What if you could take it all back...

[Ketaru]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

I could go more into detail about this. But right now, I'm just not in the mood to so, long story short:

Abyssea, at first, was a good thing for the game. It revitalized interest in a game that was on life support and was getting stagnant. Some of the criticism for it lacks perspective on the history of the game as a whole. Other criticisms could probably use a second look. With more widespread use of THREE atma (just the effects of one atma was overwhelming), it began to make the game feel more and more cheap. So I'm going to say "Keep It" because I believe the game would've died without it. It would be much too simplistic to make a blanket statement about whether it is still good for or bad for the game though.

[cidbahamut]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

I'll admit that I was just another screaming fan boy when they announced level syncing. Don't get me wrong, I still like it... but it was the first loose thread in the fabric of FFXI that would lead to it's unraveling.

I think level sync was less a loose thread of FFXI unraveling and more a symptom of said unraveling. I can say with absolute certainty that if level sync had not been around when I joined in 2009 that I would have grown frustrated with the leveling process and likely left the game. Forced grouping only works when there's a large base to pull from and as time has passed, that base has all collated at the top. It's the normal progression for an MMO and I think FFXI would have been much worse off if level sync hadn't been introduced to somewhat alleviate the issue. That said, level sync wasn't really a fix so much as it was an attempt to delay the decay that comes with not adjusting the core of the game once the entire environment has shifted. Forced grouping isn't gonna fly anymore, but FFXI has yet to adapt to that reality. It's making some baby-steps, but the core design is still stuck in 2003 and the game has suffered for it.

As Raydeus said, all Abyssea did was expose just how severe a lot of FFXI's flaws are.

[Malacite]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

To answer the actual question: I'd take Abyssea back. I want them to expand the world, not make parallel dimensions of it.

Why not both? I rather enjoyed Abyssea and still maintain it's one of the best additions to the game - especially since it came and went, and while it's still relevant it's not quite the center of the universe it was when Scars hit.

They can't actually expand vana'diel sadly until they fucking axe the PS2 already since the HDD space is too limited at this point to support a full-blown expansion. Nevermind that XI's sub numbers are gradually dwindling while at the same time XIV is building momentum (though I suspect a lot of that will be lost sadly in the wake of the renewal of the fee).

[drusslinn]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

abysea was the most progress SE has made in its MMO history they need to step up to the plate and continue with it build on it not regress and wonder why only 10% of the players are even attempting void watch . its like you step in abys and in 3-6 hous you can actually acomplish great things , in old ffxi 3-6 hours you might get a lvl or 2 . Its no comparison in my opinion they improved on ffxi with abys , just wish they take that learning experience and add it to XIX instead of hey all this great research we got scrap it lets try some new shit we nvr did b4 and lose money . So sad the game looks so amazing yet its opening was an utter fail =( ,i heard the abys team was working on it now but that may just be a rumor i hope they fix the game xi wont be around forever and id like something that i could at least feel comfortable in but i dont think SE cares about us tbh .

[Yygdrasil]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

They don't care about us at all. Never have. Check out the official forums and read all the good suggestions... and how they lack any response from the dev team at all.

[Mezlo]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

Abyssea killed the game for the long term ffxi players. When it first came out, it would take a year to get to 75. Now, with abbysea, it can be done in a weekend. It takes all the blood, sweat, and tears (figuratively speaking of course) that all the long time gamers put into the game, and spits on it and throws it to the curb. Abyssea's a joke. It gave ebreyone playing ffxi something they wanted (in the short run,) a way to level fast! After leveling a few jobs fast, I sat back thinking about it, and really lost all motivation. It wasn't a challenge anymore. There wasnt skill involved anymore. The fact is, alot of peeps would afk while in abyssea and just leech. That is ant-ffxi. Think of how lost you felt when you first ventured out of your main city into the wild, to kill some mobs for xp. Think of your long run to the dunes, having to avoid goblin aggro or you'd get crushed and have to run all the way back. Remember back to the long run to jeuno, and how you had to avoid aggro along the way. The garlaige citidal parties, and the oh shit! I fell down the crack and the bat's crushed me! The crawlers next and the bad pull that linked 6 crawlers, party wipes and needs to run back fro jeuno. Bibiki Bay parties where the XP was just omfgslow... And we had to stay there FOR-EVE-R.... Fighting the weapon in the Gardens otw to sky for xp...

Now... all of these levels that we worked so hard for... can be achieved in 1 weekend??? GTFO!

Oh, and good luck taking it away, lol... that is what they'll do when they want to kick the ffxi crown to ffxiv, after they finish making it the ffxi HD 1080p version, which is what it should've been in the beginning, instead of trying so hard not to, and creating a shitty game, lol... I currently have 4 - level 50 jobs in ffxiv, and slowly ubt surely, they've been making the appropriate changes, making ffxiv more fun, and really turning it in to ffxi hd game it should've been....

