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Re: What do you think FFXI needs to bring it back to a top ranked MMO?
Hi guys. I'm a recent newcomer to the FFXI mmorpg (I began playing on the Midgar server less than a week ago). My mmorpg history basically began with the Kunark expansion in Everquest followed by World of Warcraft up until a month ago when I finally gave up on it. Since I was bored, I decided to give FFXI a whirl. So a few good and bad things that I've encountered thus far (I've been powergaming the past few days and I quickly went from level to 23 WAR main job / 10 Monk Subjob):
1. The lack of an alt-tab function. I don't care what kind of MMORPG you're playing; you NEED to be able to tab. Thankfully, I found Windower fairly quickly so that problem is gone. It would still be nice if SE implemented an official alt-tab function though.
2. Lack of addon and mod UI support. Some may actually see this as a good thing. I suppose coming from two mod heavy MMO's (EQ and WoW) this would obviously look like a downside to me. This leads me to my next point:
3. The UI itself. I'm sorry, but the PC built in UI is flat out terrible. Even after switching to WSDF movement, it's STILL terrible. Thankfully, I have a USB converter that allows me to plug in my PS2 controller so all is well. The built in UI is just so much better when you're using a controller just due to the nature of it (L1 brings up my CTRL macros, R1 brings up my ALT macros, L2 is rest, R2 is focus, X=cancel, O=confirm, Triangle=menu, Box=hide/show UI, keypad=menu selection, Analog=Movement and camera).
4. Bag space. Does the bag limit of 30/30 ever increase? Please god, let it be so.
5. Ridiculous learning curve. This is probably why the playerbase of FFXI is relatively smaller compared to other top ranked MMORPGs. I have a lot patience, something that I unwillingly obtained through hours upon hours of raids in EQ and WoW, so I'm not as likely as the average player to flat out break down and quit. And trust me, I've been in situations where I had to quit out of the game for a break due to how frustrating it is at certain times. Thankfully, while the game world is huge and unforgiving, there's a wealth of knowledge just lying around if you're not lazy (these forums, Allakhazam, the wiki, and even Gamefaqs all contain useful and helpful information).
On top of having to farm Gil since that's more or less the only way you're going to get gear at the lower levels (I was told to focus only on one thing: either crafting or EXP/lvling at a time), you also have to deal with the ass clown elitists. I remember when I first got into a Dunes group back at level 12 (last Wednesday) and how utterly whiny and childlike the group leader was. I explicitly stated that I was **NEW** when he sent me a tell asking if I would like a group, but shortly afterwards he decided to go on a powertrip rant about how I'm "lazy" about my gear and how I should have had invis/sneak consumeables after I died running through the dreaded cave by the bats. This was BEFORE I read the guide about the different types of aggro (blood/sound/sight). How in the world was I supposed to know that bats, a normally docile and non aggro mob, would suddenly decide that killing me would be in their best interest?
Granted, my gear was still in the level 7-8 range, but you have to remember that as a newbie, I'm not going to have an endless amount of gil to fork out. I later checked the prices on the oils, and I'm amazed at how some people can actually expect someone to shell out 20k+ for oils during their first play through in the Dunes. I DID meet some great and intelligent players during my time in sandland though, and I learned an ASSLOAD about the game during my time in the Dunes as well. Qufim is treating my well thus far and I'm still trying to learn the basics of the Renkei system (does anyone have a link to a guide somewhere that tells you the different possible combinations?).
Thankfully, the majority of the FFXI community are a great bunch. It's a vast improvement from WoW in that regard at least.
6. Lastly, the grouping problems. I guess this is in a way a good thing for me, since I automatically start doing my papers / studying when I sit down and wait for a group to beam me up. I think the longest I've sat looking for group is around the 2 hour margin, whereas I was hit with a tell as soon as I logged in one day in the Dunes. I really wish more people played this game so that such a problem would fix itself, but with the big learning curve and unforgiving death exp penalty, I can see why FFXI wouldn't be a player's cup of tea.
