Originally Posted by
urat
Overall, between the two games (ilvl 105 in 14, 119 in ffxi, been playing both since they came out respectively) I have to say I prefer ffxi overall.
Call me a hardcore gamer or whatever, but I really enjoy a challenge, I love playing G rank on monster hunter, hardcore on diablo 3, I play starcraft 2 ladder, binding of isaac, spelunky.. Im a gaming masochist, because beating hard games and huge challenges feels awesome
FFXI was rife with challenge, still is a little bit, but not as much. 14 doesnt have any of that 'babe in the woods' feel to it. FFXI threw you into the middle of nowhere, you had your shitty brady guide that covered like 50% of the content, the game didn't even let you have maps for some zones until you hunted for them.
We had 0 idea how any stats worked, 0 idea what hidden stats food may have given, some armor had hidden stats, no idea how crafting worked, and there were countless stats that had hidden trickery to them. Treasure hunter is a great example of the 'magic' of ffxi. This kind of took away a lot of the 'lololol your gear sucks' of the game at lv 75, because a lot of people weren't 100% sure what was strictly better, so having good gear was acceptable for the first few years.
Grinding 1-75 was a magical experience when you just started 11, it was something fresh and new. This huge world, so big that you didnt even know how big it was yet, these random strangers running around, you had no idea what you were doing. And so it was, and here's the key...
FFXI forced you to team up with others, and make friends, you literally had to make friends with people by design of the game. Its hard not to make a buddy or two when you grind with parties for hours on end working as a team, eventually you'll find someone you like. Every piece of pre abyssea content was designed around parties and teams. Most content in the game has TEAMWORK stamped into its principles.
Think about it, skillchains, magic bursts, trick attack, etc etc... So many potent core mechanics revolved around fighting monsters as a team. Which I love! This game outright demanded planning, teamwork, and flawless execution from its players, and it made us grow closer as groups. This website is a proponent of that, consider how many of us posting here are here talking to each other because of this game.
14 doesn't have any of that. It holds your hand constantly with its map markers and tooltips and icons. It tells you where to go. It forms parties for you. Every bit of its content is designed around solo play, being able to get things done in case you don't have any friends.
It feels like an overbearing parent smothering me with affection, whereas ffxi feels like a parent that pointed me in general directions in life but had the decency to let me learn on my own.
14 feels like the parent that has trouble letting their kid go out and play outside because I might hurt myself. 11 feels like the parent that kicks me out the door and tells me to go make some friends.
And for that, 11 will always have a special place in my heart as the most badass game Ive ever played.