Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

[Nukapai]

The more I read on these (and other) FFXI sites/forums, the more I evesdrop on LS conversations, the more some of my old party mates (who have since shot up to 75 while my BLM main is still 1/3 off from 57)... I keep on getting the feeling that I don't know about the MAJORITY of this game, even though I've been playing it for well over 2 years!



I haven't had the hours, days, weeks to put in it, but my playtime is somewhere around 44 days total, and judging by many of the accounts on here and through aforementioned sources, I should have at least done a few of the promethea-missions, or have rank 10, or have done more than 2 BCNMs, etc, etc.

What have I done? Levelled several jobs; smattering of levels, some advanced ones in there too. Levelled some crafts (but none of them are Uber high yet). Got rank 5 at least a long while back. Got my first 2 BLM AF pieces. Helped some friends get started in the game. Helped in various other situations. Done a lot of gardening and farming to try and make money. Have fairly decent gear. Tried to camp a couple of NMs and have failed to obtain any exciting drops from them (apart from rank missions, of course).

Got a couple of mules, did a teeny bit of levelling on them. Kind of wish I'd started the game as a TaruTaru instead of Mithra (hindsight is wonderful).

Now growing my second chocobo from egg.

Whoop?

I sometimes wonder whether I will be the eternal newbie! Reading some of the shouts in Jeuno or some of the posts here... might aswell be another language sometimes!

I do love the LS I am now a member of "PanicMotion"! And I've got a pearl for one of my in-game friends' LS too. Having a network of friendly players in game is the most important part, IMO. Some of them have been kind enough to offer help in various quests and missions.

Most things come down to job and level. I could do X, if only... and to level my main to 75, I would need way more play time than I currently have. (I have a really busy RL-schedule, which means I haven't got much time to play in one continuous stretch, even though I can log on most days).

[Zempten]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

Most important thing in the game is to have fun. Some are satisfied without the endgame activities and I don't see any problem with that. Your moving on up there, but there is no need to rush it like so many other players do. Just keep playing at a pace that you feel comfortable with and eventually you'll start on those endgame activities sooner or later as long as you don't quit before then, I guarentee it.

I've played for just about as long as you, if not more. What have I done? 75 THF, 75 RDM, 61 BLU, 51 NIN, pretty much every job subbable (is this even a word? ^ ^). Did the rank missions, RoTZ, COP (still in progress). I recently started on sky and dynamis and yes, I still feel like I've only expereinced the tip of the iceberg.

In conclusion, you've done alot, but there is still a TON more you can do, but that can be said for everyone in the game.

[Jugil]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

I have around 140+ days playtime, and I still feel like I'm just playing the "tip of the iceberg." That's because while I've done alot in the game, theres tons of stuff I haven't done.

There are 18 jobs, 8 crafts, innumerable missions/quests, content beyond belief, and no way to do it all.

I've done all the Sandy rank missions. Made it to sky, but still haven't completed RoZ. I'm still on CoP 2-5 because, I don't have an LS. Retired my BRD before ToAU came out, so aside from unlocking BLU and PUP, and getting Staging Points, I haven't done anything in Aht Urgan.

I tried the HNMLS thing for a few months, but didn't like the atmosphere. I've never done Dynamis, Limbus, Ballista, Brenner, etc. I've never seen the gods in sky or sea. The list just goes on and on.

So, I guess it's just part of the game, you can't do everything. But, that's the point, do what you think is fun, you don't have to do it all .

[Hantz]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

Nukapai, your story sounds exactly like mine. Been playing 2 years now, I have about 30 days of playtime. Still haven't done my Promys, etc.

I will say, the last 3 months or so have been insanely different, after bringing 2 RL friends into the game and forming a static. Even if we only play one night a week, we seem to fly compared to doing it on my own.

But I feel the same. It seems like I've seen about 5% of the game or so, and all the meat is elsewhere.

Not sure what I was getting at, but yes, I do feel like I've only played at the tip of the iceberg.

