Quote Originally Posted by Eyeballed View Post
It's not pointless though. Do you love playing MMO's? When was the last time you picked one up that you didn't touch another video game for years, period? That was me and FFXI in 2005; For 4.5 years I did not play a single game outside of it. It was exactly what I loved and the game was a success and I refuse to believe the only reason it was a success is because secretly there was a majority of players that despised backbone of its content. Bullshit, I say.
I absolutely agree with everything you said. It's bullshit that a majority of players despised the backbone of its content. Only EXP is not that backbone. It was an experience that introduced the game to the players. For about the first 10 levels. After that it was endless repetition until 75. It was not essential, it was not crucial. If the game started at 50 back when it was released, and if they autocapped everyone to 75 when the cap was increased, it still would have been a great game and would have had everything that most people loved about it.

Ok, here's the gist: what is EXPing? A way to develop your character. And I love developing my character, it's the sole reason I play this MMORPG. I invested in Arcon and I wanna see him grow, and myself with him. I want him to progress, to learn, to get experience (not necessarily EXP) and skill (not necessarily skill levels). I love working towards obtaining a new spell, that's why I loved getting Meteor. So if I like developing my character in certain directions, why don't I like EXP?

And the answer is a lot simpler than some of you seem to think. It was boring. That is the only reason. I already said a few posts ago, if SE managed to find an interesting way to introduce EXP, it would be an entirely different story. However, the gap between 1 and 99 is immense, it's pretty much impossible to fill it with unrepetitive content. It doesn't work. And they can't make it challenging, if they do, casual people would not make it anymore. Old EXP was about the easiest thing in the entire game, and still people failed, because everyone was doing it, not just the best. Even people with little to no experience and/or brains. That means that people who were good at it were extremely bored while people who sucked at it were challenged to the point of frustrated if they made a reputation and couldn't get invites anymore (I know a few of those notorious people on Leviathan and still remember them, I'm pretty sure other servers had similar idiots).

I don't have anything against leveling up or EXP gain per se. The reason why I'm against it now is because it's impossible to implement it in a way that's fun and challenging to people with an IQ larger than their shoe size without making it inaccessible to the masses. It just doesn't work. And, as I also mentioned before, because anything EXP-related they add now will not affect a majority of the population.

These are the facts. Anything after that is up for interpretation. Like the claims that the EXP system was what turned old players off this new game, which I find completely ridiculous, but I have no way to disprove it, so I won't bother. I'm just pointing out that that's your take on it, not a fact.

Or your opinion that old people liked EXP and that was the reason why they stuck around. Not everyone was aversed to FFXI like you were. On the other hand, it's a fact that EXP was a minor part of FFXI. And I'm not talking subjectively. Sure, for you it may have been big, but objectively compared with how much content there was aside from it, it still took up a very minor part. There were missions (which is a very broad category, and some say playing through CoP was one of the defining features of their FFXI experience), quests, crafting, Dynamis, Limbus, Einherjar, sea, sky, HNMs, Assaults, Nyzul, Salvage, Campaign, xNMs (which includes a massive variety of battlefields, BCNMs, KSNMs, ENMs, SCNMs, ANNMs and ZNMs being the ones I can think of) and even Ballista and random wandering around hunting for minor NMs (like LL, Goblintrap, Argus, etc.). This game was full of content that did not relate to EXP in any way. Even back then there were quite a few people who got by without EXPing at all, which alone proves how insignificant it could be to some people.

So to sum up, some objective facts:
  • EXP was a minor part of the game (see above), even more so now (above + Abyssea, Voidwatch, Meeble Burrows, Nyzul Isle Uncharted, Legion, new Einherjar/Limbus, soon new Salvage)
  • EXP was repetitive content (little variety in mobs and even in camps after Level Sync was introduced)
  • EXP was not challenging (easy targets were chosen, no annoying TP moves, no area effects, no screwing with enmity, no weird status effects, nothing to prepare for endgame)
  • EXP was tedious (finding camps and getting there) and time consuming (could take months to get to 75)
  • EXP was difficult to set up (finding working job combinations, hoping enough people were even lfp) and sometimes excluded certain jobs entirely (BLM, SMN, PUP and BST were all favorites of not getting picked)
  • EXP formed bonds, some friends were made through it since you were in a party for several hours
  • EXP caused drama and frustration because of stupid players, lack of combined skill resulting in wipes and/or camp competition

I understand that there's people who have no problem with these things and can, in fact, embrace them. Especially the second-to-last point seems to appeal to certain people so much that they use it as the backbone for their entire argument (all the claims that fast EXP ruined the community and linkshells stem from this point). However, most of these points were of a negative nature, and I don't see how anyone can rationally defend them.

Saying you miss them is perfectly fine. Saying you want them back also. Saying that most people liked it and that it's the reason people quit and the game is dying is wishful thinking on your part.