Old FFXI player questions about FFXIV. Follow

Hello, so many many years ago I spent countless hours playing FFXI, loved it. I have not played a mmo type game since I quit playing that after 2-3 years. Wanted to know from those who played XIV, or tested the new version thats about to come out, how they compare to the old game. I just finally bought a high end gaming pc, in hopes that when this is re-released I can give it a go again. I played before on the ps2, and then pc. Just wondering if its still kinda the same deal, linkshells, partys, grinding lvls, auction house? Cause to this day I still miss playing FFXI from time to time, and some of the friends I made during my time there. Never got into WoW or anything else, so I am sure it will take me some time to pick back up. Anyone who used to be on Unicorn, hello!

Edited, Jan 28th 2013 2:00pm by Wint Lock Thread: By request.

I think the most striking similarity is how linkshells made or broke the game in both cases.

Good linkshell in XI? Best game ever. Good linkshell in XIV? Not the best game, but still a worthwhile time investment and lots of fun.

Bad and/or no linkshell in XI? Worst game ever. Bad and/or no linkshell in XIV? No point even logging in.

Thanks for the replys. I like that FFXIV might not need the time that XI did. At the time I was playing that I had a really relaxed job, where I could play all day if I wanted. I sunk a ton of time into that on my 3 jobs, crafting, LS runs. But I liked the party plays, not as much as I did solo'n. Once again I find myself not having a full time job, and painting and sculpting to support myself. So I sit in front of a computer sometimes 14+ hours a day. Would be nice to have something I can jump into for an hour between paint drying or my cast cooling. Like I said I loved XI, no other mmo has really made me want to play. But the memories of XI, have me wanting to come back. Thanks for the post, think I will grab this once its released and hope I fall back into it like before.

WFOAssassin, thanks for your posts like you I started playing FFXI at the same time and age as you, I played the game for a couple of years till Uni/College started taking higher priority. I Picked up FFXIV in 2010 all wide eyed and excited, sadly it dropped me flat on my face that and having a final year in my postgraduate I never picked it up after logging out one day. I have to admit I'm looking forward to FFXIV still today but finding it rather difficult to find answers to some of my questions. I have a thread http://ffxiv.zam.com/forum.html?forum=152&mid=1355711721315502892 if you could find some time it would be great to get a grasp on where things sit currently.

Cheers.

No one can "recommend" any part of FF14 2.0 - it's still in a very limited alpha, an alpha that no one here can even admit to being part of, let alone discuss gameplay mechanics or feelings toward the game.

What we do know of FFXIV 2.0 through official releases, including the current alpha testing official releases, even furthers the notion that we can't compare it to any MMO - past or present. Alpha testers, through official notes, are only seeing an extremely limited part of the game.

We'll have to wait for a bit longer before we know what gameplay style FFXIV 2.0 settles into. What we've been told thus far would logically suggest a comparison as you're suggesting here, but no one knows for sure.

Edited, Dec 16th 2012 11:07pm by Whales

except for the fact that the devs themselves already said the direction the games gonna take, and what theyre planning to have in it.. so not even playing the alpha unless the devs are lying about their won game you can pretty much see that the game will be more like WoW or FFXI abyssea and NOWHERE CLOSE to FFXI pre abyssea... remember they wanna draw in teh more casual crowd and making a game similar to the old FFXI wouldnt accomplish that task.

Yeah, some of us have also played FFXI a very long time. Some of us are still playing. That doesn't mean much on the ZAM forums.

well theyre not similar as in "clone" but theyre similar as in casualness, pace and speed"

never said it was anything "wrong" with quit. but if i had to answer that question its simple....


where are more level 99 idiots/noobs in FFXI than there were level 75 idiots/noobs


wonder why that is?

Absolutely nothing.

I loved every minute of my time in FFXI, which came to an end for me sometime in 2006 or 2007. I also completely enjoyed WoW, and up until a few expansions past it was a great use of my free time.

The arguments you mostly see against WoW are primarily aimed at the modern MMORPG design and philosophy approach that at this point is - for me - bland and uninspiring.

WoW was great when it launched because it was fresh and original in terms of massively online role playing games. In an era of FFXI, EQ and EQ clones, the concept of soloable character development in a fast-paced environment and quest-driven leveling was for all consideration new and exciting. It was arguably what we needed at the time.

WoW success isn't necessarily rooted in what it did, more so because of when it did it. It was new, exciting and it brought all kinds of non-online gamers into the genre. A huge success by anyone's standards, and still remains such today.

But now we're in an era of WoW-clones, and I hate to use that term but it fits the best. LOTRO, Rift, SW:TOR, GW2 - all these games brought something different to the genre, but they were rooted in the fundamentals WoW established. What these game manufacturers don't understand is that WoW didn't succeed because quest-based, solo leveling is the best way to design MMORPGs, WoW succeeded because it was the first mainstream game to do it in an market of games where such was impossible. Its freshness drived its popularity, and Blizzard's penchant for gamer-driven design propelled it to success throughout the years.

