Quote Originally Posted by JT_Bombast View Post
There have been changes I've liked in the 10 years I've been playing, and changes I haven't. Overall I think XI is a worse game than it was in 2009 or so, but it's more accessible. More accessible means I can play it and reasonably expect to accomplish something, but worse game means I enjoy it a lot less than the small chunk of content I could complete back in the day. I miss parties. I miss <Fisherman> <Yes, please.> and <meat> <shield> <Do you need it?>. I miss level capped story fights. I miss needing to plan my travel itinerary so I didn't waste time getting from one place to the next. I miss worrying about what day it was, what moon phase it was, what season it was, etc. I miss people.

I've always felt (and still feel) that XI got a lot of stuff right, really right, that every other MMO either ignored or didn't even think of in the first place. The others I've tried (and I've played a dozen or so) felt like a game. XI felt like a living, breathing world. That feeling has diminished for me, and that's what I miss the most.
I found myself nodding along with your post, so many things I agree with.

I also miss a lot of things about the old game, and this is why I have been on the fence for many years, on the question about "is the game more enjoyable now." But recently I have been thinking very seriously about this, and on balance I do consider the 2015 game to be superior, overall.

I agree so much with you about missing people, and hopefully the server merges will arrive and we will meet new people every day, like we did in the old days. Getting to know new people part of the fun, you never knew who would show up in your party, and what stories they would tell while we rested MP, lol. I think this "missing people" in your post, is actually the reason you miss the "living breathing world" also in your post. The two things are connected, I think. So hopefully server merges will fix both of those problems at the same time.

I accept that I am trying to be positive, and to allow the past to die gracefully, rather than grasping at it desperately. FFXI of the past was incredible, but that was the bloom of youth, a young game brimming with the white-heat of novelty. However, I still think I'm having more fun in FFXI than ever before.

I always wanted SE to add higher Merit-Points, further advanced character-customisation, greater room for character personalisation. JobPoints and gifts are wonderful, I am REALLY enjoying many of the gifts, and also I like the process of grinding Jobpoints. I like the feeling that when I put in lots of effort, my character gets more skilled in her abilities, and even learns entirely new things too. This is more fun to me as a roleplayer, than just grinding for gear. I always feel really happy when it is my character herself that is transforming, rather than just her wardrobe.

I really love many of the new furnishings, VanaClock and so many others. Also many of the new costumes are very amusing and cute.

I look forward to spinning the Special Dial on gobby-box every day, its a little moment of excitement which we didn't have in the old game. Sometime he gives me Riftcinders, or Rock Salts, and you never know which he will give you, until you spin the dial.

I also like the RoE system, being able to slay monsters and get currency for it, is a great idea, it is especially fantastic for new adventurers, but it is also very useful for more longtime players too.

Mainly I like the freedom of the new game, being able to just log-in and do what interests me, without feeling compelled to do LS rota / HelpMe stuff, or feeling I have to pray that players XYZ log-in today so we can do an event. Now I can just log-in go directly to the trusts option, if my friends are offline. The new game has so many options, whereas the old game was a lot of downtime while you tried to build towards the only option available. I think this freedom does make the game far more enjoyable as a playable experience, and I think that new or returning players will *really* totally enjoy FFXI if they started playing it in the new improved era.