Oh, and thanks for the resolution / music change guides. Those really made my day ^^
Hi guys. I'm a recent newcomer to the FFXI mmorpg (I began playing on the Midgar server less than a week ago). My mmorpg history basically began with the Kunark expansion in Everquest followed by World of Warcraft up until a month ago when I finally gave up on it. Since I was bored, I decided to give FFXI a whirl. So a few good and bad things that I've encountered thus far (I've been powergaming the past few days and I quickly went from level to 23 WAR main job / 10 Monk Subjob):
1. The lack of an alt-tab function. I don't care what kind of MMORPG you're playing; you NEED to be able to tab. Thankfully, I found Windower fairly quickly so that problem is gone. It would still be nice if SE implemented an official alt-tab function though.
2. Lack of addon and mod UI support. Some may actually see this as a good thing. I suppose coming from two mod heavy MMO's (EQ and WoW) this would obviously look like a downside to me. This leads me to my next point:
3. The UI itself. I'm sorry, but the PC built in UI is flat out terrible. Even after switching to WSDF movement, it's STILL terrible. Thankfully, I have a USB converter that allows me to plug in my PS2 controller so all is well. The built in UI is just so much better when you're using a controller just due to the nature of it (L1 brings up my CTRL macros, R1 brings up my ALT macros, L2 is rest, R2 is focus, X=cancel, O=confirm, Triangle=menu, Box=hide/show UI, keypad=menu selection, Analog=Movement and camera).
4. Bag space. Does the bag limit of 30/30 ever increase? Please god, let it be so.
5. Ridiculous learning curve. This is probably why the playerbase of FFXI is relatively smaller compared to other top ranked MMORPGs. I have a lot patience, something that I unwillingly obtained through hours upon hours of raids in EQ and WoW, so I'm not as likely as the average player to flat out break down and quit. And trust me, I've been in situations where I had to quit out of the game for a break due to how frustrating it is at certain times. Thankfully, while the game world is huge and unforgiving, there's a wealth of knowledge just lying around if you're not lazy (these forums, Allakhazam, the wiki, and even Gamefaqs all contain useful and helpful information).
On top of having to farm Gil since that's more or less the only way you're going to get gear at the lower levels (I was told to focus only on one thing: either crafting or EXP/lvling at a time), you also have to deal with the ass clown elitists. I remember when I first got into a Dunes group back at level 12 (last Wednesday) and how utterly whiny and childlike the group leader was. I explicitly stated that I was **NEW** when he sent me a tell asking if I would like a group, but shortly afterwards he decided to go on a powertrip rant about how I'm "lazy" about my gear and how I should have had invis/sneak consumeables after I died running through the dreaded cave by the bats. This was BEFORE I read the guide about the different types of aggro (blood/sound/sight). How in the world was I supposed to know that bats, a normally docile and non aggro mob, would suddenly decide that killing me would be in their best interest?
Granted, my gear was still in the level 7-8 range, but you have to remember that as a newbie, I'm not going to have an endless amount of gil to fork out. I later checked the prices on the oils, and I'm amazed at how some people can actually expect someone to shell out 20k+ for oils during their first play through in the Dunes. I DID meet some great and intelligent players during my time in sandland though, and I learned an ASSLOAD about the game during my time in the Dunes as well. Qufim is treating my well thus far and I'm still trying to learn the basics of the Renkei system (does anyone have a link to a guide somewhere that tells you the different possible combinations?).
Thankfully, the majority of the FFXI community are a great bunch. It's a vast improvement from WoW in that regard at least.
6. Lastly, the grouping problems. I guess this is in a way a good thing for me, since I automatically start doing my papers / studying when I sit down and wait for a group to beam me up. I think the longest I've sat looking for group is around the 2 hour margin, whereas I was hit with a tell as soon as I logged in one day in the Dunes. I really wish more people played this game so that such a problem would fix itself, but with the big learning curve and unforgiving death exp penalty, I can see why FFXI wouldn't be a player's cup of tea.
Oh, and thanks for the resolution / music change guides. Those really made my day ^^
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