Final Fantasy XIV is wrong to limit how long we can earn XP

Play-mag: "Final Fantasy XIV will limit the amount of time players can earn XP. This is a bad decision, and should not go through to the finished product. It just shouldn’t. Here’s why."

[TheHardware]

SE might as well pull the plug on this right now.

BAD iDEA:
Reason, I can only play 15 hours a week.....This is still an MMO right? (massive multi-player online) me and all my friends who played FFIX have different work schedules, some have kids, so now we have to synch 15 hours of our week......not happening!!!

This is also a gil sellers dream.

(people cant play for long, cant waste time looking for "insert sword name here" so why not just buy it...then get back to leveling.

remember you can still obtain items + gil even after your fatigue is capped, so gil sellers dont have to stop playing just cause you do.

SE you will lose customers (1 for sure) if you do not remove this nonsense

[thorstein]

In 2 days time I have see this go from 1 hour per day, to 8 hours per week, and now to 15 hours per week. Hmmm... what is going on? That is 2 hours of experience per day. What does that mean?

Does it pertain only to combat time? Which would make a ton of sense because of the other things you are doing. Since combat may not take all that long. It probably isn't based on the time you log on to 2 hours after, that wouldn't make sense.

And it is 15 per week. Not X per day. That is very different as you might have 5 hours of combat time on a Saturday and not play for a few days.

[blitz0623]

People are so quick to judge other things. Just because you're limited to leveling up for 8 hours doesn't mean it's a bad thing. You still get money and items and in some cases especially PvP, it's the equipments that save the day. Who knows, maybe the level system isn't what people think it is. No further details have been provided and people are already whining it looks so pathetic. It's not like the game will prevent you from playing after 8 hours of playtime. Grow up, be patient and wait for further announcements before bashing the game.

[Motion]

Yeah, people really need to calm down about this. You get so many hours of what we now think of as "double xp" then another so many more of regular xp, which slowly tapers off to 0xp over a period of time. You by no means have to stop playing at that point, they are just limiting character progression so powerleveler's don't reach max level in two days. You can still quest/craft/get loot whatever, after this time period, you just don't get more xp till the next week. If you're truly pissed that you can't gain xp after whats probably 15+hours of gameplay a week, after which you can STILL keep playing, you're probably living a bit too unhealthy of a lifestyle.

[Marceles]

It's real, you get 8 hours to get 100% XP value a week, and then for the next 7 hours after that your XP gain will diminish to zero.

The director said the threshold will gradually recover while doing non XP related activities in the game and can reset completely before the timer even resets at the end of the week.

There's still time to adjust it before the open beta, but the heavy grinders are definitely gonna be pissed. This also doesn't give people a chance to catch up to try to catch up to their friends.

[JD_Shadow]

If you read what the director said then you should know that he also pointed out that a hard time limit wasn't in place for this. He said that you could go for the full eight hours that has been rumored time and time again, and has been rebuked twice now, and not reach the threshold.

And from where THIS opinion piece is going, something tells me we have people who really have no clue what they're talking about, just making up wild things, or are using this whole controversy as a way to trash the game for WHATEVER reason they have.

Again, granted, I don't think trashing SE's decision making abilities is that hard to do (since they usually suck at that sort of thing), but c'mon. At the very least be truthful at what was said about it before you form your opinions and not base them on facts that you exaggerated or plain made-up. This is something that needs to be criticized, I agree, but let's make sure we debate it with the true quotes.

[NexGen]

You do understand that this article is assuming a lot and equally incorrect on the rest of it, right?

First, it hasn't even worked the way you describe it in the beta, or any phase of it. Second, the XP decrease has been discussed and is not finalized, but remember - it isn't like how this article describes it. Third: Google. There is a lot of newer information that is not included here, including details regarding how you could literally play 30+ hours a week while experiencing NO XP penalty whatsoever.

