Is anyone even willing to allow new players in the game?

[PeaceWalker]

I just started today after ignoring most of the stuff people say against rolling a new character amidst the current community.
So I made a new character and spent over 2 hours trying to talk to someone, everyone would either ignore me or tell me my level was too low.
I ask you: why are most of the players so against new players?

[Juri_Licious]

Dunno, when you're a newb that's usually when people are most helpful.

[Ryce]

I don't think anyone is AGAINST new players. I'm sure some people are tired of the chore of bringing a new player up to speed... we've been doing it for 7 years. It's not as bad now as it used to be, but FFXI is very new-player-unfriendly. Not the player base, but the game itself. It forces you to find a large group of players in the same boat as you, or to find a high-level player to unlock stuff for you or walk you through dangerous territory.

I, for one, always enjoy helping a new player learn the ropes. If Bahamut doesn't work out for ya, make a character on Odin and look me up. I like revisiting the low level content and making a new friend in the process ^^

[Dfoley]

Honestly, you were probably talking to JP people who refuse to use auto translate because they are uncomfortable with languages they don't know. As a result they don't use AT because its not an amazingly accurate system (/shock i know).


Your best bet is to find 1-2 people who speak your native language and don't mind playing 1 million questions. It is not that most people hate newbs, its that they hate answering questions that are already posted on one of 12 fan sites.

[PeaceWalker]

I don't think anyone is AGAINST new players. I'm sure some people are tired of the chore of bringing a new player up to speed... we've been doing it for 7 years. It's not as bad now as it used to be, but FFXI is very new-player-unfriendly. Not the player base, but the game itself. It forces you to find a large group of players in the same boat as you, or to find a high-level player to unlock stuff for you or walk you through dangerous territory.

I, for one, always enjoy helping a new player learn the ropes. If Bahamut doesn't work out for ya, make a character on Odin and look me up. I like revisiting the low level content and making a new friend in the process ^^

Well, I might just remake on Odin.
I only picked Bahamut because it was the most populated server.
Are you really okay with me contacting you there?

[Drai]

I don't think anyone is AGAINST new players. I'm sure some people are tired of the chore of bringing a new player up to speed... we've been doing it for 7 years. It's not as bad now as it used to be, but FFXI is very new-player-unfriendly. Not the player base, but the game itself. It forces you to find a large group of players in the same boat as you, or to find a high-level player to unlock stuff for you or walk you through dangerous territory.

I, for one, always enjoy helping a new player learn the ropes. If Bahamut doesn't work out for ya, make a character on Odin and look me up. I like revisiting the low level content and making a new friend in the process ^^

I don't think the game is really all that new player unfriendly, because of Grounds of Valor and Fields of Valor it's never been easier to level jobs, the only tough part is getting the level caps done solo up to level 75, after 75 the caps are easy peasy :)

[Aikagi]

I think you just have to find the right people. My shell has gained several new players over the past month, and I've learned through helping them just how easy to is to get them going and up to speed with things. No, they're not 95 yet but within a week of playing they've got many of the advanced jobs leveled up and already in the 30s with more than one of them.

I helped a few of them find their way through Giddeus for kazaam keys over the weekend, which was really fun to see how people react to zones I've found to be "Old news" when they navigate them for the first time. I found it rather refreshing.

Not everyone is as nice, and I think a lot of older players are turned off by the large number of new players that have a habit of begging for things.

If Odin doesn't work out for you you're welcome to join us!

[Nianny]

The linkshell I'm in has gathered a group of returning/new players and some veterans.

From what I see Asura has quite an influx of new players so if you decide to come over here feel free to send a /t to Nianny or Suraj and I'll gladly pearl you. :)

[Varlan]

This game is not new player friendly. Though, I have had a couple of people help me get my level cap quests done, but mainly getting help is hard and getting information from the players is even harder. My wife has helped a few people who didn't have a subjob and couldn't get help. She said that no one would help them and there are no groups out in Valk. One guy didn't even know what a subjob was. The game at this point is totally massive. To this day I have no idea what Sky is or Dynamis. The only reason I really even know their name is because I did some research and checked some websites. After playing WoW for so long, I'm just in the habit of doing that. But not everyone is into that sort of thing.

