Final Fantasy XIV
| Final Fantasy XIV: Online | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Original title | フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー XIV | ||||
| transcription | Fainaru Fantajī Fōtīn | ||||
| Studio | Square Enix | ||||
| Publisher | Square Enix | ||||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
September 30, 2010 ( Windows ) A Realm Reborn: Windows : August 27, 2013 PlayStation 3 : August 27, 2013 PlayStation 4 : April 14, 2014 macOS : June 23, 2015 |
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| platform |
Windows PlayStation 4 Mac OS X The PlayStation 3 platform is no longer supported as of June 20, 2017. |
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| genre | MMORPG | ||||
| Game mode | Multiplayer | ||||
| control | Gamepad , keyboard , mouse | ||||
| language |
Japanese Standard Chinese German English French |
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| Current version | 5.3 of August 11, 2020 | ||||
| Age rating |
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| PEGI content rating |
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| information | Number of players: 20.0 million trial accounts excluded | ||||
Final Fantasy XIV (OT: Japanese フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー , Fainaru Fantajī Fōtīn ), also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online , is the second MMORPG in the Final Fantasy series. It was developed by the same team that was responsible for Final Fantasy XI . Final Fantasy XIV is a world of September 30, 2010 Windows - PC appeared. With the Heavensward expansion, the game was also released for Mac OS X, but withdrawn a short time later due to various problems. A new release took place on February 23, 2016 together with the patch 3.2 "The Gears of Change". Support for the operation of the game on the Playstation 3 platform was terminated with the launch of the second Stormblood expansion on June 20, 2017.
Final Fantasy XIV received harsh criticism after its launch, leading to a public apology and an exchange of the responsible producers. Square Enix announced in October 2011 that the game would be extensively redesigned and relaunched under the title Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; this took place worldwide on August 27, 2013 in the form of a standard and a collector's edition. A Realm Reborn replaced the original Final Fantasy XIV . The game brought a new engine , improved server structures, polished gameplay and a new storyline.
On June 23, 2015, the first expansion Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward was released . On June 20, 2017, the second expansion Stormblood was released. On July 2nd, 2019, the third expansion, Shadowbringers , was released.
Game mechanics
The general gameplay is similar to that of Final Fantasy XI . In the game, progress is made by completing missions and assignments. These missions reveal the plot of the game in portions and allow you to play with other players. The city-states of the world Eorzea serve as meeting and gathering points for the players, from where they can start their missions together, chat, visit guilds or pursue leisure activities. The time does not run in real time, but a full day in the game lasts 72 minutes in real time.
Guild free letters
The missions are advertised in the form of guild free letters . They are rectangular cards made of colored crystal, which are issued by the Adventurers' Guild and which entitle adventurers to take orders. They are incorporated into valuable metal frames and show the patron saint of Eorzea and their virtues. In each tavern, the adventurers can have various licenses that correspond to their skills and status. For the fulfillment of difficult quests, adventurers can band together to benefit from their privileges. If all of them entail different charter, these can be combined into a campaign. There are a total of eight categories of charter, which represent various honorable virtues such as bravery, persistence, reliability or devotion and bundle corresponding orders and missions among themselves.
equipment
The equipment system is the linchpin in Final Fantasy XIV, as it influences the adventurer's playstyle and is linked to their development. Simply by changing an equipped weapon or tool, not only can the style of play and the associated actively used skills be changed, but also the appearance. This principle allows the player to optimally adjust to the situation at any time, although weapons can only be changed outside of combat. Each weapon and tool has certain specific skills that match the discipline and that become more effective with frequent use. In contrast to the respective class level, items of equipment have no possibility of leveling here. You can reinforce this with so-called materia as the game progresses.
FATEs
A full active time event (mostly abbreviated as FATE or FATE) are large, public events that appear randomly all over the world and give out rewards if they are successfully completed. There are different types of FATEs, such as patrols, battles against specific opponents, or boss battles. Each map section in the game contains different FATEs, depending on how many players are there, the difficulty and number is adjusted. The FATEs are one of the fastest ways to level up, earn gil and state dollars. The FATE levels are adapted to the monsters in the vicinity and players whose level is too high must first adapt to the level of the FATE in order to participate. There are also special rare events that award very special rewards.
