Tweet
Hello all..
Wanted to share a bit of a revelation I just had while I was sitting here, checking out the information/images for the upcoming expansion...
I've played many MMORPGs (about 22 I can pick out of mmorpg.com's game list that I've at least tried, if not played for any amount of time) and most all of them have a similar "feel" to them. I don't mean graphics style, etc.. I mean just the "feel" of the gameplay itself. In most all cases, regardless of how great the game looks, or its setting, they all seemed to have a similar "feel" to them.
Gameplay-wise, most all seem to boil down to "kill a bunch of mobs". Quests often entail the same goal: "kill a bunch of mobs", even if it's not the goal of the quest itself. This is a complaint in most every other MMORPG I've ever played. The quests are shallow and repetitive at best.
This is not the case with FFXI in my experience (xp parties notwithstanding). It's the first MMORPG I've played where in order to achieve a goal, you actually want to *avoid* encounters as much as possible at times.. unless killing mobs is part of the quest itself.. to obtain a particular item, etc.
For example, each of the rank 1 missions for Windurst does not require killing mobs as part of the quest itself. Your goals are completely non-combat related. Go and retrieve a broken orb. Charge 6 orbs and then retrieve them. Send offerings to two Yagudos in Giddeus. Each of those could be completed without the need to kill mobs; except that they get in the way and need to be dispatched at times. Same with Mission 2-1 "Lost for Words"... That's a rather challenging mission for a low level character... getting into Shakhrami, getting past the goblins and wights and scorpions, to find a piece of stone and then getting back out safely again. Even later, sneaking into Castle Oztroja to talk to the Taru.. then having to get out again.. And on and on... In each of those, you only fight mobs when you *have* to. There are the quests that require you to kill mobs, they aren't the entirety of the quest content in FFXI.
Another point.. the quests have meaning beyond the task itself. There's a storyline developing as you complete many of them - not least of all the rank missions. But take the Star Onion Brigade quests... there's another separate thread developing there.. involving them, and Nanaa Mihgo and the Cardians, etc.. There's a point to everything you're doing. It's not just mindless "kill-and-collect". There's a sense of accomplishment and advancement in the rank missions. I don't know how it plays out in Bastok or Sandy, but as you complete missions in Windy, you go from speaking to gate guards, to a representative of the Star Sybl.. eventually on up to the Star Sybl herself.. before she sends you off to do tasks for Jeuno, on the behalf of your nation. The way it plays out, the cinematics, the discussion, etc.. everything is so well assembled to really make it feel like what your character is doing *matters*. And that, to me is rare in a MMORPG.
And that's the catch. I think those elements are what makes this game feel so different from any other MMORPG I've ever played and make it truly special among MMORPGs. It's also what makes the grind and the long waits for a party that much more tolerable. FFXI is truly about the journey... not the destination. There is no "final goal" to race toward (other than those the players themselves create). Not yet at least. A story is being told, and SE wants to really make it a challenge to experience it all. It's *not* just a "grind fest" - unless you make it one. It's designed and intended to be a lasting experience.
And, though I guess I've noticed it all along... it just dawned on me before I began typing this.. and even while I was typing it. That is the indescribable "something" this game has always had that made it feel so different and, yes, "special" to me. It's what's kept me coming back, despite how many times I've wanted to put it behind me.
That only speaks to the gameplay aspects.. Of course, there's always the people you meet and miss while you're away...
But anyway.. I just wanted to share that little personal revelation of mine with y'all.. Perhaps get some feedback on it.. share your own experiences or thoughts.. What makes Vana'diel the place you, perhaps, call your "home away from home" when there are so many other MMO's out there to choose from?
Wanted to share a bit of a revelation I just had while I was sitting here, checking out the information/images for the upcoming expansion...
I've played many MMORPGs (about 22 I can pick out of mmorpg.com's game list that I've at least tried, if not played for any amount of time) and most all of them have a similar "feel" to them. I don't mean graphics style, etc.. I mean just the "feel" of the gameplay itself. In most all cases, regardless of how great the game looks, or its setting, they all seemed to have a similar "feel" to them.
Gameplay-wise, most all seem to boil down to "kill a bunch of mobs". Quests often entail the same goal: "kill a bunch of mobs", even if it's not the goal of the quest itself. This is a complaint in most every other MMORPG I've ever played. The quests are shallow and repetitive at best.
This is not the case with FFXI in my experience (xp parties notwithstanding). It's the first MMORPG I've played where in order to achieve a goal, you actually want to *avoid* encounters as much as possible at times.. unless killing mobs is part of the quest itself.. to obtain a particular item, etc.
For example, each of the rank 1 missions for Windurst does not require killing mobs as part of the quest itself. Your goals are completely non-combat related. Go and retrieve a broken orb. Charge 6 orbs and then retrieve them. Send offerings to two Yagudos in Giddeus. Each of those could be completed without the need to kill mobs; except that they get in the way and need to be dispatched at times. Same with Mission 2-1 "Lost for Words"... That's a rather challenging mission for a low level character... getting into Shakhrami, getting past the goblins and wights and scorpions, to find a piece of stone and then getting back out safely again. Even later, sneaking into Castle Oztroja to talk to the Taru.. then having to get out again.. And on and on... In each of those, you only fight mobs when you *have* to. There are the quests that require you to kill mobs, they aren't the entirety of the quest content in FFXI.
Another point.. the quests have meaning beyond the task itself. There's a storyline developing as you complete many of them - not least of all the rank missions. But take the Star Onion Brigade quests... there's another separate thread developing there.. involving them, and Nanaa Mihgo and the Cardians, etc.. There's a point to everything you're doing. It's not just mindless "kill-and-collect". There's a sense of accomplishment and advancement in the rank missions. I don't know how it plays out in Bastok or Sandy, but as you complete missions in Windy, you go from speaking to gate guards, to a representative of the Star Sybl.. eventually on up to the Star Sybl herself.. before she sends you off to do tasks for Jeuno, on the behalf of your nation. The way it plays out, the cinematics, the discussion, etc.. everything is so well assembled to really make it feel like what your character is doing *matters*. And that, to me is rare in a MMORPG.
And that's the catch. I think those elements are what makes this game feel so different from any other MMORPG I've ever played and make it truly special among MMORPGs. It's also what makes the grind and the long waits for a party that much more tolerable. FFXI is truly about the journey... not the destination. There is no "final goal" to race toward (other than those the players themselves create). Not yet at least. A story is being told, and SE wants to really make it a challenge to experience it all. It's *not* just a "grind fest" - unless you make it one. It's designed and intended to be a lasting experience.
And, though I guess I've noticed it all along... it just dawned on me before I began typing this.. and even while I was typing it. That is the indescribable "something" this game has always had that made it feel so different and, yes, "special" to me. It's what's kept me coming back, despite how many times I've wanted to put it behind me.
That only speaks to the gameplay aspects.. Of course, there's always the people you meet and miss while you're away...
But anyway.. I just wanted to share that little personal revelation of mine with y'all.. Perhaps get some feedback on it.. share your own experiences or thoughts.. What makes Vana'diel the place you, perhaps, call your "home away from home" when there are so many other MMO's out there to choose from?
Comment