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Is this game for me?
JoshC1
Member Posts: 13
Let me give you a run down of the games that I have currently tried: WoW, EQ2, LOTRO (currently still playing the trial version, and then will be posting detailed review in LOTRO forums on this site), and sadly, runescape. Can you guess which game I got addicted to the longest?
RUNESCAPE! LOL I know, right? Anyway, WoW didn't cut it for me; it was just too easy. It felt like you were doing the same thing over and over again in the quests; I played the trial and that is how it felt. People who play WoW say that the end game is great, but judging from the quests, IDK. I'm not willing to spend money on months of game time just to find out what the end game content is like. Is that fair?
Originally, I tried EQ2 and ended up purchasing the digital download from direct2drive.com. Needless to say, it held me for about 2 weeks? I think about that long. It was fun, but then it got boring, fast. The reason why is because the quests never really captured my attention. Standard quests; you were either a postman, or hired to go kill a set number of monsters, and the rewards were either weapons, money, armor etc.. It just didn't really draw me in. Idk, maybe I'm weird for not liking the fact that you could solo to the level cap; not to mention the game felt really easy and I got my character up to 20. My line of thinking goes "ok, what's the point in paying for a game every month if you can SOLO to the level cap?" I know, I know, there are group instances and I could have joined a guild, which I did. Even then, I didn't get my fair share of group stuff. Anywho, if I missed something, please tell me, in a polite manner because I'm trying to be as thorough as I can and as mature as I can about this. Moving on..
Right now I'm playing LOTRO, and so far it is OK. I'm doing the side quests, and those can get rather boring as well. Pretty much the same deal; go kill this many bears and collect this for me, don't forget to send this message to this person and report back to me for your reward. So far, the rewards are about the same as WoW and EQ2. The game has great graphics. Overall, the game's storyline is cool, yet this game has yet to draw me in. I'll be a trooper and finish this 10 day trial, and then I'll make my final decision.
Enough of the background, moving on to my original question. Is this game for me? For me, if I pay a monthly fee, I want every bit of satisfaction I can get. I want it to be meaningful. I've read some reviews on the grouping bit and that really interested me. IMO, I'd be more than WILLING to sub if I can group every time I get online; that's my style. Other reviews say that it takes forever to get groups; is this true? If I am actively seeking groups, will I get them quicker? I don't mind trying to form my own groups and getting actively involved in the community; IMO, that seems really interesting and goes great lengths in drawing me in.
Is this game for me? If it isn't, could someone direct me to the MMO that is? An MMO that has lots of grouping and coop and is not centered around SOLO content?
PS- This is way off-topic, but does anyone know of an MMO that does NOT center around "point and click" or "turn based"? I mean by like "return of the king" combat where you actively block/attack.
Comments
There is no guarentee that you will get a party/group everytime you log on. This goes for if you LFP all day, or take incentive and try to form parties by inviting others. You might in fact waste large amounts of time LFP all day long, and it drove me crazy sometimes. If you want to play this game and take a character/job to 75, be prepared to invest an insane amount of time and have A LOT of patience.
So this game is certainly cooperative. There are only a couple of viable solo options. You will work with other players. You virtually have to. Most people solo to about level 11 or so and then begin to party with other people. The state of the game has changed a lot since launch. It used to be that there were too many people looking for a group, i.e. there were too many tanks looking and everyone already had a tank so you waited around for hours (literally). Now, the game is the opposite. There's not enough people looking, particularly in the lower echelon. This is good and this is bad. Most low level parties will take anyone as long as you are the appropriate level...but there are times when no one is looking. Be prepared to wait for a long time to find a party. Some days you can form one or get in one right away. Other days, it's harder. From my experience, if you are a new player, a tank class will get you into a party fastest. At least on Fenrir, we have an overabundance of healers and no one to tank.
