Is this game for me?

dmnd · December 2008

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -

i have played WoW and War,

these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,

but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-

My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.

The only thing im afriad of about this game is -

When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?

thank you for your responses

Suplyndmnd · December 2008

Originally posted by dmnd

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -
Anything's possible...
i have played WoW and War,
these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,
This is a good start...
but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-
My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.
FFXI definately has some awesome bosses but I'd warn against coming into this game with visions of fighting the uberest of monsters in a month or 2 or 12. There are some Monsters that have never been taken down. You will need numerous jobs to 75 and that requires some time and gil and farming as well as doing many missions and quests. I'm 3 years into the game and i'm not done and i'm an average dedication type player. I do not burn through the game so your mileage may vary. If you do it hardcore for a year, you'll burn through a lot of content. The great thing about FFXI also is that there are lot of stuff to work with on yoru character. Leveling job, skills, and crafts. PvP in FFXI is fairly non-exsistent. This is not a PvP friendly game in any respect though it is in it.
The only thing im afriad of about this game is -
When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?
This is the million dollar question. The answer to A can't be answered. Some jobs you can get party invites without even looking and sometimes you'll look for hours upon hours and upon hours and get nada. Also, i'm sure others will jump in here soon and warn you of the "I want to be on a med-high pop server" kneejerk reaction new players have but I got here first. This is a game where resources are not plentiful. You will have more people to party with on a higher population server but you'll be competing against more people for those places in parties. When it comes to camping NM's or farming, you'll have much more competition than on a lower server. You will have more people who will be likely to do missions and other end game activities but that means you will be fighting against others for spots in this too.
The answer to B is much simpler. Yes. You can quest, solo, craft, fish, or "Field of Valor" which helps in getting some solo exp. This is a new thing added by SE to make the down time between LFP a little less harsh.
thank you for your responses
You're welcome

dmnd · December 2008

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by dmnd

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -
Anything's possible...
i have played WoW and War,
these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,
This is a good start...
but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-
My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.
FFXI definately has some awesome bosses but I'd warn against coming into this game with visions of fighting the uberest of monsters in a month or 2 or 12. There are some Monsters that have never been taken down. You will need numerous jobs to 75 and that requires some time and gil and farming as well as doing many missions and quests. I'm 3 years into the game and i'm not done and i'm an average dedication type player. I do not burn through the game so your mileage may vary. If you do it hardcore for a year, you'll burn through a lot of content. The great thing about FFXI also is that there are lot of stuff to work with on yoru character. Leveling job, skills, and crafts. PvP in FFXI is fairly non-exsistent. This is not a PvP friendly game in any respect though it is in it.
The only thing im afriad of about this game is -
When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?
This is the million dollar question. The answer to A can't be answered. Some jobs you can get party invites without even looking and sometimes you'll look for hours upon hours and upon hours and get nada. Also, i'm sure others will jump in here soon and warn you of the "I want to be on a med-high pop server" kneejerk reaction new players have but I got here first. This is a game where resources are not plentiful. You will have more people to party with on a higher population server but you'll be competing against more people for those places in parties. When it comes to camping NM's or farming, you'll have much more competition than on a lower server. You will have more people who will be likely to do missions and other end game activities but that means you will be fighting against others for spots in this too.
The answer to B is much simpler. Yes. You can quest, solo, craft, fish, or "Field of Valor" which helps in getting some solo exp. This is a new thing added by SE to make the down time between LFP a little less harsh.
thank you for your responses
You're welcome

thank you for the very good in detail answer ,its appreciated,

- and yes, i like the fact that it will be a long grind to "big bad bosses" becuase for WoW, when wotlk came out, almost a month later i had done all the end game and yawned

and also, for job/sub jobs .

theres two kind of characters i like, ones with pets/summons/shapesifts, or really "fun-to-play" tanks/swordwielding people - would it be hard to find groups with jobs such as these , obviously id read up more on proper combinations, but yeah

reetin · December 2008

Well if you go with a "Pet" job and want parties i would suggest Summoner however when people invite a summoner they typically just want the summoner to heal and do support magic, not so much attacking with pets. Beastmaster and Puppet Master are more solo jobs as the pet helps you kill stuff and both of those jobs have decent ratings for damage in themselves.

Now if you leveled a job such as Warrior, Ninja, Paladin, Monk it varies on how you will get invited to a party. Ninja will get invited to parties a heck of a lot more than a monk basically because monk has a lots of competition for damage dealing. If you play Paladin they also will get invites pretty quick because they tank as well as ninja. Pretty much just depends on your job. If you want to level quickly i say level up a needed job such as whm, pld, nin those three jobs are the most highly sought after and would be the best if you wanted to level quickly.

ic0n67 · December 2008

Originally posted by dmnd

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -
i have played WoW and War,
these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,
but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-
My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.
The only thing im afriad of about this game is -
When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?
thank you for your responses

Well, first off there is a lot to do between party invites, too much to be honest.

Early on there is not much to do beside craft, fish, farm, or solo. The new Fields of Valor allow you to get some bonus exp for farming and/or soloing some.

