Suffice to say, as much as I'm trying to find an MMO in the new school to enjoy, ever since WoW the concept of "depth" seems to have been tossed out the window. I've been getting the compulsion to try FFXI again. I originally played back at the US release, took off because I had issues with not so much the grind but finding people to play with since i was a melee dps and desperately needed people to level. I was wondering how the population is holding up and if the game seems to be soldiering on as opposed to slowly dieing off like many of the other games of old. 

It's fine. No worries. They added stuff to make partying easier and such (Level Synch). Still doing as good as it always has been.

Originally posted by Satimasu

It's fine. No worries. They added stuff to make partying easier and such (Level Synch). Still doing as good as it always has been.

Might be worth looking into again then. Now if only I could decide on a job...

That's the good thing about the game. You can just play whichever until you feel satisfied with the job you're going to use.

 Hmm...I might try it as well.

What are the main features that would interest me as a MMOer?

One thing back then when it came out that turned me off was the grouping and i had to group to get any decent XP. Where as I am more of a quest/grind type person and I like to do alot on my own. I would sit around 45 mins or more getitng a group with the right make up just to go out and grind XP. Has any of this changed?

Originally posted by bmcinvaille

One thing back then when it came out that turned me off was the grouping and i had to group to get any decent XP. Where as I am more of a quest/grind type person and I like to do alot on my own. I would sit around 45 mins or more getitng a group with the right make up just to go out and grind XP. Has any of this changed?

Nope not really. Soloing has not been made any easier unless you are class that it is viable for. More people nowadays are soloing before though. Not just Beastmaster, I know people that have duo'd and solo'd dragoon up to the high 60s which apparently wasn't too difficult.

The different now is though you still need a group of six people to go out and kill massive amounts of mobs the wait isn't as bad now. With the lvl sync system everyone in the party can change their lvl to the lvl or the lowest lvled person in the group (as long as they are at least lvl 10) and go party where they would party. You don't need any special armor either you can wear what you're wearing it just adjusts the stats accordingly apparently. I think having higher lvl armor can be a lot better then wearing the armor for that lvl though.

Oh and lol quest/grind that is a term that is for WoW Idk if you remember but before then i didn't know a game that offered experience for completing quests. FFXI is still the same as before when it comes to quest the benefit is fame or the item you get from the quest no xp sorry.

I'm thinking of checking it out again. I just need to double check on this whole billing thing, I might need to wait until November to start sadly if its still doing that thing where you pay full price regardless of the time of the month. I actually ran into someone picking the compilation of the game and its expansions today ironically enough and we had a chat since he had been playing the game for quite some time. Kinda excited to get back in actually.

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

See, I can go either way on PvP, but WAR is feeling too much like WoW and not enough like DAoC, and DAoC is at the end of its life, so not much I can do about that. 

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

I have found a good litmus test for FFxi, those who are looking to join and want to know what the endgame is like.

First, need to have played FF12.

Now, if you were the type of person who went out and resreached where all the rare items dropped and from what NM, then spent hours apon hours apon hours rezoning and doing what ever technique was required to spawn said NM just so you could have the best of the best ingame armor/weapons, then FFxi might be for you

At the end game, long hours of grinding placeholders or simply waiting for a NM to spawn is a major part of it all, to get the best of the best gear. Of course they added raids and such for the multi person aspect, but its the same routine of hunting rare mobs or doing outlandish missions/quests/requirments to aquire the best armor/weapons/skills

Originally posted by Daggit

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

 

I have found a good litmus test for FFxi, those who are looking to join and want to know what the endgame is like.

First, need to have played FF12.

Now, if you were the type of person who went out and resreached where all the rare items dropped and from what NM, then spent hours apon hours apon hours rezoning and doing what ever technique was required to spawn said NM just so you could have the best of the best ingame armor/weapons, then FFxi might be for you

At the end game, long hours of grinding placeholders or simply waiting for a NM to spawn is a major part of it all, to get the best of the best gear. Of course they added raids and such for the multi person aspect, but its the same routine of hunting rare mobs or doing outlandish missions/quests/requirments to aquire the best armor/weapons/skills

 

I think what you're pointing out can only apply to people who play games only to get all the best items. However, players in FFXI with the best skills and equipments don't grind placeholders or wait for NMs to spawn.

