Soul Surrender

Finding myself overwhelmed by keeping up to date with an increasing amount of MMOs and other MMO-like games, I've been taking a break from Final Fantasy XIV for the past six months or so.

I still logged in from time to time to partake in the festivals and the like (especially the Yo-Kai Watch event), but my hardcore raiding days were on pause. The beauty of XIV is that Square Enix is working around the clock to add new stuff into the mix, so I had a lot to come back to with the latest patch, Soul Surrender.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
MSRP: $39.99 ($12.99 per month)
Released: June 23, 2015

I've been consistently impressed with Final Fantasy XIV's ability to tell a story. Not only is it full of a lot of wit that shines in the localization (a rarity these days), but it feels like a fully-fledged mainline entry at this point when you combine the Realm Reborn and Heavensward campaigns. I sincerely hope that one day, years down the line, the subscription requirement is waived so staunch "no sub" supporters who would have othe??rwise checked it out can experience it.

That said, playing on PS4 has its limits, and each grandiose patch after another has taken its toll on the system. In many areas, including the hub area of Idyllshire (which has undergone incremental structural updates in line with the story), the framerate has slowed to a crawl at this point. I occasionally would log in on my PS3 in another room just to see how that port? wa??s going, but the lines are starting to blur on consoles. Whether this can be addressed with a PS4 Pro update or some more optimization is yet to be seen.

The dungeons are ?still beautiful, and better looking than any other MMO on the market. And the bosses? Man they have this thing down to a science. Both Xelphatol and the Great Gubal Library (Hard) offer something new, especially the last boss of the latter tha??t brings out different books and even summons the classic Behemoth (which has been used as a raid boss, a hunt target, and world boss and still hasn't gotten old). But perhaps "science" is the best term here, as things have started to get formulaic.

Gone are the days of extended side paths and open-ended dungeons like Haukke Manor from Realm Reborn. Everything in Heavensward has b??een linear, and Hullbreaker's hard mode last patch was a comically bad example. Anecdotally, I entered Gubal for the very first time with my Paladin, told my matchmade group, and pulled the first group instinctively like a speedrun to the gate. I was solicited with "I thought this was your first time?" messages. It was. I've just been doing this since Brayflox's Longstop (infamous in the eyes of old-school Zodiac chasers), and the strategy for trash pulls hasn't changed much since then??.

But again, the actual fights, the thrill of hunting again on the world map with active groups, the new EX trials (even hard mode) -- unmatched. Following up on the Final Fantasy VI?? theme of the Warring Triad bosses, it's a proper EX with new mechanics to learn, and forces a constant requirement of staying on your toes. The removal of the item limit from the Lost City of Mhach (my favorite casual 20-person raid so far) is also a nice bonus.

The main event for dedicated, always-on players though is Alexander the Creator, a worthy third wave of the main Heavensward hardcore raid. Naturally there's a ?normal mode with options to PUG groups, but statics (read: people who log in at the same time and play together) are salivating at the chance to have a relevant Savage (hard) mode to tackle. What I've played is par for the course, which is to say that there's very little wasted time pacing-wise, and the fights are chal??lenging and require everyone to do their part.

Then there are the hundreds of other changes I can't possibly cover that arrived with 3.4. Dueling is now in by popular demand (but can only be done in the PVP zone), and the housing market has improved with the addition of apartments (I bought one for 500,000, it's great!). There's also fish tanks, jukeboxes, a massive expansion of the Triple Triad card game, and lots of other quality of life and controller changes. Sidequests are light this time around but there's an unusually touching one in the mix, and the extension of Grand Companies (including Final Fantasy Tactics or more recently, WoW: Legion "e??xcursions" to send troops on) is long over??due.

The Final Fantasy XIV team is tireless, and having played MMOs for roughly 20 years, I haven't seen this level of dedication when it comes to major content patches in a while. But with its commitment to theme-park sensibilities, the game needs a shakeup in the near future -- we're still on Heavensward time after all, which was released over a year ago. The formula is starting to show its age, but it's still near ?the?? top of the MMO pile.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward ??(Patch 3.4) appeared first on Destructoid.

As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward was a tremendous expansion, all things considered. It brought in a whole new storyline that was wo??rth getting inve??sted in, new classes, and tons of additional activities including a raid. But that was back in June -- MMOs need to constantly throw out content to keep people interested, especially if they sport a subscription fee.

