Future of FFXI and your approvals/disapprovals to the development team

[Randwolf]

Mixed feelings on the changes.

The brews are a good concept for players who need that one NM to complete a quest or are a couple of items shy of an upgrade. However, there are a lot of people who milk the system by farming tons of cruor and brew everything. Not sure how you balance that without penalizing the people who are using the brews for that one extra push when they can't get a team together.

Part of the issue is that as we keep going up in levels, things that were hard become easier to do with fewer people. But, part of that is just natural progression. Just like many things that you needed a team to kill at level 50 became a solo effort at 75. The answer is to add NM's that require a full alliance at 99.

Long timed spawns I always thought were ridiculous at 75. Especially when the challenge involved requiring an alliance to begin with. In my opinion, the challenge is supposed to be in killing the mob, not claiming it. Again, IMO, if you log in for say 5 hours, you should at least get one chance to try and kill a certain NM and, perhaps, if lucky, get the drop. Days shouldn't go by where you can't even be on at the times something is due to pop. Nor, should the claim system favor using external programs to make a claim.

Anyway, just some thoughts off the top of my head.

[Anewie]

I really miss camping. I remember back in day I'd go camp Vivian for Vring or go search out random NMs. I used to just goto wiki and look up NMs and and go out and try and pop them. I miss that FFXI. New NMs just don't do it for me. I don't know why. I love farming and camping NMs for gil and stuff. Was time consuming and fun. I'm really hoping for more lottery pops or world spawns.

The irritating thing to me is, I really don't want people gathering in a single spot to bot. I don't really get that logic tbh. I mean, lets all keep it real. World spawn NMs that wander or lotto are some of the most fun most of us have ever had. Most all people enjoy killing NMs and its cool to explore and possibly stumble upon a rare spawn one. Thats awesome!

The issue is, should SE hold back because of cheaters? Should they make content easier because of the strain it places on others? I want to say no but honestly, if i was one of the casual players, and I couldnt get into a king/salvage LS or devote time to kings, I would be dissapointed. Although there odin and nyzul isle, camping is fun and salvage was tricky and cool!

I think the best thing to do isn't holding the game back because of cheaters but implmenting alternate methods or events that keep the more casual base busy and active!

[Neofire]

Except you can shout a group to defeat Rani and actually have a challenge to look forward to. If you don't have a large LS, that's what the shouting is for and it's been increasingly successful for many. "But I won't be able to defeat Rani for sure!" you say? Oh, that's a what a challenge is called.

Rani ain't Promyvion. Shes only guarding the way to Shinryu - the "ultimate" boss of the expansion.

Im not so mad more so accepting that the future of this game is doomed when all you have to do is pop an item, spam a WS macro and have nearly 0% chance of losing. This is a lesson I learned way back in '97 where using cheat codes (brew is as close to a cheat code as this game gets) is fun for but only for a while and then shortly thereafter, the fun is replaced by boredom and then abandonment of the game.

You can continue to delude yourself into believing that 200k brews have done nothing to FFXI and i'll continue to realize that too much of a good thing is bad. There are no more challenges left in XI for the "little-guy" (read: new players/old players/upcoming players) to look forward to. Instead the game has been morphed into a brewfest, a leechfest and a game completely detached from its former self.

The new systems in the May patch may change the current course of the game but as it stands, the choices made during Heroes of Abyssea have had an overall negative impact on the game itself. Abyssea as a whole had some solid good choices but only a fool chooses to ignore the horrible choices.

This is a prime example of stupidity, as I said in my other posts people have a choice to play the content they like and the content they don't like. I wouldn't dare say abyssea pushed 11 back, I appreciate all the content SE has released(yes even With). I'm just tired of people crying about shit when SE doesn't release or upgrade what they want on top of a stupid doom and gloom speech.

[Anewie]

Also, you have to also consider that even if bots/cheaters died, I don't think people would be satisfied anyway. Some people just don't like to compete or do challenging/tricky things that require time and patience. Cheating is an issue or was an issue in old endgame, but if this had been a perfect game with perfect balance on NMs and events, I still think people would complain.

