Interim Report – Sorry to keep you all waiting!

[SpankWustler]

I didn't think you were referring to "open world" in the social sense so I just addressed the literal open world, as in exploration and monster variety and stuff. Read as a response to something social, my post would totally seem like the weirdest response ever.

In regards to the social atmosphere, I'm apathetic. I play to spend time with my best friend, after we moved apart from each other, so I'm pretty indifferent to the general atmosphere. I don't pay enough attention to know how it was or how it is, or really care, or know how anybody else feels.

Don't worry, though. Somebody else will pop up who cares enough to keep this argument going until somebody else mentions "Beastmaster" in the same sentence as "Dynamis" and that argument gets a chance to start like a fire at an orphanage for the blind. Matsui will never know the true pain of reading these forums without being exposed to both of these...uh..."issues".

[Arcon]

Your arguements fall short as I have already said in other posts that lvl synching just to do promies the old way is a pain. You need a puppet character... of that EXACT level to synch down to. Sure I can find people that are level 41 or 44 but EXACTLY 40?

It matters absolutely nothing whether they're 40 or 41 or 44. That was my point, and I mentioned that. I said even if they're a bit higher and go with 5 instead of 6 they'll essentially have the same experience. Not entirely the same, but that's not possible anymore, even with a cap. See below.

All I am asking for is an option for players to choose a cap or not.

That's perfectly acceptable and I have no issue whatsoever with it. I thought previously that you wanted to cap it in general. It will be completely useless though, because no one will do it. Well, not entirely true, Lv.99 players who feel nostalgic may give it a shot with a few mates once every blue moon (real life blue moon, not FFXI blue moon), but certainly not many newbies.

As for your arguement about low level content, that falls short as well. Read my posts before before just posting the same stuff over and over again. The low level content should ALLOW high levels to take part in with a temp level cap however we all agree SE needs to rework the event concepts 1st along with gear storage.

And you read my post too, please. I chose my words carefully, I didn't say it would exclude high levels, I said it would discourage them. No one wants to voluntarily cap their character to do some low level event when they are at 99, except for the aforementioned nostalgia moments, which are few and far between. And why should they? Unless the event offers some rewards tailored to 99 players (which would be pointless for the newbies), no one would even bother looking at it (yes, I'm generalizing, there are a few people like you around, after all, but the vast majority wouldn't).

Why shouldn't be an amazing event? Because you say so? You made my entire point. The reason why grinding from level 10 to 75 was so "boring" as you say, because there was no content to do inbetween that offered exp like some large scale event like say a revamped besiged.

Because an amazing event requires lots of work and development time. So much so, that SE didn't release an amazing event in years. Yet you expect them to drop what they're doing and add something that only very few people want and others wouldn't even care for, even if they were at the appropriate level? And something that, given their track record in the field, would only turn out shitty in the end regardless?

How exactly do you imagine it to be implemented anyway? Tiers for every 10 levels? Offer EXP rewards worthwhile, which would replace old EXP completely? You realize that they'd have to tailor it differently to every 10 levels to even be classified as "possibly exciting"? If they did all of that, they'd have done what I suggested a few pages ago, namely make EXP diverse and interesting for every level. If they did that, awesome. Only at the expense of introducing content that matters, or fix any of the majorly flawed content we have right now. They should have done that years ago, but now the game has moved on, and the playerbase with it.

And even if it was amazing, it would still be pointless. Sure, the few newbies who would do it would feel great (possibly), but even they would move on quickly. Just because it wouldn't be a forgettable experience anymore, it wouldn't mean they would have taken something from it. You cannot possibly introduce the things that matter at endgame into low level content, because people at lower levels are not equipped to deal with it.

Look at Eco-Warrior. At level 20, there's basically three types of jobs: DDs, healers and useless jobs. Classes don't matter at all, they basically have no unique abilities, at least not to a degree that sets them apart, no specific stats, no specific gear sets, no specific traits, it's just a mess of people. It's not even the same game. Everything pre-75 is a different game than post-75, and for that reason they are incompatible. So you have to dumb down the content for lower levels, by definition. It does not work any other way.

Don't grease the rail to 99 with nothing of worth to do inbetween or you will (like I said before in many comments) toss 75% of the existing world of vanadiel out the window. No one will explore it, nor inhabit it.

I really wish people would stop bringing that argument. EXP did absolutely nothing to encourage exploration of Vana'diel. You didn't experience Yuhtunga jungle when you went to EXP there, only when you got lost trying to get to the camp. It was the same thing over and over again. Missions and NM hunts were where you explored the world the most. Nowadays, trials do a lot more for exploration that EXP could ever dream to do, and indeed it does. The level range is not magically connected to the physical world you play in. If SE ever did add an amazing event like you said before, it would be Legion-style, some remote place you can teleport to from the starter cities, a shared zone, where everything else would fall behind again.

