you guys should check out Guild wars 2 again. the first xpac is coming out soon. i have been playing for 2 weeks now and loving it. they have added a lot since release and now everything except WvW is on a big mega-server.

world bosses are awesome. instances are fun. the world PvP is fucking amazing. they have dynamic zones that are basically one big event.

Xpac is in beta right now with the first stress today. I haven't read much of the small amount of info that is out about it. some stuff i heard is that unlike WoW xpac which adds new level cap and makes all the old content/gear obsolete. the expantion will be "horizontal" progression.

if you just start playing. most of us were on the server "crystal desert"

check out some of these bosses. they look so fucking awesome. http://imgur.com/a/RqJ4a

How is loot divided up on a world boss? Is there 'tagging' like in WoW or what? I've always had interest in GW2 but could never get started

no tagging for anything. even just normal mobs in game. if you do dmg you will get credit for the kill for quest/loot.

events (including bosses) have a gold/silver/bronze tier system for rewarding exp/karma/gold/loot. which comes down to the amount of damage or time spent doing the event. gold tier is really easy to get. as long as you are trying to complete the boss/event you will get max reward. hitting the boss once then afk'ing wont get you credit.

there is no raid system for grouping, party is 5man in size. but i have gone to a boss solo with 100+ other people on a lower level char and still got full credit.

also when you go into a lower zone the game will auto adjust your level to the zones. some bosses are in lvl 15 zones so all the 80's get set to lvl 16 which reduces hp/def/dmg/ect. however a lvl 80 will still do more damage than a lvl 15 just not crazy amount like wow.

in PvP it will auto up level you to max 80 with your stats. WvW sets you to 80 but does not unlock your skills/traits. sPvP will put you at lvl 80 unlock all skills/traits, normalize gear, and give you access to all runes/sigel/weps.

That does look pretty cool. Just never really got into GW. I might give it another shot some time -- I have been hearing good things about it lately.

Right now I'm really enjoying ESO. It easily has the best low-level (I'm only level 8) questing experience of any mmo I've played. None of this "kill X enemeies; collect Y things; rinse; repeat" bullshit. It's all very story driven with full voiceover. Very engaging, very immersive. I haven't felt the slightest need to grind anything or race leveling up. Just enjoying the stories. Apparently the game is worlds better than it was at launch, although I never played it back then so I couldn't say. I have no idea what end-game is like, but right now I don't care. Hard to say whether it's worth the $60 price tag (no sub fee), but so far so good.

I'm installing GW 2 today. I have to finish one last rogue-like run on TOME and I'll be ready to shift gears. I'll look you up when I do

Are you not playing Pillars of Eternity when it releases tomorrow?

I am on crystal desert. i think thats where most GOL went when the game came out but no one else besides me plays anymore. currently im in a pretty cool guild that is ran by the top GW2 streamer. lot of fun, very big (have 80 ppl online atm), and helpful to new players.

a lot of people are coming back to GW2. tons of new players also. it is a great time to start before the Xpac.

IGN: zol:6907

I have a small raidcall to chat on and the guild has a big teamspeak. i will help you out with whatever you need bud.

also remember server is just for WvW. outside of WvW all the servers play together.

Definitely will be Asano. I'll play both casually!!

I've secretly been playing FFXIV -- a lot -- for the last 2 months. There's something about it that has me hooked.

It's true that the questing is not great. It's not even good. What it does do well, however, is weave the main story through all of its content. Several dungeons, "trials", and raids are a part of the main story questline and done so quite well. It really makes the fights feel more epic and impactful -- and all the cutscenes throughout the raid make you the hero, so it has a pretty personal feel even if you're one of 4, 8, or 24 people.

The story isn't spectacular as far as FF games go, but it definitely has its moments -- and those moments are glorious when they happen. It's not until 2.0 that it really picks up though.

But I think it's a lot of little things that FFXIV does so well that are just absent in other MMOs.

Crafting and gathering are shockingly fun compared to every other MMO out right now. You level them from 1-50 just like every other class/job, complete with their own gear, quests, actions, skill rotations, and even end-game content. There's lots of synergy with the other crafting/gathering classes. It's all very deep and very rewarding. You could play the game solely as a crafter if you wanted. And with the xpac coming in less than a month, I'm debating whether I want to level my mage, healer, or crafter first. It's that good.