[Snoogins]

I've gone from wanting this game to wanting to slap Square Enix across the mouth for ruining this game's potential. Having had played FFXI for 4 years and seeing most of my criticisms of the first game being addressed, it's disappointing to see they're so eager to fuck this up and lose out on customers. If I'm paying for a monthly subscription, I don't want to be limited on how much I actually get to play, or be restricted in how I get to play the game. MMOs are supposed to be about freedom. This is contrary to that ideal.

I hope this game bombs, unless they remove the fatigue system. And yes, I'm quite learned on how it works.

@Marceles
I'm currently on my first play-through of FFXIII and I finally understand your avatar. Hi, Dajh. :P

[NoOoB101]

I personally think this is for a quick buck. Think about it, Fatigue system will either lead to SE removing it or selling hours to players for cash. Meaning if you want an extra hour of play at full xp, $8.99 per hour or something. And some hardcore idiots will buy it further giving SE more power to slap us in the face.

[Abriael]

It does NOT work like this. It simply does not.

Here's how it works:
http://thisismyjoystick.com...

There's NO hard cap to how many experience you can earn in one day, week, month, whatever. There's a SOFT cap, that can be easily overcome.

I wish uninformed writers stopped writing without actually getting their facts straight and without having experienced a single minute of beta...

I wonder how many more rumormongering articles like this I'll have to debunk... It's the third already on N4G.

[JD_Shadow]

Because they want hits to their site. They don't want the truth. They want what will bait the flames. This is the hot debate right now, and everyone is going to fuel the fires in order to get page clicks and thus ad revenue. They're going to try to keep this going as much as possible, using whatever form of hysteria they can to milk the possibilities of becoming famous for all its worth. Remember, too, that there IS a certain system that is NOT getting this game for a reason that some fanboys might not like having been said, and that MIGHT be another reason why they're using this controversy as a way to trash the game (not meaning to imply myself as a fanboy, but I know how some sites are going to work).

My theory is that they messed up with the version of the beta which made things go way out of proportion, and people noticed it happening, which might've been the first time that people realize that the system existed. Thus, I'm wondering if this "threshold" will not be reached at any point in anyone's FF14 lifespan. It would be cool to be able to have a way to raise the threshold cap, too. Like, a fatigue level where after you reach a certain physical level, your threshold will become nine levels instead of eight, and then go from there. Or perhaps a buff will stop the timer for a set amount of time (eating, perhaps, could make you hyper, or having an energy drink could keep you going for some time, and it would not cut into the threshold). At the moment, from what I'm understanding, it's set to 8 regardless of what you do in the game.

Also, I do think that, seeing how this is causing all sorts of wild theories as to what this actually is and everyone is confused of how it works and whatnot, SE might just eliminate it altogether. Remember all the controversy around Blizzard's RealID, and Blizzard finally caved in and decided not to require it for forum posting. I think this will be the same thing: SE might just say screw it, it's too much of a issue and eliminate the idea (at least as it is currently).

[Chris399]

There is a lot of misinformation floating about, but the fact remains that no one is eager about paying $60 + a subscription just to be told HOW they can play their characters.

MMOs are bad enough with time-sinks, grinding and other systems garnered to get you to waste time and therefor money. But this, is one of the most blatant attempts at corralling character growth that the MMO circuit has ever seen. Yes, if you strategically swap weapons and do certain non-combat activities (according to the twitter), your preferred weapon's fatigue will recover. At what rate, that is still undecided, but regardless of how you spin it this is a limitation on character growth and choice. THAT is what people are getting up in arms about.

I will still play the beta to see how it is for myself, as we all should (if you're interested in the game), but your constant cheer-leading for a system that is clearly draconian and out of touch with what consumers want, is just as wearying as the fanboys who hammer the game without having played it, or researched it with any depth.

I'm not trying to be rude, as I enjoy your posts, but don't assume that everyone is trolling just because they have critiques about a game that - clearly - is not catering to a broader audience, though its developers claim that they are.