Originally posted by Kordesh

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

See, I can go either way on PvP, but WAR is feeling too much like WoW and not enough like DAoC, and DAoC is at the end of its life, so not much I can do about that. 

I'm in the same boat as you my friend. I made a post in the SWG forum asking if TOR sparked any interest in playing SWG again. It might be a foreign area to you, but I miss star wars :(

Originally posted by phain

Originally posted by Kordesh

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

See, I can go either way on PvP, but WAR is feeling too much like WoW and not enough like DAoC, and DAoC is at the end of its life, so not much I can do about that. 

 

I'm in the same boat as you my friend. I made a post in the SWG forum asking if TOR sparked any interest in playing SWG again. It might be a foreign area to you, but I miss star wars :(

I'm likely to play TOR anyway as my girlfriend is highly interested in it and I'm a fan of the KOTOR series myself. I'm just looking for a game of my own, especially since TOR is likely a ways off. Never got into SWG though. I saw SoE and saw the ensuing trainwreck approaching. The only other game I have on my radar right now is Aion, but NCsoft has a history of disappointment and games that could have great concepts, but turn out shallower than they should be. Though I have some hope as Aion is supposed to be done by the team that did Lineage as opposed to the team that did Tabula Rasa -_-. But it's still looking until at least December before we even see an open beta for that, so I might as well start my foothold in FFXI in the likely even Aion ends up the same way as everything else.

Originally posted by Kordesh

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

See, I can go either way on PvP, but WAR is feeling too much like WoW and not enough like DAoC, and DAoC is at the end of its life, so not much I can do about that. 

I think what you, me, and some others are wating for is Aion. I would check some info about this game it's going to be released in early 2009 so it's not too far off. I started my MMO career with DAoC I played a few others until I got really serious with FFXI. Then the next game I got serious with Lineage 2 before trying a bunch of games and then moving back to FFXI. Aion might be the answer to your and my prayers. It promises a lot of things that all three of those have in them and a lot more.

I'm not trying to fish or anything I love FFXI. I just have to say after playing FFXI off and on (more on) I am waiting for a new game to come out with some really cool new features and all that I love about those 3 games I mentioned. And to me it just seems like Aion will be that game.

Originally posted by k11keeper

Originally posted by Kordesh

Originally posted by phain

I went back to it a few months ago. Got my first job to 75 (Samurai). It was pretty fun, but the game just isn't for me. I'm more a pvp type of person and FFXI doesn't offer much to me in that department. Great game other than that.

See, I can go either way on PvP, but WAR is feeling too much like WoW and not enough like DAoC, and DAoC is at the end of its life, so not much I can do about that. 

 

I think what you, me, and some others are wating for is Aion. I would check some info about this game it's going to be released in early 2009 so it's not too far off. I started my MMO career with DAoC I played a few others until I got really serious with FFXI. Then the next game I got serious with Lineage 2 before trying a bunch of games and then moving back to FFXI. Aion might be the answer to your and my prayers. It promises a lot of things that all three of those have in them and a lot more.

I'm not trying to fish or anything I love FFXI. I just have to say after playing FFXI off and on (more on) I am waiting for a new game to come out with some really cool new features and all that I love about those 3 games I mentioned. And to me it just seems like Aion will be that game.

Actually I mentioned Aion in my last post =p. I've been following it for quite a bit. I'm just left with nothing to do for the moment because while Korean beta is starting up in November, it doesn't look like we're going to see release in the US/EU for another 4-6 months /=. I'm also mildly concerned about the game itself. I don't like it when I hear that they want to make the game "accessible to someone who has never played an MMO" in interviews because I can't help but immidiately think they're dumbing it down. At least its NCsoft East and not NCsoft West. I just hope they can keep botting under control this time.

I am a former veteran player of FFXI, and I would suggest FFXI to anyone looking for a good immersive MMORPG with plenty of social activity as well as questing and partying.

The social aspect was one of the several things that drew me to FFXI instead of WoW.  Now it seems that they have also expanded the content even further, and changed the partying scheme which is nice.