While XIV is more packed than a lot of other titles (if you choose to dig into PVP, crafting, and RP activities), the worthwhile, meaty content dropped off sometime after the introduction of the Savage version of Alexander. While patch 3.1 is a stop-gap of?? sorts, it bring??s in a few brand new concepts that will help breathe some fresh life into the game for a while longer.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
MSRP: $39.99 ($12.99 per month)
Released: June 23, 2015

Whereas past patches tended to lead towards an epic conclusion with a pesky Primal, 3.1, As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness in many ways is a table-setting diversion. The brand new trial encounter (Knights of the Round EX) is not gated by the main story questline -- ??players can just pick that up from the Mor Dhona bar -- and the tale essentially consists of a series of errands and cutscenes, with only one instanced mission at the end. All said, it will take you roughly an hour to complete.

It basically deals with locating missing comrades after the events of the story and has no real payoff other than furthering the Warrior of Darkness arc, which will likely slowly play out throughout the entire course of Heavensward, until another exp?ansion comes around. That said, it still has a lot of personality. I enjoyed seei??ng the new cast interact with one another.

The real star of this patch though is the new exploratory mission mode. Billed as an open-world sandbox, you're thrown into a randomly generated high-level zone with various objectives, including combat challenges and gathering activities. In a Guild Wars 2-like twist, players will share rewards and XP if t??hey fight named creatures in this mode while encountering other parties, and everyone can contribute to objectives as a party. 

The rewards are excellent, and the entire affair plays out like a giant randomized hunt. It's a rush to fly around with a bunch of strangers and locate targets, and killing a bunch of high-priority enemies will spawn newer, tougher bosses. While it's meant to be played as a group you can still solo queue for it, as long a?s you're okay with?? rolling greed for everything against everyone else. I played this more than anything else this patch and don't see myself getting tired of it.

Players can also head into two new dungeons and the 24-person Void Ark raid, meant to mirror the Crystal Tower casual activities in vanilla Realm Reborn. I'm happy with how the two dungeons (Saint Mocianne's Arboretum a?nd Pharos Sirius Hard) turned out. The developers have it down to a science now (the same goes for the new EX encounter, King Thordan, which is just as fun as every EX in the past, and perfectly tuned in terms of?? difficulty). Bosses are fun without being too tough for people just passing through in matchmaking, and the locations, although heavily gated to prevent speedrunning, are full of detail. While patches typically provide three new dungeons, I'm actually fine with a pair of them, and the trend of one new location and one remake is something I can get behind.

The Void Ark is very similar in that regard, but it also provides a brand new arc, which I personally feel is stronger than Crystal Towe?r's. The encounters are a tad easier than the previous casual raids, which I'm starting to have mixed feelings about. I get that the philosophy is?? accessibility, but at the same time, I feel like the developers aren't preparing the player base for tougher activities, some of which support matchmaking tools. On the flipside, I'm a bit more invested in the story this time around, as they've weaved Diabolos into it, as well as another fan-favorite character from the series that I won't spoil here.

So what else does 3.1 entail? A bunch of ancillary stuff. For one, you have the Vanu Vanu beast tribe quests, which will provide hardcore players with another faction to grind for. I was neve?r big on the tribes as they felt far too repetitive for menial rewards, and only adding one tribe feels like a half-measure -- people will just grind it out in a few minutes a?nd move on daily.

The Gold Saucer also got a small update in the form of a new wing, two new mini-games, and the Lord of Verminion strategy game, as well as some new Triple Triad cards. I'm really glad the team is still pushing this zone, as it's the perfect place to go while you're waiting for queue times, or if you want to spend a few minutes in the game without doing anything important. No, Verminion isn't quite Pokémon, but it ?adds in another use f??or minions, and it's definitely fun enough to play a few times on a weekly basis.

Other quality-of-life fixes ?are in, like the fact that the DualShock 4 is now plug a??nd play on PC. There are new camera options, enhanced companion functionality like full support for other mounts, a small Ninja buff to bring them in line with other DPS, more flying mounts, and the ability to ride in Idyllshire. Another controversial change is the "solution" to the housing market -- demolition -- or as other MMOs call it, "decay."

