Please give me some motivation to play this game

[rbrock387]

I've been playing WoW the past few months and I still enjoy it a lot. My friend from work was telling me about FFXI and I decided I'd try it out. I decided to be a Hume MNK and I'm on the Odin server. I must say so far I hate the game. I'm at lvl 8 and all I'm doing is healing and running to my house to store stuff.

I watched the FFXI Recollection video and it made the game look pretty fun but at this point in the game I'm not enjoying it at all. I like the FF style of the game, good music, story and graphics, but the gameplay is so dull. All I'm doing in battles is waiting for my TP meter to go up so I can do a lil extra damage. In WoW I'm constanlty using different abilities and am on edge the entire time.

It does look like a very promising game and I've always liked FF and other Square-Enix games, but I just don't see the fun in this one. A couple guys from my LS were saying the game gets fun around lvl 40-50... I don't want to play a game for months and months just so I can see if it's fun. WoW was fun from the moment I played it and it's still fun.

This isn't a trolling topic and I'm not trying to bash the game. I just want some motivation to play the game because it does look very rewarding and fun later on, but right now I'm really dissapointed. Please don't leave any smart *** remarks =) Thank you.

[Murphie]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Well, FFXI isn't for everyone. If you don't like it, you don't like it, and that's ok.

My only suggestion would be to maybe try out some other classes and see if you like them better, but to be honest, it sounds like the things you don't like in the game are pretty fundamental issues, so FFXI just might not be the game for you.

[Illuen]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

personally, IIWY, I'd try Black Mage/White Mage, and eventually bard. From my experience, in these jobs you are much more likely to be kept busy, with curing and buffing as a WHM, the constant buffing/Debuffing/Pulling of a BRD, and the nukeygoodness of a BLM much more than a melee. Also, you have to understand that you can't judge the experiences FFXI before level 20. Level1-10 is tedious for everyone, regardless of job. Once you get into the dunes, and can start feeling the way your job works in a party (albiet a deranged, mentally unstable party), you'll have a much more educated view on the gameplay and such. Also, once you get to the doonz, you'll begin to use your jobskills much more, if you are a war or sub /war, you'll begin to deal with provoking, and it is monumentally more fun than the begining.

[Aeni]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Is it just me or has there been a rash of these posts within the past week? Either some MMO game just bombed and left thousands of their customers stranded and wondering what to do or there's some very bored people out there.

Or is it just that these posts that usually end up on Alla's forum is now here due to the migration.

[rbrock387]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Normaly I would have gone to Alla but my friend told me this was a better forum so I came here.

[Maju]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

First of all, you're L8 so you barely have any job abilities. I think Monk gets Boost at L5, but that's it.

Secondly, your are soloing at that level. Most of the time you will be fighting in parties because soloing will soon no longer be a viable exping method.

Thridly, monk is the simplest class in the entire game. If you want to be busy in battle, pick red mage, bard, thief, paladin or ninja.

[ikkleste]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

the game can be a bit slow to get going... until you hit level 20 (with a subjob) the main thing to do is level and get your feet. Theres a few missions you can do, and quite a few quests based in the towns until then.


Once you get to 10ish (i'd personally wait until 12-13) you can head to the dunes and start partying for exp. This is where a lot of the fun in the game starts, here is where you'll start making friends. You'll unlock your subjob here too which some of which you'll do while exp'ing but for some of it you'll probably have to get a few other new starters together and quest it together, alternatively you can get a higher level friend to help you.


Once you hit 20 things start to open up, theres more activities you can do (BCNMs (kinda boss fights), garrison (big mutilplayer defence battles), and do brenner and ballista (PvP) have 20 caps too, i can't remember?) You get your choco, you can go to more areas easily and really start to explore. Between 25-30 you'll do your first big mission which involves going to each of the three starter cities and killing a dragon. This is where the main bit of the first leg of the story picks up. When you go visiting other cities you'll also find lots of other quests to do.

At 30 yet more stuff opens up, some serious mission stuff starts out here (Chains of Promethia missions) as well as access to more BCNMs, higher cap PvP, more misisons. You'll get to unlock advanced jobs too with all the story that goes with them.

I'd say stick it out to 25 ish at least, get rank 3, before you pass judgement. Until then it pretty much a grind though. Try out a couple of jobs (might be worth sticking with one until you get your subjob though, leveling solo is much quicker with a sub). If you focus on getting 20 though it shouldn't take you too long.

Hope that helps!

[Dux]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Hi.

Sounds like you are in the tricky levels 7-10 where (on your first time around) things are yucky and slow and horrible. Things will get better once you start getting into parties and start working as a team. Quit playing solo and get partying in a team, things will get more interesting very quickly.
Learn about Skillchains, they are really really important and will take you a while to get the hang of.

I agree there is alot of running to your mog house thats true at the beginning but it gets better once you party and you move to other areas and have access to warp spells / teleport spells enabling you to move about more freely. Also you get less items because they are split between you and 5 other people so you fill up your inventory less quickly.

