Motivation to PlayFollow

My general motivator is just knowing I have something I can do even if I'm just logging in for 30m or so. So, while XI allows that to a degree, it's not what I'd call the most time efficient way of progressing. You just really need a stable core of friends to chip deeper into the i119 tier and master a given job if you haven't already. Downside is that's really difficult to do if you're on one of the less active servers.

Would really hope they revisit the idea of mergers soon, but also the transfer fee. Eliminate the latter and people would be better poised to find that group that works for them. Additionally, if one of your old friends does come back, it be easier for them to rejoin you instead of having to pony up even more cash not quite knowing if they intend to stick with the game for an appreciable amount of time.

I played FFXI for five years from '06-'11. I didn't give a damn about exp/hr or endgame. I didn't touch Kings with a 40' pole. When ToAU came out I didn't care about Salvage, Einhergar, etc. etc. all I cared about was helping players with things like AF and subjob items, CoP missions, and Dynamis. Then the Add-Ons came out and
they were terrible. The Crystal one was the worst. Then Abyssea came out and shot the level cap to 99 and trivialized everything the last seven years all at once,
with an expansions that only existed to house loot pinatas, not to mention all the game breaking stuff. Exp loss became meaning less so the joy in going to Raise
someone was gone. And people played the game for experience points and merits for the sake of experience points and merits.

I have played WoW during WoTLK and WoD eras, and stop when raiding was about "heals per second" and numbers for the sake of numbers. Aion I ran with Our Blood Our Team but everything in the world of Aion is completely forgettable.Then there was FFXIV: ARR. Three years ago I would have defended the game like I did FFXI back in the day, until hunts came out, and people showed their true colors. Nothing in Eoreza makes me want to stay there, as the people in it are selfish and violent; you think having a frigging meteor dropped on the whole continent would have taught them something, but nope... once we defeat the Evil Empire its back to backstabbing and political intrigue.

I came back in FFXI why? Because now I can play FFXI on my own terms. I kind of gave up being a helpful a long time ago, but nothing I have fills the void that other worlds can fill (other than Skyrim). All of the ******** are gone; I can do all the story and I'm in a linkshell with a few good people. No more "we need more BLMs", no more "perfect party setup", no more "I don't tank, my focus is melee". It's just me and the game. Sometimes that makes me sad, but I think its better this way, because
gamers in MMos can't thinkfor themselves anymore. Those that do know where do find me.

Asura is the current metropolis of XI and the population there feels more like the old days. Except of course the outdoor zones are still empty. Valkurm Dunes being a ghost town is a real vibe killer.

Odin has a solid population too from what I remember, but mostly Japanese.

I'm actually enjoying the leveling grind. I'm able to do it at my own pace without having to be an in-demand job or wait for a BRD to pop. I can get up and pee whenever I want to too, which is nice.

Currently leveling DRK (a job I previously once waited 16 hours looking for an exp party for) and BLU. DRK is normal leveling for when I feel like turning my brain off and just killing things, BLU is all spell collection all the time.

Trying to progress through Rhapsodies, but Adoulin is squarely in my way. The current mission I'm on requires me to get to a place that I can't actually figure out how to get to and then to do a colonization reive, probably alone, which I'm not sure I can actually do. So that's on hold for now while I wait for inspiration to fall out of the sky.

I've been able to easily clear colonization reives with my trusts out. But I don't know if the reives get harder as you go. So far, I'm just midway through the second group of Adoulin missions.

Someone like Hio could probably give you a better answer about how far you can get without help.

I just miss the good old days. Waiting for Party, progressing from 12-ish to 20 in the dunes, those were some good times. Not sure I really like the state of the game right now with soloing all the way until you start doing end game with other humans. But what can we expect. The low level area isn't gonna be really populated anymore is it. In a sense a few private servers are providing us old-schoolers a much better playing experience right now.

Yeah, even if they can manage a few dozen at peak times, the true "good old days" experience of 3000+ on per server can't hope to be emulated without some form of modification to the economy and other factors. On one hand, yeah, it's cool you'll never find a congested camp, but on the other, finding people wanting to do exactly what you want is just that much harder.

Either way, my general stance on that scene is I wish people weren't so fixated on the 75 cap and better strove to catch up to retail.

