Fast leveling in Parties - hot spots

[ScreamingInDigital]

It was fun, your 1st job or 2, then it quickly got old.

I honestly enjoyed it every time, on every job I ever leveled up through those areas. I'd still enjoy it to this day.

Was never "about the xp", and I was never in a hurry to level up faster. I just enjoyed the activity itself.

To each their own, I guess?

[ScreamingInDigital]

The game is built around level 99s, before then you are stuck in all old content no one does anymore, why leave players in areas that are old and abandoned rather than allowing them a faster track to the place where everyone else is actually doing things.

Maybe so they can actually get to experience the content you already did in a manner similar to how you did? You're attempting to qualify the value of content from the perspective of someone who's already been through it, as it's intended to be completed (e.g. at the intended level, in a group, etc), and is now several years, and many levels beyond it.

Easily soloing through most/all of CoP is not the same experience as actually having to fight through it with a party at or near the intended level. Or Zilart, or Aht Urghan or WoTG for that matter.

If you read around forums enough, you'll find there's a lot of people (on different servers, etc), who would actually like to go through the content more the way everyone else did "back in the day". The problem is, now that all the vets have "been there and done that", they have a completely dismissive view about it all, and the advice they're giving is very much like yours. They're being told "Everything is about end-game now", and "Just blast through to level 99 and get all your end-game gear. Then you can go back and solo the old content if you want".

Newer players are listening because they don't know any better and would likely figure "well, they know the game better than I do..."

"Yeah, there's 8+ years of content, including 5 epic storylines with great characters, cool encounters, awesome cut-scenes and some pretty tough battles... but that's all old and obsolete. So, just power level past it, get to 99 and then go through it on Mickey Mouse Mode". What a way to gyp new players the experience of going through some great content. At the very least, the "advice" of soloing it at 99 is diminishing the experience significantly.

Just because "most people are at end-game now", doesn't mean newer players have to be there "right now" as well - especially at the expense of skipping past or trivializing lots of great content before that. The game may be "all about end game" to you/vets. That doesn't mean it should be to newer players. I'd argue that end game should be the last thing a newer player is focused on in FFXI.

I said this in another post/thread, but I'll say it again here: It amazes me how easily and willingly vet players pass their cynicism about this game on to new players who are eager and excited to play; how readily they'll tell people to just skip past all the content they got to experience over the past decade.

Here's a thought... how about encouraging people to experience it. How about saying "You know, there's some amazing content in this game before level cap. Some great stories and expansion content. CoP in particular has been considered one of the best individual FF stories ever by some. You should really try to experience that "at level" as much as possible. The end-game will be there when ever you get to it, and likely with a lot more than what's there now."

Here's an even crazier idea - that I know is going to make some foam at the mouth - how about offering to group up with people, level-synch down and help them get through the content? You have nothing at stake. You're completely capped on your jobs and, presumably, your skills. So what's the harm? Believe me, I know as I'm typing it that people in this game going back to help newer players with content you've already completed would be a sure sign of the apocalypse. From what I've seen, the mantra of "What? Nothing in it for me personally? Pfft... forget it. Not interested" is alive and well in FFXI.

SE provides this amazing game that can be just as awesome to new players as it was to vets when they were on their way up... but they're being told to just race past it.

[Arcon]

I said this in another post/thread, but I'll say it again here: It amazes me how easily and willingly vet players pass their cynicism about this game on to new players who are eager and excited to play; how readily they'll tell people to just skip past all the content they got to experience over the past decade.

Amazing.

The only amazing thing about it is how much you missed the point. No one wants to keep them from experiencing CoP the old way. The problem is, it's nearly impossible now with a cap. Uncapping it was the only reasonable thing to do to get new players through it at all.

Second, EXP is an entirely different animal from missions, don't group them together. It's not that we don't want new people to experience old EXP, it's that we think it's better for them if they don't. I disliked it so much, if I could purge the memories of me wasting weekend after weekend doing boring crap just so I could be high enough to do events with my linkshell, I'd gladly do it.

[Demon6324236]

With a cap it would be near impossible, you could never experience the old things they way the once were with caps or not, for a simple reason. No incentive to have players who have beaten it, go through it once again. There comes a time when people would be blocked by that limitation and would be unable to do it, and without removing the cap, there was little to no way to change that fact.

[Eyeballed]

With a cap it would be near impossible, you could never experience the old things they way the once were with caps or not, for a simple reason. No incentive to have players who have beaten it, go through it once again. There comes a time when people would be blocked by that limitation and would be unable to do it, and without removing the cap, there was little to no way to change that fact.

As much an incentive to help newbies as there ever was for players who had already completed it. Of course, the easy answer is "Get 99 and go solo it."

[Demon6324236]

As much an incentive to help newbies as there ever was

That is to say, next to none at all.

[Mirage]

The only incentive there was to helping newbies with COP before was if you were either good friends with them, or needed them to have sea access for endgame activities. I remember capped CoP well enough to say that I would never want to do some of those events again for anyone less than a good friend I've had for years.

Without the two of those, you'd be looking for help for a lot of days before you managed to get 5 people who could help you. Now, explain to me how exactly new players would get CoP done within a reasonable timeframe (1 month?) without having 5 good friends who ask nothing in return (unlikely when you are new to the game) or an endgame LS that needs you in sea.

It was hard enough to organize CoP events when you knew about 5 other person who actually needed to clear it. How easy do you think it would be to organize a CoP event now, when you know ~0 others who need it? Now add the fact that because people have a lot of jobs leveled, they are also pretty low on inventory. Almost no one carry around level cap gear anymore, and auto-scaled gear is in some cases significantly worse.

[Arcon]

People never wanted to help others with CoP particularly much. I'm not talking about help, I'm talking about finding like minded people to do it with in the form of a static. That is nearly impossible now. So the only thing remaining is to ask for help, and that is, now as then, difficult, unless you happen to have a particularly helpful and active friend. Now probably even more difficult, because the overall population has dwindled, and the remaining few have moved on themselves, so backtracking is not nearly as rewarding.