How many people quitting?

[Delekii]

How does a 15 minute timer make these merits worthless? Man, you people have your expectations set wayyyyyyyy too high. Remember, this is SE. SE is still the same group of stingy bastards it has always been; neither this update nor the expansion as a whole have changed that. Take the abilities for what they are and quit bitching (or just quit the game, that works too).

For some of the abilities, 15 minutes is already powerful. 15 minutes on Troubadour or Nightingale is really nice... songs last a bit over 2 minutes, so thats once every 7-10 cycles or so. Not to mention, Troubadour effectively doubles the length of Soul Voice when used with it.. seeing you can re-apply songs at the end of the soul voice timer with Troubadour on and have them last a further 4 minutes.

WHM Devotion is essentially full MP for a PLD once every 15 minutes with full merits. That is disgusting, Im sure noone is complaining about that. How much extra hate can a PLD get with another 200 MP every 15 minutes in a fight like Bahamut 2 or a grand wyrm? Substantial. Not to mention Chivalry on top of that.. god damn, PLD have MP coming out their eye sockets after this update.

Some could do with shorter timers - some could arguably do with longer timers and still be balanced. I have a feeling the merits are not necessarily going to stay exactly as they are.

[Shuemue]

They should have given the following spells as meritable magic:

WHM: /ma "Me" <t>
RDM: /ma "Te" <t>
BLM: /ma "Or" <t>

That would have been the shit.

[Krandor]

Personally this update was horribly underwhelming to me, from an endgame standpoint anyways.

All jobs got new merits, THF and DRK got Huge Boosts, but at the end of the day, they didn't actually add jack shit to the game. Hydra's drops are complete shit, and other then that I don't see a lick of new endgame content (Assault & the ISNMs could be classified as endgame content I guess, but it's not something that you'll round up your LS for really).

SE basically tossed everyone some new spells, merits, and gear (most of which are worthless), and in a few days every LS is gonna be sitting in DA again. Like Epigram said if HNMs aren't the reason you're playing, this added some nice new stuff. New Assaults are nice, Hopefully this Choco Egg I got from the ISNMs will be useful by the end of next month, and having new stuff to merit is decently fun. Just feels like that after a week or so once people have meritted up the new stuff that the game is going to go back to the same shit that was already dragging it down.

[EdilbertX]

I played FFXI for a long time. This update looks good on paper and seems to have some nice things for some jobs. The thing people complain about is the Whole i am camping for HNMs from RoZ x-pac because they still have the best gear. SE needs to introduce better gear and none of this 1 size fits all crap. This gear with 1 piece good for 1 job or stats on gear for every job that can wear is kinda gay. This only makes the old abjur. gear the best.

I spent a ton of time camping DA/BD/VoS and it really does get to be a drag when all you want is off a King. SE needs to make progressive HNMs newer HNMLS camp 3 kings for that gear and experience. Then Grand dragons should have another set of gear that is even higher encouraging the Stronger LS to camp them and then add even more HNMs for the next level of player skill and gear to go with that level. This will never happen thought.

Basically for me when i quit 2 months ago I quit because every thing i want to do was a major time waste. Time, I didnt have. So, I started playing WoW because i could solo the exp and i like the pvp. I can spend my 1-2hrs i have a night to play pvping and I am happy. So if you have 6+ hrs a day to dedicate to FFXI it is still a good game.

In conclusion, if you have the time to play FFXI do it. If you are unhappy/dont have time then Quit make more room in the end game for those who want to play. Go find a game you like or enjoy RL.

[Matricide]

How does a 15 minute timer make these merits worthless? Man, you people have your expectations set wayyyyyyyy too high. Remember, this is SE. SE is still the same group of stingy bastards it has always been; neither this update nor the expansion as a whole have changed that. Take the abilities for what they are and quit bitching (or just quit the game, that works too).