Been getting a vicious itch to get back on this game, but dont even know where or how to start. I played on PS2, then PS3. Cant even say when the last time I played was, but the last thing I remember doing was those FoV books in ...Cape Terrigan (sp?). I think WoTG came out and it kind of lost me because I bought it and screwed up the install. So I started snooping around and rediscovered this site and am hopeful to see that there are indeed still ppl playing. I have many questions and was gonna make a thread until I found this one. Sry if this gets long winded, and for hijacking the thread, but no game has quite had the impact on my mind like this one. Dark Souls would have to be the closest contender, but in a different way. I played 14 from Early Access up until Heavensward exp, and while it was nice and new and shiny, even that still couldnt touch 11 in terms of satisfaction from completing a long grind of exp or farming, or sense of accomplishment from just making it through a high lvl zone on foot because you couldnt ride a bird yet. And then the music. Ive compiled a playlist of all my old faves from this game on youtube and often let it play while I work, or sometimes just relax to it. That maybe one of the biggest reasons for this itch actually. Anyway I have many questions.

1. I have to play on PC now. Ive read somewhere on here about how it runs kind of crap on newer machines now. Knowing next to nothing on PC's, is there anything particular I should be looking for to get this game to run well? Was going to maybe get someone to build me one, or maybe just pick up a decently priced one from Best Buy somewhere.

2. I understand the game population is very much depleted, which sucks for a game geared toward cooperation, but it also seems you can get quite a ways on your own now, which is what I enjoyed doing anyway. Not that im anti social, im often just too lazy to type a pile while playing, and also with limited playing time (pretty much after kids go to bed until about midnight) being depended on by other ppl to achieve something might be hard for me. That being said, there will come times when some help would be nice (like getting my subjob items). Judging from a few comments Asura is the place to be now? Dunes/Qufim/Jungle parties are a thing of the past now? Sad if true, but again im fine by myself. Just dying to run through the world again.

3. Content. Might be a stupid question but with all the new add ons since I last played, has any old content been deleted? Can I still find that vendor in Sandy who will give me a meager amt of gil for 5 rabbit pelts? Do you still gain fame in each city for completing missions and quests? Can I still hold my breath sneaking through Ordelles Caves waiting for the AF chest to pop at the right time to get my gear, or gather the items to upgrade my gobbie bag? I basically would just love to replay the game and do all the old stuff I did way back in '02 when I first started.

4. Economy/Crafting. Obviously, again, this is something that has taken a hit, but is there still reason to farm a stack of silk thread to put it up for sale? Do ppl still craft and need supplies for it? Is there any pt in logging at the base of Ghelsba for hours and getting a little too excited when I get an "Elm Log"?


That probably covers everything I need to know to come back. Not worried about all this dynamis, abbysea stuff just yet. Ill get to it and learn it if and when I have too. Any clarification and guidence here would be much appreciated. Thanks. Gonna go listen to the Gustaberg track on repeat now.

re: Clayton

While XI may occasionally have issues with newer machines, the horror stories seem more on the minimal side. My advice here would simply be to pick up the game download from SE's site and give it a whirl. If you do have problems, perhaps we can troubleshoot. But oftentimes it's something like making sure you have DX8 installed, disabling antivirus (if only when playing), or possibly utilizing an older driver for your video card. In context, some may also think the game "runs like crap" because it's not normally coded to go beyond 30 fps, among other lingering PS2 limitations with the engine.

Otherwise, no content has been removed save the rotating Ambuscade challenges. I guess some might argue about bugs/exploits here and there, but I wouldn't worry about those. And since you quit during WotG, you'll have a fair bit of stuff to do to pass the time, among them getting to 99 if you haven't already. As for the economy, it's probably safe to say the more mundane ingredient demand is "dead" these days. If you're itching for gil while soloing, farming RME currency is usually the best option for the time. You might have other alternatives, but they'd require the right job(s) and gear, which you likely won't get right away.

At the very least, I think it's worth a peek back to go through SoA and RoV.

Thanks for the encouraging replies. Looks like im going PC hunting this week. Ill keep monitoring the forums to get re-acclimated to it all.

There are also mountains of guides written on how to make FFXI look better on a PC. The stronger the better, but you can always do better than the 2002 PS2 limitations land the game defaults to.

Holy crap im in. I forgot how painful this whole process was. Gonna need a good session to get used to cntrls and menus again. This keyboard/mouse thing is very different. May end up getting a controller somewhere. Anyway, look for "Chrike" on Asura. Started in Sandy, just like 13 years ago.

Wow they really heap the xp on ya with RoE. Also the keyboard setup is bruuuutal for fighting. Is it true you can use an xbox360 ctrl on this? Or any other ctrler?