I hit that spot in Final Fantasy XIV, the very first dungeon. In that moment I instantly learn what I think of any MMO. It's one of the first major milestones and it sets the tone for the rest of your experience. In the first dungeon you see the beginnings of raid mechanics, how your class really plays, and get a small sense of the community.

In the case of XIV the first dungeon is a pirates' cove called Sastasha. My first time through as a level 17 white mage took about 40 minutes. My tank was a good friend from school so I had the benefit of being walked through the dungeon.. The rest of the group was a pug but they were all very consistent in their play, no wipes or deaths. My friend made sure we did all of the fights, apparently most groups that grind this instance just run past a few of the boss fights. Overall, the instance wasn't very different from any other MMO. The raid was solid, most bosses were tank and spank but that is expected in the first dungeon. The last boss was an exception, you had to run around and stop water ripples from summoning extra enemies. Pretty plain but solid all the same. I enjoyed how the groups worked, it was nice to see some synergy between classes rather than each one doing their own things. Also queuing up for the dungeon was simple and super fast, a rare thing for too many games. This dungeon just furthered my current belief in the game. A good game but you've seen it all before.

I'm well beyond the first dungeon in Bravely Default however. It is amazingly addictive, it just pulls you in and keeps you there. It has such a strong sense of progression that every level feels like a big deal. I'm always super excited to see what ability the next job level will unlock. That feeling has let me down more than once though. some of the earlier abilities just suck. The Norende mini game also keeps me coming back to the game. My 3DS hasn't actually been shut off in a week. I keep it in sleep mode to get more Streetpasses and more shop levels. I worry though that the shop items from Norende break the game. I've bought some of the higher tier pieces and I feel like my characters are burning through the early game content faster than they should. This is compounded by the fact that I have set my encounter rate to +50% so I'm fighting more things then I am supposed to. For the curious readers my party is White mage, Knight, Monk, and Black Mage. I'm doing something pretty dumb and keeping them those classes until they max out the jobs. I know it is not efficient, but it's fun to me. If I looked more into it, I bet the systems are really easy to manipulate. There is just enough "extra" social stuff in it that I think your party could become excessively strong extremely fast.

Also this week I did a little more grinding in .Hack//Infection. I'm hoping to wrap that game up this weekend. Expect a full review soon!

Happy Valentines Day!,

Chemystery