XionTawa
New Member
This is a post someone made based on 10% of the game, it is a good list, and there are 28 items, but I am deleting out certain items that aren't 100% confirmed or that aren't unique, but still some good information...this is more just a good list of features...that is very incomplete... 
For the source and better formatting for easier reading...click the link at the bottom of this post...
Updated and edited...8/1/10 12:35am EST...
Source: http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/9536-final-fantasy-xiv-uniqueness-thread/
For the source and better formatting for easier reading...click the link at the bottom of this post...Updated and edited...8/1/10 12:35am EST...
Well, I posted this in another thread and people seemed to really like it, so I decided to make it its own topic. This is just a list of every major change that separates Final Fantasy XIV from MOST MMO's and especially from Final Fantasy XI.
1. No auto-attack. In Final Fantasy XI, you mostly sit there watching your character attack every few seconds until they build up TP. MOST MMOs you don't wait near as much, and are constantly using skills, but there is still auto attack, because it automatically attacks every few seconds. Final Fantasy XIV however there is no auto attack. Instead, Attack is considered its own skill that you use to do a normal attack.
2. Chocobos are going to be for a LOT more than just being mounts (and more than likely they will be very customizable too).
3. A new market system where in the markets of each major city are different wards where players and retainers sell things.
4. Retainers! In Final Fantasy XI you had to create a mule character that you would set up somewhere, then walk away and leave your computer on forever hoping people would buy what you're selling. Other MMOs simply require you to use the Auction house and in World of Warcraft you shout in the area hoping someone will hear you're selling an item and want it. This creates too much spam filling your screen. Final Fantasy XIV however allows you to use a retainer that sits there for you selling stuff while you go off adventuring! They are also extremely customizable. There are one or two MMOs that have done something similar, but this is definitely new and amazing for the Final Fantasy series.
5. Amazing weather. Have you seen that lightning storm video? That was awesome!
6. Multi-layered leveling system! Most MMO's have one thing to level. You have your job level and that's it. Final Fantasy XI had tons of jobs and you had to level them completely separately. Final Fantasy XIV, however, has a physical level that you increase, along with a class rank you increase.
7. Every time you level, you get to choose which stats you increase with your physical level AND what you also get to choose which resistances you increase.
8. Most MMO's give you one class per character that you can't change. Then they only allow two main professions to level. Final Fantasy XI allowed every job, but you had to go to your house or a moogle to switch, and they still only allowed two main professions. Final Fantasy XIV gives you eighteen classes to choose from and you can be all of those at any time. You simply have to change which weapon you are using and you can go from a gladiator to a blacksmith to a fisherman to a tailor to a Conjurer, etc...
9. Final Fantasy XIV is straying slightly away from the cookie cutter classes. Usually it's healer, tank and DPS, but Square Enix has said that they wanted to stay away from "the holy trinity" as they called it. Instead they made every class neutral and equal at the start. So now YOU get to choose exactly how you play. From the stats you increase, to the resistances, to what spells you use. That's why there's no definite healer class. Conjurer has control over all the elements, so if you want to heal, you can choose that class and increase your stats in a way that fits your healing style.
10. The storyline... well... this one's easy... it's just completely different, and pretty awesome from what I've read and seen.
11. Distance matters in battle! Most MMOs it doesn't matter where you stand in a battle as long as melee is hitting the enemy, tank is taking damage and mages are standing far away. Some MMOs go as far as if you're behind the enemy you do more damage. In Final Fantasy XIV it matters a LOT where you are. For example: As a lancer you are a slightly distanced attacker. If you are too close, then you do less damage, because you can't thrust as hard. If you're too far away, you hit less and a lot of hits don't connect as well, so you do less damage.
12. If you're a shield wielder, you actually have to use block to block, it doesn't automatically block based on a percentage. Instead you block yourself and take less damage based on shield skill, I believe.
13. Armor Degradation! This definitely isn't new to MMOs, a lot of them have used it, but Final Fantasy XI did not have any armor durability system, so it's new to Final Fantasy XIV. What is new is that you will for the most part have to rely on your fellow players to repair your armor. NPCs can only repair your armor up to 50%.
14. Repairing on the go! Armorers, Tailors, Leatherweavers, etc. can repair armors whenever they want, simply by switching to their tool.
15. First and Last Names! Most MMOs just have one name. It may not sound like much, but really, this is GREAT for role-players.
16. Company [Guild/Linkshell] ranks. This isn't entirely new to MMOs, but it’s definitely new to Final Fantasy. Now you can level up your company!