Originally posted by Loderian

I am a former veteran player of FFXI, and I would suggest FFXI to anyone looking for a good immersive MMORPG with plenty of social activity as well as questing and partying.

The social aspect was one of the several things that drew me to FFXI instead of WoW.  Now it seems that they have also expanded the content even further, and changed the partying scheme which is nice.

It's funny...

I find myself reading threads on other games' forums and the complaints people have... and I can't help but think "check out FFXI..."

People complain about the game they're playing being nothing but a race to end game to raid endlessly... I think "Play FFXI..."

People don't like the lack of depth in other MMOs with the repetitious, unending "fetch and kill" quests... I think "Play FFXI..."

People complain about the lack of story and character detail in other MMOs... I think "Duh.. it's a Final Fantasy title... Check out FFXI..."

People complain about getting to level cap and finding not enough content to keep playing... I think "Play FFXI..."

People complain about having to create a new character and repeat quests over and over when they want to play a new class... I think "Play FFXI..."

And on and on...

On the other hand, however... I realize FFXI can be a tough game to get into. It's not like other MMOs. It doesn't have the same "go go go" pace of other MMOs. It doesn't have the constant and fast gratification of other MMOs... and I think that's what throws many players off from the start.

All I can say to people when they decide to try FFXI - *especially* if they're used to other newer games - is to go into FFXI with an open mind. Do not try to approach it as they would other MMOs because that's hurting their chances with it from the start.

I urge people to diversify and try different things. Do *not* get stuck on the leveling treadmill and then not do anything else. Leveling your chosen job(s) (classes) in FFXI is important.. but it's not the "end-all" of the game. There are many ways in which you can develop your character in the game that have nothing to do with leveling.

Try crafting, try exploring, do quests... do Rank Missions... Do supply runs to outposts as their regions come under your nation's control so you can get around easier later on... and on and on...

There really is no shortage of things to do in FFXI.. but you have to have the initiative. You're not going to be bashed over the head with it. One thing FFXI does not have is much hand-holding... and I think that's a good thing.

The game starts off slowly very deliberately. It's like many other RPGs you'll play... they don't start off with a "bang". You start off humble and very basic, and you slowly work and build your way up. The farther you get, the more the game opens, the more there is to do and see and accomplish.

But the trick is to go in with an open mind and take the game as it comes.. Do not try to force a familiar playstyle from another MMO into FFX. It will not work.

So, yeah...

Originally posted by WSIMike

Originally posted by Loderian

I am a former veteran player of FFXI, and I would suggest FFXI to anyone looking for a good immersive MMORPG with plenty of social activity as well as questing and partying.

The social aspect was one of the several things that drew me to FFXI instead of WoW.  Now it seems that they have also expanded the content even further, and changed the partying scheme which is nice.

 

It's funny...

I find myself reading threads on other games' forums and the complaints people have... and I can't help but think "check out FFXI..."

People complain about the game they're playing being nothing but a race to end game to raid endlessly... I think "Play FFXI..."

People don't like the lack of depth in other MMOs with the repetitious, unending "fetch and kill" quests... I think "Play FFXI..."

People complain about the lack of story and character detail in other MMOs... I think "Duh.. it's a Final Fantasy title... Check out FFXI..."

People complain about getting to level cap and finding not enough content to keep playing... I think "Play FFXI..."

People complain about having to create a new character and repeat quests over and over when they want to play a new class... I think "Play FFXI..."

And on and on...

On the other hand, however... I realize FFXI can be a tough game to get into. It's not like other MMOs. It doesn't have the same "go go go" pace of other MMOs. It doesn't have the constant and fast gratification of other MMOs... and I think that's what throws many players off from the start.

All I can say to people when they decide to try FFXI - *especially* if they're used to other newer games - is to go into FFXI with an open mind. Do not try to approach it as they would other MMOs because that's hurting their chances with it from the start.

I urge people to diversify and try different things. Do *not* get stuck on the leveling treadmill and then not do anything else. Leveling your chosen job(s) (classes) in FFXI is important.. but it's not the "end-all" of the game. There are many ways in which you can develop your character in the game that have nothing to do with leveling.

Try crafting, try exploring, do quests... do Rank Missions... Do supply runs to outposts as their regions come under your nation's control so you can get around easier later on... and on and on...

