Congratulations on your level??

[Karbuncle]

The only good thing about exping the old way was getting to meet new people and and talking during party, the social aspect of it. every other aspect of it was slow boring and dull.

Period. Even people who liked it know this is true. That said, I miss it, but a word of advice? Get a Linkshell and make some friends, Exping isnt the end of the game, once you hit the cap thats where a lot of the fun is now. Its no longer about afking for 29minutes out of every 30... In a way we've traded Socializing in Exp with socializing in Endgame. Learn to enjoy that.

I would however like to bring up ya'll Nostalgia-ing like a Mothafker in here, This happens when people get old and romanticize the past. Once you realize you're nostalgia-bombing yourself, maybe you'll see this game really hasn't changed all too much, its just different and more abilities/gear made us adapt a few different strategies, but the overall enjoyability is still there, you just gotta chose to not ignore it.

That and, You're old. But also you're now used to the game, its not new anymore.

[Caketime]

Karbuncle makes a good point, exp is no longer the journey, it's the precursor to the journey. I think back on the several jobs I've played and enjoyed, WHM, RDM and PLD to name a few, and I think about how much effort was required for exp. No thanks, I'd rather trade that for what we have now. At my convenience I can grab a few friends and do whatever we feel like doing, whether it be Dyna or Limbus or Nyzul/Salvage or even missions if we're feeling saucy. The only restrictions are in the tag systems in place, and we can get a bunch of stuff done in a few hours, not to mention the heap of jokes and awesome conversations that only drunk people playing a video game can have with one another. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't get that kind of fun out of any other game.

[vienne]

not to mention the heap of jokes and awesome conversations that only drunk people playing a video game can have with one another. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't get that kind of fun out of any other game.

^ that i totally agree

[Candi]

Some people didn't even read what I wrote but commented anyway...

[Candi]

In my eyes I dont see the sense in playing a game where I go from 1 to 99 in a matter of days, I feel there should be a feeling of progression, I want to experiment with newly obtained ja/ws/magic in my own pace, I dont want to read about it on wiki. It has nothing to do with nostalgia though, its more of a reason why people want to play, I want to work towards a goal and I want every step on that road to be a step that matters how silly that may sound.
Life already is enough of a rush, I dont want it on here.

I agree.

I knew the attack would come- people defending the game like I haven't been playing it along with them and probably longer then them or that I obviously must not have a LS or friends or do anything but complain... I still have fun on this game, why else would I pay for it?? It's still stupid to me that people stand in parties- not even playing just to max level.

But it's nice to know some people know where I am coming from. I really hope FFXIV, if ever released again, is nothing like FFXI in it's final stages.

[Alhanelem]

I disagree. The game is jsut beginning when you reach the highest level. There is tons of things to dow hen you get there. Leveling is just a vehicle to take you from the start of the game to the meat and potatoes.

Grinding the old fashioned way is definitely fun the first time you do it- after that, most poeple just want to get it over with.

The whole reason it was fun in the first place, as Karbuncle said, was the social aspect. You were a bunch of people sharing the same boring activity, so you talked to eachother and swapped stories which made it fun. The problem is the actual act of grinding itself wasn't so much fun.

There is tons of content to keep you busy once you get there. so get there, and enjoy it.

I kinda wish the pvp scene was a little stronger- In most games, PvP keeps you playing at that time when you're running out of other things to do and tides you over to the next PvE content release. Hopefully play as a monster will fill this void.

[vienne]

I disagree. The game is jsut beginning when you reach the highest level. There is tons of things to dow hen you get there. Leveling is just a vehicle to take you from the start of the game to the meat and potatoes.

Grinding the old fashioned way is definitely fun the first time you do it- after that, most poeple just want to get it over with.

The whole reason it was fun in the first place, as Karbuncle said, was the social aspect. You were a bunch of people sharing the same boring activity, so you talked to eachother and swapped stories which made it fun. The problem is the actual act of grinding itself wasn't so much fun.

There is tons of content to keep you busy once you get there. so get there, and enjoy it.

