question for current ffxi players

[Shuon]

I ended up on Asura (debating between bahamut and Asura but went Asura)!

Yes now that I'm in it's much clearer! Got all my npc and things are smooth as hot knife through butter.

Spent a fair bit of time just listening to music and it's fantastic! It's adventures all over again without the waiting time for party.

Just need to gear up a little because I'm still in starting gear and I have no gils x.x

[Talraen]

Just need to gear up a little because I'm still in starting gear and I have no gils x.x

Someone mentioned this above, but the easiest way to make quick cash these days is to buy items with Sparks of Eminence, then sell them to NPCs. Every piece of gear below level 99 sells at the same rate, approximately 10 gil for every spark of cost. As mentioned, the Acheron Shield is the most expensive item and therefore the quickest way to get money, but any item will do (and selling the gear you get with sparks once you're done with it also works, of course!).

[Skivvy]

I ended up on Asura (debating between bahamut and Asura but went Asura)!

Yes now that I'm in it's much clearer! Got all my npc and things are smooth as hot knife through butter.

Spent a fair bit of time just listening to music and it's fantastic! It's adventures all over again without the waiting time for party.

Just need to gear up a little because I'm still in starting gear and I have no gils x.x

Welcome to Asura (that's my server as well)! Also, it's the unofficial Reddit server, so it's one of the more populated ones still. If you don't currently read the XI subreddit, I'd recommend taking a peek over there. It's easy to forget how massive and intricate XI is. Throw in all the changes and it can be a bit overwhelming. They're a helpful bunch over there

I have questions too.

From all I've heard, FFXI is what I wanted from a online FF and that FFXIV could not deliver.

How long until FFXI is closed and I can't play anymore, if I begin today?
Will I be able to experience the game fully with that time?

There's no way to tell, but I think XI servers are going to still be up for a long while. They did just wrap up the end of their official story, but I don't see them closing up shop anytime soon.

I don't think you'd have much trouble experiencing the game. If you are brand new to XI, it may be a little rough when you first land. You literally get dropped into town, with a voucher for 50g. No real instruction, no !'s all over the place to indicate where quests are, and you may question your sanity for deciding to pick up the game at all. lol. But I do think you'd enjoy it once you start to explore and get your feet wet. Graphics are obviously outdated, but it has a great story, and there is an amazing depth to it that XIV will never have.

[JonLuso]

I don't think you'd have much trouble experiencing the game. If you are brand new to XI, it may be a little rough when you first land. You literally get dropped into town, with a voucher for 50g. No real instruction, no !'s all over the place to indicate where quests are, and you may question your sanity for deciding to pick up the game at all. lol. But I do think you'd enjoy it once you start to explore and get your feet wet. Graphics are obviously outdated, but it has a great story, and there is an amazing depth to it that XIV will never have.

They've introduced a lot of NPCs in the starting cities that are standing basically where you first spawn into the game. Their names are very straight-forward: they're there to guide you and explain various things about the nature of the game. For instance, the Linkshell Concierge explains everything LS's while the starting NPC that you give the voucher to has new/replaced dialogue and options that explain how to play the game, not to mention a mini-tutorial.

The UI has seen much refinement, as well, to try and consolidate various items, such as Currencies, gear sets and macro sets, chat settings and communication settings.

They even have updated the Help Desk with information on almost everything you could possibly find in the game with screenshot guides and requirements displayed at the top (nearly everything; Limbus and other things like Fame are left out, but they're there for players to discern via quests).

SE was trying to make the game more casual-friendly and user-accessible; these small but needed touches are more than welcomed.