[Greatguardian]

I pretty much stopped reading the anti-Abyssea posts after "Shout for a group for Rani without a brew".

Most shout groups fail Rani with 1-2 Brews, broseph.

It's not just anyone who can pop an NM, afk, and come back to it at 0%.

I'm not saying Abyssea is hard. It's not. Frankly, I find it rather relaxing and definitely easy. Anyone with an IQ greater than potato can master it.

Truthgasm: Most FFXI players still have an IQ less than potato. Most FFXI players still find ways to wipe to Orthrus with 18 people. Most FFXI players think Briareus is hard and Empyrean Weapons require a linkshell of slaves to kill things for you. Most FFXI players cannot kill anything above AF3+1 Seal NMs without a brew. Most FFXI players still call Abyssea "Super easy god mode", even if they've never completed a single piece of AF3+2 or even entered the zones. And in case it needs repeating, Most FFXI players still have an IQ less than potato.

The only people who have any right to complain about Abyssea being easy are the people who are actually good at the game and walking around in multiple Empyrean Weapons/AF3+2; ironically, people who I rarely see complain at all.

With that said, I don't mind Abyssea at all as midgame content. I think it was made to strongly appeal to casual players, and give them the same opportunities for gear as the hardcore playerbase; something which FFXI has lacked for a long time. The move away from World Spawns for the game's best gear is beyond refreshing. A lot of people complain about the influx of gear caused by, in a nutshell, everyone being able to force-spawn Fafnirz. But really, it just removed a lot of conflict from the game. Some players enjoyed the conflict, the drama, the stealing and the hacking. But overall, the shift away from these trends has made the FFXI community much friendlier overall.

I hated world spawns. I love being able to log onto skype, get an IM like "Hey, let's kill a few Ironclads for plates", and just log in and do it. I'd love a challenge at 99, and I'd love a reason for my Endgame shell to exist. But I definitely have no qualms with Abyssea, and I love the game's paradigm shift from world spawns to force spawns.

[Malamasala]

I disapprove of most of the game. FFXI in itself is a collection of every mistake you can do in a MMO.

I'll list what I approve of though.

1. Atmas.

A customizable boost to your job, independent of if you are a tank, mage, pet job, melee, ranger, etc. Everyone can now adjust their job the way they feel like. (A majority of the so called potato-IQ people only picks one or two combinations though, because they can't think further than "hit hard")

Atmas should have existed from the first day, available from NMs here and there in the world. So you could team up in a group and hunt NMs for a mutual benefit of the kill.

2. Cutscenes.

I don't think there is any other MMO using cutscenes as well as FFXI. I just wish they were easier to access than having to head all over the world just to relive a story line. Not to mention have fewer so called "cock-blocks" by BCNMs and NM fights.

3. Choose your own augments.

The best item system ever introduced, and it was abandoned as quickly as it came. Just how SE did FFX fantastic, and then dropped the ball on FFXI.

4. Job system

Almost forgot this since you take it for granted. Much appreciated system, even though the subjob system leaves a lot to desire.



In the future I want more of the above. Atmas outside of abyssea, choose my own bonuses on new weapons and items, and lots more storyline Cutscenes. I predict I'll get none of the above, and probably quit at level 99 unless it offers something fantastic as 99.

[Benihana]

Before Abyssea, most of the end-game content was only available to the hardcore players. Abyssea and magian trials have gone the opposite direction and opened up quite a bunch of good gear for casual players too. I do not consider getting af3 +2s, emp weapons, or shinryu gear as elite content. Anyone who spends the time to read up and shout for groups or kill with friends can do all of that pretty easily. I think it was good they made Abyssea very accessible to casual players as not everyone has the time it required to get all the good gear there was at end-game at level 75.

