As Square Enix gets ready to launch Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, we take another look at some of the big changes that have been implemented prior to the "world ending" events as the team gets ready to release A Realm Reborn on the world. See what we've got to say before leaving your thoughts in the comments.

Final Fantasy XIV launched in Q4, 2010 and ended in Q4, 2012.  Over that time there were 23 version builds and a number of sub-builds.  Many of the initial customers dropped out of the game early on and many other potential customers simply avoided the title given the weak reviews.  Many missed out on seeing the evolution of Yoshida’s vision for A Realm Reborn.  For the next two columns, I am going to look backwards to better assist us in moving forwards.  In this column, I look at features added to Final Fantasy XIV prior to the End of an Era event. 

Read more of Ryahl Smith's Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - Content Additions.

Appreciate the history lesson.

It would be relatively easy to point out that a lot of these features should have been in from day one, but at least they are there now.

It will take a heck of a lot of marketing to inspire some people to spend money again on FFXIV no matter what the prefix. A lot of people weren't just burnt by the original launch, they where incinerated.

Maybe a wise approach will be to hold off for a while after ARR launch until several reviews are published. 

You forgot to mention in your article the biggest improvement in the game which is the UI.

The original one was just awful, gamebreaking for me and I guess for many others.

You should mention that, it is not a small detail.

Thanks for the comments!

@JudgeUK - I agree, all (most?) of this should have been launch or near-launch features.  They weren't, though, and I think it says a lot for the changes under Yoshida that these systems came in, in such short order.  My understanding is that those who bought FFXIV will get a look at ARR without additional cash outlay, some will be won back, some won't.  Their attempt to recover from the FFXIV launch is not one guaranteed to succeed, but certainly respectable to see.

@ste2000 - The UI is more of a change to a core system, I'm going to talk about it a bit in an upcoming column.  However, the End of an Era UI is still a weak UI.  It's years ahead of the launch UI, but it's still hindered by the original UI.  From what we have seen in the alpha videos, the ARR UI should stand up nicely alongside other competitors UI's.

I'm on the road for the holidays, so I'll be a bit spotty responding to comments.  All the same, thank you for reading and thanks for commenting!

Nice summary for those that haven't been following 1.0. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

I have to say that the Grand Companies were one of my favorite additions to FFXIV. Each had a very distinct identity, and the quality of the items available gave players an opportunity to wear their company colors in serious content.

I think you meant "Gladiator" instead of "Guardian" when talking about the job system.

@oakierush - I think that's just his style of speech. There were many different dialects and speech patterns in the text of FFXIV 1.0, including archaic language and piratey talk.

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

 +1

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

The problem then comes down to how they intend to grow. I am a middling ff fan, I enjoyed a few of the games when I still played turn based console games, but the combat is very much a deal breaker. If I am not engaged by the combat, I simply cannot play it. 2.5 sec cast spells are insane, especially in the current playerbase. There is a reason why games like WoW instituted haste, and Rift has dropped the gcd for its classes to 1 sec. People prefer "faster" combat.

Originally posted by vandal5627

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

 +1

 +1 more

Regarding the combat pacing.  FF as a series tends towards turn-based combat, an action combat game doesn't draw on the franchise fan-base.  Putting action combat into FF is a bit like wanting God of War: Card Battles or Madden NFL with hockey sticks.  

Additionally, there are a number of action oriented MMO's on the market right now.  GW2, TERA, TSW, DCUO, etc. all focus on the fast-paced, dive roll driven combat.  One more action title in that mix is just one more drop in an ocean.  Also, note that the player choice MMO here at MMORPG.com was Pirate 101, noticeable for its turn-based combat.  Also, X-com performed quite well this year as a purely turn based title, including a PVP mode.

I wouldn't disparage the action combat gaming, but I would think it is a mistake to assume "most or all" people like aciton combat.

That said, I dont think combat in pretty much any video game looks enthralling to watch.

Originally posted by jimdandy26

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

The problem then comes down to how they intend to grow. I am a middling ff fan, I enjoyed a few of the games when I still played turn based console games, but the combat is very much a deal breaker. If I am not engaged by the combat, I simply cannot play it. 2.5 sec cast spells are insane, especially in the current playerbase. There is a reason why games like WoW instituted haste, and Rift has dropped the gcd for its classes to 1 sec. People prefer "faster" combat.

 There are quite a bit of people that prefer the slower paced combat as well.  Also, combat isnt everything in a game for alot of people.  Look at Tera, i heard they have the best action combat out there and look how they're doing.  I enjoy the slow paced combat.  As long as there is content for me to do and it looks like they will have based on the just released beta road map, i'm a happy camper.

I can appreciate so many comments that people have made.  Like most, I want this game to succeed and I am waiting.  Hoping for a fun game that fans of FF can play and enjoy!

What still gets me is the "rail system". A great decision was made to allow us to finally jump and get over the 1 foot high rocks and walls, but the inability to jump down high areas into water etc, still make me feel the game is restricting me

Just my personal beef

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

Exactly, FF is about tactics and position not running around the mob like rabbit on drugs.

Originally posted by Taranx

What still gets me is the "rail system". A great decision was made to allow us to finally jump and get over the 1 foot high rocks and walls, but the inability to jump down high areas into water etc, still make me feel the game is restricting me

Just my personal beef

Check out the new beta road map, falling damage from jumping will be tested out in the various beta phases.