17. Guildleves. They are a very interesting and new concept. Parties can mix and match guildleves to make their party kick more ******oops*******oops*******oops*.
18. Teleportation system. With Aetheryte all over the place it will be MUCH more convenient to travel around, and I like this system a lot more than World of Warcraft, because now we don't have to wait for flight times. [NOTE: I know, there are teleportation systems in other MMOs, I was merely commenting on it being nicer than the World of Warcraft system in my opinion]
19. Balanced Party and Solo play. They've made it so it's much easier to solo if you want to, because you can simply choose an easier quest or lower the difficulty and do it by yourself, yet you can still join a party if you want a bigger reward.
20. Cutscenes. Lots of em. Most MMOs have an intro cutscene containing mostly gameplay graphics, then the rest of the game... nothing. Final Fantasy XI had a few gameplay cutscenes. Final Fantasy XIV however is going to have fully animated, amazingly designed cutscenes all over the place. There's supposed to be a lot of them.
21. Extreme Character Customization! Most MMOs don't have many choices. Aion had a lot more than usual, but Final Fantasy XI was terrible. It had nothing to customize. I constantly saw people that looked exactly like me. In Final Fantasy XIV though, you get to choose from 12+ skin colors, 6+ noses, 20+ hair colors, 10+ hair styles, 20+ hair highlights. For god's sake you can make one eye be a different color from the other. So awesome, and I've never seen anything like that before in an MMO. Some MMOs like Aion allow for more customization, but that is with the use of sliders to where you can change the size and shape of your nose. I much prefer a bountiful amount of choices to a system that allows you to easily make your character extremely strange looking. I'd rather leave that to non-online games.
22. I may be wrong about this, but I heard when your armor degrades, you can actually see it looking worse.
23. There have been hints that every Company [linkshell] will have their own building or guild hall or possibly something epic.
24. Motion capture! I don't believe there are any MMOs out there that use motion capture for everything. Every single attack, walking, emotes; everything is done with motion capture in Final Fantasy XIV. [EDIT: Apparently, Age of Conan used full motion capture, but it's definitely still awesome and a great upgrade from Final Fantasy XI.
25. Movement in parties. Final Fantasy they wanted to be like the online version of the final fantasy series, so they made parties very stiff and automated so it felt like a turn-based battle from most Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy XIV however, they said they wanted to be an entirely different game gameplay-wise, so they made it so you don't sit in one spot, pulling enemies, but instead run around the area.
26. In FFXI each race specialized in something, other than Humes who were mostly neutral. If a galka white mage came into a party, half the time people would laugh. Their mana pool was tiny so it was harder to be a galka to be a mage at all. In Final Fantasy XIV they've made each race have two clans. Roegadyn [galka's counterpart] now has a volcanic clan that is best at magic, and Lallafel have dunesfolk who are great in melee. Now you can be the race you love AND the class you love without worrying about people kicking you from a party.
27. Physics! In Final Fantasy XI physics were literally non-existent. If you stood on a slope your feet would remain straight and only your toes would be connecting with the ground. Other MMOs do a little better than that by making your feet connect to the slope of the surface. Final Fantasy XIV takes it to the next step however incorporating physics into gameplay. If someone dies on a slope, their body might roll down. [My speculation: I think Archers have a better advantage if they have the higher ground.]
28. Create your own class!!! This is amazing to me. Final Fantasy XI and most other MMO have specifically honed classes that do exactly what they say they do. Final Fantasy XIV allows you to create your own class. For example: My friend was asking me if you can be a Paladin in Final Fantasy XIV. I told him you can, because you could create it yourself! How you would do it is - Rank up Conjurer while focusing on your healing power. Then rank up your Gladiator class while focusing on defense and strength. Share some of the healing abilities of your Conjurer with your Gladiator and BAM... Paladin. Same with Dark Knight, just instead, focus your Conjurer on offensive spells and share them with the Marauder class.
29. Voice Overs! Final Fantasy XI had no voices... atleast that I can remember. Even during epic cutscenes the most you would here is a grunt or squeak while text scrolled across your screen. I don't know about every MMO, but World of Warcraft merely had a couple lines from bosses voiced and random short lines like: "Out of Mana!". Supposedly from what I've heard, Final Fantasy XIV is going to have full voice overs for every cutscene and a good amount of in-game talking.
Source: http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/9536-final-fantasy-xiv-uniqueness-thread/
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