Just played Final Fantasy XI

[KokoChibata]

While FFXI is still a great game its a shell of its former self the best days were pre abyssea when lvl cap was 75 and you didnt have helper npcs. Things were tough and you needed people around to help.

[Skivvy]

While FFXI is still a great game its a shell of its former self the best days were pre abyssea when lvl cap was 75 and you didnt have helper npcs. Things were tough and you needed people around to help.

Current end-game most definitely requires a group and can be quite challenging.

Leveling is a breeze and simple, as is a lot of the original content, but you would be wrong to imply there is no challenge left in the game. It is defintiely there - just not in the events you ran back in the day.

[Kannwar]

FFXI (and all the other FF games for that matter) holds a very special place in my heart. I've spent several years playing it and had over 1000 days in playtime, a lot of it AFK selling stuff in Bazaar of course lol. From beginning and W. Ronfaure, Dunes and leveling to HNM endgame, Dynamis, Sky, Sea, Zeni NM, Einherjar, Salvage, Limbus etc...it was filled with excitement, fun, exploration, death followed by massive laughs on Vent/TS, friendships made and server wide drama. It was fun, it required group effort, you never knew what was going to kick your ass around the next corner, and trust me, you got your ass handed to you a lot lol

LS I was in had events every day, point system, attendance...we were pretty serious about it, we got things done, but we all also had fun doing it. I cannot describe the feeling when I finally got my Sheikh Manteel or Kirin's Osode for my BRD or when we finally downed Odin after weeks of getting key items and preparations. When you claim Nidhogg or Tiamat in front of the whole endgame part of the server and beat it like it owes you money (or they beat you lol)...it was a group effort and everyone cheered because things like that made the whole group better. It's where I met my wife, we played together for quite a while before meeting, getting married in game, moving across continents and getting married in RL...7 years now. I will never forget friendships that i forged in that game, I still talk to some people I played with on social media etc...sadly I cannot say that for XIV.

I know times change, games like XI (before all the solo friendly changes) would have a hard time these days. I remember when I was in college and working at the same time...it still feels like I had more time to play than I do now (how the hell is that even possible?!). People change too, instant gratification and entitlement is a thing now...people complain if they don't get what they want right away, anything that requires effort is not worth doing for them.

I think what made it really fun is that you had different end game things to do at any given time, especially when 75 was lvl cap for a long time and content was added, there were a lot of pieces of gear from different events that you or someone else needed. We could do something else every day and not get burned out. Compared to XIV where you do your raids, cap tomestones, and if you have your jobs level'd you're pretty much done.

XI and my wife are also responsible for my...I guess you could call it loyalty to FF franchise. It's what kept me playing XIV 1.0 since first wave of alpha invites (with breaks), paying for it even though it was garbage lol but I somehow felt good about it, it was our game, especially after getting our name put in the credits. Whenever I take a break from XIV or XI...there's always that feeling that something is missing...

I enjoy XIV very much, not as much as I enjoyed XI...but XI feels like a lifetime ago at this point.

Sorry for the long post, I feel emotional whenever XI comes up