After 45 days, your house will be demolished, unless you log in and prevent it. It's...a very typical strategy for more hardcore games, but for a casual MMO like Final Fantasy, it feels out of place. I wish Square Enix would just fix the housing issue with bigger wards ??and more of? them, but the developers haven't actually addressed it in months.

All in all, I'm a bit conflicted on 3.1 I adore the exploratory missions, and find them to be one of my favorite gametypes in an MMO to date. The new dungeon??s (as well as the Void Ark) are strong, and the story, while brief, is engaging. But at the same time, this is clearly a catch-up patch, with the typical loop consisting of players grinding for Poetic Tomes to better face the existing Alexander Savage raid. Sadly, there's no new wing for Alexander, and most disappointing of all, the anticipated continuation of the Zodiac weapon questline is nowhere to be found, as it has been pushed to a later patch

I'm not sure if As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness is enough to really pull anyone back in if they quit?? recently, but I'm having fun with it regardless. I can see myself doing the Void Ark weekly for the foreseeable future, and logging in regularly to do more exploratory missions. I just hope th??e team has more up its sleeve sooner than later.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Fina?l Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (Patch 3.1) appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus, a Pokemon-esque minion game

I haven't been playing Final Fantasy XIV as much as I'd like, mostly due to the content drought and other obligations. But that will change when patch 3.1 hit??s, which is set to bring a ton of new activities to the game.

One of the biggest additions is the Diadem area, which is basically a free roaming zone that can be played solo or with friends. There's also new story missions, new Gold Saucer games, two additional dungeons, extra Vanu Vanu tribe quests, primal encounters (a reworked Knights of the Round fight from the main sce??nario quest), a 24-man raid similar to the Crystal Tower series (Void A??rk), and a ton of quality of life adjustments.

I really dig how much they've changed boss fights in dungeons over the past year or so, and the ?Pharos Sirius hard mode fights look pretty amazing. What I'm most excited for however is the Void Ark, which will be really easy to pick up and pl??ay.

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I braved all four current floors today

Today marks the release of the Alexander raid in Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, a pretty monumental day for hardcore players. We've all been tirelessly working on our sets, ensuring that we make our way up to a respectable Item Level 1?70 or above rating, waiting with bated breath for the raid to drop.

Now that it's finally here, I'm pretty satisfied with what we got and how Square Enix decided to approach it. I also scored a helmet while c?learing all four current ??floors, which is nice!

Endgame raids have seemingly undergone a few changes since we last left the Binding Coil of Bahamut in Realm Reborn. For starters, you can use the duty finder to enter Alexander immediately?? after completing the roughly 10 minute attunement quest -- the only thing you need is Item Level 170 or above, and the main story completed. Square Enix noted that they wanted the base raid to be more accessible (with a tougher challenge coming later for static groups), and I think they succeeded with that goal.

There are four wings in all so far (more will be added at a later date like Coil), and the first three can easily be completed with a pick-up-group, so long as everyone is on their toes. The first fight features two mechs which need to be kept apart by the two tanks, the second battle is similar to Turn 4 of the first Coil (lots of adds, but with a fun mech-suit twist for one DPS), the third features a really cool shape-shifting water elemental, and the fourth is against a giant structure that almost feels like a confrontati??on with Alexander himself. I like all of them in their o??????????????????????????wn way, though the fourth is easily comparable to an EX fight, and will give pick-up-groups more trouble.

Loot is handled differently as well, as every fight drops "tokens" that yo?u can use to acquire Item Level 190 gear in Idyllshire. The accessories only need one token, but the left side armor pieces will need at least two, if not four. As of today, I won two rolls for the head piece token, granting me a piece of headgear -- I have two more "lockouts" that I need to complete for the rest of the week, at which point I can't earn any other gear in Alexander. Theoretically you can get three p??ieces this week, with one accessory token, one waist token, and two hand tokens (some tokens share loot tables, and the body and legs take four each).

It's not a perfect solution, but I really prefer it to the old system. Previously, I was raiding in Coil with my old static, and we'd find that we'd frequently get doubles of unneeded gear, leading to some of our group not getting any pieces and falling behind by sheer luck. This is typ??ical of the MMO endgame routine, but in recent years, many developers have implemented tokens to comb??at this -- it's nice to see Square Enix adopt it, just in time for the new Master Loot system to make raid lead's lives easier.

