10 Questions from JP Players

[Eruantalon]

Elmer I'd like to second/third/fourth? in explaining NA's choosing the Language option. For me it's a preference of who I'd like to participate with, not necessarily what language I speak. I'm set to JEFG? because I have no preference to who I'd like to do stuff with. I guess if it's confusing for other players of different languages I'll have to switch to JE since I know a little Japanese. Thank you and great work ^_^

[heavensword]

1Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?

It happens enough to be annoying, but is not common enough for me to remember the person by name, usually. After playing for almost 5 years, there have been only 2 people who were so bad I never wanted to do anything with them again. Most of the time, it’s “Oh well…”


2 I heard that on foreign boards there is a list of useful Japanese players that will help people out. Do you really have such a list?

I know of no such list. I would rather be part of a linkshell where all of the members are like this.


3 I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?

I would rather have someone who is good at what their role is, and is flexible (adaptive to change) – no matter what country they are from. I don’t like people who are selfish and inconsiderate. It is embarrassing to me that I have met very few JP players I didn’t like, but many NAs that I really didn’t. Perhaps it was the language barrier, as I don’t speak any Japanese. I would love to learn, but it is difficult for me to find a class where I live.


4 Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts.

Not that I remember. In general, I find it bothersome that many JP don’t want to do anything with NA. Sometimes I would like to be included – even if just to help/for the experience – but feel that I am out of consideration. I understand that communication might be difficult or other players have spoiled the relationship; I am not saying the exclusion in unjustified, but I’d at least like a chance.


5 Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell.

Some people probably do it because they are lazy, but I personally do it to leave it open for anyone who wants to join. When I see someone shout in mixed Japanese/AT and I can understand enough, I will send a tell, but most of the time I am ignored.


6 I’ve had a foreign player say to me, “I hate Japanese people.” But Final Fantasy is a Japanese game. If you hate us, why play?


I hope that person doesn’t play anymore and moves out of our country. People who think like this are too selfish for anyone’s good.


7 A lot of time has passed since service began in Japan, and you barely see any new subscribers coming in. Are there new NA players still joining?

Yes, I have a neighbor friend that joined 2 years ago for a month, then went back to WoW. Now he’s bored with it and has come back. I enjoy helping him with things now that I am much more advanced.

8 In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?


Hard-core, addicts, no-lifers. It’s sad that these people are often looked up to in game, but the real life cost must be tremendous. My wife would leave me if I had to play that much. That’s sad.

9 Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?

I think there is a lot of mixed feelings on these issues. I use windower because I play on PC and do many other things on my computer while looking for party/crafting, etc. I think SE windower has some bugs that still need working out. I also like seeing my TP by my HP because I hold down the macro buttons waiting to use a weapon skill, but when I do that, I can’t see my TP otherwise. If SE were to change the interface to fix this and other issues, I personally would change what I use. It seems simple, but I usually don’t have a long time to devote to playing, so simple things that save time are always welcome. These things are what anyone could do without such additions, but might take more time.

However, cheating with bots and movement speed hacks (things that no one could do normally) I think are not permissible. I don’t know if my LS uses them; I hope they don’t. If they did, I would probably leave the group.

RMT is useful for 2 things: having fun MPKing, and selling your account when you quit (even though I’ll give mine to a friend if I do). Otherwise /call [GM] /goodbye

10 In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?

Subligar is considered homosexual when worn by male characters. I never wore Republic Subligar because I think they look too bad, even though they have great stats. The only subligar I wear are bravos (THF) and maybe someday Hecatomb.

I think the glasses are the most popular for looks here (Shaded Spectacles, Redeyes)

Bananas = good for you! Leave the chocolate covered ones for dessert



Other

I think having mixed servers makes things more interesting; more realistic, too. If anything, I would encourage JP players to not be afraid to make attempts to express themselves and suggest ways to do things differently. If someone rejects you, it is their loss. We need more open-minded people in this country - especially ones that have a One for All attitude.

[Kurgan]

1.Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?

I have this happen very frequently. It drives me crazy sometimes. I generally don't hold a grudge against people, but I will try to remember certain people who do this so that I can be prepared for this if I see them again in a party in the future. In some cases of bad party making and management, I will black list those who are consistently bad over a period of repeat experiences.

2. I heard that on foreign boards there is a list of useful Japanese players that will help people out. Do you really have such a list?

I have not heard of such a list. It is not too uncommon for some English sites to have a "shout out" list to give kudos to their friends or to people in the game that were helpful or went out of their way to do a good deed.

