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[Teknopathetic]

"Just because they're hybrids doesn't mean they shouldn't be unique (they have unique skills, they just aren't focused enough to make them standout IMO)."

"focus?" What exactly do you mean by "focus?"

Uniqueness doesn't make things good or particularly balanced. Utility does.

 

[Lonestar]

Wow, if they recover my character i might jump back in, i wonder if it has changed for the better or the worst in the fairy community. I'll only recover my elvaan lvl ~27 (or 28?) warrior though, naked, since i gave all my armor and money to darkshire, and the thought of farming gil to buy back all my armor, weapon and so on, is a nightmare by itself ;_;

That's about the same thought I have if I bother to see if Lonestar can come back....

Unless I raise up my Repo skillzzzz

 

[SpiderJerusalem]

Come back Ror!

Just kidding, hater.

If only lfp didnt mean fuck that elvaan for you. ; ;

 

[Azrael]

I enjoy being a tank but designing a class where everyone pidgeonholes you into only tanking is a bit inane from a design standpoint. This problem also extends to people playing PLD who think PLDs can't deal some damage or can't tank in ways that are different from massive damage reduction -_-.

Most PLD don't use any damage dealing gear because the player base's obsession with high base EXP and fighting IT++ mobs makes it impossible until around level 72, when parties start exping off VT/low IT mobs. I have a Royal Guard's Collar and Life Belt, but when someone pulls in a Torama, and the thing double attacks for 90 + 100 damage then criticals me for 190 damge, it's time to take that stuff off, put on a Medieval Collar and War Belt +1 and throw Defender up.

 

[Great Wasabi Man]

well is giving out free time really a sign that they took a hit form WoW? SWG did it a couple of times with free trials, CoH did it last month, EQ2 I heard had a 15 day trial up on fileplanet.

I mean WoW isn't THAT good...is it?

 

[SaitoH]

I think the problem is that companies used to give out free trials when their MMO was getting old. So, I'd say the common perception/ misconception is that it's a sign of desperation.

*shrugs*

 

[Foobar]

Exactly. FFXI is a great game and I love it, but the community killed it for me.

Community is the beginning and end of any online game and I suppose I'm fortunate to have landed on a good server (Titan) and be involved in some great linkshells full of people NOT obsessed with the endgame or being highlevel. There's always going to be bad apples on any MMORPG that ruin the experience for some people and there will also be lousy servers. Its a make or break thing for any game.

The community that killed my love for a game was the PSO community, I won't be touching the online portion of PSU because of it.

 

[ManaByte]

well is giving out free time really a sign that they took a hit form WoW? SWG did it a couple of times with free trials, CoH did it last month, EQ2 I heard had a 15 day trial up on fileplanet.

I mean WoW isn't THAT good...is it?

I think every MMO has done free trials, except for WoW so far. The free trials are their way of releasing a demo of the game.

 

[Rorschach]

Come back Ror!

Just kidding, hater.

If only lfp didnt mean fuck that elvaan for you. ; ;

What are you talking about? I was on just this week

I go on every once in a while to just lfg for a few hrs and logoff pretty much

They should have a "Switch your race" or "Server Transfer" event.

Spoiler

PS: Mithra suck!

 

[RuGalz]

PLD in FFXI was designed for the exact role people want them to be played right now. Sure PLD can do damage, but there's plenty of chance to do those odd combo jobs during quest and all the other time when you are not in xp party. People expect PLD to be a tank in party because they are better than everyone else for that role. If you want to have other kinds of fun, it's not in an xp party. People just need to learn that there's more things to do in the game than xping or camping. -.- Questing and what not are usually the best time to have odd job combos since you don't necessarily need full party for them. Design flaw? Hardly.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Its pretty much certain that i go back in FFXI now, i logged on playonline saturday and talked a bit with darkshire, and to my surprise he's still holding onto my armor i gave him almost a year ago He said he used it to level up his Thf and will give it back when i come back in ffxi, but i never thought he would still have them, when i left FFXI i told him to sell or give them. So now rather than being a naked warrior, i'll get back pretty much all my equipment (not sure if he kept the neckchopper and every pieces of armor but as long as i have the chainmail, its a lesser headache).