[Asir]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

Nukapai, you are not a slow leveler, you are just enjoying the content. For some people, the fun is in getting their jobs to 75. For people like us, we like to goof around on other jobs, explore, quest, etc. I've been playing for 2 and a half years and I've never seen beyond level 50.

To quote some famous guy/movie/or book: It's not the destination, it's the trip getting there that's all the fun.

[Liquidedust]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

Nukapai, you are not a slow leveler, you are just enjoying the content. For some people, the fun is in getting their jobs to 75. For people like us, we like to goof around on other jobs, explore, quest, etc. I've been playing for 2 and a half years and I've never seen beyond level 50.

To quote some famous guy/movie/or book: It's not the destination, it's the trip getting there that's all the fun.

I think you relate to the following quote:

If the path to an end isn't as important as the end itself the end truly isn't worth reaching.

Still this is first and foremost a game, a game should be played to have fun. As long as you're having fun doing things the way you do them there really is no point in looking at what you havn't done.

Or similar, you do not loose out on stuff you cannot do as long as the current content is allowing you to have fun and entertain yourself .

This is a game to get away from reality and its problems for a few, it isn't reality itself.

[Intensity]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

I've been playing since NA release and have yet to ding 75. Close, my NIN's 73 now, but not quite yet. And that's cause I seem to get lost in the game. I wanna try everything, so I have almost every job leveled to 20-65. It's true that once you get into the 72-75 range, a whole new world seems to open up. But unlike most people who just want to bum rush to end game, I find I enjoy the lower level stuff alot more. Players are less dramatic and boastful in the mid-range levels than they seem to be towards the end which generally creates a much more satisfying game experience.

[KoukiRyu]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

I kinda did the opposite of what you've mentioned...I started earlier this year, and kinda rushed MNK to 75, but for me personally it was a lot of fun, challenging and interesting as I went through it. But now...I kinda regret it, lol :x I wish that I wasn't high level, because I'm kind of expected to end-game stuff it seems...and now I feel like going back and leveling a new job, and I'm not as concerned with going to sky, or sea, or even Dynamis now. If you go too fast you may miss out on some things, and if you go slow...you just seem to enjoy it more >_> But soon I want to start a new job(after leveling all my subs before hand) and just take my time this time...have fun and do different things as I level up But yea, when I think about all the stuff I have left to do; CoP(Only on 2-5), Final RoZ mission, get AF2, get AF for other jobs, level more subs, Assault, camp NM's, quests, get Avatars, farm, farm and also farm...it's a little hard to comprehend getting half of this stuff done >_> This game has a ton to do, and even the people who have 4+ jobs at 75 have only played at the tip of the iceberg :3

[Nukapai]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

Wow, I never expected this many replies - thank you! :D

It's really reassuring. I mean, it's pretty obvious that "you play a game to enjoy it". But beyond that, sometimes you get a little lost in your perspective... (there are so many quite vocal players in-game who seem to be able to get from 0-75 in two weeks, have done all the rank missions really quickly, etc, etc).

So it is lovely to see that there are... hmm, more "just regular gamers" out there after all.

In some of the other FF games on old consoles, I used to spend hours doing some of the side-quests (much to the annoyance of my then boyfriend who was trying to play the games with me).

In many ways, whilst FF is meant to be escapism from real life, some of the most frustrating aspects of it are exactly like real life.

[Jugil]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

some of the most frustrating aspects of it are exactly like real life.

That's exactly why I don't enjoy the HNMLS thing. It's too much like a job. I work a job in real life, and go to school full-time; I don't want to come home, log into a game, and then start another job.

With HNMLS's, you have to show up whether you feel like it or not.

I play to have fun, and sure I don't have god gear etc., but that doesn't bother me.

[Greylynx]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

My playtime is around 50 days right now, and my highest job is (only) lvl 50. People I know who started after I did already have level 75 jobs. However, they have rushed through the whole game without enjoying it. These people are always asking me how to craft, how to raise a chocobo, how to enter a promy, etc. People are too obsessed with getting to 75 in my opinion. There is this mentality that getting to 75 is the only reason to play. Take your time and enjoy the journey!