Disciplines and Lifestyle
Through the equipment, the adventurers are assigned certain disciplines, which largely correspond to certain character classes from other parts of the series. These disciplines can be divided into four large groups: The "warriors" who seek their salvation with weapons in battle; the "magicians" who make use of strange artifacts and are dedicated to the study of the magical arts; the “collectors” who work in the field and wrest their treasures from nature; and the “craftsmen” who know how to make goods with their tools. The equipment system allows each player to choose whether he wants to specialize or be an all-rounder.
It should be noted that all of these disciplines are part of a functioning social system in which the residents of the game world independently supply themselves with food and equipment according to their skills. For example, a gladiator can kill a monster and bring the meat to a gourmet, who then produces food and can sell it. He takes the animal hide to a tanner and has armor made from it. Or, for example, a druid finds certain ingredients in the woods that he can have an alchemist prepare for him.
With the restart of the game A Realm Reborn , extended classes from earlier games in the Final Fantasy series have also been integrated. They can be practiced when certain combinations of experience in the disciplines being exercised are achieved. After completing a job quest that is then available, the player receives a corresponding job crystal , which enables them to switch to the respective profession when equipping.
The following list shows the various disciplines (jobs that can be learned from them):
warrior
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magician
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Special classes
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Craftsman
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Collector
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Character creation
Final Fantasy XIV offers a simple, yet comprehensive system for character creation. When creating characters, you can choose from subtleties such as eye size and color, skin, hair type and color as well as strands and color gradients, as well as the shapes of eyes, mouth and nose. You can also choose extras such as tattoos or scars. In addition, certain actions in the game can have permanent effects on the appearance. In addition to the race, which is determined first, a gender and membership of one of two clans must also be selected, which also entails further external differences.
In total, there are already 80 different options based on race, gender, clan and basic type, which can be further individualized using the facial parameters. Finally, a starting discipline, a server, the individual lucky day and the worshiped God of the twelve must be selected.
Game world
The world of Final Fantasy XIV is called Hydaelyn and is similar to Vana'diel from Final Fantasy XI in terms of landscape and geography. The population is again made up of different races, similar to those from Final Fantasy XI, so players can get a quick start. The world has been made very spacious and varied. In order to cover large distances, players can teleport between certain points using aetheryte. At the start of the game, the player chooses to join one of three city-states. The forest town of Gridania is in the east of Aldenard, the marine metropolis Limsa Lominsa is in the south of the island of Vylbrand, and the sultanate of Ul'dah is in the far south of Aldenard in the wasteland of vast rocky deserts.
Races
In terms of races, the similarity to those from Final Fantasy XI is striking, which is also intended by the developers. On the one hand, these races have proven themselves in terms of game balance, on the other hand, players should find their way around quickly.
The races each have two subspecies, which differ only in their different optical adaptations.
The "Heavensward" and "Shadowbringers" expansions enable the Au Ra, as well as the Hrothgar and Viera to become playable races.
The following breeds are available:
Hyuran (ヒ ュ ー ラ ン Hyūran)
A human-like people who used to live outside of Eorzea and who flocked to Eoerza via great migrations in the past. It is divided into the Wiesländer and Hochländer tribes . The Wieslanders make up the vast majority of the Hyurans and can be found all over Eorzea. The highlands are less common and are characterized by the fact that they are larger and more muscular than the Wieslanders.
Elezen (エ レ ゼ ン Erezen)
An elven-like nomad people who are also considered to be the indigenous people of Eorzea. There used to be a state of war between them and the Hyurans over their territories, but today they are together. The Elezen are divided into the two tribes Erlschatten and Dunkelalben, whereby there is a strong rivalry here. While the Erlshadow participated in the founding of cities, the dark albums withdrew further into the dim caves of the forest areas of Eorzea.
Lalafell (ラ ラ フ ェ ル Raraferu)
The Lalafell are small, child-like humanoids with great agility. They originally come from the southern islands, but the brisk trade ultimately led them to Eorzea. You have good relations with all peoples. The Lalafell are divided into the two tribes Halminge and Sandlinge. The stalks are often found in the La Noscea region, where they farm or work as fishermen or sailors in Limsa Lominsa. The sandlings, however, live in the deserts of Thanalan and are also co-founders of the wealth of Ul'dah.
Miqo'te (ミ コ ッ テ Mikotte)
The Miqo'te are a feline race and descendants of hunters and gatherers. They found their way to Eorzea in the Age of Long Ice and are divided into the two tribes of Goldpaws and Moon Strayers. The golden paws are often found in the desert, but many of them also live in Limsa Lominsa. They are followers of the sun goddess, but the moon stray followers of the moon god. The moon strays can often be found at night in the dark forest, where they go hunting.