I kinda wish the pvp scene was a little stronger- In most games, PvP keeps you playing at that time when you're running out of other things to do and tides you over to the next PvE content release. Hopefully play as a monster will fill this void.

Well I have an ls, I even have two, i'm probably one of the more social people you'll ever meet till the point where you wanna scream at me to stop yapping. I do abyssea, I do dynamis, I do SoA content, I'm aiming to start doing salvage very soonish cause i like to dream about that unobtainable mythic... But i also like going out there on my own once in a while and grind some lvls, do stupid combinations with subjobs and get killed alot along the way, I love doing retro quests and get AF gear.
So no I really dont think I like to grind lvls cause I'm socially not capable of playing an MMO. If the fun starts at 99 maybe they should just drop the whole lvling concept. But I guess this whole discussion is kind of pointless people always say the same thing and dont even bother to emphatize with what someone else wants, its all about mememememe!
And yes some more PvP would be nice in this game.

[Demon6324236]

No one forces you to level to 99 in a day, if people want to they can, if people do not want to, they do not have to. Get some people who are like you and want to level slowly, make a static out of it where you go xp together at the pace you like, and there you go.

[Yinnyth]

So this will probably sound like a whiny complaint to some, but I'd like your thoughts/ opinions about the current state of the game. So that you know where I am coming from (or maybe not- for new players) I first began playing FFXI on it's very first day of release. The town of San' Doria- where I started- was filled with adventurers running around with level 1 RSE (Race specific equipment) and questions marks over their heads (not to mention the question marks literally in their heads at home). West Ronfaure was teaming with people playing alone and together alike. Eventually you would discover the horrors of Ghelsba Outpost, learning to skillfully pull without aggro or dying repeatedly if you failed. Then it was off to Valkurm Dunes for your first party. And don't even get me started about the excitement of finally making it to prestigious Jeuno!
I understand completely that those days are gone. There is nothing like them anymore. Now it's hurry up and get to 99, get the best gear and go stand somewhere bragging about your false accomplishments and bagging on anyone who is not wearing what 99% of the players are wearing. Is this what the game has come down to- XP and gear? Before you say that's what it has always been about, I dare you to say you remember exploring new areas with large groups of friends just for fun. Ballista... BCNM... partying for 1 or 2 hours just to get another level, actually earning a <Congratulations!> Fighting over Notorious Monsters... Actual fun-adventure. Maybe I am wrong- but my thoughts of this game after coming back from a break is WTF is this??

Prepare to be nitpicked to death.
1. San d'Oria, not San'Doria.
2. Day 1 did not have question mark icons, those were released much later. Same update they released mentors, I believe. A dark day for us all.
3. It might be because you play on a different server, but starter gear was never called RSE on Fenrir. RSE was wonder clomps and what-not. Later on, those things you got from BCNMs, but even those rarely got called RSE.



4. The game has always been a race to the top. I can't say this enough. Jeuno was prestigious because many players still hadn't made it that far. Just like how Borealis is prestigious because many people still don't have it. The race to the top still exists. Your interactions with players still exist. Grinding exp or grinding gear, it's the same. Nostalgia has a way of distorting things.

[Jaall]

While I'm nostalgic in a lot of ways and do kinda miss the old way of doing things and the fun times I had exp'ing, it really wasn't all sunshine and roses. I never had any of the gear I have today, in terms of how good it is, and that was always because you needed so many people to do an event and everyone would be lotting against you so if like me you have terrible luck with lots, you had no chance. I spent 3 years doing dyna every 3 days and got practically nothing, not to mention salvage. Times are much more fun now than they were before because you can low man pretty much anything. I've made a lot of friends since Abyssea and the social aspect, like mentioned, has only switched from exp to endgame and that's why people rush to the top. Exp'ing is not really relevant anymore, it's all about being 99 but getting to 99 is 100x easier so there's not so much of an issue except for issues people make for themselves. In a way the game is more social than it used to be because you're not forced to be in the same situation, you actually choose to be there and all have common interests in what you're doing.