Odd question for former XI players?

[Zumi]

The thing is in FFXI a lot of content could be done without a tank due to the fact a lot of monsters could not do enough damage to kill a non tank. For awhile people liked throwing monks at everything because they did high damage and could not easily be killed. The combat in FFXI was also slow paced. Most damage increasing cool downs were on a 3-5 min sometimes 10+ timer, with the ultimate abilities being a 2 hour cooldown. Basic combat was auto attacking like 15-30 seconds then hitting a button to do a weapon skill which was a strong attack.

All the abilities were in a menu to get around that people made macros for everything they did in the game so they wouldn't have to use the drop down menu.

[Gamer3427]

The thing is in FFXI a lot of content could be done without a tank due to the fact a lot of monsters could not do enough damage to kill a non tank. For awhile people liked throwing monks at everything because they did high damage and could not easily be killed. The combat in FFXI was also slow paced. Most damage increasing cool downs were on a 3-5 min sometimes 10+ timer, with the ultimate abilities being a 2 hour cooldown. Basic combat was auto attacking like 15-30 seconds then hitting a button to do a weapon skill which was a strong attack.

All the abilities were in a menu to get around that people made macros for everything they did in the game so they wouldn't have to use the drop down menu.

I'll admit, for as highly as people talk about FFXI, that sounds really boring. And don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some really slow combat in games, but that doesn't sound very enjoyable.....

[Airget]

I'll admit, for as highly as people talk about FFXI, that sounds really boring. And don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some really slow combat in games, but that doesn't sound very enjoyable.....

It sadly isn't anymore, it was good for it's time, if you played from the start, if you were in the game before abyssea and everything changed the way the game felt. I tried playing the game during the free time and first thing that hit me was how cumberstone the camera felt, and the thing is, I never recalled how unresponsive the camera was, I use to be able to move the camera effortlessly but I felt so frustrated trying to move it.

XI was a game that was fun based on the friends you had to play with, if you tried to just play solo and by yourself with no one else then it was moreso a glorified chatroom while waiting on events to occur. This is why I like 14 so much better because there aren't a multitude of events that are time based, you don't have to wait 3 days til Dynamis, a day to do sea instances, pretty much there was just so much content that you had to wait to do, so let's say you could do it all in one day IF they didn't put hard time restrictions on the game so for some people they feel like that "waiting period" added to the games "playability" when all it did was just waste time that could of been spent doing content like 14 currently does.

[Blood-Aki]

I'll admit, for as highly as people talk about FFXI, that sounds really boring. And don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some really slow combat in games, but that doesn't sound very enjoyable.....

They talk highly because FFXI was easier. it did not require much in terms of thinking and strats, in fact a few years back, FFXI simply turned into "zerg this down" where all you needed was Buffs from Bard and corsair and then you mash your TP/WS button untill it was dead, which usually took around 30 seconds to a minute. this was the "best strat" as it was known as for almost everything endgame. it was a slower paced game.

Hell healing bots were a common thing, you just needed a healing bot to stand in the background and heal through attacks automaticly. so it's only natrual to question those who highly praise it, especially over 14. i did love the game, but you cannot deny what it was.

[Katra]

XI was a great game, at least until Abyseea. Personally, I was never in a zerg party for all of the years that I played, and though I have heard about them, they didn't appear to be the norm. For the most part, XI uses the same trinity of roles that most MMOs use: tank, healer, and DD. It also made use of support classes to help supplement the parties performance. A good puller was an asset too when in exp. parties to avoid links and unwanted aggro. There was no duty finder in XI, or in XIV version 1 for that matter, so the game left it up to the players to make the party composition as they felt fitted their needs best to tackle content. And for most of the content I went through, before Abyseea and the level cap raise, and the removal of many of the level cap zones, a good party composition was required.

Truth be told, I have had fun with both games' styles. Although that may come down ultimately to the people you are with, and I have been very fortunate in that aspect with both games.

[Lexia]

They talk highly because FFXI was easier.

XI was not easier it was just different, and if talking about easier I would say XIV is easier. In XIV if you die you either get raised or go back to start point of dungeon and use shortcut back to last boss fight you did. XI if you died you lost exp and either waited for a raise or went back to hp and walked back to where you were at so there was incentive to not die.

[Whocareswhatmynameis]

XI was not easier it was just different, and if talking about easier I would say XIV is easier. In XIV if you die you either get raised or go back to start point of dungeon and use shortcut back to last boss fight you did. XI if you died you lost exp and either waited for a raise or went back to hp and walked back to where you were at so there was incentive to not die.

Well to be fair towards the end of final fantasy xi, mainly around the time they raised the level cap they did make everything much easier and solo friendly (accessible) , which actually drove people away from the game. Wierd how that works, making things more accessible actually drives people away from the game. (WoW garrisons)

[Zhamkyong]

XI if you died you lost exp and either waited for a raise or went back to hp and walked back to where you were at so there was incentive to not die.

Lexia refers "hp" as Home point, that was in the cities or towns. If you wanted to get back, you had to ask for a Teleport to be fast, take a chocobo and be careful not to die, again. That or wait for a Raise. And you couldnt get back on your own most of the times.

[Dzian]

In the earlier days it wasn't easier at all. it's only after years of nerfs and patches that made it easier for people to clear stuff. back in the day getting through things like divine might and some fo the bigger cop fights was a pretty big achievement cos they were real difficult to do.

another thing that made xi great for many people was the sense of reward and accomplishment that came with getting stuff done. in modern mmos everything is pretty much throw away junk the awesome weapon you get today will be crap tomorrow and in a way there's no sense of accomplishment / satisfaction in obtaining such loot or gear in modern mmos.

in ffxi though, clearing cop and getting a rajas or tamas ring was something players felt proud of for a very long time. it was the same for clearing big things like divine might and even your home nations campaign. and that sense of accomplishment / pride in getting things done doesn't really exist in modern mmos.

everything in modern mmos is throw away junk. even dreadwrym stuff from final coil. and I think that's partly why many players don't bother trying the newer harder contents cos the rewards are disposable junk that don't justify the difficulty so then players wait till the content is nerfed... it's a endless circle. where if the rewards had a longer lifespan then I think more players would be willing to try the content at its hardest.

then there's the community communites in XI felt a lot better and closer than XIV. In XI nearly you needed your friends and ls members for a lot of stuff and as such did a lot of stuff together. in newer mmos it's been built around solo play so much that I believe group play and close communities are falling apart. you don't need friends for stuff you can just jump in the duty finder and go, and that destroys a lot of the camaraderie I think. certainly seem lots of groups of players fall apart recently. once close knit fcs falling apart and being sold etc etc etc. the level of community just isn't the same as it once was

[ShanaShirayuki]

I'll admit, for as highly as people talk about FFXI, that sounds really boring. And don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some really slow combat in games, but that doesn't sound very enjoyable.....

XI was mainly based on the quality time you had with friends, the thrill of getting through tough-to-put-together boss fights such as CoP 2-5 Mammets / CoP 6-4 Ultima, and clearing raids such as Sky/Sea. That's why you see such high praise for XI, as it comes from the people who experienced all those things.