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Future of Final Fantasy XI press conference ended [OP updated with details]

Shouta

Member
What accomplishments tho?, fighting over claims in DA?, Sky?, Sea?. If anything Abyssea saved the game :p

^ I agree with this post.

Seriously, better itemization for everyone, lots of stuff to do, most jobs could help in some fashion, etc etc.
 

ZetaEpyon

Member
Yeah, folks want the community but that can exist without going back to pre-Abyssea though it's unlikely.

Yeah, I think the changes in the overall MMO climate are the real hindrance here, more than any specific version of any specific game. What a lot of people forget is that when FFXI came out, the internet was a way different place. I mean hell, wikis were barely a thing (Wikipedia itself was only a little over a year old), so the main way to find out stuff about the game was to just go do it. Now, virtually everything about new content is known immediately after the release, documented in detail, and available for all to see. That's not how it was back in the day.

Also, you should totally come back and screw around in Adoulin with us.
 
What accomplishments tho?, fighting over claims in DA?, Sky?, Sea?. If anything Abyssea saved the game :p

Edit: But yeah if this is to announce the end of the game I will be sad, even if I dont play it anymore D:

just plain ass leveling was the best time to be had in FFXI for me and Abyssea killed that style of camping. but apparently it's back.

uhhh....also it kicked my dog! brb trying to look like I know wtf i'm talking about
 
Abyssea saved the game after it had been ground into the dust by the WoTG era. Yes, DNC and SCH were great additions to the game, but practically everything else from that expansion sucked. Even the main storyline -which is actually pretty cool- is undercut by endless filler-missions and the most worthless rewards ever for an expansion.

Pretty much nothing from that era "stuck" with the playerbase, it was an unmitigated disaster. The 3 mini-expansions weren't much better either.

Abyssea, and the whole Magian Trial system basically saved the game.
to WoTG's credit, Moonshade Earring is still one of the most powerful items in the game
 

ZetaEpyon

Member
what killed the game for me was the login campaign, and specifically the login campaign tied to Trust NPCs. Once I knew I missed the opportunity to participate in content I know I would have wanted to have, I stopped caring about coming back. And I likely won't come back till I know there is a way for me to get that old content in some form (even if I have to work for it).

They do cycle the old login campaign trusts back in, it's not like they're a one-time, get it now or you never have it thing... In fact pretty much all the login campaigns now have two trusts - one new one and one previously released one.
 
oh please don't shut down the servers yet. let me get to level 99 and finish the stories. just got this game last month and it's grindy as fuck lol

edit: "plans going forward".

new expansion?
 

Shouta

Member
Yeah, I think the changes in the overall MMO climate are the real hindrance here, more than any specific version of any specific game. What a lot of people forget is that when FFXI came out, the internet was a way different place. I mean hell, wikis were barely a thing (Wikipedia itself was only a little over a year old), so the main way to find out stuff about the game was to just go do it. Now, virtually everything about new content is known immediately after the release, documented in detail, and available for all to see. That's not how it was back in the day.

Also, you should totally come back and screw around in Adoulin with us.

Maybe if they offer the expansion for free and it goes F2P, lol. Dragon Quest X is what I'm playing now and that scratches my FFXI itch pretty nicely. Though, I'm on cooldown for that game aside from logging in during free time to do a little bit.
 

Khrno

Member
What accomplishments tho?, fighting over claims in DA?, Sky?, Sea?. If anything Abyssea saved the game :p

Edit: But yeah if this is to announce the end of the game I will be sad, even if I dont play it anymore D:

Fucking instanced and theme park shit bores me out of my mind.

How I miss the blood spilt by linkshells outbotting and mpking each other, now that was real competition.
 

Toth

Member
Why didn't everyone jump ship to XIV by now?

A very misinformed post. FF XI still does a lot of things better than 14, even after all this time (i.e not negating gear every single patch, far better storylines, more variety in current end game content, more job strategy). FF14 does have have those great graphics and solid intrastructure though. I continued to play both and I find XI keeps improving with recent additions every patch (which occur monthly now) and a fresh coat of paint would do wonders. A server merge is definitely needed though. Even at peak, I only see 700-900 players online, with several of those being bazaar mules.

also for those concerned about leveling....with a decent party and double exp bonuses, I was getting 4-5k exp PER KILL. On VT mobs. Exp gain has tremendously improved so hitting 99 is not that time intrusive anymore. Plus, you get to play with abilities as you level, some of which completely change your job style.
 