Once you get a little higher in level you can make your way to Aht Urgah and you can then do Pankreton (which is a pet battling game) and with that you can start builing up zeni for ZNMs.

Once you get into endgame a little more you can do Raids like Dynamis, Limbus, Salvage, Ejh-whateveritis to get higher level gear.

You also have a multitude of instance based battles to choose: BCNM, ENM, those ToAU-NM things (name is escaping me), Assaults. These start as low as level 20 and go all the way up to 75.

There are also those missions and quest you can do as well which will help improve your character (and wallet)

As far as getting a party. If you read some of these other posts there are natural waves in the game of people leveling if you catch one you can take it to 75 real quick. With the new level sync there seems to be more lower level parties going on all the time now. All in all it is better to have a desirable job. Healers and tanks are always in demand. Once you get to certain level (i.e. lvl 30 on THF) jobs can become desirable, but it could be a struggle early on. Of the 6 starter jobs WHM would be the best if you want fast invites.

Marokii · December 2008

If you're looking for a pet-job to do as soon as they're unlockable for you, Beastmaster is probably your safest and easiest choice. It's fairly cheap, straightforward, and teaches you alot about the game that you might not have known before, plus, it's fairly fun exploring as a BST.

You really don't want to rush into Summoner or Puppetmaster though, because Summoner is arguably one of the most tedious and expensive jobs, constantly having to defeat higher leveled avatars in tough fights just to use them, then again if you want money or need special items, and even again later on. It's border-line ridiculous.

Puppetmaster is very fun and my personal favorite job but it's also very expensive and not alot of people like PUPs, so you may have a rought time getting into a party. Above all though, just have fun. I think people take FFXI too seriously sometimes.

“The contents of this post do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com and its management.”

Suplyndmnd · December 2008

Originally posted by Marokii

If you're looking for a pet-job to do as soon as they're unlockable for you, Beastmaster is probably your safest and easiest choice. It's fairly cheap, straightforward, and teaches you alot about the game that you might not have known before, plus, it's fairly fun exploring as a BST.
You really don't want to rush into Summoner or Puppetmaster though, because Summoner is arguably one of the most tedious and expensive jobs, constantly having to defeat higher leveled avatars in tough fights just to use them, then again if you want money or need special items, and even again later on. It's border-line ridiculous.
Puppetmaster is very fun and my personal favorite job but it's also very expensive and not alot of people like PUPs, so you may have a rought time getting into a party. Above all though, just have fun. I think people take FFXI too seriously sometimes.
“The contents of this post do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com and its management.”

I agree with you on the BST part and PUP part, but Summoner is not tedious or expensive. You don't constanly have to defeat avatars either. You defeat them once to get them and then you go back through again to get Fenrir. You don't need to defeat them more than twice. Finding people to do this in a linkshell is generally fairly easy as a lot of people have to do them and just don't but I would reccomend another job before Summoner so you can make friends who can help you out with this.

rozenblade1 · December 2008

Well the game has sooooo much to do it's hard to decide. You really have to decide on what you are into, and then persue it. Partying can be difficult at times, especially for a new player because there are many higher level players who will want nothing to do with you, but when you do come accross a player close to your level, it's easy to start a party.

PvP in this game is just not there, but PvE is great and the community is really good, it is a social experience.

If you are a fan of grinding, then this is great for you. there is a lot of grinding, especially between the levels of 10-40 (approx.). You'll do a lot of XP partying, but it's fun if you enjoy socializing.

Suplyndmnd · December 2008

Originally posted by rozenblade1

If you are a fan of grinding, then this is great for you. there is a lot of grinding, especially between the levels of 10-40 (approx.).

I'm not quite sure why people keep pointing this out when they talk about FFXI or any MMO. I don't consier killing mobs for exp grinding as much as leveling. Maybe it's just throwing a different name on it but the connotation to "grinding" seems to be a bad one. You have to do some repetitious activities but there is a reason for it.

rozenblade1 · December 2008

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by rozenblade1

If you are a fan of grinding, then this is great for you. there is a lot of grinding, especially between the levels of 10-40 (approx.).

I'm not quite sure why people keep pointing this out when they talk about FFXI or any MMO. I don't consier killing mobs for exp grinding as much as leveling. Maybe it's just throwing a different name on it but the connotation to "grinding" seems to be a bad one. You have to do some repetitious activities but there is a reason for it.

When I say grinding, it's just another term for leveling. It may sound bad, but I do not mean it in a bad way. To me grinding is repeatedly killing mobs for XP, it's not a bad thing to me.

ic0n67 · December 2008

Yeah grinding is leveling on xp mobs ... just the term for it.

Field of Valor is not considered grinding because you are trying to acheive a goal set out for you.

Wizardry · December 2008

Originally posted by dmnd

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -
i have played WoW and War,
these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,
but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-
My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.
The only thing im afriad of about this game is -
When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?
thank you for your responses

I am going to say something you didn't want to hear.You mention the things i CANNOT stand about wow and gaming in general.

