FFXI or Rift?

JonnyBigBoss

I used to play Final Fantasy XI back in 2005, and enjoyed it a lot, but eventually moved to WoW (like many did). Now I hear they've made content completely accessible, and that makes me want to return.

Rift just came out, and has gotten moderate praise, but I'm not sure if it'll just make me wish I was playing WoW.

This essentially comes down to is FFXI too old, or is Rift just not really a long-term solution? Which would you recommend to someone sick of WoW?

gessekai332

rift was pretty fun for like 2-3 months. the dungeons and raids are fun but you can only do them so many times before you get sick of them. i never played wow and i still got sick of this game after 3 months.  

ichimarunico

Moderate players (between casual and hardcore, the "average" gamer) chew through all of Rift's content in about 2 months. The entire time you play it, you will be saying "Ooo this is just like how they did it in WoW, only a little better!" but by the time you are finished, you will be saying "Wow. That was basically just WoW, only worse."

FFXI is dated, make no doubt about it. But Rift is dated in a much more subtle and much more damning way. If it's a 50/50 choice, between anything, never choose Rift.

zeowyrm

Rift has a 7 day free trial.  Instead of just asking on the boards here, where you'll get hit with a lot of unwarranted hate about the game. just d/l and try it.  Yes, it uses the WoW model of business: take everything that worked from previous games, combine it together and polish it.  Yes, that means it has similar features to WoW, but it does try and set itself apart, and it's public quest system is what WAR's should have been.  Besides, it's still the only game where I can make an elf male that doesn't look like an androgynous woman.

ichimarunico

That's good advice, but the 7 day free trial is basically where ALL of their design went. They build up the first half of the game like crazy, and it basically sucks after that. Beware.

mindw0rk

Overrated boring shit with close to zero high end content (RIFT) or deep, packed with content and great quests MMO (FFXI)? Ya, hard question

Cernan

Don't listen to naysayers about any game.  Always test them out for yourself.  Rift is free to test, and FFXI can usually be found on sale for $9.99.  Steam or Amazon one usually has some offer for getting the entire game really cheap.  The issue that you will run into with FFXI is that it is a top heavy game.  It's 9 years old, so most of the population is at max level.  The playstyle though is completely different from Rift.  If you are good at communicating you should be able to find others though.  Rift should be much easier to find people your level.  There are puzzles to be unlocked and hidden treasures in each zone.  The first time you join in a Rift invasion you will probably enjoy it.  It's up to you whether you think it would get old.  It's too early in the game's lifecycle to determine longevity.  If you come home and spend 4 hours a night playing a game, FFXI will last you much longer.

 

Sidebar (while I say never listen to naysayers about any game, there are always exceptions.  MO.  Everyone said don't play it at launch, and they were right.  Technical issues made the game unplayable.  However, for content concerns always try the game yourself.)

Nekkuro

FFXI of course.

Rift might not be of your taste.

Soki123

Don t be fooled by FFXI s ability to solo etc. now. It still has the same communtiy of statics and need of groups. A great game, but is still alot tougher to get things done the most MMOs. Rift is a good solid game, with decent lasting appeal, if you don t just blow through the content.

Valentina

Just play Rift, it's fun and everyone else is playing it.

Mavek

In my opinion if you're choosing between WoW and Rift I'd choose WoW.  Granted i havent played since Cata came out but after playing Rift for a month i got completely tired of it.  The rifts get boring pretty quickly and nothing is truly innovative.  All of the class combinations resemble anything that can be found in WoW and (at least in my opinion) WoW has appeal due to familiarity.  Rift really didn't do anything differently that made me want to keep playing it (my highest toon was 40 before I got sick of it).  Granted Im sure the endgame might have been fun but its pretty much the same thing that could be found in WoW.

Thats just my 2 cents and to be honest I don't even like WoW I just feel its better than RIft.  Also I never played FFXI so I cant comment on that.

p.s. one thing that also made me dislike Rift is that the zones feel extremely bland and exploring them was really quite difficult for me and I'm someone that enjoys exploring the corners of every zone/map/dungeon etc.