The actual design of the dungeons themselves are brilliant, filled with steam pouring from pipes, metallic slides, and tons of personality throughout. It's a nice departure fr??om the overused Allegan theme of Coil, and overall, I'm liking it a bit more. I also really like the soundtrack, as it gets me sufficiently pumped to take on the new encounters. 

I'm happy with Heavensward's Alexander raid debut, and Savage mode? is set to arrive in two weeks from today, which will bring about the aforementioned tougher fights, more akin to what a typical static group would expect.

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Offering refunds

As we noted last week, the Mac port of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is plagued with issues.

This doesn't seem uncommon these days, but remember that Naoki Yoshida built A Realm Reborn back up from Final Fantasy XIV's initial disastrous launch, ??and much of this was done through ??treating players and purchasers with respect.

Yoshida took blame and offered solutions in a long forum post. Those who feel compelled may ask for a full refund (do that here if you bought it direct from Square). Yoshida pins the main issues on, "the significant discrepancy between the performance of the product our ?? development team produced and the expectations our customers had for it," because "we released incorrect requirements, which were not updated prior to the Mac version&rsqu??o;s official release."

The Mac version also release early, "due to our miscommunication with retailers," so?, "some cu??stomers were able to download and play a pre-release build which suffered from performance problems."

Sales of the Mac version have been suspended until Square Enix can make an announcement that includes, "detailed information on the product, system requirements, and screen resolution." Not a bad way to handle the botched launch, all in all??.

[NA]The state of the FFXIV Mac version,?? and our plans for the f?uture [Final Fantasy XIV forum]

The post Square stops Final Fantasy XIV Mac sales after dev team’s ‘mistakes’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Mechanical playground

The Alexander raid, the second real raid set to debut in Final Fantasy XIV after The Binding Coil of Bahamut, is on track for tomorrow. In the meantime you can check out this new trailer to get an idea of what t?o expect.

It looks like Square Enix has committ??ed to the industrial theme, as Alexander takes place inside the monstrosity itself, featuring steam-based obstacle courses and even slides. ?The "normal" version will launch this week, and the tougher "savage" edition will arrive in two weeks.

My i175 Paladin is ready.

The post I’m pumped to raid in Final Fantasy XIV’s Alexander appeared first on Destructoid.

Par for the heavens

_{[You can read updated reviews for future patches here: 3.1, 3.2-3.4  as well as other releases/expansions here: A Realm Reborn, Stormblood, Shadowbringers.]}

When our story began last week, I was a level 53 Paladin, soldiering through the new content for Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. I stand before you now as a leve?l 60, having played everything that's curr?ently available.

My opinion on the ex??pan?sion hasn't changed much, which is a good thing.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
MSRP: $39.99 ($12.99 per month)
Released: June 19, 2015 (Early Access), June 23, 2015

The "40 hours" of questing claim by Square Enix for the main story (levels 50-60) is accurate, but there's a caveat. You'll have to do a combination of sidequests, daily hunt marks (which?? can be done solo), and dungeons to push through some gaps, particularly in the middle levels. A few portions can be off-putting sometimes in terms of pacing, especially since the sidequests aren't nearly as good as the main story questline. Having said that, there wasn't any point, even the aforementioned lows, where I stopped having fun.

There's just so much to do at this juncture of Final Fantasy XIV. I would frequently stop to do world hunts, which respawn every few hours or so in each area. They're even more fun now once you've unlocked flight for that particular zone, and all of the old hunts still exist too, albeit with smaller rewards for kills. You could hunt all day if you wanted to. I'd visit my new apartment in my friend's beachfront property villa in the Mist, and see what was going on with their new workshop -- a feature that lets you build Free Company (guild) airships in Heavensward, which go on expeditions for more items, sim??ilar to Retainer quests. Although I don't tend to craft in any MMO I play, I hung out with a group of crafters and chatted for hours about the new crafter meta and theories for some testing, which are insanely deep.

