Lore, FFXI or FFXIV

[CyrilLucifer]

I understand. I can't even imagine trying to get into XI now, but I think if you can, you'll find the world to be very rich.

If I was to tell a friend to start somewhere, it would be with ToAU. It has a more modern style of storytelling, compared to the world and lore-heavy Zilart. CoP is very good, but it's also intended for those who already have their feet wet with the lore. ToAU is really just an incredible expansion overall.

If you haven't gone to Aht Urghan and done the quests, both main story and side, you're in for quite a treat.

[LineageRazor]

Fame is definitely a mechanic I'm glad to see the back of, even if Beast Tribe dailies do a similar thing... I think here it works because the "Fame" quests are so closely tied to the story progression of the tribes, where as in XI I was turning in bat wings and crystals so I could get enough Fame to do the next Nation quest? lolwut?

The fame mechanic exists in FFXIV, in a way, and is tied in to the Main Scenario. The game tells you from the start that as you gain reknown, more and more people will be willing to trust you to solve their problems. Translated, this means that the more you progress in the Main Scenario, the more sidequests will open up - which was, for the most part, what the fame mechanic was all about in FFXI, as well, a way to open sidequests (though it did come with a few other perks, such as slight discounts on goods bought from NPCs in the areas where you had high fame).

I'd say that the only way that the fame system in this game could be considered disappointing, is that it's built in so thoroughly that you don't really even notice it. You have no choice but to max out your fame, whereas doing so in FFXI was an optional thing that required a lot of grinding.

That said, fame could also be quite silly in FFXI. Because it can be increased through grinding, it was entirely possible to become the Hero of the City (the highest level of fame) by repeating extremely menial quests. You can just imagine the PC dialogue:

Townsfolk #1: Hey, look, it's <player name>!
Townsfolk #2: <player name>??? Isn't that the chick who gave Secodiand all those bat wings?
Townsfolk #1: None other! Her ability to cut down level 2 bats to hand over their wings to a superstitious git to make charms to ward off evil is second to none! Why, I'd imagine she's given the fellow enough wings to fashon a thousand of the gristly trinkets by now!
Townsfolk #2: Truly a greater hero San d'Oria has never known!

[Kallera]

I spend a lot of time at work on wiki during down time, and have been recently going through both ffxi and Ffxiv lore and storylines through various expansions and what not.
Now there's always been debates and topics conparing the two games gameplay, classes, mechanics and what not... But I was curious... What do many find different/better/worse when comparing the two games rich stories and lore?

it eventually came to be that a lot of things I wanted to do in ffxi were inaccessable, I also wasn't feeling connected to anyone anymore. storywise I remember hating aht urghan and everyone in it, with a passion, and didn't have much love for Prishe. i liked stories like the Fellow questline, a lot of stuff in zilart, and what i could get through in wotg.

ffxiv, I like the players, but the story and some details of the game just haven't sat right with me since 2.x. I enjoyed being an adventurer in 1.0, but I don't like being "The Warrior of Light". I like my GC Chocobo but miss my path companion. I was obsessed with completing coil, but I was obsessed with completing coil. without connecting with people , even in some way, outside of the grind, I would have left a while back.

I guess In both games I feel more attached to personal stories involving characters lives, more than "destiny is destiny", "we must crush the darkness" bits.

[CyrusArjuna]

snip

Pfft you could become a hero in San d'Oria, Bastok, and Jeuno by turning in corn/cabbage/moss to some shepherd in Selbina trying to feed his sheep.

For all this nostalgia about XI I wonder how XIV would've turned out if it was more like 1.23 from the beginning instead of what we got? In my opinion the transitioning period between 1.0 and 2.0 played a lot like XI with some updates

[CyrilLucifer]

Fame was a neat idea, like people not immediately giving you quests right out of the game but having to earn your fame/trust first, but yeah, grinding repeatable quests for it sucked. Norg Fame and Zinc Ore, anyone?

[CyrusArjuna]

They FINALLY made it so ores stacked recently. Wasn't fun clearing your inventory and stuffing it with zinc ore constantly, that's for sure. Oh I think they did the same with the Yagudo Bead Necklaces =o

[DroFrehter]

I played FFXI for about 6 years, but it has been a few years since I last played. I last played during the days of Abyssea but my priorities pulled me elsewhere. From what I have been told, I wouldn't even recognize the game now but back on point.. I loved FFXI and it's lore. The story was pretty cool and seemed pretty well fleshed out but the world of XIV feels more real and alive to me. I think the lore of the primals is pretty interesting but XI did seem to do it a bit better. Either way, both games are good but for different reasons.