Final Fantasy XI

So, i bought the vana'diel collection 2007 for pc which includes the first three expansions along with final fantasy 11.  I have heard from many people that the game is more fun and easier with a controller.  Well i dont have a controller, so i guess that already puts me at a disadvantage.  Anyways i would like to list some issues i had and maybe get a response from some vets about their feelings on these particular aspects.

1. Graphics- The resolution needed to be changed from the beginning.  It was annoying that i could not do that while ingame.  Once i found the config file, it was a pretty simple fix.

2. Controls- OMG SOOOO ANNOYING.  Im trying very hard to get use to using my number pad to move but having played all my other mmos using wsad to move, you can see my frustration.  Also, not able to customize the keyboard?  That is total bullshit.  I even searched the Q&A thread and it said players were not able to customize keybindings.  If ANYBODY has a solution to this, PLEASE tell me.

3. Gameplay- very stiff movements and boring animations.  Even the videos i looked up online of end game content seemed to be similiar to what i experienced my first 2 hours of playing-standing around most of the time and autoattacking.  Only the raid bosses seemed to be lively and animated with fluid movements.  I hope its just my noobie outlook to the game but i really hope the gameplay becomes more interesting down the line.

4. Action bars- non-customizable and bland.  I wasnt expecting much, but coming from world of warcraft and everquest 2, i expected atleast SOMETHING to catch my eye. It seems like theres only the bare minimum in this game.  A tutorial about using your menu and action bars would have been helpful aswell.

5. starting area- Honestly, all i wanted to do was kill something the first thirty minutes.  instead, i spent my time running around, bombarded by walls of text.  I really dont care about the history of my starting area much, i just wanted to jump in and get some action. 

For all my bitching, i will say that the community i have experienced so far has been very helpful and kind to me.  Questions were answered respectfully and thoughtfully and some players went out of their way to help me during battle.

I will say that im starting to feel the game isn't for me, but i think i will give it a week before i make my final decision.

Originally posted by TheHavok

So, i bought the vana'diel collection 2007 for pc which includes the first three expansions along with final fantasy 11.  I have heard from many people that the game is more fun and easier with a controller.  Well i dont have a controller, so i guess that already puts me at a disadvantage.  Anyways i would like to list some issues i had and maybe get a response from some vets about their feelings on these particular aspects.

1. Graphics- The resolution needed to be changed from the beginning.  It was annoying that i could not do that while ingame.  Once i found the config file, it was a pretty simple fix.

2. Controls- OMG SOOOO ANNOYING.  Im trying very hard to get use to using my number pad to move but having played all my other mmos using wsad to move, you can see my frustration.  Also, not able to customize the keyboard?  That is total bullshit.  I even searched the Q&A thread and it said players were not able to customize keybindings.  If ANYBODY has a solution to this, PLEASE tell me.

3. Gameplay- very stiff movements and boring animations.  Even the videos i looked up online of end game content seemed to be similiar to what i experienced my first 2 hours of playing-standing around most of the time and autoattacking.  Only the raid bosses seemed to be lively and animated with fluid movements.  I hope its just my noobie outlook to the game but i really hope the gameplay becomes more interesting down the line.

4. Action bars- non-customizable and bland.  I wasnt expecting much, but coming from world of warcraft and everquest 2, i expected atleast SOMETHING to catch my eye. It seems like theres only the bare minimum in this game.  A tutorial about using your menu and action bars would have been helpful aswell.

5. starting area- Honestly, all i wanted to do was kill something the first thirty minutes.  instead, i spent my time running around, bombarded by walls of text.  I really dont care about the history of my starting area much, i just wanted to jump in and get some action. 

 

For all my bitching, i will say that the community i have experienced so far has been very helpful and kind to me.  Questions were answered respectfully and thoughtfully and some players went out of their way to help me during battle.

I will say that im starting to feel the game isn't for me, but i think i will give it a week before i make my final decision.