For those who aren't aware, each crafting and gathe?ring class has its own miniature storyline, and crafters in particular now have a even more complicated method of creating new high quality items. Crafting was always like a puzzle, allowing players to learn the best rotations for creating the best items, but now, there's an "endgame" of sorts for the profession, featuring a separate system of crafting in guilds to help build airships, and more complicated patterns that will fetch big gains on the auction house. Flying makes gathering nodes more fun, which is a big improvement on the 2.0 system -- and more nuanced with new gathering abilities.

I also took a break and started a Dark Knight, Astrologian, and Machinist, which are all new jobs in Heavensward. Although there's a debate going on rega??rding the latter's low damage output, I've grouped and played all of them, and each brings something unique to the table. ?The Dark Knight is really fun to tank with, as he can drop his "Grit" stance (having it on lets you take less damage) on occasion, which unlocks a whole host of damage-dealing abilities.

As a general rule you always want to be doing your core job and tanking with Grit, but when you need that extra push, the Dark Knight is ready and willing, and feels far more engaging than the existing Warrior. The Astrologian sacrifices a bit of firepower (compared to the White Mage and Scholar) but makes up for it ?with a variety of different healing tricks, and the Machinist is one of the most complicated DPS classes in the game. They are all worthwhile additions, and each role (tank, healer, ranged DPS) fits perfectly in the current meta.

By the time I was done with the story and hit level 60, I had played far more than 40 hours. While there are some predictable plot points and far too much Final Fantasy grandstanding, I have to say I enjoyed it as a whole. I really dig the dragon theme that permeates throughout the expansion (they commit to it), and I was satisfied with the conclusion, especially the final boss, which Final Fantasy fans will love??. The epilogue also does its job of sufficientl?y teasing all of the upcoming free content updates, so I'm pumped to see where this goes.

The dungeons are all par for the course, which again, is a theme with this expansion. Every dungeon, including the three level 60 ones at the end, have the same linear design that is crafted to prevent you from speedrunning them. Gone are the labyrinthine paths of some low-level dunge?ons, as well as the tricks of the trade of the vanilla endgame areas; the structure is basically the same every time. Thankfully, the boss fights are specta?cular, and nearly every zone features an encounter that has something I've never seen before.

Without spoiling it, my favorite dungeon has a f?ight where a bird flies up into the air, and causes the entire battlefield to fill with fog, forcing you to find his shadow before he comes back down. Another hilariously tasks players with picking up totems and placing them in certain?? areas to prevent a boss from casting a ritual that ties his health to them. Every fight is intuitive so you won't be scratching your head going "how does this work?" but you will have to actually try. It's a good balance, even if I wish some of the dungeons were a bit more open.

The two Primals (Ravana and Bismarck) are worthy additions to the game, and both have EX (extreme) versions that will test your might at level 60. Ravana is an awesome fight that I refer to as "the ninja bug," and it basically feels like how Titan should have been, with a circular arena that you can fall off of. Bismarck on the other hand is like nothing else in Final Fantasy XIV, featuring the titular whale flying right next to a floating rock that the party is standing on. Players will have to hook him with harpoons (you can shout "call me Ishmael" while doing it) and whale on the whale's weak point temporarily. I feel like Ravana is fa??ster-paced and more fun, but again, Bismarck is unique.

Currently the endgame consists of gathering law tomes (obtained by high-level dungeons and hunts), buying item level i170 gear, and upgrading them to i180 by way of items from seals. Bismarck EX will ne?t you i175 weapons, and Ravana earns you i190. You have two weeks to fully upgrade your left and right-side gear to face the first part of the Alexander raid, who will debut at that time (with the tougher "Savage" difficulty unlocking two weeks after that). Said raids will be even b??etter thanks to the new loot systems, which can give a raid leader more control over who gets what (finally). With everything there is to do in the game though, it doesn't feel like a grind to get to that point.

Did I mention Heavensward was beautiful? I'm pretty sure I have often, but I'll do it again just to drive the point home. It looks fantastic, from the snowy landscape of Ishgard to the Souls-esque Dra??vanian Hinterlands, complete with lush plains and hellish mountains filled with fiery depths. I would often stop just to admire the scenery, which is even easier thanks to flying mounts. Every time I visit an old content area I long for the chance to use a flying mount, but alas, it's only available in new zones.

