FFXI VS WoW

[Empedocles]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

Everytime an expansion for FFXI is released, a few months later they bring out a complete set of the base game + all expansions. (As I'm in NZ and we get stuff about 6 months after you guys and some not at all, I'm not sure how accurate this info is..) If you went out and bought FF right now, you will get the base game + Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia, so those two are covered, and Treasures of Aht Urhgan you will have to buy seperately. You can do perfectly fine without ToAU, I have had it for about a month now and I've only done 2 quests and that's all . Sometime in the near future, they may release a pack with the base game + all 3 expansions, but I'm not clairvoyant .

For WoW, as far as I know, they have not released their first expansion yet, so it's unclear how they are going to do it. It is however almost completed, so it should be coming out soon. Blizzard are generally quite intelligent so I believe they will do the same as SquareEnix have.


Graphics wise, FFXI is ever so slightly more demanding per unit (I'm not a programmer so I don't have the vocabulary) such as player characters and monsters. However, WoW most often has at least twice as many objects on-screen at all times, so WoW actually takes up more computer power. As you will see when you look at the boxes in the store, WoW has higher PC requirements for possible play, and the gap is even larger for recommened play.

Two constantly graphic-heavy areas are:
FFXI - The 4-section city of Jeuno is at all times laggy, but as it's the central hub of almost the entire game it's understandable, as there are a lot of people coming and going.
WoW - I played as Alliance, so the main area was Ironforge Auction House, which as Jeuno is/was a main hub (they updated it recently I hear so you can access the AH from other cities now) at times the lag there was so bad, as I was walking to it, my screen would freeze while my PC tried to sort it all! But this problem may not be anywhere near as bad for you.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

To fully enjoy FFXI and not be a burden to future EXP parties, its a good thing to have all the expansions. I've known players who are decked out in endgame god gear, people who you'd think were goal-oriented players, who were not able to EXP in Chains of Promathia zones because they never bought the expansion. Grinds my gears, I tell ya. To be the most flexible you can be at high levels, you should have all the expansions.

If you're a pre-50 player, however, you can hold off on the Treasures of Aht'Urghan til you get up there cuz its all 50+ content anyway and that's being a little generous, most of its more like 60+ content.

[Maju]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

I've played both games for over a year, first FFXI, then WoW and now again FFXI.

I'll try to not repeat what everyone already said, so I'll focus on the visual differences between the games.

WoW looks like crap. Period. Sometimes you can get some nice views thanks to the DX9 effects, but the fact that you can't use both Anti-Aliasing and full screen glow effects at the same time ruins it. Those two effects together would go a long way in making up for the extremely low polygon count and minimalistic/weak special effects.

FFXI on default settings also looks like crap, however, with some registry tweaks you can go way beyond what the game normally allows in terms of graphics. There will be some minor graphics bugs (nothing compared to what capes, weapons and helmets cause in WoW), but the game will look great.

In my opinion animation and special effects is what WoW fails in the most. Attack animations make the weapons look weightless and the spell effects are boring and simple and even the most viscous special attacks look almost like any other swing or a weaker spell. In FFXI the low level spells and special attacks are mostly not very impressive, but as you start getting to later levels you'll see some truly amazing animation. The characters also move much more fluently and realisticaly in FFXI. I especially like the mithra tails, which in my opinion are artistic masterpieces.

Also, FFXI has much cooler and better looking armor than WoW. I kinda miss the long robes that WoW had (even though they caused lots of graphical problems with mounts), but at least FFXI isn't stuffed full with colourful clown suits and helmets that all look identical.

The game engine in WoW is clearly superior to what we have in FFXI, however. Tooltips, the party frame, combat while moving around, etc, etc, are/work much better in WoW but luckily FFXI has a much slower pace so it's not a big problem.

[Kittykunoichi]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

I played WoW for a few months and wasn't impressed. I tried it on my old computer and could'nt walk through Ironforge, so I gave up and went back to FFXI. After I got my new computer, specialy made for MMORPG playing, I tried WoW again.

I like their COLORS, and varying enviroments, hundreds of colorful creatures to get your arse kicked by and lots of armor, crappy armor, but lots of it.

In FFXI the enviroments can be...brown. Lots of brown and grey, but that only makes those spectacular, hard-to-get-to places more amazing! (Rivern Sites) And that special armor with that special look that you work your buns off to get, hours and hours you toil to farm and do quests.

When you finaly get it you feel that thrill of accomplishment as you walk through Jeuno in your new outfit and simply KNOW that the people of your gender are jealous as hell, and the opposites are drooling. FFXI character models feel REAL, full and alive, not flimsy like in WoW.

In Wow every time I saw my Night Elf BREATHE I went "Eww". If you don't like the look of your character why would you want to play it? These are games, you may not be so pretty irl, but you can make your character as attractive as you darned well want!

Only drawback is you can jump around and explore more in WoW while your feet are solid on the ground in FFXI.

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

Dyonisos, if you only read one post in this thread, other than mine, read LoneGamer's.

[Jei]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

it's easier to log into WoW and have instant fun. In FFXI you may have to spend hours and hours waiting before the fun begins. As much as I love FFXI, I've gone through a lot of frustration with this game too.

Anyway, I always feel wanting to log into FFXI after 4 years of playing. But I don't feel like logging into WoW anymore after 2 months of playing it.

[Icemage]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

I was just wondering if somebody had played the two games, the strong points fo FF and the weak ones, in fact help me decide

Dyonisos, if you only read one post in this thread, other than mine, read LoneGamer's.

