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Some Questions About FFXI
Tuutob
Member Posts: 607
Okay, I posted this on the FFXI forum but I didn;t quite get the answer I was looking for:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Well, I am thinking about getting an XB360 and it seems that FFXI is the only MMO on it, so I thought I may give it a shot.
A few questions that I hope to have answered:
Exploration- Any good? Is there a lot of content to be explored without having a quest?
Combat- Is it turn-based or real-time? Any popular MMOs which this games fighting system ca be compared to?
Community- Can XB360 players play on the same servers as PS2 and PC owners? Is it a pretty mature player base?
Role Playing- Im asking a lot but is there any?
Interface- Easy? Accessible in times of stress and confusion?
Addiction- Can it keep me hooked so I will live up to the monthly fee by not buying any other games while I have it?
Other- Can you Jump and Swim? What level do you get something like a mount or a speed enhancer?
Thanks!
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Well, I am thinking about getting an XB360 and it seems that FFXI is the only MMO on it, so I thought I may give it a shot.
A few questions that I hope to have answered:
Exploration- Any good? Is there a lot of content to be explored without having a quest?
Combat- Is it turn-based or real-time? Any popular MMOs which this games fighting system ca be compared to?
Community- Can XB360 players play on the same servers as PS2 and PC owners? Is it a pretty mature player base?
Role Playing- Im asking a lot but is there any?
Interface- Easy? Accessible in times of stress and confusion?
Addiction- Can it keep me hooked so I will live up to the monthly fee by not buying any other games while I have it?
Other- Can you Jump and Swim? What level do you get something like a mount or a speed enhancer?
Thanks!
Comments
Exploration is pretty fun; the areas are large, the scenery is impressive, and there are many hidden or at least non-obvious passages to find.
Combat is not turn-based (I don't know of any MMORPG other than Kingdom of Loathing that *is* turn-based). It's really not that different from WoW in general principles: Start attacking a creature and your attack automatically cycles based on your weapon's delay. You have a number of spells and abilities that you can use, each has its own cool down timer. You can be constantly doing something as long as you have something whose cooldown timer is up (not that this might necessarily be a good idea). Unlike WoW where everybody has and spends mana, only mages do so here, to run their spells. Job abilities are only regulalated by their cooldown timer. Melee & ranged combat characters gain Tactical Points (TPs) as they hit the enemy and are hit themselves (TPs are lost when you rest to heal). When TPs reach 100% you can fire off a weapon skill for more damage and possibly special effects. There are also opportunities for players in a party to cooperate to create weapon skill chains and then magic burst spells at the end of the chain, for yet more damage.
Yes, 360, PS2 and PC players all play on the same the servers without distinction. You won't know what platform the guy next to you is playing on if he doesn't tell you. I have found it to be a very mature player base, although we are not without our jerks. Probably more common on FFXI than then 13-year-old 1337 h4XX0r personality is a certain amount of disdain for people who won't do their homework or put in some effort themselves. There's probably no better way to get yourself ostracized than to stand out in town and ask passing players for money.
There's some role-playing. Not a large amount, but I think it's better than WoW.
Interface...well, meh. The mouse is useless. They provide a mouse interface, but it's really not usable. Keyboard is a little unusual. Default is to move with the keypad arrow keys and not WASD, although you can reconfigure for WASD. I have heard people praise the keyboard interface, saying it's really great once you get into it. The gamepad interface is great. I use a PS2-style gamepad from Logitech to play this game. I think you'll be happy playing it with the 360 gamepad, though I will admit I don't know much about that (I don't own an Xbox or an Xbox 360).
Addiction? Well, it's kept me addicted for over a year now...
Unfortunately, you cannot jump or swim in this game. (Well, Dragoons get a Jump (and Super Jump) abilities, but those are special abilities to attack a mob with, not what you're thinking of) At level 20, you can quest to get the ability to rent chocobos, which are speed enhancing mounts (large birds, actually) that also keep you and mobs from interacting while you're mounted. When you reach Rank 5 (by completing missions, which are different from quests) you get permission to use the airships between Jeuno and the other three cities, which can greatly ease how you get around. Finally, by running a supply mission to a region (which you can only do when your nation controls that region) you get the right to outpost teleport for a fee between that region's outpost and your home nation. There is a level restriction which varies depending on the region for this, however.