You need to think outside of the box and not only think of yourself, but in the minds of new players coming to the game for the first time. This game NEEDS new player retention or, yes, it will die. I hope SE will opt to keep them in the game with engaging content [..]

SE already does that, by offering that content at 99. I've said that three times now. This game is a lot more newbie friendly than it ever was, in its entire decade long history. The newbies in my shell I mentioned last night? We did the LB10 Taru for one of them, the others have unlocked support jobs and some advanced jobs and they're also leveling them quickly now.

Back in the day, if a new player wanted to experience fun content, they were told to EXP here, EXP there, EXP someplace else. But people were not insinuating that EXP fun. It was what was required to be able to reach endgame, where all the content was. EXP itself is not content, it's a means to get there. For it to be content it has to actually offer something unique, but it doesn't. It just takes advantage of the FFXI combat system and some mobs that are wandering around.

Let me ask you this: why? I honestly don't understand. Why are low levels so important to you? To me they're just numbers, and I don't see why they deserve special treatment. Let's say SE capped the game at 99 from the start, for every job. Name one thing that's bad about it. And no, the argument that they won't get to EXP is self-referential and doesn't count (even disregarding the fact that many people hated that aspect in the first place).

[FrankReynolds]

I'm sorry, but you're joking me right? Stationary is fine by me - it's the instance itself where I have no other contact with the outside "world" as long as I'm in it. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be secluded for 90% of my play experience. Square-Enix does about as much justice to the term "Massively Multiplayer" as the USA does to "Land of the free" these days.

Hell, while I'm literally playing FFXI I'm locked into an actual instance, and without getting into some real Matrix-type shit, I don't need that self-imposed seclusion capitalized on. Unfortunately, this game is (was) my social life, and that's just the reality for a lot of geeks. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Your last paragraph is fine in theory, but do you know who does FoV outside of soloers? Nobody. The game makes use of 2-3 caves before Abyssea. And even with that, you're far more likely to find that soloists will be found deep inside a cave somewhere pounding out GoV. Out of the light and out of sight where SE doesn't have to look at your sorry faces.

Perhaps you would have a better "Social" experience if you did events that other people are doing instead of trying to get people to do things that 90% of the populace don't like?

[Eyeballed]

Perhaps you would have a better "Social" experience if you did events that other people are doing instead of trying to get people to do things that 90% of the populace don't like?

You mean like jumping over cliffs just because everyone else is? No thanks. I know what's valuable to me, and that which is also valuable to them, but they seem to think adrenaline and extremes are the meaning of life and therefore trying to drag us down with them saying "You're too lame!"

[Camiie]

You mean like jumping over cliffs just because everyone else is? No thanks. I know what's valuable to me, and that which is also valuable to them, but they seem to think adrenaline and extremes are the meaning of life and therefore trying to drag us down with them saying "You're too lame!"

So we, and all the things we like, are beneath your standards. You talk about jumping over cliffs and us dragging you down so you clearly consider yourself figuratively above the crowd. It wouldn't hurt you to stop looking down on everyone else just because they're into different things than you. Different isn't a synonym for inferior.

[Prrsha]

The problem still stands that doing stuff at level cap takes away your job abilities and such that you exp'd and geared hard for (especially for those of us who worked for years getting the majority of the levels before it was easy and grinding out skill caps, or even just for those of us that have worked on getting capped skills and the best gear we can for 99 cap).

We're not EVER going back to recapping level capped fights, and nor should level capped fights have a better reward. Solo it at like level 40~50 like people suggested if you want a challenge, the fights often will give some experience anyways.

And if you really want to be able to redo the fights with a challenge, why not lobby SE to make something to the tune of remaking the fights at level 99 and requiring full parties to full alliances for better rewards. I even have a good idea for it - it could be about how one of the newspaper guys in Windurst is putting together a piece on how an adventurer saved the world from Promanthia, and would have bad parodies of the events that happened, with lots of player induced slang, along with fights that are "as people remembered them" meaning they're at 99 cap and much harder. The fights could then also give out prizes like a Chatoyant Obi quest, reobtainable Ducal Guard Rings, and the final fight in the thing could be against those evil Chebukki siblings who have been slandering the player.

Retooling the fights for level 99 is much harder to code and balance then just adding an optional level cap, however, I am for both schools of thought. I'd like SE to give players an option to do capped events the old way (with the level cap on) or the current way without level cap. I don't wish to take away anyone's fun regarding this, only to include people who wish to do it both ways. A plus would indeed be to rehash the content for level 99 but I'd still like the easy coding option do to it the "old way". CoP does give players a nice progressive storyline to do before hitting level 75 (due to the level caps). I think a good example of this harmony would be the avatar battles. There are two options to do them. You can go in at level 20 and get your avatar or wait until post 75 (if you don't have the help of high level friends). I am sure both versions can exist side by side.