There really is no shortage of things to do in FFXI.. but you have to have the initiative. You're not going to be bashed over the head with it. One thing FFXI does not have is much hand-holding... and I think that's a good thing.

The game starts off slowly very deliberately. It's like many other RPGs you'll play... they don't start off with a "bang". You start off humble and very basic, and you slowly work and build your way up. The farther you get, the more the game opens, the more there is to do and see and accomplish.

But the trick is to go in with an open mind and take the game as it comes.. Do not try to force a familiar playstyle from another MMO into FFX. It will not work.

So, yeah...

 

Yeah I agree with you. When I first got into final fantasy when it was released I was playing other games like Everquest, Runescape, etc. I tried to play it like I would those games (going out and soloing for my first few levels) and found it to be extremely hard. I tried different things and started to progress slowly and started having alot of fun before long. With the help of one of Alakazam's guides I started making alot of money and as I went around and saw the community and fought the monsters I saw that final fantasy was really different from most RPGs. Its actually really original, with lots of original monsters that are fun to fight against. Its not some childishly easy game like Runescape or WoW where you can get to max level just soloing with no trouble at all.

Its good to hear this game is holding up well. I used to play 2 years ago and 3 years before that (I was told my character was deleted so I started a new account the 2nd time I played).  I wen't on a new MMO hunt and havent really found a home for that long.  This was my first MMO back in 2002 I did play Runescape before this game for awhile and worlds made by people on NWN, but this was the first game that was P2P that kept my attention for a long time. 

There has been no game like this game, the community is great, I love grouping up, the combat system is awesome. I remember staying up till 6am trying to get the Samurai job, getting the Dragoon job was an adventure as well as Summoner.  This game holds so many memories and I have yet to experience anything like it in any other game.  

I have decided to come back once again since no other game can live up to this one. Now that they have level sync Im sure I'll love this game even more. I sometimes had trouble finding parties on my server thats why I had so many jobs, I sometimes lack patience. 

Originally posted by cukimunga

There has been no game like this game, the community is great, I love grouping up, the combat system is awesome. I remember staying up till 6am trying to get the Samurai job, getting the Dragoon job was an adventure as well as Summoner.  This game holds so many memories and I have yet to experience anything like it in any other game.  

Yep, I know what you're talking about.... It's one of those intangible things about FFXI that you really have to experience to understand.

People have become so focused on rushing to level cap and getting uber-loot. They don't have the time to have experiences, or create memories like those in a MMO like FFXI. Too much of the content in newer MMOs is over almost as fast as it's begun... and getting faster all the time.

MMOs used to be designed to create long, lasting experiences where people would group up and strong communities would develop. There was no hurry to get anywhere. The "level cap" was some ambiguous far off thing that they'd reach.. eventually. The game never felt "too slow" because the fun was in the present; in what you were doing right at that moment. FFXI seems to be one of the last of the MMOs that still captures that.

Now MMOs are mass-produced cookie-cutter affairs designed only to give people that constant rush of "success on demand" to keep them playing.

MMO gamers have become steadily more impatient, greedier and ever more bent on doing everything as fast as possible, if not faster... three things that are completely counter-intuitive to how MMOs were originally designed.

I have decided to come back once again since no other game can live up to this one. Now that they have level sync Im sure I'll love this game even more. I sometimes had trouble finding parties on my server thats why I had so many jobs, I sometimes lack patience. 

Well, you'll still need patience :). And don't get hooked on level sync too much. You will still need to find parties of your own level to keep your skills up to date.

But yeah, level sync has made it a lot easier to find groups... Though I never had a particularly hard time finding them before. A few slow times here and there, but it was never the norm.

Anyway... welcome back to Vana'diel!

i tried to play FFXI and utterly hated it. not so much the game itself, i hated the UI. found it utterly horrible, realized after the fact that id be better off using a game pad in order to use the game lol. yeah i could use my keyboard, but the way UI functions is so predominantly dependent on a gamepad. was a major turn off for me. ditched it within one week. truly a shame cause i wanted to like the game. not to mention i couldnt pick the server i wanted, had to use a thing called world pass in order to get with a friend who was playing it. too much trouble frankly.

