10 Questions from JP Players

[Woozer]

1: Yes I have had bad experiences with people from my own country, and I've also had bad experiences with people from other countries. I wouldn't really say I'd hold a grudge, it's more of an "Oh, well I know not to do anything with them then." Normally I just brush it off as an individual, not a representative of the whole.

2: No, to my knowlege no such list exists. In fact, I've actually never received any help from JP players.

3: I include all people into my pts because that's what FFXI, it's a multi-national experience. I don't go out of my way to invite EU or JP players, but I certainly won't think twice about playing with them. I think the only real drawback is the language barrier, which can be overcome. The positives of playing with others outweighs the negatives for me.

4: Yes, I've had several bad encounters with rude JP players. This may just me, but sometimes Japanese players can be very blunt when they speak in English, and this can come off as rude or mean.

5: Some use auto-translator because it is faster and easier to hit [tab] than to type the entire word, such as area names like Meriphitaud Mountains. But mostly I think it is to show a willingness to work with everyone to achieve a common goal that they are interested in.

6: I don't hate japanese people, and I don't think one player saying such a comment can represent all non-JP players. But much as some JP do not like NA or EU players, there are some that do not like JP players, and they would prefer not to play with them because of bad experiences they've had in the past.

7: Yes there are still new NA and EU players that start on my server.

8: We call those people "Elitists"

9: Yes, there is MUCH opposition to RMT actions and third party tools. Just like JP players, NA and EU would also like to keep the game fair for all, however some people do use them and they are generally looked down upon by the rest of the player base. Accusations of RMT can really damage your reputation on your server, and most people are quick to fight them.

10: I have one friend, an elvaan, that only wears a subligar in town. I think the glasses, or sunglasses are much more popular for NAs to wear.

[Geno01]

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?

From what Ive seen its usually the NAs that are most discourteous so yes many times people have insulted me, I usually treat them all the same and just black list them and ignore.

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 never seen this no, sorry.

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 personally like inviting JP players simply b/c theres a chance to learn something about another culture, though the language barrier is very tough to overcome.


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 feel insulted all the time by the JP and their JP ONLY. Its as if us NA's arent good enough for your parties. One thing I will never understand is JP everyone who can use can lot philosophy. Do you not take into consideration all the time and effort from other players that can use over someone who just goes to lot?


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 use Auto-Translate as a means to say that anyone can attend, regardless of region, and will use translate what im saying to the best of my ability.


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?

Just more of the racist people. We all play the same game and most love it so just ignore the racists.


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 see new accounts all the time. My girl friend actually started recently and while its harder with fewer people being lower lvl it makes me miss the days when the game was all about fun and less about the other things.

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?

no-lifers


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?

Most NAs hate gil sellers/RMT bt at this point 3rd party tools are a way of life.

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?

lol Subligar are looked down upon by NA players for the most part b/c they are absolutely horrible looking. It looks like you are running around in your underwear to me.

[rithridan]

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?

Most of the time when I'm invited to a pickup party its because I already have to replace someone. Sometimes its because the party is really bad and the person just wanted to get out with a reason. I don't really hold any grudges in any case, I'm very tolerable and can only be angry for a short while if at all.

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 list of helpful Japanese players, or EU/NA players for that matter. We do have some of the more well known Japanese players. Usually its server specific but one that comes to mind that pretty much everyone knows is Avesta for his RDM solo videos. On Gilgamesh many players recognise the name Ostrea, if that counts.

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?

For me I take what I can, I don't think one is better then the other per se. When I started playing I was still a student and I was usually playing in the afternoon (GMT+1) with NA asleep and a lot of JP activity, so I didn't have much choice.

Benifits of inviting a JP player usually meant for me I could ask them to invite other JP friends since many did not like being asked to party by someone speaking English. This was important to me since there were very few other English speaking players during that time of day.
Drawbacks would be rejection based on my language and not on my skill/gear, very frustration considering I take pride in doing the best I can.

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 use the Auto-Translate feature if I want my message to come across to everyone. Not that I can speak Japanese/French/German, but if I could speak every language I still could /shout in 4 (or more) different language, it would really be more like spamming.

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?

Personally I remember a couple of times where my frustration got the best of me. After asking yet another Japanese people to party with me and hearing the response {English} {No Thanks} yet again I just exploded. It was again another player refusing me on the basis that I wasn't their race instead of refusing me on a (in my opinion) more valid reason. "I know how to do my job, what does it matter if I can or can't speak Japanese", is what was going through my mind at the time.

At that time (we are talking about 4-5 years ago, when I was but a wee Lv40 THF) I did quit the game due to those things happening to me on a daily basis. I could go up to 10 hours of actively trying to find people to party with me, many of those hours being in JP prime time due to me living in GMT+1 timezone.

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 call them elitists, they think only of the items and will do everything to get them (playing 12-18h a day, scam, MPK). They also think they are better then everyone else because they got all those items. Don't get me wrong though, not every high level player with great gear is an elitist. There are also 'nice' high level players with great items. They don't act all smug about them and when asked for advice would actually help you instead of scoff at you.

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 have been periods where certain equipment was very popular but I think kind of like fashion they eventually fade. I still see people with Goblin/Yagudo/Qiqirn hat or the various glasses (craft/red) though, so I guess that is kind of a special piece of equipment. Personally when I have my town gear equipped I use my Goldsmithing glasses because I think it looks nice. But I only use that when I'm not fighting!

[Kabbalah]

1. Of course, but it's not a good thing to hold a grudge; it's a big planet. Thus, I just let things slide.

2. Helpful players are always welcome, regardless of nationality. However, I can't recall hearing of a 'list,' per se, but some players on my server are well-known for just being helpful.

3. While in the past, the immediate benefit was a more experienced player, nowadays, the benefit is seeing a new style of play (if any). Also, some of us like to test our Japanese with a native, but this can also be bad if we haven't been practicing our kanji.

4. Personally, no. I've gotten the "JP Party only" deal but I figured early on that most Japanese don't want to embarass themselves testing their English on a native speaker. Usually, I just shrug it off and think "that's the way they are" (though I wish they'd also wonder if the NA is nervous about testing his Japanese on native speakers as well).

Also, idiocy and rudeness know no national boundaries, so I never think someone is rude simply because they come from a certain country (not even France). On that note, I've never met a Japanese player go out of his way to insult me based on being NA or for not knowing certain points about playing my job; on the contrary, they're usually the first to offer a compliment, which I'm unsure how to take. After all, in America, one graciously accepts a compliment right away (because you shouldn't insult the judgement of the complimenter), while I believe it's different in Japan (because you should be humble in the face of praise). Thus, do I respond like an American or respond how I think a Japanese person would respond?

