Is SE aware that they release hard content to be sold by players?

[MclarenTAGPorsche]

What's this game has turned into? People are selling more and more in game content for absurd amounts of gil that i can only speculate that are being sold back to players as RMT activity. In the past people took random people to do all sorts of content from newbie oriented to endgame.

Now its all about selling content. When did this online community decided to stop cooperating and started to transform the game into a business? Is it SE's fault for creating stupid game mechanics? FFXI players tend to brag about loving the game's difficulty but are buying gil from the same peoplw that sell them content in game. Is that how's the game intended to be? Cause paying 15 bucks a month to feel that 2/3 of the server population is made of RMT (be them chinese or american, i really don't care) selling content and gil is depressing.

Is it the way that the developers that spend hours and hours of work and imagination want the game to be from now on? The community striving to farm enough gil to buy content from RMT or give up and buy gil from them instead? Inflation so high that when a new player starts and see everything sold by millions or dozens or hundreds of millions of gil while quests/farming are giving them 1k they uninstall the game and forget it ever existed?

Of course the game is perfect for those players that are selling every single endgame content for dozens or hundreds million gil. They will claim that everything is perfect. But can the servers cost and the whole team behind FFXI be paid by only these players or SE needs all others players as well?

I would really like to know from a Community Manager if the one in charge of FFXI is aware of what is going on.

[Isola]

Is it SE's fault for creating stupid game mechanics?

This right here.

Every fight that drops something "worthwhile" has extremely obnoxious battle mechanics/gimmicks and/or an abysmal drop rate. It's simply not worth bothering. If I can make 10m during Gain-EXP and you sell something in that obnoxious category for less than 10m why would I ever even consider causing myself the annoyance. It's just the logical conclusion.

Why would I ever even consider fighting Odin 60 times and probably never get the drop I want, when I can just skip all that and buy it for a couple mil. And no, it's not fun. You don't learn anything from the experience. You pay to skip the grind SO that you can PLAY the game instead of wasting all your time grinding garbage.

Mercing has never not been a thing, and it won't ever stop being a thing. Of course they know. There are very simple ways to almost completely stop mercing. But they inevitably cost subscriptions, and that breaks rule 1 of the MMO book.

Trusting other people to do their job CORRECTLY isn't worth it anymore either. "it's my 12.95 I'll melee whm if I want to" Great idea. You cost 5 people their 12.95 so you can be stupid. lovely.

[Suteru]

Maybe you should make some friends and join a linkshell or make your own groups. It's entirely possible (and often done) to do content without buying it.

Just because they won't let you leech for fee doesn't mean the content is broken.

[Sirmarki]

I agree with OP.
As a long-term player, I'm finding it quite a tragedy as to what is happening to this classic game - A game built on working together, to see if you can beat that monster, and work out a strategy until you can.

Now people just buy everything with gil, from people who are bending game mechanics. These people often using the /yell system to advertise their "service".

You have to question the longevity of a game when people are now doing this in mass.
They are paying gil to be leveled up, job points, gear, high tier monsters gear, ambuscade. It makes you wonder how long such a person would actually last paying a sub in this game(?) seeing
as they have spent most of their time standing there. Of course, a lot of other people would have 'played it' to achieve these things.

[TullemoreAsuraFFXI]

Support the effort:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...my-econ-health

I've witnessed much and my perspective is of experience. Started on Asura at N.A. launch when there was only Original+Zilart. Played without interruption until the lvl 90 cap era after about 5 months of the last abyssea expansion the social fabric of a linkpearl had fallen apart. I returned in early 2017 to find lavish quality of life upgrades and some fantastic content. I was shocked to see that at the time a fourteen year old game was polluted by advertisements within internal communication for RMT, but cockroaches will find their way into any online game where they're not instantly exterminated.

FFXI dev team is doing the correct actions with making adjustments to address various imbalances concerning combat.

Concerning the linked post; if you believe you have more advanced reforms or revolutionary solutions to address cleaning up the more sleazy behavior we witness on a daily basis, please suggest and recommend your ideas.

[Sirmarki]

Just because they won't let you leech for fee doesn't mean the content is broken.

I'm pretty sure OP wasn't implying joining them for free and leeching (as you put it).

[Sirmarki]

Mercing has never not been a thing, and it won't ever stop being a thing. Of course they know. There are very simple ways to almost completely stop mercing.

I've never seen mercing to this level. I never saw it once back in the days of Fenrir, it was very hush hush. Also the fact that a lot of people on that server had dignity, and played with pride, wanted the challenge, and wouldn't participate in such a thing.

But they inevitably cost subscriptions, and that breaks rule 1 of the MMO book.

Genuine players quit because of it, the fact OP has brought this up represents a contingent of players. Who are the mercs going to sell to when the population left is just other mercs/bots/rmt/mutliboxers?

[Zehira]

Now its all about selling content. When did this online community decided to stop cooperating and started to transform the game into a business?

As you know, that's not even true.

The community striving to farm enough gil to buy content from RMT or give up and buy gil from them instead?

