MMORPG.com Final Fantasy XI Correspondent Thomas Winkle writes this look at Final Fantasy from the eyes of a beginner, trying to clear up some of the confusion that might surround early stages of this unique MMO.

As a newcomer to the Final Fantasy series, I know as well as anyone that Final Fantasy XI can seem a little bit intimidating at first. Most avid MMORPGers are used to some sort of learning curve, maybe a tutorial to teach them about all of the different features that they'll be using throughout the game. It could be a small storyline-based mission, similar to that of Star Wars Galaxies, or a more straight-forward tutorial, that teaches you exactly how to do what you're going to be doing. Most MMO players are also used to quest markers appearing above NPC heads to tell us who exactly is needing what, and where to go. So, as you can imagine, dropping into a realm with no tutorial and no marked quests can be a little intimidating and even frightening for the regular MMOer.

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