I have waited long enough to form a judgment about the 36-hour timer on Guildleves (GL) in Final Fantasy XIV. With the Collector's Edition releasing on September 22, I now have over one month of playing time under my belt since the service went live. In that time, I have been able to assess just how casual-friendly the system is. I started Getting to the Core with the promise to focus on casual gaming in FFXIV, and this is my best effort at looking at what the game really is contrasted to what it promises to be. In short, the 36-hour GL timer doesn't impede the hardcore gamer with a lot of time on his hands, but it slows the casual gamer nearly to a halt, especially if he tries to solo.
The Casual Player's Journey to Rank 16
Since launch, I have been working diligently on my conjurer (CON) ranks so that I could learn Protect and Shell. The road to CON 16 to learn those coveted spells was filled with solo attempts at low level leves, solo grinding on moles, and excellent parties with the likes of Woodchuck Ladorn, Sasquatch Redbeard, Rockem Sockem, and Brin Zalazar.
Playing in 2-4 hour spurts roughly 3-4 nights per week, the trip to rank 16 took me about a month. I would log in and teleport to a city to get some GL. I would run those in about an hour (including travel time and a random Behest), and then I would try to party with different members of my linkshell, Hammerfist Clan. We'd hit whatever GL anybody had, grind on random monsters, and explore the world.
Sometimes I would log on for an entire play session of solo grinding in a cave of moles. I fairly well got from rank 14-16 on doing just that because it turned out to be the most efficient form of XP for me. So it was that four weeks after the FFXIV service went live that I hit CON 16.
Moving Forward
Having achieved rank 16 and learned the spells the weekend of October 15, it was time to start working on my thaumaturge (THM) ranks. I was already THM 12 from the first four weeks of action, so I was hoping for a week to two weeks to climb to THM 16 or so. Family life got in the way of play time, and I only got to play 3 hours total the week of October 18. Let me say how that went:
In a perfect world under the current system, I could get, say, 6 GL from two different cities and hit both cities every 36 hours. At 20-25% of a rank from each city, I could gain a rank every 36 hours for little while until the curve got steeper. Not bad progress. I bet I could hit my goal of getting THM 16 in two weeks. But let's look what happened to my comrades who helped me to CON 16...
Woodchuck and Sasquatch
These two dudes have a lot of playing time. I expect and appreciate that they rank up faster than I do with my meager playing time. They both have ranks in the high 20s to low 30s now. Their power is the fruit of their many hours put into the game.
I last partied with Woodchuck and Sasquatch at CON 12 for an XP grind back in early October. In 3 hours with them, I was CON 14. Two ranks in three hours, something that would have taken me three days of casual play with GL. I believe people who play more should get more progress, but I am forced to wonder if a ratio of one day casual to one hour hardcore supports a game that prides itself for being casual-friendly.
My Solution
I finally am ready to get on board with everybody else who wants Guildleves set on a 24-hour timer. Woodchuck and Sasquatch face the same 36-hour restriction on GL that I do. Of course, they know as well as I do that GL are hardly the most efficient XP. It's must faster to just go out and grind mobs in a party. You enjoy all of the benefits of party XP bonuses and you don't have to watch a clock to see when you can kill more monsters.
Still, setting the GL on a 24-hour timer would not really affect their style of play, and it would not allow me to equal their ranks with only a fraction of the playing time. What it would do is allow me to feel a greater sense of progress. It would encourage me to log in a little each day. Doing so would have me in linkshell chat a little each day. It would result in me feeling more connected to the game and the community. An additional but not major benefit of a 24-hour timer for GL is the ease of knowing when GL reset (no app needed!).
Parting Thoughts
At the risk of repeating myself too much, I must again stress that I understand that hardcore players should rank up faster than I do. I am only expressing that I have come around to the notion that Guildleves should be on a 24-hour timer. If Square Enix moved them to once per day, the hardcores would still pretty much level up at the same rate. It's the casual crowd that would benefit if only in a small way. I think that perception of better progress and the benefits of having your user base log in every day are well worth the change.