5. While I tend not to send tells for things like that, most American players should understand that not everyone can speak proper English. In fact, most NAs don't even expect a full response in English, just "yes," or "no." Most Americans, by the way, will not correct someone's English, even if it is bad, because it's considered rude to do so...unless you ask us to correct it for you.

(On the topic of cross-cultural communication, does anyone else find it amusing that the only way NA players can communicate with JP players without having to resort to romaji 24/7 is to use a third-party tool?)

6. Because they're morons.

7. Over here? Yes. Most jump ship to World of Warcraft after a short while, though.

8. Yes, we call them "No Life Losers." While multiple jobs at 75 is respectable, there comes a point when someone can have too many jobs at 75. For example, if someone has nothing but all mage jobs to 75, that's understandable because they're all connected by certain unifying principles (and equipment), but when someone has all of the jobs to 75, they're either trying to get a Maat's Cap or trying to get away from something. In my opinion, it is far better to excel in one or three jobs than to be mediocre at ten.

9. You have no idea. Most NA don't frown upon RMT, they just hate them with a passion. Windower is okay, but if by "third-party tool" you mean POS Hacking or bots, we tend to look down on those. Cheaters are cheaters.

10. SUBLIGAR!!!! Lots of players tend to wear subligar in town. As for myself, I always wear Magnifying Spectacles and my Fishing gear in town.

[Tidane]

1. If someone invites me and the party disbands, I usually give them the benefit of the doubt, the first time. If it happens again and I feel that it was the fault of the player and not the situation, I'll put them on my blacklist so I don't have to bother with them in the future.

2. I can't recall ever seeing a list like this.

3. I don't think NA players go out of their way to invite players of another nationality. For the most part, when I am leading a party, I invite whatever jobs combination I feel will worth together best, regardless of the language they speak. For the average XP, the auto-translator is enough to get the important information across.

4. Getting turned down by a "JP Only" or "<English><No thanks.> response is always annoying. I understand that a player would like to party with people that speak their language, but it hurts to have a party at 5/6 and you're unable to get a crucial job, such as a tank or a healer.

5. English players were "taught" to use the auto-translator when shouting to reach the widest audience when looking for party members for missions/assaults/etc. Most English players are willing to make an effort to try explain the mission/assault to all members. There is also a fair amount of English speaking players who also know (some) Japanese. My Nyzul group has had a Japanese Thief that our leader explained what we do in her best Japanese.

6. It is possible that these players read forums or experienced a Japanese player refusing their invite because of language difficulties, so now they generalize all Japanese players in that same light. Final Fantasy XI is also an MMO, which attracts more than just Final Fantasy fans. I suspect that some of the players that you meet with this attitude aren't as much Final Fantasy fans as they are MMO fans.

7. I have no idea. I see new people all the time, but since the server transfer service began, I'm never sure if they're new players or players leaving another server.

8. I've heard the term haijin used before, but I don't have any special name I call them. Since the game as been out for so long, there are more and more people leveling a lot of jobs to get the Maat's Cap (I don't think that prejudice and contempt are related to the number of 75 jobs/equipment that a person has, though).

9. For the most part, people disdain the use of RMT services or third party tools that "hack" the game (even if they use them). It feels like most of the NA community doesn't care about the use of Windower, while most of the end-game players will tell you that everyone bots and it isn't worth crying about, since you can't stop what someone else is doing (and the GMs haven't been able to, either).

10. I know that a lot of people don't like subligar+male characters (especially Monks who used Republic Subligar from 25 until Byakko's Haidate).

[Eratosthenes]

1:
It depends on how offensive their behavior was. Certain people become pariahs on their server, and may try to jump to another to hide their bad reputation, but that's why we try to keep track of such players.

2:
I've never seen one.

3:
Our main objective is to fill the party and get experience. The biggest drawback is the language barrier. Most of us only invite JPs when we can't find English speakers.


4:
Sometimes, I'll get a /tell from a JP in all Japanese, and when I respond through the translator that I don't understand Japanese, the player will simply ignore me, which is rude.

5
It typically does mean we're open to any language. After all, auto-translator messages reach the largest audience.


6:
Don't generalize what one person said with all of us. I don't hate Japanese people, and neither does anyone I know. A lot of Americans are big fans of the Final Fantasy series, and other FF games might be a great icebreaker if you want to start a conversation with foreigners.

7:
Yes, but not many. Increased marketing might help attract new players.

8:
We call them elitists or haijin.


9:
Yes, RMT and botting are frowned upon. Most people who do are secretive about it, and it can be very scandalous when it is exposed. Some people are more open about it.


10:
I haven't paid attention to any of the fashion trends. Generally, we don't care how a piece looks as long as the stats are good.

Bonus question:
The banana is part of the lunch, unless it's eaten by itself.

[Kalisa]

1
This sort of thing happens often enough. If a player is rude to me or attacks me on a personal level, I first give them a chance to clarify or make sure they're not making a stupid joke, then blacklist them with almost no exception. I played FFXI for fun, not for put up with mean people. They don't deserve my time.


2
As everyone else has said, I've never heard of a list like that.


3
When I formed parties I paid no attention to language. I can understand and speak very basic Japanese, so between my basic Japanese and Japanese players' basic English, we could usually figure out what was going on. We don't specifically hunt for you, it's just that you have the best job to fill the party spot the way I want. For example, if I had a THF (before 60), I would rather invite a Japanese WAR/NIN to help us set up SATA/fuidama than an English SAM/THF. Disadvantages? I don't like it when there are 5 English players and 1 Japanese, because it could be very lonely. When there are 2 or more Japanese, you tend to keep to yourselves like you're your own party within the party. We made the effort to include you, but sometimes we feel like it's just an inconvenience to you, and that's very negative for us. Also, some of you can be just as rude as you think we are, but that's another question....


4
Yes, rather often in fact. I'm not fluent in Japanese, but (for example) when I'm playing my Paladin and I see someone saying something like "ナイトさん [things I don't understand here] wwwww" I feel insulted. Many of the Japanese players said they speak enough English to know when they're being insulted, but seem to realize that it's unusual to find Japanese-speaking English players... so they feel free to bad-mouth us thinking we can't understand. I've had Japanese players come in to a place where I'm farming, /slap me, and call me {素人} then be even MORE insulted and say even worse things when I let them get to me and bite right back with the very same {Amateur} term. There are just as many mean people among the Japanese as there are among the English. As far as habits of Japanese players that bother me... I do understand that many "JP only" players just don't want to worry about speaking English, but it feels degrading, like we aren't good enough to play with you. It's very off-putting.