3. I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?

I don't think a lot of NA players necessarily go out of their way to invite Japanese players. I think that there are some NA players that hold JP players to a higher standard than their fellow NA players as well as some that feel just the opposite. In general, I don't think that NA players discriminate when it comes to finding party members -- they will invite anyone they can find who is willing.

4. Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts.

I had one occasion that happened a long time ago in Kuftal Tunnel. A friend of mine and I, both Beastmasters, were hunting a goblin NM that drops an axe. There was a [mostly] Japanese group of people obviously fighting the standard goblins for experience there. We watched as their puller repeated pulled standard goblins, and just as we were preparing to pull the goblin NM, the NM linked onto a goblin that they pulled to their party. As a result, every time that the puller was cured, the goblin NM would go and attack their party. It ended up that their party wiped as we killed this NM. We were met with accusations of MPK in /tells. A couple of the Japanese players even followed me out of Kuftal Tunnel harassing me in public chat (/say), calling me "MPKurgan" and even mentioned "GM" a few times. Unfortunately, because of the language barrier, it was hard to tell if they were joking or truly upset. I tried to tell them how very sorry I was, but I don't think it came across sincerely enough.

5. Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell.

Again, a lot of NA players do not discriminate. Any help or any party or alliance member who is willing is suitable. In order to gain the attention of the most amount of people, it is often best to use the auto-translator. In addition, I think there are a lot of NA players who do not excel at spelling or are lazy or slow typists and prefer to use the auto-translate function as a shortcut.

6. I’ve had a foreign player say to me, “I hate Japanese people.” But Final Fantasy is a Japanese game. If you hate us, why play?

In this day and age, Final Fantasy is as American as it is Japanese. Perhaps the statement, "I hate Japanese people" is incomplete and inaccurate. Obviously there was something specific that angered the foreign player that probably had little or nothing to do with you being Japanese. People say irrational things when angered or frustrated. Then again, there are some people who are closed-minded enough to actually hate people different from themselves for little to no reason.

7. A lot of time has passed since service began in Japan, and you barely see any new subscribers coming in. Are there new NA players still joining?

I have seen new players. Not many, but they do exist. I have seen a lot of returning players who were unable to use their old character, as well. In addition, I've seen existing players creating new characters to play from the beginning.

8. In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?

I like your term and it's meaning! I'm going to have to start calling some of my friends that are like this "haijin"! I think the word I've seen the most in our language that we use is "elitist". It generally means "someone who believes they belong to a group or class of people who are superior to other groups or classes of people"

9. Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?

I would say that there is a lot of opposition to RMT and most third party tools in the NA community. There are a few exceptions to the third party tools. I don't think the 3rd party "Windower" is as taboo as it once was. I think some of the plug-ins are very innovative and Square-Enix could probably learn some things from this third party product, though I do believe that some of the plug-ins can and do create an unfair advantage. Most of my friends and linkshells would probably outcast anyone who is found to be cheating or involved with RMT. I feel very strongly against RMT and gil farmers, and am happy to see the developers of the game doing something about it. However, I think the game experience has suffered somewhat as a consequence.

10. In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?

I would have to say that the only piece of equipment that I can think of that is especially popular for laughs and smiles is also the subligar. More specifically the bright white subligars obtained for the Brygid the Stylist Returns quest, which can be traded for some nice job-specific equipment. A lot of players refer to these subligar as "panties" - a term referring to women's underwear.

[Marootsoobutsu]

1. The worst experiences I have had in the game have been with NA players (but some of the best have been, too). Mistakes (like the example), happen and I am understanding, and just LFP again. If one person does it a lot, then I start to not accept invites from them.

2. Not that I know of.

3. Because of my schedule, I often play during JP prime time. This means there are few NA available, but many Japanese players. The language barrier can be frustrating at times, but I've found most concerns can be addressed through autotranslate.

4. I understand wanting to party with people who speak the same language, but it can be discouraging to see "JP Only" or "NA No thanks". I do not think a single rude Japanese person is an example of everyone from Japan, but it often feels like all NA are grouped with a few jerks.

5. If I am shouting something in auto-translate, it is always an invitation for anyone to join. I don't care about nationality, and frequently enjoy playing with non-NA people; the cultural exchange is fun, and I love to see different approaches to the same problems.

6. The NA I know who dislike Japanese players, feel that way because they feel looked down on. But most NA players I know love to party with Japanese players.

