If your looking for a game that gives you the greatest MMO experience out there. You need to play FFXI. WoW and all the WoW wannabes dont even come close to the amount of depth in storyline and endgame that this has to offer. The game machanics are unmatched. The battle system shows your true skills (or lack of) when either soloing or in a party. The graphics are wonderful especially playing on the 360 or taking your PC resolution up to max. And the FFXI community is the closest and greatest online community out there.

I know some people out there will say they dont agree with me. But I guerentee you they probably leveled up a charactor to like 30 or 40 and quit. At those levels you havent seen or done NOTHING. This is a game you dont just jump in and max level or beat in a month like most of the mmos out there. This one takes time. Its all about what you put Into it.

So I challenge everybody out there that has doubts about this game to take 1 job to 75. I guerentee you you'll never play another mmo again. And If you do you'll look at it as BLAH compaired to FFXI.

And all you developers out there. You could learn a thing or two playing FFXI and what it takes to make a REAL mmo. Im sure the rest of the gaming community is pretty sick of playing all these WoW, EQ wannabes.  

Honestly, I just read the site and it doesn't look all that new, innovative, or more interesting than any other Mystic Age of Loincloths MMORPG out there.  From what I can see, it's just another product from a bunch of guys who apparently don't understand the meaning of the word "final."

MMORPGs don't become more fun as you get higher level.  They become less fun.  I've never yet seen an exception to this.  To concede that the game isn't fun at the lower levels is to concede that the game isn't fun, period.  Expecting someone to take half a year to prove that this game isn't an exception either is absurd.

Originally posted by Quizzical

MMORPGs don't become more fun as you get higher level.  They become less fun.  I've never yet seen an exception to this.  To concede that the game isn't fun at the lower levels is to concede that the game isn't fun, period.  Expecting someone to take half a year to prove that this game isn't an exception either is absurd.

Well, I've seen games where the fun level stayed about the same from end to end--but that might support your hypothesis more than contradict it. 

There's also DAoC, where everyone told me that the real game began at 50.  I never did understand why those other 49 levels were there as preamble.  I didn't get past about level 20 before I gave up in despair.

My own opinion is that as long as you can continue to grow and develop the character, the game remains interesting.  Once that growth stops, or gets to a stage in which further growth is meaningless, then it's game over. That being said,  I'm not disagreeing with you in principle.  If the low level experience isn't fun, why bother trying to slog through the swamp to get to the "real fun?"

You've obvisouly havent even attempted to play this yet. And FFXI endgame is when the greatness of FFXI really stands out. I left WoW after over a year of playing and started playing FFXI about 2years ago. And I can say WoW Has nothing to FFXI as far as Endgame. I wish I never even wasted my time with WoW. I do admit it was a fun game. But not worth the monthly fee I paid when I could have played FFXI.

I play FFXI ALOT. And I can say I still havent seen alot of the Endgame options. Theres just so much to do. You cant knock a game youve never tried. Theres a reason why FFXI puts a warning at the beginning of the game when your logging in saying dont get too addicted to it. And as far as it being "out dated". They add new content to the game areas, gear, missions, quests, options, items and new consepts almost every 3 months. So its hardly outdated.

Originally posted by mrprogguy

Originally posted by Quizzical

MMORPGs don't become more fun as you get higher level.  They become less fun.  I've never yet seen an exception to this.  To concede that the game isn't fun at the lower levels is to concede that the game isn't fun, period.  Expecting someone to take half a year to prove that this game isn't an exception either is absurd.

 

Well, I've seen games where the fun level stayed about the same from end to end--but that might support your hypothesis more than contradict it. 

There's also DAoC, where everyone told me that the real game began at 50.  I never did understand why those other 49 levels were there as preamble.  I didn't get past about level 20 before I gave up in despair.

My own opinion is that as long as you can continue to grow and develop the character, the game remains interesting.  Once that growth stops, or gets to a stage in which further growth is meaningless, then it's game over. That being said,  I'm not disagreeing with you in principle.  If the low level experience isn't fun, why bother trying to slog through the swamp to get to the "real fun?"

Agreed
 

Originally posted by Bucs420

If your looking for a game that gives you the greatest MMO experience out there. You need to play FFXI. WoW and all the WoW wannabes dont even come close to the amount of depth in storyline and endgame that this has to offer. The game machanics are unmatched. The battle system shows your true skills (or lack of) when either soloing or in a party. The graphics are wonderful especially playing on the 360 or taking your PC resolution up to max. And the FFXI community is the closest and greatest online community out there.

I know some people out there will say they dont agree with me. But I guerentee you they probably leveled up a charactor to like 30 or 40 and quit. At those levels you havent seen or done NOTHING. This is a game you dont just jump in and max level or beat in a month like most of the mmos out there. This one takes time. Its all about what you put Into it.

