
Originally Posted by
DarthTaru
First of all let me say that it brings me a certain joy to hear that so many XI veterans enjoyed reading my opening post. I certainly enjoyed writing it because to do so I got to reflect back on it.
It goes without saying that XI veterans, whether hardcore Tiamat Trouncers or casual socialites, seem to have a sort of bond between them that I do not see in other MMOs. It was such an amazing odyssey from beginning to end, defined mostly by the memory of our friends. "Community" defines us, to be sure.
That is likely why it's so difficult to listen to the WoW invasion force swarm the FFXIV forums and tell us what does and does not make a great game. We know what makes a great game. We've played one. It was called Final Fantasy XI.
I'm reading through all of these posts that claim a penalty for death adds nothing to the game; that it only hinders your progression and wastes your time. Well, quite honestly, I don't know what it is you get out of MMO's. I don't know what MMO's you've played (although I have a few good guesses!) and I don't really care.
What I do know, is that in Final Fantasy XI, when making a desperate escape from a monster above and beyond our capabilities, I sincerely appreciated the efforts of, say, the Paladin, who provoked the mob of his fleeing comrades and perhaps even died to see that the rest of us survived. Under your system, that doesn't impress me in the slightest.
One needs only visit youtube to see the difference in mentality. In every World of Warcraft remembrance movie i've ever seen, it was nothing but a bunch of CS's, snapshots, and raid zergs, while in the Final Fantasy tributes (which seem to vastly outnumber the WoW) it is a montage of friends.
As for hiding from a lvl 70 NM Pirate and his crew of lvl 40 pirates... Ya, I was a level 10.
Even Gandalf the Grey knew it was time to run when the Balrog made his grand appearance. The book and movie would have been pretty lame if Frodo just chopped through everything he encountered. But that goes back to what I said Final Fantasy was about, and that's the journey. I didn't hide from the pirates forever.
Later on, when my friend wanted a drop from the NM, Captain, they seemed to hide from me.