I was fortunate to be able to squeeze in some evening hours this week to really give FFXIV a chance to prove itself to me during the pre-order grace period. However, I feel let down and I am beginning to wonder if my own rose colored glasses are coming off regarding this game. Are we indeed being courted in a Bad Romance with FFXIV?
Most of my experience is with the crafting system so far, and repeating guildleves this week with some independent grinding squeezed in on the side. At first, crafting was interesting, a fun game that held my attention and concentration as I strive to succeed in my endeavors, much like the courtship period in a new relationship. However, as the week wore on and I was taking 8 guildleves at a time to complete, I started to notice the tedious process of equipping the correct gear and going through 8 windows of confirmations was starting to wear on me, and that was before the crafting even starts! As a FFXI player I can put up with the lack of recipes available in game and no tutorials, but the UI and game response timing is just clunky at best. I found myself starting to get very sleepy when it came to my 4th or 5th crafting leve, sort of like a date that won't stop talking about themselves....
