I've been playing on the free trial for a while now. I actually started a year ago but school kept me busy and a combination of really awful IRL issues killed my enthusiasm for it. But with 5.3, my friends got into it, and so I decided to head back. I've been playing almost non-stop ever since.
I've always loved multiplayer games but I've had an intense anxiety with them, always. I would play EQ solo as a kid and then never played mp until my friends got me into League during college, which.... I don't need to tell you what a toxic experience that was, heh. A very close friend of mine is really into WoW and bought me subs, but I've been sticking with him and other friends and avoiding the rest of the community after a few nasty encounters. Right now, I'm waiting for Shadowlands to maybe make it fun again.
I've never really had a good online exp that wasn't solely with friends.
The thing I love the most about FF14 is it has a nice healthy balance of solo play and multi-play. I can do my own thing with story and job quests, every now and then interacting with other players in FATEs before going our own way, and then play with people in dungeons. I was really nervous the first time going into a dungeon; my friends were busy and I wanted to keep going with the story, so they were encouraging me to try it out on my own. I got in with a higher level tank and the other two were about the same level as me. And it went fine! I was shocked. There was no real talking or anything but that's fine. The other times through dungeons and with Ifrit, my friends helped, but it generally went off without any issues, except once with an overzealous LNC who was still polite at least.
Oh and Ifrit wiped us but that's okay because we kicked his butt next round. No complaining from the fourth party member over it, either.
Walking through Ul'dah, I came across a group of bards playing various songs like You Got A Friend In Me. Another time in Gridania I got invited to an FC for newbies and the person was very understanding when they realized I'm a free trial member. My friend had an encounter with another WHM while doing Castrum where they had to res each other and she messed up the quick cast(?) and had to hard res him, but he was really chill about it. People complimenting others on their glamours and mounts, discussing game content, helping each other out.
I didn't know playing an MMO and actually interacting with other people besides your friends could be fun???? My ADHD makes it easy to get overwhelmed and misunderstand things and has resulted in some heavy multiplayer anxiety but so far both this game and this community have been so chill and have made it so I actually look forward to seeing other players and learning the game. My guard is not completely down but I've never been so relaxed while playing a multiplayer game like I am with FF14.
Right now, I'm still early in the game and I know it gets way more intense later on, but I'm having a great time learning the ropes of my classes/jobs. I've gotten to lvl32 on MNK and picked up ARC because BRD interests me, and I'm lvl7 on that now. I'd like to check out ACN/SMN as well but DRK also seems really cool. Because I'm on the free trial I know I can't explore other social aspects like FCs, the Market Board, and Housing, but that's okay. Mostly I just wish I could talk to people and could get Retainers, but I understand why they wouldn't want free trial players to have access to those. (To prevent RMT, yeah?) For now, I'm content milking the most I can out of this free trial.
I've long made up my mind that I'm gonna buy this game once I get a PC that can run it. (Been playing on my cousin's laptop because mine is a n c i e n t.) It's been one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time and has really helped me cope with a lot of bullshit that's happened. One of the real life issues that happened last year was my grandpa died, right at the start of finals and a little before Christmas. Earlier in the year another family member died. Paired with everything that's been going on lately, it all starts to feel too much, but games can help it feel manageable by giving a nice distraction. Even better when they're actually fun.
I'm really glad I got into FF14. I really love this game. Thank you everyone for making it such a great experience.
submitted by /u/otter_ault
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I've always loved multiplayer games but I've had an intense anxiety with them, always. I would play EQ solo as a kid and then never played mp until my friends got me into League during college, which.... I don't need to tell you what a toxic experience that was, heh. A very close friend of mine is really into WoW and bought me subs, but I've been sticking with him and other friends and avoiding the rest of the community after a few nasty encounters. Right now, I'm waiting for Shadowlands to maybe make it fun again.
I've never really had a good online exp that wasn't solely with friends.
The thing I love the most about FF14 is it has a nice healthy balance of solo play and multi-play. I can do my own thing with story and job quests, every now and then interacting with other players in FATEs before going our own way, and then play with people in dungeons. I was really nervous the first time going into a dungeon; my friends were busy and I wanted to keep going with the story, so they were encouraging me to try it out on my own. I got in with a higher level tank and the other two were about the same level as me. And it went fine! I was shocked. There was no real talking or anything but that's fine. The other times through dungeons and with Ifrit, my friends helped, but it generally went off without any issues, except once with an overzealous LNC who was still polite at least.
Oh and Ifrit wiped us but that's okay because we kicked his butt next round. No complaining from the fourth party member over it, either.
Walking through Ul'dah, I came across a group of bards playing various songs like You Got A Friend In Me. Another time in Gridania I got invited to an FC for newbies and the person was very understanding when they realized I'm a free trial member. My friend had an encounter with another WHM while doing Castrum where they had to res each other and she messed up the quick cast(?) and had to hard res him, but he was really chill about it. People complimenting others on their glamours and mounts, discussing game content, helping each other out.
I didn't know playing an MMO and actually interacting with other people besides your friends could be fun???? My ADHD makes it easy to get overwhelmed and misunderstand things and has resulted in some heavy multiplayer anxiety but so far both this game and this community have been so chill and have made it so I actually look forward to seeing other players and learning the game. My guard is not completely down but I've never been so relaxed while playing a multiplayer game like I am with FF14.
Right now, I'm still early in the game and I know it gets way more intense later on, but I'm having a great time learning the ropes of my classes/jobs. I've gotten to lvl32 on MNK and picked up ARC because BRD interests me, and I'm lvl7 on that now. I'd like to check out ACN/SMN as well but DRK also seems really cool. Because I'm on the free trial I know I can't explore other social aspects like FCs, the Market Board, and Housing, but that's okay. Mostly I just wish I could talk to people and could get Retainers, but I understand why they wouldn't want free trial players to have access to those. (To prevent RMT, yeah?) For now, I'm content milking the most I can out of this free trial.
I've long made up my mind that I'm gonna buy this game once I get a PC that can run it. (Been playing on my cousin's laptop because mine is a n c i e n t.) It's been one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time and has really helped me cope with a lot of bullshit that's happened. One of the real life issues that happened last year was my grandpa died, right at the start of finals and a little before Christmas. Earlier in the year another family member died. Paired with everything that's been going on lately, it all starts to feel too much, but games can help it feel manageable by giving a nice distraction. Even better when they're actually fun.
I'm really glad I got into FF14. I really love this game. Thank you everyone for making it such a great experience.
submitted by /u/otter_ault
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...