[Ziero]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

I had a large group of friends, all of whom wanted to reach end game and do as much as they could in the game. They all pushed through the lvls, doing anything they could to get higher. And when they did get to higher lvls they joined an end game LS. And from that point on I heard nothing but complaints from them, the few times I did hear from them, about all their high lvl stuff. Eventually their shell broke up, and most of them just flat out quit.

Me, I got left behind. Doing things my way at a pace I enjoy. I am currently the leader of a fairly active, all lvl range, social LS that from time to time will do missions and such for those who need it. Recently we we able to get about 10 of our members, some with 65+ jobs, through the 'feared' CoP 2-5 fight, and countless more of our members have finished their Promys. We do AFs, Rank missions, quest and cash NMs, BC/ENMs and pretty much anything that can be done by a bunch of 30-75 players. All the while I've been struggling to hold onto lvl 56, as I have this nasty habit of trying to solo things a 56 war should solo(FYI Alsha hurts). It has nothing to with me *not* wanting to get high lvl though, it's just the plain and simple fact I hate PTing. My 1k an hour pt last night reminded me of that.

Though there's also the fact that I want to do some other things first before my War hits 60. Those being cap all my main weapons (Gaxe, Axe, Sword, Xbow), lvl thf to at least 55, pick up a few higher priced items, and the main one is win Rank Mission 5-2 with a Pt of people 50-60. I always felt like that fight should be capped, but if SE doesn't want to make it a challenge then I will. >=(

Anyway, point of the story. It's a game, have fun playing no matter what you consider fun.

[eticket109]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

The important thing is to take your own path. I always stress to people to remember who is paying for the content afterall. I have been playing since the ps2 release and I have 1 job at 75, and no others above 38. I spent a lot of time just exploring or finishing misc quests. There's just so much story out there and so many connected characters througout the world. I always find it a bit funny when I mention some random quest or cs in my linkshell and only a few have heard of it or even done it. So while I haven't done a lot of the traditional endgame stuff, I've probably seen more of the game then most people in my ls.

In the end, the people who joked about me taking forever to level are a lot of the ones who have since burned out and quit the game. Whereas I still get chills sometimes when I hear the log-in music of all things. I don't know, maybe its just because there is still so much out there to find and do.

[Cometgreen]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

The higher in level I get and the more I read about endgame activities, the more I appreciate how much fun I've had leveling up. For some people the grind is an unfortunate means to an end, but I sometimes contemplate deleveling my Ranger once I hit 75, just so I can play through the levels and different areas again (instead of fighting Imps until my merits are maxed out). For some people, getting every last piece of gear and camping HNMs are fun, and although I'd like to do some of that, I'm having a blast just getting to 75.

That doesn't have much to do with the original topic, but I just get annoyed when some people forget that there are 74 levels of the game before you reach merits/Limbus/uber gear. To me, those 74 levels are the true bulk of the game, with endgame stuff there to keep some people paying.

[Pawkeshup]

Re: Does anyone else feel like they're playing just the tip of the iceberg...?

I literally stopped leveling at 30 for a little over 3 months. Why? To stop and smell the roses. I got all my advanced jobs, leveled them a little. I built an LS. I ran some fun lowbie events. I helped others get their rank 5.

By far those were some of the most fun months on this game. Then I got to endgame, and did literally nothing with it for a long time. Now I venture into sky (Sky sucks in my opinion, only my LS makes it fun for me), but fell in love with Dynamis.

I don't have Sea, never even seen the Coast. (Yes, no promies done.) I have never done an assault and the only exp zone I've seen in Aht Urgan is the volcano.

There's a lot of content I've never touched in the game, and look at my levels. Being an eternal newb to me makes this game eternally fresh. You never really lose the sense of wonder when you see a new zone or new monster.

As it stands right now I'm watching a rl friend going through the game for the first time now, and their sense of amazement at everything has really made me take a step back at look at the world the same way. This game is truly a wonderful game by all accounts.