The game does a really good job of not just tolerating new players, but incentivizing you to help new people through content. When you run a dungeon with someone who is doing it for their first time, everyone gets bonus xp/tokens. When world "bosses" spawn, you'll only get max credit if you're in a full group, so its in your best interest to invite people to your group. All dungeons and fates (randomly spawned world events) are level-sync'd so you can always run with your friends regardless of your level difference without worrying about completely overpowering the content. Rewards are scaled accordingly, so you'll actually get comparable xp even if you're running a low-level dungeon as a high-level player. As a result, I find the community in general to be surprisingly nice and helpful. The toxic and hostile cretins you find in WoW are a really rare exception in FFXIV.

And of course there's the job system. Being able to level all classes/jobs on the same character is amazing. No more worrying about inviting alts to guilds and re-logging to switch between dps/heals/tanking. There are so many reasons why doing everything on one character is amazing -- and this is coming from someone who loved to make alts in other games. This is just a better system.

Hunts. Hunts are just great. They're basically world bosses. Some are tougher than others. None of them are "hard" because so many people swarm them that they're basically all zerged down. Since they spawn relatively frequently and there are many different bosses, it keeps people going to all the different zones and interacting with each other. It's not uncommon to see 100 people all traveling to fight the latest S-Rank mob that spawned. The fights never last long -- just a few minutes -- so it's always a rush to get to the location and group up for the kill.

I could go on... customizable player/guild housing, better hard/expert mode dungeons/trials, long-running "relic" quests for end-game weapons, triple triad card game from FF9(!), a casino full of mini-games, etc. It's just a good MMO. It's hard to justify a subscription these days when you're competing against other solid F2P MMOs like Tera, SWTOR, and GW2. But between WoW and FFXIV, I actually think FFXIV might be the better game.

The current story ended on an epic cliffhanger and will be continued in the new xpac coming on June 19, Heavensward, along with 3 new classes. FFXIV's launch may have been a colossal failure, but they've really turned it around and built an MMO that I think could have real staying power.

If anyone was so inspired by Asano's review that they want to pick it up and play then let me know! I still haven't ever used the copy I bought at pre-release lol.....

LOL, I don't at all expect anyone here to play it -- or any other MMO for that matter. I think those days are over for most people here.

On a slightly different note, I saw EQ officially launched progression servers and they've been wildly popular. If you EQ boys are feeling nostalgic, it might be worth checking out. It's the original content, but with the latest UI and graphics. Apparently the progression servers require a sub though ($15/mo).

Probably just a matter of time before WoW does the same, but I can't see myself getting interested in vanilla WoW again.

yea they have private vanilla servers only and progression servers for wow and i was like o hell no.

I am so bored with games, i could use a new something. I have been bouncing around WoW, SWToR, and my damn iPhone i need something new.

Honest opinion, is it worth the money?

Are you asking if the EQ progression server is worth the sub? I dunno, I didn't play EQ much back in the day so I don't hold any nostalgia for it. The few streamers I've heard talk about it love it though. Thing is, it's not something *new*. So maybe you'll get bored with it, especially if you don't have other people to play with. EQ is not exactly solo-friendly.

If you're asking if FFXIV is worth the money... I actually think so assuming you're still into MMOs. I'm a big FF fan though, so if you're not too into that franchise you might feel differently. The game itself is pretty cheap ($20?) and you get the first month free, so if you're tempted it doesn't cost much to try. If you like FF, I think you'll like it. It's very solo friendly and offers a lot for altaholics like you. I think you'll find the community surprisingly friendly and helpful. The dungeon/raid finder is just as good as WoW's, though DPS queues can get long (30-60mins). Crafting is incredibly good -- best in any MMO I've seen. Dungeons are well done and on the shorter side (20-30 mins) for normal modes; haven't tried hard/expert modes yet. Raids are easy to get into and on the same level as WoW in terms of complexity.

Less than a month till the xpac, but you need to complete the main story questline to play the new content. It's possible, but you'd have to hustle. Of course, there's no need to rush either -- the story is worth enjoying. It's a good time to join because a lot of people are coming back and catching up for the xpac -- won't have any trouble finding groups for dungeons/trials/raids.

If you do check it out, create a character on Jenova. It's a smallish server, but it often gets locked to new characters during prime time, so you may need to wait till late at night or early in the morning to create a new char there. I'm in a really large, active, and friendly guild (free company) you can join. There are members from all over the world so there are always people online spanning all character and skill levels. It's midnight right now and there are 45 people on chatting and doing stuff. Usually about 65ish ppl on during US prime time out of the 460+ total members.

