To those who loved FF11...

[Adelaide3]

FFXIV has alot of worthless content that gets outdated very fast because the challenge level is extremely low and the reward isn't good. Then it gets replaced with low challenge content and the cycle repeats itself.


Atleast FFXI had content that wasn't dead on arrival.

[ElHeggunte]

I love both to death, but I still prefer XIV if I had to choose. XI just had too many anti-player, anti-real-life mechanics and designs, at least during my tenure (which was from NA PC launch till halfway through WotG) and I'm not so nice as to willingly let nostalgia blind me to that fact even though it was one of the most fun periods of my life. I've heard tell that updates and mini expansions have alleviated a lot of the issues I had, but I can only judge based on the 7 years I've experienced.

Atleast FFXI had content that wasn't dead on arrival.

Mostly because XI's content was padded to hell and back with ridiculous drop rates and spawn times, coupled with them keeping level caps the same for years.

[Hamada]

11 was not a better game gameplay wise. A menu based game that put you at a slight disadvantage for not playing in jp thanks to pings was just bad.

I disagree, see, that did nothing outside of NN claiming, here the netcode is so bad you suffer in some way no matter what your ping is because the servers needs to keep rechecking data every 3 seconds. FFXIV tries to be a fast pace game when it is so slow in registering commands and positions, it is very conflicting. Overall FFXI did things better, people just play this game more because of easier access and graphics. In the end of the day FFXIV just been reskining itself since 2.0 something yoshi-p even remarked on when commenting why SB needs to be different, but ended up just repeating reskinning content. Going with this post:

I often think it's not so much the game but more the world in which it is set.
In XIV it’s the player that is pretty much the centre of the universe everything revolves entirely around them. The other people in your party when you do something are nobodies. In comparison when you look at XI it is the game world is the centre of the universe and your player is just one small part of it. That is probably the biggest fundamental difference between them

It is for this reason that I think Vana'diel is (or at least was) a much deeper and better world than Eorzea can ever be. Primarily because Vana'diel was alive, it was dynamic and it was interesting. Eorzea by all comparisons is incredibly bland, lifeless and static.

When you look at FFXI. absolutely everything any player did had some impact on the game world. every single point of exp or every death they suffered for example would shape the balance of power across the world map in some way in the conquest standings. which in turn then impacted availability of various items and goods from vendors and the prices of those items which then impacted the availability of crafted goods on the auction house and again the prices of such.

Then you had thigs like Besieged which makes fates look even more lame than they actually are. Besieged itself was dynamic even if you won you might find one or 2 npcs still got kidnapped and had to be resxued.. or if you lost the candescance the runic portals were unavailable for teleports... everything affected the world in some way. As a result Vana’diel was always changing..
Zones were also much alive and dynamic and often had their own mechanics which bought them to life. You had Ifrits’ Cauldron where you could use Ice cluster to douse the flames and open new paths, Toramai Canal with its 3 mage gate or you could bypass it with the Moon Orb. The Eldieme Necropolis, Garlaige Citadel, SSG, and Quicksand Caves with there respective gate breach mechanics, 1 big galka to stand on a weighted platform and open a door or 3 taru taru... even that mountain in Attowa Chasm you had to climb. and zones like Sacrarium which had a maze that changed every game day (roughly an hour) so many things that bought all these zones to life in their own little ways and made them interesting. also had more variety between them with underground caves, mines, castles, towers, inside big trees, jungles, derelict settlements like Davoi. There was so much variety in the areas.

XI is getting close to 20 years old now and It's game world is lightyears ahead of Eorzea in terms of being dynamic and alive. Eorzea is just bland and lifeless and nothing ever changes. especially with fates.. “Oh no that settlement is being overrun by mobs..”. it doesn't make a difference if you totally ignore them or try to save the day. fate failed. so what..... fate complete, so what..... it makes no difference and thus is pointless.
Eorzea just doesn't have the life or depth Vana'diel does (or did), It never will and I think that's why it's so forgettable in comparison. even on a quest level. many of Eorzea's quests are quite bland and generic. oh no these slugs are ruining our crops kill them for me. yet in XI again I can still remember the epic adventure I took to the palborough miners memorial to uncover the truth about the miners. Or journing through Xacarabard to defeat the shadow lord for the main story..

There's also content as well. XIV's content is all designed in this lifeless structureless way. Just queue something enter it kill a boss done.... XI's was often much more interesting and structured. Einherjar for example meant working as a team trying to clear 9 wings in order to earn that attempt at odin. limbus was the same. you had to work your way through various sections to collect all the items you needed for ultima/omega. Sky was the same so was sea and nyzul isle... and it's the kind of things players have long wanted to see in XIV since well before 2.0 really.
Actual structured content for fcs to do together and stuff.. closest we ever got was potd 101-200 which required a fixed group of people. all be it only 4 of them... a lot of XI's content was very flexible too which was actually better for groups.. in XIV is you have 5,6,7 or 10 people or any number that isn't 4 or 8 you're really stuck for things to do. you either end up getting random help which isn't always ideal. or excluding people entirely..

In XI it was a lot more flexible. it didn't matter if 6 people wanted to do temenos or 16 people. you could nearly always include them all you might not go do ultima with 6 but you could still go and progress another pop set or something.... and that helped a lot with building groups and bonds and friendships.. XIV is by comparison incredibly anti social right down to the msq and that stupid message that often comes up. "you cannot progress this quest because you're in a party" It's an MMO I want to play with friends... again with things like savage loot systems where if you've cleared it that week you cant then help a friend because you'll eliminate the loot chests at the end just by being there...
Gear was better in XI aswell so was getting it.. Summoners for example who wanted the evokers ring had to go and defeat 7 primals for the quest to get the ring. but the feel of satisfaction or accomplishment at the end was there and made the ring feel valuable. XIV nothing has that everything is just temporary junk that has no attachment or value (except perhaps glamour) and thus it all feels lacklustre to get. and in many cases just means players have no motivation to even bother trying to get. because it will be trash tomorrow...

The lack of motivation to gear, I know a few people that are really demotivated from doing salvage or overall "grind for gear" because of the quick turn over issues. I would prefer things to last longer and overall have more meaningful feel. Basically it is this simple concept, why waste your time trying to gear, knowing it will be outdated so quickly? FFXI had weapons, or least ffxi when the cap was 75, had weapons that took years to get. Some people managed to "rush it" in 1 to 3 months, just for a weapon, that still can be used 15 years later after upgrading it. I would love to do something in FFXIV that has more effort put into it where it will last, maybe FFXIV will feel less dead then. (dead as in activity comparing to ffxi you see people doing things, FFXIV, a lot of people are simply afk, doing some emote, or appearing afk cuz they are erping.) queue, enter, get out.. feels monotonous. I wouldn't be playing if i did not have a few good friends to play with

[Brightamethyst]

dead as in activity like how in ffxi you see people doing things, here a lot of people are simply afk, doing some emote, or appearing afk cuz they are erping.

You and I seem to remember XI very differently. What I remember is people sometimes not leaving town for days because they're LFG on an unpopular job and can't do anything else in the mean time.