Why do you still play FFXI?

[Draylo]

I can't wait for the F2P thing to end so all these boo-hooing, purple lipstick, eye shadow-wearing children stop making threads.

4000? When was the last time you played? 2009, the day after the server merges?

XIV has almost nothing going for it after you hit 50, beat the story, and get your relic weapon. After 4 months, they finally release the first update, and it's offered me little incentive to play.

XI, on the other hand, has been getting monthly updates that have been getting better and better. I'm finally able to do salvage solo and finish my mythic. Walk of Echoes is a blast and there are tons of new weapon skills to unlock. Tons of monsters to unlock and level, new areas, new missions, new content, and a TON of things to do.

FFXIV doesn't even have merit points. You have to throw away tens of thousands of EXP if you don't have a job sitting in the 40s and you want to do the new quests, and you're punished for doing content on your main job. And without Blue Mage, Ninja, and a real Summoner, I don't have any passion for any of the jobs FFXIV offers.

This so much. No BLU and the XIV SMN is such crap, I don't understand how people like those chibi avatars lol. I hope they plan to add real ones when their lvl cap raises or something.

To answer the question personally, I have a big LS on my server so I never run out of things to do or people to do them with. That helps me out a lot as far as having fun. Otherwise, I really enjoy everything this game has to offer. Despite what people say, there is tons of content to do. Being that I have played this game for many many years, I actually enjoy going back and just smashing things that used to be a lot of trouble/needed an alliance. It feels like one of the past FF games where you are at max level with all the ultimate weapons and spells. The lore and storyline in this game are the best of anything I've seen. I enjoy random things like making specific builds for my job (working on a regen+ max set.) and powering up old jobs I never really played.

FFXIV was fun at the start but once I got to end game it felt like all I was doing was logging in to spam WP/AK for gear so I can just spam them even more for another job. It was incredibly boring and I also had no group to keep me going and didn't have the desire to find one. I really dislike their WoW esque copy as well, I'm just not a fan of it having played XI so long. I don't like how the community is either.

[Damane]

Genuinely curious about this one. I played FFXI from 2004-2013. I moved on to FFXIV a while ago, and I returned with this campaign to check out what all has changed, and it looks like it changed for the worse. 1200 players at prime time, when it used to be 4000? Same clunky UI? Trust NPCs added to make up for the lack of players? It also looks like they've been copying all the best ideas from FFXIV to make the game less grindy.

Why still play?

Hardmode: You cannot use "friends" as a reason

Because there is still stuff to do for me. Upgraded my relic to 119, working on my mythic, upgradeing artefacts, engaging in hard mode AA fights. The game is still fun for me, and yes I also play FFXI because of the ingame "friends".

I tried out FFXIV and stoped like 3 months ago. The game is okeish, but the amount of "asshole"-people inside that game was just beyond normal, besides Fate-grinding wasnt a thing for me (boring as hell) so almost noone did dungeons for exp (useing duty finder didnt help either in that case). Besides FFXI isnt stealing the best ideas of 14, because they werent the ideas of 14 to begin with (14 borrowed alot of WoW). Dunno about you but the implementation on hard modes and record of eminence on FFXI felt alot better in FFXI. FFXI hard modes are actually hard modes of battles that are way olde and got totally refreshing due to this, 14 hard modes are hard modes from battles that are what barely 2 months old and now you have extreme modes of them? come on lol

as said 14 is an ok game, the community just wasnt my taste (thats actually m biggest complain)

[Elphy]

I played for 7 years, unsubbed do to the game becoming way to easy and the attitude of the community going to pot post aby. After a few months away I resubbed to see what SoA had to offer but now I cannot find a single soul who wants to group to do anything at all. I have nearly no SoA stuff completed that requires group play and finding ppl for the most basic of things has become a hassle.

I am still subbed because I got bored running AK and WP in xiv and eso is ways off yet. However with the 2.1 patch in arr they introduced tons of content that is worth playing and frankly really enjoyable. From daily beast quests to extreme mode primals, good king moggle mog xii, ultima weapon hard mode, etc etc etc.

So my days in ffxi may be numbered again cause tbh this game is horrid when all you have is trust npcs and no one living and breathing willing to help or even be friendly. Why pay a monthly sub for a dying game on dead servers with nothing but soloists and dual boxers.

[Stompa]

Why pay a monthly sub for a dying game on dead servers with nothing but soloists and dual boxers.

FFxi is not a dying game, it is just being quiet and stealthy so it can <sneak attack> you with more critical surprises in the future!

Seriously though, people said FFxi was dying in 2005, then TOAU arrived and everyone stopped saying that, repeated comments of this "this game is dying" in 2007, then WOTG arrived with Campaign, Dnc, etc. and people were happy for another year or two, repeat this process with pre-Aby and pre-Soa. I can actually remember the times in 2005 2007 2009 2012 when the words "FFxi is dying" was used in /partychat and now I hear it again in 2013. Its a normal cycle process pre-expansion, this time was different because the expansion (imho) wasn't as enjoyable as the preceding ones, and the FF14 option was given instead.

