[[ Why do we miss the old FFXI community ]] What made it special ??

[IvoryFox]

There was plenty of elitism (You're the wrong job/in the wrong gear/eating the wrong food to go 2-shot things in a merit party) and plenty of MPK/claim/drama wars on any given XI server. And plenty of the same (sometimes mistold) linkshell chat about "OMG this party sucks/is so slow/etc.) It's mostly nostalgia. I met some of the best online friends I'll ever have in FFXI. I also met some people I might not hesitate to punch in the face if given the opportunity. Any community is what you make of it.

The only advantage I see to XI is (at least when I played) your reputation being tied to your server/name/etc. There were no transferring/name swaps/etc and the worst of the worst did manage to outcast themselves.

[KimimiAvesta]

There are a lot of things I love about FFXI - the story, the music, Zi'tah, etc... but the community is definitely not one of them. I've dabbled with it on-and-off since US launch and it's by far the most elitist and clique-y MMO I've ever played; the sort of place where the response to all grouping problems is "Get a linkshell!", only nobody will ever invite you because you don't have DNC or NIN subbed (unlike them, who of course were birthed into FFXI in a cloud of white light with all jobs and equipment for every situation ever). "You can get to level 99 in a week! It's so easy!" they cry... except they're forgetting that doesn't apply to characters who haven't broken the level limit caps and, due to the lack support from anyone other than themselves, don't have mountains of gil to spend buying slots in an Abyssea party anyway.

[NefarioCall]

i enjoyed the FFXI community for many years.

Although the camp party grind was terribly monotonous at times, it brought players in the server together for long stretches and people would get talking. I'd encounter people again and again. That sense of community is lost in the cross-server duty finder.

Second, the vastness of the world as it expanded over the years. The thrill of the adventure to far away places talking on any number of open world mobs that are extremely tough added a certain kind of satisfaction as well.

I'd say those two elements in particular.

[Balbanes]

World immersion. The little stuff.

.... and OPEN WORLD DUNGEONS!

[Reiterpallasch]

I loved that you pretty much had to earn everything in that game, right down to each individual level.

These days you can get lvl cap while afk. Yaaaaaaaay.

[Hysterior]

And you were younger back then.
I am sure many of the FF11 players now playing FFXIV now have a job and maybe a family and not the same mindset than back then

[Pandastirfry]

Mainly because even tho it took 6 hours to get a tank, someone didnt rage quit out over one mistake 2 hours into a grinding party.

This is a bald faced lie! I can't count the number of people who would yell and scream in P Chat about a single death, rage quit the party, page quit and try and MPK, or fake a DC... Hell, the number of rage fueled arguments I had to endure in XI if you just suggested going to a non traditional camp, complete with sexist/homophobic/elitist slurs far exceeded anything I ever saw here or even in WoW. People would even insult you and drop party if you didn't reach x amount of exp per hour. And the old canard of " your rep would follow you and you wouldn't progress" Somehow every jerk in XI I ran into and then bumped into later, was always tricked out in BiS gear and in some of the big name LSs, and was still a massive jerk

[Malamasala]

I sure loved XI community.

- Forcing SMN to main heal instead of use pets because it is more efficient and nobody cares if YOU want to have fun, it is all about THEIR time spent.
- 110 people sitting idle waiting for Fafnir for 3 hours just to have some botters claim it and then have an insult competition.
- Only go to specific camps "because others are bad".
- Requesting interesting questions to be asked at SE meetings, but all other of the community request that we should know "How to beat AV?" or "When do new avatars come?" which had been answered the previous meeting.

All I can say is that it was worse than XIV community IN MY EXPERIENCE, so I'm not sure why anyone is not playing the wonderful FFXIV that I've had such a good experience with.

[Mahri]

Mostly, I remember the community being extremely bitter and hard to work with, though this was partially the fault of the game design. When you're forced to group for literally everything, expermenting with the gameplay options wasn't viable, instead being forced into rigid character setups involving ridiculous grinding for HQ equipment, occasionally with jobs that required infuriatingly massive upkeep (looking at you, NIN).

However, I don't recall meeting too many people who were individually unpleasant, and PUGs were typically more polite, or at least more willing to communicate, than they are nowadays.

Mind you, FFXIV is an infinitely better-designed game and I wouldn't trade its mechanics for those of XI in a million years, but I do kind of miss that.

[ProvidenceBreaker]

Edit: and by "those things" I mean the mean attacks on other players, elitist tearing down their gear, assaulting a low-skill or new player for not knowing things, etc. etc.

Not really. MMOs were the playground of true gentlemen before they went mainstream and pulled in the call of duty audience. Now it's nothing but 12 year olds trying to be as edgy and mean spirited as possible in some bid for validation which in turn gives a boost to their abysmally low self esteem. There were a few bad apples back then, but they didn't define the demographic like they do now. Forum communities were always toxic, even back then, but in-game was such a pleasant experience. No one wanted to be "that guy", since having a poor reputation on your server was a death sentence before this dungeon finder nonsense.