Moderating Rate of Exp Gain

[Rexaliya]

The suggestions Tristan has made for xp management are good ones. It would enable players more control over the level of challenge they wish to take on in game.

I've seen several posts above that suggest his group use the "Call for help" feature, and I've tried that in the past and would STRONGLY advise against it. My group of three used "Call for help" to avoid XP gain, and it was a hot mess. Very kind people kept stopping to help us, some losing their chocos, and we had to keep explaining that we didn't really need help. We just didn't want to gain XP, but we did want to cap a handful of our combat skills. We tried multiple areas to avoid the player population, but in the end, we spent a ton of extra time explaining that we didn't really need help when high level players would still show up and come in and one-shot the mob we were skilling up on. We felt bad for bothering so many people who just happened to be in the area.

Call for Help was clearly never intended to be an XP management tool, and if used that way, be ready to tick off a lot of people and spend most of your time in /tell explaining to other players what you're really doing.

Another side note on "call for help", once you use it, the AoE of the mob you're fighting will affect other players in your area, whether they've engaged the mob or not.

Again, for all of the good people who do actually try to come to the aid of adventurers in need, "Call for Help" is not the right tool to use for XP management.

I think Tristan's suggestions for a change in the game programming are very welcome as a solution to his group's XP management problem.

[elqplau]

The suggestions Tristan has made for xp management are good ones. It would enable players more control over the level of challenge they wish to take on in game.

I've seen several posts above that suggest his group use the "Call for help" feature, and I've tried that in the past and would STRONGLY advise against it. My group of three used "Call for help" to avoid XP gain, and it was a hot mess. Very kind people kept stopping to help us, some losing their chocos, and we had to keep explaining that we didn't really need help. We just didn't want to gain XP, but we did want to cap a handful of our combat skills. We tried multiple areas to avoid the player population, but in the end, we spent a ton of extra time explaining that we didn't really need help when high level players would still show up and come in and one-shot the mob we were skilling up on. We felt bad for bothering so many people who just happened to be in the area.

Call for Help was clearly never intended to be an XP management tool, and if used that way, be ready to tick off a lot of people and spend most of your time in /tell explaining to other players what you're really doing.

Another side note on "call for help", once you use it, the AoE of the mob you're fighting will affect other players in your area, whether they've engaged the mob or not.

Again, for all of the good people who do actually try to come to the aid of adventurers in need, "Call for Help" is not the right tool to use for XP management.

I think Tristan's suggestions for a change in the game programming are very welcome as a solution to his group's XP management problem.

I agee i started pree pld and CFH meant help me im going to die lol ....id have been the first to jump from a choco(if i could afford one) and offer my blade or healing...i still do so

[Blah]

Looking back, this optional cap probably would have solved the issue much better than completely removing it way back when, making things much more optional is a better way to go really to balancing out the game. Not that I want the population to drop but if it did for both Japanese and NA EU they would again run into a lot of "I can't complete X because no1 is around" and again have to adjust which would more than likely be unnecessary if they did this and optionized everything else.

[ISLANDWAHINE1107]

I like Tristian’s viewpoint, and I appreciate the idea that some players value repeating the same battle in order to learn from it. There’s a great deal of honor in that idea. Often players complete Promyvion or another battle to move on as quickly as possible. I've played with my fair share of players that are not focused on HOW they win, just that they win. To repeat a battle for the ideal of perfecting battle is noteworthy, imho.
On a side note, I actually caught a glimpse of Tristian’s team playing and watched a video of them. He mentioned they had a few videos up and I googled 'Phoenix Valorians' just to check them out. From the looks of it, teamwork is definitely their mission. It was refreshing to see that in newer ffxi players. It would be nice to see their work supported through options for exp gain or optional level caps.

[Ozzwin]

I like the ideas Tristan posted. It would be nice to be able to party with anyone and not worry about what level everyone is or having to move locations when mobs got too easy. It also lets you practice on a particular mob type, like an element, without having to worry about how long you can use the same mobs. I would really like the idea of choosing some other reward than XP or being able to trade it in for stuff like Darkstahr said. I like being able to trade my conquest points for equipment and items. And I think it needs reiterated that this should be an option. Players have a huge diversity in playing styles. Some like becoming power houses. Some like collecting all the items. Some just like level grinding (I can be guilty of this). There should be options to allow control for all playing styles.

[Blah]

going to bump this to see if we can get a yah or nah. They could I think easily do away with level sync if they found a way to get this to work, and then maybe optionize other stuff too.

[oliveira]

Just to tell a tale of my own on this subject.

The first time I did the mission the OP talks about we organized a huge shout with players ranging from level 20 to 35. From shouting to finish the whole process took more than 12 hours.

It took us about nine hours to climb the tower and finish the mission. It was one of the most memorable moments on my FFXI career.

Other event that did close to it was Ifrit's cauldron Zilart mission. We were TWO ALIANCES and we wiped to Tyrannic Tunnok (giant scorpion HNM). Great times (2004/2005) which won't come back ever.

I feel your pain.

[Ozzwin]

I have to say that the idea of taking on challenges with other fans of the Final Fantasy genre was what lured me to this game and kept me playing it for so long. Challenges does not mean running through a nation mission area and having nothing agro you. Challenges also does not mean one-shotting a nation mission boss just to complete the mission. :/ Level capped missions were perfect for challenges and they were at all levels of the game! But now, it doesn’t seem right that I have to wait until level 99 to enjoy what used to be a defining characteristic of this game. I don’t want my love of the game (and the friendships I form in it) to die just because I don’t have the option to challenge myself with a group of friends. Please, please give the OP’s request some serious consideration!!

[Capice]

Level capped missions were perfect for challenges and they were at all levels of the game! But now, it doesn’t seem right that I have to wait until level 99 to enjoy what used to be a defining characteristic of this game.

There have been a lot of level capped fights, quests, and missions that I’ve gotten to do in FFXI. I found them challenging and fun. For the most part, they weren't easy wins, but they were meaningful ones, and I remember those fights. Whether it was the awesome strategy we came up with or the groups that I went into battle with. I think the OP is asking for that same challenging quality, but just on a broader scale. A zone under an optional level cap (instead of just a single battle/boss fight) opens up endless possibilities for people to come together by working together

I am totally in support of optional level caps, and I encourage others to share their stories of level capped fights they enjoyed. Maybe S/E will show the OP request some love