Really, how could you able to afford a JSE necklace other than cheating/buying gil? I have spent more than 150 millions of gil to get my Bagua Charm +2 upgraded fully. Even though, I have never bought gil.

Of course the game is perfect for those players that are selling every single endgame content for dozens or hundreds million gil. They will claim that everything is perfect.

The problem isn't about people selling the content, it's bots and majority vs minority. My ideas would be very silly but i know what would be more impossible to bot if:

Get rid of the trust system
It is making bots very very very happy. Seriously, it was never needed for Asura but at the same time the minority like non-Asura servers need it because... reasons. Healing trusts also make the real healers look like weak and now they are provided with a third-party curing tool.

Make the lvl99 world as challenge as lvl75 capped world
You bet Asura would love it to happen but again the minority would say it is too hard because... reasons. Now people with badass gears can able to sell the hard content.

As for multi-boxing, I don't know what to stop them. I'd say impossible so it's their money and SE seems to allow it.

But can the servers cost and the whole team behind FFXI be paid by only these players or SE needs all others players as well?

Together if we all agree, we would want a new hateful NPC that "WILL" tax out our gil 50%-90% per a month and that would easily force RMT to give up their business. Good idea? I don't know since it seems we wouldn't needing gil anymore for decent gears.

I only wish that SE would able to bring a "Classic" server (non-transferable). It is what works the best for FFXI with PS2 limitations. Therefore, a remake is the only way to go.

[TullemoreAsuraFFXI]

~ @ Zehira: I disagree with the "Classic" remake/reboot done through square enix expenditures. The quality, inclusion and accessibility of content designed for lvl 99 and ilvl 119 is vastly superior in comparison to Zilart/CoP era open world NM spawn camping with would be players continuously turned away from prestigious equipment sources due to the inability to establish a claim. To suppress the unwanted behavior concerning 2019's live content, the interface where necessary can be reformed through wise perspective and educated design. Private servers that are not under the retail control of square enix exist. The population on those private servers is scarce due to the content being afflicted with the claim establishment mechanics that Zilart era FFXI provided. Even abyssea era content was subject to these hardships. In addition to that the live square enix servers do provide a great deal more quality of life accommodations and design upgrades.

I would like to see some new powerful ilvl 119, enemy power level 135 challenging HNM created and established within areas of open air size from original FFXI. I'm suggesting La Theine Plateau, Valkurm Dunes, Konschtat Highlands, Pashhow Marshlands, Rolanberry Fields, Batallia Downs, Jugner Forest, Meriphataud Mountains, Sauromugue Champaign, Xarcabard, Eastern Altepa Desert. Design would have to be extremely important and properly executed. 90 to 120 minite respawn times per NM. Advanced inclusive interface and accessibility that echoes the domain invasion wyrms. A purely NPC collaborated reward system that mirrors ToAU assault reward vendors and Campaign Battle Allied Notes. Pre-requirements to content access suggesting lvl 99 + potpourri initial permanent key item @ cost of 500 potpourri. Temporary key item for combat access per battle @ cost of 2500 conquest points. New temporary key item available from npc placed at most centralized < pos > map location available immediately after the defeat of previous combat. No artificial time limitations placed on encounter. "Rage" conditional attack speed, attack power, defense, movement speed + draw-in for HNM incumbered by environmental obstructions with duration of 120 seconds. Rewards that excel above Geas Fete content treasures and equally as significant in variety, applications and diversity. These new NMs could take form in the depictions of beastmen, or geographically correlated enemy types, or evil anti-characters of storyline npc. Bonus currency could be distributed to alliances that attain the highest three evaluations of enmity time sustained, total damage, least K.O.'s, status ailments healed and highest adherence to weaknesses and avoidance of player-produced ineffective actions (as in immunities) much alike campaign battles. Trusts are allowed, but come at a penalty of -10% currency reward per total trust activated per encounter. Evaluations are dispensed upon alliance composition, if a player disbands from an alliance during an encounter they can not accept a party invite until the encounter ends or until they change areas which will remove the encounter status from their character. Characters attain encounter status once they have the temporary key item and successfully engage the combat through standard claim/enmity conditions.

[Nyarlko]

Merc'ing is a thing because it is expressly permitted under the logic of "Roleplaying as a mercenary" and the official line is that is perfectly fine so long as any/all compensation/fees/etc are being done entirely in-game. It's only a no-no if real world money is directly involved. (This is what I've been told by their customer support line 3x so far whenever I've asked.) I agree with the logic, and don't actually care either way if someone else is trying to sell current endgame clears/gears/etc to someone who hit the crafting lotto and has more gil than they know how to spend otherwise. I personally do not approve of selling entry level 119 content because that is what will discourage new/returning players from sticking around long enough to become veterans, but tbh, new/returning players should not be looking to be completing current endgame as soon as they hit lv99 anyway.

I don't merc. I don't like merc'ing. I accept that it's not going away, and fight it my own way by running my own linkshell to help others get stuff done and get to the point where they can run the endgame content themselves w/o needing to leech anymore.