Anyone play Final Fantasy XI?

[Adessia]

Okay so my birthday is coming up. I'm between MMOG's and Mythica is a way off. I've been looking at Final Fantasy XI because hey, I loved playing it on my playstation and so am wondering if anyone has any opinions on it. I've received some positive and negative feedback on it, someone even told me the work around for picking my own server but I'd like to know what everyone else thinks. Should I invest in it? I know it's really popular right now but am wondering what the "flaws" might be or what makes it fun.

Thanks!

[esion]

Personally I loved FFXI and if I had time still I would play it still. I played for the first free month and loved every minute of it. The game is definetly built for the FF fans, it has the same feel but in an mmorpg format. Leveling is really hard (something I love), but being able to lose level upon dieing sucks. The graphics overall are top notch, the magic FX are amazing, the weapon skills are great...along with being able to link moves is great too.

Overall I would say its probably one of the best mmorpgs I have played. True there are some things that I didnt like, such as the bazaar selling format, but not enough to say dont play. Just a word to the wise if you plan on playing plan on spending lots of time playing...its really addicting and really hard. My friend has been playing hardcore style for 3 months and is only lvl 28...

[Scarne]

I'm enjoying it right now.

Easiest way to pick a server is to have a friend on it buy a World Pass. Which shouldn't be a big deal for anyone out of the newbie stages. The other way is to go through the character creation process up to the point just before you link the character with a content id. Back out and check the delete character menu, if its the server you want don't delete. Otherwise, delete the character and recreate it. Eventually you will get the server you want. However, with this method, the random selection process is weighted by the servers' current populations. So if the server you want is the highest population one are creation time, it could take a long time to get it.

Biggest "flaw" is the forced grouping to get xp at a reasonable rate. Beyond level 10 or so and definately after level 20, you pretty much need to group to level at a reasonable pace. And with the way the game economy works and how mob drops are, its a bad way to earn money. So unlike most MMORPGs, you can't really level and make money at the same time.

[Taedrun]

Awesome game, and I agree with all the comments put forth so far. My only qualm with it is that it was designed with the PS2 in mind (even though the PC version was released first), so the keyboard controls are a bit sketchy and definetly different from most MMORPGs. I wouldn't go as far as buying the PS2 version instead as it will have all the limitations of the PS2s hardware build, but I would by one of those 3rd party PS2 controllers for your PC (commonly used for playing emulator games and the like). I like the feel of the PS2 controller far more than the odd keyboard setup they use by default.

The only other odd thing you have to get used to is the fact that it was released in Japan a whole year before the US release, so all of the high level players are japanese speakers. Square did include a nice translation feature which helps (though both you and the player from Japan need to conciously use it for it to work), but be prepared for most high level groups to include several non-english speakers :)

[Scarne]

It was released on the PS2 first. The release order went: PS2 in Japan, PC in Japan, PC in North America, and finally (in the next few months) PS2 in North America.

[Vali]

Is it completely and utterly forced grouping? or is soloing viable?

-V

[Scarne]

For gaining xp, aside from the Beastmaster job, grouping is pretty much forced if you want to level at a decent rate. However, grouping doesn't provide enough money to keep all your equipment up to date, so you do get to solo when in money-making mode.

[BigJonno]

I was about to reply to this with a vitriolic steam of FFXI-hating until I realised it was a very old topic that had been resurrected, so I didn't bother.

On the subject of soloing, no it isn't viable and it's also deathly dull. FFXI combat is only really fun with a good group.

[Vali]

go ahead and post your "vitriolic steam of FFXI-hating" my friend is trying to talk me into giving it a shot- so Id rather know some opinions about it before I head in blindly.

"so you do get to solo when in money-making mode"

ooh la la, grind grind grind?


-V

[BigJonno]

FFXI is pretty much the ultimate grind game. Virtually everything is long, hard, slow and, in my opinion, boring. Having to play the game to level 30 to get the class you want is a big turn-off, especially when getting that class means you have to start all over again. Character customisation is virtually non-existant. You don't get a huge range of gear at any given level, so you run into identical characters on a regular basis.

