Quote Originally Posted by Ryel View Post
This is incorrect actually, what FFXI offered (which was far from perfect mind you) was variety in content.

Because gear progression was horizontal and equipment could be swapped in for various abilities etc during battle, content was relevant for much longer than it is here. You could arguably be doing Dynamis, CoP Dynamis, Limbus, Salvage, Einherjar, Nyzul Isle, Sky, Sea, HNMs, ZNMs, Campaign, and various small NMs for years because something there would still be usable (this was at 75 cap btw), and yes much of this content was added over YEARS of expansions (While ARR is only a little over a year old, FFXIV is going on 4+ years now)
Sorry, but.. 1.0 XIV doesn't even remotely count. they had to rebuild everything. The current game has been out for 1 year. There have been no expansions yet. Pretty much every system has been redone and recoded from UI to GCD to skills, AI, graphics in general (landscape to character models), seemless world to instances, fates, DF, etc, etc and etc.

All XI had from US launch was grind and more party grind. I should know I played it for about 7 years from US release. Each expansion broken with promises of getting better with all anyone could do was simply grind away the hours. Which, I actually had no issues with I happily ground away hours days weeks and years. In fact the reason I quit was for people problems, not the game itself. Though, them closing my server and moving me to one that was not the same as my wife was in fact the death knell for me.

None of what you mentioned you could do in XI was there at US launch. None of it.. ell except for some NM's. You forgot the events, though. The events were really the only break with the grinding and even they could be a grind lol

At the same point now that ARR is as to 1 year from XI US release, XIV is hands down the better game with more to do. at year 1 XI we still hadn't even reached end game yet. Mostly because at that point there still wasn't an end game because for the most part US players had not reached it yet. They were still leveling up their characters due to the slower party grind system not unlike the old EQ days.