If you really enjoyed the fast paced action of WoW and dont think you like the slower starting pace of FFXI then thats not a problem, its OK to not like FFXI. I would say however that if you stick with it, FFXI is to WoW what Chess is to tic-tac-toe (naughts and crosses to the europeans).

[Jei]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Compare to WoW you'll be levelling pretty slow in FFXI. Not only levelling actually, everything requires much more time here.
I like it this way. But I know a lot of people who don't so I understand.
I think it depends, if the feature the game offers suites you or not. The hype right now is you can raise your own CHOCOBO o_O;; That's one quick thing you can look forward to.

[Rai]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Unlike WOW you can switch between jobs in your Mog-house. I suggest doing that, try 1-8 on each job, WAR WHM BLM RDM THF MNK.

At low levels do quests, I hate to say it but I got the Brady guide when I got the game and I did every quest I could low levels solo. Questing increases your Fame gives gil and a couple items you might be able to use.

Leveling is tough as a new low level player, the more you do it the easier it gets and once you have a sub-job it does seem a bit easier, there are things you can do to help, like cheap foods to boost stats and cheap HP regen drinks like Orange au Lait.

I personally try to solo to at least 15 on all jobs but many people start to join parties at lvl 10 or so.

If you are on the same server as your friend from work, ask for his help.

The game is hard and frustrating at times, but that is what makes the accomplishments so much more rewarding, the level of friendship you obtain with people in this game will be deeper than any other game.

some links to help:

http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.j.../us/index.html

http://ffxi.somepage.com/

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.ffxi-atlas.com/

http://monsters.ffxi-atlas.com/

[Haggai]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

As others have stated, try out another job. Monk is very much a cruise control job. I have a friend that has Monk to 40 and she said that there have been many times where she has been reading a book / watching TV while leveling. Monk in a party is pretty much engage and throw in a combo here and there.

[Icemage]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Problem 1: Level 8. You haven't gotten far enough to start joining groups (where a lot of the fun dynamics in the game are), and you don't have access to the majority of Monk abilities.

Problem 2: Monk. This is probably the most passive job in the game - it very nearly plays on autopilot in most circumstances.

Try one of the more active jobs like Red Mage and you might find it more interesting (for one thing, Monks have it VERY easy in the first 10-12 levels, as they're able to take down harder enemies than most other jobs in that early range).

Failing that, maybe the pace of the game is just too slow for your taste.


Icemage

[Celeal]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

Monk is my 1st job too when I started this game 3 years ago =)

To OP:

My suggestion is to try serveral jobs. The good thing about FFXI is you don't need to make a new character for switching to a new job. Thus you don't need to repeat certain quests or missions.

At level 8, you may try to duo (2-players party). Usually a melee + mage make a decent duo party setup. For mages usually at level 10 is okay to join a full party (6-players). For melee I prefer level 14+ to join full party.

The fun begins when you join an experience points party to fight mobs that are above your level (Tough, Very Tough, or Incredibly Tough).

Note: In my opinion, the goal of experience points is to gain experience points (duh ). However, most people wants to gain the "most" experience points over time. See how slow it is to solo experience points (with a few exceptions)?

FFXI's experience-point system has something called Experience-Chain. When your party defeat consecutive Tough, Very Tough, or Incredibly Tough mobs within a limited amount of time, your receive bonus exp. points.

When your party is trying kill Very Tough or Incredibly Tough mobs as fast as possible, the fun begins. It requires teamwork, knowledge, skill, etc. It is not about spamming Job Abilities. Because the party is fighting mobs above the party's level, a wrong decision may get your party killed or downtime.

Unlike some MMO that requires a lot of mouse clicking or button pressing during battles, FFXI gives you time to think and interact with party members, such as chat, look at what is your party members are doing, covering your party members, etc.

From a beginner's point of view, Monk may seems like "waiting for TP meter and do some extra damage" in an experience-points party. However, when you gain more understanding of this game, Monk is more like "use everything your got to kill the mob as fast as possible without causing downtime" in the party.

Besides experience-points party, there a lot of stuff that is very fun in this game too: making friends, quests and missions, BCNM, Besiged, Assault, Recovering Astral Cadensence, crafting, solo... ^^

[I'm just a guy]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

ok, heres my 2gil, i have the same problem sometimes.. ill just think "f**k, whats the use? ; ;" but i stay for the story, everytime i feel like stopping or something, just remember the story lines and friends.. and your chco!!! :D

[Mini Neruto]

Re: Please give me some motivation to play this game

I'm at lvl 8 and all I'm doing is healing and running to my house to store stuff.

That might be the problem. You have to learn how to play your job before going into parties. Dont like soloing? {Tough} it out! Its only 10 levels and then you get to start partying and see what the game is like...although {Valkrum Dunes} isnt the best example. And also, if you dont have patience do not play this game. Ive never played WoW fully but the time that i did play i hated it. Mabey the game isnt for you, /shrug.