Chris Mattern
Whatever, that wont keep me down as long as there is exploration and a huge world.
K.. lemme see how good I can do. I played the game for a year and then quit and came back for the most recent expansion release... I hope I can do you some justice.
Exploration - There is A LOT of area to explore. Don't worry about that. Althought the graphics can seem dated at times, they aren't bad at all... the art direction makes up for it. If you like Final Fantasy games, you'll like the look. One important thing to note is that the questing in FFXI is a bit unique. I'm only addressing this cause you put questing in your question. It's not for noobs. The quest journal isn't very complete in helping people understand what they need to do or where they need to go. ALso, quests are offered based on what's called "Fame" that you have to earn for each city. SO basically what I'm trying to say is that questing, for me at least, seems moderately secondary. It's the missions that are important. Quests and missions are different. You'll have to do missions to gain access to places.
Combat - The combat is in the turn-based format that FF players are used to, but it's real time. That means that they mobs will attack you at will. You still select your moves from windows and such. Squeenix has made it interesting though... there's a lot of interplay between classes with what's called skill chains.
Community - Yes... all players play on the same servers. You'll play with PC and PS2 players. The player base is notches above most games. In my experience it's on par with the everquest games. Much more mature than say WoW. The only difference is that all nationalities play together. you'll have to often use the auto-translator so that the Japanese players will understand you (and other nationalities for that matter).
Role Playing - I don't do it. I don't enjoy it. I think there's a good degree of it. I have played MANY MMO games. This is just my opinion but FFXI has the BEST story/feel/ambiance to it of all. It's just interesting. You get cut scenes, good FF music, good atmosphere. It's deep and rich. However it's gameplay elements that are restrictive keep it from being the best MMO out there.
Interface - It's moderately clunky at first but it's actually quite intuitive. Especially for console players. Mouse and keyboard combo is virtually useless, so I use an Xbox 360 controller for it on my PC and it's awesome. Never have difficulty. And if you've ever played an MMO before you know how tedious the Looking for Group task can be. IT's amazing in FFXI. It's very easy to do specific searches for parties in FFXI and very easy to be effective in forming groups. It's just hard to find people who are willing to do what you need to do. You don't spend time looking for groups because the system is hard to navigate.. it's just hard to find people.
Addiction - I got well addicted when there was stuff to do. It's fun to do all the things it has to offer. I like to garden, craft, fight, explore, do missions, and whatever else there is. From what I understand they are adding Chocobo raising features that allow to you raise a very unique Chocobo. That just makes it that much cooler. Also, there's PvP stuff to do, as well as different forms of PvP battles. I've NEVER done PvP ever in that game though so I don't know much about it.
Other - No jumping or swimming. The navigation is unique and a bit restrictive at times, but you forget about it.. it's no big deal. You get a Chocobo at lvl 20.. there's a bit of a quest for it. Well you don't actually get one.. you just get a permit to rent one. Once you ride a chocobo and dismount, he runs away. Hands down the most annoying part of the game.. however if you know where you're going it's fairly easy to get around.
Here's my final words on FFXI.
1. Although clunky in some ways, the devs are awesome. They don't change the game. Once you get used to it's stuff, it's fun. It's also good to know that they don't pull a SWG move and just completely change the game mechanics. Once you're in it, you know what you'll be playing for the entire duration.
2. YOu can have ANY job on your 1 character in the game. YOu can change between jobs/subjobs as you please (provided that you did the quests to earn the advanced jobs). This is a cool feature but it's murder to an alt-a-holic. If you switch jobs frequently due to your ADD problem, you'll never see enough to truly love the game.