5
Personally, if I shout with the auto-translate, I welcome players of all languages and trust the Auto-translate for the details. Complex missions are questionable, but simpler things like Assaults are no problem I feel.


6
Final Fantasy was yours first, no one can deny that. But now it belongs to Japanese, North American, and European players equally. It's not a Japanese game. It's an international game. It's not our fault that Square-Enix misled you about releasing the game to other regions.


7
Not many, no. I feel like a lot of people would like to try it, but other MMOs like World of Warcraft are more popular here, and people don't want to pay for several games. Also, those that DO start are often put off by the old design, GUI problems, odd controls, the need to always party and grind exp, and the difficulty finding people to party with these days. Maybe the new update that will let people party far below their level will help.


8
We don't have one special name for those people, no. Everyone has their words for them, haha....


9
In one of the Japanese reponses to English player questions, I saw that windower and dual-boxing showed a lack of morals. These things are not considered cheating among us. Many people don't feel that they should have to reduce their $2000 computer to a $200 game console. The plugins can be questionable. Some are harmless, like the one that counts your exp rate per hour, while others like showing mob HP percentage can seem harmless enough but make certain strategies much easier (like Odin's mass dispel every 10%), while still others like the distance plugin represent a clear advantage. I guess it's sort of like pirating movies and music. People know it's technically illegal, but will do it anyway because they prefer it. Also, there's nothing illegal about dual-boxing if it's done on 2 machines with 2 legal accounts.... Things like RMT, claim-bots, flee hacks, and so forth are almost universally hated, by everyone except the people who use them.


10
There are some huge subligar fans among English speakers as well. Somehow they always seem to be Elvaan Male! :s No other pieces of equipment come to mind... lots of people have their strange joke equipment, like the man-bra Warrior AF body or a Fungus Hat in Valkurm, but there's no one piece of equipment that is so widespread.

Bonus
A banana is very healthy and not overly sweet, so I think it's part of the lunch, not part of the snacks.

[Fingerspitz]

1. This happens sometimes when people are poor party leaders. I try to remember their names and avoid them in the future. I don't think anyone thinks it's acceptable behavior, it definitely isn't a normal or polite thing to do among NAs.

2. There is no list. Japanese people who are especially kind or who communicate well (and those who are exceptionally mean or rude) may be remembered by the community, in particular one person on Midgardsormr is very well liked by many high level NAs. He smiles and waves and talks to everyone, I think he must know the whole server by now *_*.

3. Years ago it was more likely for a Japanese player to have more experience and better equipment, now that the gap has closed I generally will just invite whoever seems to be a better fit for the party. If it's late at night I might pick a Japanese player because I know they're less likely to log off for sleep. If it was a party with a strange set up or camp I might not invite them because it would be hard to explain, but that doesn't happen often. Simple is the best^^/.

4. From reading the earlier questions I understand that many players with 'JP only' seacoms are just avoiding the language barrier, but many people find it insulting and think that Japanese players look down on them. I think it would be better if you could explain with autotranslate phrases like {I don't speak any English.} {English} {Party} {No thanks} so that we understand why you don't want to play with us. That's the most important thing I can think of, otherwise Japanese players are very polite to me usually.

5. Many long or hard to spell phrases are easier to type using the auto translate function, so players just use it as shorthand. However I think in general NA players are more likely to accept JP members for groups. I don't think groups formed by {/shout} are very good, but if you want to join one they will probably accept you.

6. Please don't judge us from the actions of a few. Some people resent Japanese players for being unwilling to party, having a better relationship with GMs (in our eyes), etc. Those people are simply unreasonable and should be ignored. However we don't really see FFXI as a Japanese game, since for us it is entirely in English and it's possible to play only with other NAs. I don't really understand that argument I guess.

7. New NA players still join every day, and others are more casual and level slowly. Also many people have reclaimed their accounts with the Return to Vana'diel program after quitting.

8. I guess I'm one of those people so I would just call them 'other good players' :3 I can't think of a specific word but the BlueGartr forums are mostly high level players, many in HNMLSes, so there isn't much predjudice against Haijin.

9. Most people, 75% maybe, oppose 3rd party claim tools. However, about 50% use them...so some people are hypocritical about this. Many other 3rd party programs are accepted, windower, programs to display spell recast or make longer macros, etc. Everyone hates RMT, they compete with us for monsters and undercut prices on the auction house, and also lead to undeserving players becoming wealthy. Some NAs buy gil but secretly, and if they are exposed they are ridiculed and shunned. In a recent event, a ninja with a relic katana was hacked, his gear stolen or dropped, and he was moved to a different server...but when it was revealed by the hacker that he had bought gil to fund his relic there was no sympathy for him. People said "He got what he deserved."

10. There's always one...


A banana is obviously lunch, it's silly to think otherwise.

If you can add our unrelated to the question comments:

*I always enjoyed being on a mixed server and meeting people from different backgrounds, it's very sad to see so many Japanese people would be eager to join a segregated server. It's true that some NA players are rude or stupid, but I don't think that you can deny that there are some Japanese players who are the same. Don't decide so quickly to avoid all NA players, many of us are worth the trouble to have on your side. Also I have a good JP friend who got me started on touhou games and signed me up for a niconico douga account so we could send each other video links, it would be terrible if I hadn't been able to meet him through this game.

[tripnotic]

#1 : Yes but usually i don't know if someone is from my country. Most french in this game speaks english.

#2 : I don't think there is this kind of list.

#3 : there is no particular benefits or drawbacks. I don't care about the origin of people in my party. We are all playing the same video game, why make differences ?

#4 : i find disagreable when someone answer a tell by "sorry jp only". I understand this "i don't play with strangers".

#5 : yes it's mean i am targeting japanese players as well. With auto-translate and the 3 words everyone knows in english you can build an international party (with EU, NA, Asian), that's amazing ! Everyone in this kind of party have to try his best to understand each other. It's true sometimes, it doesn't work but most often it works fine.

#5 bis : In real life, when you travel in a country, you have to manage even if you do not know the language. Believe me or not, this game learn me this because my native language is french, and i play a game mostly lived by NA & japanese.

#6 : there is stupid people everywhere....

#7 : since the game is translated in french and german, is see a lot of new players. Everyday, there is topics made by new players in the french board i read.

#8 : nolife

#9 : there is a rule in each linkshell i used (social or endgame), if you get caught with rmt or bot, you are kicked. About RMT, i understand why they do that. The thing i don't understand it's why people use real money for virtual things ? i feel bad for their real life when i see thing in this game that cost 300$+, they are crazy ? or rich ? or both ?