I'm a ranger, one "buffed" attack every 15 minutes is stupid when we get stuff like scavenge camoflauge and sharpshot which doesnt do anything. I didn't say all the merits were worthless, i said the timers on merits im interested in killed it for me, reading comprehension ftw?

edit; i think drk and thf made out like bandits in this update.

[Gafgarionn]

How does a 15 minute timer make these merits worthless? Man, you people have your expectations set wayyyyyyyy too high. Remember, this is SE. SE is still the same group of stingy bastards it has always been; neither this update nor the expansion as a whole have changed that. Take the abilities for what they are and quit bitching (or just quit the game, that works too).

For some of the abilities, 15 minutes is already powerful. 15 minutes on Troubadour or Nightingale is really nice... songs last a bit over 2 minutes, so thats once every 7-10 cycles or so. Not to mention, Troubadour effectively doubles the length of Soul Voice when used with it.. seeing you can re-apply songs at the end of the soul voice timer with Troubadour on and have them last a further 4 minutes.

WHM Devotion is essentially full MP for a PLD once every 15 minutes with full merits. That is disgusting, Im sure noone is complaining about that. How much extra hate can a PLD get with another 200 MP every 15 minutes in a fight like Bahamut 2 or a grand wyrm? Substantial. Not to mention Chivalry on top of that.. god damn, PLD have MP coming out their eye sockets after this update.

Some could do with shorter timers - some could arguably do with longer timers and still be balanced. I have a feeling the merits are not necessarily going to stay exactly as they are.

Also gotta remember that SE intended the level cap to stay at 75. If they wanted everyone to become uber-killing machines, they would've just raised the level cap itself instead of introducing new merits. These merits aren't meant to break the game; they're just meant to give every job a little boost.

I'm probably crazy, but I actually ENJOY meriting, so this was a good update.

[Mifaco]

lol@thinking the CoP team did this update.

I, for one, actually liked this update. DRK actually got buffed with Absorb-TP, while THF got improved Evisceration and higher DMG daggers.

The new merits also introduce a number of possibilities for endgame. a PLD friend of mine did Chivalry at 300% TP and literally died on the spot when he saw that his MP had gone from almost 0 to 450. RDMs finally got the spells they were asking for, and Paralyze II can put a mob in a fucking coma

[FFXIFlux]

All games have flaws, FFXI just happens to be that SE doesn't have a fucking clue what it's doing anymore so can't be bothered to do much of anything. When they do do something it's been stolen from the looney bin on zam.

When most people think MMORPGs they think of the killshots on guild homepages from WoW or EQ or the like where 50 or so people are standing around the corpse of something they were barely able to beat. What has this expansion given us in that regard? Cerberus and Hydra. Thats 2 mobs that will be up for maybe 8 hours a week. I don't know about your server but we have more than 1 linkshell on ours, so adding 2 mobs on a 3-5 day timer to Gilgamesh sure as fuck hasn't enhanced our play experience.

The new merits... I can't speak for most jobs, but WHM, RDM, NIN and BLU got boned. Not only are they mostly not worthwhile, but they're uncreative as hell. Sure they have a pretty graphic, SE has always done an amazing job in that department, but other than that, snore. Besides, merits are tools that give players new abilities to do things, new tools to overcome new and difficult challenges. But... what challenges? Getting a hot sports car is all well and good but when you live on a farm and the only thing for miles are goat paths, you aren't going to be picking up chicks with it any time soon.

So we're going to wait month after month for the stuff promised on the box we bought way back in I already forget when. 3 more months and we'll get 1 new mob? Oh and speaking of mobs, having spent couple hours fighting Tiamat last night... really, EQ showed people over 5 years ago that multi-hour fights are not enjoyable. Bosses don't need a gajillion HP to grind through to get to the real fight at the final 10%.

