FFXI's influence on how you view other games

[Alistaire]

Anyone here find that FFXI has changed how you view other RPGs? My own example would be that now I put little to no importance on defense stats on gear, when in some games I probably should. (Playing Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness on PSP and my characters are all SPD and no DEF).

Another would be a friend of mine who played .hack for 12 hours straight without saving and died, thinking he'd get to home point. Got a good laugh out of that.

[Callisto]

I never used debuffing type magic back in the day when playing old school FFs...after playing FFXI, when I went back and replayed or played remakes I used them, and good god it makes every fight so easy...

[Meian]

Lack of near impossible to beat bosses in RPGs as compared to a certain 1 or 2 in FFXI

[_chuchu]

Lack of near impossible to beat bosses in RPGs as compared to a certain 1 or 2 in FFXI

This.

[Exoduso]

Everything does become easier because you change your style of play... I haven't played FFXI for almost 2 1/2 years now, but because of the importance of debuffs in XI I've gotten used to doing the same thing in the RPGs I play... spells I would usually just ignore for the entire game and get by without them.

[Kaylia]

I never used debuffing type magic back in the day when playing old school FFs...after playing FFXI, when I went back and replayed or played remakes I used them, and good god it makes every fight so easy...

..when they stick.




Anyway, FFXI made me hate grinding to the point I puke every time I have to get experiences or farm items.

[Raji]

Me, personally, I can't help feeling that any game that doesn't have me frequently swearing at the monitor is fundamentally flawed somehow.

[SephYuyX]

Patience.

Theres nothing like waiting at 3hr camps to get nothing, and then finally getting an item after 2 years, teach you patience.

[LD]

Never really changed how I play games, though that may have more to do with me playing fewer games than I did before I got FFXI (and when I do, I completely shun FFXI until I finish said game.) I always used to compartmentalize game systems pretty well. Takes a bit for me to remember, but once I get into a new one, say from FF12 to FF9, the concepts come back and they aren't muddled by other games. I might agree with SephYX and say I got more patient, but that could just as easily be natural maturity, since I've been playing this God damn game for almost 5 years.

[Gwynplaine]

Short games have become totally forgettable to me. Even great games like Portal seem like a short lived fad in comparison to the length and breadth of an MMO like FFXI.

[Dmitry]

It keeps me from playing other online only games for the most part.

[The Stig]

"Why are all my party members tanks."

[Jotaru]

Realized how much gil I threw away lvling NIN, then went back to FF6 and used Shadow in much the same fashion.. Good god if you buy the best throwing weapons you can from the moment you get him he's an unstoppable force like none other..

[Lordwafik]

How it's changed my view is definitely true in regards to debuffing monsters, and keeping haste on everyone.

I've also learnt to hate grinding unless there's something to look forward to (in XI, new spells / WS at levels).

I also learned I hate random battles, but love the aggro system that XI / FF12 have.

Another habit I've picked up is "AFK". I stopped pausing my games a while ago, and I leave them on for hours and hours instead of shutting off my consoles.

[Charismatic]

Didn't change shit

[Beckwin]

Anyway, FFXI made me hate grinding to the point I puke every time I have to get experiences or farm items.

This. XI actually ruined my first playthrough of XII, because I got to a point where I need to pick up some levels or farm some gil, and I had a hard time bringing myself to do it because I was still playing XI... where the grinding was part of a more significant, measurable process.

I got XII right when it came out, but didn't actually do a full playthrough until the summer, when I had more time/was in a bit of an XI lull.

Now that I've been of XI for a few months now, I can handle a little grindan, but I still don't like it much. There's simply no challenge in gross repetition, and if the activity itself isn't really fun, I won't want to do it. Hence, bitching like no other about Persona3 (which had some redeeming qualities, to be fair. really mixed feelings about that game).

[Toksyuryel]

Definitely helped me appreciate the value of (de)buffing, but on the flip side farming shit is decidedly less fun than it used to be.

I do notice something though. I think FFXI devolving into a game of meleespam actually brings it back in line with how the rest of the FF series is- magic nukes eventually become a waste of time, summons rock early on and completely suck later (noted exception: KotR in FFVII), and you can own anything with a team full of rape (spellblade+dual wield+rapid fire on all four party members in FFV comes to mind- this is a good way to kill neo-exdeath in ~2 rounds). FFXI is really the only game in the series where they made any effort to balance shit like that.

[Kaylia]

^
Can't really compare a single player to a multiplayer with update. A balanced single players rpg usually suck, because everything is just more of the same, and you don't feel like you're actually progressing. Assraping the monsters with overpowered skills is the fun part.

This. XI actually ruined my first playthrough of XII, because I got to a point where I need to pick up some levels or farm some gil, and I had a hard time bringing myself to do it because I was still playing XI... where the grinding was part of a more significant, measurable process.

I got XII right when it came out, but didn't actually do a full playthrough until the summer, when I had more time/was in a bit of an XI lull.

Now that I've been of XI for a few months now, I can handle a little grindan, but I still don't like it much. There's simply no challenge in gross repetition, and if the activity itself isn't really fun, I won't want to do it. Hence, bitching like no other about Persona3 (which had some redeeming qualities, to be fair. really mixed feelings about that game).

I didn't have any issue with FFXII...until i reached the endgame. I used to complete every game at 100%, especially rpg (and I loved XII), but I couldnt find the energy to grind for the bonus dungeon and NM.

Persona 3 grind was horribly painful too. The stats maxing routine is pissing me off more than anything. I liked the story, and how the character interact, I liked the battle system as well..but shit..no more pointless grinding please.

[Phalanx]

Taught me to enfeeble mobs in other RPG games like FFXI 10,etc...

Made me finish games I buy and won't play my other games until I'am done with the current game I'am playing and stuck on.

Made other games easier really.

[Elcura]

Like most people it made me appreciate the value of support skills and roles, I think it mostly came to fruit when I played Crisis Core, the majority of my magic skills were things like Wall, Osmose and other materia that made fights easy indirectly, I think I had 1 or 2 offensive materia.

It made it a LOT more patient when playing games. It's like I can switch off a large part of my brain and keep going doing something really shit until I get what I want (FFXII, hunting that bomb in the mines for Yagyu Darkblades).

I never minded grinding if the battle system was fun, usually I would grind unintentionally just by having a good time killing stuff. But I suppose it has made me less hesitant to grind for levels if I can't progress.