#10 : i'm a galka and weared a lot my rse gears.... but i don't like that, i'm prudish.

(sorry for my low english skill)

[algrensan]

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?

ofcourse-from low to high level parties, a lot of annoying or frustrating things can happen. it's not really the person's fault if the party decides to disband, it's your fault for agreeing to replace someone (who might come back after a long d/c lol). nowadays i make my own parties with or accept invites from people that i know.

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?

lol-no. however, they are several player warning threads (stolen account, player who stole gear, and switched servers, etc.) and various picture & comment threads (completed relic weapons, salvage gear, gimp/confused/wtf player) though.

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?

benefit: in general, japanese players have good gear and know how to play their job. therefore, it's safer to invite a japanese player than risk inviting a potentially gimp/noob NA player. drawback: depends how big the communication barrier is. however, in a merit party you don't have to talk much at all-just do your job.

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.

a long time ago a Japanese couple (MNK & WHM), that i was friends with, kicked me from the CoP static. They said that my only 75 job (SAM) at the time would not help them win 7-5 (no real tank). japanese players casting lots on all the loot in a exp/merit pt was pretty annoying.

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.

Auto-Translate makes it easy for NA players to simplify what they want to say quickly to both NA and japanese players. all it takes is a few letters, tabs and spaces. if the party setup is good and you know what your job's role is, there shouldn't be a problem. it's the party leader's responsibility to make sure you're on the same page anyway.

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?

it sounds like there must be a reason why that foreign player said that. maybe the Japanese player camped on top of the foreign player or stole his mob?

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?

noobs would not exist without new players so i'm guessing there are new NA players still joining. i've noticed a lot of people switching servers though.

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'm not sure if we have a name for that besides being addicted to the game.

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?

NA players hate gil farmers/RMT/cheaters as much as japanese players do. i'm proud of my character and wouldn't want it to be tainted by known cheaters. it's kind of like baseball players and steroids.

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?

the subligar look was a cute joke a while ago-now it's just an eye sore if you're not a taru. i think some people like to collect rare/ex gear from NMs. personally, i like to collect rare/ex great katanas and full armor sets for my SAM.

bonus: a banana is a healthy snack to me. the price limit on snacks is gay lol (no wonder there's obesity in the US). i think the banana, and other fruits, should have no cost to the price limit since it is good for you unlike other desserts.

[DaGod]

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?

Ohhhh yeah, of course, it happen sometimes... more than we would like ^^. When i am enough pissed off by this kind of things, i just end making my own pt. About holding grudge... It really depends on the way the person announce it. If he/she is like "i am really sorry, i asked them and it seemed ok, etc" then i just forget about it ; but when the people don't even realise it to be rude, i am really pissed off ^^

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?

Never heard about such a thing.

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?

First of all, japanese players had a reputation of being 1) no life 2) good players. It is no longer true ; i still tend to think japanese to have, in average, a better understanding of the game, but i have seen terrible japanese players often too. On the drawbacks, difficulty of understandings come immediately to mind ^^

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.

Being "Japan only" is rude, especially against people that are making efforts to be understood, etc. I sometimes feel almost insulted when i am putting effort into usefull auto translate, etc, and then japanese people don't mind and just go "oh nvm, JP only NA sucks".Especially since i am not NA

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.

You should, yeah ^^ if we are putting effort into auto translate, most of the times we are willing to explain important strategy points with auto translate, even if it take some more times. I am always welcoming JP as long as they are willing to do efforts with me to understand each others.

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?

They will always be racist NA, racist EU, and... racist JP ^^ Racism is just here and there, it is by no mean a generality

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?

First of all... i am french, not NA ^^. Secondly... i see more people who had left come back to the game than people starting, and when i do, it is friends of HL people.

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 just say "No life" lol.

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?

About RMT, all people i know have very strong feeling against RMT. It is considering the worst part of the games by most players i know about. About third party tools, the feeling is different : "cheating" tools (enhance movement speed, warphack etc etc) are put in the same case as RMT, while things like windower are considered a "must have" by the same people ^^

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?

Huh. My linkshell have a looong reputation of being subligar fans ^^' . I mean, really. It all comes to an old story of an elvaan, stalked by three mithra going after his subligar even at the cost of their life... but it's a loong story

[Not Kuno]

1
Of course. I don't like to hold grudges but it's a pretty shitty thing to do.

2
If there was I don't think they would be helping people very long. There might of been one like 4 years ago when NAs were starting out, but I don't know. I would never use it, it's more fun to do things with friends and give it a shot (and probably lose) then get a high level just steamroll over everything for you (ZE WARUDO..... WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY).

3
I will invite if theres nobody else on. Those are the only times I invite JP players. I usually don't because I don't speak Japanese very well, and so it becomes difficult to give advice on how to party. I'm also not sure if they have similar customs like how NAs do - we do things differently then normal EXP Pt; having brd pulls, no SCs, it becomes hard to explain. They will usually stay to the end of the pt which is good, but sometimes they just disband like NA do. Just like with any NA player, it's a /random if they're an idiot or not.

4
A few years ago when the game came out more JP players were a bit more vocal about NAs but now I don't see things like this. I've had mean things said to me camping NMs before against JP but not really these days. I used to get offended when I saw "JP ONRY" in search comment for pt.. but now I just think "oh well it looks like they dont want exp" and just pt without them as they sit in whitegate during NA time with a comment like that.

5
When talking to a large audience I sometimes use auto translate because it makes it faster to type out long phrases (also I would probably spell some names wrong and look like an idiot). I don't target only NA people, it's for everyone and anyone would be welcome, but usually only NA reply haha.

6
There are people who hate everyone. Just like how you can find a JP who hates NA, there are NAs who hate JP. As long as there are differences there will be people who do not like each other.

7
I see new players start all the time. I want to ask them "why?" but I don't want to make them leave by use of cynasism.

8
Theres lots of words to descibe them, some of which I don't want to say here. XP

9
I don't agree with any 3rd party tools. I don't even use windower or anything like that. If I found out my friend used them I would be pretty pissed. I think RMT need to fall into a vat of acid and die horribly. Selling sushi is such a bitch with so many RMT out.

10
Only on Mithra or Hume F please. Elvaan male subligar... makes my eyes want to kill themselves. I like to wear cute gear that looks good together in town, but never anything specific like subligar/beastmen hats/swimgear.