7. There are some new NA players joining, but not many.

8. I don't know of a name for players who are like that, but there is the same feeling toward such people.

9. The majority of NA players hate RMT, but a growing number are accepting third party tools. I dislike both, even though I would like many of the advantages third party tools bring. Many feel it is cheating, but necessary to remain competitive with others who are using them.

10. There are none that I know of; most NA just like to wear their best or rarest equipment in town, kind of to show off.

[Sendra]

10 - Crafting eyewear, hands down.

[Zalius]

1
Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?

dickheads are universal


2
I heard that on foreign boards there is a list of useful Japanese players that will help people out. Do you really have such a list?

no but we talk about jps that hide things from other people a lot

3
I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?

there's no real benefit or difference, but when ffxi first started there were jps on 2nd and 3rd jobs that were very very very well versed in the game, so a lot of people group japanese and experienced player together, when they sometimes arent. (see ALL JP BLMS ARE TERRIBLE)

4
Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts.

someone said "stupid NA george bush you die please" to me one time. i was on ps2 that day so i couldnt screenshot it, but i was leveling rdm and invited him to a party =( other than that it's always been grouping discrimination. there's nothing collectively that JP players do thats annoying, its just the few assholes that vocalize themselves, and im sure there's na players that do that too

5
Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell.

Yea, just use i dont speak any english translate or say JP invite ok or w/e and they'll toss you an invite. a lot of fat jp obsessed americans play ffxi and will gladly invite you and use stupid face emoticons and say wwwwwww to try to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

6
I’ve had a foreign player say to me, “I hate Japanese people.” But Final Fantasy is a Japanese game. If you hate us, why play?

When the FFXI NA endgame community was growing, there were a LOT of Japanese players (from my server at least) that honestly tried to harm NA endgame. Being told to dick off, go die, etc while at an exp or HNM camp was a very very common occurrence. JP was synonymous with bot claims, and there was a huge monopolization over NMs until the patch that put the claim delay on mobs. I can still remember 2 specific JP only linkshells that specifically stated that they would toss abjurations to make sure that NA players wouldn't get them. I know that doesn't reflect the JP community, but it was horse shit and i still hope those people die in a car fire


7
A lot of time has passed since service began in Japan, and you barely see any new subscribers coming in. Are there new NA players still joining?

No, SE's game quality, marketing, and poor customer relations are deterrents for the game. It's best to just blame all of your problems on se

8
In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?

something involving a mix of fat, homosexual, stupid, mentally challenged, and a virgin. mixing 2 or more of these is usually the norm (YOU FAT FAGGOT) (RETARDED ASSHOLE) (NEVER GONNA GET LAID YOU FAGGOT RETARDED)

9
Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?

everyone hates gil farmers. like, everyone. pretty sure the gil farmers hate themselves. everyone hates bots, but the problem is square enix and their game mechanics, not the people that play the game that are inclined to use them because other people are using them.


10
In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?

no but wamouracampas are the best mob in the entire game ever

[Correction]

I spent some time making this, so I hope people notice it in the flood of answers. :D

http://i34.tinypic.com/2z8b6gn.jpg

He speaks for the JPs!

And now, to them as well!

[Pun]

Rofl, awesome.

[jibini]

1. Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?

W-a-a-a-a-a-y more than by all the foreigners put together. For the little stuff, I forget about it. For particularly annoying/heinous things, I let my LS know about them and blacklist them.

2. I heard that on foreign boards there is a list of useful Japanese players that will help people out. Do you really have such a list?

If there is, I don't know about it...

3. I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?

The language barrier makes it tough, even on simple things. A lot of partying is pretty simple and straight forward though (meriting, for example), so if it makes up the numbers needed, it's (generally) better than not partying at all.

4. Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts.

Hrm. The only time that springs to mind was way back in the day, partying in Bibiki Bay. There were two Japanese players and one NA player who spoke Japanese, but wasn't using it. He was telling us, towards the end of the party, that the two Japanese had basically been talking crap about us, in Japanese and over /party, the whole time...

5. Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell.

If you know what to do without any instructions and don't mind doing it with us, absolutely, send a tell.

If you don't know what to do already, and are prepared for us to try to explain it via auto-translate, send a tell too.

If someone's using the auto-translate, it's generally because they're happy to take anyone who's interested.

6. I’ve had a foreign player say to me, “I hate Japanese people.” But Final Fantasy is a Japanese game. If you hate us, why play?

There are some mysteries we may never be able to answer. Some people are just jerks.

7. A lot of time has passed since service began in Japan, and you barely see any new subscribers coming in. Are there new NA players still joining?