The community as hole is really unforgiving like it is expected for people who are new to the game are supposed to spend a lot of time doing research and all that. When the reality is that the players are really the best resource. But in my opinion, the FFXI community is old and there aren't a whole lot of really new people joining in. Maybe ultimately that's a bad thing in more ways than one. At least in my experience.

[Drai]

Honestly, it's up to perspective how newbie friendly/unfriendly it is, I happen to think it's newbie friendly, but i'm also the only mentor logged into Bahamut on a given day lol, I honestly get like a million tells a day, and I do sometimes turn the mentor flag off during events, but otherwhise I am willing to help people that ask :)

[Afin]

we all started like it once upon a time, good old days =(, and there was times we all got ignored once in a while, just happens like, that, it shouldn't, but it does, with selected ppl

[llello]

Bahamut is my 5th server with the forced merge. Maybe I've just had bad luck recently but Ive met more unfriendly and nasty people on bahamut than any other server so far. Ive gone threw 4 ls's in the 1.5 mths since I came back. People seem to get into cliques and want nothing to do with anyone but their people. The last ls I was in the leader and sacks were all just glued to vent all day, barely ever heard a peep out of them in ls chat unless they needed a rep for their book burns.Their vent server was only for sacks or above so it was fairly uncomfortable. Op , if you happen to find a server with groups friendly to returning players still in a sky/sea/old dyna mind set and are willing to introduce said players to new events and not just book burn with their buddies,please lemme know.

[Nianny]

Bahamut is my 5th server with the forced merge. Maybe I've just had bad luck recently but Ive met more unfriendly and nasty people on bahamut than any other server so far. Ive gone threw 4 ls's in the 1.5 mths since I came back. People seem to get into cliques and want nothing to do with anyone but their people. The last ls I was in the leader and sacks were all just glued to vent all day, barely ever heard a peep out of them in ls chat unless they needed a rep for their book burns.Their vent server was only for sacks or above so it was fairly uncomfortable. Op , if you happen to find a server with groups friendly to returning players still in a sky/sea/old dyna mind set and are willing to introduce said players to new events and not just book burn with their buddies,please lemme know.


He's now in Asura in the same LS I'm in. If you'd like to try it out aswell let me know. :)

[Aikagi]

Bahamut is my 5th server with the forced merge. Maybe I've just had bad luck recently but Ive met more unfriendly and nasty people on bahamut than any other server so far. Ive gone threw 4 ls's in the 1.5 mths since I came back. People seem to get into cliques and want nothing to do with anyone but their people. The last ls I was in the leader and sacks were all just glued to vent all day, barely ever heard a peep out of them in ls chat unless they needed a rep for their book burns.Their vent server was only for sacks or above so it was fairly uncomfortable. Op , if you happen to find a server with groups friendly to returning players still in a sky/sea/old dyna mind set and are willing to introduce said players to new events and not just book burn with their buddies,please lemme know.


That sounds terrible... you're always welcome on Ragnarok if you'd like.

[Dfoley]

Depends on how you are defining 'new player friendly'

Version a:
It is very easy for a new person to level 1-75 and decently easy to get gear if you know what to do.

Version b:
It is very easy knowing nothing, to jump in, and the game itself will guild you through the process.
*(EG Welcome to level 10, why dont you head over to XXX and try to find a Grounds/Field of Valor party).
*(EG Welcome to level 50, why dont you head to juneo and see if someone can help you find a way to reach a higher cap)
*(EG welcome to Level 75, why dont you start CoP/Zilart/ToAU etc etc etc)

FFXI is easily version a, and not b. There is a complete lack of tutorial and guide system to walk new players through everything they need to get caught up. However it is really easy, once you know what to do, to get to 75 and start taking part in all the fun stuff.

[Selzak]

Maybe Bahamut is just a rude server lol. Bismarck has proved to be pretty friendly for the ~8 years I've been around, maybe you should try moving to another server. I think the general attitude is very welcoming and supportive of new players here on Bismarck, give us a shot perhaps?

Then again, it also depends on your attitude. Are you introducing yourself to strangers by bluntly demanding something from them? Acting entitled won't get you very far unless you've got a female character and find some 15 year olds. If you're just looking to have fun and you need help figuring something out, then most people (in my experience, on my server) will bend over backwards to help you out and introduce things to you.


edit: Ah, looks like you already moved. Good! Hope you have better luck.