Bonus
This is a tricky one. OK! I will help you settle this once and for all. If your teacher does not like it, you should throw it at him. If it comes back like a boomerang, then it is a snack. If it just falls to the floor it is not. GANBATTE MINNASAN

[Darte]

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?

Firstly, not all English speakers are NA, just because someone speaks english does not automatically make them NA, English is most likely the 2nd language being spoken. However, i have had a few instances where this has happened. Usually i just shrug it off.


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?

Closest thing i've seen to that is a general list of helpful players on Allakazham, they don't really target a specific group (IE: JP or NA), but just helpful folks in general.


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?
Benefits: Most likely an experienced player, with a better overall sense of judgment on what to do on each job.
Drawbacks: Unable to communicate minute details unless there is a fluent translator in party.


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 haven't had any experience where i was insulted by a Japanese player, however i find it quite disheartening that based on the playskill of other bad players, i am automatically removed from the selection process when i am seeking party.


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.
It basically means anyone and everyone is welcome to join. Our goal is to get party members fast and accomplish our goals accordingly. Depending on the mission, we may even end up giving instructions primitively via the Auto translate function. It may be hard, but please review the situation you are going up against, and think of what i may be trying to tell you. If you feel un-confident, please! by all means tell me! I'll try to find some other way of telling you what to do.


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?
Go anywhere in the world, and you'll always find a person who doesn't like a certain race of people. I'm sure you can find some Japanese who hate the US as well, but does that make everyone hate Japanese? No. This is true in any game as well, and it was bound to happen because of SE having mixed servers. Don't let the minority of idiots ruin the game for you.


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 would assume the European subscribers might be still coming in, but i'm fairly sure new NA players have all but stopped coming, but i have no factual information for my statement.


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 would venture the closest thing would be "No lifer" (a derogatory term associated with a person having accomplished tasks that would take forever), or "Elite" (a term for people who have put in enough time to gain a respectable amount of equipment and experience).


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?
The only third party tools most people use is Windower which comes with several GUI enhancements (such as the ability to see your party members TP). Other then this, most people frown upon third party tool usage that actually break the game mechanics in an unfair game (such as fleetool, poshacking). I absolutely hate gil farmers, they have destroyed the economy, killed of sources of income, and hacked my account once. I would kill them on site if it weren't for the fact i could get banned from such actions.


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 kinda like the Yukatas myself, but most people like all the different event costumes.

[SamanosukeShiva]

1
NA do have alot of jerks, but usually I am very good at identifying them, most of the time I just avoid contact or just ignore them. I don't know about other people, but I am a grudge-holder, when they did something something that offend me, I remember their names.

2
I've never heard of it.

3
I invite JP players to exp PT when the other NA players seeking PT are noobs. I usually avoid inviting low ranks people altogether doesn't matter if they're NA or JP, unless I know that they're not noob.

4
I dont like "JP only" players

5
When I use auto-translate for "item names", usually it's because it's convenient, but when I use auto-translation for stuff other than item names, such as {buy?} {sell?} {hello!} {do you have it?} I do target japanese players also.

6
Just because one person say it, doesn't mean that we all think the same. Majority of NA people doesn't think that way though.

7
I don't know.

8
"assholes"?

9
I dont support RMT or third PT tools such as bots/flee hack; but i do use windower though.

10
subligar is popular too among NA players, ............. , I think...

------------------------

in my opinion banana is a snack, not lunch! snacks are light food that doesn't really make you full, banana doesn't make me full so I think they are not considered as lunch.

[Kimkytaru]

First of all I want to say that I'm swiss, I do have the English letter next to my name but that doesnt mean I'm NA automaticaly, I think lots of JP player make the confusion (not like I care anymore, I'm used to play this game without JP).

1
I just forget about it. I may hold a grudge for the next 10 mn but after I move on.


2
I never saw such a list honestly. I used to know some JP's but now they all have quit.
I remember tho when I was a low level blm (around 40) the first player that was cool with me was a JP player named Moppie, he gave me the spell D2 and several other blm pieces. It was the first player that I wasnt friend with that was friendly with me, we stayed friend for long time until he quit.


3
I'm swiss so I can't speak for NA people but here are my thought : Full party, so I can go merit/exp right now, instead of waiting 10mn to 3 hours for another player to show up. Personnaly on a merit burn I dont care if you're jp, german, chinese or NA, you just have to engage, ws at 100% and have the subjob I want. Now on lower level pt, I often party with japanese people back 2 year ago when I leveled my last job and I didnt had any problem. I know how to play my job.


4

I think some japanese people are very rude with other people in this game. Sure they dont insult us or mpk us but they act like if we were some sort of stupid people that dont know how to play the game and arent good enough to play with them. Personnaly the JP Only text on invite party is like an insult to me.


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.


6

I've been to japan numerous time and I absolutely love japan and japan people. However there is some bad people that hate Gaijin in your country, but you still export most of your stuff. If you export you have to expect people buying/playing what you're exporting.
As far as I know, FFXI isnt a JP only game like some game where you dont even have an english interface right ? Also if you werent exporting that much do you think your country will have developp that much ? Think about it. Also how many time I saw some english speaking people trying to discuss with japanese and japanese people didnt care at all and didnt even make the effort to answer correctly but just answer [I'm sorry, Japan only].
On the other hands I rarely saw a japanese trying to speak english or at least using auto-translate to communicate with others. So yeah there is a border that exist now between English speaking and Japanese speaking people in this game and I find it sad personaly.


7
Again I can't speak for NA, but I know there is new euro player coming every now and then.


8
My english isnt developp enough for that, I guess Geek would do it but it's not specialized for MMorpg. In french (my mothertongue) there isnt a term for that yet I'm pretty sure.

9
I dont like RMT at all, as for third party tools, we had a polll lately in my linkshell about it and we decide not to use it for claiming any stuff we fight with ls. I'm personnaly anti-bot and think that it's pitfull that some big ls wiht lots of relic have to use a bot to claim.
I feel that those RMT or gil farmer should burn in hell, they making the game a lot less fun.


10
I know several euro people that like subligar too, subligar love is everywhere ! Another proof that JP, Euro and NA people should play together more !

[Dragir]

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?

This one example of "something bad" has happened many times, and while it more often happens with non-Japanese parties, it has also happened upon being invited to a party which was entirely Japanese. As for my reaction to this, I'm not especially offended. Maybe I'm a little irritated that I spent a little gil, or Imperial Standing, or time in order to reach the party's camp, but I understand that sometimes things come up, and if one person has to leave, and if that member of the party plays an important role (only source of Healing Magic, or tank) and there is no suitable replacement, then the party must disband. I'd then simply return to what I was doing before I joined the party and "/inv on" again.