Also, be prepared to group with morons, especially in the Valkurm Dunes. You will probably meet a lot of 10-12 year olds who can't spell and have no idea how to play their class, or how to do the best for their party. Realize that most of the established players, who know the game, and can actually spell, are higher level and you won't run across them very much unless they are working on one of their low jobs. That said, there are quite a few new players. I am surprised by the number of people I meet who are learning the game, without subjobs and genuinely just don't know what to do. So, that could be good for you, to get in with some other new players and learn the game together.
Bottom-line is, you will wait. I run the game in windowed mode and do other things on my computer while I wait. I take in an attitude kind of like "if I get a party, cool, if not, oh well, there are other days." Don't expect to find a party every night. If you don't expect to, your play time will be much more rewarding. And also, don't expect your party to be any good, once you get one. If you have any more questions, just post back! Good luck.
[Here's a list of all the games I've played and/or my computer specs to show how much more seasoned or technologically advanced I am than you.]
Sounds interesting. If I have to wait, then so be it. I'll be ok
. I've never played any of the final fantasy games, but from what I hear, they are pretty amazing. Other than that, I can have a lot of patience AS long as the game is difficult; I'm tired of doing the same thing over and over again. I will not play another emulated WoW or EQ2. For me, they didn't click at all. I'm looking for something fun, and that doesn't mean that I want to burn right through the content. My main question: Is there a free trial I can do? Or does anyone have a spare key? Another thing; if i end up wanting this game, what should I buy? The vana'Diel collection? BTW, I'm not looking for instant gratification; I'm not that type of player. I just want a game that revolves a lot around grouping.
/to add--- I was looking for a digital download of FF XI and came across Vana'diel collection 2007 on direct2drive.com. I've downloaded WoW and EQ2 from here. Anywho, what should I do? The 2007 version is $19.99. Or should I just go for the 2008 version? I was thinking maybe I should download the 2007 version and see if I like it. Would this be smart?
Well if that's what you're looking for, FF certainly has it. It will take you a grand ol' eon to get through all of the content. You won't be able to reach endgame anytime soon. I played WoW for 3 years and I can tell you, this game is pretty much...nothing like it. There are very few quests for rewards. You don't quest for EXP, you grind it with parties. If you are the kind of player who doesn't mind, basically, doing the same thing over and over to advance your character, then you will be fine. It's an asian mentality MMO, meaning there is a lot of grinding and a lot less stress on individuality. It doesn't much matter that you haven't played any of the previous FF games. The only thing they share with this one is that you must be in a party to succeed, they are both turn based, and the story isn't bad.
The current way to try the game would be for you to get a buddy key from a current player. Problem is, everyone has given theirs out. If you are serious about it, I would go and buy the Vanadiel 08 collection. Individually the games are 20 dollars each. Together in this collection they are 30. Saves you...60 dollars or so. Then I would just play it, and give it a fair shake until you get level 30. By level 30 you should know if this is something you think you'll be interested in doing and at this point in the game you can also unlock all of the advanced jobs.
[Here's a list of all the games I've played and/or my computer specs to show how much more seasoned or technologically advanced I am than you.]
The only problem I have in getting the 08 version is that it isn't in stores around here. I tried my local gamecrazy and they don't have it. They sell mostly console games anyway. I know walmart does not have it (I'll check tomorrow, but I'm almost certain that they didn't have it last time I checked). Kmart doesn't have it and the last time I called gamestop, they didn't have it either. So would downloading the 2007 version be smart or should I just order the 08 version online? Just wondering because the 07 version is 19.99, and it has all of the expansion packs EXCEPT wings of the goddess. Wings of the goddess is 19.99...so what do you think I should do? Would buying the 08 version be better in my overall gaming experience than buying the 07 version?
Well, it's clear you've made up your mind, so I'll give my 2-cents on what's left.
Yes, get the 2008 collection. It's a $10 difference; however, if you were to buy Wings of the Goddess separate it would be a $20 investment instead of an outright $30. I don't know what your location is; however, GameStop, Best Buy and Circuit City will almost always have the 2008 collection in-stock. WotG has subclasses that may be valuable dependent upon the direction you want to go with your character, my friend is actually having to spend $20 just to get 1 sub-class that she wants since she got the 2007 edition! (I believe the two jobs are Scholar and Dancer) If Jobs are unimportant to you, then go ahead and get the 2007 collection and you should be fine for a while.
