finalfantasy11: Hiyo! :D This is my first post here so b

Lindsay (

_herzeleid) wrote in

finalfantasy11,
@ 2008-05-10 20:44:00

Current mood:	curious
Current music:	E Nomine - Schwarze Sonne

Hiyo! :D This is my first post here so be gentle. :P

I'm a former FFXI-addict. I had a 75 black mage back in the day, and I stopped playing about 2 years ago. With the recent addition of the new expansion pack, my interest has been piqued to rejoin. I mainly miss the community, as the MMO I play now is WoW. While I have a nice guild, the community isn't as strong as I remember from FFXI.

So! I have a few questions before I plunk down some monies on this.

First: have they made it any easier to solo?

Second: given the age of the game, is it hard for someone new to find parties and level in the lower end areas?

Third: are the content and jobs added with the two newest expansions really all that great?

Finally: are the new missions added as freakishly impossible as the Promyvions? *seethe*

Thank you for any information. :D

.Lindsay.

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kamaliitaru
2008-05-11 02:39 am UTC (link)

Hopefully I can answer your questions:

1. I think they have made it easier to solo, or gain xp solo. You can campaign, which, while doesn't earn you tons of xp, its a decent way to pass the time. Think of campaign like beseiged, but with greater frequency through out the "past" in several different areas. I haven't really gotten into the expansion much, but I know people that level from 60-75 in campaign battles only.

You can solo very well on BLM nowadays, especially in specific TOAU areas. There have been some changes to signet that make it easier to solo in older areas as well, but it really depends on the skill of the player on that one.

2. It depends on your timing, and the server. Sometimes I have had horrible luck finding a lower level party, and solo, other times, I don't. Weekends its not difficult to find a party, for the most part, but there still seems to be the lack of tank/healer/refresher at specific levels. The level depends on the above mention things, but still...

3. It depends on perspective. They added a lot to the game, but have yet to be horribly useful to endgame (at least for dancer). In my opinion, SCH will take quite a while for people to figure out, and is only as good as the person pushing the buttons. Read kanikan's LJ on his scholar for more information on SCH...but DNC...my friends think it hax for subjob for soloing at higher levels (he's 75NIN MNK, and really likes DNC sub for both soloing). In my opinion, DNC is extremely limited in endgame, since it needs TP to do any moves. However, that is just my opinion.

Missions are hella-easy as far as I'm concerned. The most difficult of some of them (at least TOAU later ones), is getting people to help. With the exception of the last two toau BC's, the rest are solo/duo/trioable if you know what you are doing, and are a skilled player.

The WoTG missions that I have done are solo/duoable, or cutscenes to this point. It seems like WoTG was created to give more solo-able content to players, with option of partying, etc.

If you did promy long ago, you would be shocked at how much easier it has become...you even get xp now for finishing each BC...

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	jess3zor 2008-05-11 02:43 am UTC (link)
	@the WoTG mission answer: Yeah its true. But alas, its still extremely earlier in the story or development of this expansion, so theres no telling which direction it could go in terms of being more solo or party oriented. (Reply to this)(Parent)

jess3zor
2008-05-11 02:39 am UTC (link)

in order:

1. Yes, it is easier to solo in many ways. In fact, a large majority of people solo through the lower lvls or "dune lvls"..Which leads into the next question...

2. It is more difficult to get parties in lower level areas, as for actually leveling it is easier since they released a somewhat variety of EXP+ rings. But yeah, Theres not a flood of low level parties in the dunes like in the past, hence the reason a large amount of people end up soloing.

3. It is a matter of opinion. You wouldn't be able to experience a lot of any of the newest expansions until around lvl 50+ I'd say. But its pretty good, campaign is a good way to get exp and some decent "free" gear. Its also fun. Same with most other stuff. ToA is tougher and rather endgame directed given the new battle fields or "instances". Also very fun though.

4. The new missions are cake compared to what CoP >>USED<< to be. Nowadays, they have dumbed down the CoP battles significantly to the point where you don't lose exp in the BCs anymore among other things. The ToA missions are pretty fun, and easy, with the exception of a few.

Thats all I have to say.

(Reply to this)

	eaglestrike 2008-05-11 03:59 am UTC (link)
	Honestly...the community in FFXI isn't much better than WoW's. Maybe it used to be better, but I think most of the people who made you have that idea of the FFXI community have either quit the game or they hide in their linkshells because of bad experiences with others. (Reply to this)

	eticket 2008-05-11 04:53 am UTC (link)
	1) for the most part 2) sometimes 3) yes 4) not even close (Reply to this)

ac9dfe7fd
2008-05-11 05:54 am UTC (link)

I agree with kamaliitaru.

I will add my perspective instead of rehashing what kamaliitaru said.

I started playing when the PS2 version hit NA. As I remember those days, the older level players wouldn't help the new NA (USA) players. Basically, they ignored us or simply said they didn't speak English.

I'm not sure but always suspected they felt we should learn the game as they did - without help (e.g. because when they started there weren't any other players).

I've noticed five differences over the past 4 years:

There are tons lots of level 75 English speaking players now. Many, like myself, have multiple level 75 jobs and are willing to help out the new player. We won't do the work for you but we'll make life easier and the game more enjoyable.
SE made the game easier with the last two expansions. I'm not complaining! I really enjoy having independence to go out and adventure on my own. Some (NOT all of them) of them are:
- In the FFXI, ZM, and CoP areas you case rest without losing TP
- Rings exist that will apply a multiplier to your XP. Basically, you get free XP. Some of the rings give as much as an additional 100% (typically you get 50%).
- You can get an XP bonus simply by having a sanction
- Latent and Hidden Effects can give you Regen, Refresh, longer food time, or a combination of these effects via Past/Present Sanctions
- More XP for parties ranging from 2 to 4-5 characters
- More ways to get around faster, such as your own chocobo, outpost warps (now at lower levels), city to city teleport/warps, etc.
The economy is very different as price are stable. I'm not sure if we're in a depression, a recession, or simply where we should be.
You have more things to do that have nothing to do with "kill the monster" or make gil. Examples are:
- Fight other players
- Raise your own chocobo
- Race your chocobo
- Have monsters fight each other for your enjoyment via an image capture feature
- Go to the chocobo races without your own chocobo
Players with multiple 75 jobs find it is easier to solo certain NM, do quests, farm, do missions, etc.

I admit I'm bias and hope you'll rejoin FFXI. Honestly, for me, what makes the game great are the other players and the friendships that can develop.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

citizenbleys
2008-05-11 07:56 am UTC (link)

++

I couldn't agree more.

Campaign also makes a huge difference. It doesn't take long to get sick of campaign battles, but even campaign ops makes a big difference. Hard to find parties pre-20? WotG to the rescue. On my main character (Reynard), I make over 2k exp per week on my low-level jobs by doing Campaign Ops--but that's with a Steelknight Emblem, which takes a while to get. That 2k does not count dragon chronicles (which can now be done solo once per week by racing chocobos between Sandy and Asstok) and Miratete's Memoirs (Me and a buddy do CN escort every week with no difficulties.) I also have a second character (highest job presently 57) who has only received one promotion--but that still enables me to get 140 free exp per day by trading stacks of crystals. (You can only accumulate 7 op credits, so you must spend them at least once per week). All this is exp you can get without ever fighting anything, even stark naked.

Also as mentioned, via Campaign Battles, you can go all the way from 60-75, but be warned--it's dull, slow, and not much fun, especially after the initial rush wears off. If you have a high-invite job, like Samurai or Warrior, put your flag up. It's a godsend for commonly-overlooked jobs like THF and DRG, though.

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