Wanted to ask, are RDM sought after in parties? (even if im an elvaan?) Of course im certain that its nowhere near a whm or brd but typically is it hard for them to find a party at early or late levels? I might consider going that route, i dont know, there's always been something cool about them, so badass and flexible.. When i'll lvl my war to 30 i might aswell do the ninja quest and try it out, eventually i think i'll end up focusing on war/nin, its just a matter of cash and thats why i kinda want to try an rdm, solo'ing and farming would become a whole lot easier.

Also, i checked ffxionline and i see all sorts of new armor, is there a page that has the screenshots of these new armor for every class? Some of them look very cool, one i saw was red and green and a big pointy hat, the mithra had 2 swords so maybe its ninja's new armor.

http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/avatar.php?userid=8707&dateline=1108687699

This one looks mighty cool aswell.

 

[RuGalz]

RDM usually are not that highly sought after until lv 41 which is when they get refresh, especially in newbie groups. I'd suggest to have both WHM and BLM leveled for it for some flexibility. Especially for the earlier levels, I think most parties are more willing to take a rdm to heal than to nuke.

I'm not sure if RDM is best for farming, I tend to have slightly better drop in the game when I do better melee damage and RDM just doesn't cut it. But then again my char isn't that lucky for getting things to drop so it maybe it's just me.

 

[Neutron Night]

Still, maintaining perfection is difficult and draining oft enough, yes?

As you probably are well aware, for as simplistic as it pretends to be on the top, and in the early stages, it evolves at an alarmingly large rate. And the evolution path never really stopped right up 'till the end. The subtle depth behind so much of the game is still what impresses me to this day, and despite that I don't play anymore, I was still learning new little bits up until the day I quit.

Party support, aggro management, typical roles, chains & bursts, all that good jazz while keeping it fast and fun rolling up the EXP chains was quite tricky, and it's something that had to come with a lot of pratice and time.

I'd say it is a difficult game, even moreso when comparing within genre. Warcraft is much more manageable and accessible, which are good traits, but it takes them to a severe fault. The grouping in WoW along with the PvE game on the whole really lacks vibrance and cohesion, IMHO.

Edit: Mad, if you don't think FFXI is a polished, immersive game within MMO's, then I'd be somewhat terrified to know what you think is. The game still has by far the best controls, physics, animation and by FAR the best lore, plotline (only in the genre, really) and sophisticated world design in the genre.

The game did control much better on a PS2 pad though, yes. Perfectly so, and no, I'd kill SE if they ever added RP servers.

Dude, get over it. WoW IS a better game in 99% of all aspects than FFXI, and I'm a SE (and JRPG in general) whore. I fail to see the appeal of an MMORPG without pvp ever again, since that is the breath and LIFE of WoW. Did you say you played on a PvE server? Yikes.

You must forfeit your canned goods.

Time to see if they somehow stored my lvl 12 warrior from, like, 11 years ago. I mostly played Tetra Master, it was much more interesting. I want THAT account back.

 

[MomoPufflet]

I have two level 75 jobs in FFXI and I can say with confidence that it IS a bad game, but three things have kept me playing. My friends, addiction, and the fact that it would be too painful to delete the character I spent so much time on. Don't get me wrong, I think it can be fun at times-- it definitely has its moments (then again E.T. for Atari probably had its moments)-- but realistically it is the biggest fucking grind of any game I have ever played in my life, and it doesn't end when you hit 75-- it gets worse.

My suggestion to anyone that was able to quit early is don't come back. Whatever reason you had for quitting isn't going to get better later in the game, with the possible exception of making money (assuming you get yourself into a solid endgame LS). The catch is though no matter how much cash you make endgame you're just going to want more. That might be true in other MMOs too, but I can confirm it's true in FFXI. Seriously people, quit while you can.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Goddamnit, i just learned there will be a phase 2 to this, i got excited too fast, phase 1 is only for those that cancelled their playonline account, phase 2 will be for those who still have playonline but deleted their FFXI content ID. I never bothered to delete playonline, its free afterall, so now i cant play until June.. argh

Unless...