Einhander

Member
Most importantly, I miss exploring dangerous zones that had enemies which could one-hit-kill me. Sure, waiting around to get in a grinding party took fucking forever (a lot of the time you wouldn't be able to find a party at all), but the sense of adventure and wonder was definitely there. It made Final Fantasy XI a special Final Fantasy installment and MMORPG. I don't get that from Final Fantasy XIV. That's fine. It's a different approach of an MMORPG. More glamour, less difficulty. I enjoyed the main story of Final Fantasy XIV for what it was worth. I don't particularly enjoy instanced dungeons, never have. I prefer to have dungeons as zones in the world.
 

Allard

Member
They do cycle the old login campaign trusts back in, it's not like they're a one-time, get it now or you never have it thing... In fact pretty much all the login campaigns now have two trusts - one new one and one previously released one.

I'm aware, still doesn't change the fact I have to login in almost every day to accumulate points, and then have to wait a year to get all of them no matter I do. I like the ability to drop in and just play when I feel like it and feel like I can get stuff done, the days of me being forced to login every day on any MMO are done thanks to my current job and games that feel like work are part of the reason I take such long breaks from these games in the first place. Despite not being everything I want it to be (FFXI still holds a special place for me) I at least like the 'drop in and out when you feel like it, won't take long to catch back up' style that FFXIV has and at least when it comes to seasonal stuff they have the cash shop if you missed something you really wanted but didn't play the game when it was released for a limited time.
 

Kenai

Member
Nope, XII is the sequel. XI -> XII. Dur. ;)

But seriously, I'm just curious what remaining players consider to be better than XIV and worth sticking around for.

It's the last bastion of oldschool MMO flavour that preceded WoW, or at least was when i played. All of the good and bad that comes with it. Takes a hellava long time to get anything meaningful done, throw you to the wolves with class mechanics, some terrible class imbaalance, a serious sense of accomplishment when something big gets done cause it is such a hassle to put stuff together. I spent almost 6 years doing it and overall had a blast and a lot of good memories, but I could never go back to it now. Way less time and patience from when i was a college newb.

FFXIV is definitely using several things that WoW implemented, which again has good and bad with it. I love FF XIV dearly though, so glad they fixed that shartfest abomination that was 1.0, and got rewarded for it. Definitely scratches a itch that WoW does not.

If they keep it up XIV will have similar legs.
 

Kal_El

Member
What I wouldn't give to spend more days in the Dunes, Yuthunga (sp?) Jungle or in Jeuno. Best 6 years of my life video gaming. I spent about 2 years in FFXIV.
 

Vashetti

Banned
I don't play XI, but I wish I had. My computer was nowhere near up to scratch years ago to run it.

Let's say they do announce it's shutting down, what happens then? I've never experienced an MMO getting shut down. Would they 'give' the game to the community to keep it going?

It's very strange to think that a mainline Final Fantasy title could effectively disappear because it's online only. Especially a game that's been built over years and is filled with lore, music, etc.
 

Kwixotik

Member
This is just my opinion, but I actually miss a lot of the gameplay style of Ffxi vs wow or ffiv.

The world in Ffxi felt real. You went out into a huge open wilderness and explored. There was no icon on the map showing you your next mission. If you needed to find an item in a cave, you had to go find the cave. And chances are you may not make it there alive because the world was freaking dangerous.

The fact that you lost xp for dying sucked ass, but then again it really made you fear death. The further out you explored the more white knuckle it became.

If you wanted to level, you had to find a good place to hunt. Yeah it was a grind, but it made every nook and cranny of the world feel important. I remember finding tucked away a areas of the valkyrm dunes away from other hunters and spending a evening with a party just hunting away.

A lot about modern mmos are better, don't get me wrong. But that sense of exploring an unknown world is just plain gone in today's quest logs and map markers and high speed leveling treadmills.

This sums up a lot of my love for XI and complaints about XIV perfectly. I quit XI and only play XIV extremely casually now.
 
I can barely resist. Sometimes I lay in bed and think about the Zilart, those fucks.

I never did the final fight where you fight the bros at the same time. :(

It was always such a hassle to get groups together for things like that without riding the wave of a dedicated linkshell getting all its members through mission content.
 

