FFXIV: Grinding the Gears of Change
So, Saturday brought us the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXVII, information about FFXIV Patch 3.2 – Gears of Change, which is coming Feb 23. Here are my initial impressions of the patch from what we know, or at least, what’s most important to me.
Training Dummies: I guess it’s a good idea and an attempt to put some sort of DPS “parser” in the game for those who want to work on rotations and gauge DPS. Not sure that it’ll stop people from actually parsing, and I probably won’t use it, but it’s fine to be there.
Tank Changes: I’m all for making VIT the main tank stat. I always thought the whole STR meta was silly. I haven’t yet played level 60 stuff on my tank, but I always geared VIT when I could.
Paladin Changes: Very welcome! It’s the only tank I’ve leveled, and I enjoy playing it, so I want to see it get some love.
Job Changes: I’m glad Machinist is getting some attention, and I might try to level the job again to see how it feels. But I’m totally miffed that Bard is still being mostly ignored. Unless they do something amazing with Warden’s Paean, I’ve still got it in the back of my head to level another DPS class. I feel so underpowered when running Void Ark with the melees. 🙁
Beast Tribe Quests: More are always welcome. Bring on the Vath!
PVP Changes: Not relevant to me, but I hope those who play it will enjoy it.
New Dungeons: Not really relevant to my interests, but we’ll see about them.
Alexander Midas: Haven’t finished the first Alex yet. Not sure if I ever will.
Orchestrion: I actually love this idea! I can’t wait to start collecting them for my house!
Mentor System: I’m somewhat disappointed by the requirements for this system. I guess for some people, especially those who grind dungeons and trials, this probably isn’t a big deal. But for me, with classes and stats split across two characters, there’s no way I have anything near 1,000 dungeon runs, and being primarily DPS, I’m far, far away from having 300 commendations.
I’m a bit sore about this because it was something I was really interested in. I’ve done my share of teaching dungeons and mechanics, so it’s not like I don’t know my stuff. I wanted to give back to the community, but unless I really grind things hard, I won’t be able to take part as an official mentor. I understand they wanted some measurements in place, but I’m not sure this was the way to do it.
Containment Bay S1T7: Sounds like the normal version of the primal fight will be part of the main story. That’s fine.
Crafting Updates: I’m interested in this! But I still don’t have all crafts at 60, and I’m nowhere near having melded gear. Working on it. 🙁
New Tomes: *sigh* I guess that means Eso will be easier to get.
Duty Roulette: Leveling and Trials – now able to queue in a party. Finally! Finally! Finally! Now, maybe, I’ll do these as part of my leveling, since I can do them with a friend. I just hate soloing roulettes.
Hildibrand: He’s returning! We don’t know how yet. Just that he is!
Weekend Progress
I made a lot of progress on various things in FFXIV this weekend, mostly on Saturday.
I pushed Weaver to 56 (ugh, this has been the worst to level), Carpenter to 53 (almost 54), Miner to 58 and Botanist to 57. Once I get Weaver to 60, I can finally start trying to meld my gear and work on more advanced crafting.
I also unlocked Alex Normal on Zuri and started running for accessory upgrades. Alex 1 is much less stressful on ranged DPS, even though I still feel super weak on Bard compared to my Dragoon. Unless Bard sees some major love with patch 3.2, which I’m not expecting, I’m still considering leveling another DPS class.
Zuri’s White Mage is almost level 59. I’ve been grinding out the crystals for a second Relic weapon, and actually gathered a whole bunch in just a few hours. Just have about 4 left to gather to hopefully have a decent weapon for White Mage when I finally get done.
I also started the dungeons for my Bard Relic weapon. I’ve been procrastinating badly because some of the Hard Mode dungeons I haven’t even unlocked, and know nothing about. I guess I need to just buckle down and get them done.
I practiced healing World of Darkness last night again. Between soloing some of the FATEs this weekend and healing the raid, I’m slowly becoming more accustomed to White Mage and switching stances. I’m also getting more commendations on healer than I ever saw on Bard. 🙁
Also, I rolled a rare 99 on the Puff of Darkness – and won! Woot!