[Gafgarionn]

How does a 15 minute timer make these merits worthless? Man, you people have your expectations set wayyyyyyyy too high. Remember, this is SE. SE is still the same group of stingy bastards it has always been; neither this update nor the expansion as a whole have changed that. Take the abilities for what they are and quit bitching (or just quit the game, that works too).

I'm a ranger, one "buffed" attack every 15 minutes is stupid when we get stuff like scavenge camoflauge and sharpshot which doesnt do anything. I didn't say all the merits were worthless, i said the timers on merits im interested in killed it for me, reading comprehension ftw?

edit; i think drk and thf made out like bandits in this update.

I still think you set your expectations too high

DRK and THF did make out like bandits in this update, but they really needed to. DRK is s'posed to be the king of melee or whatever, but they weren't. At all. THF just sucked at pretty much everthing bar Lufaise Meadows parties.

[Krandor]

Sadly I agree almost 100% with Flux on this.

[Raineer]

Bosses don't need a gajillion HP to grind through to get to the real fight at the final 10%.

aka "How long can your RDM/DRK's go without peeing??"

[layoneil]

aka "How long can your RDM/DRK's go without peeing??"

your LS didn't have a piss rotation?

[Ravenlokk]

Camping HNM is like millions of sperm trying to be the lucky one to finally penetrate the egg. Let's compare the two, using Dragon's Aery as an example.

You gather enmasse in a tiny little compartment after first traveling through a winding fallopian tube. Then, you deal with the Darters, which in my mind is like birth control. If you claim Fafhogg, which is like penetrating the outside wall of the egg, there is a chance the birth control Darters will kick in and start attacking you, thus trying to prevent the fertilization process. But birth control isn't always 100% successful so there is a chance you can overcome these Darters and proceed with fertilizing the egg, aka, killing Fafhogg. Another thing that can prevent fertilization of the egg is the other sperm fucking up your shit by trying to flail you or KS your egg. When and if you finally kill Fafhogg, you have successfully fertilized the egg. The drops you get depend on the types of chromosomes SE randomly throws at you...sometimes you'll get a Dalmatica (girl), and other times you'll get a Koenig Cuirass (boy)...and in extremely rare occurrences you may get twins (multiple abjurations). All in all the entire procreation and birthing process is a tiring one.


http://www.abdn.ac.uk/newsletter/iss.../sperm_egg.jpg

Pretty funny and accurate, but you forgot to include the down-syndrome n.leg baby.

[Siatdiat]

Camping HNM is like millions of sperm trying to be the lucky one to finally penetrate the egg. Let's compare the two, using Dragon's Aery as an example.

You gather enmasse in a tiny little compartment after first traveling through a winding fallopian tube. Then, you deal with the Darters, which in my mind is like birth control. If you claim Fafhogg, which is like penetrating the outside wall of the egg, there is a chance the birth control Darters will kick in and start attacking you, thus trying to prevent the fertilization process. But birth control isn't always 100% successful so there is a chance you can overcome these Darters and proceed with fertilizing the egg, aka, killing Fafhogg. Another thing that can prevent fertilization of the egg is the other sperm fucking up your shit by trying to flail you or KS your egg. When and if you finally kill Fafhogg, you have successfully fertilized the egg. The drops you get depend on the types of chromosomes SE randomly throws at you...sometimes you'll get a Dalmatica (girl), and other times you'll get a Koenig Cuirass (boy)...and in extremely rare occurrences you may get twins (multiple abjurations). All in all the entire procreation and birthing process is a tiring one.


http://www.abdn.ac.uk/newsletter/iss.../sperm_egg.jpg

Pretty funny and accurate, but you forgot to include the down-syndrome n.leg baby.

OMFG I loled at work, too funny.

[Delekii]

The new merits... I can't speak for most jobs, but WHM, RDM, NIN and BLU got boned. Not only are they mostly not worthwhile, but they're uncreative as hell. Sure they have a pretty graphic, SE has always done an amazing job in that department, but other than that, snore. Besides, merits are tools that give players new abilities to do things, new tools to overcome new and difficult challenges. But... what challenges? Getting a hot sports car is all well and good but when you live on a farm and the only thing for miles are goat paths, you aren't going to be picking up chicks with it any time soon.

