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, also known as ''Final Fantasy XIV Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows personal computers, developed and published by Square Enix in 2010. It is the fourteenth entry in the main ''Final Fantasy'' series and the second MMORPG in the series after ''Final Fantasy XI''. Set in the fantasy realm of Eorzea, players take control of a customized avatar as they explore the land and are caught up in both an invasion by the hostile Garlean Empire and the threat of the Primals, the deities of the land's Beastmen tribes. Eventually, they are embroiled in a plot by a Garlean Legatus to destroy the Primals by bringing one of the planet's moons down on Eorzea. The game had been in development since 2005 under the codename "Rapture", and was announced in 2009 for Windows and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. It ran on Square Enix's Crystal Tools middleware engine, which was adjusted to suit the game's specifications. During development, the team carried over multiple aesthetic elements from ''XI'' while creating something that stood on its own. Due to several factors, the development was beset by problems that would later have drastic effects on the game. Attempts to bring the game to Xbox 360 consoles fell through due to disagreements with Microsoft about the use of Xbox Live. After its alpha test and a delayed beta test, the game went live on , remaining active until its servers were closed on . At launch, the game received a mixed to negative reaction: while the graphics and music met with general praise, other aspects were unanimously panned, including the gameplay, interface, and the general impression of the game being unfinished at launch. Critic and fan backlash caused Square Enix to pull subscription fees, indefinitely postpone the PlayStation 3 version, and eventually develop an entirely new version of the game called ''Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn''. The poor reception has had a serious impact on the ''Final Fantasy'' series, with both staff and company officials saying that the brand had been damaged. ==Gameplay== ''Final Fantasy XIV'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in which the player controls a customized Adventurer avatar from one of the five playable races. Each race has two tribes, and all but two allow for the selection of male or female characters. The avatar can have their eye and hair color, facial features, and skin tone customized, and features such as birthmarks and scars can be added. Their chosen tribe, along with their chosen patron deity, affect their stats and elemental attributes.〔 The game's opening varies depending on which starting location is chosen.〔 Two different types of quests are available for players: story quests, which are unlocked as characters accumulate experience points (EXP) and raise their experience level while unlocking new abilities; and Levequests (leves), side quests accessed through the Adventurers' Guilds. Leves are broken down into multiple types, focusing on gathering or combat. Levequests are associated with particular non-playable characters (NPCs). As the player completes leves, they gain favor with three different factions and unlock new abilities, with rewards only coming from the NPCs within the factions who issued the quest. Gaining favor also unlocks a new type of level called Faction leves, which deplete a character's favor when completed.〔〔〔 Compared to ''Final Fantasy XI'', where party-based gameplay is forefront at all times, the gameplay in ''XIV'' is adjusted so that players can go for longer periods without joining a party.〔 There is no auto-attack option, with each action needing a manual input while an enemy is targeted. Each action uses up a stamina bar.〔 Through defeating monsters, crafting items, and completing quests, players accumulate EXP which, when a certain threshold is reached, automatically increments the player's level. The player's level affects attributes such as HP (health/hit points), MP (magic/mana points), and the number of abilities available to them.〔 Under the Armory System, a character's equipped weapon or crafting tool, determines the player's character class, allowing them to switch roles at will.〔 Some classes are associated with a particular starting point.〔〔 Classes are divided into four disciplines: Disciples of War, masters of physical combat; Disciples of Magic, practitioners of the magical arts; Disciples of the Hand, crafters and handymen who synthesize and repair items; and Disciples of the Land, gatherers who collect resources from the environment. Certain abilities learned under one class may be equipped and used by other classes. The Job System (a post-launch addition) builds upon the Armoury System for Disciples of War and Magic. In exchange for restricting the range of equippable abilities from other classes, players gain access to powerful skills, magic, weapons, and armor exclusive to the Job corresponding to that class. These Jobs, based on classic ''Final Fantasy'' character jobs, are more suited to party-based combat.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Final Fantasy XIV」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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