But I always wish FF14 people well and say "I hope you have a great time in 14!" and they always seem to say "FFxi is dead" etc. so I feel the bonhomie is one-way.

I have a comparison of FFxi being your normal girlfriend, she's very intelligent really, good at practical things, loves you a lot, but she's a bit ugly and has a boring normal life. FF14 is your imaginary movie girlfriend Sharon Stone or whoever, she's beautiful, rich, has a really glitzy glamorous lifestyle, but ultimately she's as stupid as a box of rocks and she doesn't even know you exist.

[detlef]

FFXI isn't on its deathbed. The game certainly is not at its peak, but it's living a healthy, active post-retirement life and can continue to do so as long as it watches its sodium intake.

[Ravenmore]

I played for 7 years, unsubbed do to the game becoming way to easy and the attitude of the community going to pot post aby. After a few months away I resubbed to see what SoA had to offer but now I cannot find a single soul who wants to group to do anything at all. I have nearly no SoA stuff completed that requires group play and finding ppl for the most basic of things has become a hassle.

I am still subbed because I got bored running AK and WP in xiv and eso is ways off yet. However with the 2.1 patch in arr they introduced tons of content that is worth playing and frankly really enjoyable. From daily beast quests to extreme mode primals, good king moggle mog xii, ultima weapon hard mode, etc etc etc.

So my days in ffxi may be numbered again cause tbh this game is horrid when all you have is trust npcs and no one living and breathing willing to help or even be friendly. Why pay a monthly sub for a dying game on dead servers with nothing but soloists and dual boxers.

Thing is game went right back to what it was pre aby where you didn't do anything endgame outside your LS. Still bunch of groups and LSs running content but the content went back to it was enough of a pain to where you only did it with people you know. Now there are some shout groups for content but those are so hit or miss that the good players avoid them.

[Elphy]

Well the reason I said it is dying is because even back before aby I never saw world population numbers as low as they currently are. And you are right there are still ls that are active and do stuff.

The problem lies in the fact that these ls do not want new members, esp ones who are behind or beginning. Also the ppl who have returned don't seem to want to stay or join a ls to get caught up, they would rather join an established ls who is running endgame they are outclassed for so they can skip all the in-between and if they cant find it, they merc it. If I could find a good group of ppl that would at least chat it would make things better but these ppl are elusive. I met 1 person after 2 months that was friendly and volunteered to help me on a couple things (but still refused to give me a ls because his ls only wanted "vet players who were already well geared" and when we were out and about I dc'd and couldn't get back on for a bit and when I did I sent a /t and apologized and all I got in return was "np" and that was it, no more replies or even a /wave.

The reason I prefer xiv is because even tho its an "imaginary movie girlfriend" her fans are a whole lot more willing to do that one thing that ffxi players seem to have forgotten to do...be friendly. So say what you will, but no matter what you say after months of being back I have found this community extremely small and clicky with no tolerance for ppl who are not in pure ilvl119 gear, or need some advice here and there. So that "normal girlfriend" has become snotty and self-important and the only reason you do not see it is because you are in rose tinted lenses provided to you by this normal gal who sees you as a Heather, no matter how nice and friendly you are yourself. Here on the forums there are always ppl saying they help everyone and are willing to take on new or returning players in their ls but the truth of the matter is this rarely manifests in game.

It's not the game that's lacking its the ability to enjoy what the game has to offer and the inability for new or returning players to get far enough up to par to do so. So I am currently down to a few hrs a week in xi and don't really see a need to keep my sub going. This game stinks when your completely alone and becomes even worse when it makes you feel like the poor kid living in the dumpy trailer park and in their sister's hand-me-downs that went out of style 20 years ago.

[Ravenmore]

Unfriendly compared to 14s pop. lol. Seen just as much a%%haterly in 14 as WoW, EQ,11, not as much as EVE but that is kinda the selling point Really any MMO has the same amount and depending on how you see the game will dictate how much of it you of the negative people you see. I have played all those games and the reason I'm still with FF11 is it's low bandwidth consumption, It plays well over 4G and even on 3G it is more then playable, low system requirements and still fun to play. When I do finally move on it will only because I personally nolonger enjoy the game.

[Rekin]

I used to for years on end w/o breaks because I had lots of time and made lots of cool friends. I've stopped because all those friends are gone and as someone pointed out earlier the community has generally gotten more venomous but that doesn't matter what matters to me is what brought me to the game in the first place.
Gameplay and job balance.
I've said this in another thread but what crushes this game and any hope I have of returning to it is the grand disparity between the jobs and what content they can do its borderline insane how horribly unbalanced the jobs are to each other and how the devs treat them. When abilities like SAM's new 2hr is Okayed and then even powered up upon release but other jobs get gimped versions of existing abilities or worst then I see no point in returning if effort I put into a job I like means nothing if I can't even use it.
Only recently has pld been even considered remotely useful in recent years for something that isn't fodder but that is far from enough to lure me back because I know the moment players figure out the mechanics it'll be thrown away again to be chewed on by fodder.
Simply put the core mechanics of the game is at its limit, the game requires an overhaul on core mechanics like enmity and jobs in general need a massive nerf in what amount of dt gear they can wear to give reason why a tank job is even worth a glance.