With the upcoming updates, they should put the focus back on elite content for the hardcore players. There is more than enough for casual players to do in Abyssea, and SE can always add more things for casual players to do. One thing that makes ffxi so different for the older players is that certain gear just made you go say, "Wow, I'd love to have that." Gear also differentiated players in a good way. You could for the most part tell who knew what they were doing and who was a noob by looking at their gear (I know it is a generalization and isn't 100% true). I'm not amazed when I see anyone have emp weapons and gear. Someone having 5/5 af3 +2 and ochain and almace does not amaze me at all. All that Abyssea takes is some time. Anyone with any group can kill anything in Abyssea as long as you know how to read. There should be an equal mix of casual and hardcore nms in the game I feel. Since all the old elite end-game is now virtually pointless and no longer elite, it is now time to put in new elite content for the hardcore players.

Note, I use to camp the Hnms and do almost all the end-game content. I no longer have the time to do elite content if they were to put more in, but I still feel it should be put in. Not everyone should be able to get the same gear. That is part of what makes ffxi the game it is and special.

[Rambus]

In the future I want more of the above. Atmas outside of abyssea.

I find it funny when people say brews make abyssea too easy then say things like this.

I think some mobs were made to be brewed/atmaed, old FFXI is not, so no

[Sparthos]

I pretty much stopped reading the anti-Abyssea posts after "Shout for a group for Rani without a brew".

Most shout groups fail Rani with 1-2 Brews, broseph.

And what is wrong with failure on a monster that only leads to the final boss of Abyssea? Rani was designed as a gatekeeper and her strength is to keep out people who haven't done the other content Abyssea has to offer.

You still had the option to use 2M on a brew, a huge hit to cruor in order to pass her anyway. This encouraged you to make the brews count and you were punished for failure. You know, consequences and the like.

200k brews shouldn't have been available period. The game shifted to casual content which was perfectly fine but "just brew it" is poison to the game. Why should I cooperate with people when I can just brew it?

It's not just anyone who can pop an NM, afk, and come back to it at 0%.

If brews had remained @2m cruor you'd see people reading on how to brew and meticulously preparing for any battle where one would be employed like Shinryu or Rani. With 200k brews, who cares? Just throw bottles of brew till you win.

I'm not saying Abyssea is hard. It's not. Frankly, I find it rather relaxing and definitely easy. Anyone with an IQ greater than potato can master it.

Vision and Scars were a vacation whereas Heroes completely washed away any sense of accomplishment. EXP parties got worse thanks to Dom Ops or as I like to call them, AFK in a corner Ops. Bastion was always sorta crappy but creating a good EXP party in the first two zones required people to you know... be at the console.

Truthgasm: Most FFXI players still have an IQ less than potato. Most FFXI players still find ways to wipe to Orthrus with 18 people. Most FFXI players think Briareus is hard and Empyrean Weapons require a linkshell of slaves to kill things for you. Most FFXI players cannot kill anything above AF3+1 Seal NMs without a brew. Most FFXI players still call Abyssea "Super easy god mode", even if they've never completed a single piece of AF3+2 or even entered the zones. And in case it needs repeating, Most FFXI players still have an IQ less than potato.

No argument here about people being dumb but the solution never is to simply embrace stupidity.

Abyssea as it stands makes getting AF gear simple enough (all pieces) and stuff like accessories are also made extremely simple to obtain granted you ask around about strats. Perfect.

What isn't perfect is completely throwing away any sense of accomplishment by making everything a joke via brews. Couple that with the fact that previously casual content (Assault/MMM/Einherjar/Campaign/Nyzul) were tactically nuked by Abyssea and you have a situation where all players are converging on one place in the free-for-all from hell.

Really, was Nyzul Isle, Assault etc worth abandoning? I found them to be some of the most fun events SE ever designed. They were casual, fun, engaging and mixed things up. SEs timeline says nothing about fixing them so it's safe to say that they have been let go.

With that said, I don't mind Abyssea at all as midgame content. I think it was made to strongly appeal to casual players, and give them the same opportunities for gear as the hardcore playerbase; something which FFXI has lacked for a long time. The move away from World Spawns for the game's best gear is beyond refreshing. A lot of people complain about the influx of gear caused by, in a nutshell, everyone being able to force-spawn Fafnirz. But really, it just removed a lot of conflict from the game. Some players enjoyed the conflict, the drama, the stealing and the hacking. But overall, the shift away from these trends has made the FFXI community much friendlier overall.

