The Fatigue System, or Why FFXIV Does NOT Suck

[Citizen Bleys]

Like almost everyone else I know, when I heard about the Fatigue system, I unleashed a stream of profanity so immense it tore a hole in the space-time continuum and Captain Kirk popped out and I had to spend 2 weeks hunting him down to send him back where he belonged.

The common understanding of Fatigue, due to S-E's bad explanation skills: "After 8 hours of play, the amount of experience you gain starts decreasing exponentially. After 12 hours, it drops to zero. Fatigue resets once per week, so if you want to play more than 12 hours per week, go get WoW.

This is how I understood it. I, like many MMO gamers, sometimes play for more than 8 hours in one sitting on a weekend.

How it actually works: Time does not directly factor into it. S-E determined the amount of experience points the average gamer would get in an hour, and set this amount of experience as a "threshold." After 8 of these thresholds, experience gained starts to drop. After 15, it reaches zero. Fatigue resets every Sunday. BUT fatigue cools down any time when you are not actually levelling, at the same rate it increases. So for one, if you're soloing (and FFXIV is marketed as more solo-friendly than FFXI), it will take significantly longer than 15 hours to hit the fatigue cap. Furthermore, the very instant you go into passive mode, the cooldown starts. Next, each class has a separate fatigue gauge. So you can level your Gladiator for 15 hours, after which your physical level will no longer increase--then you put away your sword and pull out a staff. What's your fatigue level at for the Conjurer class? Zero. You can play another 15 hours if you want. Your physical level will not increase, but your Conjurer skill will.

Why does this make FFXIV better? Simple. FFXIV's multiclassing system. Once you gain a skill, you can continue to use it even if you change to another class. You're intended to multiclass. If you want to be a dedicated healer, for example, you want to be using skills from the Conjurer and Thaumaturge trees. Fatigue will encourage players to play other classes while waiting for their fatigue timers to cool down, which will lead to characters better equipped to react to whatever situations they find themselves in.

To put it in FFXI terms, imagine this: You've just reached level 41 as a red mage and are ready for a change (or your fatigue gauges are full). You then unlock the Blue Mage job. You are now a Level 1 Blue Mage with Refresh. Not to mention the HP, MP, and physical stats of a level 41.

So what happens if you're in a party and you hit the fatigue limit? So what? To use the healer example again, you're in an awesome party as a Conjurer, playing as the main healer. You hit your limit. Just to make it seem so severe, let's even say your Thaumaturge fatigue is near maximum. Pull out a sword and you're now a Gladiator with full access to all of your healing magic and MP. Continue healing as before, not one jot less effective.

So who, really, does Fatigue hurt? Hikkikomori and RMT who play in shifts. Nobody else.

In case my explanation is subpar, have a look at the following Youtube video which explains it better than me & S-E put together: YouTube - FFXIV Tactics: Understanding the Fatigue System

Yes, I know, it looks like a Wendy's training video--but the information is still good.

[Del Murder]

Yeah I saw the video and it made a lot of sense. It's pretty cool that they thought it out like this.

[Carl the Llama]

As I said in that other thread I would not have known about the restriction if I had not been told about it.

[Aerith's Knight]

I'm with the profanity and laughing at SE part. Psh, as if I have the time to level for 8 hours anyway.

So do you have to be in passive mode or does it cool down after you stop the game?

[Carl the Llama]

I'm with the profanity and laughing at SE part. Psh, as if I have the time to level for 8 hours anyway.

So do you have to be in passive mode or does it cool down after you stop the game?

Both.

[AntagonistGB]

Silly MMO's. I'll take games where I don't have my mommy telling me when I can and can't play, thank you very much.

[Del Murder]

Did you even read this thread or watch the video? You can play whenever and however you want.

[Bunny]

The introduction of a fatigue system was one of the breaking decisions for me not to get the game. I'm glad to hear that it isn't actually a bad system and has some positives about it. However, I'm still curious about the game itself. This might be a different thread altogether, but let's throw caution to the wind and ask it here anyway:

Is Final Fantasy XIV worth playing?

I've heard it [strike]sucks[/strike] just isn't that great. Truth or Non-Truth?

[Loony BoB]

I'm with the profanity and laughing at SE part. Psh, as if I have the time to level for 8 hours anyway.

So do you have to be in passive mode or does it cool down after you stop the game?

For classes, exp cools down even when you are in active mode if you use another class.

I've been playing pretty much hours upon hours this week, at least 20. My physical cap hasn't even been met, I'm still getting loads of it. I've not even hit fatigue. xD

EDIT: Bunny - for me, I love the game and I think it's well worth playing. For others, they think it's horrible. Basically, let yourself decide, but if you want the opinion of those at another forum, when asked if they would cancel after the 30 day free trial, 91 said yes, 444 said no, 170 said they will play for a few more months before deciding on whether to cancel. So roughly 87% of people still want to keep playing. That's pretty good.

[Rostum]

I certainly appreciate what they're trying to do with the fatigue system, and it'll most likely never have any effect on me since I never plan on playing more than 8 hours a day, ever.

As for if FFXIV is worth it, I think you'll find all the negative comments on it are from the very loud minority and most people enjoying the game don't bother with forums for the most part. It has some issues, just like any new MMO does, and they'll most likely be ironed out in a month or two. If you're truely worried you could wait a couple of months or until PS3 release to see how it all pans out.

[Old Manus]

ITT: Stupid game mechanic turns out to be a bit less stupid therefore it is a cool feature

[Lionx]

Lets just say i laughed so hard at the ridiculousness of what they are saying in the video when i first watched it.

In the end the cap is a cap, it doesn't promote anything. People will level other jobs when they feel like it regardless if they are hardcore enough. Its not even slightly less stupid, its even more so because of the attempt to cover up imo.

[Rostum]

Lets just say i laughed so hard at the ridiculousness of what they are saying in the video when i first watched it.

In the end the cap is a cap, it doesn't promote anything. People will level other jobs when they feel like it regardless if they are hardcore enough. Its not even slightly less stupid, its even more so because of the attempt to cover up imo.

I'm not saying I like it or dislike it, but you do realise it's exactly the same system as every other MMO just presented differently, right? MMO's have it in place because it's unrealistic to expect there to be enough end-game content to keep people occupied, so they need a little leeway for developing more content. It's not stupid it's just not ideal, but what can you do? It is a present problem in the genre as a whole.

[Lionx]

Thats not the point i was trying to make, its the video itself. I know why fatique is there (still think its kinda dumb but it doesn't really affect me). But the video tries to make it look like its something thats good and super awesome/revolutionary when its not. Thats why its so hilarious and why it got stupider for me.

[Loony BoB]

Until I meet someone who has capped out, I don't know why people will call it stupid. I've played far more than anyone here and haven't even reached the halfway point (at which point your skill points show up in orange, apparently). I've heard of only one person who reached fatigue levels, but still not the cap. They apparently were an archer that was bitching about it in some cave somewhere. I read about it at some other forums. It's simply put not going to be an issue for anyone unless they really do spend at least 12 hours every day fighting things without stopping for any kind of break, not for healing, not for trading, not for sleeping, nothing. I can't imagine anyone reaching that without either 1) being RMT or some kind of bot, or 2) having severe mental and potentially physical health issues as a result of playing the game.

The guys at IGN said similar things, so far as to say "maybe we're not hardcore enough" and "maybe we're doing it wrong". xD