Combat is fairly typical for a MMOG (target/auto attack/occasionally use special attack.) The one really great aspect of the game is the group combat linking mechanism (can't remember it's proper name.) It adds a decent amount of tactical depth, but you need a decent group. That's another problem that I found. It's one of the worst games I've played for finding good groups.

Getting from one place to another is a nightmare. There are three starting cities. Each race gets a nifty magic ring for starting in their home city. If you want to start in the same place as your friends, you either limit your race choice or take an effectiveness hit.

Mob/zone balance is awful, even compared to EQ. Some zones are just better than others, which leads to overcrowding in the good places and desolation in the naff ones, not that you'd want to go there.

There are a lot of niggly little things that I felt came across as amatuerish. For example the basic two-handed sword (a rusty greatsword or something) is needed as part of a higher-level quest/recipe (I don't remember which) to get a much better sword. Combine that with the player-driven economy and it's virtually impossible to get a two-handed sword at low-levels. That's just plain bad design.

I follow the same pattern for most MMOGs I play. The first few nights I'll be totally obsessed and play into the wee small hours. For a couple of weeks after that I'll play every spare minute I can. Only then will I settle into a regular pattern. I've done this with every MMOG I've bought, expect FFXI, which I played for about six hours the first night and then sporadically for a couple of weeks and only lasted into my first pay month because I'd forgotten to cancel my account.

EDIT: And you can ask JonnyG how much I was looking forward to it. My level of disappointment was, excuse the pun, massive.)

[Vali]

Thanks for the reply, and how dissapointing. The job system appears nifty to say the least.

But Ive loathed not being able to solo since my EQ days. So thats strike number one.

Ive abhored spawn camping since my EQ days. Strike number two.

Well, its on the way, so Ill probably be into it for a few hours. Im not expecting much, the game hasnt even made it to me and its on thin ice. *SIGH*

When will there be a game I can get into for the long haul? WoW? EQ2? will they do it??

Wheres Mythica when you need it?

-V

[esion]

Just to toss in my two cents...I can agree with everything BJ has said...the game is grind-tastic...

I mean I played hardcore for 2 weeks, about 5-8 hours a day and only got to lvl 9...deleveling is a nightmare too...you would spend 6 hours and get a level, only to agro some mobs and die twice bringing you back to 8.5...

The player driven economy sucked ***...you cant solo, its almost impossible (I was a needed healing WHM, and I still could hardly get a group)...and it takes forever.

Great graphics, great FF game, but overall too much needs to be invested to have fun.

I have heard WoW is going to be a really great game. I have a few friends in beta and the LOVE it...they say no other game even comes close to graphics, depth, fun, and longetivity...I thinke EQ2 will do quite well too, from the videos it looks great, kinda slow, but really good none the less.

[Midsummer]

someone acused me of wanting EQ2 to be like FFXI the other day when i suggested Airships (not that I know anything about FFXI), after reading this I should have flamed him good and proper! :)


EQ2 is looking good, apart from the slow, stilted combat and their wierd beta phase system, which goes: friends & family, legends & loe subscribers, long time eq subscribers, general misfits *cough* applicants.

I didn't apply with my EQ station login (2.5 yrs subscribed), drat. I have a feeling if I do get into beta it'll be the Euro one.

[BigJonno]

I've applied for the WoW and EQ2 Euro betas. I'm really hoping to get into the WoW one. Like Esion I've heard very good things about it and I'm a huge fan of the WC world. I'm pretty sure my friends will enjoy it too and playing with them was the best bit of CoH.

[esion]

Just fyi you can buy WoW beta accounts on ebay...well that is if you want to drop 500 bucks for it...I wish I had the cash :(

[Vali]

500 bones to test a game, heh, only to have it deleted in short order in a few months


bleh

-V

[Scarne]

Originally posted by esion
I mean I played hardcore for 2 weeks, about 5-8 hours a day and only got to lvl 9...deleveling is a nightmare too...you would spend 6 hours and get a level, only to agro some mobs and die twice bringing you back to 8.5...
You have to be doing something wrong if you invested that much time and only reached level 9.

The player driven economy sucked ***...you cant solo, its almost impossible (I was a needed healing WHM, and I still could hardly get a group)...and it takes forever.

Whats wrong the the player economy? It works pretty well.