I fail to see how a post that simply states that they are different games helps Dyonisos at all - he already know they are different games, he wants to hear firsthand accounts of why they are different.

---

Really the main differences in FFXI and WoW are time investment.

Regarding the level grind:
30 minutes in WoW and you can probably make some progress. 30 minutes in FFXI might get you to an XP camp on a good day. For casual players, WoW is great; they can slide in some time in their busy schedules and still feel like they've accomplished something.

For hardcore players, I think FFXI is superior if only for the fact that the path to end-game in FFXI tends to weed out the less dedicated and incompetent - and this also shows up as you gain levels. The higher level players are in FFXI, the smarter and more mature they tend to be. Doesn't apply to all high level players in FFXI, but it's certainly more true than in WoW.

Regarding end-game:
WoW is home to an undeniably less mature community overall, and it shows in the end-game scene as well. More greed, less trust. I'm not saying that nice people don't play WoW, or that there aren't unpleasant people in FFXI's endgame; they're just somewhat less common than in FFXI, where people have a much higher chance of knowing who you are and what you're like due to previous experiences.

A lot of WoW can be done solo until level 60... slowly, but can be done, so the opportunities to know what any given player's personality and skill levels are like are much more limited than in FFXI, where you're basically forced to cooperate with other players (or fail).


Icemage

[Mog]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

To sum it up:

WoW = instant gratification and predominantly immature community

FF11 = working hard to accomplish goals and predominantly mature community

[Dolmen]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

The differences are huge between the two games, so it's really hard to compare them at all. I have played both games, but keep in mind while reading that I prefer FFXI.

1: WoW feels more like a fantasy game than FFXI does. FFXI is a bit more gritty and like real life in terms of visuals, locations, etc...

2: FFXI has a lot of bland environments. WoW's environments tend to feel a bit more mystical, and make you want to explore them more.

3: FFXI has a lot more depth in jobs. The ability to have a sub job really enhances gameplay, but unfortunately a lot of sub jobs have become standards where you won't get a PT unless you have that SJ.

4: FFXI has pretty big lulls. First it's something like getting your Kazham keys, then it's doing Limit 1 and 2, then it's doing the AF quests, etc... There are a lot of road blocks along the way that make a lot of people quit. This will lead to my next point.

5: FFXI is about endurance, WoW is more about zerging. When you fight a big monster in FFXI, it's all about control and enduring the fight. I've found that in FFXI big fights require everyone to pay attention and constantly adapt to the situation, where WoW doesn't require so much focus.

6: FFXI and WoW have the same level of selfishness. It's very common in FFXI's endgame that people get what they need, and then stop coming or leave. A majority of players really are selfish, and it makes things pretty hard. Why are the good people not getting the gear, you may wonder? Well, they're normally the ones passing on the items saying that they'll get it next time. Unfortunately in FFXI being nice bites you in the rear a lot. Most of the people that you see running around in that "uber" armor are horrible at their job and/or are extremely selfish.

7: Both games have a strong level of arrogance from the players. In FFXI it comes later on, thankfully. After people complete their AF quests, they either remain humble, or take off on a rush to 75 and become a different person.

8: The friends you make in FFXI mean so much more. When FFXI came out on PS2, the television commercials had one word in them that really sums it up: Community. FFXI is a community, a living, breathing word of pixels and bits. Cherish the friendships you make, because they'll more than likely last your entire time in game.


So yeah, each game has their strong points and weak points. Briefly they are:

FFXI
Strong: Great friendships and sense of community, high level of satisfaction, great stories in side quests, deep job system.
Weak: Satisfaction takes a ton of effort, mission storylines could be better, the game is very addictive, not a good game for someone that plays a few hours a week, how rude/mean some of the players are.

WoW
Strong: More to explore, lush environments, you feel like you accomplish more in a shorter period of time, great for a very casual gamer, the emotes!!
Weak: The aura wears off quickly, player attitudes, public chat channels, not really a thinking man's game.

[Blood Red Poet]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

2: FFXI has a lot of bland environments. WoW's environments tend to feel a bit more mystical, and make you want to explore them more.

Um... no.

[Ryouken]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

WoW's environments are nowhere near mystical!

I've seen their environments and they look bland and cheap, while FFXI's look detailed and expensive (I don't know what that means, but I'm just making an opposing analogy to Wow)...

Your right if your saying WoW's environments are bigger, they are, but they are not very well-made...

Honestly I would prefer a smaller environment with good graphics, than a large one that looks like crap.

[Jei]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

well both games have a very consistant style you know. From design, character, environment, the same feelings are carried through out the whole game. I like the natural-realistic approach of FFXI. But you can't deny that FFXI environment are quite artificial. Closed splace, small tunnells at zone lines, stuff like that. WoW has a lot newer engine and I always love the seemless world.

Anyway, environment nothing beat Oblivion as of the moment IMO ^^

[Murphie]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

I played WoW for seven or so months after it launched. I feel pretty confident that I never need to play it again though. It was fun at the time, but that fun was short lived as hell. FFXI on the other hand has kept my interest since 2003.

Then again, that's me, and not you. Your best bet? Buy the Vana'diel Collection (it's not expensive) and give your first trial month ago. Either you'll hate it or you'll love it. Nothing we say here (especially considering the obvious bias) is going to convince you one way or the other.

[tazirai]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

...I need a Victim... hmmm...



EDIT:It backfired..damn...next Victim...

[Arajaden]

Re: FFXI VS WoW

final fantasy will always be better then just for teamplay purposes. We develop bonds as players to accomplish goals. Unlike wow where your only goal to try and kill as many players as possible and then hover over there dead bodies just to do it again.