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?

The closest possible thing to something like this that I can remember in my nearly 5 years of FFXI is back when many of us on this side of the ocean were just starting out with the Windows (PC) version. I'd hear from a friend who had received help from someone who was a higher level and more capable, if they were Japanese or not. So, no, there is no list, but there was (and probably still is) the "word of mouth" about who is kind, and courteous, and helpful and who is... not.


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?

As an NA that does not hesitate to invite a Japanese player (whose job is required for a successful party), I will honestly say that there is no drawback to inviting a Japanese player to a merit party, or for a mission... for anything. Sometimes there are benefits, and other times there drawbacks... but this is the case with players from any country, as drawbacks and benefits are different with each individual player, regardless of where they are from. The only possible trouble that I can imagine is communication, and I've never had any difficulty. The most recent example of a situation where I was in a mixed party was the final Treasures of Aht Urgan mission. The party was myself and 5 Japanese players. We were successful on our first attempt. They had little trouble communicating with me, and I with them. We used a mix of basic English and Japanese words and Auto-Translate.


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 have never been directly insulted by a Japanese player, but I have been disappointed by some Japanese players' behavior. It is especially disappointing when a Japanese player pre-judges me as "just like every other NA" and will not even consider any interaction. I think the Japanese people are aware that people are the same everywhere in the world. There is always a mix of types. There are good ones and bad ones. Rude ones and polite ones. Quiet ones and noisy ones. Helpful ones and selfish ones, and so on. Please don't assume that I'm just like the last foreign player that you've had a bad experience with just because of the letter "E" next to my name on the /search list.


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.

Another person answered this the most accurately already; most players use it as a way to finish typing a little more quickly. Some things like "Diorama Abdaljs-Ghelsba" are easily shorted from the first three letters "D-I-O" followed by the tab key. Just one example, of course, as many players will take the time to translate even the easiest of words, like "sky" simply because it's become a habit for them. On the second part of that question, I feel the same way when Japanese players shout only in Japanese for something like an Assault, a Mission, etc. I have a great deal of experience with most things, but I barely know any Japanese, and I worry if I should even send a tell.


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?

First of all, I want to apologize for that person, and to say that he was probably very young and obviously very immature whatever his age. It's hard to find my proper place in answering this question because I don't hate Japanese people, lol. Do I answer for him, or for me? Hmmm... For him, he was probably just saying it to be intentionally rude or to see what kind of reaction he would get (It's important to also say that this type of behavior is generally looked down upon in non-Japanese communities as well) so he probably doesn't really hate Japanese people. He's probably never met anyone from Japan. He plays because to him, it's just another game to spend some time on, no matter where it came from.


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?

Most of the newest players I see are coming from European countries, it seems. It's also somewhat difficult to know if a new player is new, or just a new "mule"... Final Fantasy XI is quite old now, so it's understandable that people would not be interested in starting something new in a very old game, especially something that requires a large amount of time in order to do well.


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?

Hey, you're almost talking about me... I play long periods of time, have many level 75 jobs, possess tons of high-level equipment, but I am not filled with prejudice or contempt and I am doing quite well in real life. We don't have any specific words for that type of player, though, I'm sure most of us know one or two. lol.


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?

Wow, this is a huge topic of importance for me, and I run the risk of sounding very self-righteous here, but I will be honest, anyway. The practice of RMT, using third-party tools or any methods used to circumvent game mechanics ("take shortcuts") is, in my opinion, highly unethical and I refuse to be even the least bit involved with players who do things which cause any extra difficulty for other players. If I discovered that a player in my linkshell were using third-party tools in order to "cheat", I would no longer be a part of that linkshell if he or she were not removed. I will not tolerate a linkshell that tolerates cheating. RMT is just another type of cheating, or shortcut, and I treat it in the same manner. There's really no loss in choosing not to deal with players who cheat, because besides being unethical, they are usually weak-skilled players who need such things to compensate.


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?

The answer to this question is simple... all you have to do is look around starter-cities, Whitegate, and Jeuno. There are subligars everywhere. I think most of us were a little surprised at level 1 when we first put on that Bronze Subligar and saw ourselves clad in what appeared to be little more than an undergarment. Especially those of us with Elvaan male characters. The sight of it is still a little unsettling... but a lot of players have fun wearing Subligars, particularly the Vir/Femina type, sometimes with the Dream Robe body equipment. Subligars are something I'll probably always remember thanks to FFXI. I just remembered and had to throw this in as a response to the last part of that question. The Red Mage Artifact hat, the "Warlock's Chapeau" received quite a lot of attention thanks to a fun nickname given to it: "pimp hat." I don't hear that much anymore, but the popularity was there similar to what you seem to be saying about subligars. lol




Once again, thanks a million, Elmer. I hope our answers are well-received and understood as intended, but I'm sure you'll see to that.

[Hellfury]

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?
Yes, this happens all the time, people react very differently, personally it depends on the circumstances, if it's clear that there was nothing they could have done about it and/or they sincerely apologize, it's ok. If they are being rude about it, or not bothering to respond at all, I tend to hold a grudge. Rude, inconsiderate people are a problem regardless of culture/nation alas :/


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 heard of linkshell keeping blacklists on occasions, but I never heard of such a list.


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?
In general, I find the nationality of the people I party with to not matter, people are people, as long as they do their job, and get along with the rest of the party, I am happy. The language barrier is usually insignificant.


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.

Being European, I find that oftentimes all the western nations are grouped together, that we're all considered "NAs", which I do not particularly appreciate. But I must admit in all honesty, that I could probably not tell Japanese / Korean / Chinese apart either based purely on the written form without any help. I mainly have good experiences with Japanese players, but I am getting a little tired of getting tells with "experience points, do you need it" (in auto translate), answering "yes, please", and then not hearing anything more from them, which seems to only happen with Japanese people (if seacoms are any indication), I also have a lot of negative experiences with Japanese people realizing they are in a NA/EU party, and just leaving. I can understand the desire to not deal with the Language barrier, but Ignoring me upon realizing I am not Japanese is incredibly rude, people could have been more polite about it and at least have the decency to tell me that they prefer japanese parties.

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.
This probably vary a little from person to person, but personally, when I use Autotranslate, it is most commonly because I wish to reach as many as possible, the autotranslate needs to have it's vocabulary increased, but it goes a long way with some effort and good will.


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?
Well, I don't think people consider it a Japanese game really. It's just a game. There will always be people who hate others, that probably applies to all nations/cultures. Please just ignore them, more often than not, they are ignorant miscreants.

