So warning, long post. If you want to skip it, just go to the section marked "Conclusion"
So I started playing FFXI back in late 2004, first semester of my undergrad. It wasn't my first MMO (that was Runescape), nor was it my first computer game. But it was the first Final Fantasy game that I played. I played it for about 3.5 years, then took a few months off for my last semester in college/new job/moving/etc. I then picked it up again, played it for a year, put it down for a few months, then came back one last time. I finally logged off for the last time in summer 2010 (just after the level cap went to 80) When I left, my total /playtime was 7120 hours. About 1000 or so of those probably were bazaaring, but that puts me about 25 hours per week for the time I was actively playing. Which was about right. FFXI was really the only game I played the entire time I was in college.
I didn't quit FFXI because I disliked the game, or because I had completed everything (only got 5 classes to 75, never did lots of endgame stuff, etc.) I just kinda got tired of the game play after a while. There are only so many ways you can kill a goblin. While increasing the level cap to 80 did add new spells/gear etc. It was basically more of the same. Also, many of my friends that I had known for years had left, citing the same repeatedness. So, I figured it was time to move on as well.
So I left FFXI, and tried looking at other MMOs. I tried Eve online, got up to battleships, then quit after 4 months. Same thing with Star Trek Online. The original FFXIV was just unplayable, but I did try again with FFXIV 2.0. Again, I played that game for 4 months, got tired, and left. At a certain point, playing these games felt like a chore just to get that next item that really didn't make the game play any better. It was still dull, just now with bigger numbers.
So, I thought about that for a while, trying to figure out what it is about FFXI that I liked so much, and kept me playing for so long. And I think what it boils down to is the following.
1.FFXI required you to work with other people on a team
2.FFXI had lots of down time for talking
3.FFXI was hard
4.FFXI encouraged open world interaction
To go over those points in detail. #1 (requiring teams): As anybody who played FFXI (back in the day) knows, you really need to team up a lot to play the game. You can do some stuff like crafting/farming. And there are a couple classes that can solo. (Got Bst to 75). And with proper technique, you can make other classes solo also (I got lots of merits soloing on Blu and Blm). But by in large, most leveling, pretty much all missions, and most quests required groups. Everything from your standard XP party, to Coffer keys for AF, to Kazham keys for your first airship ride, to limit breaks, BSNM, KSNM, Nyzul, and so forth.
This provided you not only the chance to group with others towards mutual goals, but also the chance to help out your friends/linkshell mates/random people with getting stuff done. It created friendships, cooperation, and a chance to get to know and help other people.
By comparison, both Eve online, and Star trek online (and probably most other games) allow you to play the game without ever talking to anybody else. FFXIV is a bit better as you need to work with other people on a team for the story missions. But not really. Most of the time, I would pop on my linkshell and say, "hey guys, I need to do Sastasha(or something else), anybody want to help?" To which I would get the response, "Your a PLD, just use the duty finder and you'll have a party in a minute." So I would use the duty finder, join up, and then run the mission. Immediately upon completion, everybody would disband, and as they were all on different servers, I would never hear from, or see them again. It doesn't exactly promote community of friendships.
Everything else in FFXIV, all the side quests, the AF quests, the Job ability quests, was all done solo. And while I don't mind solo activities, it kinda defeats the purpose of an MMO. So I would do my stuff solo, and try to have a conversation on my Linkshell. But inevitably it was talking to people who I never played with.
This brings me to point #2, I couldn't have any real conversations with people. In FFXI, you had a lot of time to talk with other people and get to know them. When you were forming a party in Jueno, you had time to chat while waiting for other members. After the party formed, and you were walking/warking to the camp site, you had time to chat. In between pulls when the party was resting for MP, you had time to chat. Even while in battle, you had time to chat. Playing as a Rdm, I still had about 8 seconds between Refreshes to type out a sentence. Even meriting on my bard, which was really busy, I could still keep at least one conversation going. If playing a less active class (Warrior for example), I could easily keep several conversations going with the party, friend on /tell, and linkshell.
I haven't really found another game to do that in. Eve online is slow enough to allow you to talk, and you could always talk in FFXIV when not in a dungeon, but that isn't much better than using ICQ. The reason to play MMO is to have something to chat about, to allow for natural opportunities to get to know each other. To form friendships while playing the game together. To cooperatively work out skill chains/positioning/etc. I found there to be a big difference between talking about something with a guy in my Linkshell, whom I never played with, vs. talking to a guy who is in the party with me. Or talking to linkshell friends about the Nyzul Isle run we did/are going to do later (because when you don't have a duty finder, you tend to form statics).