So I challenge everybody out there that has doubts about this game to take 1 job to 75. I guerentee you you'll never play another mmo again. And If you do you'll look at it as BLAH compaired to FFXI.

And all you developers out there. You could learn a thing or two playing FFXI and what it takes to make a REAL mmo. Im sure the rest of the gaming community is pretty sick of playing all these WoW, EQ wannabes.  

FFX1 has to be one of the fugliest pay to play games I have ever seen in my life (in the lower levels at least), with one of the most agitating ways to subscribe and unsubscribe known to man. EA Games could learn from Play's Tactics. If you like FF styled mmo's Atlantica Online is honestly a better choice if you care in any way about graphic quality.

I challenge you and people like you to see successful MMORPGS for what they are... successful.

Sigil, Fury, Funcom, RGTR they all called WoW and WoW-like games what is wrong with the genre. Funny how they're all either out the door or on the way out.

Originally posted by Quizzical

MMORPGs don't become more fun as you get higher level.  They become less fun.  I've never yet seen an exception to this.  To concede that the game isn't fun at the lower levels is to concede that the game isn't fun, period.  Expecting someone to take half a year to prove that this game isn't an exception either is absurd.

I have never found an MMORPG that is more fun at lower levels than it is at higher levels. In fact, every MMO I've ever played made low levels a chore, and didn't allow the game to actually start and be fun until max level. What MMOs are you playing?

To claim that FFXI has a better endgame than WoW is a pathetically weak endorsement of the game.  WoW's endgame is spectacularly awful.  Games that have no endgame whatsoever have a better endgame than WoW.

You're right that I haven't played FFXI.  I looked into it, and it looked way too grindy for my taste, and not at all friendly to playing alts or playing the game for short time intervals. 

Originally posted by ZDPhoenix

Originally posted by Bucs420

If your looking for a game that gives you the greatest MMO experience out there. You need to play FFXI. WoW and all the WoW wannabes dont even come close to the amount of depth in storyline and endgame that this has to offer. The game machanics are unmatched. The battle system shows your true skills (or lack of) when either soloing or in a party. The graphics are wonderful especially playing on the 360 or taking your PC resolution up to max. And the FFXI community is the closest and greatest online community out there.

I know some people out there will say they dont agree with me. But I guerentee you they probably leveled up a charactor to like 30 or 40 and quit. At those levels you havent seen or done NOTHING. This is a game you dont just jump in and max level or beat in a month like most of the mmos out there. This one takes time. Its all about what you put Into it.

So I challenge everybody out there that has doubts about this game to take 1 job to 75. I guerentee you you'll never play another mmo again. And If you do you'll look at it as BLAH compaired to FFXI.

And all you developers out there. You could learn a thing or two playing FFXI and what it takes to make a REAL mmo. Im sure the rest of the gaming community is pretty sick of playing all these WoW, EQ wannabes.  

 

FFX1 has to be one of the fugliest pay to play games I have ever seen in my life (in the lower levels at least), with one of the most agitating ways to subscribe and unsubscribe known to man. EA Games could learn from Play's Tactics. If you like FF styled mmo's Atlantica Online is honestly a better choice if you care in any way about graphic quality.

I challenge you and people like you to see successful MMORPGS for what they are... successful.

Sigil, Fury, Funcom, RGTR they all called WoW and WoW-like games what is wrong with the genre. Funny how they're all either out the door or on the way out.

How can it be an ugly game when they use xbox360 hidef graphics and the highest quality PC graphics? You obvisley didnt figure out how to configure your graphics settings when you played this. And as far as Successful? FFXI has been around now for 5 years and its still in the top 5 for most played MMOs. Never had to merge servers and just this year they started doing a free trail. Lots of MMOs have come and gone. But FFXI still even after 5years has stayed on top.

As far as graphics goes you want to see FFXI than google screenshots. Youll see that it far outmatches 80% of the MMOs out there.

Originally posted by Quizzical

MMORPGs don't become more fun as you get higher level.  They become less fun.  I've never yet seen an exception to this.  To concede that the game isn't fun at the lower levels is to concede that the game isn't fun, period.  Expecting someone to take half a year to prove that this game isn't an exception either is absurd.

Definitely disagree here. I find most MMORPGs, and videogames in general for that matter, get much more enjoyable the more time you put into them and the farther you progress. Your character gains more abilities, the gameplay generally becomes more complex and challenging and you really start to dig in to the meat of the game.
 

I think expecting games to "deliver" right up front is a product of modern instant-gratification culture. Games are no different than any other entertainment medium. There's a reason you don't read professional reviews of books based just on the first chapter, or of films based on the first 20 minutes. To have a truly accurate opinion, you have to stick with it and take in the whole thing as it was designed.

To the OP, FFXI is a really well done, ultra-polished game. Unfortunately, it's a PvE game which massively limits its gameplay and potential. Fun if that's all you're looking for though.