Quote Originally Posted by Preypacer View Post
Here's the thing about those "extremes" though... you can't place XI in the same category as other MMORPGs.

Why?

Well, for one, character development in XI is/was much more multi-dimensional than it is in many other MMOs - especially those from the WoW mold.

Second, there were myriad goals along the way that players were working on, and each of those goals took time. In many
So.. the point is.. Though it could be said that XI has/had a very slow leveling curve... That time was very full with a large variety of content.It wasn't the hollow/pointless "grind" many people complain of in other MMOs. Of course, there are those who did nothing but grind in XI and would say it was... but they limited themselves, no one did it to them.
People were always working on something, working toward some goal, striving toward some milestone that either the game presented, or they'd set for them self.
The simple fact is that character progression, regardless of depth, is the most fundamental part of an MMO. Everything in FFXI was tied to leveling just as everything in a game like World of Warcraft is tied to it. Your goals in FFXI may have been much broader and varied, but they still revolved around your level. The goals and progression are only different in scope.