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Gold Saucer opens in Final Fantasy XIV: Chocobo Racing, Triple Triad, & more.

Reveirg

Member
Is all 2.5 content released now?

I was waiting for all pre-Heavensward content be out before subbing again. I want to clear it out before the expansion comes out! The Gold Saucer and Triple Triad look awesome.

It's really tough to find time for an MMO among my heavy backlogs and all those upcoming releases :(
 

Sylas

Member
Is all 2.5 content released now?

I was waiting for all pre-Heavensward content be out before subbing again. I want to clear it out before the expansion comes out! The Gold Saucer and Triple Triad look awesome.

It's really tough to find time for an MMO among my heavy backlogs and all those upcoming releases :(

Not quite yet, no. The final part of 2.5 is scheduled for the end of March, so you've got 3-4 weeks still!
 

Reveirg

Member
Not quite yet, no. The final part of 2.5 is scheduled for the end of March, so you've got 3-4 weeks still!

End of March as in right in between Type-0, Bloodborne and Xenoblade 3D? O_O

I'll....find the time.... >_>


How much are server passes anyway? I'm on Sargatannas but thinking of jumping on Ultros with GAF :D
 

SkyOdin

Member
Doesn't triple triad start to break down as a game when you play other humans?

Not really, it has been a lot of fun playing against other people. NPCs tend to use a limited numbers of cards and cheat like hell to create a challenge. Playing against actual people feels more fair, while being more varied and fun. I still really need to learn how to use the Plus and Same rules better though. There is someone in my FC who used to play a fan-made online-multiplayer version of Triple Triad, and is really good at it. He is familiar with high-end strategies I've never seen a computer player use.
 

Buttons

Member
SE really outdid themselves with the Gold Saucer, triple triad is addictive and Chocobo racing is actually quite fun. :D
 
FFXIV gets better every day. Heads up guys, IF YOU HAVE GCU at Bestbuy.com you can buy the PS4 version of FFXIV for 16 dollars. The price says 29.99 until you put it in your cart, then it says "You save 14.00". I know because I just bought two copies for my little cousins.
 
Alright, serious question: Is the game fun if you're more of a solo player? I don't have anyone that will follow me into an MMO, so I'm asking since most of my time will be spent questing alone or through LFG.

I am a bit of a MMORPG noob and I also have been looking for a while to buy this game. I got a bit of steam money from items in TF2, so I'd like to know if I should jump on it?

Thanks guys!

PS: Big FF fan, that helps a lot in the decision :p
There is a lot you can do alone, but there are times you must do a dungeon to progress, and they require parties. When following the main storyline, the first 4-person dungeon is around level 15 (and you must follow the main story to unlock certain things, like Chocobo riding). There are no solo dungeons.
But dungeoning can be fun in pickup groups, and even veterans like newbs joining them because they get a bonus if newbs are in the party.
 

Ogawa-san

Member
My only complaint is that there isn't enough Manderville in Manderville's Gold Saucer.

In any case, they should put a bank, a few vendors and/or a market board in there so we can all afk to the sound of this.
 

SkyOdin

Member
PC or PS4.... ?
A little more convenient for me to play games on PS4 at the moment.. but is it good with a controller?

I know plenty of people who do great in the game with a controller. The control scheme for the PS3/Ps4 controller is very well designed. It does have some problems with targeting specific enemies compared to PC, but for a lot of gameplay it does just fine. Depending on how comfortable you are with PC controls, some of the dodging might be easier with a controller compared to WASD movement.
 

Buttons

Member
Wow a free login campaign, servers are gonna be swamped this weekend. xD

Still, its good for the game so those that were wondering about coming back, try it this weekend.
 
Two questions: can you use mouse and keyboard on PS4 or did I hear that wrong? And is there still the collection aspect to Triple Triad? Really tempted to get back to this..
 

Andrefpvs

Member
No problem! :) If I may say, I would still do it before the end of March, even if you can only play 1-2 hours every now and then you should make decent progress and have already a starting base for when you fully want to dive in.

Thanks, I'll probably do that then!

You're saying I can make a starting base even if I only play a little; do you have any suggestions for what I should do in that time? I'll probably won't want to get very far in the story since I'll probably have it all forgotten by the time I do have the time to put in some good hours (should be around summer at the earliest), so is there anything I could do that would give me that base without advancing the story a lot?
 