And yes, if they were smart they would eliminate the system altogether and just dramatically scale the amount of experience needed to level weapons, or something similar. It's their doggedness on protecting the issue that is irritating the most (to me).

[hazelamy]

"The experience point threshold, however, is unrelated to class, and switching classes will have no effect on the decreasing rate of earnable experience."

then explain that.
that's from the latest message from the game's director, as linked to in that opinion piece you linked to.
they say each class has it's own timer then they say swapping classes doesn't reset the timer, if this is their idea of a clear explanation of what's going on they have a very different idea of a clear explanation than i do.

[callahan09]

If you play 15 hours in a week as one class and want to play more, go do some social things and non-experience granting stuff within the game world and you will regenerate threshold so that you can go get more experience again.

And failing that, just switch classes and start earning experience as a different class for the rest of the week. If you've got the time to play a lot, then leveling in multiple classes can only be a good thing for your character, so they're encouraging you to do that.

It's not like you can't play the game for more than 15 hours a week. There's just some management involved in order to maximize the experience you get if you intend to play more than 15 hours a week.

[big_silky]

What a joke, save your cash for DCU if you want a new MMO to play. Charge you each month and pretty much tell you how much you can play? Gtfo.

[Myst]

If enough people voice concern I could see them taking this out before it lands on PS3. Though at first I thought the aim of this was to keep people [on PC] from leveling to fast for the rest to catch up, but now thinking on the subject it will still take a while for it to land on PS3.

The limit is going to hurt that's for sure and I can definitely see myself accidentally going past the limit and continuing to try and level. Well either way I'm staying subscribed to FFXI until it lands on PS3. So just in case it's still not what I'd expect I can just jump back.

[Xander-RKoS]

It's almost like he's saying "No, seriously, we don't want your money."

Is it free to play or subscription...that latter could have some unfortunately consequences.

[zerocool3397]

This has already been clarified here http://n4g.com/news/593091/... there is a work around for people with no lives.

Why are people still seemingly jumping on the band wagon with this?! So what if it limits you a bit, you can still get around it, hell you can see real life outside of your console/pc. I'm pretty sure most people will have other MMO's to play, you just rotate them.

[SubZero]

Really... Go he F outside for once.I amazed by how much people want to sit in front of a monitor.

I play and play hard at times ....still cannot see this being and issue. Unless you are disabled or something...seriously get a job, visit friends or get laid.

Apparently you need it!

[Abriael]

The problem isn't even that really. The biggest problem is that the system doesn't even work like this, and uninformed writers continue to spread misinformation.

[zerocool3397]

I used to play 14hrs a day. I found other things to do. I take my kid out, I go out with the mrs. I still play just don't go OTT. Too many people seem to think that the only way they can socially interact is by playing online.

[Chris399]

I work 4 hours a day (sometimes 5), I exercise for 1.5, I go for a walk, swim or jog every morning, write for 2 hours or so, hang with friends/ the miss in the evening, and that still leaves me with 3-4 hours a day for other activities (reading, gaming, sports). I don't work weekends, so I get several more hours to myself on Saturday and Sunday.

Don't assume that everyone who has an abundance of free time is some unemployed virgin living in their parents basement.

[Zachmo182]

No i find it right....So it won't consume your whole life away like world of warcraft does....People need to go outside and not sit inside all day playing video games and trying to level up.

[Hoje0308]

Agreed, if you're averaging 6,8,10 hours a day playing videogames, then you need to step outside for a bit. And you're not allowed to complain about how the graphics suck.

Edit: Better?

[SeanRL]

Kind of a harsh way of putting it.

[Hoje0308]

If this plays like I think it does, then there are two reasons for doing this.
1) To even things out for normal people who actually have lives and can't compete with the douchers that would actually put in 60 hours a week.
2) Farmers
The end.

[izuna]

This makes me want to play the game.

[cougarlane37]

No, they're not wrong. They're right, for encouraging people to GET LIVES. See, you don't get it, they understand it's worse than smoking crack daily to just sit on your ass playing video games. I don't like Final Fantasy, but A LOT of respect has just been gained for Square in my book.

