Why was FFXI so great?

[Rumpelstiltzkin]

Abyssea was the best thing to happen to FFXI in my opinion it brought life back into the game and I actually saw a lot of people that came back that quit FFXI. Why because gear you got 7 years ago still shouldn't be best in slot. Abyssea gave people a lot to do get new better gear and level up to 99. It was so unlike SE because they usually just gave us sidegrade stuff but these were actual upgrades and new AF3 sets to collect.

Completely disagree, not saying Abyssea or w/e made it bad (I enjoyed Abyssea in some ways), but the whole concept of getting a completely new set every time a new expansion comes along sucks imo, which I really hope FXIV stays away from as much as possible.

For me the best things about XI was a steady 75 cap that didn't make gear obsolete but gave you sidegrades, coupled with the "switch gear in combat" mechanic (Blinking didn't bother me, but I admit it could have been done better).

Also HNMs/NMs and the environments <3. I really liked how the game was made when it came to mechanics because I loved that some HNMs/NMs that shouldn't really be soloable... WERE soloable if you were good enough and had the right gearsets. This added another dimension to the game imo. I think this is linked to the whole 75 cap/sidegrades as well.

[Zumi]

Completely disagree, not saying Abyssea or w/e made it bad (I enjoyed Abyssea in some ways), but the whole concept of getting a completely new set every time a new expansion comes along sucks imo, which I really hope FXIV stays away from as much as possible.

For me the best things about XI was a steady 75 cap that didn't make gear obsolete but gave you sidegrades, coupled with the "switch gear in combat" mechanic (Blinking didn't bother me, but I admit it could have been done better).

Also HNMs/NMs and the environments <3. I really liked how the game was made when it came to mechanics because I loved that some HNMs/NMs that shouldn't really be soloable... WERE soloable if you were good enough and had the right gearsets. This added another dimension to the game imo. I think this is linked to the whole 75 cap/sidegrades as well.

Most people I knew hated the sidegrade nature of gear and were very pleased when abyssea did come out due to the fact there was literally nothing to do pre abyssea having already done everything, already had full salvage sets and done pretty much everything else the game has to offer. I actually saw a lot of people come back for abyssea because it gave them something to do again.

The people who said "screw this abyssea ruined FFXI my gear isn't the best anymore I quit cause I worked 7 years for this gear" were in the minority. I still see FFXI server population get up to 3500 on weekends. Which is pretty high for a 10 year old game.

I really hope FFXIV doesn't go the sidegrade route like FFXI did for so long.