[Leonlionheart]

If a new player asked me for advice, I'd give it to him.

Would I put him in my LS and build him Emps? No. I'm not going to go out of my way and get him boss wins or Atma either. If everything is handed to you, then you're not really playing the game nor will you enjoy it when you have no goals that you can achieve yourself.

Not saying anyone here is like that, but it's a common new player attitude. People that are handed their first 75 levels then handed atma then handed wins then handed gear won't be good players, compared to if they desired all that stuff and went out and got it on their own.

Edit: If you're on Asura and want advice, send me a tell I don't mind guiding you on what you should do, or shouldn't do.

[Karumac]

Bahamut isn't that bad, just feels really overcrowded sometimes so we're really adverse to more people being dumped into the competition for camps and pops.

We're not mean, just pragmatic.

[Aikagi]

If a new player asked me for advice, I'd give it to him.

Would I put him in my LS and build him Emps? No. I'm not going to go out of my way and get him boss wins or Atma either. If everything is handed to you, then you're not really playing the game nor will you enjoy it when you have no goals that you can achieve yourself.

Not saying anyone here is like that, but it's a common new player attitude. People that are handed their first 75 levels then handed atma then handed wins then handed gear won't be good players, compared to if they desired all that stuff and went out and got it on their own.

Edit: If you're on Asura and want advice, send me a tell I don't mind guiding you on what you should do, or shouldn't do.

I agree with you to some degree. I guess it depends on the nature of the LS. My LS encourages players to do things on their own, but offers advice if needed. We've gotten a good number of new players lately, and I haven't heard anyone ask us to hold their hands yet. They ask lots of questions about game mechanics, the best places to go for certain things, and quest advice. One of them even tried to solo their own Kazham keys at lvl 30, and only after not being able to figure out the holes in giddeus did I come out and help. He never asked once, I just felt like it was the right thing to do.

We schedule events to do together that can't be solod, and honestly I'd rather do it that way than a shout group with a bunch of people that may end in disaster. Doesn't mean I don't do shouts, I just prefer hanging out with friends more.

[Reaux]

I find all of these inaccurate. The game is not newbie unfriendly/friendly. It's just old school. The new starting tutorial is much more comprehensive than when most of us first started, but still needs tons of work. I remember that since the game never taught you controls I thought the game was bugged because I couldn't move my character using WASD :3

As for knowing where to go and what to do, it's classic RPG fare from that. You need to talk to several NPCs in different areas until the start presenting quests and tell you where to go. There is not as much of a player population in nations, more now with new teleporters, as in Jueno. So finding people to talk to or that just are not in transition from one event to the next is difficult. It is designed that you start making friends with the people you party with, which is greatly different now than it was even a year ago.

I made my first FF friends because I was doing a lowbie mission and someone else was in the area doing a side quest and we wanted to help each other. Then I joined his LS and I have been playing with those same people in different capacities for MANY years. It is all a matter of luck and location.

[Soranika]

New players should come to Bismarck so I can help them. >.< Right now I've been -very poorly- managing stuff on my main and help out a recently new person on carbuncle with my level 30 characters.

But I realize that if you people go about the wrong way teaching newbies stuff, just the beginning stuff, it could take hours... That's hours many see as a waste and could be doing something else. (Though shame on them.) It would be nice if a group of people on every server took up a mentor role and spent time getting new players into the game. Most don't last a week, if not the full month, if they can't learn and play with anyone. Don't have to hand them anything, just gotta go do some older stuff with them.

[Solonuke]

Traveling time is something that matters when I'm helping out someone that's new. What I mean with this is that you have no way to travel besides using your feet and the only way to travel faster is to level up. Leveling up certain jobs makes traveling even quicker which you want to do eventually. Traveling faster is connected to missions too, some items will make you travel faster only by completing them. There's a lot of zonelines you can't use before you've "gone the other way around" to activate the zoneline, these zonelines are called maws which you'll eventually bump into during WOTG storyline. Some teleportations such as outpost warps can take months to gather all of them as they're dependant on which nation that controls which outposts before you can use them.

[Zerich]

i help any newbies i see wandering about on my server! it makes the game more interesting.

[Afin]

the fact that ppl say bahamut is rude and unfriendly is upsetting T.T, some of us arent like that

[Komori]

New players should come to Bismarck so I can help them. >.< Right now I've been -very poorly- managing stuff on my main and help out a recently new person on carbuncle with my level 30 characters.

