To those who played FF11...

[Tanathya]

to those who play ffxi please don't bring ffxi ideal in the game let ffxiv stand on it own, this was common remind for us who face 2.0

This game never stood on its own, it's a continuous fan-service lobby with barely any identity. The game's got a good base to shine, but it isn't trying to build itself off that base, but rather move around it and making sure it doesn't stray away, and the result is a stale content cycle where you can pretty much predict what they're gonna add, with different QoL adjustments here and there. Even more so, they've been adding less dungeons than before, and considering that's the most populated type of content, that's not so good of an idea. They get massively lost when they try something new (looking at you, Diadems), and then go back to their safe zone.

[LineageRazor]

FFXI presented a more immersive world, with inconveniences such as having to wait for the right day or time to do things, large areas and difficulty in traveling long distances, and areas that are dangerous and full of deadly enemies. NPCs had their own schedules which did not always suit the player (it doesn't matter how much you need that Iron Ore; by golly, if it's Watersday, we're taking the day off, dammit!). Stats of all kinds mattered to every player, often in surprising ways, such as Vitality's contribution to healing spells; gearing up was a balance, and not simply a matter of max out stat X to win. By comparison, FFXIV is theme park, lots of colorful attractions but no real danger, NPCs bend over backwards to be of service to you, and everyone worships you like you're some kind of Christ figure (even your enemies, much of the time). Stats are a joke, and could easily be removed altogether.

By the same token, FFXIV is a better GAME. It's more fun to play, because these inconveniences have been curbed. The complication has been boiled away, leaving much less between you and the gameplay.

I don't think I'll ever truly feel like part of the world like I did in FFXI, however. Playing FFXIV is more like watching a movie than playing a role.

[MrKusakabe]

The reason the world was "dangerous" was because you were required to party for the majority of your time logged into the game. As a result, what job and subjob combination you played and how you played them was based entirely on the preference of the community, leaving some jobs in the dust altogether.

I have not played XI because my parents were strict with the internet when I was a kid, but this is a problem I faced in GW2 a bit (but that game let you do the vast majority by yourself).
The reason why I quote that part is - way before I even knew what these comics were about, the creator of the (then) famous "video game cats" had a sub-comic called "Adventure Log" going on, basically having one "episode" with the problem you mention:

[Amaya-Asha]

I miss how Bard and Ranger where 2 different jobs.. If someone already said this well I had to say it for myself. ff11 Bard was my favorite support job oh and Redmage too. I agree with a lot what was already said about world community danger story etc. Loved all the little details like missing airship rides see people shouting nooooo!!! Granted I don't have the time to ever play a game like that now. When I look back at the world ffxi Vana'dial it was so alive and grand. Forgot to say I liked how the questing system was you really had to work hard to unlock a quest even small quest could turn out to be very deep and meaningful side quest.

Side note I would want my Opo-opo crown, Lilac-corsage, and Opaline dress set back..just saying

[Kyri]

Oh god so much.. all if it listed here but when i get gear here im like "Thats cool" or "yay glamour". When I got my RDM af2 hat i /cried/. like..not only wearing it was epic the gears appreciation and use didnt just go away. I can log on today and still sell my blm boots for over 10 mil and this is YEARS later. IT was hard sure, but you took so much more appreciation for it

[Wrothgar77]

Lots of things, as already been very well said.

I miss the dangerous world, the TRUE sense of adventure and discovery. I miss the transportation (airships, boat, kraken, pirates!) so good. I miss grouping to level, and watching as high level groups would pass us lowbies, on to the deeper parts of a castle or something I was in, where I was only on the outer steps or just inside. I got to think "That will be ME someday!" and someday, it was.

[Vhailor]

FFXI's designed really catered to people who had the time and the desire to eat, breathe, and sleep a single MMORPG as their sole means of entertainment for months/years at a time. As a result, the game's world had more depth, was more involved, simply leveling up let alone unlocking new jobs and completing quests all felt like real accomplishments. But if you didn't have the time, or you were someone who liked switching between a variety of games, you'd quickly find yourself left behind and constantly trying to find a new group of players to connect with each time you came back.

FFXIV's progress, in comparison, feels like it has far less impact because it's possible to solo most of it, and finding a party has been simplified into the duty finder system. Because it's far less challenging to actually find a group to play with, each step is far less memorable, but at the same time it makes the game far more accessible to people who aren't looking to devote their heart and soul into a single game.