What if i delete my playonline account now? Will i be eligible for phase 1 or there's a 90 days timer ?

questions questions

 

[Semjaza Azazel]

Part of me is excited, part of me isn't. I played this game on and off for two months and I never liked it. I guess I might as well give it another chance.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Grrr, its confirmed, for character recovery its in June, that sucks -_-

I was getting so excited thinking of playing it in a week and a half

Might simply start a new character by purchasing a new content ID, make it focused on mages, and recover my warrior in june and leave that one for melee. Wonder if that would work..

edit, chatted further with the TSR guy and it might work but its "not guaranteed" as he says, it depends on the registration date and elegibility for part2, which he cant discuss, so that probably means "no" in other words, SE will probably pick POL accounts who had no FFXI activity for a long time, probably over 90 days, i assume that if they see you have purchased a content ID, played it recently, chances are you aint gonna see your old deleted characters back, they already have the majority of your money anyway with the content ID, aint 1$ more for a deleted character that will make them rush to give it back to you.

So no FFXI until june, damn, that blows.

 

[Alex]

"Dude, get over it. WoW IS a better game in 99% of all aspects than FFXI, and I'm a SE (and JRPG in general) whore. I fail to see the appeal of an MMORPG without pvp ever again, since that is the breath and LIFE of WoW. Did you say you played on a PvE server? Yikes.

You must forfeit your canned goods.

Time to see if they somehow stored my lvl 12 warrior from, like, 11 years ago. I mostly played Tetra Master, it was much more interesting. I want THAT account back."

That's funny, I hate Square-Enix too, but on the same note, I hate the RTS Warcraft titles! Now we both included useless loyalty conjections in our posts! Which of course means fuck little to me as I view game developers on a "what have you done for me lately" standpoint.

If you're curious, I have two 60's in WoW. One on Windrunner PvE, one on Frostmane PvP. Human Combat Rogue and Undead Fire Mage respectively. As you can tell, I'm not very subtle.

And yeah, the (excellent) PvP is and will continue to be the lifeblood of WoW is PvP because the PvE is bloody fuckin' terrible in my vision of a good PvE game in most aspects.

Those left over good portions I refer to being the games number one claim to fame; accessibility, which should become a genre-goddamn-standard. Anyhow, in concerns to PvE vs PvP, I found that out the hard way before swapping over to Frostmane.

I "apprecaite" your concern, but I've been playing MMO's for about eight years now since classic UO, and have (as noted) two max level characters in WoW, in addition to two max level characters on FFXI.

Not that I'm trying to start an experience arguement, simply letting you know I know both games pretty much inside and out for the most part, and typically have a good concept of the mechanics that are important to me in MMO's.

You *really* don't need to attempt to educate me with extremely dry humor and lording of your afternoon old FFXI character... But I somehow believe I'll see some form of awkward retort to this. However, keep in mind I haven't been an FFXI subscriber since November, and I still actively play WoW, and will continue to do so. I suspose you can tell me how "biased" I am at will if it does it for you, however!

Oh well, worlds first civil MMO thread. It was nice for awhile! I tip my hat to Sai and crew, and all the other folks I converse with on the online forum. Thanks for not sucking, guys.

Edit: Goddamn this is a smarmy post for me.

 

[Deku]

I have two level 75 jobs in FFXI and I can say with confidence that it IS a bad game, but three things have kept me playing. My friends, addiction, and the fact that it would be too painful to delete the character I spent so much time on. Don't get me wrong, I think it can be fun at times-- it definitely has its moments (then again E.T. for Atari probably had its moments)-- but realistically it is the biggest fucking grind of any game I have ever played in my life, and it doesn't end when you hit 75-- it gets worse.

My suggestion to anyone that was able to quit early is don't come back. Whatever reason you had for quitting isn't going to get better later in the game, with the possible exception of making money (assuming you get yourself into a solid endgame LS). The catch is though no matter how much cash you make endgame you're just going to want more. That might be true in other MMOs too, but I can confirm it's true in FFXI. Seriously people, quit while you can.