While I agree with you to a point regarding the shift away from the multi-hour pop system from hell, I feel the XI community has lost more than it has gained. EXP has boiled down to a system where people AFK in party or just don't care, community no longer has events like Campaign or Besieged to rally around regardless of how flawed they were, events like Nyzul/Salvage/Einherjar/MMM are all dead and had qualities that made them charming to groups and everything is now Abyssea.

There is no longer Final Fantasy XI, only Abyssea. Even with SEs Voidwalker patch coming up the game is going to need an overhaul to make things outside the maws relevant again. The whole game didn't need to be thrown away to make HNMs obsolete.

[Karbuncle]

events like Nyzul/Salvage/Einherjar/MMM are all dead and had qualities that made them charming to groups and everything is now Abyssea.

now

Yes. Right now its Abyssea. We have 2 Level Cap increases coming, and no hint of any new Abyssea zones otw. I think its rather safe to assume the game is moving Away from Abyssea. Buck up! We'll be out there soon

(After this Point i'll be ranting. Its not directed at you or any particular poster. Just off my readings)

I admit i agree with GreatGuardian Here, I enjoyed Abyssea for what it was, a few Months of Easy-Mode while we waited for the next thing to come, Cause lets face it, Abyssea won't be "end game" for 99, it'll be like ... ... ... "Dynamis?" is now, a "Fun Side event people do ocassionally for gear they didn't get at 75/80/etc.

I think people focus entirely too much on the size of their E-peen and can't ever just sit back and enjoy the ride without crying about how easily everyone else is getting it. Truthfully, I don't care if dumb-ShmuckA is brewing Rani when I'm 3 zones over killing a +1 Seal NM. Why do other people seem to? I can look at my THF and enjoy my full +2 Set, Epona's Ring, Atheling Mantle, and Select-Twilight armor with my Triplus just fine regardless of who else has it. It has the same stats, and i enjoyed getting all this gear with my friends.

(Btw, his point with "People fail brewing Rani" was in regards to someone saying "ABYSSEA IS TOO EASY BREW RUINED E'ERTHAN", he was pointing out that "People still fail to Rani with Brews, Abyssea is easy, But stupid players still fail".)

The other day my GF watched some group wipe to rani after using 2 brews and getting it to like, 30%. Point is while yes Abyssea is easy mode, there are still some NMs that will wipe the floor with 90% of the player base, with or without brew. Cause as GG said, The average FF player has an IQ less than Potato.

I think GG hit the nail on the head, most of the people complaining Abyssea is too easy are generally those who sit around town still wearing their Askar head complaining they can't find a good shout for XYZ while never taking the initiative to start their own shout for XYZ cause they're too busy complaining on forums about XYZ being too easy despite the fact they've never done it.

I have experience more than enough of my fair share of Abyssea, I've even began work on Atma of the Savior, and i can safely say without an ounce of a doubt that

Its the most fun i've ever had in FFXI short of the level 20 Avatar Fights back when my account was less than a month old.

I don't see why people can't enjoy their game without complaining that people they made up/never met/never interact with are brewing XXX NM. So they dumb-lucked into Okay armor? I bet you still play better than them. I bet you're still smarter, Knowledgeable of game mechanics, and can do your job better, So why care?

Now, Before i get too far ahead of myself.

I'd like to Acknowledge i know people do want Challenge. I issue this challenge. Do Abyssea Without Atmas. Just Cruor buffs. Knock yourself out. It'll be like "Pulling teeth hard". but if you TRULY want a Challenge, and not just "I say i want challenge, but i really want to just have better gear than everyone so i can have a huge E-peen to make up for my ... nevermind", Then you'll take that Challenge. Because according to your own words, It'll be more fun for you.

This isn't a permanent solution, But it should hold you over until 95/99 Cap where abyssea Begins to fade out, trust me when i say, it may not look like it, But i too look forward to out-side abyssea content!