potential newbie

[zippy]

hi all ive just discovered final fantasy xi and i want to buy the game as it's available for £9.99 online, but the problem is you've got to pay $11.95 a month for access to be able to play it??? that seems like an awful lot to me, it's half what i pay broadband access! so i want to know how good it is? is it worth $11.95 a month? i mean, be honest, is it worth it because there are hundreds of other MMORPG to get involved in

I'm a zelda fan, is it anything like ocarina of time, i want to get involved as i've never played a MMORPG before but it just seems like too much to pay

I appreciate your feedback guys

zippy
xXx

[TheGrandMom]

Re: potential newbie

Well your on a fansite dedicated to the game, I don't think you're going to get too many people that will say its not worth it. LOL So my vote is, yes, it is worth it!

[zippy]

Re: potential newbie

what do you do in the game?

[Siber]

Re: potential newbie

Kill stuff, hang out with in-game friends, kill some more stuff while hanging out. Occasionally do something productive, but while hanging out with friends. Then I hang out with friends some more. Oh yeah, spend countless hours seeking for parties, but while talking with friends.

I think of it this way. Going to the movie costs at least $6, and two movies a month is over $11.95 if I get anything other than a ticket. Do I get more than 5-6 hours of value out of the game each month? Hell yes I do. It's a worthy investment as far as I'm concerned, and if I ever want to see a movie, I just pirate it lol. All the Silent Hill cams are horrible quality right now; it's depressing.

[Tirrock]

Re: potential newbie

I think the price is about normal for an MMO. Siber has a point though, if you think about it...usually how much you spend a month goes down while playing an MMO. Even buying a new older game (usually around $20 where I am) a month is more expensive than FFXI a month.

At lower levels...a lot of the game is largely about trying to level and make money. At higher levels...well...it's sort of the same thing, but some people choose to try "endgame", which roughly translates to: "experience soap-opera like drama in an MMO setting while losing exp and possibly getting some new, very good, gear". It's not for the faint of heart...or impatient...or people with short tempers...or generally the "sane" for that matter.

Anyway.... Once you get more comfortable with your money and gear a lot of it turns into just "hanging out". Doing quests for fun, etc. I should note that if you're the type that has to have the absolute best equipment, this game will probably make you quit from stress.

[zippy]

Re: potential newbie

I saw silent hill last friday when it was released and i warn you not to watch it at any cost, it is the worst film ever, it should be banned, i don't know how it got classified 15 when it shouldn't have even been passed at all, it's nothing like the games, it's just sick and only sick people can enjoy it, it should be illegal as far as i'm concerned, so i wouldn't be waiting on good copies of it if i were you

as for this game, from what you are all saying i'm going to be paying $11.95 a month to hang around with in-game cartoon characters............not sure?

[x1ang]

Re: potential newbie

well lets compare other MMOs

FFXI: $12/mo ($1 per extra character, all jobs on one character)
WoW: $15/mo
EQ2: $15/mo
D&DO: $15/mo
RO: ~$14/mo
L2: $15/mo
CoH: $15/mo
SWG: ~$15/mo
Eve: $15/mo

FFXI is pretty much cheaper overall than a majority of the MMOs out there atm, really you have to be a type of person that MMOs appeal to in order to feel like you are getting your money's worth. MMOs are a unique experience indeed - as no other mulitplayer games let you interact with thousands of other people at the same time as well as starting a whole new "life" in the online community. You get more freedom in MMOs than a standard mulitplayer game, as there are hundreds of things to do.. really it just matters on whether or not you'll enjoy MMOs and, furthermore, how you choose to spend your time in the game as it can be simply "paying $11.95 a month to hang around with in-game cartoon characters" or more.

[Siber]

Re: potential newbie

I thought Hostel was a good movie, and the hardest part to sit through was when the main character cut off the dangling eye. Once the juices started to flow though, it made it seem less realistic lol. So I should be okay with Silent Hill.

Well, Zippy. It's kind of like that, but not for awhile. Generally, you don't just go "Hey! Who wants to chill?" and people come running to you to talk. This game forces a lot, and I mean A LOT, of teamwork. Doing such things forces a lot of bonding among the players, and if you do it consistently with the same people, they will become as good of friends of yours as a lot of your real-life friends (maybe not best friends, but still pretty good friends). I have a few friends like this in-game that I made and could tell almost anything to and real-life friends who also play who I could tell many things to. The problem is, the ones I made in-game have for the most part moved on to other things.

As Jenica said, if you have to have the best stuff, it's hard. I'm one of these people, and I hate not having the best gear. I parse most EXP parties just to see how I compare to other people, if just to tell myself "I'm better than them." I'm trying to get better gear, but things keep coming up that prevent me from it. Slowly but surely, it's happening. One of my friends thinks I'm nuts because of how many battle logs I have.