Roegadyn (ル ガ デ ィ ン Rugadin)
The Roegadyn are a large, and most importantly, muscular breed from the northern seas. They form the two tribes of the sea wolves and the Lohengarde. The sea wolves were once pirates and now earn their living as ferrymen or fishermen. The Lohengarde, on the other hand, traditionally hire themselves out as mercenaries. You owe your name to your red-brown skin color and the unusual habitat in the mountains.
Au Ra (ア ウ ラ Aura)
The Au Ra are known as a dragon-like people because of their armor-hard scales, thorns and curved horns. The roots of the Au Ra lie on the continent Othard in the east. This people is divided into the two tribes Raen and Xaela. The biggest difference between the two trunks is the light and dark shiny scales. The Raen are peace-loving and tolerant, but they rarely leave their valleys. The Xaela, on the other hand, are bold and daring and also very skilled fighters. They are adventurous and nomadic.
Hrothgar
The Hrothgar are a barbaric people and come from Ilsabard. They have a big cat-like appearance and are almost exclusively male. The people are divided into the two tribes of Helions and those who have been given up. The Helions, characterized by the warm earth tones, revolves around their female head in their predominantly male society. The losers are characterized by their cool, muted coat colors. Many generations ago they left their settlements for a freer existence as nomads, now they are considered seasonal workers and mercenaries.
Viera
The Viera, also known as forest dwellers, are a relatively small people from Othard who have lived in the depths of the forest for centuries. They shied away from contact with the outside world, especially the male representatives, according to tradition, almost never reveal themselves. This people appears as the tribe of the Rava and as the Veena. The dark skin of the rava disappears in the shadow of the forest. They are protectors of the sacred jungle of Gomore. The Veena are characterized by their light skin, attached to the snow-capped peaks of their homeland, the Skatay Mountains. After centuries of hunting and gathering, they avoided any contact with strangers. Now both tribes are opening up to the rest of the world.
action
Twelve gods have always watched over Eorzea and took care of the five peoples who long ago streamed into their otherwise empty land, since they were impressed by their tenacity and since then have directed their fate. The gods came to be known and worshiped as the Twelve , while numerous villages were founded, developed into cities, and grew into city-states. But since time immemorial there has been discord and disagreement in Eorzea. Often times, betrayal and broken vows dominated relationships, and so many battles were fought and many villages burned to the earth from which they arose.
Fifteen years before the start of the game, these conditions changed abruptly when the great power Ala Mhigo, which had been in effect until then, was overrun by a previously completely unknown army. The defenders had no chance against the futuristic weapons and fully metal armor of the armed forces of the Garleian Empire. The entire north of Eorzea was overrun in the course of this and reduced to rubble. This was the crux of the matter for the other city-states to put aside their perennial hostilities and focus on the common threat. As a result, they founded a secret military alliance, but inexplicably the feared invasion of the south never took place. For this reason, the people of Eorzea have lived in fear of attack ever since. This time of restless peace is therefore called the time of silence . Finally, ten years ago, the first of the primes was spotted in Eorzea. These horrific creatures were summoned by some savage tribes to intimidate the city-states. Both events left a lasting mark on Eorzea's image.
The city-states of the new alliance trained standing, flexible armies to cope with a potential attack. City guards, mercenaries and retired soldiers, on the other hand, found hardly any employment and some of them fell victim to crime. Respected mercenary leaders then joined together and founded a network of guilds that were to offer these lost souls a new home and rehabilitate them through good deeds. These guild followers are known as the adventurers and their actions establish the age of adventurers. Since then, some adventurers have inexplicably developed a gift for manipulating certain things in the past. Since then, this gift has aroused great fear, but also the leaders' lust for power.
Business model
In order to be able to play the game, a monthly fee must be paid. When you buy the game for the first time, you get a free month. A standard monthly subscription costs EUR 12.99 , a three-month subscription EUR 11.99 per month and a six-month subscription EUR 10.99 per month. This allows the creation of up to eight characters per world and 40 in total. Payment is possible via direct debit , credit card , prepaid credit ("Crysta") and other payment methods. Commercially also are credit cards available that allow more games for 60 days. There is also a beginner's monthly subscription for 10.99 euros, with the restriction to one character per world, a total of eight.