Compare that to FFXIV, and you don't get the chance to talk while playing with anybody. When you join a duty mission, you are immediately put on the clock. I have tried to have a conversation with people, and the response is usually along the lines of, 'hurry up', 'why are you talking, we need to kill this guy', and just plain silence. Mostly because the other players know that in 1 hour, the instance will be over, and we will never see each other again. Also, the rare time I did find a guy to talk to, I never had the chance. When you are on a 2.5 second timer, that doesn't give you time to type out a sentence. And you basically run from mob to mob, without any breaks. The pace doesn't give you any time to talk. And also, for whatever reason, you can't even use /tell when in a dungeon, just to make sure that you can't be distracted by communicating with other people.
Basically, as far as FFXIV goes, I might as well have been playing a single player game. If you replaced the other people in my party with an AI that just follows me around and targets what I do, or cures me when I am low on HP, I would not be able to tell the difference between that an another person. There was no conversation, so I wouldn't be able to tell. If you hooked up the game to an Instant message program so that I could talk to my Linkshell mates who were also playing single player games, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. In fact, I am suspicious that might actually be what is going on.
While I like the ability to find other people quickly with the duty finder (as opposed to shouting in Jueno and hoping), this automatic cross server teaming, with no chance or time to get to know eachother, or ever see eachother again, doesn't exactly lead to any sense of team work, cooperation, or mutual accomplishment.
Which leads me to point #3, the ease of most MMOs leading to a lacking sense of accomplishment. In FFXI, I played the game for about 200ish hours total before my Paladin and Goldsmith both got to max rank. In addition to that, I had several other classes ranked up there as well. And I wasn't rushing it either. I did every side quest I could find, explored all the maps to 100%, did my hunting log, ran the dungeons several times each, never joined a FATE party (I disliked those). And I still got max rank very quickly. It would have taken probably less than a week if I didn't level up crafting, or worked mostly with FATEs. It took me longer to complete the CoP missions than it would take to get all my classes in FFXIV to max rank.
And it isn't just time taken, it is the challenge involved. Getting your AF in FFXI was a major undertaking. Several coffer parties, a very hard Notorius monster, usually crawling through a dungeon maze with a party of your friends, etc. You would be lucky to get the entire set in a weeks time. In FFXIV, it is literally just killing a few Easy prey, and opening a chest. It took me less than an hour, solo. And not only that, it is a lot of the little stuff. Like Levequests. You get a marker on your map where to go, you show up and the enemies are marked for easy reference. And when done you get teleported back to where you started. It is like the game is designed for 13 year olds with ADHD. Other MMOs that I played are similar. Automatically warping to content so you don't have to walk. Click here to win. Warp back, level up. And while your at it, here is the new shiny armor you want so you don't even have to bother crafting or farming to get it.
Although even that seems to be too hard for many players. I would often run into people with gear 20 levels below what it should be because they spammed fates to get ahead instead of doing the quests for gear. And the sad part is that it didn't matter. Who cares if your armor is 20 levels low, the game is so simple and easy that its good enough.
Stuff like 'relic gear' AF2, and other such goodies in FFXI represented a significant amount of effort, and when you walked around with your HQ staves, or other such luxuries, you had a real sense of accomplishment. In FFXIV and other MMOs you can get the best gear available with a few days worth of questing. And it is only the best gear available for all of 2 months until the next patch comes along and obsoletes everything your wearing, leaving all your work for nothing.
When getting all the exp and all the shinnies takes so little time, and lasts for such a short duration before being overshadowed, it doesn't really give you a sense of accomplishment.
And lastly, the open world interaction. There were many problems with having everything open world without instancing. For example showing up to a camp site only to find it is full. Or competing over HNM where the challenge was more to claim them than to defeat them. And I think games that rely heavily on instancing (which is pretty much all MMO today, including FFXIV) does have some benefits. I think they work well for HNM fights (much like KSNM or BSNM fights in FFXI). But they tend to go a bit too far with it as I hardly ever see anybody when going through the wilderness, with the exception of starter zones or maybe the odd FATE party running through.
Going to a camp site, and seeing other people in other parties was part of the game that made it feel like you were playing an MMO. Going out to solo on my BST, and finding another player at the camp made it seem like I wasn't just playing solo. I would get the chance to meet, and talk with, and team with other people who were doing the same thing.
And there are ways to avoid overcamping. Spawn rates dependent on how many people in the area, or how fast the mobs are getting killed (Like how FFXIV does it). And of course instancing or making the spawn triggered for HNM. But to basically remove everything of any value from the open world and put EVERYTHING into instancing removes part of that communal experience of seeing other people play the game with you.
In Conclusion
All that said, have any of you found a new MMO which has some of the old magic of FFXI? I don't know if they still make those anymore. It really only appeals to a very patient audience, and that's why FFXI never got to the same numbers of subscribers as FFXIV or other MMOs. But the players like me who enjoyed the challenge played for years.
I can't seem to find another MMO that isn't chasing the lowest common denominator player who wants an easy game with micro transactions.