Downloading the Game

[Economizer]

Also, what does Abyssea actually bring to the game? I think I stopped playing around the time it started coming out, and I think it was all post 75 material.

Abyssea has a separate but small storyline. As others mentioned, it has a ton of armor, and grants you access to getting the Empyrean weapons. But you should get it now if you plan on playing because entry is restricted based on time, which you can build up from the second you are a level 30 by doing the prerequisite quest, even if you never go there again until you are a level 70.

You didn't, I said it would be cheaper and that you would need them anyway.

I know that what SE is doing isn't the best way to get people new to come to the game, especially when it comes to just allowing players to download the thing (like by providing an official torrent like any other company interested in not paying for bandwidth). But it seems every time I try to explain expansion acquisition to new/returning players on the forums it just doesn't connect, even when most of the time the game is on sale for $10~15 instead of the retail price of $20 for multiple expansions that would cost $10 a piece individually (as far as I know, it is still possible, for those that want to throw away their money).

[Sines]

No, I think I got it, perhaps I'm just missing out on something that missed my point.

When I said 'buy it at Best Buy', I was assuming I could get the full set of FFXI stuff in the same way I could get it from steam, just with a physical disc thrown in. THATS what I was fishin' for. My apartment is not friendly to large downloads.

If, however, digital distribution is my only route, well then, there we go.

Also, when I buy it from Steam, I'd get my codes to plug into my extant account, right? Never bought expansions or the like off of steam for a game I already owned apart from Steam, so not sure how that works.

Oh, and I found a friend (a different one who may or may not be joining me and the friend who has just started) with a game disc still lying around, from WotG era. So, using that, it should contain all the material I already have. Again, how will that work if I buy the rest from Steam?

[Sines]

Oh, and I heard there is a trick using Abyssea to power level from 30 to 99 real quick... what does that involve? One of the things I liked about FFXI was the middle levels. I have a dozen classes around 30 or higher, because I liked changing things up. Is Abyssea just like regular leveling from ages past, but with more XP / hour, or is it something else that doesn't actually involve playing the game? I'm not really interested in getting to high levels, per se, it's the journey that amused me with FFXI.

[Arcon]

Also, when I buy it from Steam, I'd get my codes to plug into my extant account, right? Never bought expansions or the like off of steam for a game I already owned apart from Steam, so not sure how that works.

You'll get a code that you can use to unlock every expansion at once.

Oh, and I found a friend (a different one who may or may not be joining me and the friend who has just started) with a game disc still lying around, from WotG era. So, using that, it should contain all the material I already have. Again, how will that work if I buy the rest from Steam?

You can't buy "the rest" from Steam. I don't think there's any way to buy the expansions on their own anymore, unless maybe through the SE site. But it's still more expensive than to buy the entire package from Steam.

It's really pretty simple, buy the game and unlock everything. There is no other option, so if you install everything but Abyssea, you'll still have to buy the entire game.

Oh, and I heard there is a trick using Abyssea to power level from 30 to 99 real quick... what does that involve?

Paying someone 100k/h to level you up. Usually takes < 10 hours to get to 99, depending on the skills/afkness of the guy who does the killing.

Alternatively you level in a loose alliance style doing Grounds of Valor (kill x mobs to receive an additional EXP reward) outside of Abyssea until higher levels, and then join Abyssea for regular group EXP in the 70+ range, although it's still a lot faster than anything you may remember from back in the day.

I'm not really interested in getting to high levels, per se, it's the journey that amused me with FFXI.

Contrary to the belief of some people, the game's journey does not end at 99, but it starts there. All of the new content is catered to Lv.99, not before, which is why many people just wanna get there asap, so they can actually start playing the game. While I don't deny that EXP may be fun to you, if that's all you do in the game, you're missing out on pretty much everything the game has to offer. It's like playing Half-Life just to run around the same area and shoot headcrabs.

[Economizer]

When I said 'buy it at Best Buy', I was assuming I could get the full set of FFXI stuff in the same way I could get it from steam, just with a physical disc thrown in.

If you can find the same game package sold online (Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection Abyssea Edition) then yes, but odds are it won't be stocked most places, or will cost a premium.

Also, when I buy it from Steam, I'd get my codes to plug into my extant account, right? Never bought expansions or the like off of steam for a game I already owned apart from Steam, so not sure how that works.

I don't think Steam takes keys for FFXI, but you could try calling their support and finding out (Valve is notoriously helpful when it comes to this sort of thing, sometimes they'll even make exceptions for loyal customers).

Oh, and I found a friend (a different one who may or may not be joining me and the friend who has just started) with a game disc still lying around, from WotG era.

This should be perfect. The Abyssea content is all downloaded (if you already have the game running and up to date, it's there). Wings of the Goddess was the last major expansion pack that was on disk, so assuming it was a collection disk, that should get you all the disk expansions.

