Convince me to play again ;P

[Heskey]

Hey guys,

I used to play Final Fantasy 11 quite some years ago but left for a variety of reasons I can't remember.

More recently, I went on an MMO trial stint and resigned up to all the MMOs I've ever played (which is most) and tried to pin down a solid reason why I quit to begin with.

When it came around to Final Fantasy XI, I decided the following reasons:

1. Old game, so possibly not as big a playerbase (UK/European) as there once was?
2. Graphics that no longer wow a high-end PC user, making me believe FFXI, which was designed to be played via console, was just a direct port (including the graphics) to the PC.
3. Grind fest without much rewarding, seemingly hard to level up from as low as level 7

Now this was only 6 or so months ago, but my brother has since been playing FF7 Crisis Core, which has in turn made me want to play FFXII (I barely played it on release as I was 'disappointed' with it). This, in turn, has made me think of FFXI having recently had to cancel my WAR subscription due to being made redundant.

So, when I'm back on my toes financially speaking, what can you tell me about FFXI that would convince me that my above reasons are not true, or pale in comparison to the pros that outweight the cons?

1. As a UK based gamer, will I find myself alone in zones at all levels due to low population?
2. Will I come home from work somedays and just ask myself "Why am I spending my evenings hitting things over and over and barely getting anywhere?
3. What is there to do towards the end game? Admittedly I never got very far in FFXI; is it worth the effort?
4. Are there so many expansions now that I would be eating my wallet, and my life in an attempt to experience them all?

Anything else you can think of that would help me make up my mind, I would truly appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks very much for your time.

- Heskey

 

[Trish]

1. As a UK based gamer, will I find myself alone in zones at all levels due to low population?
2. Will I come home from work somedays and just ask myself "Why am I spending my evenings hitting things over and over and barely getting anywhere?
3. What is there to do towards the end game? Admittedly I never got very far in FFXI; is it worth the effort?
4. Are there so many expansions now that I would be eating my wallet, and my life in an attempt to experience them all?

1. Because it's been released in UK, France, Germany, Japan and NA, I've rarely noticed a huge difference in the amount of people online at any given time on my server. I don't think being in the UK will hurt you one bit.

2. Quite possibly. lol. I hate partying, mainly for the reasons you said. But they have added some features that make partying more bearable, as well as soloing more rewarding. Why did I stick with it (before these features)? See #3.

3. YES. .. YES! This is where I have most of my fun. Working at least one job up to 75 and meriting it will open some doors for you. Working through some expansions will open even more. The possibilities are nearly endless. FFXI's endgame is to die for. I know of many who left FFXI when WoW (or insert game here) was released, and they came back because WoW (or insert game here) wasn't challenging after playing FFXI. Oh, and personally.. I think my game on the comp looks better than my husband's on the XBox, as well as the kid's on PS2/PS3. Full screen or windowed.

4. Last I knew, the game with all of the expansions could be purchased in the US for $40. I started playing a year ago July. My version was $20 for the game and the three expansions out at that time. I then paid $20 for the new expansion when it came out.

Hope that helps! Welcome back in advance

 

[Diomedes Artega]

1. As a UK based gamer, will I find myself alone in zones at all levels due to low population?
2. Will I come home from work somedays and just ask myself "Why am I spending my evenings hitting things over and over and barely getting anywhere?
3. What is there to do towards the end game? Admittedly I never got very far in FFXI; is it worth the effort?
4. Are there so many expansions now that I would be eating my wallet, and my life in an attempt to experience them all?

Anything else you can think of that would help me make up my mind, I would truly appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks very much for your time.

- Heskey

I think ultimately you have to make up your own mind. Nobody can do that for you. That said, I will offer my input.

From your list:

1. Based on you being in the UK, yes it is possible. However, your server will predominantly determine when it is most populated based on people's log on times. Additionally your own sleeping patterns will dictate. i.e. If you on in the mornings or afternoons you will have more opportunities then if you play at night time. Since 3am to 6am or so...just an estimation, is a slow time in FFXI world.