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 had a xp party in the dunes just yesterday, where several of my pt members still needed the mandatory subjob items, I do believe they were mainly EUs though, but it probably applies to NAs as well.

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?
"No lifes"


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?
There is plenty of opposition to RMT and third party tools. Most people have a fairly relaxed opinion of basic stuff (like windowed mode, autopassing, characters not blinking etc, things that should have been made that way by SE to begin with.), whilst there is a larger disagreement on stuff that significantly affects the way the game is played, like claimbots, crafting bots, fishing bots etc.


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?
The same thing applies to a large degree here, especially with Galkans.
Personally I rather appreciate Elvaan females in RSE


added: (and <3 Elmer!)

[Buttons]

1) Yes. There are always rude people in MMORPGs. I just tend to ignore it and don't like holding grudges.

2) Not that I know of.

3) I usually don't mind wether we have NA/JP or EU players in a party. Most often we don't have the luxury of being picky since there are not enough people wanting to party.
I also find it interesting to at least try to communicate with people of other cultures.

4) Yes. I always try to be nice and polite to Japanese players and everytime I hear JP only or <English No thanks> it's like a slap to the face. I understand japanese players enjoy being able to play and chat in their native language and don't wanna bother with English or the auto-translate but it does give us the feeling that they think we are inferior to them and don't deserve to party with them.
We also do not like that Japanese people usually think that all non JP players are NA. There are German, British, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, French, Russian ...(the list goes on) players and as such each have a different culture as well.
JP players always emphasize that the "NAs" are rude and impolite and disrespect the Japanese culture. But they do not realize that we aren't all American, we are all from different countries, speak different languages natively and have our own culture. The japanese however do not realise or aknowledge this. So please if you want us to respect your culture and ways think about ours as well for a second please.

And since there is no question for positive experiences with JP players I just wanna say how happy i was when i met a Japanese girl who would do her best to speak in English to make our mixed party work. She wasn't as shy about making mistakes and I personally love it when Japanese players at least try to speak in English, it shows they are making an effort to get along and know us.

5) I think it's mostly out of convenience's sake since there are also German, and French players who play in their language as well as the Japanese. By using Auto-translate you insure that everyone is able to comprehend what is being shouted.

6) I don't like people who are rude like that. I for one don't hate japanese people, otherwise I would not have enrolled for studying Japanese this semester at university.
The game was made in Japan by a Japanese company and was released in Japan. But today, a few years later it has subscribers from around the world, it's a global game now and it would be nice to be finally accepted by the Japanese.

7) I have noticed a large influx of new EU players of the last 3 months on certain servers. I only started a short while ago myself but since I started I have been posting my screenshots on some MMORPG forums and those have resulted in over 20 people from those forums joining FFXI in the last few weeks.

8 ) Elitists.

9) We hate RMT. My Linkshell immediately kicks a member if he has been caught buying gil. (Kicked 2 people last week because of this.)

10) I am not a big fan of subligars to be honest. I do enjoy wearing the event items like the yukata and swimwear as well as my Sprout Beret though.

[Telamond]

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?

Yes, several times. I usually hold a grudge against them by telling them off that it wasn't the correct thing to do and that they should ask their PT members how long they can PT before joining another PT.

Notes: Since I'm Swedish, I'm using "country" as "anyone who's not Japanese".


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, I don't see a point in having such a list...

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?

Since I'm Swedish and play during japanese prime time (6~ JST) there aren't many english-speaking people that search. That's why I usually pick Japanese players, they can almost always stay for longer time than most NA players since it would be very early for NA, and the only NA who are up then haven't gone to sleep then.


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 do get quite hurt when I see the JP only sign, or people who invite me to join a PT, but when I respond in auto-translation/romanji that I can only understand a little japanese they quickly respond with a [No, thanks!}.

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 use the auto-translator because I don't want to exclude anyone if they need the mission/assault/quest/WSNM done as well. The more people who join, the easier it gets!

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 haven't said that, and I think it's important to understand that if one person says that, you shouldn't believe that's the general notion amongst "foreigners".

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?

Not as many as maybe 3-4 years ago. Most of my friends play other MMORPG like Age of Conan and WoW.

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?

Virgins who hasn't seen sunlight for 5 years.


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?

Most of us use Windower and TParty and Abilities, but we generally oppose any RMT and claimbot activities.


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 think the Beastmen helmets are pretty fabulous myself!
I have one signed by my friend japanese friend Fiffy of Phoenix. I got it just before I switched server, something to always remember him of!

Tykkaru of Phoenix (now Midgardsormr)

Also, a banana is a snack. So it shouldn't be part of a bento.

[Aselin]

The following I will answer as honestly and truthfully because a lot are from personal experiences.

---

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?

Aselin:

Often, sadly.

I've been treated badly by more NA players than JP players in the past four years. Though I've had some issues with rude JP players, it does not outnumber the NA players who have either betrayed my trust, lied to me, or treated me badly or unfairly.

I've been harassed in this game two years ago. I've been called conceited, a liar, deceitful, unhelpful, and selfish. And, this is all coming from NA players when all I have done in this game is give more than I ever receive. I help others before myself. I sacrifice time, experience points, and even money to help others. Yet, through it all, I have met players who find the time to accuse me of being something else. It's why I put little trust, or have difficulty trusting NA players nowadays. I only have so very few NA players that are my actual friends.

Not only players, but Linkshells as well. I've had only two Linkshells that I liked, and that had fair leaders. Guess what? They were Japanese Linkshells. The leaders were fair and polite, and members always treated each other with respect. They had a different way at approaching problems and how they do events, and how items were lotted. These two Japanese LSes died when the leaders were unable to lead them because they had a real life to deal with-- school, work, family.

Now, compare that to my North American LSes. I've had nearly two dozen Linkshells, all NA, that broke up within one year or less all in four years that I've played. The leaders kept cliques and played favorites. Other leaders were there for the items and broke the pearl as soon as they got what they wanted. I've had members who talked behind another member's back on Ventrilo or in LS chat when they weren't around. The NA players I've had as LS members were rude, impolite, and disrespectful. Not only that, greedy and selfish, always crying for gear in LS chat. In my two previous JP LSes, I never seen that happen at all.

I wish to this day that I was in a Japanese endgame linkshell than NA. I honestly do. Right now, I believe I finally found one NA LS that I can say I'm happy being with, and I only keep them as a social LS-- keeps me sane. I wish I could say that about the other NA LS I have.

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?

Aselin:

I've never heard of such a list. O.o

Does one really exist? If so, could you point me to that list?

Thank you.

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?