JMDSO

Unconfirmed Member
I don't play XI, but I wish I had. My computer was nowhere near up to scratch years ago to run it.

Let's say they do announce it's shutting down, what happens then? I've never experienced an MMO getting shut down. Would they 'give' the game to the community to keep it going?

It's very strange to think that a mainline Final Fantasy title could effectively disappear because it's online only. Especially a game that's been built over years and is filled with lore, music, etc.

They'd probably give the players the keys to the kingdom when it comes to getting all the content done. Things like OP weapons and the like.

I highly doubt they'd let FFXI continue without controlling it themselves.
 

frequency

Member
I'm aware, still doesn't change the fact I have to login in almost every day to accumulate points, and then have to wait a year to get all of them no matter I do. I like the ability to drop in and just play when I feel like it and feel like I can get stuff done, the days of me being forced to login every day on any MMO are done thanks to my current job and games that feel like work are part of the reason I take such long breaks from these games in the first place. Despite not being everything I want it to be (FFXI still holds a special place for me) I at least like the 'drop in and out when you feel like it, won't take long to catch back up' style that FFXIV has and at least when it comes to seasonal stuff they have the cash shop if you missed something you really wanted but didn't play the game when it was released for a limited time.

Ciphers are like 500 points. That's like 5 days of logging in. You have a month to log in 5 times.

I play super casually and go weeks without playing. Since I'm also playing through other games (like MH4U - very time consuming), I take long breaks. FFXI works fine as a "drop in" game.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
suppa is worthless now though, and moonshade is everywhere

Suppa+Brutal was the melee earring pairing for such a long-time though, and its still the best for any DW job pre-99. Even now I'd think it still has its uses depending on how much DW you have elsewhere in your build, 5% is still damn nice from a single slot.

I dunno about Moonshade though, it always felt kinda underwhelming considering the sheer length of the WoTG campaign.
 

Erasus

Member
I like MMOs and Final Fantasy, yet never played FFXI or 14

I am hoping it goes Buy to play + cash shop (GW2 and The Secret World) or something like SWTOR that keeps a sub for hardcore peeps. Full F2P I dunno how that would go.

Feel like its an interesing game, being that it is originally a PS2 game and the servers are still up for it :D

Been looking at some videos and it dosent look bad. No idea how it controls though
 

ZetaEpyon

Member
I'm aware, still doesn't change the fact I have to login in almost every day to accumulate points, and then have to wait a year to get all of them no matter I do. I like the ability to drop in and just play when I feel like it and feel like I can get stuff done, the days of me being forced to login every day on any MMO are done thanks to my current job and games that feel like work are part of the reason I take such long breaks from these games in the first place. Despite not being everything I want it to be (FFXI still holds a special place for me) I at least like the 'drop in and out when you feel like it, won't take long to catch back up' style that FFXIV has and at least when it comes to seasonal stuff they have the cash shop if you missed something you really wanted but didn't play the game when it was released for a limited time.

Yeah that's a fair criticism. I've profited handsomely from the login campaigns (lots of mules), but on the whole I think they do shift things perhaps a little too much to the "work" side of things than the "fun" side.
 

Shouta

Member
Neither have I. Actually I stopped early on in the WOTG expansion.

Maybe I'll get on PUP and see if I can solo everything.

PUP has massively improved in the post-Abyssea era. They recently retooled Autos, added new attachments, and all of that jazz apparently. I don't know how effective it is but if it's as good as how PUP improved then, it should be a real treat.
 

xemumanic

Member
I've always said I'd go back to FFXI if it went F2P, but in recent years since I said this, I've heard many valid reasons why this wouldn't be a good idea. I hope that maybe they kill the PS2 (360 possibly?) versions and make and updated PC and PS4/XB1 ports. Still dunno how I feel about that in all, but I hope they don't EOL the game but I doubt that's whats going on.

There's so much I never did, goals I never reached in that game. I'd like to able to before the end.
 

Kenai

Member
Most importantly, I miss exploring dangerous zones that had enemies which could one-hit-kill me. Sure, waiting around to get in a grinding party took fucking forever (a lot of the time you wouldn't be able to find a party at all), but the sense of adventure and wonder was definitely there. It made Final Fantasy XI a special Final Fantasy installment and MMORPG. I don't get that from Final Fantasy XIV. That's fine. It's a different approach of an MMORPG. More glamour, less difficulty. I enjoyed the main story of Final Fantasy XIV for what it was worth. I don't particularly enjoy instanced dungeons, never have. I prefer to have dungeons as zones in the world.

