Are we Being Caught in a Bad Romance?

     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....

Whisper in The Wood Complete!

    I was able to reach rank 10 on my Weaver and complete the second quest in my character's personal storyline Whisper in the Wood (Gridania). I really enjoy discovering more about the storyline, and as other quests in the game have not yet been implemented, these are the cutscenes we have to look forward to now. I also earned some sweet gil for it (15,000). I outlined the quest below with pictures (spoiler warning!)

   The questline starts at Miounne at Carline's Canopy (Adventure Guild). She gives you a short cutscene and asks you to head over to the Carpenter's Guild to speak to A'naidjaa.

First Week Goals: Check

Pre-order opening week is almost done! Although there was much lag, some server closure problems, and much forum whining, things are starting to settle down. At least until Thursday when the general population invades!!!!

As I have previously stated, my playtime is somewhat time limited due to needing to share a computer until I can build a new one next month. So I usually only get a few evenings a week to hijack my boyfriends computer while he works.

Identity Crisis resolved!

Alright, alright...so the game has been out coming up on a week. However I hadn't yet posted the character model that I settled on for my new "Sheeba". I was taking some really great pictures earlier this week of my character's adventures after which I realized fraps was not on....So anyway, I settled on a blond with bangs and a longer haircut. I made sure her face would look good with other haircuts as well should they implement the function in game that allows you to change them. I was very tempted to go pink hair...but it seemed like everyone in beta had pink hair so... yeah.

I also have been trolling some forums this weekend since my playtime is limited until I buy a new PC. I found a great link to a website that will create a custom signature for you in addition to hosting linkshell sites. It is called Enjin and has support for many popular games and sites. So if you are looking for a signature for forums or a site to host your new linkshell, check this place out. Here is my own signature that gets updated daily. FFXIV signature generator

Starting Out in FFXIV

     As I am starting out with playing FFXIV I have gotten past all the busy work, the account setup, the installation, the patches and the character selection. I am in the world walking around and thinking hmmm I know I had a plan.

Exploring the new world can be overwhelming at first, and very easy to get sidetracked in this or that. Some people love that, they experience the game in a fluid capacity molding from one activity to another, absorbing it all at once. That's not me....Perhaps I am missing the important learn as you go gene or perhaps it is more a function of my time limited play. However, for my maximum enjoyment I need goals and organization, my thinking is very linear as is my gameplay. So for those of you that share my genetic makeup and enjoy more goal oriented play and time effieiency, I compiled this guide so I can easy play in windowed mode and refer back to any links I may need. My previous Beta Guide version 3 includes all the basic FFXIV setup links and controls.

Open Beta Experiences: Volume 3

      I decided to write up a post for all the newcomers of Eorzea including some of the most helpful links I have found over the past month or so. Personally I plan to play in windowed mode to as to maximize my productive time spent here and minimize unnecessary running around. I will be pulling from any available resources to compile this reference list.
      
First things first- Once you decided you are psyched to start playing FFXIV you should probably make sure your computer is equally as psyched as you are to run it. This game is very much a resource hog and the graphics are such that it demands a higher functioning processor and video card then any 5 year old PC you may still be using (like myself). First off run a benchmark test to make sure your PC can handle this game, if you successfully meet the requirements you may want to check the list of where your PC is gonna land performance wise. After all what is the point of playing this game is the graphics are gonna look like the PS2 version of ffxi. If you feel comfortable with your PC system and are ready to start up the game, take a minute to adjust your settings and get familiar with the options that will give you the best gameplay. Adjust your settings first because they cannot be changed once in game.
Link to official benchmark
See what tier your graphics card stacks up
See what tier your processor stacks up
Settings for FFXIV
Graphical settings discussion

Beta Memories

Figured I would find a place to put some of my beta memories. So if you didn't get a chance to see the open beta enjoy!!!

Moogles!!!!