Depending on what you're look for server-wise. Check out ffxiah.com.
My personal recommendation is Odin, based off personal experience and bias in many of the same MMOs as you. The server has nearly 55,000 characters, and although it is technically over-populated plays much like a launch server. At lower levels, it is very easy to get a party (level 10 is generally when people start to PT). Second most populated server is Asura. On these 2 servers, you're almost guaranteed a party at low levels. If you do go to Odin, I'm in a LS of about 7 people; however, we're all very helpful and friendly.
To compare, I started on Garuda (this time around), which has a population of about 33,000 characters, and the first time I wanted to party it took me 5 hours while on Odin it took me only 30 minutes. Same class, same level, same stats.
Four things to keep in mind based off my experience:
1. Quests are not clearly outlined like LOTRO.
2. Most 11-12 year olds quit the game by level 15 out of sheer boredom/lack of understanding.
3. Monks and Warriors get the most invites at low levels and are much easier to level than other classes. This is probably because you really only need 1 mage in Valkurm Dunes and a lot of PTs like to power level from level 10-20 which generally use more damage dealers than mages.
4. No matter how much I'd love to deny them, most of the reviews are accurate on Amazon.com (even the 1 stars).
Let it be known that I hate WoW with a passion and will defend almost any MMORPG against it.
Current: FFXI (PC/360)
Want: FFXIV, Stargate Worlds, Star Trek Online
Past: AC, AoC, AO, Atlantica Online, CoH/V, DAoC, Dungeon Runners, D&DO, EVE, Everquest I+II, FlyFF, GW (all), Lineage 2, LOTRO, Mabinogi, Maplestory, PSO (DC/Xbox/PC), PSU (PC/360), PlanetSide, RO, Shadowbane, SWG (Pre-NGE), SotNW, TR, UO, Warhammer Online, WoW, WWIIO
Ive recently returned to ffxi and i have to say I am loving it again. I started on a fresh acct and while you do have to wait a while for invites, there is quite a bit you can do solo while waiting. you can solo the first few ranks all the way to 2-3 by level 20 (you will need sneak pots and invisible whatever if youre class cant do it) though. You can do solo quests to get your reputation up in the 3 major cities which will in turn increase your rep in Jueno which is big for later on. You can level your other jobs to 10 or 11 during US off peak times then go lf a pt at primetime on your main job. Basically theres a lot that you can do while waiting to pt, if you are willing to do it.
The only thing I will say is the economy is bad for a fresh player just starting out. you dont pull in nearly as much Gil as you have to put out. PTs will not like it even at lower levels if you show up with no armor and missing spells. If you know someone higher level, join their server and hope they can help you out with some gil.
Aside from that, the game is very rewarding, unlike some other games where you can just zip to max level solo and get everything handed to you. When you finish a big mission or level, you will feel like you really accomplished something (as much as you can from a video game anyway). I had a high level friend help me get my airship pass Rank 5 and I felt great having finished that this early in the game (only in low 30s). Its a tough but rewarding game and it sounds like that is what youre aiming for. Hope you enjoy it!
I took the plunge. They actually had a COPY of Vana'diel collection 2008 at gamestop for $30. Not a bad deal; the way I see it is I'll play until level 30, then I'll figure out whether I really like this or not. If I do, then great I'll keep playing. If not, then I'll move on and sell the game for like $15 on ebay. I'll get half of my money back, so I'm good to go. We will see =D
Grats on finding your software! By the way, once you install it, it won't be able to install on other comps. I know this for a fact because my brother has like 4 seperate ffxi game boxes, due to switching computers, and switching acounts around often. So your stuck with the game lol!
