Stop Raising Item Level and build foundation with Horizontal Progression first

[Dwill]

I am unfamiliar with FFXI's expansions, did it go from Vertical to Horizontal or Horizontal to Vertical?

FFXI was horizontal for the longest time. If my memory serves me right (anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on the timeline), it was at level 75 cap from 2002-2010 until they released Abyssea and raised the level cap.

[Gardes]

FFXI was horizontal for the longest time. If my memory serves me right (anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on the timeline), it was at level 75 cap from 2002-2010 until they released Abyssea and raised the level cap.

Yeah. FFXI released with the 1st expansion included in NA with the lvl 75 cap (JP launched earlier with 50). Then the 2nd expansion came out and the story content in that expansion was tough and arduous but iirc rewarded the players who completed it with some of the best accessories in the game that most new accs still can't beat years later. Players who couldnt get that accessory (I think it was a ring) would settle for alternatives but would still try to get that 2nd expansion content done to get that ring if they can. Hell, I came back to FFXI during abyssea while waiting for the jobs patch in FFXIV 1.x and got to lvl 95 and quickly got the hand out abyssea gear but the friend I played with would go do the COP content (nerfed as it was) to go get that ring (and enjoy the story). Sure, we experienced it the same way a new player would experience hard mode primals in ffxiv now because of how abyssea made everything before it obsolete (like what FFXIV is trying to do to itself now) but before that, I'm sure it would have been way less of a walk in the park.