In this game, you have to find what's fun for you. If it's questing, there are a lot of people who like to find all teh quests they can and do them. If it's missions, there are more than enough to keep you busy for a long time. If it's camping monsters, you can do that. If you want to go out and do stupid things with friends, plenty are more than willing usually. Everything will require you to level though, and many consider that the hardest part of the game. All I know is seeking groups as a melee has taught me to be very patient and has made me read a lot more books than I normally would have lol.

[zippy]

Re: potential newbie

It sounds good I want to give it a go to experience it, Can i just pay for the first month to test the game out or do I have to sign up for a year? and when I get into the game can I meet up with you guys? also, is it like where you're chatting through a mic or do you have to talk to characters through typing? is it a big world with lots to explore? how many players are involved at any one time? I totally don't know what to expect but it seems quite exciting

[ClydeArrowny]

Re: potential newbie

You sign up with a credit or debit card, and as long as you keep you account active, you will be billed every month. You communicate through a keyboard, however its possible to use a third party program such as teamspeak to talk with friends (note, this does not tie in with FFXI at all, it is a seperate program that allows you to talk to other people, even if youre not playing any game.) I personally feel the world is very large with a lot to explore, however some people only ever visit a fraction of the zones since they just want to level up. The typical amount of people you will be playing with at once, is a single party, or 6 people including yourself. The largest amount of people you will probably interact with before end-game is probably an alliance, up to 3 full pts groupd together, or 18 people including yourself. Some events, such as Dynamis(endgame) and Ballista(lv caps starting at lv 10) allow upwards of 64 players to play together at once.

The people on this forum consist of different servers. Each server is basically a mirror image of another server in every way, except for the player base. Basically, its like how your save file on a game will be different from someone else's save file, but the basic game mechanics are the same. However, thousands of people interact to form the playerbase of each server, making each one unique in their own ways. People on one server are isolated from people on a different server in-game, however we like to come together on forums and share similar experiences and information.

[Icemage]

Re: potential newbie

You're never obligated to keep you account, and can cancel at any time. Just have to pay for any month where you've had activity.

Meeting up with specific people can be difficult. There are many different servers, each of them a different World, and you normally can't travel or migrate from one server to another. Normally when you start you get placed on a random world, based on the lowest population.

In-game communication is handled through text typing, though some linkshells (groups of friends who can communicate in-game with each other through special items) use voice programs like Ventrilo.

The world is quite large. There are over a hundred different zones to explore, and most servers have anywhere from 1500-3000 players online at any given moment.


Icemage

[zippy]

Re: potential newbie

thanks alot for the info guys, why are there all these different servers? it's like seperate games if you can't move to other servers, the whole idea of MMOs is that there are massive numbers of people playing the same game, if youre isolated from the majority with 6-18 people then how can you do battles and stuff, does it take away from the experience that youre stuck on one of many servers that you can't join, i'm going to give this a go anyway, can i download the game and then sign up or do i have to buy the CD from a shop and install it? also, if you can download it, is it free? i think they should give a free download if the're going to bill you each month, just my opinion

[Protes]

Re: potential newbie

why are there all these different servers? it's like seperate games if you can't move to other servers

Every MMORPG is like this. For the most part in MMOs the servers are the same game, though some might have different rulesets like Roleplaying, Player Killer, etc. (FFXI doesn't have different ruleset servers). There are multiple servers to handle the volume players playing the game. I've haven't seen a server capped to full yet in FFXI but I imagine it can handle up to 5k players playing simultaneously.

[valru]

Re: potential newbie

every server has thousands of players

[Kasmn]

Re: potential newbie

It really is a great game. The pacing isn't terribly fast however. If you have a short attention span, it may not be the best choice for you.

After about level 12(If I remember right) or so, most jobs have a tough time soloing effectively. It can be done, it is just slower (from what I remember).

This is really a game that will be made, or broken, by who you spend your time with in game. If you make an effort to find like minded people, to play, and group with, it will be a lot of fun. If you expect to go it alone, and treat others like comodities to help you level, it will likely not be as fun.

The Good
You can play quite effectively with a joypad
Cool features, deep gameplay
You can play all classes (jobs) on one charachter
Animations are excellent
Best MMO combat system I have played
Excellent monster experience scale (fighting harder figts is actually worthwhile)
The price

The Bad
Graphics aren't anything to really write home about. They are not bad by any means.
You can't jump
You can't swim
Lackluster choice of races/faces (imho)

The Subjective - Things you may or may not like, depending on what you are looking for
Very deep and time consuming gameplay.
Most things in the game take a lot of effort to obtain.
Grouping is basically required to advance in this game.
Even tradeskills, such as fishing, could take months to master.

I personally am a fan of all the points I put in the subjective line. I like grouping. I like the feeling of accomplishment you get from doing things that aren't easy, and take a long time.