End of a (2.0) beta

The end of the FFXIV 2.0 beta phase 3 came yesterday morning at 2am Pacific time. This weekend brought a few surprises, including the return of my favorite Galka Wutang Warrior! Yaaaay!

Now for the agonizing 2-3, maybe even 4 week wait for beta phase 4 to start up. In many ways, since the next phase actually leads directly to release, this beta 3 ending really was the end of beta and it certainly had the same feel.... jumping around poking FATE NMs for fun, helping people wrap up dungeons, and exploring places we have no business being!

So here's a final picture dump from beta 3!

Scary Magitek stuffs!

I thought these dragons belonged in snowy regions?

I also experimented with using FFXIV-APP, a 3rd party parser tool. It tracks things like damage done, block rates, parry rates, etc. and even has a supposedly dynamic translation function. Unfortunately, the last will probably never get used due to the split of servers. I really doubt we'll see anyone speaking Japanese again outside of maaaaaaaaaybe Duty Finder.

Anyway, here's some example output:

*Pretty* sure this isn't against the ToS?

You can get some interesting stats here... Lots of things that can be used to see how effective your play is, or how different gear affects how you're doing. In this case, I only had a 11% crit rate, so I wasn't using the PUG ability "Internal Release" as much as I could. Gladiators might be especially interested in the shield block rate vs. block effectiveness from the different types of shields.

Of course, this kind of tool can be open to abuse, though I hope people don't use it that way. Using this knowledge to improve yourself should be how something like this is used!

Anyway, now for some crafting pics!

Need to look good when crafting!

Yes! Even crafting has overwhelming special effects!

Yes! It's a shield... No, I won't make one in your size. It's a buckler for you.

So I went a little overboard on crafting for the beta... I got to level 20 Armorer and thanks to Vanh, managed to infuse a piece of materia to a skillet for a quest. The materia infusing process really requires dedication, requiring a level 19+ craft plus a high level gathering skill for the catalyst to actually infuse the materia.

Anyway, I'm not sure crafting will be for me in retail... basically, to do almost any sort of crafting properly, you kinda need to do all the crafting and gathering classes... carpentry for handles for armoring, some leather pieces, mining and botany for shards and materials... then again, I guess the same could be said for the combat classes.

Back to random pics!

On LNC, I can finally use limit breaks!

Slash slash slash with a big sword... Hey! Where'd my spear go?!

I'm *pretty* sure that's the wrong way to hold a sword... That's what happens when you give a Lancer a sword!

Limit breaks are a little weird... There are 4 types of limit breaks, one for tanks, one for healers, one that does small AoE damage, and one that does a larger amount of single target damage. So far, I've almost never seen a reason to use the tank one, and rarely do you need to use the healer one. Most of the time you use one of the damage ones, usually single target if you can, in order to finish a boss fight faster. Kinda disappointing compared to the 2-hour abilities of FFXI.

First time I've not-tanked this dungeon. What's this weird bubble thing? :o

Dramatic swing to... mmm... looks like I'm preparing to swing into empty space. Have you noticed how far you stand from large mobs? :(

During this last few days of beta, I mostly played around on Lancer since my Marauder was at the level 35 cap. I managed to get from ~22 all the way to 30 (including that 26-29 level jump). This did teach me a few things, including how important Invigorate was for any Discipline of War (the level 22 LNC ability). Due to the way cross-class abilities work, I think you basically have to level virtually all jobs to the 22-26 level in order to be fully effective in whatever high level class or job you want to use!

I liked the special "protect" effect that pops up when a mob attacks xD

I kinda completed the level 32 dungeon armor set. I didn't get the helm, and I preferred using the Maelstorm skirt since it had better stats and looked better!

Filthy immigrants trying to enter Limsa! They'll let anyone in these days!

Carbuncle will come and get you if they sniff out any drugs!

My attempt at creating a Lalafell character xD

Until I realized how tiny they are :o

Glowy armor effect... the environmental effects and graphics are quite impressive for such a smooth game!

I'm not sure *how* this special effect was done, but... it's dramatic?

Example of the massive scale of some FATE NMs. If my camera angle is zoomed in as normal, I can't see what I'm supposed to be fighting -.-

Big angry crab

In the final hours of the beta, Fuji, Zurar, Cao, me and guest Hector went exploring all around the world, getting in trouble with level 48+ mobs, causing trains and trouble all over the place! Here are some pics from that adventure.

If you look up at the night sky, you can see the stars twinkling and moving! Oh, and this is a very sharp chocobo, unlike Zu's very horny chocobo or Cao's very... erm... featherheaded chocobo?

NPCs will react to you as you approach them... like this creepy Roegadyn wouldn't stop staring at me. Maybe he wanted to cook me :o

We found a sealed off door near the desert with lots of 48+ mobs around. However, we found a way past the door by jumping up on the sides. Behind it, the area was completely empty and deep inside a cave, we found what looked like... a beastman Aetheryte crystal?

Forgotten Springs -- Just a generic outpost, but very detailed. Almost like a place you'd go for vacation if not for the the constant sandworms

Can YOU feel it?

A beastman outpost... fun to run through on chocobo, just watch out for running off cliffs when you're trying to avoid getting killed by all the mobs after you!

Found a pervert leering at some innocent Miqo'te!

Good thing they can defend themselves!

We found a long tunnel far past some Sahagin beastmen. There was an outpost here which reminded me of Norg with pirates and stuff. Unfortunately, the pirates weren't friendly

Near the Sylphlands, we found the Hall of the Gods... I mean, Sanctum of the Twelve! This entrance was closed during beta 2 so I didn't try coming here till now!

I thought the water effects were very impressive... though I think Lalafell should have a /drown emote xD

What do we call this? A flock of chocobos? Gaggle? Brood?

Ok heroes, pose dramatically for the camera... hold it... hold it... ok, now jump!

The abandoned onsen resort! Or did they  just forget to add the NPCs?

The group relaxing... or... maybe too relaxed in case of Zurar >.>

Starting to doze off...

That pink hair is gets so much attention!

Then we went to crash the party of a certain Lalafell hanging out with all the girls in swimsuits!

And a certain male Miqo'te decides to join in the dancing...

You can *almost* sit properly in these chairs

A Lalafell trying to hold back the end of the world!

See you next time!

Overall, I think I explored about 90% of the map. There were some places that were blocked off from access, like the Sylphlands and the giant wall preventing us from getting to the enemy cities... There were still many places which looked like they could be populated with NPCs for new outposts or quest areas, and tons of mobs above the level 35 beta cap, all the way up to level 50. I'm still wondering if the world map as we know it is complete, or if there are more areas that they haven't shown us yet.

That's the end of beta 3! Next time, we're playing for keeps! Oh, and for a preview... long hair won the vote, so... here's a look at phase 4's Ascy! (assuming the appearance import works!)

Ascy 2.0!

Like? Dislike? Let me know! Oh ya, thanks to Zu for a shot of him dancing along with his favorite BOUNCIES!

See you on Hyperion in a few weeks!