That being said, its not quite as new player friendly because it has a higher learning curve, and frankly  has a bit of that old school MMO "you gotta work for it" attitude.  Respectfully, I might add that if you liked WoW and EQ2, you might not like how "hardcore" FFXI feels. (by hardcore I simply mean it requires a bit more commitment than your more recent MMO releases.)

As a returning player I started back up a bit over a month ago, I find its got that same sort of old school EQ attitude that I find remiss from newer mmos. Im glad youve had a good experience with the community, it goes back to that old school gamer idealogy that even a so so game can be great with the right people. Unfortunately the more recent view is more graphics, more solo, more uber gear, faster leveling, no death penalties, etc etc.

Ive found that if you concern yourself more with the social aspect of this game, (ie helping linkshell members with quests, PL'ing, etc) youll find this game to be a lot more fun than most.

I am a person who started playing MMORPGs with DAoC in 2002. I think that game was old school and even that game was more friendly to western players than FFXI was. Like the OP, I was turned off by the amount of time needed to read through everything before I finally got to kill something. The controls were bad, as I could not get used to the number pad being my movement keys. All the hotkeys for various things were keys I normally wouldn't have had for those things. I remember dying in my first battle and not knowing what the hell was going on. I bought the game, because I liked the idea of a game that was slow to level in and required groups. If Square Enix ever creates another FF MMO, I hope they make it a lot more western player friendly. By the way, I never make it past that first battle. I said "screw this" and went back to my other MMORPGs.

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

I am a person who started playing MMORPGs with DAoC in 2002. I think that game was old school and even that game was more friendly to western players than FFXI was. Like the OP, I was turned off by the amount of time needed to read through everything before I finally got to kill something. The controls were bad, as I could not get used to the number pad being my movement keys. All the hotkeys for various things were keys I normally wouldn't have had for those things. I remember dying in my first battle and not knowing what the hell was going on. I bought the game, because I liked the idea of a game that was slow to level in and required groups. If Square Enix ever creates another FF MMO, I hope they make it a lot more western player friendly. By the way, I never make it past that first battle. I said "screw this" and went back to my other MMORPGs.

If you decide that 10 minutes into a movie you dont like it and leave, or read a chapter in a book and put it down, you dont dislike the whole thing, you only dislike the part you were exposed to.

Originally posted by Arcken

 

Well again Ill reiterate, its more aimed to a particular niche of players, and at the risk of sounding elitist, its not mmo-lite.

 

If you decide that 10 minutes into a movie you dont like it and leave, or read a chapter in a book and put it down, you dont dislike the whole thing, you only dislike the part you were exposed to.

I agree with you Arcken.  Thats why i will stick with this game for a month to see how i still feel.  Its just lame that my first impression is so....bad.  I really had high hopes and was expecting that feel i had with games like eq2 and eve where you are so excited the first few hours and you want to learn and do everything you can in the game.  :*(

Quick question to you thought; do you use pc or console and if pc, do you use a usb controller?

Originally posted by TheHavok

 

Originally posted by Arcken

 

Well again Ill reiterate, its more aimed to a particular niche of players, and at the risk of sounding elitist, its not mmo-lite.

 

If you decide that 10 minutes into a movie you dont like it and leave, or read a chapter in a book and put it down, you dont dislike the whole thing, you only dislike the part you were exposed to.

 

I agree with you Arcken.  Thats why i will stick with this game for a month to see how i still feel.  Its just lame that my first impression is so....bad.  I really had high hopes and was expecting that feel i had with games like eq2 and eve where you are so excited the first few hours and you want to learn and do everything you can in the game.  :*(

 

Quick question to you thought; do you use pc or console and if pc, do you use a usb controller?

I actually play on the 360 as well as pc, whichever fits my particular mood at the time. To be honest however I prefer the 360 version if only because I think it looks great on a 1080i tv.