Specifically regarding the PS4 version, it's starting to feel the sting of the more open areas a bit, particularly when it comes to longer load times (which can be a pain while zoning in for hunts) and some slowdown. I should mention that said slowdown never becomes unplayable, even with 50 other players slashing away at the same world hunt target. It can just get a bit sluggish is all. My view is partially colored by the fact that the new Direct X 11 version on PC looks gorgeous and runs smoothly.

Down the line you have new storylines to look forward to, as well as the aforementioned Alexander raid, more 24-player casual raids (which aren't currently in yet), a new PVP map, and a new multi-part relic weapon quest that will debut next month for all jobs. None of this was factored ?into this review, but it's something to be awa??re of -- based on its past track record, Square Enix will continue to evolve the game and make it better.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward is more A Realm Reborn, which is a fine thing to strive for in my book. Whether you're the type of player who enjoys crafting, endgame content, or role-playing, there's so much to do here for people of all skill levels it's insane. While I fizzled out a bit after completing the main story in 2.5, Heavensward has rekindled my flame.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward appeared first on Destructoid.

Par for the heavens

The story of how Square Enix turned Final Fantasy XIV around is still incredible to me. I always tell people about playing it at E3 in 2010 for the very first time, pre-Realm Reborn, and how it was one of the least fun MMOs I've ever experienced. Now here I am years later, after the relaunch, with the Heavensward expansion as one of my most an??ticipated games of 2015.

So far, I haven't been disappointed.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
MSRP: $39.99 ($12.99 per month)
Released: June 19, 2015 (Early Access), June 23, 2015

Picking up directly where the last campaign left off, the first quest of Heavensward is located in the Coerthas Central Highlands, directing you to Ishgard. Yep, you heard that right -- it continues the story?? of the core game, so you'll need to complete the main campaign (ending with "Before the Dawn") and reach level 50 first. Newer players will find at least double the experience from the original vanilla quests to help boost them up a bit.

According to Square Enix, the new Heavensward story is roughly 50 hours, and based on my pace so far in at 10, that's fairly accurate. It's about the same length as the original? game, which is quite a feat, and about the sweet spot for a campaign in my mind. There's so much other stuff to do to keep you busy at this point. The flow of the process is to get from levels 50 to 60 with mostly story quests, which has worked out for the most part with my ?first character -- so far, I'm level 53 and counting.

I decided to take on the leveling process with my trusty Paladin, who would be able to jump into queues at a moment's notice. Most classes have a handful of new abilities, and in the Paladin's case, there are five in total. I've acquired one so far -- the power to use a pinch block ability to give him some extra durability. There are a few new combo abilities that mix up your rotation quite a bit, as well as a?? few tweaks (like an accuracy buff to Shield Oath). It's just enough to keep you on your toes and get you interested in leveling without making things too tricky.

Ishgard is the new capital city and the expansion hosts nine new locations, all of which are much larger than the original zones in A Realm Reborn. This is mostly because they now support flying mounts, a brand new mechanic in Heavensward. You can't just fly ?right off the bat, though -- you'll have to attune to each zone through a combination of locating aether and completing key quests. The idea is that you'll have fully explored the area by the time you're done, opening up a more vertical approach later on.

It sounds like it could be annoying, but you'll get a compass item that will help you find said aether currents with instructions that aren't too vague and aren't on-the-nose either. It's a fun mechanic that reminds me a lot of the same design philosophies found in Guild Wars 2. Some of the currents are even built around jumping puzzles. Flying isn't as glorious as in, say, Aion, but it's very fun to soar about when tracking down hunt targets. I can see Square Enix doing a lot of cool things with future updates like hidden areas and quests; there's some of that already now. Speaking of flying, your?? personal Chocobo will allow you to do just that at a certain point in the stor??y, so everyone can easily get on track and enjoy the ride.

Having said that, the PlayStation 4 version is starting to show its age already. Although this is launch so there's lots more people concentrated in specific areas, the frame rate crawls a bit more than it used to in vanilla Realm Reborn, especially since most of these zones are so much bigger. It's not game-breaking, but it is odd. The PS4 was previously a powerhouse and nearly on par with the PC. I haven't tested it for that long, but the newly minted DirectX 11 engine on PC (that also released today) is drastically better than? ever before, alleviating nearly all of my concerns. I'll provide more information on this in the future.