But I realize that if you people go about the wrong way teaching newbies stuff, just the beginning stuff, it could take hours... That's hours many see as a waste and could be doing something else. (Though shame on them.) It would be nice if a group of people on every server took up a mentor role and spent time getting new players into the game. Most don't last a week, if not the full month, if they can't learn and play with anyone. Don't have to hand them anything, just gotta go do some older stuff with them.

Except! Soranika will point you out and tell you that +2 onry. (: Yes. Bismarck tends to be very friendly.

[Soranika]

Except! Soranika will point you out and tell you that +2 onry. (: Yes. Bismarck tends to be very friendly.Hey!!! I remember you! Yush! You totally need to +2 up your DNC stuff. o:

[Runespider]

Thing new players need to keep in mind (aside from that half the population playing is Japanse and can't understand you) is that everyone playing usually has things they want to do..they aren't just standing around waiting for a tell/shout for help.

The best way to get help is by joining a linkshell, if you can't do that then you have to understand that tells or shouts sometimes won't be answered and if you need help you need to keep at it.

Very few of us were bottle fed help, I started 7 years ago when the game was in it's prime and I still had a horrible time getting my limit breaks/AF quests done (all I had was a small social and I was the highest player in it). I stuck with it and eventually got them all done, just the nature of the game.

[Francisco]

I'd love to see a lot more new players coming into FFXI. I'm actually a bit amazed there are still a decent number of new players, considering SE isn't really making ANY effort to bring new people in.

I've long been a huge proponent of SE "re-releasing" FFXI in an HD format for PC and possibly PS3 - marketing it as if it's a new game... I think a lot of people would be interested in playing this game, if they knew it existed or was still going on/active. I fully believe SE could breathe a tremendous amount of new life into this game if they choose to.

As for the new players themselves - I try to be helpful when I can, if it's within reason. I'm not very keen on players randomly just requesting (and sometime almost demanding) I do their AF for them. I have no issues with answering questions or whatever though, unless I'm in the middle of fighting something/busy...

[Greatguardian]

Just keep in mind that some of us have been helping "newbies" for 8 years, too. Eventually, sometimes, it just gets tiring hearing the same questions over and over again - Sometimes by new people, sometimes by the same people who just didn't listen the first dozen times.

Sure, you could call it rude I guess. The problem is that the system itself is not very equitable. Say I teach/help 5 people about/with the game. Now say each of those 5 people teaches another 5. Sooner or later, everyone helps everyone and everyone is happy.

But it doesn't work that way. Instead, oldbies like me teach/help 50 people about/with the game, and 30 of them quit. 10 of them will always insist that they're noobs, and will ask for help that they don't need while refusing to take on the responsibility of helping newer players. The other 10 will either lack a talent for helping/teaching, lack tact, or just be unsociable towards newer players in general.

Being helpful and nice to everyone who crosses your path is an uphill battle. I have no problem offering advice, or telling people where they might go to learn what they want to learn, but my time for one-on-one teaching is over. I lead a social shell for years, and contributed far more than my fair share. I now have friends and contacts in every major Endgame shell on my server, and a thousand favors to call in when I need to (just got a friend of mine a 3,000 byne (~30,000,000 gil) Relic loan the other day, feelsgoodman.jpg).

The opus falls to the newer generation to take care of the next wave of new players. Newer players (as in, as of the past 1-3 years) need to remember that they weren't always on top, and they need to work a bit before they start collecting retirement. At the same time, people need to lay off the retirees a bit. It's disingenuous to expect us to do all of the work by ourselves until the servers shut down.

[Olor]

It really depends on what you're asking or looking for. I often feel sorry for people shouting for help with their LB quests for example, but last time I tried to help someone I got lost, so wasn't much help at all.

Also I feel like XI players generally expect new players to help themselves. It may not be something you need to do with other games, but XI does require its players to do their own work and research. It really does. To this day I am constantly referring to the wiki (and blue garter) to find info. If you are against doing that you probably won't enjoy this game or thrive in it at any point, even if you have an army of current players at your beck and call.

That said, I hate the first few limit break quests - I think everything other than Maat needs to be nerfed or abolished cause it is just bad design to force new players to beg established players for help just so they can get by a ridiculous road block.