Originally posted by TheHavok

So, i bought the vana'diel collection 2007 for pc which includes the first three expansions along with final fantasy 11.  I have heard from many people that the game is more fun and easier with a controller.  Well i dont have a controller, so i guess that already puts me at a disadvantage.  Anyways i would like to list some issues i had and maybe get a response from some vets about their feelings on these particular aspects.

1. Graphics- The resolution needed to be changed from the beginning.  It was annoying that i could not do that while ingame.  Once i found the config file, it was a pretty simple fix.

You can use Unofficial Mods to make the game look better than most MMOs out now. All of the Advanced Graphic settings are hidden but they are there like Uncompressed Textures, BumpMapping and the such.

2. Controls- OMG SOOOO ANNOYING.  Im trying very hard to get use to using my number pad to move but having played all my other mmos using wsad to move, you can see my frustration.  Also, not able to customize the keyboard?  That is total bullshit.  I even searched the Q&A thread and it said players were not able to customize keybindings.  If ANYBODY has a solution to this, PLEASE tell me.

When you are ingame: Push Middle Mouse Button> Right Arrow Key> Scroll down to Config> Enter> Select Compact Keyboard Mode. You can now use WASD ^^. (if its not that exact path its close to it, im not in game right now so going off of memory)

3. Gameplay- very stiff movements and boring animations.  Even the videos i looked up online of end game content seemed to be similiar to what i experienced my first 2 hours of playing-standing around most of the time and autoattacking.  Only the raid bosses seemed to be lively and animated with fluid movements.  I hope its just my noobie outlook to the game but i really hope the gameplay becomes more interesting down the line.

I like the animations...to each there own. But yes there is a lot of Auto Attacking b/c you have to build up TP to use weapon skills and at the early lvls you only have 1 or 2, at higher levels this changes and you have tons of stuff to do and gear swap for Skill Chains and such. IF no one has mentioned this to you the main thing you do in Partys is Skill chain and Magic Burst off of them. A PT that can successfully skill chain a lot will do much better than people just attacking at random. There is A LOT of cordination needed at higher lvls and people have to be on the ball, that is why the combat is a bit slower.

4. Action bars- non-customizable and bland.  I wasnt expecting much, but coming from world of warcraft and everquest 2, i expected atleast SOMETHING to catch my eye. It seems like theres only the bare minimum in this game.  A tutorial about using your menu and action bars would have been helpful aswell.

There are really not any "Action Bars" in the normal sense, everything is in a menu...partly b/c this game was designed for the PS2, and thats why the PC version has limited Mouse function...Everything was designed to be used with a game pad. This game has a extensive Macro system built in, you dont have to use it right off or ever. but latter on you will want to or you will be slower at doing things like gear swap and skill chaining latter on at higher lvls.

5. starting area- Honestly, all i wanted to do was kill something the first thirty minutes.  instead, i spent my time running around, bombarded by walls of text.  I really dont care about the history of my starting area much, i just wanted to jump in and get some action. 

 This game is VERY story driven, it even has Cutscenes, and the lore behind most everything is extensive and has meaning. If you dont care about story and just want to kill things...you will be very upset with a lot of the quests/story elements in the game.

For all my bitching, i will say that the community i have experienced so far has been very helpful and kind to me.  Questions were answered respectfully and thoughtfully and some players went out of their way to help me during battle.

The community is amazing for this game ^^.

I will say that im starting to feel the game isn't for me, but i think i will give it a week before i make my final decision.

PS: www.wiki.ffxiclopedia.org is a wonderful wealth of information for just about everything in the game and has a wonderful guide section that is very helpful for new players and vets alike.

Once I plugged in my controller I was taken straight back to when I used to play FF on the PSX and PS2. Talking to all the NPCs I'd come accross, immersing myself in the story etc.

Get the control issue out of the way and everything else will be easy breezy.

Originally posted by TheHavok

 

Originally posted by Arcken

 

Well again Ill reiterate, its more aimed to a particular niche of players, and at the risk of sounding elitist, its not mmo-lite.

 

If you deci