[FrankReynolds]

You mean like jumping over cliffs just because everyone else is? No thanks. I know what's valuable to me, and that which is also valuable to them, but they seem to think adrenaline and extremes are the meaning of life and therefore trying to drag us down with them saying "You're too lame!"

No, I mean like going to parties when you want to socialize instead of hiding in your room complaining to your parents about how they should make your friends come hang out with you (figuratively speaking. In no way suggesting that this is what you actually do in RL). when you say things like that, you sound like some hipster in crappy retro clothes and thick framed glasses declaring that anything that other people do is outdated and lame, while your outdated style is somehow ironic and cool. It's not. You seem to want a game that never changes once you start playing it. Have you considered playing games that don't receive content updates and / or rely on other players for their content to work?

[Prrsha]

No, I mean like going to parties when you want to socialize instead of hiding in your room complaining to your parents about how they should make your friends come hang out with you (figuratively speaking. In no way suggesting that this is what you actually do in RL). when you say things like that, you sound like some hipster in crappy retro clothes and thick framed glasses declaring that anything that other people do is outdated and lame, while your outdated style is somehow ironic and cool. It's not. You seem to want a game that never changes once you start playing it. Have you considered playing games that don't receive content updates and / or rely on other players for their content to work?

A balance of both worlds is nice. One that builds upon previous successes with brand new content but still embraces it's core concept while not treading and trashing perfectly good content of the past. Learn from your failures, embrace your successes and build on them while not forgetting your roots in the process. Always look at the game from not just your perspective but also that of a new player's.

I've had the privilage of helping countless players over a 6 year period, learn, enjoy, and embrace FFXI. My main role in the game was that of a mentor. I am as close as you can get to the pulse and thoughts of the new players in FFXI. Saddly my report is grim. I've never seen such discouragement in FFXI (among new players) then I have ever seen in the past. It saddens me and worries me about FFXI's future. With no new blood and retention to the game, I fear the playerbase will continue to decline and FFXI will eventually shut it's doors.

[Demon6324236]

I am as close as you can get to the pulse and thoughts of the new players in FFXI. Saddly my report is grim. I've never seen such discouragement in FFXI (among new players) then I have ever seen in the past. It saddens me and worries me about FFXI's future. With no new blood and retention to the game, I fear the playerbase will continue to decline and FFXI will eventually shut it's doors.

I see the opposite, the majority of new players I have met are happy they can skip to the meat of the game, looking forward to every update and happy they are able to play and participate with the majority of other players rather than being left out of the loop. I personally see why, so long as you have assistance with where to go, you can get to your 90s in a couple of weeks, where most of the game really is now, along with most of the players.

Back when I started I had a LS I joined where a good 75% or more was in endgame, while I had no idea what was going on, I was a lowly level 20~30 RDM. I felt left out, and disconnected from them, even the xp parties I joined often had the same feel, people would talk of events like Limbus or Dyna, which I had never experienced. Now days people don't have that feel, the only content like that are things like Legion which few people do. I like this change as it seems like the game is easier to get into, and understand, as well leaving people to feel more informed, instead of wondering what an event was, and having nothing to compare it to from their xp party experience.

Without the proper help I admit, no new player will be able to make it in this game, but I believe that is one of the problems that they are trying to fix. Currently if you start new you have no idea what GoV, Abyssea, FoV, or anything of the sort is, or where to find it. You need someone else to tell you how to reach Gusgen, and then need people there to teach you to use books, then you can start actually doing something. Before that, players will easily be more lost and confused than ever before, and that I can definitely agree with. But as I said, I think thats something they are trying to fix, and if they do fix it, then this will be awesome. After you pass that part is when you realize how the speed helps new players rather than hurting them as many claim it does.

I think if they make it so you can level easier at lower levels without needing higher levels to guide you through it then it should be a better overall experience. With that, they could pull in new players who actually want to stay, but as it is I admit few players come right now, and fewer stay due to the rough start. It does make sense the game could die from lack of new players, but if they fix the problems with new players being left clueless then they could potentially have more players coming in than in a long time just because of the new expansion as well as the ability to draw players who are right now looking for something to hold over for 14 to be re-released.

[Eyeballed]

No, I mean like going to parties when you want to socialize instead of hiding in your room complaining to your parents about how they should make your friends come hang out with you.

Ah, just as Joe Blow A-Z would because he couldn't get an invite in 2006? The purpose for my complaining has less to do with selfish want than utilitarian good. I understand that "going back" in this game is not going to work because it's filled to the brim with players like yourselves and would just fall apart if you were subtracted. Like taking great-grandpa's walker away.

I said it before and I'll keep saying it I suppose. You want to eat your cake and have it too; Don't be at all surprised when the genre keels over from diabetes.