No Problem for FFXIV to Outdo WoW?

Square Enix (SE) encourages all the 3rd closed beta testers of FFXIV (Final Fantasy XIV) to share their feelings and opinions, so as to facilitate the communication among players. As the 3rd closed beta version of FFXIV is greatly different from the previous versions and it is the final test before the game's official sales, a heated dispute is caused among players. (Screenshots Source: ff14news.com)

* FFXIV Beta Key Giveaway Event on FFXIVcore.com!

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Some players think that FFXIV is perfect and there's no problem for it to outdo WoW, while some think that lots of problems still exist in the game and SE is testing many detailed settings. Through the dispute among players, we can have a deep understanding about FFXIV's current situation.

* High-quality graphics, a challenge for PCs.

First is the dispute about the game graphics and PC specifications. It is an accepted fact that FFXIV bears very high quality graphics, but it also sets high requirements for the PC system and graphics card. This is just very hard for the overseas players to accept. GTS 250 and GTX 285 graphics cards can guarantee the game's smooth running, but a small lag problem exists. To run the game smoothly with high-quality graphics is nevertheless a great challenge for the PC specifications. It is suggested that the GTX 285 gamers set relatively low-standard graphics, for the sake of smooth gaming.

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* Higher FPS = Stronger CPU

Second is the FPS problem. The 3rd closed beta relaxes the restrictions on the FPS, i.e. there're no more restrictions on 30-60 FPS, and many players are able to experience the exciting fun of 100+ FPS. Surely, this is also a great challenge for players' graphics cards. FFXIV, which bears high-quality graphics and high FPS, is absolutely perfect, but it's not good news for those with low PC specifications anyway, since such game requires not only high-performance graphics cards but also powerful CPU.

* Leveling up too fast is no better than leveling up too slow.

There's also much discussion about the speed of leveling up by killing monsters. It's obvious that SE accelerates players' advancement in the 3rd closed beta. Problems like the annoyingly complex combats and slow advancement, which were always complained about in the previous tests, seem to be over-solved in this test. For example, players can gain 4,000 EXP after killing a monster that is very easy to defeat, and grow up by dozens of levels within only 2 hours. Such leveling up speed is much higher than those in the previous tests actually.

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* Compared with WoW, FFXIV features more excellent quests but more boring PvP elements.

WoW is so successful that each new online game is usually compared with it. FFXIV is no exception. FFXIV and WoW is very different from each other, and the dispute between their respective supporters mainly focuses on the quest settings and high-level characters' gaming experiences. FFXIV's quest settings this time are widely accepted by players, i.e. both its main storyline and reward-giving quests are excellently designed. Tons of players believe that FFXIV is very likely to outdo WoW in the field of quest settings.

However, WoW, especially its PvP arena, is more interesting for those high-level players. FFXIV is somewhat characterless in this respect, since players still have to complete quests so as to obtain high-level items. For old players, WoW seems to be more attractive.

* FFXIV learns much from FFXII in terms of actions.

Almost all players, except a very small amount of faithful fans of FFXI, think that FFXIV surpasses its prequels comprehensively. Many players fond of FFXII also give FFXIV strong support. After all, FFXIV learns much from FFXII in terms of the combat system.

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