Dev response to Server Merge please.

[Dale]

So I'm expecting people to be online when I have chances to play, expect people to not be doing anything when I have chances to play, expect people to be in need of the same thing I am when i have chances to play, and expect all these people to leave their frineds/linkshells to join one I create? Like i said I can't say how the past was due to being new but shouts have always been the way to go for me and have always worked, still do work perfectly fine when theres people online. The issue is when population starts to decrease those who rely on shouts are left having to shout for a longer period of time. There are just as many that rely on shouts that don't from what i've seen, the fact is there are people who do rely on shouts and more people would be great for those who do.

Pretty much. You need to rely on others to play with with if you want to do group content.

You can try to rely on shouts, but it won't be reliable or effective. I understand that you think server merges would help, but I just disagree. I don't think it will.

[Dale]

For those who say don't rely on shouts, rely on a link shell, how did you get into that linkshell? How did you prove to those people that you're worthy of bringing into the fold?

Sure anyone can join a social or casual LS but I'm sure a lot of people have joined a LS from a shout group. Shout groups (or pugs) are the only way to meet like minded people, you bump into the same faces a few times. You ask for a shell and boom you have that linkshell to help you out.

Imagine being a new player now? There's a huge divide between veterans and noobs that those noobs have to break through. How can they get into these linkshells? There aren't enough people in the same boat as them to make their own, and an established progression or endgame LS might be reluctant to take in a total newbie.

So the newbie gets to a natural stopping point where progress grinds to a halt and quits.

TL;DR shout groups are an important social activity that help build bonds between players.

Shout groups are one way to meet like-mind people. But not the only way. None of my friends I play with I met through shouting.

[Deifact]

Shout groups are one way to meet like-mind people. But not the only way. None of my friends I play with I met through shouting.

How did you meet them? I'm genuinely curious! If it isn't being too personal

[InpendingDeath]

How did you meet them? I'm genuinely curious! If it isn't being too personal

Same, I've met everyone through shout groups some are new/casual and some have been playing 10+ years and have the best of the best. I have met a few people through parties when i was leveling in gusgen mines and people would be doing the same thing and we teamed up, but unless you go to abyssea after level 30 you ARE stuck solo. Even all the abyssea parties I see are via shouts.

[Dale]

How did you meet them? I'm genuinely curious! If it isn't being too personal

It's not too personal at all. And I'll give you a few examples:

I was introduced to my dragoon friend through a paladin I had met while hunting down PLD AF pieces. I met a ranger I later became friends with while hunting down coffers in Garlaige. I met a thief buddy of mine through a LS I had joined. A lot of my friends were met through links shells in fact now that I think about it. And we ended up forming our own since the current LS leader was too busy in his other so-called endgame LS to be of much use.

Anyway, I can legitimately say not a single one of my FF XI friends were met through shouts.

[InpendingDeath]

It's not too personal at all. And I'll give you a few examples:

I was introduced to my dragoon friend through a paladin I had met while hunting down PLD AF pieces. I met a ranger I later became friends with while hunting down coffers in Garlaige. I met a thief buddy of mine through a LS I had joined. A lot of my friends were met through links shells in fact now that I think about it. And we ended up forming our own since the current LS leader was too busy in his other so-called endgame LS to be of much use.

Anyway, I can legitimately say not a single one of my FF XI friends were met through shouts.

I don't know how different is was back then but when i go to hunt coffers the zone is completely empty, even if there is someone there they don't reply to a simple /tell "Are you doing coffers?". I have met many many people in my linkshell but I didn't get my linkshell until the 5-6th day on the game which I only got because of a shout offering it as a social linkshell everyone welcomed. So I guess I kinda met the people in the linkshell due to a shout. How did you get the linkshells? I don't normally have people walk up to me and give me pearls but like I said I don't know if it was different back then or what.

[Dale]

I don't know how different is was back then but when i go to hunt coffers the zone is completely empty, even if there is someone there they don't reply to a simple /tell "Are you doing coffers?". I have met many many people in my linkshell but I didn't get my linkshell until the 5-6th day on the game which I only got because of a shout offering it as a social linkshell everyone welcomed. So I guess I kinda met the people in the linkshell due to a shout. How did you get the linkshells? I don't normally have people walk up to me and give me pearls but like I said I don't know if it was different back then or what.

Maybe the coffer zones are now empty. But plenty of zones aren't - so the same concept applies really. You can still meet people out in the open world. I see people all the time while running around doing reives and coalition quests etc.

And I have been invited to many link shells and none of them were through shouts. Most were just by people I met while fighting who took an interest. Some were due to inquiries I made of others because I liked the name of it or something. There are plenty of ways to get invited to link shells without shouting.

[Pixela]

It amazes me how quick people forget that FFXI was never a shout/pickup group game at all before Abyssea.

You simply joined linkshells and did your endgame, I never saw a shout for content outside of help with artifact quests ever on FFXI before abyssea.

[Olor]

Maybe the coffer zones are now empty. But plenty of zones aren't - so the same concept applies really. You can still meet people out in the open world. I see people all the time while running around doing reives and coalition quests etc.

Yeah and then you send them a tell or say hi out loud and they ignore you. Maybe I've just had bad luck but I find people out and about in the world are often really really unfriendly.

I know it was different in the past but today's XI - a lot of people rely on shouts to do group content. The archaic linkshell design makes it so shells can die out in a matter of a week (seen it happen several times this year, I go away for a week come back and there is never more than 2 people in the shell anymore) - the playerbase is fragmented, most people aren't in solid, dependable shells. A lot of people play infrequently (hello, that's me!) and so can't really do statics etc, even if people wanted to do them.

Then on top of it, most of the jobs are considered crap tier, so god forbid you actually want to play a job you like... then you are screwed shouts or not.

And then SE makes matters worse by having "variable difficulty" content - where most of the difficulties drop nothing, and have extremely high costs to enter. It's nuts. Either E/VE should just be eliminated altogether, or they should cost less to enter, or their drop rates need to increase.

You know when was a good time to play? During abyssea. Why? Because the content was easy - and people were happy to invite scrubs just to help them out because they didn't lose out. If these new battlefields actually dropped anything on lower difficulty - or cost less to enter even, then people could do causal shouts with less than perfect jobs.

Instead most people are locked out of playing at all because the developers think it is necessary to punish people for being casual or daring to like a job that they feel should suck.

Anyway, server merge won't fix any of this. What the game needs is more causal content that can be completed by mediocre/reject job groups. They also need to stop punishing people for being casuals. Seriously.

[InpendingDeath]

It amazes me how quick people forget that FFXI was never a shout/pickup group game at all before Abyssea.

You simply joined linkshells and did your endgame, I never saw a shout for content outside of help with artifact quests ever on FFXI before abyssea.

Well i've only played for about 3-4 months so I can't speak for the past.

Read then post, orders of operation.