It's kinda hard to tell, at least for me, since I'm in the same LS 95% of the time, and we don't have many low level people.
[QUOTE=Elmer the Pointy;2197291]8. In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?
There's no specific term that comes to mind. We'd just generally say they don't have a life (outside of video games).

9. Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?

Third party tools are a gray area. Depends on the tool, since Windower is generally accepted as fine, but other stuff might not be.

We don't like gil farmers/RMT though. At all.

10. In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?

There's actually someone in my LS that likes to wander around in a subligar whenever he can...

[Karbuncle]

1) I move on... No harm no foul.


2) I've never seen one...

3) I invite whats looking at the time. It can be Japanese, English, Spanish, or Czechoslovakian, doesn't matter. Auto-translate is tough to use but its doable.

4) Well, I'm insulted when they decline my party invite simply because im NA, Pretty stingy even if its only cause of the Language barrier... its nice to at least try.


5) I Use Auto-translate because im trying to get anyone who can help me, much like inviting members. It can be Japanese, English, Spanish, or Czechoslovakian, doesn't matter, As long as they can help me out :D

6) They're stupid. Stupid people are everywhere, everyone has an idiot, they're probably one of those idiots. Deep down though, We all love Japan, and in turn the Japanese.


7) Well, I don't know... I have a few friends joining now and again.


8) ........ Elitists i think


9) I Hate RMT, i just do... I don't enjoy watching them kill monsters (For instance Ungur) just out of Malice... And about the Botting/RMT thing... None of my close "Friends" do, but if they did... i probably wouldn't bring it up


10) Subligars are always nice, On Galkas, But DNC AF on Galka is better. Really it is.
srsly though, I love Glasses, Redeyes and stuff.

Short and Sweet:

3) I Invite what i see LFG
4) Declining my invite for Being NA, Whatever the Reason.
5) I Look for whoever can help me.
6) They're probably just Stupid. We all love you people.
9) I hate RMT, My friends don't Bot or even camp HNMs, If they did, i wouldn't call them out.

[Alleya]

1

This has happened to me before. I usually get annoyed for a little while but I forget about it quickly.

2


I don't think I've ever seen a list, but most non-jp players tend to be friendly towards the japanese and will frequently tell others if they meet a japanese player who is nice or helps them out.


3

When I make a party I just want to get experience points, I don't care who I party with as long as they get the job done.


4


I have encountered many Japanese players who did rude things like camping on top of my party or MPK, but I only get angry at that person and not all JP players.


5


Non-JP players are usually open to playing with anyone. We use auto-translate in order to try to communicate best with everyone so they can know what we are doing and join in if they want to.


6


In my view FFXI is not a japanese game, it is an international game. When someone says they hate japanese people, they are probably responding to negative experiences they have had, just like japanese players respond to negative experiences they've had with foreign players when they say similar things. There are a few people in each group who are just racist to begin with, but it's important that we try to reach out over the language and cultural barriers to work together and be friends! (Also keep in mind that people who aren't japanese aren't just NA, they might be from germany/france/many other places and be offended that you call them NA or english!)


7


I see new NA players from time to time. I think the bulk of new players are coming from europe now.


8


We also call them haijin sometimes, but otherwise we just call them bad names in english.


9


The opinion on RMT/third party tools are mixed. Some people hate it, but on the other hand some linkshells fully embrace it and encourage their members to do these things as a means to get ahead or get what they want. I think overall the opinion is negative, however.


10


I love subligars personally. Adaman hauberk is a popular item with us, we like to argue about its color.

[presage]

1
Q: Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?

A: Yes, I have had many people do many bad things. I'll try not to dwell on it so much, and just continue trying to do what I was doing in the first place.



2
Q: I heard that on foreign boards there is a list of useful Japanese players that will help people out. Do you really have such a list?

A: I don't know. I have never seen such a list. It probably does exist though.

3
Q: I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?

A: A benefit to inviting a Japanese player might be different ways they might play. Like they might know a quicker way to gain EXP at a certain level, or maybe know if it's faster way to kill a mob. A drawback is of course the language barrier, but I try to not let that get in the way.


4
Q: Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts.

A: Not that I know of. If they have, they used Japanese to hide it. Maybe when checking a person, a lot of Japanese will change equipment to not be "looked" at. I personally like to see what kind of equipment people wear to get ideas as to what might work better for that job.


5
Q: Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell.

A: I use Auto-Translate to join up with a person from anywhere around the world. The Assaults gives you a specific mission, so it shouldn't be too hard to get going. It's all about forming a party, meeting new people and of course getting things done.


