Why did you start playing FFXI?

[Amerlyn]

I joined because I am not only addicted to Final Fantasy games, but b/c I needed an escape from the drama of real life for a short period of time.

[Rambus]

I started ffxi becasue it was there....

I liked past FF games, I did not even know it was coming out just saw it in a store one day

[Vivivivi]

I wanted to play all the FF games in order. Got through 10, and don't think I'll get to 12-14 now for a while :)

[Vivik]

I got hurt and was on my back for a year and had the trial in an xbox magazine... Now I'm an addict.

[Ica]

Vivik made me.

[Harpalina]

My best friend convinced me to play...I now play 95x more than she does and I rarely ever see her on <.<

[Vivik]

Vivik made me.

Oh you stop woman. You made fun of me for days. Then you saw how much fun I was having and you just had to go out and buy it... :P

[Mirage]

It was final fantasy-themed and some of my friends played it, and it was better than everything else at the time it came out.

I tried WoW but I quickly got sick and tired of the uninspiring art direction there.

[Naturebeckles]

I have been playing Final Fantasy games since FF3 came out on Super Nintendo. I started FFXI late (2007), but it was only natural for us to finally start our first MMO. I love it.

[Malamasala]

Was interested in a lot of the upcoming MMOs. FFXI, WoW, Star Wars. But then this happened to come first (well, not to my country but I imported it), and I quickly noticed I wouldn't have time to play all three, so I never bought the others.

So you could say it was a good idea to release the game before the others. Just a shame it has felt like a Beta version until Abyssea was released. But it was nice chatting with people those years between 2003 and 2010.

[Chamaan]

Because friends had been crowing about how awesome the super bees in Gustaberg were since JP release.

And because Lagnarok Online was taking months to implement the Monk class, so I got tired of waiting and picked up a game that already had Monks. I like to punch stuff.

[Yatsuhiko]

When I heard there was going to be a Final Fantasy game that was online, I though, "That's for me! I have to get it!" Even though I've never played any MMO's prior to that, and I was a kinda late starter in the Final Fantasy series, starting with VII, the thought of getting to choose my own job, race, and looks was mind-blowing for me. Everytime I saw a preview in the magazine, I'd actually sit there and read every word, and just stare in awe at the pictures. When I learned that a certain magazine was also including previews of FFXI on a PS2 disc, I started picking them up. And I'd just watch the developers and magazine editors talk about the game. When it was finally released for the PS2, I was able to get a copy as a birthday present. Despite my first experience not being the best, since I pretty much ignored the manual, it was still everything I hoped for.

[Seha]

Simply because it's a Final Fantasy. I've played all games of the saga and I'm a big fan of it, so I wanted to try this one too. I didn't even know what mmorpg were before I started xD and now I'm here playing for my 6th year~

[Selzak]

I was heavy into SOCOM II on PS2 and bought the hard drive to access a map pack that required it. Looking back, that was one of the earliest map packs on a console and a huge waste of money (the PS2 HDD sold for $100...). When I preordered the HDD I grabbed a little pamphlet for it that included some information about FFXI, which was packaged with the HDD. I had played FFIX, FFVII, and FFX previously (FFIX was probably my favorite game of all time) so it piqued my interest. I was also just getting into the whole online gaming thing, and an MMO sounded really fascinating. Gave it a shot, and got hooked. I've been off and on (restarted completely several times), but here I am about seven years later.

[Murphie]

A lot of my friends started playing back at NA launch, and it looked like fun. I've "quit" several times over the years to try other MMOs, or because I was burned out, or whatever, but I've always come back.

[Joslyn]

played alot of EQ and UO but was getting tired of them, Am a huge FF geek so I thought I'd give it a try, Had to wait for a time till I got my own place and High speed internet before I could start.Been playing since 05 still only have 1 job right now maxed to the current level cap since its my favorite job but I am lvling others that I'm enjoying to play as.

