S ranks worse than Odin was.... Did they learn nothing?

[Malamasala]

The reason NMs worked in FFXI is because they dropped specific items, not a currency every job used for end-game gear. That is the biggest oversight they made with the system.

High level NMs never worked out, because they were too overcamped and had too bad drop rates. The NMs that did work out well, where those who dropped low level stuff so you didn't need them at endgame but if you felt like leveling a new job you could get them to speed up the process slightly. Leaping Lizzy, Dune Empereror or whatever it was called etc.

Sure, it barely worked with limited drops like Yinyang robe, but that one was still overcamped by everyone with 75 SMN or intending to level SMN for 6+ months after release. I was maining SMN and played 1 year before I got the robe due to the high camp rate.

[Duelle]

High level NMs never worked out, because they were too overcamped and had too bad drop rates. The NMs that did work out well, where those who dropped low level stuff so you didn't need them at endgame but if you felt like leveling a new job you could get them to speed up the process slightly. Leaping Lizzy, Valkurm Empereror or whatever it was called etc.

This, for the most past. NM's were designed as something to run into, in a game that was intentionally designed to take a lot of time to level. The reason the NMs' value skyrocketed is because people wanted to grind exp as fast as possible, and certain pieces of gear dropped by NMs offered more stats than anything else that player would see for a long time and in turn facilitated the rat race the players turned leveling into. Consider that most of the gear in FFXI had either useless elemental resistances or no stats at all before the 30's.

This said: no, NMs didn't work in FFXI. Abyssea boss mobs worked but that was due to them circumventing the idea behind NMs in the first place.