters that calculate just about everything you’d ever want to know about your character. From major attributes like Strength and Vitality to in-depth resistances and various Properties, Square Enix puts your character under a microscope to allow you to look at every little detail and weigh them accordingly.

These values aren’t just for show, and they certainly aren’t just numbers: they have real in-game affects and can be the difference between life and death at some cases. Stats have always been a dynamic measure in any MMO, yet Square Enix pushes things a bit further with their offering by having an extensive array of quantifiable attributes that all affect your character in some way.

Additionally when players hit level 10 and beyond, they start receiving 3 stat points to use as they please, offering you the chance to fortify your stats as you see fit.

Items are a huge part of A Realm Reborn, like they are in any MMORPG. Equippable armors and items are available via the Armory tab, and it’s important to keep your gear upgraded to your level, as the stronger you get the better you’ll want your armor to be.

There are a number of equipment slots, and each piece of armor has different grades. There are regular items, magical items and even set items that give bonuses when you equip pieces of the same set. Items can be gained from quests or purchased from stores, and they must be maintained and repaired from time to time as they wear down with use.

Item sets are a part of A Realm Reborn, along with a plethora of grades and qualities of armors and weapons.

Conclusion

Square Enix’s MMORPG offering is a distinctly rewarding experience that keeps all of the standard grind-and-click elements one would expect from the genre while also incorporating a plethora of unique and innovative features. The game itself has an incredibly helpful community of players and there’s always someone to play with and help you along your way–trust me, you’ll need it if you’re new to the game, as it’s quite massive.

The sheer amount of content that Square Enix includes within A Realm Reborn is staggering, and the level of detail permeates through everything from simple dialogue templates to the impressive graphical effects associated with the game’s combat.

A Realm Reborn offers players a near-endless experience that continually manifests itself into a wholly engaging and entertaining offering, bringing to life a sprawling fantasy world that’s replete with an incredible amount of playability. The beta was just a slice of what’s to come with the final release, and I am confident that the game will ignite splendor and jubilant smiles all across the world.

The game itself emboldens the franchise as a whole and breathes new life into the series, showcasing a variety of impressive elements while underlining the core MMO experience. Coupled with a fantastic community and dedicated servers, FFXIV: ARR may come to be one of the most popular MMO’s in recent years.

The game is, without a doubt, one of the most spectacular experiences that I’ve had with a MMORPG in recent years, and will remain one of the most memorable titles that I’ve encountered this year.