Do people really favor an FFXI grindfest format?

[Luhy]

People preferred being able to choose various camps, rather than being forced to do the same 8 leves and cancelling them no matter what job and no matter what rank. Whatever the best option is for XP/SP in an MMO is what people will do. Sure, it's their choice, but 40k/hr leves beats 8-10k/hr PTs any day, so that's what people do unless the game gives them a reason to do differently.

[darkstarpoet1]

All this game is and has been is a grindfest. Atleast in FFXI it was fun an engaging, an you actually felt a sense of acomplishment from that grinding you did. I played FFXI for 4 years enjoyed it very much. I can't play this for more than half hour to an hour tops. Leve system from the get go was a horrible idea IMO. When game has nothing to offer but grinding why would you ever limit that, an limit the main sources to grind with? Horrible. Games free to play, only reason it stays installed on my PC.

but my biggest question is was the reason you enjoyed the grind in xi more enjoyable because you enjoyed killing the same mob over and over or because it led you to more content and events? to me the reason people enjoyed grinding in xi wasn't the grind itself, but knowing something fun was right around the corner. you grinded to get the airship passes, chocobos, additional classes. these were incentives that made the grind enjoyable.

this to me is the biggest issue the game has at this point. whether we grind xi style or xiv style there is still nothing at this point to look forward to along the way. once we actually get our class up there is nothing there so we have nothing to look forward to on the next class and so on. this game doesn't feel grindy because of the leves, but because no matter what we accomplish while grinding there is absolutely no content to make the grind enjoyable.

[zaviermhigo]

The mobs were more interesting and you had to use tactics to kill them even at lower levels. Its not "killing the same mobs over and over again" when if one person wasn't on their shit a lot of the times you'd die or your party would wipe. FFXIV is killing the same mobs over and over and over again with a zerg mentality behind it. There's no strategy in this game until at least r30ish, and even then I still had more strategy partying at level 10 in valkrum dunes. I base my fun on how much I am physically doing and how much of what I'm doing matters. In XI i did a lot and it all mattered as a rdm. As a thm in a party situation in XIV half of what I do doesn't effing matter because the mob is dead. I have to always rock four man parties just to create that challenge for myself. If they beef up mobs I might even try to shout /recruit for two or so more people.

[Meph]

For me grinding in XI was fun because it wasnt "kill the same mob over and over" it felt like i'm involved in a fight where i can test and improve my skills and teamplay and communicate with others. XIV's leves are nothing more than boring the same mobs over and over again, nothing challanging, always the same camps. In XI you also discovered the world during the progress of your character by choosing your camps to grind. I loved that

[Rinsui]

but my biggest question is was the reason you enjoyed the grind in xi more enjoyable because you enjoyed killing the same mob over and over or because it led you to more content and events? to me the reason people enjoyed grinding in xi wasn't the grind itself, but knowing something fun was right around the corner. you grinded to get the airship passes, chocobos, additional classes. these were incentives that made the grind enjoyable.

To answer your question: No, I don't think people prefer FFXI party play only because the rewards for leveling were bigger. That would not make the grinding itself in any way more enjoyable. I truly enjoyed the party play where everyone had a meaningful, unique, important role in FFXI. "Grinding" was enjoyable in itself in that game. There lies the true difference.

P.S.: It also doesn't help that nobody cares whether he dies in 14, because all it does is to give you a 3 minute break to make some coffee. But I'm well aware that I'm in the minority with that opinion.

[zaviermhigo]

For me grinding in XI was fun because it wasnt "kill the same mob over and over" it felt like i'm involved in a fight where i can test and improve my skills and teamplay and communicate with others. XIV's leves are nothing more than boring the same mobs over and over again, nothing challanging, always the same camps. In XI you also discovered the world during the progress of your character by choosing your camps to grind. I loved that

We pretty much said the same thing nice, we must of been equally offended by comparing xi to xiv and then saying "killing the same mobs over and over again is XI" lol

[darkstarpoet1]

To answer your question: No, I don't think people prefer FFXI party play only because the rewards for leveling were bigger. That would not make the grinding itself in any way more enjoyable. I truly enjoyed the party play where everyone had a meaningful, unique, important role in FFXI. "Grinding" was enjoyable in itself in that game. There lies the true difference.

P.S.: It also doesn't help that nobody cares whether he dies in 14, because all it does is to give you a 3 minute break to make some coffee. But I'm well aware that I'm in the minority with that opinion.

i wasn't referring to bigger rewards. i stated more. in xi every few levels you had new quests and other things that were unlocked. this game from 1-50 there is nothing you really open up as you advance so it is nothing but one big grind from start til end. all i was saying is that to many it was i can't wait til i get to 10 for this or 20 for that.

in here the only thing you say is every few levels yay i got another ability or omg time to deal with another class quest. i know many that will not even do the first quest until they have 5 or 6 at once to do so they can "waste" their day doing it.

in xi it seems the quests you unlocked while grinding up were what made grinding so enjoyable. you could see the next big thing coming up in only a few levels. oh i am almost there. YAY I REACHED IT! sadly, there is no feeling like that in xiv as of yet.

We pretty much said the same thing nice, we must of been equally offended by comparing xi to xiv and then saying "killing the same mobs over and over again is XI" lol

i'm sorry if you took offense. i was just pointing out that any form of grinding and killing mobs repeatedly is boring after a while. xi just did a better job of covering the boring parts with tons of things to do.

[Physic]

far as strategy and whatnot, this game has its fair share, but the mob difficulty is a bit off, leves is part of the problem, because monsters in leves are easier than outside, (less hp), most people dont use regimens in non boss combat.

Game will be better with multi claims, overworld sp boosts etc. But they still need content to make the grind worthwhile.

[Nero]

People preferred being able to choose various camps, rather than being forced to do the same 8 leves and cancelling them no matter what job and no matter what rank. Whatever the best option is for XP/SP in an MMO is what people will do. Sure, it's their choice, but 40k/hr leves beats 8-10k/hr PTs any day, so that's what people do unless the game gives them a reason to do differently.

i lol'd. You obviously didnt play FFXIV. There are tons of various camps with SP from 20k up to 50k at almost every levelrange. All you need to do is leave the City you are sitting in, stop doing the same 3 leves over and over again and start exploring the Areas. Seriously.. you and all those other people who didnt play the Game needs to stop talking. Because of that, the game looks a totally wrong way to people which want to try it. Its almost that bad as those Reviews which were made 1 week after Release. Its giving the wrong Ideas about the Game.

So either you should go play it actually, or stop talking about Stuff you have obviously no clue of.

[Rinsui]

i'm sorry if you took offense. i was just pointing out that any form of grinding and killing mobs repeatedly is boring after a while. xi just did a better job of covering the boring parts with tons of things to do.

Well... no. That's what I was trying to tell you. For me, party play in FFXIV was fun *by itself*. I liked to play in a party. I liked the activity for it's own sake. The fact that I would gain a level or fulfill the requirements of a quest at the end of the day may have been the original incentive, but the constant thrill of coordinating with your group to bring down dangerous enemies far beyond your own level and the associated constant threat of death was what ultimately made it a pleasant experience.

Its almost that bad as those Reviews which were made 1 week after Release. Its giving the wrong Ideas about the Game.

?
Like those which claimed there were no auction houses or chocobos? Or more like those which claimed the UI was laggy and unintuitive?