6
Q: I’ve had a foreign player say to me, “I hate Japanese people.” But Final Fantasy is a Japanese game. If you hate us, why play?

A: A lot of people are ignorant. This goes both ways it seems. People are also not that intelligent to piece things together like that. A good way to get back, is kill them with kindness.


7
Q: A lot of time has passed since service began in Japan, and you barely see any new subscribers coming in. Are there new NA players still joining?

A: Yes, I still do. I recently had one friend who joined and another who might pick it up more once the version update comes out with the new Level Sync feature.


8
Q: In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?

A: I don't think there is an exact term for FFXI. But you could use many English terms. Elitist, Junky or whatever.


9
Q: Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?

A: Usually people shun others who use the services. I do not like them myself, it has created a unstable economy.


10
Q: In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?[/QUOTE]

A: Don't really know.

[Edenbuster]

1
"Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?"

I blacklist them. No grudge held.

2
"I heard that on foreign boards there is a list of useful Japanese players that will help people out. Do you really have such a list?"

I don't know of any such list and that would be taking advantage of others' kindness.

3
"I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?"

It's popular belief that the vast majority of Japanese players are very skilled. And honestly in my experience if they aren't - they are at least very polite.

4
"Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts."

Every time I see JP ONLY I die a little inside, reasons regardless, the concept that it might be prejudice bothers me, as the concept of prejudice itself does.
As for what action, the Japanese culture tends to clash with me personally as it often comes off as condescending.

5
"Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell."

Yes! Usually Auto-translate is used to apply our message to the broadest audience possible.

6
"I’ve had a foreign player say to me, “I hate Japanese people.” But Final Fantasy is a Japanese game. If you hate us, why play?"

I Don't hate Japanese people. I Don't hate any race. Anyone who said that to you is the worst kind of scumbag found in every country and every ethnic/sub-ethnic group.

7
"A lot of time has passed since service began in Japan, and you barely see any new subscribers coming in. Are there new NA players still joining?"

New players are still quite common, on Fenrir anyways.

8
"In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?"

Retards.

9
"Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?'

Varies heavily from person to person. For me? If it's Linkshell, I'd rebel, or leave. Friend? Not anymore.
I support RMT starvation.

10
"In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?"

DOMARUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[Arthars]

1. I usually just forget about it because to me any XP is XP in the old times....For now i just prefer to PL my own character to 60

2. I just take a mental note on who usually rejects me and never ask them for help again.


3. I live in asia too (singapore) so i mainly play with Japanese. All i can say majority(not all) of them have better mindset in a party setup strategies etc. While a NA usually just go ALL OUT OR NEVER.


4. Some japanese like to think that they work better as their own. They think a NA will destroy their strategy or play style making it unpleasant. To be honest Japanese are stronger in the beginning. But now times have changed and MOST NA (good) LS have better strategy or even guts to do something more efficiently. Jp are still in their shell being talkative before events, trying to plan everything nicely where 99% of the time it will not go according to plan. Some Japanese even dont bother to listen to us and eventually failed. I think you should trust us sometimes. FFXI now have more good NA players than Japanese players. I guess this are cultural differences.


5. Sometimes this means desperate and trying to get help from NA and JP. sometimes we just welcome everyone. Thats all. If anyone can speak both japanese and english, im sure he/she will type in both languages


6. Some JPs also hate NAs. I guess those people hate the JPs in person than care about where the game is produced.


7. I see more people quit, Maybe there are people joining but they wont appear in whitegate yet i guess.


8. people with many gears are just being called Loot Whore because majority of the NA gets jealous easier and faster than any mammals on earth.


9. No one knows who bot unless they admit. I dont use bot myself but im sure some members in my JP and NA ls uses them. As for RMT, they can burn in hell.


10. we dont really fancy an object. We love naked hot girls.

[Strifey]

2
I have never seen or heard of a list like this.

3
It seems like some people think having a Japanese person in your party will automatically make it good. I think it's silly to invite people based on where they're from, I just invite people with the job that I need. The only things that influence my decision when choosing people to invite are Subjob level and Mission Rank.


4
Many times I have been invited to a party by a Japanese player, only to have them say "nevermind" when I respond with "ok" in the English font or {Yes, please.} in Auto-Translate. This is very insulting.


5
Yes, I use Auto-Translate because I want to get the jobs I need for the mission, whether they're from NA, Japan, Europe, or anywhere else. Please feel free to send your tells if you're interested in joining for these missions.