Any game that launches now that sticks to these modern MMORPG design philosophies is likely doomed to fail if we simply look at past examples, yet publishers still churn them out because nobody can seem to get past the "zomg 10 million subs - World of Warcraft does everything right" philosophy of MMORPG design.

If I want to play a quest-based, solo character driven game with endgame emphasis on party instanced gear grinds, I'm going to play World of Warcraft. I have lots of other games to choose from if that is my desired game style, but WoW was one of the first, has been here the longest and is the front runner on improving this genre. Anything else is just going to be riding its coattails.

A game that doesn't adhere to these design philosophies can succeed, but developers are so scared of not doing anything inline with modern MMORPG design, nobody tries it. FFXIV 1.0 is a terrible example, because it took the worst of the EQ games combined with the worst of WoW games and tried to call that the next evolution of MMORPGs.

Some of us want a game where group play is emphasized, that exp grinds aren't casual solo quest chains, and that group dynamics mean much more than just slapped together dungeon instanced runs of little coordination. That doesn't necessarily contradict the concept of a casual-based MMORPG, but for some reason the only thing people can imagine when faced with such dynamics are grouping and party camps of FFXI.

Give us a game that doesn't take two hours to simply begin culling party-based objectives, but at the same time doesn't gloss over exp grinds and leveling ladder climbs and speedbumps. There's nothing worse to me than an MMORPG that sends you on 'meet and greet' introductory quests which ding you to level 3 or above before you even leave town.


Edited, Dec 18th 2012 12:04pm by Whales

After a number of years on these forums, I believe the animosity from FFXI/XIV players stems from just not wanting "their" game to be like WoW. Any similarities to WoW is grounds for complaining, thinking that S-E are selling out in hopes of achieving WoW's success. I have to agree with you about the graphics and the community. I tried playing it for a grand total of twenty minutes and I couldn't deal with either of those things.

what part of my post says the cap in XI isnt 99? but since based on your comment my post wasnt clear enough Ill say it in a different manner.

there are more level 99 noobs/idiots in ffxI now than there were when the cap was 75 (although i can name quite a few back then too.. but not nearly as many as i see now). Surely you dont need me to point out why that may be the case

I misread your post. I thought you said there were more level 99 idiots in WoW than there were at 75 in XI, implying you were comparing the number of idiots of WoW versus XI, since catwho was talking about WoW, not XI.

If you need a "leg up" when the curve sits at 250 exp. to the next level, you probably need to head back to Farmville.

On that note, I vote nay on having another 44k tnl @250-310xp per kill >.>

haha, guess i didnt know FFXIV ARR was called FFXIV 2.0, stupid me.

I loved FFXI because it was party based.
I hated FFXI because I hated looking for a party, but I used to have lots of time since I was still in school

I didnt like FFXIV because everything was wrong.
I start to like the new FFXIV because it allows me to solo or party, and to get EXP fast.

this might be a change of taste, or sign of aging. because I do not have the time I used to have when I played FFXI.
I'm sure SE also took this in consideration, the old FFXI core players are getting old and dont have the time they used to have, and the new generation... is the new generation, they usually lack in patience and probably wouldnt play the game if it takes forever to find a party to just level up.

Or they could be grown ups with 3 kids trying to spend a few hours a week doing something they used to love but don't have the time like they used to have. That's me anyway.

It's not an easy thing, catering to many different lifestyles and tastes. I'm hoping they can find something to attract both the hard core crowd and those of us who like MMO's but don't have 5 hours a night to devote to them.

I know a lot of people really like the fast paced leveling, but i'm not so sure i do. There is nothing worse than waiting for that omg uber lvl 35 body piece, just to toss it 1 hr later because the lvl 40 piece is better.
With all the games i have been playing, there's not much reason to worry about gear till max level. I miss the days when gear was earned, appreciated, and held onto for a time.

ill have to disagree with that bad/no linkshell in FFXI part.. i first 5-6 years off FFXI was linkshell less and I loved it. I accomplished a lot w/o linkshells ()i.e i didnt do or complete anything when i joined a linkshell that i hadnt already completed without one). I finally joined one because I got tired of being hounded by all the end game linkshells who wanted the "badass lvl 75 with multiple jobs at 75, a craft at 100 with all over crafts at 60, who had full capped merits, lots of gil and expensive gear, had all kinda accomplishments and could solo an duo stuff no one of his same job in our ls could" so I finally caved and joined one just so ppl would stop pestering me.

But at the same time i liked teh popularity/attention of being the "free agent" everyone was dying to "sign/contract" Im looking forward to being "that guy" again in FFXIV (though im sure it wont be as great considering how casual/dumbed down FFXIV will be compared to FFXI that just about EVERYONE in FFXIV could be "that guy" if they wanted too thanks in part to the fact that 90% of the content is soloable whether you suck or not.)