In its defense, it's a different kind of mentality. FFXI forces team play more than your traditional western MMOs and to understand the game mechanics require the grind you hate so much.

Took me a long time to learn to play White Mage properly and many white mages in their 60s and some who have taken the fast track to 75 are clueless and don't use the proper spells correctly, don't understand the beastiary and the mob's elemental attacks and so on. Each job requires quite a bit of playing to understand inside out, but it does get easier the more job you level.

My view on FFXI is, the zen of the game is to be able to play as a perfect team member to understand the job, to anticipate what the other jobs can and cannot do (because of extensive experience) and to be good. Is the grind bad? You bet. But it's hardly a bad game, when the alternative (and I admit highly preferred by most here) is not that interesting to me, but I suppose people enjoy being the lone Rambo adventurer who can do everything solo and max out the levels in a week. In FFXI Playing with a good JP pt and being invited back again and again is the greatest high I get from the game. I'm big on teamwork, and being a team player.

FFXI has a lot of cultural assumptions in it and it is also the reason why so many NAs bitch about it. Everyone wants to be the best soloer and they play the game for the wrong reasons.

 

[Meantime]

However, keep in mind I haven't been an FFXI subscriber since November, and I still actively play WoW, and will continue to do so. I suspose you can tell me how "biased" I am at will if it does it for you, however!

Surely you mean "bias"?

 

[Mike]

Man, this is so tempting, but I better resist. I lost too much time to that game already.

 

[teiresias]

Surely you mean "bias"?

??

 

[Neutron Night]

That's funny, I hate Square-Enix too, but on the same note, I hate the RTS Warcraft titles! Now we both included useless loyalty conjections in our posts! Which of course means fuck little to me as I view game developers on a "what have you done for me lately" standpoint.

I never even played the RTS games, or any other Blizzard games for that matter. But I love RPG's, including MMO's. It's not about "loyalty", it's about recognizing a good game when you see one. SE makes games I like, so I know they will continue to do so in the future. I didn't buy The Bouncer or Super Drive Emotion Kind S or whatever it was, because it sucked. But FF, etc., is consistently good, contrary to whatever the haters are complaining about.

But FFXI pissed me off from minute 1 when I found out there was no mouselook, it was low-res looking, the textures were limited by the PS2, etc. I was really excited about it a few years back, before I had played any MMO. But now I see that WoW does pretty much everything better, except for the FF references. I played EQ2 as well. Between the mind-blowing graphics (I have a 6800), the detailed crafting system, etc., it might well be a better PvE game than FFXI ever was, despite the asstastic art design. But without PvP, there's just no point.

All RPG's must have some kind of point, a reason for playing. In a single-player game, that reason is the story, and completing the game. In an MMO with PvP, that reason is to compete with other players. Without PvP, the reason is...what? You just chase a moving target. You reach lvl XX, they increase the lvl cap. You get some new uber sword...for what? So you can kill Mangy Mountain Goats faster? With no story and no competition, it's just numbers that don't apply to anything.

And yeah, the (excellent) PvP is and will continue to be the lifeblood of WoW is PvP because the PvE is bloody fuckin' terrible in my vision of a good PvE game in most aspects.

The PvE is terrible? Because it's not an absolutely ridiculous grind and forced grouping? Because each class is multi-dimensional, not one-note and one-role wonders? As a shadow priest (I stopped playing that nerfed mofo Hunter) I can heal AND own people in PvP. I can have it both ways.

Besides, WoW is NOT a PvE game. The real game hasn't even started yet, it will when Battlegrounds and the PvP honor system is released. Everything in there now is just practice.

and have (as noted) two max level characters in WoW, in addition to two max level characters on FFXI.

Uh...yikes...

How long does it take to reach 75 on FFXI again?

 

[RuGalz]

All RPG's must have some kind of point, a reason for playing. In a single-player game, that reason is the story, and completing the game. In an MMO with PvP, that reason is to compete with other players. Without PvP, the reason is...what? You just chase a moving target. You reach lvl XX, they increase the lvl cap. You get some new uber sword...for what? So you can kill Mangy Mountain Goats faster? With no story and no competition, it's just numbers that don't apply to anything.