[hazelamy]

if they want to make it easier for casual players then maybe they should adopt a system like wow's rest mechanic, where time spent offline counts as resting and the longer you're offline the longer you get to play in a rested state when you play again, while rested you get double xp.

making it easier for casuals seems a much better way of doing it than making it harder for the more dedicated player.

who deliberately annoys their most dedicated fans in favour of the fans who just have a mild interest, it's fucking stupid.

i'd consider myself a casual mmo player, but i'd expect to hit that threshold.

this industry has the whole carrot and stick thing fucking backwards.
you keep punishing your customers then you'll fucking lose them.

[Drithe]

Guys and gals! The ONLY reason Square is doing this is to MAKE YOU PAY MORE MONTHLY FEES by making it take you longer to level. Period. I hope Sony makes Square put a warning label on this game. My god you pay 15 bucks a month to freely play this game. Who in the hell wants to be limited to 8 hours a week for leveling?

This game is already dead.

End of Line.

[Senden]

Fanboys claim that people are just finding a reason to hate on SE but lets be honest, we all have a good right to. Long gone are their golden days.. a feature like an 8 hour cap no matter how it works, shows they've clearly lost the bulk of their talented developers. Seems to me like a poorly ill thought out way to discourage the hardcore and also to force people into trying other classes. I for one won't be picking this up until its removed.

[Darkfiber]

This game is shit anyway, everyone in beta knows that. And if you actually like the beta then you are clearly in denial because whatever typical tween "Final Fantasy 7 changed my life, Aeris is the first girl I ever loved blah blah blah I had no friends and Cloud was my best friend, that game was the only thing that understood how I felt at the time" story you have, you try to convince yourself that the series is the best thing in the world when, clearly, it's not. Nor has the entire company released a decent game in the last decade.

Moving on. This is the wrong way to do it. If you want to encourage people to use other professions, then do it in a POSITIVE WAY. You know, give them an incentive to do it. A bonus. Don't make it detrimental to play a class the person actually enjoys. Jesus, this is Game Design 101. Otherwise, you are just blatantly trying to sham people out of their monthly fees by guaranteeing that they will need to play a hell of a lot longer over time because you are just dicking them around and wasting their time. Just like the guildleve system where you have to wait 10 FUCKING HOURS IN GAME before you can do more sidequests. What the hell is that shit?! Seriously, retarded. But while you're waiting, you can't even play the same class cause you constantly have to keep switching or you'll get fatigue which will only wear off after TWO ENTIRE DAYS?!?! So during that 10 god damn hours you are waiting to get more guildleves, you have to switch professions 10 times. Well, that's fine, you can just spend time leveling those. OH WAIT, NO YOU CAN'T, CAUSE YOU NEED TO DO GUILDLEVES IN ORDER TO GAIN FAVOR WITH EVERY INDIVIDUAL GUILD! Adurrrrr. Most poorly designed game ever. Seriously for the "hour" you're supposed to play your character a day you'll be lucky to get ANYTHING done because of all the massive time wasting they build into the game.

Not to mention all the other poor design choices, like something as simple as opening a chest, you'd think you would just walk up and click it, right? Nope, you have to walk up to it and make sure you are close enough! Then exit out to your main menu, then click on "Examine". Really? Really. That is the most retarded thing I've ever heard. And that's just one of the many times you'll have to do that.

Fail game, fail company. I haven't bought a single Square game since Final Fantasy 12 (against my better judgement, good thing I only paid $20 for it) and this has been the last straw for me. I will no longer even so much as LOOK at anything they are making ever again.

[TitanUp]

just think its wrong for square to even tell us how to play it or how much xp we can get

[somedude5892]

I guess SE just dose not want to be successful with this game. That's the only thing I can think of.

They want to make the game easier for people who don't with to play long hours so they slap everyone else in the face.

I wont be paying 12$ or 15$ per month to play a game that I can't play for as long as I wish.