/end rant

[cidbahamut]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

AThink of how lost you felt when you first ventured out of your main city into the wild, to kill some mobs for xp. Think of your long run to the dunes, having to avoid goblin aggro or you'd get crushed and have to run all the way back. Remember back to the long run to jeuno, and how you had to avoid aggro along the way. The garlaige citidal parties, and the oh shit! I fell down the crack and the bat's crushed me! The crawlers next and the bad pull that linked 6 crawlers, party wipes and needs to run back fro jeuno. Bibiki Bay parties where the XP was just omfgslow... And we had to stay there FOR-EVE-R.... Fighting the weapon in the Gardens otw to sky for xp...

Yes, now imagine how utterly discouraging it is for a newer player to try to go through all of that when there aren't even exp parties to be had because everyone has been sitting at capped levels and merits for years already. Speedy leveling might not be a perfect solution, but it helps get everyone on even footing so newer players can actually interact with the rest of the community, which is crucial if you want to retain the precious few new players who wander into the game. We can bicker over the merits of the method of execution, but if you think it was at all healthy to require a year to get to the level cap at this stage of the game then you have got another thing coming.

[Mezlo]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

but if you think it was at all healthy to require a year to get to the level cap at this stage of the game then you have got another thing coming.

Why yes... Yes i do...

[cidbahamut]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

So is the goal is to discourage all new players from participating in the game? Because that's pretty much what's going to happen in a game this old, cruel and top-heavy.

[Mezlo]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

Nope. But getting to the old level cap in 2 days is a little much... It's called instant gratification, and that is DEFINITELY not what ffxi is about. You have to work long and hard for an ultimate goal. And when you get it, it's so sweet...

Don't get me wrong, should they have instituted a more aggressive leveling arena to help out new players, yes. But abbysea is a grossly exaggerated answer to that question...

[cidbahamut]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

Ok, so it's not the concept you object to, but the degree to which it was implemented. I can respect that.

[Squiggs]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

There is very little chance a brand new player could level to cap in a weekend. Returning players with resources or someone who has jobs at cap but wants to level a new job could do it, but not a brand new player. I have new players come through the shell all the time. It still takes most of them a month or more to level to cap. This is fast (imo) but not so fast that they are completely lost when they get there.

[drusslinn]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

Why yes... Yes i do...

you my friend oviously have no life i have a wife and kids only play a few hours a day id like to get something achieved in less then a year i remember it took me 2 months waiting on a list to get my yakko pants .... yea thanks but no thanks . If you are goin to make a time sink game which is what this game is have some respect for the players rl , thats all ty

---------- Post added at 06:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 AM ----------

Nope. But getting to the old level cap in 2 days is a little much... It's called instant gratification, and that is DEFINITELY not what ffxi is about. You have to work long and hard for an ultimate goal. And when you get it, it's so sweet...

Don't get me wrong, should they have instituted a more aggressive leveling arena to help out new players, yes. But abbysea is a grossly exaggerated answer to that question...

tbh i think you just had a bad taste from watching the noobs , if you were in a good aby ls , you would see how fun it rly is intead of fighting over lil thing with the bottom feeder noobs who lvl all there jobs to cap and have no experience with em . i have a great ls i run and we have a blast no noobs no greedalox's and for the most part no idiots we work hard and most of my cor players have or obtaining empy's atm , and those take dedication and hard work the kind you was talking about yes the xping is fast but the gearing still takes time and dedication point blank and playing with friends is what mmo's is all about . its about ppl you want to work uber hard at a game and be lonly like old ffxi play a solo game hehe as for me and my spellblades we will concour vanadail =p

[Kailea]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

you my friend oviously have no life i have a wife and kids only play a few hours a day id like to get something achieved in less then a year i remember it took me 2 months waiting on a list to get my yakko pants .... yea thanks but no thanks . If you are goin to make a time sink game which is what this game is have some respect for the players rl , thats all ty

---------- Post added at 06:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 AM ----------


tbh i think you just had a bad taste from watching the noobs , if you were in a good aby ls , you would see how fun it rly is intead of fighting over lil thing with the bottom feeder noobs who lvl all there jobs to cap and have no experience with em . i have a great ls i run and we have a blast no noobs no greedalox's and for the most part no idiots we work hard and most of my cor players have or obtaining empy's atm , and those take dedication and hard work the kind you was talking about yes the xping is fast but the gearing still takes time and dedication point blank and playing with friends is what mmo's is all about . its about ppl you want to work uber hard at a game and be lonly like old ffxi play a solo game hehe as for me and my spellblades we will concour vanadail =p

I knew the "you have no life" would pop up sooner or later..... I agree with Mezlo, I quit FFXI when Abyssia came out, because I disliked what it did to the game. Its not that I dont have a life, it is the fact that I like to earn and work for what I get in an MMORPG, this "level cap in 2-7 days" and "all the content is at the end of the grind" BS needs to stop. I loved FFXI, loved it for 7 years..... and then this happened, I tried to keep playing, but I could not..... so I left. I do not understand where all these people come from that think an MMORPG needs to be tailored to their time schedule, when in reality, they might not need to be playing it in the first place.

[cidbahamut]

Re: What if you could take it all back...

"all the content is at the end of the grind" BS needs to stop.

This has always been the case. Or at least it was the case when I joined, you know, back when the level cap was 75.

Please, enlighten me as to what content there is for players who aren't at the level cap.