How is downtime and getting into a group?

Kreag

Should I decide to get this game (really expensive for the initial expense for an mmorpg),

How is the downtime? Lots of it?

How hard is it to get into a group? considering I don't know anyone that plays this game.

cyphor

If find it really easy to get a group, just head to the area you want to hunt in and do a search for players around your lvl and dm them asking if they want to form a party, or if theys a party started ask nicely if you can join, most wont refuse unless full.

WarHorse

As far as downtime, there doesn't seem to be much at all. granted, i only play about 10/15 hours a week, but it has never been down when I wanted to play.

magik_fx

I think he means downtime inbetween fights. In which case, it's not to bad. It's definetly better then, say, EQ....but it's still there and can be a pain to heal up from nearly dying.

Tiran_Kenja

In my experience getting a good group is tough. At least on lower levels (never made it to very high levels before I cancled the account). Trouble is you can't play in parties with people more than 2 levels over you. Any higher and you will get almost no xp at all. So even if you knew someone you would practically have to play the exact same amount of time or get out of sync and be unable to play together in a group.

If you want to be sure to get in a group you can always be a white mage. It's the healer of the game. And there are never enough of them around.

In a good group - however - the downtime can be almost zero. If you keep mages in a central location and have tanks pull mobs. You still need to rest up from time to time. But mostly for mages to get mana.

Oh. And on a side note. If you get this game get a gamepad too. The keyboard/mouse combo is painfull to use for any duration of time. Mouse it for pressing UI stuff only. Keypard (default setup) for everything else.

Zohar

Getting a group in Final Fantasy XI can be tough from levels 1-10. Once you hit 11-15, grouping becomes easier but it still isn't very easy to find one. When you hit 15 or higher, it's almost hard not to find a group on most nights. I usually get at least one or two tells just by walking in an area (I am a Red Mage, and anyone who can cast cure spells is a bit rare, so that may be why). Downtime isn't too bad at all in FFXI. A "tick" as in Everquest, takes about 10 seconds but the amount of hit points and magic points recovered is pretty substantial (more so in the MP department). In a good group, it's rare to have downtime of greater then a minute and that's after a long period of almost constant fighting, it can actually be pretty intense in a good group.

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Mysk

Gotta love it. Had a nice review typed up and it poofed on posting. So, screw it.

(in) FFXI...

: i find forces you to group more so than EQ does.

: leveling is slow as a low-level Taru black mage.

: lots of down time as a low-level Taru black mage due to low hps and monsters which con "easy" nearly killing my character. This may play into your question if it's the character that you plan to start.

: death costs 10% of exp. A single death can easily cost you two hours of real-life time.

: finding a group may or may not be easy. At my level, I generally find only one other person wanting to group, but my little fellow is only level 8. I read that at higher levels a black mage is needed so this situation will probably change. At current, the game is moving VERY slow.

: worse interface ever. It is down right infuriating. The price of the game may as well be around $70-$75, since the box will cost you about $50 and you will need to spend $20-$25 on a PS2 controller *plus* the USB adapter needed to connect it to your computer.

: most English speaking folks have been polite, and I appreciate AspirituSantu going out of their way to help this little newb finish his first three missions.

: the instruction manual warns you that, if you should cancel your subscription for more than 3 months, you not only lose your characters but you will need to re-buy the software if you ever want to play again. So you're either in it for the long run, or you just burned your $50+. Bloody draconian if you ask me..

Buyer beware <- in a big way.

~Mysk

http://www.myskyra.net/blog

Zieg

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Originally posted by Tiran_Kenja

In my experience getting a good group is tough. At least on lower levels (never made it to very high levels before I cancled the account). Trouble is you can't play in parties with people more than 2 levels over you. Any higher and you will get almost no xp at all. So even if you knew someone you would practically have to play the exact same amount of time or get out of sync and be unable to play together in a group.

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I've never had that problem grouping with people even 5 levels out of my range. You only get a small experience penalty if you are lower, and people I've grouped with really didn't mind the loss, since they were getting over 100 after every kill. If you get into a high-level party, just make sure to fight the tough monsters so that you won't get low experience. Fighting anything below 90 exp when you're in a group is really not worth it.

Jacko

i can always get a group.

depends which classu are i guess.

VoY leader

Fool

It is better to know a friend who plays it and start together> But it is hard cause you have to play at the same time or else he or she levels up then no xp for you so. Makes it hard to group up.

Kilik

I play 2 characters, i play a friends character when i cant play mine just to help him out a little with the sub job quests and such.  I have a lvl 30 Monk, and my friends character is a lvl 18 Warrior, and out of the whole time i've played as either character i've never had any trouble finding a group, i log in and i get 3 tells asking for a group, but half the time you get a crappy leader that doesnt know what he's doing (thats something to watch out for too, if you get a bad leader your better off soloing till you find a better leader) and for the down time there's nearly none if you know what your doing, (or your leader knows whats he/she's doing) a good group is a group that calls chain skills and always always! looks for atleast 2 whm (white mage's). FF11 is one of the best MMORPG's ive ever played, it can be fun and bad...depending on what kind of group you have

Jacko

Grouping,like i said,is fine for me. Though i usually lead a group,and have had no complaints,so i guess im doing something right.

The only prob i have is finding the right class that i need hehe. Mostly its WHMs and BLMs. We need more!

VoY leader

Kilik

If you're still having trouble with down time and bad leaders or what not, a good place to look for good groups are in the dunes, on the highlands side, or deeper in the dunes towards the beach or selbian area, there is always good groups there and if you go to the beach and pull snippers your down time is practicly none, only ppl that will down is the whm's when they need mana.  But i do warn you that these areas are for lvl 10 and higher...maybe higher than 10, cuz my friend's lvl 18 warrior doesn't find easy prey there yet, and wont be doing so till he's over lvl 21.  For lower lvl character you might look towards the Highlands area or the Marsh....if you looking for a quick lvl, but other than that just stick to the area just outside your main hp (home point), because there is always newb lvl 1's that want to group large to get them lvl's rollin' in right off the bat.

Happy Gaming!!!!!!