7
There are not very many new people joining. However, ToAU and WotG brought back a lot of old players who had quit. The September 2008 update is doing that as well.

[Abraxas]

Bonus-

banana is a fruit, and should not be counted as a snack, imo. it has nutritional value and isn't processed.

[Oulanbator]

1. Have you ever had someone from your own country do something bad to you? For example, they invite you to replace someone, and when you get there, they just disband. Do you hold a grudge against the person who invited you in that case, or do you think “Oh well,” and just forget about it?
When I take a glance at the whole game, I think a lot of people are really awful in behavior and ability to play.
I want and try to play with good players. Their nationality doesn't matter as long as they are good. If they aren't good, or have a bad behavior, then I'll just forget about them and look forward to meet more interesting persons.

3. I don’t go out of my way to invite NA players to my party, but NA players often invite Japanese players. What are the benefits and drawbacks of inviting a Japanese player to your party?
The benefits are to have a partner to make experience points. It's better than doing nothing, and we don't really need to speak for experience point parties.

4 Has there been a time when a Japanese player has hurt or insulted you? Also, what are some actions that are normal for us that you find disagreeable? I’m interested to know and would like to hear your thoughts.
Japanese players hurt me when they refuse to party because I'm not Japanese.
As a French player, I make efforts to communicate with everyone in English, and I don't appreciate laziness of people that only wants to play with people speaking their language.

5. Lots of NA players exclusively use Auto-Translate when recruiting for Assault and other activities. Does this mean that you are targeting Japanese players as well? I’m fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Missions and Assault, but I barely know any English, and worry if I should even send a tell.
I'm targeting everyone, Japanese, Germans, Spanish, Arabs, Chinese...
I don't speak any of these languages. I'm French, I speak French, and I learned to speak English to be able to talk with everyone no matter what their language is.
I sometimes have difficulties to say things or to understand others, but that's not a big deal. Players appreciate my efforts to talk with them.
When we have difficulties to talk, we just try to say things differently and it works.
So yes, you should send a /tell...

8 In Japan, players that play long periods of time, have many Lvl 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, and who are usually filled with prejudice and contempt are called 廃人 <[ ( hai jin ) " High Level person but disable from living real life " ]>. Is there a similar name you use for NA players who are like that?
We call them "No-lifers". In French, we call them "des gros Nolife".


9 Is there opposition against the practice of RMT or the use of third party tools? What do you do if your friend or Linkshell uses them? How do you feel about RMT業者 (gyou sha) or gil farmers?

Basically, every linkshell that camps Fafnir uses bots, even if they don't say it.
I have better things to do than playing with cheaters, so I just leave the linkshell to find a group that fits my ethics.
I really look down on people with gears like Ridills or Defending Rings: it's like wearing a T Shirt saying : "I'm a cheater".

10 In Japan, there are some people who are huge subligar fans. Are there any amongst foreign players, or is there another piece of equipment that is especially popular?
Subligars are really appreciated by some players. I think it's because they look like underwear or fetishist sex tools.
A few characters looks sexy when wearing a subligar and many think they are, but a Galka with large pants is more attractive to me than any Elvaan with a subligar ( Galkas are teh sex).

[Qbertian]

I really look down on people with gears like Ridills or Defending Rings: it's like wearing a T Shirt saying : "I'm a cheater".

Wow.

[Jeryhn]

1
Shit happens, basically. The party I'm joining could be disbanding for any number of reasons - from multiple people in the party need to go, to the leader's goldfish being on fire. To avoid this, NAs have generally moved towards partying with people within their linkshells, specific friends and some acquiantances (who we know will do their jobs, as opposed to complete strangers).


2
Nope.


3
If there's a good player out there, be he NA or JP, I want him in my party.
It's as simple as that.

Of course there's a language barrier, but by now many players worldwide can agree upon which things are suitable for multicultural party play and which are not.


4
Get over the /check thing. Seriously.
The reason why I'm checking a player is to look at their gear, to get a general gauging of whether or not they can do their job, and do it effectively. For examples: I expect a BLM to have elemental staves. I expect my PLD to be using a non-retarded shield. I expect my WAR to not be using a fucking Seiryu's Sword. I don't want a MNK in my party skilling up his Club unless we're specifically in a skill-up party.


5
Oftentimes, yes, it means we are willing to recruit people of any race or language. We simply just want to get the job done, and if other people gain from it, it's a win for both sides. Sometimes, it's because the Auto-Translate Function serves as a kind of shortcut for NA players who can't be bothered with typing out long drawn-out statements.