[Eiyoko]

I had been thinking about it for a while and toyed with the idea of what I might do, but finally I decided to pick up a copy when I went to EB games one day (as well as the brady guide...lmao XD). I was a somewhat late started, playing a few months to a year after the initial release (before CoP came out...ah, the good ol' days). The story is awesome, and I had some great first experiences. Needless to say, I've been hooked ever since :3

[philmacraken]

I was heavy into SOCOM II on PS2 and bought the hard drive to access a map pack that required it. Looking back, that was one of the earliest map packs on a console and a huge waste of money (the PS2 HDD sold for $100...). When I preordered the HDD I grabbed a little pamphlet for it that included some information about FFXI, which was packaged with the HDD. I had played FFIX, FFVII, and FFX previously (FFIX was probably my favorite game of all time) so it piqued my interest. I was also just getting into the whole online gaming thing, and an MMO sounded really fascinating. Gave it a shot, and got hooked. I've been off and on (restarted completely several times), but here I am about seven years later.

i used to play socom 1 and 2 all the time also..i was a heavy poster on the sony forums and got a beta invite for ffxi...and since they gave you a copy of the game and the HDD for free for beta testing...i was hooked lol

[Etrigan]

I had been playing Anarchy Online and been getting bored with it, mainly because for some reason Ruby-Ka 1 always showed as down on my home connection, and thats where all my friends I had made played. FFXI came out and a group of friends and I all picked it up, somehow without world passes we all but 1 ended up on Fairy. We had the group all set, I wanted to be a paladin so I leveled warrior when I found out I could not start out as such (and to this day still have not really leveled paladin all that much). a white mage, a red mage, a black mage, a monk, and a second warrior who upon hitting 30 opened and solo leveled dark knight to catch up with us.

Even when my friends slowly dwindled off because of various reasons, two of which could not defeat Maat, I now am the last of the group to still play to this day!

[Cylla]

A friend had told me to give it a try and so I picked it up along with my husband and for the first year we didn't really get in to it very much...but by the 2nd year, we started playing full time with friends.

[lowkey]

I had a gift certificate, and Media Play didn't have anything else that interested me that day. I didn't like the idea of a pay to play game, but it came with the free month trial, and I figured I'd surely be able to beat the game within that amount of time.

[Dragen]

My roommate at the time was playing the Japanese version and it had piqued my interest for when the NA version was released. I'm still playing 7 years later but he left for WoW and never returned.

[bungiefan]

I started in 2002, while taking college Japanese classes. I thought it would be a practical way to practice the language, and there were a bunch of importers that spoke English organizing to all be on the Ragnarok server. Homework and work kept me too busy to play as often as I wanted though, and I didn't get above level 12 before American release of the game.

I also got it because it was the only way to play an MMO, since all I had were game consoles and a Macintosh from 1995. I wouldn't have played any MMO if FFXI hadn't have been released on PS2.

[sungaga]

ive been playing final fantasy since no8 came out many years ago and played it since came to ffxi as a beta tester for the xbox

[Avidon]

My cousin and I were working on our FF10 files at the time when he found a website promoting the release of this game. He was interested, and I made fun of it, thinking it was a stupid idea. We both buy it months later. He hated it. I stuck to it, reminding myself that it's a FF game and that I must have faith in it, and that faith has rewarded me oh so nicely.

[MrWigglles]

I joined because I am not only addicted to Final Fantasy games, but b/c I needed an escape from the drama of real life for a short period of time.

You escaped real life drama and joined the FFXI drama. mmk.

I was dooped by Sony. Pre-ordered the ps2 hdd because Sony said it would have a Media player and a bunch of other features when it launched. By the time it launched all the extra features had been removed and it was just ffxi on the hdd. Played the free 30 day trial then canceled. Tried it again a few months later and stuck with it.

[Gwynplaine]

I started because I wanted to make sure I played it through, as a FF completionist I guess. With single player console games you can always go back and just play it anytime years later. But with an MMO you know that some day you won't be able to have that chance. So I got into it to make sure I could experience the game while it lasted.

Also part of what interested me was how little I knew about it. FFXI got next to NO attention in any gaming magazine at the time (the internet was still building up). The only info I had was a single EGM review, and the weekly articles "Milkman" wrote in GMR. So I had to find out for myself.

[Amerlyn]

You escaped real life drama and joined the FFXI drama. mmk.

Lol, yah. But at least with FFXI drama i can /ignore or just hit the power button. RL I have to find a corner and hope it doesn't find me. =p

[rog]

It was a final fantasy game.

[cidbahamut]

I spent a summer searching for a decent MMO and nothing really clicked for me until after I'd given up my search and a friend suggested we try FFXI. It was pretty out of the blue but I figured, sure, why not?

Nearly two years later I'm still here and my friend is long gone from Vana'diel.

[Siros]

Due ta the fact that its FF i hadta play it,ive played all FF games cept for game cube an ds versions.Im a FF addict.I started on Everquest where some of u may recognize me from,then switched ta FFXI as soon as it came out for ps2 and ive been hooked ever since.Then got both my brothers,Echoslashar an Khellendrose,hooked too.

