After the original Final Fantasy 14 flopped, Square Enix managed to get their act together and thus Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was born anew. Fast forward to 2015 and SE has managed to scoop up millions of subscribers with a ever growing world of content to drown yourself in, their latest MMORPG has stuck gold with the larger MMO community and it currently shows no sign of slowing down.
There's a bundle of things to do in FFXIV: ARR and while Square has managed to create a highly desirable and enjoyable MMORPG experience, we feel there's still features missing that could ultimately make XIV one of the best MMO of this gen. So we've sat down and given our thoughts and on what could make the game better or what's missing overall.
1. Path Companions
Path companions were available in the original version of Final Fantasy XIV. Like the chocobo companions we have today they aided you on your quest in battle. Players were faced with a number of important decisions when selecting the path companion just right for them. After choosing a class and nickname, players also were given the choice to select their race and gender.
You could say these companions are similar to the retainers we have today, only the retainers ain't given the opportunity to travel around Eorzea with us. We'd like the path companions to make a return alongside our chocobo pals, even if it's for mainly cosmetic purposes. While we do love our chocobos, it would be great to have a hyur companion fighting beside us on other ocassions.. Or better yet why not both?
2. Map Waypoints
In Final Fantasy XI you were able to set waypoints on the map but for some odd reason this feature ceased to return in Final Fantasy XIV and it's left us including many players scratching our heads as to why they wouldn't bring such an important feature back. An option to set waypoints on the main map to show on the minimap would make venturing around Eorzea more of a ease.
3. Improved Mounts
For one we feel the mounts need a sprint mechanic because while our feathery friends and fiends are fast, when running across the map to find a fate or travelling to pick up a quest, we'd like them to pick up even more speed and not arrive to a fate when it's at 90%. Like the chocobo racing mechanic we'd like either like a sprint button or better yet just make them faster.
We would also like the ability to talk to NPCs on our mounts rather than having to dismount every time we converse with someone. It would certainly make the world of difference in our eyes.
4. Story Catch up Mechanic
A Realm Reborn's plot is massive and will keep you occupied for a very long time, so for new players who just want to jump straight into the Heavensward action to try the new job classes and other features will have to be level 50 and completed the main story.
Which got us thinking, wouldn't it be cool if new players had access to a potential catch up mechanic system which would help them through the story mode fairly quickly so they can get to the Heavensward content at will? Triple EXP, high level NPC parties and echo buff would be great. Or better allow players to skip the story and return to it at their leisure would be a better much alternative.
5. Alt Characters at Max Level
FFXIV ARR allows you to create several other individual characters which is a neat feature for players who want to start afresh, roleplay or see the main story line plots in the other two cites. It would be great if you could re-roll a new character with the stats of your main character, so for example once your main character completes the story, your new character could reap the benefits of the first character, giving them access to the end game content, unlocked locations and inventory as an optional choice.
6. New Mini-Games
With the inclusion of the Gold Saucer in patch 2.51, we were given the chance to play several mini games including the triple triad card game from Final Fantasy VIII, now maybe we've being greedy but we simply desire more. Over the years the Final Fantasy series has included many memorable and weird mini games for players to dive into and we'd like to see many of return in ARR.
7. The Favour System
The Favour System was an April Fools' joke from Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV developers. It was a joke news about a dating sim system being introduced to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, posted on their official site of the game on April 1, 2014. Now we would like this joke to become a reality. The one thing that Final Fantasy XIV is severely lacking is romantic elements like the Final Fantasy games of old.
While the system described was obviously a bit over the top, we feel the game really needs to adopt some kind of concept similar to that. This would be a creative way to develop more depth to some of the characters as well as give some interesting dialog changes in the main story line. Besides every game is better with dating sim elements.
8. New Hairstyles
Aside from race, a variety of hairstyles would be a blessing in disguise for players who want their characters to stand out from the pack. The game does have quite a few decent hairstyles but we'd like the option to have more ethnic hairstyles to choose from, maybe even throw in some classic Final Fantasy haircuts while you're at it SE.
9. Affordable Housing
Many will find the pricing of accommodation ridiculous and rightfully so. Personal Housing as it stands costs a lot of money which makes us wonder, how much is a double cheese burger in Eorzea? 10K? Either lowering the cost of housing or implementing a rent system would work like a charm.
10. Consistent Facial Expressions
While a minor feature, it's quite charming to see your character express themselves through facial emotes but alas for some reason they are only brief. We're pretty sure it isn't difficult to implement optional persistent facial emotes. There could even be an option for your character to have "moods."
So say if you set your mood to sad your character would frown, do the /disappointed emote, sigh or cry at regular intervals.
11. Clickable Mini Aetheryte Icon on Map
Since you can teleport to a city location by simply clicking on the large Aetheryte crystal on the map, also being able to click the miniature Aetheryte crystals on the map would ease players who wish to go to a particular part of the city rather than bought to the main Aetheryte.
12. Races of Ivalice and Gaia
The world of Ivalice has some interesting races that we think would fit well into the melting pot of Final Fantasy XIV. Vieras, Bangaas and Aegyls from the Final Fantasy XII series are our top picks for the next races we want to see introduced.
Final Fantasy IX is another world which has some rather unique races which we would like to see included like the Burmecian rats and Black Mage dolls.
13. Better Companion System
The chocobo companion is your best friend in ARR and a major relief in battle but the whole system could improved upon in many ways. For one we feel that companions should be allowed to follow you into all quests and dungeons, also the chocobo really doesn't have to be on a timer anymore.
14. New Mounts and Minions
While improving improving the mechanics of mounts is one thing, we'd also like to see more of a variety in regards to mount and minions designs in the game. Some mounts we would like to see include the Not-so-Jumbo Cactuar, T-Board and Red XIII just to name a few. As for minions? How about a Moomba from Final Fantasy VIII?
15. New Vanity Gear
While the heavy armour, helmets , pointy hats and robes does look highly fitting for Eorzea, Glamour gear is a breath of fresh air and looks absolutely stylish on characters, it also give players the option to cosplay as other characters. It's simple, we want more vanity clothing to wear, the stuff available is a nice but it wouldn't hurt to add more casual clothing.