Meh story is like the only reason I continue to play FFXI after maxing my level. They offer you the usual SE FF story treatment with in game cut scenes and such for your 3 kingdoms missions, few main lines of quests, zilart mission and chains of promathia. While level grinding and camping bore me, some people do enjoy them and like to try out different jobs and/or job combinations because each offers different playing mechanism. Mastering each job to their best efficiency in party does take a long time. Heck, I'm willing to say there's at least 30-40% players still don't understand how to best play their respective jobs even at max level partly because they simply follow the general formula or general spec of their jobs and never tune their playing style according to different party setup/situation to maximize the efficiency of the job. Doesn't matter how good your equipment is, crappy players will still show up crappy.

All these are valid reasons to enjoy a pure PvE game and SE did a good job with FFXI. Saying the game is crap just means you totally miss the point of the game. Maybe it doesn't fit you but the game is hardly crap.

 

[Tabris]

Heck, I'm willing to say there's at least 30-40% players still don't understand how to best play their respective jobs even at max level partly because they simply follow the general formula or general spec of their jobs and never tune their playing style according to different party setup/situation to maximize the efficiency of the job. Doesn't matter how good your equipment is, crappy players will still show up crappy.

More like 80-90%

 

[Buggy Loop]

Well screw it

Applicants will be ineligible for the campaign if any of the following apply:
- The applicant has personally deleted his/her FINAL FANTASY XI character and has not cancelled his/her PlayOnline account.

I fall into that category, so i decided that i'll be starting from scratch, i just purchased a content ID, now updating FFXI, and will be starting as a hume RDM, wont be able to use the chainmail that darkshire kept for me but thats money for other things anyway, plus i'll get back my traveller's mantle, he said that they go for 120k nowadays, prices sure have skyrocketed

So im losing my lvl 28 war, my mnk and thf sub, the subjob ability altogether, my chocobo (cry), and kazham airship pass, its really nothing in the long run but its still a pain in the ass to start all over again. Thats why i pick rdm, no way im gonna go with war until a long time, would be too depressing to go down the same path i already took and got bored of.

 

[SiegfriedFM]

WoW has cut scenes... real-time ones. It's just that other characters can see them as they're acted out, and you don't look like an idiot staring into open space.

 

[Jonnyram]

Applicants will be ineligible for the campaign if any of the following apply:
- The applicant has personally deleted his/her FINAL FANTASY XI character and has not cancelled his/her PlayOnline account.

I deleted mine the first time, then used up my one life and had it undeleted when Promathia launched. Thankfully, I just cancelled my POL account that time - so in theory I could get it back.

Shit, this is dangerously tempting.

 

[Buggy Loop]

To undelete a character, its only when its within 30 days after deletion isnt it?

Btw, anyone has a WP to fairy? pm me

 

[Jonnyram]

To undelete a character, its only when its within 30 days after deletion isnt it?

Three months from the last day of the month you deleted it. So if you delete on 1 Jan, you can recover up to 30 April. I wouldn't push it, just in case they have an itchy finger, but that's what the protocol is, at least.

 

[Buggy Loop]

More good news (well bad for those who got to lvl 75)

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/information/0415.html

The number of experience points required to gain each level was originally calculated after considering players' effects on the world of Vana'diel as they progressed beyond the initial level cap of 50. However, a considerable amount of time has passed since the implementation of the final cap of 75, and players beyond level 50 no longer have the same influence on the balance of the game. After a close review, the FINAL FANTASY XI development team has decided to reduce the amount of experience needed for leveling up after reaching level 51 (levels 1-50 will remain the same, however).

The update will affect the following:

-Experience points lost due to KO.
Starting at level 25, experience points lost after being KO'd will be 8% of the amount needed to reach the next level. However, this value will never exceed 2,400.

-Currently accumulated experience points.
At the time of the version update, if a player's currently accumulated experience points exceed the number required for the newly adjusted level, that player's experience points will be reset to one point below the number needed to gain a level.

New content and system-related adjustments are under constant consideration by the FINAL FANTASY XI development team to ensure a balanced playing experience in the evolving world of Vana'diel.

