Power leveling, book burns, Speed leveling. What is the appeal?

[Zatias]

I dislike speed leveling on jobs I enjoy; I like to see it gradually build in strength. Good thing I lvled my 4 favorite jobs this way XD Any other jobs that I need to lvl as a sub but don't enjoy playing, speed level away. That's where most of the speed leveling's appeal came from. That or the need to feel accepted in Abyssea by having a Proc job leveled.

[Hoshi]

I don't think that power leveling was such a bad thing. For my first few jobs back when the game was new finding a group with a tank and a healer really wasn't difficult and if you had a blm you were set. As the game got older finding a good healing job and a good tanking job looking for group at your level became much more difficult (we'll skip the part where blms weren't needed any more). It got to the point where you needed a high level outside healer to serve as both tank and healer (or at least dedicated healer) in order to build working parties. They added level synch and that helped a bit but it was still hard to find the right job combo and so having an external healer made that search easier.

Page burns are a further response to the lack of low level jobs which shouldn't come as a surprise in a game this old. Most people were nearly out of jobs under 37 well before abyssea came out and out of jobs under 49 by a month after the level increase to 99 was announced. I'm sure people still have the odd job that needs to be leveled but it's hard to make a viable party with a bunch of 2nd string DDish support jobs and a pet job or two. It's easier once you're in an ally (increasing the chance that you might find a healer who needs xp or someone with an alt account to cure the group externally).

As far as old school leveling being fun: my first job to 75 with my static of friends was great fun for a while. We met every night and had a wonderful time together until 3 of them quit the game at level 60. Leveling in pickup groups was a crap shoot. Sometimes I joined a fun group but most of the time I joined a group with at least 1 player who was determined to insult the entire party or played in such a manner that they got the whole group killed repeatedly or they went afk constantly and slowed our xp/hour to an unbearable speed. And lets not forget about battling other groups for the same camp even if you were there first and killing at a reasonable pace. I think page burns are a refreshing change.

[chubrocka]

2 things, SKILLS can I have it please, and Over all job player knowledge. These are gone. take this, we all see it, dude new to our LS has more level 90 jobs then I do and never passed rank 5 in one city, took to abby party and cant hit anything. Nuff said.

[Coldbrand]

Because there was nothing redeeming amount killing the same robber crab as I saw in the last zone for the 8,000th time, and it was never challenging the 1st time. It just made me wish I was done and onto something actually entertaining.

[JackDaniels]

I had absolutely no fun the other day in a book burn party, so I made a sync party in yhoatar jungle, just a drg blu dnc and brd. It was a lot of fun minus the whm we kicked due to excessive afking and the drk who decided to leave after the afking whm got us all killed. Even without a proper page to do (seriously wtf mandragoras and bees?), it was a lot of fun. We managed the occasional chain #5.

There's no challenge at all with book burn alliances, I couldn't even make it past 1400xp/page without getting bored to tears.

EDIT: It's not like this game is going anywhere any time soon, what's the rush? Being at level cap these days doesn't mean anything if you just burn your way to the top.

[Ravenmore]

I don't bother watching people damage or misses since you eye balling it to start. Its not like you need 18 people all killing mobs to bring in great exp. I see abyssea exp as a easy none thinking way of getting gil/cuor if people are skilling up at least they are engaging the mob and not trying to hide on a low level job. Now it doesn't impact me in anyway they are not capped since 2 decent melees and one decent mage can carry 18 other people.

Its a way to keep people coming to LS exp nights. I get paid they get skill ups its a fair trade. Its not the same as a 75 sam showing up to a bird party with and starts skilling up polearm he hasn't touched since he left his drg sub at 37. Its not going to slow down exp and I have since really stop caring about what other people wear to exp again if they are engaging thats good for me.

[Zagen]

As many have said my first job to 75 at the time, felt like an accomplishment everything after that was a grind.

EDIT: It's not like this game is going anywhere any time soon, what's the rush? Being at level cap these days doesn't mean anything if you just burn your way to the top.

I enjoy being able to offer BLM/BRD with all yellow procs, WAR/NIN with all red procs, THF TH proc, THF/NIN/MNK/DNC/BLU/WAR/PLD(lol) for tank options, BRD/COR for buffer, WHM for extra healing, RDM for support/debuffs. All of these help me get gear or help my LS and friends get gear.

Being at level cap never meant anything more than it does now past your first job. The more jobs you had at 75 the more useful you were at multiple events, the same is true at 90.

[Olor]

Yeah, I don't miss lfg for hours and hours and hours and only getting an invite when people were desperate as a blu/whm... and then having people hassle me about my sub. No one cares what I sub for my blu for exp now, and, in fact, since I rarely get hit (with 17 other bodies around) they are more than happy to have the extra healing I bring to the table with my whm sub.

I don't miss old exp at all. Either I solo (for spells and skill ups) or I book burn, and it is fun! FUN! People laugh and joke between pages and mobs, and don't bother with the elitism that used to plague even the most mundane aspects of the game.

I am cool with elitism where it matters, but it shouldn't matter for mundane things like exp.

[Zatias]

I am cool with elitism where it matters, but it shouldn't matter for mundane things like exp.

Speaking of this, I had a cor in a book burn in Gusgen Mines who was just this. Elitist for exp.

"This is how exp is done now? GAY! I can get 1k a kill in Qufim Island!" Needless to say he got booted ;P

I like the laid-backness of book burning and that's just about it. I just get waaaay too bored killing borderline Too Weak mobs and running all the way up to the stupid book. This is only my preference though, I see a lot of people who really enjoy it.

[Leonlionheart]

2 things, SKILLS can I have it please, and Over all job player knowledge. These are gone. take this, we all see it, dude new to our LS has more level 90 jobs then I do and never passed rank 5 in one city, took to abby party and cant hit anything. Nuff said.

I burned WHM 30-90 in 6 hours. I play it better than 90% of the WHM mains I've pugged in Abyssea.

Old fashioned EXP =/= learning