returning player

[Ameroth]

Hey all, if anyone remembers me from a while back, I played ffxi for about 5 years. I quit around 2 years ago. I don't know why, but the nostalgia of ffxi has been building recently, and I've reinstalled the game; I'm updating right now.

From the little I've seen so far, it seems like the game has change quite a bit in the passed few years. I see this about the level cap, which is crazy for me because in my day SE was pretty adamant about keeping the level cap at 75.

I do wonder tho, how much has changed? What are some big changes from about the past 2 or 3 years. When I quit, wings was relatively new. I played for maybe 6-8 months after WOTG released.

thanks

[neighbortaru]

Re: returning player

Cause i'm lazy: New player? Returning? Coming from WoW? Click here! :: Final Fantasy XI :: ZAM

Biggest change for me/us was the death of traditional parties. Most of our leveling (65 now) has been done in Ground Tome zerg alliances. Haven't entered abyssea yet, but that completely changes the dynamic of endgame too. Also it's not unrealistic to go from scratch 1-90 in a month if you had appropriate help (some have probably done faster).

[Squiggs]

Re: returning player

I do wonder tho, how much has changed?

Basically everything you knew about FFXI is different.

[Bigfish]

Re: returning player

Also it's not unrealistic to go from scratch 1-90 in a month if you had appropriate help (some have probably done faster).

I'm going to have to disagree on that front, unless we're talking someone donating a few million Gil and making it their hobby to see how fast they can rush you to 90. If xp was the only factor maybe, but making Gil, doing limit caps, doing gobbie bags, leveling subs, doing spell quests, unlocking jobs, keeping weapons skilled (harder than it sounds inthis day and age), doing missions, getting area access, doing AF (though it could probably be skipped for a while), getting maps, raising fame and anything I forgot to mention are time consuming affairs.

Also, the highly valued jobs of the moment, Nin, War, Whm, Blm, Blu all have significant time/Gil requirements.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the focus on adventuring over leveling a great deal, but there is a LOT of one time running around to do on fresh characters.

I've been back for 2 months, doing ~4 hours a night plus weekends, and I'm barely 69, and I haven't even started CoP, ZM, ToAU (aside from access, too many goodies to pass up) or WotG, not to mention the add ons. I also multibox, so that tosses a bit of an x factor in there, (as some things I will do more quickly, others will take longer)

By all means, everyone who has a hankering to come back I think should, since there is plenty to do.

[neighbortaru]

Re: returning player

I'm talking straight leveling and getting carried through the rest (hence the appropriate help part) with horribly out of date gear, missing spells, uncapped skills, etc. I've seen someone do it so it is possible.

[Bigfish]

Re: returning player

Right, but the implication of that is that your leveling time is largely based on your connections. That said, is it a fair assumption that someone will have a buddy to carry them through if they are just returning? Maybe, maybe not. I'm just saying that's a lot of implicit assumptions involved. It's like telling someone to level 30-90 in abyssea in a few days. Sure, it's technically possible, and I'm sure it's been done, but that doesn't make it a typical experience.

[Mhurron]

Re: returning player

Right, but the implication of that is that your leveling time is largely based on your connections.

And your postulation that it would take longer than a month to do is based on a new player stopping to smell the roses. Appropriate gear, gil, spells, mission and quest progress, none of that is expected any more. Someone coming back now in the state the game and player base is now is basically going to be slowed down only if they don't have a LS by the time they get to 50 and if they have to do the Maat fight more than once.

You might be stopping to enjoy the game instead of rushing to cap, but that is not normal now.

[Bigfish]

Re: returning player

You might be stopping to enjoy the game instead of rushing to cap, but that is not normal now.

I find it hilarious that I'm stopping to enjoy the game. And I mean that positively, like there is some evil council who's plan is to push everyone to level 90 super quick via constant grinding, but then end up scratching their heads at the one guy just mosieing through the game at what is apparently a snails pace, going "wtf is he doing?!?! Enjoying the game? This game is about getting to the level cap!!"

Well, if anyone needs me, I'll be hanging out at the altep crystals with the LS we made together.

Welcome back. Welcome the the adventuring world of Vana'diel.

[Ameroth]

Re: returning player

thanks for the replies. ive spent a few hours in-game now and noticed some major changes. I feel like im stepping into modern times from the 1800s considering all my gear that used to be awesome is now more or less gimp. I understand leveling highers is much different than days of old centered around a 6man pt, but what about lowbies? I intend to pickup one of my lower levels and play with that to help re-introduce myself to the game. Do folks still use the dunes? Or is it basically a more exasperated solo experience from 1-30?

also, I've been hearing about SE scrapping POL; what's up with that? I see they want to merge everything to SE IDs, but POL is pretty nostalgic for me. Just hearing the music upon logging in sent shutters down my spine.

