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Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker hands-on | Another hopeful expansion awaits

Fredrick

Final Fantasy 14 It’s an incredible game, don’t you say it? After being isolated and helpless due to the pandemic in the past few years, this claim has been further confirmed. The number of players reached a staggering 24 million. Due to the explosive popularity of the game, the development team was forced to increase the server load.

I have been playing FF14 for more than six years, and I can tell you that the game will only get better with each expansion, but it will Terminator Continue this trend of surpassing the last expansion with more exciting content? We participated in an all-digital media tour to bring you answers.

The event kicked off with a brief introduction by FF14 director/producer and FF16 producer Naoki Yoshida-it is clear that the ongoing COVID-19 situation has had a major impact on development. He thanked the medical staff around the world for their hard work, and pointed out that without them, the FF14 development team would not be able to continue to keep the game as a gathering place away from social interaction.


From the moment I entered, to the moment we had to say goodbye, I was completely attracted by the content included in this demo version. We have to explore a few areas, including two areas in the form of the gorgeous new central town Old Sharlayan, Garlemald and Thavnair, and finally the Zot Tower, the first dungeon I think will be expanded-returning to a location in FF4.

Old Shalean was jaw-dropping. Of course, fans have seen it before-it appeared in the Endwalker CG movie shown at the recent Digital Fan Festival. The CG miracle is well transformed into a building in the game-it exudes an elegant atmosphere and tells you a lot about the people who built it.

Garlemald is just the opposite. A piece of land torn apart by war, if it weren’t for the monsters roaming on the snowy field, it would have almost no life. However, the piece of snow in the ruins looks more like the ashes of the fallen population in the ruins of the war-torn Garrema city.

Thavnair has completed a tour of a completely different location with another flavor. A beautiful tropical island, full of dense forests and tall red cliffs, towering above the ancient temple forest, it reminds me of Kilika in FF10, because I soared in the sky in search of fate to test my 90 Warrior of Light.


However, the underground city is a place of action. I can’t wait to jump into the Zot Tower and try my main work in this tall structure, which seems to come directly from HR Giger’s mind. So, I joined with my Samurai Bunny boy and my Trust partner. For starters, Trust is a mechanism that allows you to solve dungeons without other players, instead of exchanging AI companions to help you. I found that Trust can help you learn the mechanics of the dungeon without stress before going online.

The Tower of Zot is one of the hardest dungeons I have encountered in a long time in FF14-at least until you get used to the mechanics of waiting for your obstacles. In my first attempt, I fell a few times due to a mixture of panic and remote playback delay, but from the second attempt, I weave between several explosive mechanisms like a carefully choreographed dance.

During my multiple runs of Zot Tower, I tried a brand new job Reaper, because let’s face it, Reaper looks super badass and Gothic. This is a good blood source energy, you can’t refuse. Thankfully, this is not entirely aesthetic-Reaper is also fun! It may be a bit difficult to understand at first, but once you understand its work scale and how the shield mechanism works, Reaper feels so great that it might replace my main job samurai.


Unfortunately, I did not spend much time on the new therapist Sage-the practice time is short and I have to admit that I am a little fascinated by Reaper. I am also not a good therapist-I will leave it to someone who really understands how to use these courses. During my dungeon run and countless FATE encounters, I watched other people play with Sage and saw enough things. I knew that when Endwalker appeared, I would give it the time it deserved, and hope to eventually become A decent therapist.

For existing FF14 players, whenever Endwalker is discussed, there will be an elephant in the room. For long-term players, this is a worry, so let’s talk about-‘stat squish’. However, for newcomers who are not sure what I mean by statistical data compression, it basically comes down to the popularity of FF14. Yoshida and his team decided to reduce the number because they hope to continue to expand the game for at least 10 years, and according to Yoshida’s It is said that the higher the number, the more server-side crashes the game looks like, and the smaller the number flying around in the game can get a performance boost. Currently, one of the senior raid bosses has 440,000,000 HP! Now imagine the health of the boss in 10 years-this is the reason behind the compression of statistics.

Yoshida had previously tried to calm down the fans, he said there is nothing to worry about in the statistics-I am happy to report that he is right. There is nothing to worry about. The attributes of your character have shrunk, but the enemy is still declining as quickly as it is now in the battle, so it doesn’t make you look as weak as many people think. In the demo, Yoshida said that it takes about five minutes for the new numbers to feel natural, and he is not wrong. After spending a few minutes in the dungeon, I completely forgot that squeezing is a thing.


Another purpose of statistical compression is to help newcomers or players who return after a period of absence. Basically, statistical compression will reduce the experience required to upgrade the role. For novices and people who have never been in contact with MMORPG, FF14 is very easy to use. Before FF14, I was a virgin MMO; I thought they were just games that consumed your life, but this game and the development team understand that your life needs your attention. I know that after confessing to investing 2000 hours in the game, this may sound a bit rich, but please remember that I have been playing for 6 years now, one of which I suffered a tragedy, which gave me a lot of free time. However. , When I was more busy, I found that whenever a story patch appeared, I easily picked up FF14, leaving plenty of time for other games and the rest of my life.

“Final Fantasy 14” is an incredible game with an incredible community that welcomes new players like family. This story is probably one of the best Final Fantasy stories-this is what single-player FF fans should really experience. Endwalker promises to have an exciting ending to the story of Hydaelyn and Zodiark, so now is the best time to jump and enjoy the story from beginning to end, without a two-year expansion interval. When one door is closed, the other door must be opened: with Patch 6.1, a whole new story will begin.

Over the years, there have been many articles about Square Enix’s Creative Division 3 and Naoki Yoshida who rescued FF14 from the pit of public failure. Since then, the studio has been going all out to expand-although this conclusion is based on short-lived practice, Endwalker looks like another home run.

The Tower of Zot proves that even the most experienced players, dungeons can still keep us vigilant. In addition, changes in the quality of life, such as the new town ether system shown in the recent Live Letter, and the upgraded experience of new player-friendly statistics compression, mean that Final Fantasy 14 is still a game that can appeal to anyone. I am very excited about the early access on November 19th and the mystery waiting for my kid Kanem and FF14 actors to solve.