FFXIVCore.com - Final Fantasy XIV Fansite: Chasing the Carrot: Rewards in FFXIV - FFXIVCore.com - Final Fantasy XIV Fansite

Though the game is still in its beta testing phase, hundreds and thousands of potential players are already salivating at the thoughts of the many possible rewards and treasures hidden deep within FFXIV's core. I'd like to discuss a few ways that players might come across these rewards, in an effort to make the gameplay both challenging and, well, rewarding.

In order for the experience to be both enjoyable and fair, a balance must be struck. Items can't be too common or easily obtainable, otherwise, every player will be able to achieve the same level of accomplishment eventually. At the same time, most people don't enjoy an experience in which only a very small elite can obtain the best items, while everyone else is left behind. How can SE aim to meet this problem?

To begin, let's recap a bit on the multiplicity of challenges facing adventurers in FFXI. A great deal of the end game experience was dominated by superior mobs who not only showed rare spawning times, but also low drop rates. These two factors meant that even when players finally came across a beast, and were hopefully able to take it down, the chance of getting an item was not guaranteed.



This kind of system accounts for three factors, then, that can easily be modified to create a different experience. Monsters that only pop once a month, are extremely difficult to take down, and only have a 1% or less drop rate are sure to spark frustration and perhaps even warrant neglect from a chunk of the player base. Some might say, "well those enemies should drop some of the rarest pieces in the game, then." Maybe so, but is this really fair? This sort of situation puts players in heated conflicts, as they attempt to outdo one another, and resort to vicious tactics. How many people can recall hearing about the use of bots and other illegal programs in FFXI, all for what? Is this really a fair method to reward players with the most advanced gear? I think not.

To be fair, this was not the only way to obtain great pieces of gear in FFXI, however. Some were rewards from quests that could be accomplished by anyone willing to attempt them. Others were found through "BCNM" fights, and similar arenas, where players enter an instanced area to do combat in a timed battlefield. While this was enjoyable, it was often difficult to save up enough "seals" to enter the fight, so players couldn't do these as often. In my opinion, this was a wise choice, as it set limits on players, while still avoiding unintentional abuse between competing groups. In addition, most of these seals were earned through simply leveling or fighting enemies.



While there are other systems in place in FFXI, I'd like to turn for a moment to PSO. Though some may not realize it, PSO had an "endgame"-like experience, although it wasn't necessarily at the end of the game, level-wise. As players started their adventures, they would progress through many dungeons and areas, in a typical RPG fashion. You'd work to level up, and eventually unlock access to harder difficulties, with more challenging enemies, but also better rewards. This pattern repeated itself as players moved from "Normal" to "Hard" to "Very Hard" and finally, to the pinnacle, "Ultimate" mode.



Within this so-called ultimate mode, players would encounter never before-seen enemies, with deadly maneuvers. Although the other difficulties provided chances for discovering rare items, these items were often useful for only periods of a character's career. Players could theoretically enter Ultimate mode upon achieving level 80, but this stepping stone was simply the beginning of the adventure. Another 120 levels awaited those who were up for the challenge, and as the grind grew more steep, players had to motivate themselves through other means beyond simply attaining new powers through leveling.

This system, in some ways, reminds me of the fishing or crafting experience of FFXI. Though players could easily climb upwards in levels quickly in their early careers, the grind became so steep that it was often better to consider the "profit" or challenge, rather than worrying about skill ups. In the same way, this situation in PSO presented an opportunity for players to start concerning themselves with obtaining the rarest items in the game, with leveling up being an added bonus. PSO featured NM-like rare enemies, which featured some of the better items in the game. Still, players could find equally, and sometimes even better items on simple enemies, though the drop rates were usually much lower.



I hope to see both of these setups established in some way in FFXIV. The chance to find potentially rare and rewarding items on "normal" foes would be awesome, and take away from the feeling of a huge grind to the top. While free-roaming rare enemies and huge beasts are all well and exciting, I can't help but wish that a lot of these monsters are met during guildleve challenges. This would allow for instanced battles in which the monsters could become more difficult, increasing the risk of not obtaining an item, but not so hard to come across that many players will never have a shot at obtaining the items.

Another possibility is for higher difficulty guildleves to present opportunities for rare enemy appearances. If you're doing a 1 star guildleve by yourself in which you're assigned the task of killing three cactuars, you'll likely complete the task and receive a standard reward. However, if you amp up the difficulty to the highest 5 stars, while you might require assistance in finishing the guildleve, perhaps an optional task will appear in which a rare, red cactuar mob appears. Only those involved with the guildleve would be able to take on the beast, although it wouldn't be required. This monster might drop a rare material or item, to serve as an incentive for both partying and taking on the challenge.



Finally, if players are able to trade-in completed guildleves, it would be quite inspiring to have a chance to receive a rare guildleve task. For example, let's say you successfully complete three 5-star guildleves, and trade them in. Upon doing so, you might be offered a rare guildleve assignment, which may or may not be repeatable immediately. This would be a pleasant surprise for players who have been working hard to level up, but haven't come across any rare enemies or items.

How do you foresee rewards being presented in FFXIV? Do you prefer a guildleve-centric system, or do you think it's only appropriate for heated competition over rare enemy spawns throughout the world?