[Bigfish]

Re: returning player

Leveling low levels typically goes 1-15 solo, 15-40 Grounds of Valor parties/alliances in Gusgen, 35-60+ in GoV alliance in crawlers nest. 60+ I couldn't tell you where to go. 75 you should be able to hop in to an abyssea group.

[bungiefan]

Re: returning player

I'm going to have to disagree on that front, unless we're talking someone donating a few million Gil and making it their hobby to see how fast they can rush you to 90. If xp was the only factor maybe, but making Gil, doing limit caps, doing gobbie bags, leveling subs, doing spell quests, unlocking jobs, keeping weapons skilled (harder than it sounds inthis day and age), doing missions, getting area access, doing AF (though it could probably be skipped for a while), getting maps, raising fame and anything I forgot to mention are time consuming affairs.

Skilling up weapons is very easy. Magic and defensive skills a little less so. Weapons can be maxed out for level 82 skill caps while AFK, fighting Zvahl Fortalices in Castle Zvahl (S). Bring the weakest weapon you can that will deal 1 HP of damage, or as close to that number as you can get. They have 5k HP, don't fight back, and the first 2 are out of sight/sound aggro range if you stand on the stairs (though you are still in magic aggro range of the elementals and occasionally imps). They respawn every 30 or 60 minutes, and killing one with a weak weapon can take that long, so you can bounce between the 2 spawns. I skilled up Sword, Polearm, and G Katana from no skill or level 20-something skill to max for SAM 71 in only 2 days, leaving my charcter there while I was alseep or at work, and checking on it every now and then to engage a new target.Fortalices are level 75, so will cap your skill at 82's caps.

Once you reach 90 in Abyssea, cruor is fast to get, and can be converted to gil at a rate pof about 2 gil per cruor, using NPC-sold armor (Teal, Perle, Aurore) or Chocobo Blinkers and selling them to non-Abyssea NPCs. That will make Gobbiebags cheap, as well as most scrolls. Gil is pretty worthless because there's so much of it from cruor conversion, and sale of yellow Abyssea chest drops to NPCs.

Limit break quests might be the only hard part, and even then, except the Maat fight, they can all be soloed by a helping level 90 player. After the Maat fight, you just need various beastmen seals (which you can convert at a rate of 3-to-1 for any type) and a few merit points.

[Bigfish]

Re: returning player

Skilling up weapons is very easy. Magic and defensive skills a little less so. Weapons can be maxed out for level 82 skill caps while AFK, fighting Zvahl Fortalices in Castle Zvahl (S). Bring the weakest weapon you can that will deal 1 HP of damage, or as close to that number as you can get. They have 5k HP, don't fight back, and the first 2 are out of sight/sound aggro range if you stand on the stairs (though you are still in magic aggro range of the elementals and occasionally imps). They respawn every 30 or 60 minutes, and killing one with a weak weapon can take that long, so you can bounce between the 2 spawns. I skilled up Sword, Polearm, and G Katana from no skill or level 20-something skill to max for SAM 71 in only 2 days, leaving my charcter there while I was alseep or at work, and checking on it every now and then to engage a new target.Fortalices are level 75, so will cap your skill at 82's caps.

Once you reach 90 in Abyssea, cruor is fast to get, and can be converted to gil at a rate pof about 2 gil per cruor, using NPC-sold armor (Teal, Perle, Aurore) or Chocobo Blinkers and selling them to non-Abyssea NPCs. That will make Gobbiebags cheap, as well as most scrolls. Gil is pretty worthless because there's so much of it from cruor conversion, and sale of yellow Abyssea chest drops to NPCs.

Limit break quests might be the only hard part, and even then, except the Maat fight, they can all be soloed by a helping level 90 player. After the Maat fight, you just need various beastmen seals (which you can convert at a rate of 3-to-1 for any type) and a few merit points.

With spells it really depends on the job and how willing anyone is to quest the questable ones. even at a 2:1 exchange rate, that's a few million cruor. I'd think it would be better spent on brews. But even then, it's a matter of time. Ok, they hit 90, now they have to spend more time to become a functional 90.

All I'm saying is there is quite the time investment beyond this "faceroll to 90 with the help of a friend" business.

[Murphie]

Re: returning player

It's not that much time, honestly. A week, two? Burn a character up from 1-90 and within two weeks they can be complete indistinguishable from the bulk of the server. Maybe less, depending on the network that person has.