I'm actually not so sure I agree with this. Because progress was slower, and itemization was horizontal, it was quite difficult to actually be truly left behind. I know I took regular breaks from my end-game LS for months at a time, but when I popped back in, guess what? They were doing the same runs as before - just with different people needing the loot. I always found it quite easy to slip back into things, particularly since FFXI offered far more flexible group sizes.

In contrast, FFXIV's rigid construction of end-game content and rapid pace of itemization make breaks quite difficult. If I quit FFXIV for six months, I'm going to (a) lose my house; (b) no longer be sufficiently geared for Savage / Ultimate content; (c) no longer be familiar with the mechanics in the current batch of Trials and Raids; and (d) likely find my spot filled by someone else if I happened to be part of a static group. That's a pretty stiff penalty for taking a break, much stiffer than anything I can recall in FFXI.

I'd also point out that FFXIV's progress is less memorable for a variety of reasons. Part of that is the solo'ability, and simplified grouping, but the game is overall just too convenient for its own good. The impact of travel conveniences alone is mind-boggling: for virtually no money whatsoever, you can get to literally any point of the world within five minutes. That is insane - and it reduces the scope of Eorzea in a way that never happened with Vana'diel. Then there's the meaningless and trivially easy gear repairs; the easy availability of Gil; the incredibly solid gear gifted to you simply for progressing in the MSQ; the smooth as silk path to 70 wherein you don't have to grind for XP at all - just complete quests. Even crafting, which is an area of FFXIV I well and truly love, is too easy: I can HQ any recipe below 65ish with virtually no effort and no HQ ingredients, and all but a handful of ingredients are trivially easy to acquire, in bulk, within a few days.

All that convenience has a cost.

This game never stood on its own, it's a continuous fan-service lobby with barely any identity. The game's got a good base to shine, but it isn't trying to build itself off that base, but rather move around it and making sure it doesn't stray away, and the result is a stale content cycle where you can pretty much predict what they're gonna add, with different QoL adjustments here and there. Even more so, they've been adding less dungeons than before, and considering that's the most populated type of content, that's not so good of an idea. They get massively lost when they try something new (looking at you, Diadems), and then go back to their safe zone.

Very very much this. I mean, FFXIV event kept the same races, roughly the same city-state theming, dozens of the same models (many of which continue to be introduced today, like Antlions in Stormblood)... it never stood on its own. I will say that XIV 1.0 had its own identity, but it was a bad one.

[Stanelis]

I have not played XI because my parents were strict with the internet when I was a kid, but this is a problem I faced in GW2 a bit (but that game let you do the vast majority by yourself).
The reason why I quote that part is - way before I even knew what these comics were about, the creator of the (then) famous "video game cats" had a sub-comic called "Adventure Log" going on, basically having one "episode" with the problem you mention:

Most jobs could be used in parties, especially the thf. In 2006 every balanced group (typical SC->MB party) wanted a THF for enmity management and to skillchain.

The only jobs that used to have trouble finding groups were BST and PUP. So I m afraid your comic isn't really relevant. What made grouping difficult is that before level sync every member of the group had to be close in level.

[Skivvy]

Most jobs could be used in parties, especially the thf. In 2006 every balanced group (typical SC->MB party) wanted a THF for enmity management and to skillchain.

The only jobs that used to have trouble finding groups were BST and PUP. So I m afraid your comic isn't really relevant. What made grouping difficult is that before level sync every member of the group had to be close in level.

As much as I'd love to have nothing bad to say about XI, I very much relate to that comic.

I started XI in 2006, and my first job was a Monk. I was too late for the KRT party craze, and I remember many, many times where I'd be flagged for 2-3 hours without a single invite. I did not like making my own parties as I was never good with finding camps/knowing the right mobs, so wait I did. Took me over a year to get my MNK to 75.

At some point I had started a 2nd character on another account, and I opted for a WHM. Party invites were so damn fast, and I would get blind invites even when I wasn't flagged up.

[Melondra]

yea Loved Final Fantasy XI Was on the Titan Server before the merge,then it became Phoenix. Charter was Arise Lvl 70 Whm. Was mostly around two other players, Muun-Shadow and Drizzle-Dudden So if you were ever on titan before the merge you know who these people were and you knew me also very well, did a lot of tele-Taxi in Jueno also.