Since patch 5.3, which was released in August 2020, the demo version offered since 2017 has been greatly expanded. The players can now bring a character in all classes to player level 60 (instead of previously 35) without a time limit, complete all tasks and quests available until then and experience the story. The Heavensward expansion, which was previously only playable for a fee, is now included in the demo. Only minor restrictions still exist, for example the possession of in-game currency is limited.
In addition, the following chargeable services are offered in the "Mog station" (account management):
| Paid service | description | price |
|---|---|---|
| Adventure stories | Jump to the end of the respective game segment | A Realm Reborn: € 9.75
Heavensward: € 15.75 Stormblood: € 21.75 |
| Job level advancement | Advancement of the respective job class to level 70 | € 21.75 |
| Fantasia | Allows changing the appearance of a character including changing races | Unit price: € 7.00 /
various bundle prices |
| Character renaming | Change of name of a character | € 7.00 |
| World transfer | Transfer of a character to another world | € 14.00 |
development
Final Fantasy XIV was developed under the code name Rapture . It was produced by Hiromichi Tanaka , who was already responsible for Final Fantasy XI . The original director of the game was Nobuaki Komoto , the artistic director Akihiko Yoshida ( Vagrant Story , Final Fantasy XII ), the soundtrack comes completely from the pen of Nobuo Uematsu for the first time since Final Fantasy IX . The game engine used was Crystal Tools . The game was finally released on September 30, 2010. The first previews showed the game great potential for fun, but the tests and assessments were very mixed. While there was little audiovisual criticism, various aspects of the game mechanics were rated negatively.
In response, two months after the November 2010 release, Tanaka retired from the position of producer and Komoto was removed from his position as director. Naoki Yoshida replaces her from now on and fulfills both roles. The CEO of Square Enix , Yoichi Wada , told a news conference that the brand Final Fantasy through the game a lot of damage suffered.
From then on, regular messages from the development team to the gaming community were published, in which the latest developments and upcoming events were discussed. The developers receive feedback from the players through forums and surveys and try to pay more attention to this and implement it. In April 2011 the team began developing a new game engine and server structure.
As an honor to players who had a subscription of at least 90 days in the period from January 6, 2012 to September 29, 2012 (setting date of the payment management), were entitled to the benefits of the so-called "Legacy" campaign. This included a discounted monthly price of $ 9.99 for the relaunch title Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn , an exclusive chocobo mount and the possibility of immortalizing his name in the game's official credits.
Patches and extensions
The development team plans to release major updates about every three months. Each patch contains a continuation of the main scenario as well as new raids, trials, items and corresponding crafting recipes and dungeons. Between the big updates there are always smaller patches and hotfixes that change and improve the quality of life in the game.
In addition to the regular updates, expansions have already been published for the game that add new regions, races, jobs, items and numerous other challenges. The first expansion is called Heavensward , the second Stormblood and the third Shadowbringers .
| Patches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Patch | title | Release date | Hints |
| 2.0 | A realm reborn | August 27, 2013 | |
| 2.1 | A realm awoken | December 16, 2013 | |
| 2.2 | Through the Maelstrom | March 27, 2014 | |
| 2.3 | Defenders of Eorzea | July 8, 2014 | |
| 2.4 | Dreams of Ice | October 28, 2014 | Class Rogue (Ninja) introduced |
| 2.5 | Before the fall | January 20, 2015 (1st part)
March 31, 2015 (2nd part) |
|
| 3.1 | As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness | November 10, 2015 | |
| 3.2 | The gears of change | February 23, 2016 | |
| 3.3 | Revenge of the Horde | June 7, 2016 | |
| 3.4 | Soul surrender | September 27, 2016 | |
| 3.5 | The Far Edge of Fate | January 17, 2017 (1st part)
March 28, 2017 (2nd part) |
|
| 4.1 | The Legend Returns | October 10, 2017 | |
| 4.2 | Rise of a new sun | January 30, 2018 | New Raid Omega: Sigmametry. New Primae Byakko. |
| 4.3 | Under the moonlight | May 22, 2018 | New Primae Tsukuyomi. |