3. It takes a long time to level. Just so you know.
4. This is my most important point. Because it takes a LONG time to level, the achievements in the game are epic. It feels SOOO good to nail a huge boss fight with your Linkshell (guild). It's so epic. A lot of MMO games are taking that out, or making such battles only accessible to maxed-level raid groups of 20+ players. This isn't so in FFXI. When you go to your first Promyvion and try to nail one of the bosses, you'll feel like a milllion bucks downing one. I started a guild that was for all new players who needed to do missions and many of the boss fights were the first time for us. It was so epic and cool that I had to tell my friends. It truly captures the spirit of group battles and epic fights. You'll have these fights at lower-mid range levels. It's fun. And the fact that the story that follows such fights is REAL good and has great cut-scenes makes them so cool.
p.s. if you get the game and remember what I'm saying to you.. follow this advice. Level to 30, get a subjob, go into the Aht Urgan expansion area and do the quest to get the Corsair job.. it's a cool story.
Alright man (or woman), good luck and I hope I answered your questions (if someone else didn't already do so).
Collin
Teh blog to end all MMO blogs
http://mmoevolution.blogspot.com
schweet, I like the slow levelling, I don't like things handed to me. I mean, why pay monthly if you can max out in a week? Thank you for emphasizing that aspect.
EDIT: Do I have to buy expansions seperately on 360 version or what?
Nope. The 360 edition comes with ALL expansions bundled, the only edition about which that can be said. I was really surprised they bundled the latest expansion (Treasures of Aht Urhgan): the expansion came out the same time the 360 edition did. Now, you'll have to buy the next expansion, but that's probably a couple of years down the road.
Chris Mattern
I liked FFXI
I bought it a couple of years ago with all expansions for the PC. The monthly fee was $4.50. The gameworld was huge, the graphics very dated. The gameplay is the usual grind.
The best thing about it is it's international playerbase. I had a lot of fun practising my language skills.
For that subscription price this game was excellent value, but for $15 a month I would rather play WoW. Good game, shows it's age.
I think you can play it on the PS2 also.
I recently found that on XB360 its on character per account...
That kinda sucks...
Um, no, that's not true. It can't be true for the simple reason that there's no such thing as an Xbox 360 account. When you buy the box, you're getting an NA account (which can be used on any platform) and the 360 software. Who told you this? What *is* true is that you will be charged $1/mo for each character beyond your first. Which is not that bad because a) you don't need alts to try out different jobs and b) the base subscription fee is only $12.95/mo, which is several dollars cheaper than most other MMORPGs.
Chris Mattern
I'm glad this all appeals to you.. it's a great game..
TO address your concern about having multiple characters, it's really NOT needed. Think about it, you put hundreds of hours into a certain player class, and you want some change. YOu literally can change your jobs.
Here's how it works. In FFXI, you get a main job and a sub job (you can't equip a subjob until lvl 18). SO say you choose to be a Warrior at the beginning of the game. Once you hit 30, there are a load of Advanced jobs. Some of these are Paladin, Dark Knight, Corsair, Puppeteer, Ninja, Samurai, Blue Mage, Dragoon, blah blah blah.. You can go back to your house and start one of these jobs at Lvl one all over again. This time though, you can equip your job you already leveled as your subjob. The subjob will always be half your lvl of the main job you selected. For example...
You are a Warrior lvl 30, you choose to be a Paladin. You start as a Paladin lvl 1 and equip subjob as War lvl 1. Ad you lvl your Pld to lvl 10, your War is lvl 5. As you lvl your Pld to lvl 30, your War is lvl 15.
This means that you get to use all the War abilities up to lvl 15 with your Pld lvl 30. There are many jobs in the game. It would take forever to level them all up. There are also each very unique.
The cool thing is once you start a lvl one job again, you don't have to do all the really tedious stuff that FFXI makes you do at the beginning like earning Gil, getting chocobo pass, gaining fame, etc. So you can level those up relatively fast. It's fun and exciting and still gives you the variation and flavor that most people seek when making alt characters.
The only reason most people make an alt is to be a mule that will carry their gear when they get full. That's it. And even then, it's only 1$ extra per month. On my character I have a lvl 56 RedMage/lvl 45 Black Mage/ Lvl 30 Thief/ Lvl 27 Puppeteer/ Lvl 29 Blue Mage/ Lvl 18 Summoner/ Lvl 15 Warrior/ Level 15 Ninja/ Level 10 Ranger, etc. You can see that I really like to try new classes!:) But it's all on one character. SO it's fun that way.
Teh blog to end all MMO blogs
http://mmoevolution.blogspot.com
Is it seamless or are there loading times?