Shamdeo

Member
Thanks, I'll probably do that then!

You're saying I can make a starting base even if I only play a little; do you have any suggestions for what I should do in that time? I'll probably won't want to get very far in the story since I'll probably have it all forgotten by the time I do have the time to put in some good hours (should be around summer at the earliest), so is there anything I could do that would give me that base without advancing the story a lot?

Well, you could work on your combat, gathering, or crafting classes (though each of them have a smaller-scale storyline as well). To unlock Gold Saucer you need to complete the story up to when you unlock airship travel between city-states, but it'd be a good place to "stop" until you can play for real. There's no story content attached to it, as its meant to be accessed by people at many stages in the game.

If its any consolation, all cutscenes you unlock in the story are saved in a book that you can access at any time by going to an inn room in any of the three major capitals. It'd be a nice refresher on the beginning of the story if you come back after a few months - though I assure you it's not overly complicated up until that point.
 
Thanks, I'll probably do that then!

You're saying I can make a starting base even if I only play a little; do you have any suggestions for what I should do in that time? I'll probably won't want to get very far in the story since I'll probably have it all forgotten by the time I do have the time to put in some good hours (should be around summer at the earliest), so is there anything I could do that would give me that base without advancing the story a lot?

Well, you could work on your combat, gathering, or crafting classes (though each of them have a smaller-scale storyline as well). To unlock Gold Saucer you need to complete the story up to when you unlock airship travel between city-states, but it'd be a good place to "stop" until you can play for real. There's no story content attached to it, as its meant to be accessed by people at many stages in the game.

If its any consolation, all cutscenes you unlock in the story are saved in a book that you can access at any time by going to an inn room in any of the three major capitals. It'd be a nice refresher on the beginning of the story if you come back after a few months - though I assure you it's not overly complicated up until that point.

I can second what Shamdeo said, if you don't want to play alot of the story play till level 15 to unlock Gold Saucer and from then on you could technically just do a few side-quests here and there and then FATE grind if you like. FATE's are random events that spawn over the map and are decent for leveling. Being overleveled will make the story more enjoyable in my opinion too since by then you can do many story-quests in a row without downtime in between :)
 

MrHoot

Member
Ooooooh boy

it's time then

b5680cea63138c4f1f93aab3e56eb8e6.gif
 
Do they do free log-in weekends for most content patches or just rarely for the biggest ones? I've been waiting for another to check it out again (got a Dragoon at... Lv45 or so) and I saw I just missed one. I love snowy mountain forests (and I loved those ogre FATEs on that Ishgard snow area) so I'm rather interested in Heavensward (and leveling a DRK). I also haven't tried it on PS4 yet (already upgraded and patched it from PS3, just haven't subbed), and the game already had some of the most gorgeous environments (especially sunrises and weather) on just the PS3 so I want to explore Ul'dah desert areas again even just for a couple days.
From the first page.... my prayers have been answered haha

Free log-in week... not just the weekend, too :D
 

HowZatOZ

Banned
Is there anyway to actually download the game before the trial starts? Their stupid launcher system isn't allowing me to.
 
Tempted to resub for this but I know I'll regret it after a day or two. :(

Edit: Nevermind guess I can jump on the free week. Plenty of time to check out the Gold Saucer. :D
 

kiryogi

Banned
End of March as in right in between Type-0, Bloodborne and Xenoblade 3D? O_O

I'll....find the time.... >_>


How much are server passes anyway? I'm on Sargatannas but thinking of jumping on Ultros with GAF :D
You're saying GAF isn't on Sargatanas :eek:
 

Andrefpvs

Member
Well, you could work on your combat, gathering, or crafting classes (though each of them have a smaller-scale storyline as well). To unlock Gold Saucer you need to complete the story up to when you unlock airship travel between city-states, but it'd be a good place to "stop" until you can play for real. There's no story content attached to it, as its meant to be accessed by people at many stages in the game.

If its any consolation, all cutscenes you unlock in the story are saved in a book that you can access at any time by going to an inn room in any of the three major capitals. It'd be a nice refresher on the beginning of the story if you come back after a few months - though I assure you it's not overly complicated up until that point.

