Why was FFXI so great?

[Duelle]

I have not, nor will I, ever attempt to dictate what another person likes in their MMO.

The only thing I am here to do is politely, but firmly, speak my opinion on how much I seek to avoid Final Fantasy XI-2: Dragon's Aery at the Lance in Coerthas, or Wings of the Twelve: Sandworm's at Horiz- oh, damnit, it just warped, someone check Bluefog and Broken Water. I have no desire to relive XI. I am older, busier, and have less time and patience to deal with grinds only surpassed by Lineage II.

A perfectly reasonable stance. I'm more of the kind that got burned by so many of FFXI's "features" that I simply don't want to see the same mistakes made. I like the Final Fantasy IP and the jobs. Some of the stuff that people got in XI that they are expecting again in XIV, on the other hand...

[Gramul]

Some of the stuff that people got in XI that they are expecting again in XIV, on the other hand...

Such as?
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[OJtheLIONKing]

Here's something I don't quite get that I see a lot of people mentioning: what exactly is the "full adventure experience?" Is it sitting in a spot xping for 10 hours? Staring at a spawn point for many many hours in the hopes that you might get the spawn this time instead of getting it stolen by the RMT bot? Is it having to grind for 6 months to get a full set of situational, sidegrade gear?

Or is it exploring new landscapes, killing big monsters, getting shiny new gear, and experiencing epic storylines with your friends? (Although if you're a solo player most of the time and can only group up occasionally because you and your friends are busy adults whose schedules may not overlap, there's stuff for you too). I think it's the stuff in this paragraph, and I think that's what Yoshi-P and the dev team here are looking to create. All the adventure, none of the frustrating gristle that excludes everyone but masochists or people like me who stayed on at least partly to play with their friends regardless of how boring they thought the grind was.

[Corrderio]

For me I'd say the "adventure" was how different zones/terrain looked compared to XIV. In XI it was fun getting to explore new areas (until you got mauled), but in XIV the sense of exploration is pretty meh since it's nothing but copy/paste all over.

The moment you step out of Ul'Dah into Thanaln, you pretty much seen the entire area. Or at least that's how it seemed to me.

[Gramul]

Here's something I don't quite get that I see a lot of people mentioning: what exactly is the "full adventure experience?" Is it sitting in a spot xping for 10 hours? Staring at a spawn point for many many hours in the hopes that you might get the spawn this time instead of getting it stolen by the RMT bot? Is it having to grind for 6 months to get a full set of situational, sidegrade gear?

Or is it exploring new landscapes, killing big monsters, getting shiny new gear, and experiencing epic storylines with your friends? (Although if you're a solo player most of the time and can only group up occasionally because you and your friends are busy adults whose schedules may not overlap, there's stuff for you too). I think it's the stuff in this paragraph, and I think that's what Yoshi-P and the dev team here are looking to create. All the adventure, none of the frustrating gristle that excludes everyone but masochists or people like me who stayed on at least partly to play with their friends regardless of how boring they thought the grind was.

Well the latter obviously. But I feel no accomplishment from these adventures, there's little point. I want there to be enough adventure to actually reflect on. And yes, that means time and commitment. It means overcoming hardships like
a boss you have to try many times to defeat or having to journey far by foot and avoiding dangerous monsters. It does not come from systematically checking off a quest list or selecting your location at any given time. I want this game to feel organic and rewarding. That doesn't mean having to spend the whole night grouping around crabs (that's just plain not going to happen, we already have tons of party leveling activities) or waiting for an NM to pop (again, not going to happen when they reappear every 5 minutes). It comes from making the game feel like a living world. It comes from giving variety to the landscape and filling it with danger.

I'm happy with most of the changes and additions to this game, I just hope it becomes something I can look back on with as many good memories as I have of XI.

[Ruisu]

Rose Tinted Goggles.

As much as I enjoyed FFXI, everything seemed like a love/hate relationship. Literally everything. Time consuming quests, difficult missions, exploring in general, searching for parties as a DRK, playing DRK in general, unlocking new jobs, waiting waiting waiting waiting, claiming NMs, Maat fight.

I loved FFXI, and if they made pre-2010 servers I would consider resubbing, I just don't think a lot of that would fit in this game. Especially in 2012. I was like, 12 when I started FFXI, so I was much more tolerant of a lot of the shit they put me through being younger and all.

[Relic]

Old FF11 was great because you had a sense of accomplishment, long term reward, a community that was forced to work together and get better to overcome difficult challenges, and a very interesting and unique mmorpg world.

[Elexia]

Here's something I don't quite get that I see a lot of people mentioning: what exactly is the "full adventure experience?" .

Do you not know what an adventure is? With FFXI you start your adventure as a nobody, literally, NPCs don't know you, people don't know you etc. You have to do quests to build fame which will cause NPCs to start recognizing you (even adjusts pricing as you get more famous, you know, how in real life people give celebs discounts and etc?) and you even start making a lot more friends as you are MUCH more likely to run into people on the same mission etc as you were (back in the day.)

Fast forward you do the missions which introduces you to the world and underlying issues you didn't know existed before (unlike most MMOs spells out everything for you the second you start the game) and you get thrown into having to actually explore places, learn your way around areas and even start seeing the tiny details that made the world of vana`diel seem like an actual living and breathing world.

People who said they played FFXI..did you actually play it? I bet a lot of people who said they did play it still didn't know the moon changed colors with the day or that the rolanberies in rolanberry fields changed colors with the seasons. Though some people hate seeing others enjoy themselves in a game they didn't, and will cite "nostalgia goggles" etc all because they prefer games like this.

[RedAffinity]

I played FFXI from 2006 - 2010 just before level caps were announced.

What I loved most about XI though, was its difficulty, and the time it took to obtain something. That sounds ass backwards, but in reality, when you finally got that accomplishment, it made you so unbelievably happy it's hard to describe that feeling unless you've experienced it.

I think many aspects of XI were too difficult and time consuming, and at times unfair and punishing... but even that made accomplishments that much sweeter.

Lastly, the rarity in obtaining items. Gear ranged from simple crafts, to expensive auction listings, to difficult NM's, to weapons that took over a year to obtain. That range made the game really appealing because I was happy to have worked hard to obtain a rare item that everyone didn't have.

[Gramul]

I played FFXI from 2006 - 2010 just before level caps were announced.

What I loved most about XI though, was its difficulty, and the time it took to obtain something. That sounds ass backwards, but in reality, when you finally got that accomplishment, it made you so unbelievably happy it's hard to describe that feeling unless you've experienced it.

I think many aspects of XI were too difficult and time consuming, and at times unfair and punishing... but even that made accomplishments that much sweeter.

Lastly, the rarity in obtaining items. Gear ranged from simple crafts, to expensive auction listings, to difficult NM's, to weapons that took over a year to obtain. That range made the game really appealing because I was happy to have worked hard to obtain a rare item that everyone didn't have.

What can I say...to make you post more?