[Niyah]

I love the whole genre of RPG's. I think I've played every RPG SquareEnix has made. And ever since FFVII, I just had to play every Final Fantasy game out there. So when FFXI came out, I just had to try it. All the storylines of the previous Final Fantasy series were just very interesting. FFXI became the only game I ever played. No more spending a crap load of money on buying new games because I finished them.

[Topdogg]

When HDD for ps2 was introduced, it came with a ffxi free 30 day trial. I was in no way interested in an MMO or a final fantasy game but after i found out how useless the HDD was, i gave ffxi a try and was attached 4 days later and still play heavily to this day. On a side note, this was/is my first MMo and final fantasy. /blush

[Cylock]

I started playing by pure accident. It was the end of 2006 if i remember right and I was at Best Buy perusing the shelf of older games. I spotted a copy of FFXI WOTG. At the time I was completely unaware of any online FF game. So i snatched it up and went home to enjoy what i thought was another great installment of the franchise. After putting the disc in my 360 I was greeted with a shock. Monthy fees? install game? b-b-b-whaa? After realizing what exactly had just gone down I said F**k it and installed POL and FFXI, grabbed the Ol trusty CC and let' er rip. I'm grateful for my ignorance because I've enjoyed years of FFXI gameplay, made great friends and enemies alike.

[Blaize]

I joined the game in May of 2006 in the hopes that one day an official forum would be created in which people would finally ask why you can't change your wyvern color. My hopes have been answered.

[Xochitl]

I fell in love with FF series from the original one. I have played all of them. When my son and I got accepted to the beta PC testing we were really happy. Needless to say he won the time to play and I did not actually start playing it until 2006. Even though I play other games, FFXI will always be the one I play the most.

[Yashii]

Mm~ XI was actually a christmas present from my stepdad the first year him and mai mom were together.. (so.. its been like forever. >.>)~ I just started playing and was hooked from then on.

[Meyi]

My ex (we were going out at the time) wanted a game to play with me.

I've come to like the game.

[Kadian]

i started because i kept bugging my older brother (who also plays) and i ended up starting after his buddy left for the army, so i got his buddy's acct and i got my own chars too :)

[Aerius]

Mainly because Phantasy Star Online on the gamecube got shutdown and Blue Burst didn't appeal enough having to start all over and such.

Final Fantasy XI was the next best thing out there that seemed worth it. So far the only job that REALLY interests me is still Summoner though, which I'm enjoying every moment of.
Tried World of Warcraft, hell no. Tried many Free2Play (lol) MMO's, hell no +2. Did play Ragnarok Online for a while on private servers though, 10x rates, go!

I'm in great anticipation for Phantasy Star Online 2 though, I'm sure it won't be able to rip me away from Summoner/FFXI, but I'm pretty sure it could easily eat into 80-90% of my FFXI time if it's better than it's failed successor Phantasy Star Universe.

[Bloomingodsname]

I blame my husband lol
he played all the FF games when growing up - I had nvr known FF even existed til I met him...he had nvr gotten to play XI but had always wanted to - he started playing after ordering the game (it didn't come on 360 around here) I watched him play for 2wks...then started playing some on his character liked the game - created my own character on his profile...ended up becoming addicted so we got a PC copy...that was June 2008 I've been (for the most part) playing ever since ^-^

[Elysianne]

I started playing in 07 due to a roomie and her boyfriend that played. I'd never really played more than a few games on my old nes and got into Baldur's Gate when it had come out. FFXI kinda sucked me in. I enjoy the interaction with people and its proved to be a good distraction when I should be doing homework. D:

[SHARP-OAK]

i remember checking forums for news of starcraft 2, and ran accross a post about ffxi. I had heard about it but couldnt imagine how they would make it a mmo, but i needed something new to play , anyway i picked it up tried it out and kicked Starcraft to the curb permanently

[Dauntless]

I got hurt and had the trial in an xbox magazine... Now I'm an addict.

Essentially this.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Boredom...

[Starr]

because I wanted to be able to claim I had played ALL FF in the numbered series, if it were just called FF online I wouldn't have touched it. I quit that idea when FFXIII and FFXIV came out though

[Rocman]

I also was a big socom and socom 2 player, i got the hdd and ffxi came with it so i tried it and have been hooked ever since. I am excited for socom 4 too though!