The quality of the story is improved overall, drawing from what the development team learned from all of the superior updates. It deals with a thousand-year conflict between Ishgard and Dravania. I'm interested in seeing where this goes, and I'll provide a spoiler-free update when I complete it. The actual quests haven't been any better or worse than A Realm Reborn, and so far, th??e theme of the expansion seems to be "more of a good thing, without re-inventing the wheel." There are two starting zones to alleviate the congestion, which have worked, on top of the fact that roughly half of the post-level-50 community is going back to the old content with the new jobs anyway.

As for other content, there are a handful of new dungeons, one of which I've tried out already called Dusk Vigil. It's about on par with the recent additions in the newer updates. That is to say they're very flashy, filled with their own lore bits, and while they cut down on exploration quite a bit, they're all designed to be completed casually with the occasional peppering of a challenge. The pacing is spot on, and they don't drag like a few of the vanilla dungeons. The same goes for the first hard mode trial (read: group instanced boss) I've encountered, which features a really badass bug that I don't want to spoil here. Suffice to say, it's a little more interesting than the initial Primals you meet in A Realm Reborn.

Several other classes have gotten a few major shakeups, like the Bard, who now has a DPS-based Limit Break, and the Black Mage, which must stay within Ley Lines, a magical circle, to gain extra damage by way of haste. Every class now has a unique level-three Limit Break animation, which is great. All of these changes help make your job feel more unique and make Final Fantasy XIV a more well-rounded MMO as a whole. Switching to my other jobs for a few moments felt different, espe??cially the Bard. You can really notice even just a few extra skills in dungeon runs.

As for the three new jobs, I had a chance to try out Dark Knig?ht, but there's also the Astrologian and Machinist. Unlocking them is as easy as reaching Ishgard and talking to a specific quest starter in town, then doing a 10-minute quest for each -- that's it! They all start at level 30, and come equipped with a few pieces of gear and roughly 10 skills each at first. It's perfect, as there's just enough there to give you plenty to do right away, but not so much that you're overwhelmed. While I need more time to test them, I think they all bring something unique to the table, and I love the Dark Knight's risk-reward mechanic. It's the freshest take on tanking yet.

Other extras that I ??still need to dig into include the all ?new Au Ra race, the DirectX11 visual upgrade on PC, new hunt targets, a more comprehensive loot system for raids, the power to queue for dungeons with less than five players, Free Company (guild) upgrades like Workshops and Airships, crafting upgrades, Bismarck and Ravana as new Primals, more Triple Triad cards, a future new Frontlines PVP map, an all-new Relic questline set to debut in 3.1, and a new Alexander raid, which will unlock at a later date.

Stay tuned as I continue to play through Heavensward, work ??my way up to level 60, and try out the new classes. Only then will I provide my ful??l review for the expansion.+

_{[This review is based on a retail build provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review in Progress: Final Fantasy ??XIV: Heavensward appeared first on Destructoid.

Server issues, but not nearly as bad

Well, this is a lot smoother than Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's initial launch, which le??ft som??e people unable to log in for weeks.

The Heavensward expansion debuted today for early access subscriber??s (read: pre-orders), on all platforms. As of this morning (5AM EST) the se?rvers were being hammered immediately, which caused many users to see login queues, downed servers, and general game crashes. I encountered all of this intermittently myself, and it took about 30 minutes to actually get into the game. After several hours though, things have smoothed over quite a bit.

For the sake of science, I logged out of the game and attempted to log back in on another platform (my server is Lamia), and was only greeted with a queue of 10 other players, which took 30 seconds to get through. Square has noted that during the first week? of launch or so, they'll be implementing a policy that kicks players who have been idle for 30 minutes. It's going to be annoying for sure for some, but it's working.

While the game won't officially launch until Tuesday, for all intents and purposes this is rather smoo?th for an MMO expansion debut. I'm working my way through the story as we speak, as well as dabbling in all three new jobs, and will have more thoughts later today, as well as a rundown of any potential issues during the full launch.

The post Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward’s launch is bumpy, but it works appeared first on Destructoid.

Tons of info to sift through

Square Enix has posted the 3.0 update patch notes for Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, which is ?due for launch on Friday for early access pre-orders.

It details the new locations, jobs, abilities, items, and everything ??else you'll need to start planning your time with the expansion. Note that ??these are preliminary, so they don't detail everything, mostly so the community doesn't go crazy and try to exploit or manipulate the economy before everything changes.

