Player thinking about joining FF XI

[amariidi]

Well I consider myself a pretty hardcore mmo player, and I was looking for a new one to try till Warhammer comes out. I have played Dark Age of Camelot for 5 years, and I have tried many other mmos, the only one really to keep me hooked for a long time has always been Dark Age of Camelot. I love how the game balances the PvE and PvP, and I think it has the best PvP of any mmo out there. The problem is after 5 years it seems that I have seen and done everything you can do in the game about 20 times lol. So now im only active about 2 times a week just to do RvR (PvP in the game) with my guild mates. I'm really exicted about warhammer coming out, but thats not till December so im seeking a game to play till then, and I'm thinking about Final Fantasy.


1. My first question about the game is End game. I tried the game out before, but I quit because I didnt have an understanding of why I was leveling. What is the purpose of getting level 75? Or am I just leveling...to level? Is their a reason why im playing this game, or will I just be wasting my life away PvEing.

2. My second question is how to level in the game. I have heard that most leveling is done through grouping which I like, I think that is what makes an mmo grouping and getting to know differant people from around the world. The only question I have is how hard is it to find groups in the game, and will I just be sitting around for hours seeking a group.

3. My third question was about pvp. I heard that there is pvp in this game, but I know nothing about it. What is the basis of it, and is it even that popular. I know that this is a pve oriented game, but when I get 75 do I just go pvp or do I do nothing and go make a new char.

I would really like to join this game. I hate WoW, and desperate to find a game to keep me suited till War hopefully it will be final fantasy.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Player thinking about joining FF XI

1. My first question about the game is End game. I tried the game out before, but I quit because I didnt have an understanding of why I was leveling. What is the purpose of getting level 75? Or am I just leveling...to level? Is their a reason why im playing this game, or will I just be wasting my life away PvEing.

If PvE is a waste of time to you, don't play FFXI. Seriously, aside from the few tagged on PvP mini-games, much of FFXI revolve around teamwork vs. environment.

Unless, of course, you consider competing with other crafters for great profit (or even just a profit) to be a PvP. In that case, this game is mighty deep.

2. My second question is how to level in the game. I have heard that most leveling is done through grouping which I like, I think that is what makes an mmo grouping and getting to know differant people from around the world. The only question I have is how hard is it to find groups in the game, and will I just be sitting around for hours seeking a group.

On my server, the mid level is pretty depleted for the moment. Especially lacking are the tanks. (Paladin, Ninja.) Historically, though, the most popular job is Bard, followed closely by Red Mage. I expect Corsair to follow that trend, since it's also a support role job.

There will be days when no workable full party can be formed--and days when you get invite before putting up seek flags. To be honest, depending on job and time of the day, many people do find themselves seeking for hours at a time much more often than getting quick invites.

What tend to skip the minds of most players is that there are pretty good solo'ing, duo'ing, and trio'ing options for the dry spells for most jobs/levels. The small (instead of full, six people) parties are also quite fun, and often involve unorthodox play style and setups. The experience points per hour are generally lower, but the pace more relaxing, and you actually get to talk to people instead of just bashing down one critter after next looking at nothing except macro spam for hours.

3. My third question was about pvp. I heard that there is pvp in this game, but I know nothing about it. What is the basis of it, and is it even that popular. I know that this is a pve oriented game, but when I get 75 do I just go pvp or do I do nothing and go make a new char.

This is over simplify things a bit, but options at Lv.75:

A. Level a new job on the same character (you can always switch back to the old one w/out penalty to either job). Any overlapping skill between the two job, you get--up to the skill cap of the lower job--which makes many things much easier.

B. Do the end-game activities (group work, for 99% of it). This includes HNM (Hyper Notorious Monsters) hunting, Dynamis (up to 64 people at a time?), etc. At its very core, the goal is about getting gears.

C. Merting. This is about customizing your character's abilities; limits are placed on how many modifications you can make, which are fewer than all the possible choices available. You gain "Merit Points" by obtaining "Limit Points" (which is not that different from experience points), then assign the Merit Points to categories you wish to improve.

D. Try to convince people to join uncapped PvP events. >_>


There are also good deal of non-fighting actives available, accessible to all.

For example, there is a simple but fairly robust crafting system, which also depends on leveling--it's similar to exp'ing in that sense, but you gain crafting levels by crafting, which produce tangible goods. Similar to crafting, there are fishing, and the very hush-hush secretive world of Chocobo digging. (That last one doesn't even show up as a skill...)

There are also missions (major story lines) and quests (minor and side stories) to complete, of course. Some people see them as little more than obstacles to gaining items or access to new areas, while others actually enjoy the stories... Up to you, I suppose...

All in all, it's a pretty big world S-E gave us. However, given your strong inclination for robust PvP gaming, it's probably not for you.

[Jugil]

Re: Player thinking about joining FF XI

1.) There is plenty to do at end game in FFXI: HNM, Dynamis, Limbus, Assault (lower level ones can be done at 50), Salvage. All the way up through endgame there are the storyline missions (started in the early levels) for your home town, and three expansions worth of storyline missions.

2.) Most jobs will be leveling in groups 99% of the time, with the exception of a few jobs that can effectively solo (though leveling will always be faster in a group). As far as how long it takes to find a group, it really depends upon your job. Tanking (Ninja and Paladin) and Support (Bard, Red Mage, etc.) jobs tend to find parties more frequently than Damage Dealers (Warrior, Monk, Theif, etc.). However, you should level the job that you like the best: if you hate playing Bard, invite rate won't make it fun to get to 75.

3.) I know little about PvP, but there are two major types in the game: Ballista and Brenner.

[Shadowneko]

Re: Player thinking about joining FF XI

I origanlly wrote this long thing but I lost in when I got logged out by accident. I wanted to still add something that comming from another MMO you wouldn't know. In FFXI there is no need to start another character to play a different job class. You can change anytime you want by talking to the moogle in your mog house. You keep any levels you gained on the jobs you've played but all new jobs start at lvl 1.

Personnaly I have 75 THF, lvl 41 summoner, lvl 34 WHM, lvl 37 Ninja aand a lvl 27 warrior all on the same character.(these are just a few of the jobs I've played) Many players have two and even three jobs at lvl 75 on the same character.

[Shadowneko]

Re: Player thinking about joining FF XI

opps: double post