Wow, quite an imagination. Even without a linkshell, the vast majority of content in XI required at least a party or an alliance to compete. The "best" gear at 75 cap came from {sky} and {sea} and you're quite silly if you expect us to believe you duo'd Jailor of Love, Ultima, and Kirin. Now, it's entirely possible you paid linkshells millions of gil in order to merc those items for you, in which case you were still leveraging a linkshell to accomplish your work, even if you weren't actually in the linkshell.

youre right i didnt duo any of those things. I went with or made PUGs to do em (that bahamut PUG fight was awesome) or went with an LS that was missing a job they needed or required my skill/services... I did use the term "free agent" after all right? doesnt a free agent in basketball play for/with another team once in awhile hes just not contracted/signed to them?..

meaning i could com and go when i pleased and unlike most ppl who joining PUGs or are just helping out an LS i didnt get shafted for drops or whatnot over "actual members" of the shell

as for time and effort shouting i only had to do that for maybe 3-4 ppl in that group the others were ppl i either already knew (friends), ppl that were party of the CoP static I built or ppl from other LSs that new me by rep. and yes I even did the same with Ouryu and Bahamut V2 so most of the group was formed by sending a quick /tell

As for sounding like a jerk... so telling the truth makes you sound like a jerk? I always thought it was "the truth shall set you free" not "the truth shall make you sound like a jerk" perhaps i should start lying then?

also I wouldnt call it being a braggart as you made a statement and i countered it.. that statement was:

"Bad and/or no linkshell in XI? Worst game ever."

to which the point of my "bragging" was I didnt have an LS so why wasnt FFXI the worst game ever for me? I wouldnt spend 8 year splaying something i thought was the worst game ever

thats kinda why i put quotes around that statement.. it wasnt MY official titling.. i made that statement based on what everyone ELSE said/how everyone ELSE acted.. its only being a jerk/arrogant if you speak of YOURSELF in that manner.. if others do it FOR you then its an entirely different thing

I'm guessing he knows that already, since he won't put his PSN ID up on that thread

95% of the time youd be correct with that statement.. this particular time however Id have to disagree. for example ton stark (on the iron man movies) is a jerk because hes full of himself... nobody else talk about how wonderful/great he is EXCEPT him. Now if OTHERS were doing it and he was merely repeating what hes heard other say about him a million times then I probably still call him egotistical (as opposed to modest) but hed then lose his "jerk" tag sense at this point he has ppl who can backup the claims he makes about himself as opposed to the entire room rolling their eyes in disgust everytime he goes off on a rant about how "awesome" he is.. while everyone else is looking like "well he seems to be the ONLY one who thinks that"

ok Ill give you some examples and you tell me if those sound like sarcasm/quotes to you: keep in mind this is pre abyssea.

-standing in white gate minding my own business-

get examined

30 secs later get a /tell by someone who examed me

/t you have all those merits plus jobs at 75 and your SAM is wearing a hauby+1, PCC, two sniper rings+1 and other miscellaneous high cost items (and that was just my tp gear my WS gear was of the same "calibur") how do you NOT have an LS.. join ours" etc etc

or join a merit party

doing 300-500 a hit easily on sam getting 100+ tp in 10 secs and pulling out WS that do 1000+ each time (yeah thats noting in abyssea hence me stating this is pre abyssea)

gets /tell from ppl that were in the party

"zomg join our ls"

or setting somewhere as thief

gets examined

have gear the equivalent of what my sam has (aside from the hauby+1 being an SH+1 and different sets of gear for TP and WS.. along with a thief knife (back when they were 7-17mil, hard to get and not everyone was running around with one) and could put up 1k+ dmg as a thief with sata WS when NOT fighting birds (which was pretty much "amazing"/unheard of for thfs to do at that level which is why they hardly got invites or ppl prefers drk/thf because they could do a thief job and put up higher numbers


gets tell

"zomg that dmg is pretty good (and or) you have TH3, and a lotta merits and jobs at 75... join our ls!!"


days/weeks/months go by

"you STILL arent in an ls? just join our already.. like Ive been asking you to since like forever"

or the time I was leveling PLD in ifrits cauldron entrance at around 40-45 and how amazed the party was when the mob didnt take its eyes of me for a second even after the mnk uses hundred fists and the drk used berserk, soul eater blood weapon and i didnt even use my 2 hour.

or the drk who kept sending me tells about how I was the first thf hes ever partied with that didnt suck (because I could sata hate on to the tank fast after the drk voked it after a pull without the drk dying before the thf did his/her job)

Now i dunno about you but all that sounds like praise/rel compliments/someoen whos is in high demand/genuinely wasnt someone to join their ls as opposed to just "whoosing" them.. but Im im incorrect feel free to correct me