Seems like SE is trying everything to push off the other mmorpgs (wow), pvp changes, allowed to come back, lower exp requirements to lvl beyond 51, lower exp loss when dying and capped at 2400.

 

[PC Gaijin]

I thought the xp loss due to death was already capped at 2400?

At any rate, I restarted a toon about two weeks before the Welcome Back to Vanadiel program was announced, doh. However, I am hoping I can take advantage of part 2 of this program and recover the toon that I gave up last August. I have been leveling the new toon off and on, but am not looking forward to redoing everything I had accomplished before (rank, unlocking all the jobs, limit break 1, etc.) My new toon is only 24 blm/22 whm, and I have actually been doing more mining than anything else.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Got my worldpass to fairy thanks to spiderlily, off to start anew as an RDM, im quite pumped about playing this game again

 

[Shouta]

Woo, glad I've put off getting those last 4 levels with my PLD. :lol

 

[ronito]

Oh I really enjoyed FFXI while I played it in the beginning (TaruTaru named Spoony job Bard/whm Slyph server) and I really enjoyed the friends I had. However eventually I got tired of the dependence on higher level characters to get stuff done at my level, like keys, AF, Rank, etc...I hated to have to be on other people's schedule for this stuff, and then have a someone say, "Hey you don't have x item yet???". That and I have a busy schedule sometimes I can only sit down for an hour or so, needless to say this didn't go over well with the party-a-thons. And soloing was just painful. When I saw this campaign I was excited to go back to Vana'diel, but in the end the lack of solo flexibility/dependence on higher level chars just keep me from trying. I'd rather let my memories remain fond, instead of remembering why I quit in the first place.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Hmm...recovering my old character? Maybe....

<Yes Please>

 

[Johnny Konami]

I actually managed to quit wow, I'm so pleased with myself Before I left I sent all my stuff and money to friends (disenchanted stuff that was soulbound and sent that) and deleted all my characters (highest was 55) to make sure I had no incentive for ever coming back. I've never played any other MMORPG's and I don't think I will considering how much time got poured into wow. Back to real games for me!

 

[Rorschach]

<Yes Please>

:lol Poor Ploid.

 

[AgentCooper]

When I first saw this press released I have to admit I laughed. While I had absolutely some of the best times last year in gaming playing FFXI, after playing a month of WoW, I will never return.

I can't remember how many times I would play all night to level, and some fucktard in my party would forget to heal me, I would die - and then de-level losing more experience that I gained that evening. Fuck that. And I PAID for that abuse.

I'd rather someone kicked me in the balls all night while I happily played WoW than return to that mess.

I do look forward to seeing what Squeenix cooks up next, but for now, I'm all about WoW.

 

[Spiritreaver]

Is it alright if I feel a little lukewarm as a whole about this event?

Last month, I got my first Yhoator Jungle party as my Bard. We were the only party there, for a few hours actually. Why can't it always be like that? It's honestly the only time in my entire game experience that I've seen Kazham to empty. :lol

But in all seriousness, before the real flood hits from this, I hope Square puts to rest those DDoS attacks. Not quite a pleasant time to come into the game, but things seemed to have been pretty quiet lately.

 

[Azrael]

I can't remember how many times I would play all night to level, and some fucktard in my party would forget to heal me, I would die - and then de-level losing more experience that I gained that evening. Fuck that. And I PAID for that abuse.

You played ALL NIGHT, to get < 10% of the exp needed to reach the next level (in other words, anywhere from a couple hundred exp to 2,400 exp at most)? Even a mediocre party gets 3,000 exp/hour, and a good one gets 5,000 exp/hour and more. You sir are either a very bad liar, or you suck :lol .

 

[AgentCooper]

You played ALL NIGHT, to get < 10% of the exp needed to reach the next level (in other words, anywhere from a couple hundred exp to 2,400 exp at most)? Even a mediocre party gets 3,000 exp/hour, and a good one gets 5,000 exp/hour and more. You sir are either a very bad liar, or you suck .

Sorry, I forgot the hours it took to find a party that was ready to go.