How were they uncreative? Can you honestly say you expected WHM to get an ability that gives up their HP to give MP to someone else? It isnt a thing that exsists anywhere else in this game, if they hadnt alluded to it in previous interviews I doubt anyone would have had a clue about it.

Shell progression is Shell 1 MDB5 > 2 MDB10 > 3 MDB15 > 4 MDB20 > 5 MDB23 with full merits. Its not totally a tier above, but its more than half as good, and certainly worth getting. Protect progression is 1 DEF10 > 2 25 > 3 40 > 4 65. How much does full merits into protect 5 give? Im given to understand its either 10 or 15 defense on top of protect 4, which is almost a full tier in comparison to the boosts given 1>2 and 2>3. These spells are not quite a full tier better, but they are still substantially better when merited. Protect doesnt offer THAT much defense bonus to begin with.

RDM merits are un-creative, no doubt. They are also what people have been asking for for a long long time. Second tier enfeebles are all I ever read RDMs asking for, apart from refresh2 or refreshga which are unrealistic.

NIN.. well, nin seem to suck. But even then, sange is atleast creative, and totally unexpected. Im not even going to touch BLU because I dont know what they are, but I dont know why you would expect them to be creative when none of the other group 1 upgrades are anything but what you would expect.

[layoneil]

NIN.. well, nin seem to suck. But even then, sange is atleast creative, and totally unexpected.

15 minute recast Barrage that strips your shadows is creative stupidity.

the recast time on a lot of these abilities are out of wack for what they actually do.

[Talus]

The fallopian tube, birth control, etc analogy is reaching. The comment about n. legs being the down syndrome baby is wrong on so many levels, but you're probably the same kind of person that walks up to a blind person and says, "Hey did you see Game 7 last night? Oh my god what a great game!"

I think this was one of the better patches that have come out and I don't have THF75. It had a little something for everyone but to me the best part of this game is the variety of things you can do. If you want to stand in your mog house and stare at your moogle and chat in LS, you can, or you can do quests, farm, exp/merit, bcnm/enm/isnm, missions, craft, etc.

[SephYuyX]

The fallopian tube, birth control, etc analogy is reaching. The comment about n. legs being the down syndrome baby is wrong on so many levels, but you're probably the same kind of person that walks up to a blind person and says, "Hey did you see Game 7 last night? Oh my god what a great game!"

You must be one of those people who take shit literally and think what people say on the internet theyd do the same irl.

[Shuemue]

The fallopian tube, birth control, etc analogy is reaching. The comment about n. legs being the down syndrome baby is wrong on so many levels, but you're probably the same kind of person that walks up to a blind person and says, "Hey did you see Game 7 last night? Oh my god what a great game!"

I think this was one of the better patches that have come out and I don't have THF75. It had a little something for everyone but to me the best part of this game is the variety of things you can do. If you want to stand in your mog house and stare at your moogle and chat in LS, you can, or you can do quests, farm, exp/merit, bcnm/enm/isnm, missions, craft, etc.

Hypocrite much?
You're in an LS called ShortBus.

[Norelco]

The fallopian tube, birth control, etc analogy is reaching. The comment about n. legs being the down syndrome baby is wrong on so many levels, but you're probably the same kind of person that walks up to a blind person and says, "Hey did you see Game 7 last night? Oh my god what a great game!"

I think this was one of the better patches that have come out and I don't have THF75. It had a little something for everyone but to me the best part of this game is the variety of things you can do. If you want to stand in your mog house and stare at your moogle and chat in LS, you can, or you can do quests, farm, exp/merit, bcnm/enm/isnm, missions, craft, etc.

Hypocrite much?
You're in an LS called ShortBus.

LOL