Final Fantasy XI 14-Day Free Trials

[phrost]

You'll notice that the page does not advertise PS2...limitations? Maybe they'll ninja drop support for PS2, and can focus on revamping some core content, like poly counts.

Sign of the times? It really seems that after 4 years of more or less stagnant marketing they're pushing the game now, in its twilight years.

Conversley, I think it will be nice to see the kind of surge of players that we experienced in 04 and 05. Combined with all the new tools to make gameplay easier, I think this cash cow isn't going anywhere for a while.

[arshesney]

Most likely trying to leech some attention the release of Warhammer (and maybe AoC) might draw to the MMO market.
Yet some updates made a few people come back, and SJless people levelling in dunes.

Not too bad I'd say.

[Pikarya]

What they are doing now (in my own opinion) is exactly what SSi/CCP did to cover EVE Online's ass in its failing time. Not going to say anything more than that.

[Sabishii]

The art on that European site, it's non-anime style, and it's not any of the actual footage from the game. Interesting. It's kinda funny that they'd choose a style that you'd see for AoC or WAR or what-have-you, when it's a Japanese game with an anime style. I don't notice any mithra or tarus in the art xD

[Xanthe]

I don't notice any mithra or tarus in the art xD

There's a Mithra to the left of the Hume WAR's head. Potentially Tarutaru in the same vicinity, but I can't tell for sure.

[Yvonne]

The art on that European site, it's non-anime style, and it's not any of the actual footage from the game. Interesting. It's kinda funny that they'd choose a style that you'd see for AoC or WAR or what-have-you, when it's a Japanese game with an anime style. I don't notice any mithra or tarus in the art xD

Yeah, well most JRPGs really turn off some gamers, so it's nice to see a little more variety in their advertising. Hopefully with level sync, we won't hear about the moans about the exp crunch like we did when the game was launched.

[Null]

email is confirmed instant. check your filters.

Thx. I found it strange that I sent it to three different email accounts and got nothing. But when I tried gmail, I got it instantly. I had waited almost 2 days on the other accounts lol.

[MrBubbles]

Bahamut looks pretty rad, too bad he dies in like 30 seconds lolo, the pic is cool though, looks similar to the artwork on the new Vana'diel collection

And what area of the game is in the backround? Looks like it from Lord of the Rings or something.

[Katlan]

You'll notice that the page does not advertise PS2...limitations? Maybe they'll ninja drop support for PS2, and can focus on revamping some core content, like poly counts.

Keep dreaming, they will make a new mmo vs. re-designing FFXI so late into its cycle.

Surprised it took em so long to do a 14 day trial, now I just wonder how well thought out it's gonna be or if the economy is just gonna see an influx of botters, ect.. now

[InspectorGadget]

Would you be able to use the trial account to play with ProjectXI?

[phrost]

Keep dreaming, they will make a new mmo vs. re-designing FFXI so late into its cycle.

Surprised it took em so long to do a 14 day trial, now I just wonder how well thought out it's gonna be or if the economy is just gonna see an influx of botters, ect.. now

Not a redesign per se, but you'll notice that newer content released has higher poly counts than the original core content, I'm not sure it would take an entire overhaul to simply up the poly counts on the player chars, and redo some of the textures (incrementally mind you) on the core content.

tl;dr. . . Let a man dream!

[Not Kuno]

I'm with the others who posted on the side of "wtf was SE thinking" when they made the game sans almost any means of introducing people to their system. Every MMO I've played besides theirs always gives on-screen help from the very moment you enter the world. The better ones give you quick tips whenever you encounter something that's new to you. FFXI? Here, go talk to some star onion brigade people, then you're on your own. The amount of content that's buried in the game and invisible to new players is overwhelming. Hopefully SE learned valuable lessons from FFXI, and if it releases another MMO will do it the correct way. (Not that I'd ever buy another MMO from SE, they burned that bridge with me long ago.)

They added more stuff for beginers now. Mini quests that tell you what signet does, how to get started on various stuff like AH, etc. There was a thread about it a bit ago.

[fantasticdan]

They added more stuff for beginers now. Mini quests that tell you what signet does, how to get started on various stuff like AH, etc. There was a thread about it a bit ago.

Yeah, he explained food and signet, than go told me to fight it++ mobs in tahrongi canyon at level 4.

[Toksyuryel]

I'm more interested that they focus on Bahamut in that picture, what with the recent trademark registration and all.

wut?

[Xavier]

With any luck people won't make it past the starting cities and just think FFXI is one big chat room for shout conversations.

[Sukasaroth]

i lol'd

[Stubwub]

Yeah, he explained food and signet, than go told me to fight it++ mobs in tahrongi canyon at level 4.

The mobs you see right when you zone into canyon are between 7-10. That's not that much higher. Yes they would destroy a subless new player, but if you play this game at all you should know you can activate quests long before you can actually complete them. Nothing is stopping you from teaming up with a buddy to take down some mobs in canyon if you can't wait a couple levels to go kill something in canyon for the npc.

[cotners]

I find it amusing that the hammer-wielding galka is about to be stomped on by bahamut.

[fantasticdan]

The mobs you see right when you zone into canyon are between 7-10. That's not that much higher. Yes they would destroy a subless new player, but if you play this game at all you should know you can activate quests long before you can actually complete them. Nothing is stopping you from teaming up with a buddy to take down some mobs in canyon if you can't wait a couple levels to go kill something in canyon for the npc.

You're missing the point, it's not just some random quest npc, this is the npc designed to help new players get into the game. When the npc tells a new player to come back to talk to him at level 4, than at level 4 he tells him to go to tarhnogi, the player isn't going to think "Oh hey, ffxi NPCs are full of shit and give bad advice, I should ignore this." There's a good chance he's going to follow the instructions, get owned, and think badly of the game. And how many in-game "buddys" do you think a new player has?

It doesn't help that the game doesn't help you get appropriate gear/weapons, or even let you know what weapons are appropriate for your class. My warrior started with a sword, with no tip anywhere that hey maybe I should be using axes/g.axes, nor is there any way I could get one of those since I started in windurst anyway. The NPC also fails to mention the /check system, which is probably more relevant to a new player than a lot of the shit it talks about.

[Lordwafik]

@ ^

Maybe the player will have learnt by then about checking monsters, and realize that it's too hard for them to fight at that point in time, and to start levelling up a bit more before heading back.

It could very well be intentional by SE to be a road block.