| 4.4 | Prelude in Violet | 18th September 2018 | New Raid Omega: Alphametry. New Primae Suzaku. |
| 4.5 | A Requiem for Heroes | January 8, 2019 (1st part)
March 26, 2019 (2nd part) |
New Alliance raid: Orbonne Monastery. New primes: Seiryu. New Limited Job: Blue Magician. |
| 5.1 | Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty | October 29, 2019 (1st part)
November 12, 2019 (2nd part) |
New Alliance Raid: The Copied Factory. New game + (replay the story). Revision of the craftsman and collector disciplines. Rebuilding Ishgard (Part 1). |
| 5.2 | Echoes of a Fallen Star | February 18, 2020 | New Raid Edens: Response. New Primae Ruby Weapon. New Quests from the Wild Tribes: the Qitari. Rebuilding Ishgard (Part 2). |
| 5.3 | Reflections in crystal | August 11, 2020 | Extension of the free demo up to player level 60, the previously paid extension Heavensward is now included in the base game. New Alliance Raid: The Doll Fortress. New Quests from the Wild Tribes: The Dwarves. Rebuilding Ishgard (Part 3). |
| Extensions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Patch | title | Release date | Hints |
| 3.0 | Heavensward | 23rd June 2015 | Support for DirectX 11 |
| 4.0 | Stormblood | 20th June 2017 | early access from June 16, 2017 |
| 5.0 | Shadowbringers | 02 July 2019 | early access from June 28, 2019 |
reception
Awards
On February 19, 2017, two entries in the Guinness Book of Records were awarded at the in-house game fair FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival 2016 , which was held for European players in addition to Tokyo and Las Vegas, as well as in Frankfurt :
- "The longest end credits in an MMO videogame" (German: "Longest credits in an MMORPG") with one hour and 38 minutes and the listing of 32,335 players from the "Legacy Campaign". See section "Development"
- "The most original pieces of music in a video game (including expansions) (German:" Most number of self-composed pieces of music in a video game ") with a number of 384 pieces of music, as of game version 3.45.
Especially the expansion Shadowbringers , released in 2019, was highly praised by critics and journalists, currently (as of August 30, 2020) the expansion on Metacritic has a value of 91 (PS4) or 90 (PC), which makes it the best-rated PS4 game on the Year 2019 makes.
Web links
- Official website
- Final Fantasy XIV at MobyGames (English)
- Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn at Metacritic (English)
- Wiki (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Final Fantasy 14: 20 million players and update of the 5.3 special page. July 24, 2020, accessed August 30, 2020 .
- ↑ Christian Gaca: Square Enix withdraws Mac version of Final Fantasy XIV. In: Gamereactor Germany. July 6, 2015, accessed July 7, 2015 .
- ↑ SQUARE ENIX Ltd .: Regarding End of PlayStation®3 Support | FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone. Retrieved July 1, 2017 (UK English).
- ↑ Resumption of sales of the Mac version, end of the take-back program and publication of the system requirements for Mac. February 1, 2016, accessed March 4, 2016 .
- ↑ SQUARE ENIX Ltd .: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood. Retrieved April 6, 2017 (UK English).
- ↑ a b c d e f Official website for the characters , accessed September 28, 2015
- ↑ SQUARE ENIX Ltd: Patch 5.3 details released! Accessed August 30, 2020 .
- ↑ Square Enix Account Management (Mog Station). Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Jeremy Dunham: E3 2009: Final Fantasy XIV - What We Know. In: IGN . June 4, 2009, accessed June 29, 2015 .
- ↑ 「フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー １４」 ゲ ー ム 内容 を 大幅 修正. (No longer available online.) In: Sponichi Annex. September 27, 2011, archived from the original on September 28, 2011 ; Retrieved June 29, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Anoop Gantayat: Square Enix CEO: Final Fantasy XIV Damaged FF Brand. In: andriasang.com. September 27, 2011, accessed June 29, 2015 .
- ↑ a b Letter from the Producer, I (01/21/2011). In: The Lodestone. January 21, 2011, archived from the original on March 13, 2013 ; Retrieved July 5, 2015 .
- ^ Legacy Campaign . In: Final Fantasy Wiki . ( wikia.com [accessed August 4, 2017]).
- ↑ FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival 2016. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 28, 2017 ; accessed on August 4, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ SQUARE ENIX Ltd .: FINAL FANTASY XIV Sets Guinness World Records! | FINAL FANTASY XIV - The Lodestone. Retrieved on August 4, 2017 (German).
- ↑ Best PlayStation 4 Video Games for 2019. Accessed August 30, 2020 .