I can second what Shamdeo said, if you don't want to play alot of the story play till level 15 to unlock Gold Saucer and from then on you could technically just do a few side-quests here and there and then FATE grind if you like. FATE's are random events that spawn over the map and are decent for leveling. Being overleveled will make the story more enjoyable in my opinion too since by then you can do many story-quests in a row without downtime in between :)

Thanks so much, you're really helping me out a lot!

Is there a recommended server? I'm in Europe. I guess playing on an American one would be a bad idea, huh?

Also, would you recommend reading/watching 1.0's story? If so, what would be the best way to get up to speed?
 
Thanks, I'll probably do that then!

You're saying I can make a starting base even if I only play a little; do you have any suggestions for what I should do in that time? I'll probably won't want to get very far in the story since I'll probably have it all forgotten by the time I do have the time to put in some good hours (should be around summer at the earliest), so is there anything I could do that would give me that base without advancing the story a lot?

I third Shamdeo - the real story doesn't really start until you unlock the airships at level 15 - before that it's basically just a kind-of tutorial, teaching you the layout of your starting town and how game mechanics work. When you reach the level 15 story, the story kicks into gear, sending you to the three starting towns for story purposes. And it's when you get the airship pass that you can access the Gold Saucer. So that's a good goal for early play.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
Just a heads up -- Square Enix is hosting a Free Login period to celebrate 4 million accounts.

Start: Friday, February 27, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. (PST)
End: Monday, March 9, 2015 at 1:00 a.m. (PDT)

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/24d3c419fae62ce2771b4b0b7d01c6348ab5d5e5


Edit: What the crap, it's a full stinkin week+? ... haha

Wow another free login, I don't need to sub confirmed. That's 3 in a short amount of time, more than enough for me. And I may have missed some free weekends. I got one after rogue and ninja was released in which I used to try them out, turns out I don't like FFXIV rogue and ninja. The last free weekend I just chatted with ffxi buddies that still played ffxiv for a short bit and the rest I tried to find random people to cure to get my macros set up to get comfortable with the game again, and explore which were both very short lived (no one needs cure in the open world).

I actually thought about resubbing when the patch was live and as I watched streams of gold saucer. Then the second day it seemed boring to watch already (I actually like watching people play ffxi and ffxiv). The chocobo racing seem like it could have been a lot better if the controls didn't have the delay and such. I suppose they wanted it to feel like those old PS1 Gallop Racer games. They should have went for more kart racer instead. I wonder if a fix for the pickup item not being picked up yet. That seemed pretty bad.
 
Less than 4 hours now until free log-in week starts, exciting to see how the snowy Coerthas looks on PS4... I basically lived there for probably most of my last 100 hours that I played. Such a great zone, one of the better snow areas I've seen in a MMO. Not quite Dun Morogh from WoW or as symbolic as the Midgard Frontier in DAOC, but still rather beautiful. Great architecture, the Ishgard knights have a nice armour suit, and I really like that stream that ends near the south of the zone and snakes it's way through the forest toward the west... Thematically, that 'ogre loggers' FATE in the copse of snowy pine trees near the stream is probably my favorite little corner of the game world. And if I could build a 'home' anywhere, it would be at that logging camp with the botanist trainer up above first Observatory town, or the inn -- where I basically always logged out every time I took a break from the game -- in Dragonhead.
 
Thanks so much, you're really helping me out a lot!

Is there a recommended server? I'm in Europe. I guess playing on an American one would be a bad idea, huh?

Also, would you recommend reading/watching 1.0's story? If so, what would be the best way to get up to speed?

No problem I'm really glad to help :) For the server I'm not sure, I'm from the EU and play on Ragnarok but the majority of GAF seems to play on Ultros and I wouldn't worry about server locations too much. I'm not sure if that's still the case by now but there was a time where the EU datacenter was actually located in Canada I think? and I never had any noticeable lag problems aside from 3-4 AOE attacks over the course of playing.

As for the story summery, a quick round of Google lead me to this: http://gamerescape.com/2013/08/21/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-white-raven/ but maybe they are better summaries out there.
 
Triple Triad is soooo addicting! :D
You can challenge NPCs or get in a tournament to win new cards and coins (can be traded with items).
 
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