30 Days in Vana'diel

[Carraway]

Allow me to preface this 30-day review of FFXI with some introductory disclosure: this isn't the first time I've played the game. I started shortly after the NA PC release with a buddy from high school and a few of his college friends; this was during my own sophomore year in college. They had a week's worth of a head start on me, so I enjoyed being bombarded by Cure 1s while slaughtering bees and crawlers. "Don't sell your crystals to vendors," they told me. But that was about all we had really figured out. We made our way through the missions (up to Rank 6), we farmed our Kazham keys, we camped Hoo Mjuu the Torrent back when Monster Signa was hot shit, and were happy to get a party after hours of searching.

After almost a year, I started losing interest in the game. I was struggling to put together a static leveling party despite being one of the best-geared DRKs in my level bracket (Stroper Chymes funded my Sniper's Rings, among other things). The level gap between my friends and I was growing with every passing day. After one particular night where I was flagged for six hours without a single glimmer of hope for a group, I gave my gil and sellable items to my friends and cancelled.

Fast-forward five years: after experiencing endgame in WoW (vanilla and TBC) and WAR, I was constantly reminded of cornerstone moments from FFXI. Out-claiming Stroper Chymes against what my friend and I presumed to be a turbo-controller-wielding Japanese player; beating the black mandragora BCNM40 for the first time and getting an Erase scroll; seeing a Freeze MB in Garlaige Citadel (and then watching my Tarutaru BLM friend immediately die afterward); traveling with a full alliance through Xarcabard to break Genkai 2. I had never experienced the endgame in FFXI, having only hit 55 on DRK before quitting. What pushed me to really think about picking the game back up again was mulling over the various aspects of the game and how it had changed through conversations with a close friend who had played through Wings of the Goddess but quit for a year; in addition to that, I heard about the two-handed weapon updates, and Level Sync, and that was it. I wanted to see and accomplish the things that I had never been able to in the past -- Rank 10, all the missions from all the expansions, and endgame in its variegated forms.

My friend agreed to reactivate and help me out with my new account. I created a Hume Male with a plan: MNK to 18, WAR to 30, SAM to 37, NIN to 37, WAR to 75, and then I would play it by ear from there. I pored over gear lists, checked price lists (the change of many NM drops to Rare/Ex to coincide with their shuffling over to new BCNMs really surprised me), and wondered how the hell I was going to play without functional mouse-look. But any concerns over an antiquated interface vanished immediately upon loading into Bastok for the first time. What had impressed me in 2003, and what still impresses me now in 2009, is FFXI's sense of aesthetic. WoW portrays cartoon-fantasy very well, but most other MMOs tend not to stray far from the prototypical Western fantasy design. Simply panning around and seeing the mountains surrounding Port Bastok was rewarding due to more than just nostalgia.

I made my way through Gustaberg and Konschtat without too many headaches. Valkurm was as I remembered it (although my first real party back in 2003 was a 5-person group in Buburimu, where every chain was a revelation, and I learned to hate dhalmels). Running from goblins to the safety of Selbina or Konschtat was almost fun (emphasis on the "almost"). Level Sync meant it never took long to get a party together, for better or for worse. And before I knew it, my MNK was level 20, and I needed to get the hell out of there to get my subjob. At first I asked in Valkurm, with no luck; I resolved to do nothing else until I had the magicked skull, so I went to Gusgen and politely asked passersby if they could help me kill Wights. Eventually, a RDM in full AF (which still looks cool to me, regardless of its attributes) agreed. After a few kills, it dropped, and I lotted, and he offered me a linkshell pearl. "Say hello to people, get to know them, and eventually they will want to help you," he advised. The next day, while taking WAR/MNK through Valkurm, I was in a party that never communicated and was happy to barely chain Ts and VTs until an inevitable wipe to goblins or a mistarget on a leech. The FFXI community was as I'd remembered it, with its highs and lows.

Relearning the game took far less time than I'd initially imagined it would. By the end of Qufim, I was throwing Sturmwinds down like a pro-gamer. My friend dragged me through the missions up to Rank 5 (duo'ing that dragon was a blast), helped me farm my Kazham Airship key (fucking Yughott Grotto), and babysat me through the NIN and SAM unlock quests ("Okay, activate the question mark and don't do anything"). A complete stranger gave me gil after a successful Qufim party chaining crabs and pugils. Every great party was like a revelation, because no other game really treats party mechanics in the same way that FFXI does. Of course, that means every mediocre party stings so much more than the equivalent in any other game. I often ask myself rhetorical questions like "Why doesn't this paladin use Flash?" or "How hard is it to maintain Refresh on people?" or "Where did my songs go?"