Aselin:

From experience, the majority, not all, Japanese players know how to play their job better than NA players. Now, that's not to say all JP players are perfect, but their skill and knowledge differs vastly from NA players. I've had NA players that don't know how to magic burst; NA players that don't even know how to do basic stuff like enfeeble or Refresh; NA players that don't know how to maintain hate when tanking.

Those are the benefits from having a JP player in a party. I don't usually have to tell them what to do because they know how to do their job. I speak some Japanese, but not fluently, but I try my best to communicate with them.

The disadvantages is that many Japanese players expect the party to last a long time or expect it to be perfect. The rude Japanese players I've had in a party disbanded because the party didn't meet their expectations; were going too slowly; or was an incorrect setup. This puts me at a disadvantage because nowadays most parties I make on Bismarck server take me an hour to form the party because I can't find the right jobs to make a party work. And, when a Japanese player disbands because it didn't go perfectly, and they disband with a job that I need for the party, it makes it unfair to the rest of us. I find it especially disrepectful and rude when they disband and go to another party minutes later.

I'm not god or some [Impossible to gauge.] player. I can't make every party work to your liking. I just want experience points and to level a job. I would love to have a Japanese player to be patience at the very least because I'm very patient. I don't care if it's going too slowly, as long as I'm getting experience points so I can get that next level.

I dislike Campaign, and I will never use it to level a job. I'd rather be leveling in a normal experience points party. If the only players available are JP players, then I hope they'll be patient and willing enough to level with me.

They shouldn't expect every party to go perfectly.

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.

Aselin:

Yes.

When I started the game back in February of 2004, I've had Japanese players that were completely disrespectful of me when I asked a simple question in the best Japanese I can write. It's a lot less now than it was four years ago.

The only recent things I've had was when some Japanese players would steal an exp camp when my party was there already for two hours. I've had one Japanese player call me [enemy] in auto-translate and accusing me that I'm the one stealing the monsters from them when they were the ones that were doing it. I guess it's because us NA players did the same to them, and they decided to return the favor.

I blame NA players for that.

As for actions, I stated most of it in the previous question (#3 above).

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.

Aselin:

Yes.

When it comes to finding players that know how to do a mission or an Assault, it would be in the best interests to ask everyone regardless of what country they're from.

Even for myself. I need more melees and even a Thief for my Salvage set. If I get a Japanese player into my set, I wouldn't care. I'll do whatever I can to communicate with them, even if my Japanese isn't the best.

That's who I am. I go out of my way for others.

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?

Aselin:

One thing you have to realize: Not every foreign player is like that.

Not every NA player hates Japanese people. However, it's the good majority of NA players that play this game that make it look bad for all the other honestly good NA players.

I don't hate Japanese players. I love this game, and I play it now because of the friends I have here. Why an NA player would say they hate Japanese players is something I cannot understand or give a clear answer.

But, to every JP player reading this, we're not all like that. There are good NA players; they're out there. You just have to know where to look as they say.

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?

Aselin:

When it comes to Bismarck server, no.

If there are, I don't see them.

The majority of the new players we've gotten are from other servers. Most of them I affectionately call them fugitives, escape convicts, tourists, sightseers, immigrants or refugees.

But, seriously, no, I do not see any new subscribers, or barely see them.

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?

Aselin:

Yes, sadly.

We don't call them "haijin," but we call those players as having "no life."

In other words, they don't have a life outside this game-- work, school, or family. They place the game before and above anything else. They'd rather camp an HNM for 3 hours a day than do something else.

On our server, we have certain players and even Linkshells that fit that phrase. You can see one of those players from Bismarck in a screenshot on the first page of the "Completed Relic/Mythic weapons list" thread here on Blue Gartr Forums. Majority of the hardcore HNM LSes, many players on Bismarck call them as having no life.

How one finds the time to upgrade many relic weapons and get the best possible gear available is simply amazing to even myself. Do these players even have a life outside the game?

A lot of HNM LS members are like that. How does one make time to camp an HNM 3 hours a day, or do some other event, and still find time for in-game friends, real life friends, work, school, and possibly family? It would explain why many HNM LS members only mostly hang out with their own LS members.

So very few actually hang out with those outside their own LS. And, those very few that do, I'm happy to know them because they make an effort to keep friends outside their LS. They make an effort that the LS is not the most important thing to them in their life. They show that they do have friends and a life outside their own LS.

The "no-lifers," no. They don't show that effort, if at all visibly or obviously. But, even the ones that don't bother to recognize they have a friend or two outside their own HNM LS are just being impolite and ignorant, conceited and selfish.

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?

Aselin:

Yes, definitely.

For me, I immediately blacklist any botter or cheater, or generally any player that uses them. I refuse to go to any Linkshell or be a part of any Linkshell that uses them.

Any LS that uses them loses my respect and my trust. I will immediately report them to a GM at the moment I see something suspicious.

The same goes with RMT activity. The LSes I've been in will kick members for botting and for pursuing RMT activity.

I absolutely hate RMT players, including botters, hackers, and cheaters in this game. They deserve nothing, including my respect or acknowlegement. I will report them even if they are my friend or LS member. I cannot stand them. They should never take the easy way out.

A lot of what you do in this game takes both time and effort. If you believe you deserve to get that item, then you better work your ass off to get it. Don't expect to take the easy route by cheating, botting, or buying Gil.

That's my stance on it.

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?

Aselin:

Hmmm... this is tough.

I know many players here don't like subligars. I don't like it myself, even. Everytime I wear it, it makes my ass look big. >_>;

I don't like seeing it on any male character even. It's just shouting for a [Blindna].

As for popular equipment, that I don't know. At the moment, I would have to say items from Salvage as being popular if going by the people I've talked to on Bismarck server.

Other than that, I don't know what single piece of equipment is popular among NA players here on Bismarck.

日本では古くから議論されている問題があります。 
それは「バナナはおやつに入りますか？」です。 
NAではどのように考えますか？ 
以下翻訳ソフトで英文にしてみました。 

There is a problem argued from old days in Japan. 
This problem is not yet settled. 
It is "Is the banana included in a snack?". 
Ex, "The snack expense of the excursion is less than $5" 

Do you think the price of the banana is included in a snack expense or not ?

Aselin:

From a US perspective, the banana would be considered part of the snack expense if going from a public school.

Now, whether or not it is a snack or part of the lunch, that is purely debatable.

A banana when enjoyed by itself, is purely a snack. A treat by itself.

Now, when included as a side for a lunch, it's usually considered part of the lunch itself. Why? Well, if going for that balanced meal, then a serving of fruit is part of the entire meal itself.

That's how I see it.