About the Abyssea areas

[Randwolf]

..i don't want to see FFXI die. and at this rate...with things as they are. it will! what do you think this server merge is about? more players to play with? no! it's because the player population has dropped and new players are leaving no sooner they join. why? because no one levels in normal areas! and those who do only to level 30 then they join the abyssea gravy train to level 90 and don't know how to play their jobs and can't hit the broad side of a barn!

It already was dying. I've seen more people return since the addition of Abyssea. And, their primary reason: Abyssea. The population continues to shrink. It was shrinking prior to Abyssea. Most of my hard-core friends had left prior to Abyssea being introduced. I was playing less and less every day. After 7 years playing a game, I think I've earned the right to feel uber in a game. The only problem is that the uberness was given to all players. Not just old-timers. Personally, I don't care if it means n00bs get to be uber too. Others, would rather keep everyone relatively weak, including themselves, as long as they had a slight, very slight, advantage over newer players.

My personal opinion is that there are 2 types of players that stand-out; the perfectionists and the sloths. I'm not sure if there is anyway to keep the sloths at bay other than refusing to include them when you do things. I have 4 jobs, everything is leveled. Well, except Guard and Parry, which I put hours into each week slowly working up their levels.

So, while you might have been satisfied with the way things were, a majority were not. Personally, I feel you are howling at the wind. But, to each their own.

[Krystal]

It already was dying. I've seen more people return since the addition of Abyssea. And, their primary reason: Abyssea. The population continues to shrink. It was shrinking prior to Abyssea. Most of my hard-core friends had left prior to Abyssea being introduced. I was playing less and less every day. After 7 years playing a game, I think I've earned the right to feel uber in a game. The only problem is that the uberness was given to all players. Not just old-timers. Personally, I don't care if it means n00bs get to be uber too. Others, would rather keep everyone relatively weak, including themselves, as long as they had a slight, very slight, advantage over newer players.

My personal opinion is that there are 2 types of players that stand-out; the perfectionists and the sloths. I'm not sure if there is anyway to keep the sloths at bay other than refusing to include them when you do things. I have 4 jobs, everything is leveled. Well, except Guard and Parry, which I put hours into each week slowly working up their levels.

So, while you might have been satisfied with the way things were, a majority were not. Personally, I feel you are howling at the wind. But, to each their own.

well at least your post contributed SOMETHING even though i don't like it...>.>; but still you make valid points. FFXI is dying and still is...but the fact remains is i'd rather IF is does die...to go in the way i remember it..not some level 90 noob fest filled crap game....

[Greatguardian]

well at least your post contributed SOMETHING even though i don't like it...>.>; but still you make valid points. FFXI is dying and still is...but the fact remains is i'd rather IF is does die...to go in the way i remember it..not some level 90 noob fest filled crap game....

The majority of my large, polite, contributing posts were completely ignored. I don't really see much point writing more when those opposed to my point of view either skim them and find one thing to disagree on, or skip over them altogether. Reading is such hard work when the content is something contrary to what we want, isn't it?

FFXI is still a fairly healthy game. There is still some competition in the endgame scene, and plenty of crowding in some Abyssea areas to indicate activity. Content is being developed and implemented by an incredibly devoted development team. The population is declining, but it used to be a whole lot worse. If anything, Abyssea has reintroduced older, retired players to the game as indicated above.

The thing is, FFXI was never free of lazy, nooby players. Ever. It has always had a large population of bad players. Maybe it was easier to ignore in 2006 because, honestly, most of us here *were* bad players back then. I know I sure was. They have always been there. There have always been this many. They were always at level 75, 90, whatever the cap was and yes, they typically always got there leeching off other people's skill. Whether they're an Abyssea leech or that full AF WAR with an Axe of Trials that your party leader just isn't "mean" enough to kick, dumb people will get to max level off other's good graces at any point in time.

The trick is dealing with it and moving on with your own FFXI experience. If you don't like bad players, don't associate with bad players. If you don't enjoy doing anything, or can't find players to do things with, be more proactive. Don't sit around with your flag up watching a movie. Form a party if you want to form a party. Make friends if you want to make friends. Don't do nothing and then complain that you can't do anything.

[Eruainur]

Back to the roots, FFXI was once the glory star in the wide sea of MMOs when it came to rewarding experience. It was hard, no doubt, but some might argue that the reward was much greater when the goal was achieved... but now? you can get from 30 to 90 in a day by macroing the key to open chests... whats the point in that? Then you got lvl 90 and now? I mean, when you had to work your butt off to level your job you fell in love with it, you cared for it and you know how to play it. Nowadays what I see is noobish players that dont know jack about their jobs, and that makes me sad.

I totally agree with Leylias and other peoples statements and I'd support a level 75+ cap for abyssea... heck, for all I care it could be 80 forcing ppl to find at least some new camps or do stuff like campaign again.

[Randwolf]

They have always been there. There have always been this many.

I agreed with you until this part. n00bage has increased. However, it had a good head start with AF burns in the tunnel, not with Abyssea. But, although a lot of people could get into burn parties and suck at their jobs, it wasn't an available option to a majority of the new player population. Plus, many of the people who burned their levels were actually good players who wouldn't bring a gimp job to an end-game event. Note the use of many, I can name several on Sylph who thought end-game events were an opportunity to level severely gimped job skills.

I'm going with what I consider the balanced view on this. Players who have been playing a long time and doing what is right should be allowed to feel powerful. The only problem is how do you open that door for those that worked their way up and keep it shut for the lazy nubs who show up and think they understand what the game is and has been.

[Vold]

well at least your post contributed SOMETHING even though i don't like it...>.>; but still you make valid points. FFXI is dying and still is...but the fact remains is i'd rather IF is does die...to go in the way i remember it..not some level 90 noob fest filled crap game....

Let's get real here, shall we? Should there have been a level 30 limit to enter Abyssea? No. Level 30s do not belong in Abyssea. But what's done is done, and the fact is this: You backtrack now and take it away so people can't leech, and you will doom the game to it's death as people will sooner retire than go back to grinding for weeks to attain the level required to enter Abyssea, or they just won't level new jobs period. Either way it won't matter.

Good players will grind out their skilling up sessions post experience as they have always done. Those that don't will continue to not do the same because and I quote, "it's no fun." This game doesn't have the numbers anymore to justify the old ways. SE has to work on keeping us around more so than time sinking us. Different strategies for the same goal: keep us paying and playing.

The only thing Abyssea has done as far as gimping players are concerned, is that it exposes them on a much larger scale when there are 18 person alliances for exp PT and end game content can be done with pick up alliances. That's it. It's the same gimps as before. Abyssea didn't suddenly turn everyone else that weren't already gimps into gimps. Either you care or you don't. No change SE will ever do will change that.