LWL's Personal Guide to Enjoying the Story of XIV While Having a Life.
For some reason I can't insert images so we're gonna wing this.
As someone who loves Final Fantasy and plays every entry I can get my hands on, it's safe to say I was excited for A Realm Reborn when it came out. I had never really played an MMO before. Just a little WoW in my teens, and I was too young to buy a subscription when Final Fantasy XI was new. So FF XIV 2.0 was to be my first proper MMO experience of a series I was properly invested in.
I made a character and played all the way through Heavensward. After which I took a long break. Lost the means to play. That's another story for another time.
Within the past month or so I've gotten the means to play comfortably again, and so I started up a new character and now I'm very close to Heavensward content once again. I'm really enjoying my time.
Here's my issue.
I have hobbies. A lot of them. MMO's are an absolute time suck, and so when I started up this new character of mine I went in with a plan. I had to reconcile my love for Final Fantasy XIV with the fact that I love to travel, go to concerts, read, catch up on my favorite shows, go to the movies, hang out with people, on top of the fact that I also have many other video games I could be playing at any time. I recently beat Tales of Berseria and I loved that one, and I'm looking forward to The Last of Us Part 2 releasing this weekend.
So, I've jotted down a few things. A small list that I try to stick to in order to enjoy the MMO experience while also making time for everything else I enjoy.
This is mostly for personal reference, but if you're a new player who's on the fence about trying out an MMO for the first time, feeling overwhelmed, or you're just curious how someone else decides to go about the game, this may be for you. A guidline for people who want to play an MMO in a leisurely way, or as close to that as can be said about an MMO.
First and foremost I'll say this: Do what you like. If you're super pumped about getting every job to 80, crafting, doing roulettes, running raids over and over, building a committed community of friends with a schedule, I have no advice for you. Live your MMO dreams.
This is just my way of enjoying the story, the atmosphere, and getting a thumb in every pie so I feel like i'm thoroughly exploring Eorzea without living in it.
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1. Primarily follow the Main Story Quest, but do every side dungeon/ raid at least once.
This is a satisfying route of exploration for me because i feel like i'm exploring the depths the game has to offer without getting lost in it. I visit all the places.
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2. Avoid long queue times by having a veteran player take you through areas unsynched or with a party.
You can mark it off your quest list, they'll leave you the loot, and the trial gets obliterated in 30 seconds. you can do this in turn for newer players if you stick around long enough to become a veteran yourself. As a general rule, if I put something in the Duty Finder and the notification says estimated wait is over 30m (looking at you, Urth's Fount), i'm not doing it until i can get a party together or I can be carried through unsynched.
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3. Don't chase carrots.
By this I mean don't try to get every item from a grindy limited time event. The current Final Fantasy XI crossover is fine, because it's just a few story quests and you get a nice glamour out of the deal.
The longer events, however, such as the current Moogle Treasure Trove, you could spend days upon days trying to get everything. It's just not worth it for the sake of "not missing anything".
Sometimes I ask myself, "would I buy this from the Mog Station?". Sometimes that helps me decided if I want to farm for something.
MMOs may not be a good choice for you if you're someone who experiences FOMO. The completionist in you has to come to terms with the fact that you can't get every item. There are discontinued and limited time items that will never return, and you have to be okay with that if you want to enjoy your time playing.
I've come to embrace that the path you carve for yourself in an MMO is uniquely yours. You get some items, you lose some items, but your journey is uniquely yours.
The good thing about these limited time events is that they can bring people out to do things they wouldn't normally, such as PvP, if the event has rewards there. This could be a good opportunity to try out a game mode that's normally dead. At least it has been for me.
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4. Don't grind for outdated weapons that are now glamours.
Arms such as your Atma weapon can be pretty difficult to get even with the higher drop rates, and as far along as the game has progressed, they aren't that special anymore. Unless you want the glamour, save yourself the headache.
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5. Don't chase gear stats beyond what's needed to comfortably play in the newest dungeons you're going in.
I like browsing the Marketboard as much as the next person, but questing and dungeon drops give you plenty of gear. Don't feel obligated to grind a place for gear.
A good stopping point for me will be when the story runs out. Once you get to the point where you're running dungeons over and over to get better gear for the sake of better gear? I'm out at that point. I'll have plenty of other things to tide me over until the next patch comes out. And in that way, I find balance while playing an MMO.
Anyway, I kinda rushed this. At some point it might be worth fleshing out more, or turned into a YouTube video.
Let me know if there's any advice you have for people trying to "trim the fat" of playing MMOs, or if there's something on my list you would adjust.