You sound like you just want to raid for gear.Superficial gaming my friend,you might as well stay in WOW.There is a lot of players in this game just as other games with the same mind set.I just HAVE to have that +1 elemental staff or i HAVE to have that Kraken club.There is a game in there outside of boss drops,players need to play it for fun and not treat it like an expedition to get the HOLY kraken club.

dmnd · December 2008

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by dmnd

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -
i have played WoW and War,
these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,
but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-
My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.
The only thing im afriad of about this game is -
When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?
thank you for your responses

I am going to say something you didn't want to hear.You mention the things i CANNOT stand about wow and gaming in general.

You sound like you just want to raid for gear.Superficial gaming my friend,you might as well stay in WOW.There is a lot of players in this game just as other games with the same mind set.I just HAVE to have that +1 elemental staff or i HAVE to have that Kraken club.There is a game in there outside of boss drops,players need to play it for fun and not treat it like an expedition to get the HOLY kraken club.

Quote- when you assume, you make a "ass" out of "u" and "me"

no where in there did i say i was in it for the loots, i like epic story lines , and fun boss fights

Suplyndmnd · January 2009

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by dmnd

Im wondering if this game is something i would be interested in -
i have played WoW and War,
these have both made me feel like turning away from MMO's,
but i think final fantasy might be more of something i might like because-
My main thing i like to do in MMO's(well all games actually) is fight some awesome bosses, not like the poor washed out, recoloured ones in WoW , and then the other thing i like about MMO's is how i can advance my character and work on it, not like regular games where you hit the last boss and are down with the game, i like working on my toon and playing with others online. and while i find pvp fun, its only something i like to do once in awhile, not alot.
The only thing im afriad of about this game is -
When your looking for a party A) about how long does it take to find one on a med-high pop server, and while im looking for one, is there useful things i can be doing in the meantime?
thank you for your responses

I am going to say something you didn't want to hear.You mention the things i CANNOT stand about wow and gaming in general.

You sound like you just want to raid for gear.Superficial gaming my friend,you might as well stay in WOW.There is a lot of players in this game just as other games with the same mind set.I just HAVE to have that +1 elemental staff or i HAVE to have that Kraken club.There is a game in there outside of boss drops,players need to play it for fun and not treat it like an expedition to get the HOLY kraken club.

I have to say that, for the first time maybe, i disagree with ya Wiz. As much as I love playing the game, leveling jobs, doing the missions (Zilart Missions are my fav storyline by far, ToAU a close second), I also try for that +1 elemental stave or that Kraken Club because it makes my ability to play my job better. I mean, there are whole sections pretty much, of this game, where all you're doing it going for the loot. Dynamis, Nyzul Isle, Einherjar, and Salvage. I think he actually sounded like the typical FFXI player. Aren't we all working on our character to improve them? Wether it be gear or combat skill or even levels.

Cynthe · January 2009

Good point, gear is a very essential part of the game. What I do like is that if you can't for whatever reason get the best gear there is still not too bad gear available, and now with the elitism on the wane those pieces are more acceptable. Or so is the impression I get.

Suplyndmnd · January 2009

Originally posted by Cynthe

Good point, gear is a very essential part of the game. What I do like is that if you can't for whatever reason get the best gear there is still not too bad gear available, and now with the elitism on the wane those pieces are more acceptable. Or so is the impression I get.

I think the eliteism is shrinking only in percentage but not in size. More players are accepting of less than uber gear (like myself) than the Eliteist crowd is growing. There are some that are hardcore "You gotta have this piece for this job" but my thing is, if you are in party and our party is killing well and getting good exp, i dont care if you're naked doing it. As long as you are doing your job well enough to help and not hindering us, i really don't care how you're doing it. I think a lot more people are coming to that. However, I like to have the better gear, the +1 gear, just because it means i can do just that much more and have more options myself so i help my team eek out a little more damage or cure just a little bit better. However, i have my line as well. I understand sometimes having a subjob that's gimp, i've been there, but it should be kept to a minimum especially with so many things changed like higher exp for Easy Prey monsters, bonus exp from signet, Fields of Valor, things I never had, it should be kept to a bare minimum.

Cynthe · January 2009

Which comes to mind is the AF gear, I was reading up on the newest jobs and it looks like they made it a lot easier to get the pieces ?! Almost makes me want to not get my bst gear and just level and then concentrate on dancer... Apparently dnc/bst is a killer combo for solo, and I wouldn't mind leveling a few subs for groups...

*ponders*

Suplyndmnd · January 2009

Originally posted by Cynthe

Which comes to mind is the AF gear, I was reading up on the newest jobs and it looks like they made it a lot easier to get the pieces ?! Almost makes me want to not get my bst gear and just level and then concentrate on dancer... Apparently dnc/bst is a killer combo for solo, and I wouldn't mind leveling a few subs for groups...
*ponders*

In a sense they made it easier. The quests and locations are all the same and the key drop rate is the same only the coffer chest pop rate is increased. However, you can only pop 1 like every 30 minutes or so as to not feed the RMT's. The pop rates are increased, but not your ability to pop the chest. Make sense?

B1ight · January 2009

I would rather "grind" xp in FFXI any day of the week over mind numbingly boring Quests based leveling that has become so popular since wow came out.

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