Possible returning player, but lots of questions.

Harbinger1975

Many years ago, I played FFXI.  The graphics were beautiful.  But the backwards UI/controls and the insane grinding had me put up a sign that said: ">Bash head here<"  And with little time, and even less patience, I basically cancelled the game after a month.

So it begs to be asked:

1) After so long, how far has the gameplay come along?

2) For those of us who can't spend 29 hours grinding because of real life or just hate grinding in general?

3) These...Linkshards.  I guess they're guilds.  it really has been too long.  But how many of them are roleplay?

4) What is the community like?

5) After all the leveling is done, or after you're done smashing your face into the desk, what does the game offer at the end?

6) Is it solo friendly?

I'm sure there are more questions, but these are all the ones I can think of at the moment.  Thank you for any replies.

Zinefri

Well there's good news and bad news. The good news is that mid-to-high-level leveling up is now fast. Obscenely fast. The bad news is that many players seem to agree right now the starting and low levels need some help. While the vast majority of players are enjoying the new endgame in Abyssea, lower levels are untouched and abandonded. A typical search will show maybe 7 or 8 low level players looking to party while others solo.

You would need to be willing to put in the effort to solo and try to ask other players for help or advice. Leveling solo from 1-10 has always been simple enough. After that from 10-20 you may have more trouble.  Most jobs can solo reasonably except for White Mage which can only scrape by if you're a veteran who has the benefits of knowing how to manipulate the game.

The Field of Valor feature has made solo exping feasible. You get points to spend on buffs and bonus exp in return for killing mobs.  But really you'd likely still not have much fun unless you can meet a few other players who are willing to group up or offer assistance.  Even just a duo or trio of three players will make you much better off. Perhaps you could talk to someone you see near you soloing and ask to team up or something.

My advice to anyone interested in starting FFXI right now would be to wait until a new all-in-one compilation is released.  They always do this and package all expansions+addons together for dirt cheap.  The Abyssea addons are technically optional however the rewards and fun content they offer are so great no FFXI should lack them.  And so I'd say just wait then get the whole package with everything+Abyssea instead of paying more to buy each Abyssea addon seperately.

I hope that helps.  Now for some of your specific questions.

1) After so long, how far has the gameplay come along?  2) For those of us who can't spend 29 hours grinding because of real life or just hate grinding in general?  6) Is it solo friendly?

These questions are all similar.  It all depends on what your level is and what subjobs you can utilize to make soloing easier.  Fields of Valor and the Dancer subjob made lower level solo much easier, but it can still be frustrating and require you to have a good grasp of the game.  At endgame levels you can definately solo if you want but joining a party/alliance is supremely faster.  The Abyssea addon event in fact practically supercharges you with all kinds of buffs to make any job kick some ass.

3) These...Linkshards.  I guess they're guilds.  it really has been too long.  But how many of them are roleplay?

I assume there are a few somewhere but I don't know of any personally.

4) What is the community like?

The community is.. old, for good and for bad haha. Most players all have some idea who other players on their server are. They are usually around the 20-30 year old range and so there's less brattyness and nihilistic douchecock type attitudes you find plagueing some MMOs. For the most part FFXI players are nice and helpful so long as you're sincere.

5) After all the leveling is done, or after you're done smashing your face into the desk, what does the game offer at the end?

Well one of the things that has always set FFXI (and most FF games) apart is its story and characters. If you enjoy a good story supported with lots of unique fantasy lore background then FFXI delivers. Or if you're someone who likes to constantly tweak and further their character then gearing and leveling up will offer that.