Pet Peeve: The Undying

Argent Dawn
591

Well people like turn based games no?

592

As said, it starts off pretty dull. I’ll fully admit that it took me several tries to finally stick with it long enough to hit 30.

But as you level you begin to notice a few things:

  1. Most DPS/tank abilities work in a combo sequence of sorts, depending on the situation you might need to follow a particular combo path that generates more threat, deals more damage, applies a debuff or buff, etc. The 2.5s window gives you a moment to assess which combo you should follow through with. Get it wrong and your DPS can take a notable hit.

  2. As you level you gain more and more oGCD abilities. Ninja, Monk, Dragoon, Bard and more besides all depend on oGCD abilities for most of their damage. So while yes there’s a GCD of 2.5s, it’s not like WoW where oGCD abilities is reserved for very specific utility or defensives. You’re constantly weaving stuff in. Bard especially afaik has more oGCD attacks than attacks actually on the GCD.

  3. Most classes have a particular mechanic you have to keep an eye on or maintain. While most of WoW’s classes have become some variation of ‘generate resource, spend resource’ on loop, frankly most XIV classes are far more engaging than that. Red Mage for example is the closest thing to having a builder and spender rotation, except you have to generate TWO resources, and if you botch it and one gets further ahead than the other, it becomes harder to pull them back in balance, and you need to spend both resources to do your main damage combo. Black Mage needs to maximise it’s burst window and maintain umbral fire/ice stacks, dragoon has to glue themselves to another melee DPS, etc etc.

Last I played, I played Ninja and it was a combination of all 3 of those. First I had to maintain a buff that made my GCD much shorter (And with skill speed stat could even be faster than WoWs at times). Second, I had two or three combo sequences to alternate between. Third, I had to weave in a ton of oGCD abilities, including my hand signs (Which in themselves had a GCD of .5s!) to then perform a particular finisher (Either to restart my haste buff, deal ST damage, AoE damage, CC, etc). The handsigns especially are easy to botch if you don’t have the patterns memorised (You have three handsign ‘abilities’, which when used in a particular sequence transform a fourth ability), do it too slow or get them out of order and you get to stare at a 30s cooldown, a loss in DPS and a rabbit on your head that tells every other Ninnja that you dun goofed.

I will fully admit the 2.5GCD put me off for the longest time, and the early level experience did very little to ease my doubts. But with 2x XP on a preferred realm (Low pop or new) and as I leveled with a friend, I finally pushed up to about 40 or so, which is when I saw all the pieces falling into place.

By the time I was lv70 and doing endgame content I literally never took notice of the GCD. And this was from someone who was put off by it for the last 4 years or so. It was the first MMO I had ever played where I preferred to DPS rather than tank, I typically find DPS incredibly boring (Especially in modern WoW). XIV tanks are still fun but they’re more engaging the more interesting the encounter is.

As I said, the early levels are pretty bad if you’ve played an MMO before, and I wish the game would give you more interesting stuff earlier. But I suppose it’s that or we get a WoW situation where you go 40 levels without getting a single new ability. >.>

593

Okay so with that in mind. Which has a more fun early levelling experience, ESO or FF?

594

Long story short, you are meant to weave off GCD moves inbetween GCD moves. Once you start doing that, you do not even notice it tbh since there seems to always be a button to press.

595

I’d say ESO if you just want leveling. You do progress in your skill breadth more quickly and the game feels more tailored to leveling as an experience, similar to Lord of the Rings Online.

XIV is more interesting either if you’re super into the story or you don’t mind pushing to the end game and focusing on that. I wouldn’t play it just for the leveling experience unless the story grabs you. It’s similar to WoW in that regard.

596

ESO has the easier, more to do early leveling experience.

FF14 has a better plot.

Though FF14 goes like this Seventh Umberal (game at release) is a cheesy but decent story line- Seventh Astral (post first game prior to first expansion) is awful I tend to pay for the skip option here, lots of fetch quests.