Taking SAM to 37 was a breeze, retreading the same old camps, partying with friends whenever possible; my knight-in-shining-armor decided to level SCH as a subjob, which made things a lot easier when putting together a group. Some things never change: it's nice to hop between games and still see that the holy trinity still holds sway. Although, here, it's more like the holy quadrinity of tank/healer/support/andthenmaybesomeDPS. I'm currently leveling NIN without a set partner or static, and it is nice to be able to clear out a Valkurm page when I don't necessarily have the time to devote to a full party. Meanwhile, my WAR is 55 ("Okay, stand by the question mark and don't do anything while I kill the Boreal mob") and I'm trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to afford a Haubergeon at 59, not to mention Amemet Mantle +1 at 61. My Monster Signa still won't sell (1/5 while I was farming necklaces in Giddeus) and I'm hemorrhaging gil on food, shihei, and gear upgrades.

But it's at times like these that I recall the words of three great philosophers of our times:

I got the got the got the skills to pay the bills
I got the got the got the skills to pay the bills
I got the skills to pay the bills ya'll

At the end of my thirty-day free trial, instead of debating about whether I should maintain my subscription, I'm wondering how I'm going to get access to Dynamis, Sky, and Sea, or thinking about what my next job to 75 should be, or trying to figure out when would be the best time to shout for a Promyvion pick-up group. The nostalgia has long since washed away, and I'm simply enjoying the game for what it is.

[Dramafinderftw]

Seems like you have it all planned out, but not to shoot you down I'd keep the melee's on hold and level a mage job first. This being because endgame linkshells on FF11 theseday love to manaburn shit and not be old school and melee. I really miss the old days when PLD/WAR's tanked faf with SMN aerial armor rotation :/ If your still really wanting to level a melee job I'd start with sam though :D Since I just skimmed through your post and didnt read it all. Start your missions ASAP you dont want to be stuck at 75 with no sea/sky also wouldnt worry abt dyna.

Goodluck and welcome back to hell.

[Skjie]

Honestly, level what makes you happy, and keeps making you happy. There are enough people with different jobs these days that you aren't going to be totally shunned for not having the right jobs, and levelling a job you hate just to get into a linkshell is going to make you quit faster than anything.

[Nephlite]

Diversity is key nowadays and leveling a specific job can hinder you in the long run (i.e. me leveling Pld and being Pld only for 4 years, that's mostly cause i'm a main tank in the endgame shell i'm in). A Mage, a Melee, and one other job (probably a tank, I went for Ninja after Pld, then leveled Blm and Sam), can help you jump quickly in to endgame and without very little consideration since you'll have a rich fufilled carrear that'll teach you the basics of your jobs and make you a much more beneficial player.

[Psion]

I leveled pup. I get hated on all the time for it, but my linkshell apreciates my automatons sheer magical power when needed, and his ability to punch through a monsters defenses meleewise on the rest, and he really shines everywhere. I did everything wrong from a logical point of view but im playing a job I love and turning heads everytime I outparse everyone in nyzul isle or a meripo, and enjoying every moment of it. Play what you enjoy, not what is hot in demand. Just look at scholar, they went in one update from lulz to OMGNERFSCH and now their well loved everywhere. Pup shockingly isnt well loved yet despite its unique powers combined with sheer damage potential over time on the hardest of foes... but that's probably because the mindset of most pups is that pup isnt worth trying to pimp out and so they fall in a bad spiral of gimping themselves, when in reality pup is a best kept secret ;3

(though we still have a few flaws that could use patching... im looking at you auto mage na/drains AI, 20 min activate timer on a pet that is half our damage in meripo and basically all of it in higher stuff, and paper doll defense with the same HP as a player)

But play what you want, and do what you want, even if its unconventional, so long as it isnt a detriment to others enjoyment . Though you're doing war so i doubt you will have much to be controversial about minus going /whm, and thats just plain stupidity.

[Carraway]

You mean subbing /WHM isn't like being a paladin? : (

I will actually probably end up taking a support or mage job to 75 after WAR. BRD and COR sound really appealing, but the latter has an associated investment that I doubt I'll be able to make, and I refuse to knowingly be subpar while leveling.

Thanks for the advice~

[Akuza]

Nice post! I enjoyed reading it. Like people stated above, just do what you have fun doing. Don't get overwhelmed with stuff. Just try to have fun with the game, that's all that matters.

[Tagus]

"Say hello to people, get to know them, and eventually they will want to help you," he advised.

I think I'm going to steal that line...

[Carmi]

Your story got me all nostalgic and reminiscent of my own nooby days. <3

What server are you on?

[Enedin]

Diversity is key nowadays and leveling a specific job can hinder you in the long run (i.e. me leveling Pld and being Pld only for 4 years, that's mostly cause i'm a main tank in the endgame shell i'm in). A Mage, a Melee, and one other job (probably a tank, I went for Ninja after Pld, then leveled Blm and Sam), can help you jump quickly in to endgame and without very little consideration since you'll have a rich fufilled carrear that'll teach you the basics of your jobs and make you a much more beneficial player.

This is so true. And don't forget that you will know the mechanics of a full pt instead of just one aspect!

I levelled RDM first, then THF, then PLD, then DRK. There's always one of my jobs needed, but I would have been fine with just RDM. RDM is just mfdjlmjdsfJHE!