As far as being ambivalent towards whether or not you should send them a /tell, you never know. Just send a /tell, and see where it goes. You might meet a decent enough NA you'd be willing to party with again for an activity in the future. This is certainly the same way we NAs think of JP players.


6
I've had a JP player say to me: "I hate Americans" within three hours of me first beginning the game on my little level 1 WHM way back in October '03, without a clue in the world as to how to equip my Onion Rod. Really, that kinda goes both ways.

NAs did not come into the game understanding that it's a "Japanese game", rather that its a multicultural game with people from all over the world who can interact with one another. This was one of the reasons I was personally drawn to the game in the first place - I've done a lot of traveling in real life and I'm usually excited to interact with people from other places and cultures. JP are just prevalent in comparison to others, seeing as the game was released in Japan first.

Personally, I don't hate JP players for the simple fact that they are Japanese. I've met good ones, bad ones, and some I don't like but are excellent at their jobs.


7
New players? Not really, I suppose.
Old players making new accounts? Definitely.

There is something about the game that does keep drawing veterans back to it, and I'll admit, since I've quit many months ago, I've found myself with the occasional twinge of wanting to just go kill Fafnir or be pro on my good ol' Red Mage.


8
No-lifers, yeah. Or to echo what someone said earlier: Douchebags.


9
I'm sure all players can agree that RMT is a serious problem that affects all players adversely. As for the third party tool question... Well, much of that has to do with how stupidly the game was designed to initiate competition between players and linkshells. Out of this competition, many of the third party tools were born to give certain players an advantage over others, particularly over the claiming of certain HNMs.

It comes down to a general flaw within the game design - the idea players are somehow NOT motivated by greed for shinies that pimp out their job. Fact is they are, and if it meant denying other people those goodies in order to get the items themselves, so be it. But Square-Enix was largely ignorant to the plights of players concerning this issue until fairly recently in the game's lifespan, so who knows, I suppose we'll see.


10
You see a lot of subligars on the NA side too, lol. Particularly around Elvaan males. Female characters are usually running around in their more revealing outfits (Mithra JSE, Clamming clothing, etc.)

Otherwise, I'd say the other trend would be the crafting gear that many crafters use to advertise the fact that they are a crafter, particularly the eyewear.

[Spekkio]

1
absolutely. obnoxious, childish players know no borders. how i handle it is entirely dependent upon how the other player responds. if they offer a sincere apology for what happened, i'll let it slide. we're all human, after all. if they dismiss me with a sneer, snide comment, ignore me, or are just altogether obnoxious, then i avoid them when i can. intent matters more than action.
summary: yes, all nationalities can be rude be they EU, NA, or JP. i usually let it slide if they apologize, but if not, i will avoid them.

2
if such a list exists, i've never seen it.

3
i don't think NA players so much seek out JP players to party with as much as they are indifferent to a player's nationality when forming parties. there was a day when NA players had the attitude of "awesome! a JP party!" but this was far closer to the NA release. back then, we saw it as a chance to play with players who not only knew their stuff and had a good feel for the game, but also had far superior armor b/c of the leg up that many JP players had over NA. this disparity has declined over the many years since a more global release and i don't think this mentality really exists much anymore.

i know from my experience that many JP players feel uncomfortable playing w/ NA worried that they'll be embarrassed by having difficulty communicating. don't worry so much about that. autotranslate is a pretty effective tool. 90% of the time, i find i can convey what i'm trying to say using it and when that fails, i can often resort to my fragmented and woefully inadequate japanese knowledge to try to get the point across. from my experience, many japanese actually have some education in english too (i once visited an elementary school in japan and was endlessly frustrated and impressed by the prowess in english these children demonstrated in comparison to my pathetic attempt at speaking japanese.) so don't be afraid to use it! 95% of NA players would never begrudge you for trying your best to speak english even if it's not perfect, and who knows, you might learn something! most NA players respect and appreciate JP players making a concerted effort to speak english and aren't concerned if the words are imprecise, the grammar is a tad off, or the sentences are terse. you're doing a better job communicating than we are, so most of us are happy to work with you or help you if you want to understand better. if you don't know a word we say or don't know how to express something, ask. we'll answer.
summary: there was a day when NA players sought out JP players b/c they had more experience w/ the game, but that has passed mostly. while the language barrier can be a troublesome issue, it can also be fun and educational to work past, and most NA players are more than happy to meet you halfway.