Also, the game discs do have a resale value. People who own the 360 and PS2 versions look to buy just the disk to install on their PC. I personally bought the 360 version of the 2007 edition and borrowed the disks from my friend to install on my PC which means the disks are reusable.
You're thinking of the account which is associated with your contact information and such. The account cannot be transferred. Your brother probably switched accounts for any number of reasons (I would've switched accounts simply because I can't remember my bloody login which is a password in itself). So he may be stuck with the game, but certainly not the game disks.
Plus, he can sell his account (even though it violates the EULA). I really don't see anything wrong with selling an account though if you're only selling it for the purchase price rather than for an actual profit. At that point you're simply breaking even. Whatever... not the place to discuss this issue.
Let it be known that I hate WoW with a passion and will defend almost any MMORPG against it.
Current: FFXI (PC/360)
Want: FFXIV, Stargate Worlds, Star Trek Online
Past: AC, AoC, AO, Atlantica Online, CoH/V, DAoC, Dungeon Runners, D&DO, EVE, Everquest I+II, FlyFF, GW (all), Lineage 2, LOTRO, Mabinogi, Maplestory, PSO (DC/Xbox/PC), PSU (PC/360), PlanetSide, RO, Shadowbane, SWG (Pre-NGE), SotNW, TR, UO, Warhammer Online, WoW, WWIIO
I'm not looking to sell my account; I know that will never happen. I think what that guy is saying is that the cd-key is nonreusable. It's alright, I can deal with $30 gone because I had it and it was ok. I get the 30 free trial so there isn't anything to complain about. Besides, I happen to strike gold (after trying for 30 minutes to figure out the controls of the game and the interface>>>very confusing stuff but fun nonetheless). I happen to stumble upon a gracious soul who gave me a linkpearl and off I was on a tutorial. I hate tutorials, but a player tutorial is pretty neat, especially when they are there to help every step of the way. This guy had friends who played this in RL and are pretty dedicated to the game, so I'm not worried about that. This game is great, and so far the challenge is very appealing. I created a monk on Odin. Currently level 2 right now. People don't lie when they say you need patience for this game. When I first saw the graphics, I cringed. I was thinking "CMON, ARE YOU SERIOUS?" But then I took a step back, and thought about it again. Give it a chance, I thought. So, I tossed the graphics out the window, and the game is actually quite fun. Yes, I'm grinding, but at least I have people to talk to while I'm grinding, not to mention I have a group that I can rely on right now. Who knows, I'll make more friends in the game and there will be more group opportunities; it's all about how you look at it really. The game is set up so that you MUST socialize, and is NOT for the solo type. This game fits me perfectly well, and I may be rethinking that WAR sub. Depends if this 30 day trial sinks in with me. We will see.
This is exactly the reason that WoW didn't work with me. It isolated everyone. If you chose to be anti-social, you could climb to 70 just as easily as someone who grouped. I enjoy games that keep you grouping. I think it builds the playerbase and builds relationships. I tried FFXI - but found that it wasn't for me. However, I wish more games would come out with the same type of group mentality in mind.
Now, devs have to create games with the solo'er in mind. Why? People will find a way to solo. When EQ came out, the game wasn't built for soloing, but some people apparently found a way. It seems like the first question everyone asks when you log into a game is, "What class is best to solo with?"
Its a niche that MMO's have fallen into (for the most part) and I'm not sure its healthy. WoW had a great deal to do with the pioneering of the "massively-single player online roleplaying game". Just good to see that there is still a group-centric game still working to keep subs up.
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/played: EQ, EQ II, DAoC, WoW, LoTRO, AoC, CoH/CoV, WAR, Aion, Tera, Wildstar and many others that don't merit listing
/playing: Clash of Clans, Hearthstone
*awaits anxiously to see if Josh gets sucked into the FFXI heroin addiction*
Change your graphics using the FFXI Config, which can only be opened when you are completely logged out of the game and POL. You can also use a controller if you have one.
To be the best, you must help each other become the best.
FFXI Character: Satimasu
FFXI Server: Valefor
FFXIV Character: Tamorae Fonteil