First expansion Heavansward is great, especially if you like GoT or Dark Souls, the post expansion stuff Dragonsong War? Even better.

Stormblood I have yet to complete because RP had me switch character and I am still only in Heavansward on the alt.

597

I am conflicted. If they were both F2P I would try them both and work it out myself, but money is involved.

598

XIV has a free trial up to 35. Dunno if TESO has anything similar.

599

Which is also a thing that confuses me, but one that I can understand. Less so when it’s in an MMO format.

Alright that makes sense. I think. Kinda?

600

I guess an actual peeve of mine is the loss of that doe-eyed innocence I once had when I was new to Argent Dawn. I was initially on the edge about actually RPing. I liked the lore, but I was one of those people who transferred to AD when my old server began to die out and thought the atmosphere and high population was endearing.

But then I saw that the Ashes of Draenor campaign was about to start and I decided I might as well give it a go. I joined the Grommash Offensive as they were willing to let a new guy like me tag along, and it was one of the best memories I have on this realm.

I remember we were trapped in the ruins nearby Auchindoun in Bone Wastes, surrounded by Alliance. We were ready to charge out to meet our fate and I thought if I die now, by RP rules my character must be dead for good or something.

Then Reavers of Wolfbane as they were called back then and the Mok’lohn Command arrived from the east like Gandalf and the Rohirrim at the Battle for Helm’s Deep on the first light of the fifth day. While nowadays people usually complain that you’re just summoning reinforcements when :poop: goes sideways, back then some scouts from Wolfbane and Mok’lohn were patrolling when they came across us being surrounded. They really quickly rode back to Stonebreaker Hold and rallied the troops.

We made it out alive and won that battle. That’s when I knew that Argent Dawn is the realm for me. And after 6 years with Aerilen and Loras slowly corroding my will away, I feel like I might never experience another moment like that. And that makes me sad.

10 Likes
601

You mean after that first time we met in a random instance (Mogu’shan Vaults in MoP - yeah I remember) and you talked about how excited you were to meet me…

602

And then I got to know you and I feel like I’m caught in some kind of Stockholm Syndrome cycle of abuse

603

AUUURRRRGGGHHH!!!
The way to get Warfront Elite transmogs. Is. God. Damn. STUPID!!!

I have TWO pieces left of the Arathi Plate set. The boots, which I don’t care about, although the Horde equivelant looks nice. And the plate gloves, which I have been trying to get on my Paladin every cycle since the damn thing went live!! Have I got the one piece I need to complete this transmog? NO. HAVE I HELL.

And is there any alternative way to get these pieces, such as, oh, I don’t know, 7th Legion Medals? Don’t be stupid, this is Blizzard, of course there is no non-random alternative!!

The hammer I got instead was not only already unlocked, it was WORSE than the weapon I currently have. Nice one making ‘rng is rewarding guys!’ your Bloody Stupid of the Year, devs! -Slow Clap-

10 Likes
604

I never thought we’d reach a point where I’d miss the randomness of Legion… Leggos were random but you certainly wouldn’t get the same leggo twice…

3 Likes
605

I keep getting the same item from both completing the warfront as I do from the warfront chest quest. I just wanted the elfy hood, the knightly looking breastplate with the blue fabric and the forsaken robe and beak cowl…

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606

:weary: :weary: :weary:

607

Especially for the Reapers in the Reaper War, they are what the Argonians were to Mehrunes Dagon’s Oblivion Forces of Elder Scrolls.

1 Like
608

But it’s more exciting when the loot is randomised isn’t it?!

Peeve-of-the-now: Players wallowing and rolling in their own metaphorical waste with a complete lack of self-awareness, trumpeting the parroted card-prompts from on high without a critical thought.
From the inside they think they look amazing and clever, but to the rest of us on the outside it’s :thinking: at best and :rofl: at worst.

It really does make a case for the /ignore command to remove a player from your phase.

609

This quest. Or let’s make this better: All quests in that specific area. They’re all extremely tedious.

610

What did he mean with this vagueposting?

3 Likes