Originally posted by nakuma

i tried to play FFXI and utterly hated it. not so much the game itself, i hated the UI. found it utterly horrible, realized after the fact that id be better off using a game pad in order to use the game lol. yeah i could use my keyboard, but the way UI functions is so predominantly dependent on a gamepad. was a major turn off for me. ditched it within one week. truly a shame cause i wanted to like the game. not to mention i couldnt pick the server i wanted, had to use a thing called world pass in order to get with a friend who was playing it. too much trouble frankly.

You know it's funny...

I was in that same boat at the very beginning. There's no way I would have continued playing if I couldn't use a gamepad, and that's how I continued for well over 1.5 years afterward.

Then one time I was at my girlfriend's house and wanted to play (she was playing another MMO). I didn't have a gamepad handy so I figured, ahh.. I'll just use the keyboard for now, 'til I can get back to get my gamepad. I set it to compact mode, took a few moments to learn what keys did what and got to playing. Less than an hour later I had it down almost by reflex.

I never went back to using a gamepad and 100% of my gameplay is on the keyboard now. I don't even touch the mouse.

WSAD to move, arrow keys to move camera and/or steer character, - key on the keypad to open the main menu, arrow keys to navigate the menu... 'R' to autorun... and so forth.

It's actually quite intuitive and easy to use, once you've got the keys memorized. ANd what's nice is I don't have to put the gamepad down to type something... then pick it back up. I just type what I need to type, hit enter.. and continue on with what I was doing.

So yeah... While I understand why it would be believed that the game can only be best played with a gamepad - 'cause I used to feel the same way - I don't think that's so anymore.

It's funny because there are those I know who insist that the game is best played with a keyboard and think using a gamepad sucks (on a PC obviously).

But there ya go :-p

Originally posted by Satimasu

That's the good thing about the game. You can just play whichever until you feel satisfied with the job you're going to use.

hehe, yeah it's what I loved about this game, but then you get people making fun of you since you can't pick a job and end up with a Galka with all but BLM and RDM level 75 .  Unfortunately, the current RL economy has me unable to afford a measly subscription in my budget, or I would probably be playing this game still.

Just some advice to newcomers, if you make a friend and start a 'static' party with jobs, this game is a breeze in leveling.  I got almost all my jobs to 75 with a friendly static party.  Althought I haven't any idea about this new-fangled level sync thing they've added.  Sounds like you don't have to static anymore.  Either way it's still fun.

I'll sum it up for you in terms of FFXI as a MMORPG. I played for 6 years, so hopeuflly I can sum it up well.

1.  This game is not something you can just hack and slash your way through.  Key points are, intelligence, teamwork, and understanding of the game mechanics.

2.  The battles are very challenging.  No other games will challenge you more in PvE.  The reason for this is simple.  Mobs are quite alot stronger than players in general, and have their own unique traits.  This means to take down a mob by yourself or with other playrs will all require a certain amount of skillful playing and tactical thinking.

3.  FFXI is very team oriented, it means usually meaningful things are rarely completed by one person alone.  However, solo is an artform in FFXI.  Verterans who have good understanding of the game can do soloing to a certain degree, and sometimes achieve incredible feats.

4.  This game have alot of content for all levels, in fact there are so many that it gets confusing at times, and even fraustrating.

5.  FFXI will always cause you fraustrations in some form, but this game have alot of depth in both story and game play, so it is really depend on the player if it is worth the fraustration.

6.  It will take quite a while to get to a point where you are comfortable as a player.  This does not mean getting to max level is incredibly hard, it means that being able to build up a flexible and powerful character will take some time.  This is mainly due to the fact that having multiple jobs on the same character is very beneficial (I tend to agree too)  Of course, if you cannot enjoy a job, why level it?

7.  When all else fails, choose certain jobs make getting into the game easier.  Red Mage, White Mage, Paladin, Bard, and Corsair are usually among the most demanded in parties, and thus easier to level up in general.  Usually by the time you have one job in 75, you will learn enough about the game to be a decent player.  This also make leveling up other jobs alot easier and hassle free in some form.

8.  Bring your brain.  Without this, you will be miserable in FFXI.