Originally posted by vandal5627

Originally posted by jimdandy26

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

The problem then comes down to how they intend to grow. I am a middling ff fan, I enjoyed a few of the games when I still played turn based console games, but the combat is very much a deal breaker. If I am not engaged by the combat, I simply cannot play it. 2.5 sec cast spells are insane, especially in the current playerbase. There is a reason why games like WoW instituted haste, and Rift has dropped the gcd for its classes to 1 sec. People prefer "faster" combat.

 There are quite a bit of people that prefer the slower paced combat as well.  Also, combat isnt everything in a game for alot of people.  Look at Tera, i heard they have the best action combat out there and look how they're doing.  I enjoy the slow paced combat.  As long as there is content for me to do and it looks like they will have based on the just released beta road map, i'm a happy camper.

Tera is a horrible example for your position, as virtually everyone loved the combat. It was everything else they hated, to poor quests to lack of raids to poor pvp. A better example would have been Tsw as its combat is actually similar to that of the beloved Gw2, but it still fails to engage the user. Don't take me wrong, Gw2 combat does not engage me either, but that is mostly because it comes down to "spam 1 for success" more than anything.  The combat system will in and of itself not hold many, but it WILL sink the ship if its poor. Ryahl imparticular has tried explaining this away in other places with the analogy of chess versus speed chess, and for me atleast that gets to the very heart of the matter. Watching chess is boring if there is for example minutes between moves, but its much more exciting if there is only 20 seconds. Speed does matter. While I would not advocate true "action" combat, at the pace it is now I will fall asleep from boredom inbetween casts, which is absurd. I am not in alpha, so I do not know if ttk and the like is in a decent spot, but based on cast times alone, nothing should be over 2 seconds if you need to use it regularly, 1-1.5 would be ideal for me atleast.

As it is, I have yet to see anything in any of the videos that makes me want to play. What I have seen of the solo and group based content so far does not look like anything that we have not already seen. Even the mini game crafting comes off as blah, but thats because I do not care for those types of crafting systems. The aesthetics of the game are nice (except that ui, it clashes pretty badly) but aesthetics are meaningless when it does not offer anything that we do not already have.

Originally posted by jimdandy26

Originally posted by vandal5627

Originally posted by jimdandy26

Originally posted by Fendel84M

Originally posted by rojo6934
i am looking forward to A Realm Reborn, but please Square Enix.... these videos show horrible static combat. That is a huge deal to me and im sure many people agrees. A game like Guild Wars 2 that doesnt even have a subscription managed to make active combat. If ARR reborn relaunches with this silly "my shoes are glued to the ground" combat i wont pay a subscription for it. That is enough deal breaker to me. Specially as a black mage. Add either instant cast or let casting work while moving. Or come up with something to make us more active while fighting.

Well, I think in the spirit of the Final Fantasy series combat isn't supposed to be run around action based. As it is it looks a lot quicker FFXI but I dont think most Final Fantasy fans want an action based combat.

The problem then comes down to how they intend to grow. I am a middling ff fan, I enjoyed a few of the games when I still played turn based console games, but the combat is very much a deal breaker. If I am not engaged by the combat, I simply cannot play it. 2.5 sec cast spells are insane, especially in the current playerbase. There is a reason why games like WoW instituted haste, and Rift has dropped the gcd for its classes to 1 sec. People prefer "faster" combat.

 There are quite a bit of people that prefer the slower paced combat as well.  Also, combat isnt everything in a game for alot of people.  Look at Tera, i heard they have the best action combat out there and look how they're doing.  I enjoy the slow paced combat.  As long as there is content for me to do and it looks like they will have based on the just released beta road map, i'm a happy camper.

Tera is a horrible example for your position, as virtually everyone loved the combat. It was everything else they hated, to poor quests to lack of raids to poor pvp. A better example would have been Tsw as its combat is actually similar to that of the beloved Gw2, but it still fails to engage the user. Don't take me wrong, Gw2 combat does not engage me either, but that is mostly because it comes down to "spam 1 for success" more than anything.  The combat system will in and of itself not hold many, but it WILL sink the ship if its poor. Ryahl imparticular has tried explaining this away in other places with the analogy of chess versus speed chess, and for me atleast that gets to the very heart of the matter. Watching chess is boring if there is for example minutes between moves, but its much more exciting if there is only 20 seconds. Speed does matter. While I would not advocate true "action" combat, at the pace it is now I will fall asleep from boredom inbetween casts, which is absurd. I am not in alpha, so I do not know if ttk and the like is in a decent spot, but based on cast times alone, nothing should be over 2 seconds if you need to use it regularly, 1-1.5 would be ideal for me atleast.

As it is, I have yet to see anything in any of the videos that makes me want to play. What I have seen of the solo and group based content so far does not look like anything that we have not already seen. Even the mini game crafting comes off as blah, but thats because I do not care for those types of crafting systems. The aesthetics of the game are nice (except that ui, it clashes pretty badly) but aesthetics are meaningless when it does not offer anything that we do not already have.

 But it doesnt have to be fast paced to be engaging.  Once they add solo combos, group combos, limit breaks, I feel it will be more engaging.  What we're seeing in the video is just the bare bones of what i think the battle will be.  Also, i havent watched any video of any MMOs battle that felt engaging until I was able experience myself.