4
ofc there have been times JP players have insulted or frustrated me before. rudeness exists in all cultures, but i don't use that as a reason to condemn all JP players. i think the biggest beef NA players have w/ JP players comes about when a JP player actively avoids an NA player simply because they are NA. idk if it's the language barrier that concerns the JP player, racism, or whatnot, but i do find it offensive when i'm singled out as "insufficient" to party with over a JP player. most NA players understand their role pretty well and if they are pointed in the right direction towards the camp, will probably perform just as well as a JP player if given the opportunity.
summary: every culture has assholes, but this is not a reason to hate everyone from that culture. the "JP ONLY" sentiment is rather offensive to NA players who are excluded not because of ability, gear, etc. but because of another factor entirely beyond their control.

5
think about the japanese IME. if you're typing out a long word, do you really want to have to key out the entirety of "Konnichiwa"? instead you just key out enough to uniquely identify it and hit tab to let the computer finish it. it's the same with us. if i wanted to type "Korroloka Tunnel" to one of my friends, that's rather a lot of keystrokes. it's a lot faster to just type out "Kor" and tab to finish the whole name of the place. it's as much for time saving as anything. in addition, you need to remember that JP players have the option of typing in japanese or english b/c of the IME tied to your client. NA players don't have that option. we can either type out in romanji and look like first year japanese students who are still learning hiragana, or we can use the autotranslator. this also has the added benefit of being legible in 1 shout to both NA, JP, EU, and any other language that may be playing the game. it's not that we're specifically targeting JP players, but we're doing it to include everyone in our shouts.
summary: we use autotranslate both for brevity and for universal understanding. we're not targeting particular people, but anyone who cares to respond to the request independent of nationality.

6
well tell them they can go jump off a cliff and blacklist them. they're idiotic bigots and would probably find their way on my blacklist 2 sentences after i started talking to them. most NA players don't hate JP players and people like that give the rest of us a bad name. if someone continues to insult or harass you, bounce it off another NA friend. most of us don't take kindly to that kind of attitude either, so many will solve your problem for you. it ticks NA players off too when JP players respond "Japanese Only, No thanks." for the same reason, but i think most NA too realize that not all JP players are so narrow minded.

7
new players for NA are slow in coming, but what you see more of are old players reactivating their accounts. we're probably bleeding active NA players slowly, but this is somewhat mitigated by these returning players helping to keep the numbers up some.

8
losers? nerds? comic book guy?

9
ooohhh... now that's a thorny issue and i really can't give you a great answer to it. the trouble is, players who use RMT services usually lie about where they got the money from and decry RMT while they keep sending money to IGE. i think the general sentiment is that most NA honestly do hate RMT (especially w/ their move to pilfering accounts now which cause major hassles) but there's a small minority who publically denounce the practice but privately buy in massive quantities. as for botting, there are 3 schools of thought:
1.) botting is bad and makes places like DA very distasteful, so i'm just not going to bother with that drama.
2.) botting is bad, but you need to bot to compete.
3.) botting is fine because i'll use any method i can to get more for me.
what happens is that a minority of individuals embraces 3, then everyone else competing against that group is forced to go with 2 if they want to camp kings or 1 if they want to stick by their principles. i personally sit in the 1 camp, but i can understand the mentality of the 2 camp. i think everyone except the small minority in the 3 camp would much rather see botting not be an issue in the first place though.
summary: almost all NA players dislike RMT, but a small handful are simply paying lip service while they secretly buy gil, which irritates most NA players. botting is generally seen as a bad thing in the NA community, but some players choose to bot simply because it's largely the only way to have a chance at claiming anymore.

10
hats on tarus are my favorite! i love my adorable hat collection!

as an aside: i noticed from the JP answering of questions that a lot of what bothers JP players is people bothering them for teleports, PLs, raises, or whatnot. i think that comes more from a cultural difference. many NA players are used to being expected to ask for what they want just from cultural conditioning while JP players tend to be more reserved in their requests. a good japanese host would always always offer a guest a second portion at a meal. in many cases, especially for a casual guest, a NA guest would either have to request seconds or simply help themselves. many NA players will make an effort not to nag or be obnoxious understanding this difference, but you're always going to find NAs who just don't get it, just like NAs may run into JP players who want to say something but are afraid to. while it may be somewhat alien to take such a firm stance against someone, if a player is bothering you, don't be afraid to aggressively tell them no. if they persist, just blacklist them. some players just don't get what being polite is, and shunning them is a good way to avoid letting their negative attitude taint the rest of the population.