Originally posted by SuprGamerX

 Well for a few years now I've been holding back on buying this game. I always thought that a FF online would be dull. After 2 hours of install/patching and another hour of playing I found the experience pretty poor and here are the reasons.:

-I tried for a while to have a better minimap then the useless bleu mini circle in the bottom left corner without success.

-Movement with number pad is completly new to me,I've been playing with either a mouse or arrows for the past 13 years.Been trying to change the settings but gave up after 20 minutes.

-Quests,there's like 200 NPCs walking around and the mini map doesn't help much on marking the NPCs with quests.

-Been walking from map to map for 45 minutes,trying desperatly to get my first kill without success.

 I should of listened to my instincts and leave the game on its warm shelf. Now it has a new home in my closet.

PS: The PlayOnline Viewer is pretty sweet to play with it,I'm having alot more fun with the viewer then the game itself. Just tried it out again,finally got onto the battlefield,died against a savanah rabbit. Went back,went up against a tiny mandragora,killed it but got 6 MP and 6 HP left,doesn't regen overtime,the potions are pretty expensive...Was fun while it lasted and I can now brag that I actually tried FFXI ... have fun all!

The problem is that the game is harder than what you are used to.Why do you need a minimap?trust me ,you learn your surroundings MUCH faster by seeing first hand than constantly looking at a minimap.There is a large map anyhow,that allows you to see the over all terrain/surroundings.

I would agree that there could be a better design for NPC's and questing,perhaps like EQ2's,but it is a hard one to debate.Some do not want the hand holding and lines or arrows showing you exactly where to go,the whole FFXI setup asks for you to learn your surroundings for yourself.After a few months in,you will know EVERY nook like the back of your hand,then you will relaize,those hand holding ideas were not needed.

Combat is quite hard for a noob,without his/her sub job,you are a lot weaker.Starting out as a taru whm or BLM is very difficult,you have very low hp ,therefore you will die much faster.Their are tricks to combat,that i would have to say are NEVER figured out by noobs and i mean NEVER.It seems to take players awhile to figure out the efficient way to play.

Example,first thing to do is ALWAYS  draw your weapon into combat mode,so that you will get a hit soon the mob gets near,do not wait until after you cast your Dia spell or paralyze.That brings up another aspect,KNOW your casting times.It is MUCH harder to cast PAralyze after the fight starts than before,easier to cast DIA after fight starts.If you are a new player with the ability to use a BOW or Xbow,USE IT.This will give you the initial damage before the mob even thinks about attacking you.There is a reason the guides tel lyou that MONK is the easiest and best job for a new player,because it is lol.Monk offers more HP,very good early game damage and a powerful 2 hr ability.Monk also has decent defense when compared to a mage,actually i believe MNK is the best def at starter levels,has the most vit also.

There is a lot to know and understand in FFXI,it is actually a complex game,tackling it yourself would be extremely hard,albeit you will learn each part of the game better as it would take you longer to grasp.

Originally posted by WSIMike

 

The game has maintained ~500k players for years now... even with their monthly bannings of thousands of RMT/botters, etc.

 

 

I don't think FFXI has seen 500k subscriber base in quite a few years.  At it's current state, I doubt it has more than 150k subscribers.  Which is still very good for a game as old as FFXI.  Don't let your phanboi glasses taint the world a rosey color for you.

Fuhyo

Has nothing to do with fanboyism, it's fact. They do a census every year and it has been around 500k every year.

---

Originally posted by Satimasu
Has nothing to do with fanboyism, it's fact. They do a census every year and it has been around 500k every year.

---

He doesn't need facts, he gets his numbers from his gut. Guys like him, they don't have "sources" or anything like that. They don't need them. Did you know that the gut has more nerve endings than the brain?

You're probably saying "No, it doesn't. I looked it up." Well, you probably looked it up in a book. Next time, look it up in your gut.

Made a new post on my response, check here!

Seriously, you can count. a normal FFXI server have almost the same amount of a WOW server every day.

I didn't count but roughly there should be 4 time more WoW servers then FFXI, there should be 2.5 millions of WoW players for NA. (i say a lot less now) and each WoW server can only house 2-3k players ONline (and there will be a queue if more.

If 2 million WoW subscribers in NA, then FFXI would get 500k.

Anyway, if you think WoW have more player then FFXI, that's fine. But server wise, its the same. Asura get 2k-2.5k on Peak hours. On Blackhand, i see 2k-2.5k on peak hours as well (wow server)

That is my guts telling me... i guess my gut is more correct then your guts.

For more Accurated data just hit www.ffxiah.com, it is a site that TRACKS Auction ususage on REAL time directly from server on second base. So their data should be more correct.