If downloading updates is a pain for you, such as if you have a 56k connection (yes, FFXI runs on a 56k connection in a pinch, although good luck with the lag), I know certain community websites do link to or host copies of the updates, however this is probably unsupported by SE in case anything goes wrong.

Also, if you're found of disk based expansions, keep an eye out for news on Seekers of Aldouin.

I'm not really interested in getting to high levels, per se, it's the journey that amused me with FFXI.

You don't have to go into Abyssea for experience ever if you don't want to (although it helps since you'll need the cruor), since you can find Grounds of Valor tomes in dungeons and team up with a full alliance (or worst case, solo it).

But really, being a level 99 is its own journey, and is a better journey then grinding out some levels. I might have fond memories of being sub-level cap during 75 cap for example, but this was because I was getting stuff done with friends. You want to have a fun little journey? Being a level 99 will only help you on the journey, not end it.

[Sines]

I'm not saying it ends at high level, but if an MMORPG doesn't really begin until you get to the end game, it's a terrible game. I'm sure I'll like the high levels. But I liked mid levels too. If mid levels have become some part just to hurriedly rush past, and not enjoy on their own sake, then I'll be missing something. I want to enjoy both the mid levels AND the endgame.

If getting to level 99 allows you to 'actually play the game', then it sounds like the first 98 levels are just some chore to get over with, rather than an actual game to play. I liked that leveling, and I don't want to play in a way that just gets it over with. If XP gain is improved, that's okay, but I don't want to just engage in some trivially easy grinding that will reduce those mid levels to a chore, rather than the enjoyable journey I remember.

If XP rates are increased 5-fold over what it used to be, or something, that's fine, but I still want those parties where playing really well had a serious benefit in XP-gain, and TPK was a real possibility for poor playing. Easy grinding is what renders most MMOs dull to me. If leveling to 99 still retains that challenge and reward for good play, even at a much higher leveling speed, that's all I need. If it's just another easy, mindless grind, then I'm not going to play some dull game for hours just so I can get to the fun stuff.

[Arcon]

If getting to level 99 allows you to 'actually play the game', then it sounds like the first 98 levels are just some chore to get over with, [..]

To me, and many others, it is. But most of the people who feel that way hated everything about the old EXP system as well. If you liked it, maybe you'll feel differently.

I liked that leveling, and I don't want to play in a way that just gets it over with. If XP gain is improved, that's okay, but I don't want to just engage in some trivially easy grinding that will reduce those mid levels to a chore, rather than the enjoyable journey I remember.

The EXP system has always been a trivially easy mindless and arduous grind. I got several jobs to 75 the old way and none of it was memorable, unless you wanna brag about how much crap you had to endure back in the day to get a few levels.

That said, if you like the old EXP system, you can still do GoV leveling. It's a lot faster than it used to be, but still rewards good gameplay. If you're as tired of it as I am, you can always pay someone to level you to cap overnight.

[Mirage]

I actually did this myself to get the mini-addons (ACP etc). The procedure is as follows:

Buy game on Steam, get game files and an universal key that enables every piece of content.
Log in to your existing Square Enix account, add the key you got from Steam there.
Log in to FF11 and enjoy everything for just 20 bucks instead of the 30+ it would have cost to get all Abyssea stuff + mini addons.

As for power leveling from 30 to the max level, you don't have to pay anyone, even if you want to do it in abyssea. At least on my server, there are still occasional Worms parties in Abyssea La Theine, and if there isn't one, you can start one yourself. Assembling a full alliance isn't as fast as it was before, but you should be able to have enough people to start fighting after 30-45 minutes if you shout during primetime.

Now that the alliance is in the process of killing shit really fast, it will usually soak up any random players that want to party from now on. Problem is that many people aren't very proactive when it comes to getting exp. If one person wants exp and sees no one at common EXP spots, or almost no one seeking parties, they'll just give up and take down their lfp after a few minutes and do something else. However, with your alliance up and running, and with your party leaders on lookout for new members at regular intervals, you'll usually be able to snatch all of these players.

If the party leaders aren't lazy and try their best to keep the alliance alive, it is still possible for such alliances to last for over 16 hours, long after you yourself have stopped playing for that day.

[Sines]

Grounds of Valor leveling, eh? Sounds familiar. I remember field of valor. You used the book, grabbed a target, and killed it a bunch. Now I'm hearing alliances, what's different?

Since my friend is starting from scratch, I'll be joining him at low levels for a while. Exactly how do groups work for those low levels? Do people still level in Valkurm, Qufim and then Khazam? I presume the quests are more or less the same, but I'm wondering what we'll be doing for leveling. What does a typical party look like, and what do you end up doing?

[Mirage]

Because SE never updated field of valor to be on par with grounds of valor, all EXPing takes place in dungeons now. The thing about alliances is that everyone in the alliance gets kill credits for their page, even if they get only a tiny bit of exp from the mob itself. This leads to killing EP-DC mobs with an alliance where everyone gets 95% of the exp from page bonuses, and kill mobs very quickly. This is further enhanced by pages now auto-repeating after completion.