What do you think of the 36-hour Guildleve timer? Let me hear from you. Missed a Getting to the Core? Catch up on all the topics here.
More...
The Casual Player's Journey to Rank 16
Since launch, I have been working diligently on my conjurer (CON) ranks so that I could learn Protect and Shell. The road to CON 16 to learn those coveted spells was filled with solo attempts at low level leves, solo grinding on moles, and excellent parties with the likes of Woodchuck Ladorn, Sasquatch Redbeard, Rockem Sockem, and Brin Zalazar.
Playing in 2-4 hour spurts roughly 3-4 nights per week, the trip to rank 16 took me about a month. I would log in and teleport to a city to get some GL. I would run those in about an hour (including travel time and a random Behest), and then I would try to party with different members of my linkshell, Hammerfist Clan. We'd hit whatever GL anybody had, grind on random monsters, and explore the world.
Sometimes I would log on for an entire play session of solo grinding in a cave of moles. I fairly well got from rank 14-16 on doing just that because it turned out to be the most efficient form of XP for me. So it was that four weeks after the FFXIV service went live that I hit CON 16.
Moving Forward
Having achieved rank 16 and learned the spells the weekend of October 15, it was time to start working on my thaumaturge (THM) ranks. I was already THM 12 from the first four weeks of action, so I was hoping for a week to two weeks to climb to THM 16 or so. Family life got in the way of play time, and I only got to play 3 hours total the week of October 18. Let me say how that went:
- Log on. Say hi to linkshell.
- Teleport to city to pick up GL.
- Run three GL and one Behest (one hour has passed). See that I have gained 20-25% of a rank.
- Do I want to teleport to a second city and grab those GL? Or do I want to grind moles in a cave? I only have about 30 minutes more for this play session.
- Meh. Log off.
- Come back in 36 hours and repeat the process.
In a perfect world under the current system, I could get, say, 6 GL from two different cities and hit both cities every 36 hours. At 20-25% of a rank from each city, I could gain a rank every 36 hours for little while until the curve got steeper. Not bad progress. I bet I could hit my goal of getting THM 16 in two weeks. But let's look what happened to my comrades who helped me to CON 16...
Woodchuck and Sasquatch
These two dudes have a lot of playing time. I expect and appreciate that they rank up faster than I do with my meager playing time. They both have ranks in the high 20s to low 30s now. Their power is the fruit of their many hours put into the game.
I last partied with Woodchuck and Sasquatch at CON 12 for an XP grind back in early October. In 3 hours with them, I was CON 14. Two ranks in three hours, something that would have taken me three days of casual play with GL. I believe people who play more should get more progress, but I am forced to wonder if a ratio of one day casual to one hour hardcore supports a game that prides itself for being casual-friendly.
My Solution
I finally am ready to get on board with everybody else who wants Guildleves set on a 24-hour timer. Woodchuck and Sasquatch face the same 36-hour restriction on GL that I do. Of course, they know as well as I do that GL are hardly the most efficient XP. It's must faster to just go out and grind mobs in a party. You enjoy all of the benefits of party XP bonuses and you don't have to watch a clock to see when you can kill more monsters.
Still, setting the GL on a 24-hour timer would not really affect their style of play, and it would not allow me to equal their ranks with only a fraction of the playing time. What it would do is allow me to feel a greater sense of progress. It would encourage me to log in a little each day. Doing so would have me in linkshell chat a little each day. It would result in me feeling more connected to the game and the community. An additional but not major benefit of a 24-hour timer for GL is the ease of knowing when GL reset (no app needed!).
Parting Thoughts
At the risk of repeating myself too much, I must again stress that I understand that hardcore players should rank up faster than I do. I am only expressing that I have come around to the notion that Guildleves should be on a 24-hour timer. If Square Enix moved them to once per day, the hardcores would still pretty much level up at the same rate. It's the casual crowd that would benefit if only in a small way. I think that perception of better progress and the benefits of having your user base log in every day are well worth the change.
What do you think of the 36-hour Guildleve timer? Let me hear from you. Missed a Getting to the Core? Catch up on all the topics here.
More...