[Darkless]

i'm a final fantasy fan, i started playing online games around 2000 and in 2004 i bought ffxi and until now i'm playing it :P , unlike other games in ffxi each job have it own fun way of playing i got mnk sam thf war pld nin rdm blu brd @ 90 , alot of my friends ask me what's your main job , i end up saying i dont have main job , i like all my jobs , front line , back line , support , tanking , puller and sometime i dd on brd :P

[Nattack]

the mmo craze was just starting to open the flood gates, i liked other ff's, was young and stupid.

i still, for reasons not even i know, love this game. with no logical reason. i would rather play an mmo with a cyberpunk theme.

[Harmless]

Ah this thread brings back some memories... I started playing FFXI in I think 2003? Not sure exactly of the year but I do remember the release of Chains of Promathia (2004?) Anyways, I was like 21-22 working full time at Philips Electronics factory. We would all get off work around 11 PM and then go to the bar, get drunk chat some shit and then go home. This is the part where I become unpopular on the forums...

I had about 3 friends at work that talked about FFXI all the time. I had never played through a FF game (though I remember playing VII or VIII for all of 5 minutes) so I would give my buddies a hard time about playing it. I thought they sounded like nerds being so "obsessed" with a video game. Well eventually they tried to get me to play it and although I resisted, I'll admit I was a little curious about what made this game so great. One night at the bar one of the guys made an offer that made me laugh. He said "Tell ya what, you go buy the game and try it for a week. If you don't like it I'll give you the money the game costs". I said ya sure but had no intention of taking up his offer. That weekend I was at Walmart (Inorite?) looking for new game to feed my addiction. At the time I played a lot of GTA, MGS, The Getaway... stuff like that, and spotted a copy of FFXI for PC in a box that looked as if it had bought, torn open and returned to the store (not very inspiring). It was only $20 so I said F it and bought it. This is the part where I redeem myself slightly...

Fast forward 8-9 years... I'm 10x more addicted to the game than they ever were. Of the 3 friends that got me started, 1 has quit but plays 14 a little bit, 1 only logs on to chat with his LS and the other thinks that Campaign is the only event in all of Vanadiel. The factory we worked at has since been sent to Mexico, I've started and finished college, now have 3 kids and own a Dj company. Everything in my life has changed except my love of this game. Since then I have bought every FF title that has been released (with the exception of 14) and while they were all great games, none of them have been finished thanks to FFXI lol. I even went back and bought as many of the older titles as I could find. Needless to say, my friend never had to pay me that $20 although he stops by every now and again to have a beer and chat about the game.


TL;DR
The "nerds" that got me started on FFXI have been surpassed in "nerd-dome"... by the guy "too cool for FFXI"

[Tim]

I started playing this game in december of 05 and it was a christmas gift from my baby brother. I joined the military in 04 and he missed hanging out so he got me FF11 so we could play together. What sucks is that about 1 month into me playing my father made him quit because his grades were suffering lol. So I kept playing and am still addicted to this game.

[Mezzopiano]

I like FF games, and I wanted a game that I could play for a really long time. This seemed like a perfect fit.

[annewandering]

My son wanted to chat with me sometimes without having to call so he installed the game on my computer. I did not want to play at all but thought the little taru character was cute, met a couple of very nice people on game who had just started and six years later I am playing and he is not.
At least he understands unlike most other people. ^^

[Linh]

In January of 2004 I was deciding between Star Wars Galaxies or Dark Age of Camelot to try out as my first MMO.

Then I somehow wound up with FF11 instead of the first two *shrugs*

[Tsukino_Kaji]

In January of 2004 I was deciding between Star Wars Galaxies or Dark Age of Camelot to try out as my first MMO.

Then I somehow wound up with FF11 instead of the first two *shrugs*Lucky you.

[Gilraen]

I joined because my friends were playing it, saying how awesome it was. After spending several months cobbling together a PS2 (had to get it fixed), HDD, copies of the core game and Promathia I managed to log on in time for the first Summerbreeze Festival. Then my friends all quit several months later. Not sure why I kept playing, maybe it's the great writing or the fulfilling quest lines. I DO know that I tend to gain only one level a month, so it's clearly not the gameplay.

[Nu-Hir]

Is this a good reason to start?

http://blog.rootmytoaster.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/FF_Collection.jpg

[Arconis]

I have played every Final Fantasy there is from launch and FFXI was just the next one in series.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

I have played every Final Fantasy there is from launch and FFXI was just the next one in series.Wow that makes you old like me. lol

[Arconis]

lmao just had to point that out didn't ya was hoping I might be able to slip that by :) I noticed after I posted that I just showed my true age old ;; lol