Note that I didn't like FFXIV when I first tried it. The quests are unoriginal and uninspired -- it's your usual kill and courier quests. The 1.0 story doesn't have much voiceover, so most of the quests you'll have to read (there's much more VO later on). It's not really until ~level 15 that things start to pick up and you can run your first dungeon and open airship access to the other cities. Until then it might seem slow and kinda boring. Fortunately, you can get to 15 in a single night. At 20 you'll get your mount (chocobo) and life get much easier. At 30 you can train your mount to fight for you (it'll gain xp, level up, spec it for tank/heal/dps... tons of customization here). Also, while there is PvP in the game, almost nobody queues for it. Don't expect to do any pvp in the game.

Bottom line: Is it a groundbreaking new take on MMOs? No. It's the same formula as every other MMO out there. But I think there's more depth to FFXIV, has a better community, and does some things better. If you could justify a subscription for WoW or SWTOR or Tera, then you'll have no trouble finding the same value in FFXIV. I've been subbed for the last 2 months, playing about 40hrs/week, no sign yet of slowing up, and not even close to doing everything the game offers.

Anyway, on a different note, you could also check out Witcher 3. If you like DA:I, you'll probably love W3. Don't need to play the first two to enjoy it. I think that's probably the only other big game out right now. That's what I'd be playing if it weren't for FFXIV.

If you're looking for an MMO, Gron, you might also check out ESO. It's completely free and very good. It has its downfalls as well (no dungeon finder killed it for me), but the questing and storyline is extremely well done.

im still enjoying GW2. mainly for pvp but i have 7 max lvl chars (alts are really easy and there is no gear grind to get good end game gear, but there is a grind for the best). expansion is coming 3rd qt this year.

there is no raids. the world bosses are mainly just big zergs, only a few take any skill. highest pve are called fractals which is random 5man bosses that take skill. fractals have a 1-50 level system where each lvl increases the difficulty.

I've been thinking of giving FFXIV another go around since I've been bored out of my mind painting 40k miniatures. With an xpac around the corner maybe I'll give it a shot. Are there any classes to stay away from, as in they're boring as shit to play?

I've only played a few classes: 50 Conjurer, 50 Thaumaturge, 43 Arcanist, 15 Archer (Black Mage, White Mage, Summoner, Scholar). Haven't touched the melee classes yet.

Conjurer was boring to dps with. The first 15 levels until you can start healing in dungeons are slow.

I hear the Bard is basically a 1 button job, so that could be boring.

I don't think there are any "bad" classes or jobs, though. They all have their strengths/weaknesses/utility in groups. Of course the nice thing about the game is it's really easy to switch between classes and jobs to find something you like.

I am playing. I am level 10. Overall pretty much what i expected, coming from your reviews. It is not bad. The questing sucks. I will forever be ruined from questing due to SW:ToR and their story driven quests.

I read the first few quests text but now i don't care. I am on your server you mentioned so if you want to friend up let me know.

I am still pretty green except for the combat as that is universal. Still getting down the lay of the land and features.

Yep, the questing sucks and doesn't get any better to be quite honest. The only quests worth reading are the main story quests. You won't miss too much early on if you skip through them, but you'll start paying attention around level 30 (can't remember exactly) when things get interesting and voiceover/cinematics become more common.

I know it sounds cliche, but hitting level 50 really is just the beginning. The main story quests that happens after that is when things really start getting interesting.

Lots of stuff unlocks at certain levels (e.g. 15: air travel to other cities; 20: mounts; 30: mounts will fight for you), but it's done via the main story questline, so make sure you're always making progress on that.

What's your name on Jenova? I'll be on tonight ~6:30pm PST and will look for you.

P.S. I'm Reki Valdier in case you find me first.

Gronthor Heindrath i think first game i have two names!

Yeah, at first I hated having to think of a last name. But then I realized I could have any of the first names I like because the last name will ensure it's unique.

I keep looking for you in-game, but I guess we're missing each other (I'm usually on from 6:30 PST - 11pm/midnight, all day on weekends). I'm in the Crowne of Thorne free company (often abbreviated as CoT above player's heads). If you see someone running around with that tag (we're everywhere), feel free to submit an app to join. Right click them, select View Company Info, and there should be a button to apply. We accept everyone and we're currently under the member cap (512) so there shouldn't be any issues, though sometimes people are lazy about inviting applicants. Worst case, I'll see it when I logon at night.