[Blademage]

welcome back to the game yo ^^, although abeit different than alot of us id say scince every1 has his own experiences with the game, its always fun to play how you want. I always find myself running mumbers and gear charts every time keeps me busy while i do other stuff too. Ive lvld pld cause of how fun it is to be a tank from the low lvls and helpful, sam cause i wanted merits ended up loving the job, dnc for the solo capability and then liking it to 75, cor for sheer random ness (to level cor otherwise is blasphemy! or cause you love buffs but not like brd) and soon drk for the sheer fact that i have gear for it and i wana zerg! O.o

anyhow we hope you stay on vanadeil for the next few years (i think un-till rapture maybe).

[Carraway]

Your story got me all nostalgic and reminiscent of my own nooby days. <3

What server are you on?

My new character is on Sylph. My first character was on Quetzalcoatl.

One of the problems I'm running into, which I know has been discussed in the past, is the atrophying of combat skills. I've been able to keep up for the most part with G.Axe, but Axe is really far behind because I'm still working on NIN. It's a trade-off: putting together a good party is far easier than it was in the past, but in doing so, the time it would have taken to wait for the right level range and composition is now going to be spent on skilling-up. In the end, I think it's ultimately worth it, because skilling-up can be done at one's leisure, to some degree (at this point, I have to rely once more on my close friend babysitting me in Kuftal), but you can't summon forth a PLD or BRD or COR for your party out of ephemera.

[Rasantath]

i wouldnt worry TOO much about it, being a couple levels below cap will be ok on your first job (especially considering level sync). you'll cap it out in no time when you hit 75 and start doing merit parties.
and at that point you can hit up kuftal for your other weapons no problem. oh, and level dnc sub when you get there, and you wont need anyone to keep you alive as you skill up.

[Cyn]

My new character is on Sylph. My first character was on Quetzalcoatl.

One of the problems I'm running into, which I know has been discussed in the past, is the atrophying of combat skills. I've been able to keep up for the most part with G.Axe, but Axe is really far behind because I'm still working on NIN. It's a trade-off: putting together a good party is far easier than it was in the past, but in doing so, the time it would have taken to wait for the right level range and composition is now going to be spent on skilling-up. In the end, I think it's ultimately worth it, because skilling-up can be done at one's leisure, to some degree (at this point, I have to rely once more on my close friend babysitting me in Kuftal), but you can't summon forth a PLD or BRD or COR for your party out of ephemera.

The beauty of leveling warrior first is that you can pre skillup for just about any weapon using warrior lol.

I'm back on FFXI after a six month break to play Warhammer myself, I really wish they had delayed that game and got it a bit more polished before releasing it, would have been epic then.

[Gwynplaine]

What had impressed me in 2003, and what still impresses me now in 2009, is FFXI's sense of aesthetic. WoW portrays cartoon-fantasy very well, but most other MMOs tend not to stray far from the prototypical Western fantasy design. Simply panning around and seeing the mountains surrounding Port Bastok was rewarding due to more than just nostalgia.

Precisely how I feel. Aesthetic's are a big deal to me. Despite FFXI's relative age, WoW just can't appeal to me in the same way. Some people prefer that style but for me the solid, almost neon colors just doesn't suit me at all. FFXI has a very tight, clean style about it modeled after real world cultures and environment. Despite any of their faults, Square knows how to juice older graphics for every bit they can get.

If you're enjoying the game again, go out and get Aht Urghan if nothing else. AU basically gave FFXI a second life and feels almost like an entirely different world.

[Carraway]

The beauty of leveling warrior first is that you can pre skillup for just about any weapon using warrior lol.

I'm back on FFXI after a six month break to play Warhammer myself, I really wish they had delayed that game and got it a bit more polished before releasing it, would have been epic then.

I completely agree. After my static cleared LV, and I hit RR 50+, there was nothing to do except tag BOs and keeps for the RR grind. The recent updates sound great, but the game has already lost its allure. Had the game been in its current state upon release, I think their subscriber retention rate would be much higher, but who knows.

If you're enjoying the game again, go out and get Aht Urghan if nothing else. AU basically gave FFXI a second life and feels almost like an entirely different world.

I'm playing from the 2008 Vana'diel Collection (my original CDs and keys are long, long gone) and coincidentally just had my first ToAU groups last night. The scope of Whitegate is pretty insane, and I enjoyed a scenic boat ride to Nashmau on the way to the Azouph Isle Staging Point. Qiqirns are my new favorite beastman race.

[Silenka]

Qiqirns are so cute and quirky <3

FFXI has a certain something that no other MMO has. Despite the constant bitching about the game and the fact that sometimes it would be more productive to smash your head into a brick wall than play it, it's addicting and wonderful crack.

[Nymphadora]

I've only ever played FFXI and I can't think of a game that would have the same level of addictiveness for me.

[McGoonagle]

FFXI has the socially redeeming feature of teaching you that cooperation and collaboration are good ideas. A good focussed party that's making good XP, skilling up, and not dying is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

The quiet evenings when skilling crafts, farming, or lvling a subjob and sharing info and bantering with everybody from teenagers to grandmothers in your ls is a form of interaction that is very different from just about anything I've ever experienced.

[Carraway]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/...8a89edbb_o.jpg