If you're curious, here's the full schedule of what to expect this week, including outages and early access timing. Our review in progress kicks off on Friday, where ?I'll take my?? five max-level classes into the new expansion content and try out the three new jobs.

Here's a bonus pro tip: since there's maintenance all day tomorrow, you have until today to complete the main questline, which is required to jump directly into the new 3.0 Heavensward storyline on Friday.

Patch 3.0 Notes (Preliminary) [Final Fantasy]

The post Here are the preliminary patch n??otes for Final Fa??ntasy XIV: Heavensward appeared first on Destructoid.

Its raining deals!

As June creeps around the corner, we're now less than a month away from the release of Batman: Arkham Knight. This weekend the PC pre-order became very enticing at GMG where a both Arkham Knight edition is at 40% off - dropping base game to $35 and Premium Edition to $54 (both Steam ke??ys).

Pre-ordering comes with the Harley Quinn playable character bonus. MSRP of the Premium Edition (includes pricey Season Pass) is at a ridiculous $100 but stacking the 10% instant savings with the 40% code nets you?? the price above.

Also available this weekend is a decent deal on Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. The first expansion to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn releases on June 23rd (same day as Mr. Bat above) - the deal of course works o??n the Collector's Edition too (flying mount + other BS). If you?'ve bought the Steam version of AAR, you'll want to avoid this copy from GMG - if you've bought anywhere else you're good to go.

Last on the docket are two excellent deals on console exclusives: Bayonetta 2 dropped to its lowest price ever at GameStop to only $44.97, while the March released Bloodborne gets reduced  by $20 to only $39.99 at Best Buy.

Top Weekend Deals

40% Off

• Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition (Steam) — $53.99
  Use code: 40OFFB-ATAKVC-GMGRB9
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25% Off

• Fi??nal Fantasy XIV: Heavensward - Collectors Edition — $45 <- Login required.
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Noteworthy

• Bloodborne (PS4) — $39.99  (list price $60)
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PC Game Deals

Capcom Sale

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GMG VIP Sale

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• Flockers (Steam) — $5.44  (list price $20)
• 8-Bit Adventures: The Forg??otten Journey Remastered (Steam) — $5.36  (list $10)
• Rise of Venice - Gold Edition (Steam) — $4.50  (list price $30)
• The Last Remnant (Steam) — $4.24  (list price $10)
• Worms Reloaded Game of the Year Edition (Steam) — $4  (list price $25)
• Alien Breed 3: Descent (Steam) — $1.60  (list price $10) <- 1 & 2 also on sale

Console Game Deals

• Saints Row IV + Gat Out Of Hell (PS4, Xbox One) — $19.99  (list price $40)
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PS3 Deals

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HDTV Deals

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Game deals from Dealzon. FYI: sales from certain retailers help support Destructoid.

The post Batman Arkham Knight 40% off discount storms ont??o the scene appeared first on Destructoid.

New jobs will start at level 30

Square Enix recently had a blowout of information for Final Fantasy XIV's Heavensward expansion. For starters, the game will launch on June 23 (June 19 for early access), as we previously knew??. But at some point later, post-launch, the Alexander raid ??will open, followed by a Savage mode, a new currency, and a new PVP area.

New loot systems are in, to help raid parties who want more options for quicker rolling on trash loot. You'll also be able to go into instances with less people if you choose (for a challenge), and Heavensward will debut eight more dungeons at launch. New currencies include th??e Allegan Tomestomes of Law (no weekly cap), and Allegan Tomestones of Esoterics (weekly cap).

The biggest change I'm seeing is that each class will have their own unique Limit Break action, and the Machinist, Astrologian, and Dark Knight jobs will all start at level 30 -- plan your Coerthas FATE grinding parties now! Finally, existing jobs will have new quests from levels 50 to 60, and the main story of Heavensward is expected to be "roughly 50 hours at launch."

This all sounds great! I think the first thing I'm going to do i?s finish the storyline with my Paladin (easy queues), and then tackle the Dark Knight for even more fast tank que??ues.

Final Fantasy XIV [YouTube]

The post New details, full intro revealed for ??Final Fantasy XIV: Heavenswar?d appeared first on Destructoid.