That was fun when i played, but honestly I am glad it's gone. Having instanced things means that you don't have to wait for people to leave so you can do some of the most basic things in the game that you need to do (level and/or get gear drops/mats). And racing to places like the Chasm for Tiamat for Gaiters or the infamous Dragon's Aery camping at god knows what hour. Even not being able to do Sky because another group was already there with their pop items.

FFXIV isn't anywhere near perfect, but honestly it really has yet to come into its own. Most of my best memories of 11 were in the expansion content (RoZ, CoP, ToAU), so I am willing to give it a little more time, especially when it's so good now. and the first expansion is so close
 
PUP has massively improved in the post-Abyssea era. They recently retooled Autos, added new attachments, and all of that jazz apparently. I don't know how effective it is but if it's as good as how PUP improved then, it should be a real treat.

Did they make it any easier to actually attain those autos and their various attachments? I seem to recall many of them being quite annoying to get together, almost worse than any other pet class in game.
 

Shouta

Member
Did they make it any easier to actually attain those autos and their various attachments? I seem to recall many of them being quite annoying to get together, almost worse than any other pet class in game.

Autos weren't an issue to get after awhile, I think. Attachments were however, I don't know if they've addressed it at all. Toth might know.
 
oh please don't shut down the servers yet. let me get to level 99 and finish the stories. just got this game last month and it's grindy as fuck lol

edit: "plans going forward".

new expansion?

As a PS2 launch player who just recently returned to the game this week after being absent for several years, I can't help but grin at this lol.

Really hope they don't announce a termination date though I've been really enjoying the hell out of the game this week. So much content I can finally do I couldn't before.
 
That was fun when i played, but honestly I am glad it's gone. Having instanced things means that you don't have to wait for people to leave so you can do some of the most basic things in the game that you need to do (level and/or get gear drops/mats). And racing to places like the Chasm for Tiamat for Gaiters or the infamous Dragon's Aery camping at god knows what hour. Even not being able to do Sky because another group was already there with their pop items.

FFXIV isn't anywhere near perfect, but honestly it really has yet to come into its own. Most of my best memories of 11 were in the expansion content (RoZ, CoP, ToAU), so I am willing to give it a little more time, especially when it's so good now. and the first expansion is so close

Yeah but FFXIV's mechanics are mostly set in stone at this point and thats where all my fatigue from the game is coming from

Which is a damn shame really
 

theDeeDubs

Member
I get the itch at least once a year to come back to this. An XB1 version would definitely have me scratching. I've tried to get into FFXIV even after ARR and I just flat out don't like the game. It just seems like a spammy flashy mess to me. Guess I'm just more of an EQ 1 MMO kind of guy.
 
How easy is it to get trusts?

See, my experience of XI was that I made a thief, I think.. got to about level 5 in some desert and started finding it really hard. Someone said I needed a party already.

In comparison, I've done most of what XIV has to offer, save for the endgame raiding which doesn't interest me.

Easy. Trusts are content for everyone
 
Did they make it any easier to actually attain those autos and their various attachments? I seem to recall many of them being quite annoying to get together, almost worse than any other pet class in game.
The Ashu Talif questline attachments are pretty easy to get as you can easily solo them with trusts now.

However they replaced those with new forms of expensive/rare attachments and I don't think they ever added new ways of getting them. I forget which attachments these are, it's been a while, but I remember them being really useful. I had to pay like 2m+ for one of them and it was never on AH. They're crafted only.

I think they recently add more though? Like in the past couple of months.

EDIT: The ones I was thinking of were Turbo Charger II and Vivi-valve II. Both very useful.

They recently added tier 2/3 attachments of the baseline attachments (Tension spring, Tranquilizer, etc) but they are also crafted only and my guess just as rare/expensive as the other recent ones. =/

EDIT2: Just checked FFXIAH and on Fenrir the newest attachments are like 100k a piece. So actually really cheap.
 