[Afania]

Genuinely curious about this one. I played FFXI from 2004-2013. I moved on to FFXIV a while ago, and I returned with this campaign to check out what all has changed, and it looks like it changed for the worse. 1200 players at prime time, when it used to be 4000? Same clunky UI? Trust NPCs added to make up for the lack of players? It also looks like they've been copying all the best ideas from FFXIV to make the game less grindy.

Why still play?

Hardmode: You cannot use "friends" as a reason

For your information, none of the ideas from FFXIV are "best ideas being copied and used in XI". Those are kinda current gen MMO direction, trying to please the casual and make the game more solo friendly, and moving away from community/forced grouping in EQ era. FFXIV took the idea from other current gen MMO, then SE decided to make XI more accessable to the majority so XI used it too.

And lol@hardmode, it's not hard to answer this question without using friends as a reason.

To answer your question. I value role playing element in an MMORPG a lot, more so than game mechanics/UI and such. This game is also sustainable with 1k players just fine, so 1k players on NA time doesn't affect me.

I play the game for role playing element, that means there must be something that attach me with my avatar. The game can have terrible UI, 2002 graphic, 10 year old game mechanic, as long as I feel I'm part of the game world living as another character, I'd keep playing and ignore rest of the flaws. And vice versa. I believe that's the main reason why many older MMO such as EVE online, SWG(which is dead now, but still has plenty of fans missed it), EQ, Second life are still being loved and played or missed to death.

Most of the newer MMO don't give me such "attached to my avatar living in another world" feel. In GW2 and SWTOR's case it felt like a single player, in FFXIV's case it felt like a LAN game and I can't develope my own playstyle due to lack of merit/talent tree/complexity in gear choices. Tera is same as everyone else with worse story.

FFXI happened to have every aspect that makes role playing game a role playing game. It has a crafting system/economy with depth complexity, unlike most MMO including FFXIV. I can develope my character the way I want, and the game reward me for doing so. For example, in real life if you spend your entire life trying to get better at playing piano, you're piano ability will be better than majority, and you will be remembered as someone really good at playing piano, but every other skill you have will suck if you only practice playing piano. In FFXI if you spend your entire playtime collecting perfect gear set for 1 job, and spend all your free time doing research on how to use all the gear set properly, your job WILL outperform majority. Because it's quite a lot of work to play 1 job really, really well in every situation.

On the other hand, you can choose not to focus on 1 job, but to have above avg 2~3 job, or avg 10 jobs. I find this similar to rl. You can be someone with 1 skill better than everyone else, or to have 10 skills but all on avg level. Further more, several jobs has several different playstyle such as ranged attack SAM or THF, full support COR, melee BRD to explore. This is unlike most MMOs on the market, you get 1 job and 3 talent tree path to develop your character, in the end your character is not very different from everyone else. In FFXI however, your character can be really unique(or really mediocre) after many years of playing. Before FFXIV 2.1 update which changed IL level of some gears, one of my FC member had IL90 on every slot back in Nov. And he isn't very hardcore or anything, just got lucky with coil drops, he had highest IL gears(at that time) on every slot 2 months of playing. In FFXI I can name maybe less than 3 players per server that has perfect gear on every slot for every gear set, and plays a job perfect. And I've played FFXI for 4 years still rarely see a player with perfect gear in every slot, and master every playstyle in every situation for 1 job.

Although you can also have multiple jobs in XIV, it doesn't work quite well IMO. Jobs in XIV is 1 straight path to the top, you're either on the top or working toward the top, and most ppl would rather focus on 1 job and getting it to the top. This is due to the lack of gear complexity and different playstyle. You can't be a full support BRD in XIV, nor WHM with tanking build. Your play style is fixed with that job because every job only has limited gear set/skill set. In the end I feel it's more like WoW minus the talent tree, with 1 job= 1 character and every character on same account.

There are other elements in FFXI that made me attached to the game world, such as having to make friends to progress, instead of click on a button and DING get in with randoms. It may sound funny, but I learned a lot about connection making and the value of it after playing FFXI, which changed my real life too, but it is something pretty personal.

Even today I find FFXI has more sense of immersion than majority of other titles. None of the current gen MMORPG such as XIV/GW2/SWTOR/Tera ever come close to it. Sometimes older doesn't mean worse and newer doesn't mean better, and UI certainly doesn't affect role playing experience a bit, it's something I can get used to quite easily. Old TRPG still has way more depth and complexity than any current-gen RPG. Quite a lot of newer MMO ditched the role playing element and turn the game into easy mode brainless pew pew pew kill boss get loot game, and killed the sense of immersion while doing so.