Classic servers?

[Kalimairo]

Dear square enix i know this might disappoint you and the current fans would dislike it but we all know 75 era s the best version of this game, it would be nice to have an option for classic FFXI What would you lose to add this up? please just test it even a beta server am an all fan of FFXi with 18 years of play time i just want to play the old game,... iam still subbed to xi retall.... Nasomi and eden is not the same please square give us a beta test than decide if its worth it...


would also be nice to see how many players would play it if u add a beta test i guarantee there would be 15k + players that would. FFXI 75 era is even better than EQ prime

[Alhanelem]

Will not happen, it has already been shot down by SE in interviews there's been two really long threads written about it, and there's plenty of ways to play stuff "classic" within the game already:

-Don't complete the level 80 limit break
-Use the Level Sync feature
-Intentionally delevel a job
-Play content that still has level restrictions

Here's a summary of reasons why they won't do it, but I recommend looking up the old threads on the topic.



-SE already considered the idea, which means they did a cost benefit analysis that concluded the gain from doing it didn't outweigh the cost

-Requires development resources the devs don't have or would have to take away from the current game that people do still play. Further resources would be required to update the two versions in tandem which again they don't have

-Would require SE to have an archived old build of the game from 15+ years ago (they don't)
-It would divide the community and potentially hurt existing players
-Nobody can seem to agree on what really constitutes "Classic" (Base game only, which was never played outside of Japan? Zilart? TOAU? Everything up to Abyssea? Different people have different ideas about this)

WoW and some other more famous MMOs can get away with this because they have much larger playerbases and the fan base for an old version of the game isn't likely to cut into the regular playerbase to the degree that it would cause any harm. FFXI was never as big as those games and thus has far less to gain from it.

[Pixela]

Go on Asura right now and use /yell to make one single classic party, it's easy right? you only need 5 people to agree and then use level sync. You won't be able to do it.

Almost nobody wants this.

[Dragoy]

Go on Asura right now and use /yell to make one single classic party, it's easy right? you only need 5 people to agree and then use level sync. You won't be able to do it.

Almost nobody wants this.

Well, my little character on Asura has been in a linkshell for a number of years, that limits their levels and content to 75, so there are a bunch, but... prooobably not 15k or more.

Oh and on top of that, they can also play the post-75 content at will... so yeah, I'm also on the boat for 'no thanks'. The time and effort could be better spent, I believe, as they're already very limited.

If they were to open-source things, then the community could do that work but that's probably pretty unlikely to ever happen as well.

[Alhanelem]

And to cover my behind on the claim that SE has commented on this. From the original classic server thread:

Oh, btw, to really and truly put this to bed once and for all, Gamer Escape asked about this in an email interview of sorts (was among the things supposed to happen at pax): https://gamerescape.com/2020/04/10/1...y-xi-dev-team/


Gamer Escape: With the launch of World of Warcraft Classic, there has been talk of having classic servers for other games. We’re curious about your thoughts on having a classic server for FINAL FANTASY XI where maybe the level cap is at 75?
Akihiko Matsui: Truth be told, we have no snapshot data of the level 75 era, which would make it very difficult to replicate things as they were back then on this type of server.
Yoji Fujito: As things stand today, we are unable to meet these requests, simply from a version management perspective. If the goal was simply to limit level growth to level 75, that is something that could be done in theory, but we would be unable to provide any changes on top of merely adjusting the level cap and do not have the ability to provide any support for it with our current bandwidth.
Furthermore, it goes against our company philosophy to just toss something out there and say “Here, have fun!” without giving it the due care that our fans would rightfully expect, so a level 75 server it isn’t in the cards at present.

The closest thing we're likely to get to anything "classic" is the mobile remake, which is apparently still in the works.

Of course, private servers are a thing that exists, but are technically illegal so you'll have to search for that on your own. But anyone who really wants this that badly is probably going that route.

[Zehira]

I'd rather to keep playing than sitting in Mog House waiting for invite.

Yes, FFXI was great back day. I miss being a leader of a Japanese exp party.

[Alhanelem]

I'd rather to keep playing than sitting in Mog House waiting for invite.

Yes, FFXI was great back day. I miss being a leader of a Japanese exp party.

You're Japanese? You've had me fooled all this time.

[Zehira]

No, I am American. It's because my name is Zehira which sounds almost like Zehi (是非). Just add Ra to the end of it to make it sound more cute.

Zehi can mean:

Black and White (RDM).
是非家に来てください　I'd really like you to come to my house.
我々は是非を話し合った　We discussed the right and wrong.
是非もないことだ　It can't be helped.

I have invited some of JP ONLY players into my party before. Weird right?

[Pixela]

Players don't miss the game as it was back then (it's the same), they miss the forced social interaction.

[Alhanelem]

Players don't miss the game as it was back then (it's the same), they miss the forced social interaction.

Cynical sounding but basically the truth. The community is what made the game. You had to cooperate to do most things so that meant forging lots of bonds with other players. Even if they made a classic version of the game, it would not be the same as the first time we experienced it.