I'm aware, still doesn't change the fact I have to login in almost every day to accumulate points, and then have to wait a year to get all of them no matter I do. I like the ability to drop in and just play when I feel like it and feel like I can get stuff done, the days of me being forced to login every day on any MMO are done thanks to my current job and games that feel like work are part of the reason I take such long breaks from these games in the first place. Despite not being everything I want it to be (FFXI still holds a special place for me) I at least like the 'drop in and out when you feel like it, won't take long to catch back up' style that FFXIV has and at least when it comes to seasonal stuff they have the cash shop if you missed something you really wanted but didn't play the game when it was released for a limited time.

You would have to login 5 times in a month to get points for a trust. It's not strenuous. And about half of them are quested.
 

Seigyoku

Member
Yeah I know I'm a major pessimist but I can't see this being anything good.

(Note for those not on other thread, I do not consider server merges to be good.)
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I would probably play this if it were F2P.

Paying for MMOs is actually a hurdle for me. I can't ever see myself saying "I'll definitely play this in the next month", and I don't want to pay for something I don't use.. So I never jump in. This, despite owning XI and XIV and being a huge FF fan.
 

Joe T.

Member
Fucking instanced and theme park shit bores me out of my mind.

How I miss the blood spilt by linkshells outbotting and mpking each other, now that was real competition.

This is the part of the game I miss the most, having Japanese, European and North American players all fighting for claims 24/7. Having multiple linkshells drop whatever they were doing to race out to Tiamat was a rush.
 
Did they make it any easier to actually attain those autos and their various attachments? I seem to recall many of them being quite annoying to get together, almost worse than any other pet class in game.

New attachments are crafted in stacks from common mats like originals. I bought the new ones for like 100k each recently. Not too bad. Npcs sell a bunch and the rest can be obtained from the quests which are now soloable and randomly from a few random loot sources. Which keeps them in circulation when the content isn't popular.
 

Allard

Member
You would have to login 5 times in a month to get points for a trust. It's not strenuous. And about half of them are quested.

Still requires me to be subscribing each month for just the task of logging in occasionally :p, my point is I don't like time limited content that I can't go back and play again at my leisure when I actually feel like picking the game back up. I want to know I can play the backlog and the trust NPC issue is a sore spot for me as they were introduced after I ended up quitting for a while. I actually have been having an itch to go back and play believe it or not, and I might take your advice on it, but I still really want them to find another way to reintroduce that content for people like me who come and go. Like I said I wouldn't be adverse to those limited time trust NPCs showing up as a cash shop item so long as there was a legitimate way to get them at some point in game for those who don't want to participate in it, I really like how they are doing the seasonal items in FFXIV for instance.
 

studyguy

Member
I don't miss waking up at 3AM with a couple people who call my cell phone to try at a window I eventually lose to JP only to crawl back into bed and question why I was playing at all.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Free to Play would be nice, would let me FINALLY be able to play FF11 since I refuse to pay a monthly fee.

Single player version for one of the best stories in FF.

Or this would work as well. Take the sting out of no FFXII:I:ZJS:HD port.
 
Still requires me to be subscribing each month for just the task of logging in occasionally :p, my point is I don't like time limited content that I can't go back and play again at my leisure when I actually feel like picking the game back up. I want to know I can play the backlog and the trust NPC issue is a sore spot for me as they were introduced after I ended up quitting for a while. I actually have been having an itch to go back and play believe it or not, and I might take your advice on it, but I still really want them to find another way to reintroduce that content for people like me who come and go. Like I said I wouldn't be adverse to those limited time trust NPCs showing up as a cash shop item so long as there was a legitimate way to get them at some point in game for those who don't want to participate in it, I really like how they are doing the seasonal items in FFXIV for instance.

They have already said they want to make quests for a lot of the cipher ones eventually. You don't need to collect them all to be functional when all you use is kupipi and Ultima anyway either.
 

B.K.

Member
I don't really think they'll announce an end date for the game yet. It still makes them too much money. I do need to start getting busy with the story though. I've still got a lot to do.
 
I don't miss waking up at 3AM with a couple people who call my cell phone to try at a window I eventually lose to JP only to crawl back into bed and question why I was playing at all.

Kings are forced pop now and they give away pops in the monthly login campaign. DRing is still good.
 

theDeeDubs

Member
First time hearing of Trusts. Do they have a limited time of use per activation? It always annoyed me that you could only use your npc companion for a limited amount of exp per day.
 
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