2. Personally for me, I got tired of fights lasting so long one on one. And this is coming from someone who was a 75 thief and 75 black mage, among other jobs. Sure I like jobs with massive damage output, BUT I don't care for a fight to take 5 to 8 minutes. Got tired of it after doing it for over 4 years. Just became, well kind of boring. Unless it is a mega boss in some other game or what have you, yes I can accept the fact that the fight will take a long time. Not regular one on one encounters though.

3. FFXI end game is a lot of drama in my book. Unless you get a solid linkshell with a lot of adults or mature individuals, its not really very rewarding in my book. That said, I don't find FFXI end game content rewards anyhow when basically it is just a fight to get better and better gear. Kind of lame. Even Salvage and other areas they have introduced...is the same concept. GEAR.

If they had special areas for merited jobs, i.e. a merited ninja can go to this place or that place...places that only they can go, then I don't know that would generate interest.

Ultimately from what I have seen in my 4+ years, is once bad linkshells get what they want, they dissolve. Why? Because they acquired all said gear that they wanted to acquire for all high jobs that they have.

4. It really depends on you. CoP is time consuming, RoZ not as much so. WoTG they still had not introduced all the missions when I was still playing and ToAU is fun, albeit about as time consuming as RoZ.

I say it depends on you because if you find a solid nucleus, you can rip through any of the expansions. Your only time constraint will be the missions where you will have to wait till after Japanese Midnight to trigger a cutscene or move on to the next mission or what have you.

Personally for me, I did everything the game had to offer and eventually got bored with it. You might have a different perspective though.

Best of luck in all of your endeavors.

 

[Heskey]

Hmm, interesting views from both perspectives...

I was watching some FFXI videos on YouTube last night but it didn't help my interest, videos of people fighting bosses just seem to stand still on the spot and cast something every 5 seconds whilst the boss just get hitting them with the same animation over and over?

 

[Trish]

Sounds like Faust. lol

They're not all like that.

 

[Diomedes Artega]

Hmm, interesting views from both perspectives...

I was watching some FFXI videos on YouTube last night but it didn't help my interest, videos of people fighting bosses just seem to stand still on the spot and cast something every 5 seconds whilst the boss just get hitting them with the same animation over and over?

No problem, happy to try to give any help. I tried to not be biased as best I could and just give my own personal opinions. For me, I just got tired of the game.

I prefer games with a PvP aspect in the persistent environment. FFXI lacks that as well as not providing enough unique end game opportunities. It is more challenging then say WoW, because no leveling guide in terms of just doing a bunch of quests.

Only a veteran with a lot of time on their hands will go from level 1 to 75 in a few weeks or so in FFXI. Not only that, but leadership abilities.

Personally, a lot of the end game fights aren't long. Too many players have complained about long fights...well some anyways. Not all the fights the boss stays stationary. Some can and will move around.

It just will depend on you like I said. It is much more feasible now in FFXI to solo pretty much any job, no matter how long it takes. You can do what is called campaign battle in the WoTG areas and gain experience points based on your contributions on the battle field.

I have to say the key really is, whether you like and don't get bored with the end game content of FFXI. Some of the drops are mighty ridiculous to obtain in terms of their probability of dropping. Aside from that, even in a good linkshell...as a new person you will have to gain seniority so to speak through points or other assessments.

 

[YoungUn]

I've been playing just over a year and find myself still really liking the game. I haven't got into to much end game stuff, I've just finally leveled my first 75 character & still need to do some stuff to join the other end game stuff. I find that there are still new players and lots of older ones around that are really helpful.

As a UK based gamer, will I find myself alone in zones at all levels due to low population?
I play weird times sometimes & I never lack anyone to play with. Pt's are sometimes hard to find in the evenings for a hour or so, while the US people are logging off and the JP people are logging in, but normally there are people around to bug, um.. I'm mean play with.

Will I come home from work somedays and just ask myself "Why am I spending my evenings hitting things over and over and barely getting anywhere?
Uh huh, but on those evenings, go camp a nm, blow up something synthing or go explore. Help a new player, level a different job, finish a quest or start a new one. I can always find stuff to do...

The other two questions were covered by Trish pretty well.