Your grouping problems were probably due to only being level 9 at most. Most people don't start grouping till 10+.

[Vali]

Scarne -

Your into FFXI I take it. Whats good about it? How do you rate it compared to some of the other titles out there?


-V

[esion]

Scarne, I died a lot...I was a WHM and I couldnt solo worth crap..I could buff and heal like none other...but really I couldnt do much else. So if I couldnt find a group, I would try to solo and die...and die a lot. So I didnt get very far.

I hate the running away option...others cant help you fight a mob unless you click on the mob and allow them permission too...it really hurt when you were at 5 hitpoints and had a lvl 10 next you saying "permit me!!!"

[Scarne]

Main thing I like about FFXI is the job system. Lets me play around with different jobs without having to give up on my character. A bunch of other MMORPGs I gave up on in part because I couldn't really settle on one class so I would end up leveling like 4 characters to the low-to-mid range. But with the job system, even if you start playing a new job, you still have everything about your character built up so you don't have to go around repeating newbie quests and such. And especially stuff like 'gateway' quests such as obtaining a chocobo or airship pass.

In FFXI, I started out as a Thief and got it up to 32 before deciding it wasnt really for me at the time. If it hadn't been for the job system, I might have given up at the time. Instead, I refocused and started leveling up Red Mage. It was easier since from leveling up Thief, skills such as Sword, Dagger, Parry, and Evasion were maxxed out for my Red Mage for a long time. Now I have Red Mage up to 64 and am still going strong. The time spent on Thief isn't wasted though, since when 'farming' low level creatures for loot and money, using Thief as a subjob helps increase what I get.

I also liked the way it felt like a release-worthy product at the NA launch. Playing stuff like SWG at launch can really make you feel burned by the MMOPRG inductry.

I think the player economy works pretty well in FFXI. In somethign of a realistic approach, most monsters only drop craft goods, not money. Only things that drop money directly are humanoid mobs. Luckily, the Auction House makes it easy for adventures to sell their trade goods to crafters. The somewhat downside to this is that from normal leveling process, you don't earn enough money to properly equip your character. You need to spend some time outside of leveling making money, whether farming low level mobs, fishing, crafting, or otherwise.

FInally, I haven't played a forced grouping game before so I'm not burned out on the concept yet. Also, since level 40, I've been in a static group that levels our main job together so I don't have to worry about looking for groups.

[Caitsith]

I'm interested in selling my Final Fantasy XI account since I went back to school and could use the extra cash and have relatively no time to play it. Since ebay instantly kills all account or money transactions for this game, its hard for to get a accurate comparison to look at for the price of my account. However, if you go to www.ige.com and look in the Final Fantasy XI section and then again on the server lists on the side, you will see that all the accounts they sell are for much more than I am offering mine for MUCH LESS on the account in value and levels! For everything that I have listed below, I'm asking $450 US. If you're interested get back to me within a couple days at FFXI_For_Sale@hotmail.com and we can set up payment info. Thanks.


Caitsith Server
225k Gil
65k San d'Ordian CP (Conquest Points) = approximately 200k Gil
Astral Rings (x2) = 300k Gil
250~300k Gil in items and other equipment/gear
Max Fame in San d'Oria, Windurst, Jeuno. Rank 8 Fame (one from Max) in Bastok
Mea, Dem, Holla, Altep, and Vazhl Gate Crystals aquired
Rank 5 (Airship pass)
ALL Gobbiebag AND Moogle Safe enhancements completed


Elvaan Male, Tall, Black Hair - GOOD name, no random characters or "l33t" speak
56 Dragoon (AF1, 2, 4, 5 completed)
30 Warrior
30 Black Mage (Up to date on spells)
26 Red Mage (Up to date on spells + more waiting in bank)
26 Summoner - (Shiva, Ifrit, Titan, Garuda, Ramuh, Carbuncle, +3 or 4 Spirits = 125k+ gil in value spent on aquisition)
25 Dark Knight (Up to date on spells)
21 Samurai
10 Paladin
10 White Mage
10 Monk
8 Ninja
1 Thief
1 Beastmaster (unlocked)
1 Bard (unlocked)
0 Ranger (not unlocked)

Account also has a Galka mule character carrying approximately 25k Gil worth of items.