What do you still hope/expect to see in FFXI?

[Spira]

Hi.

I know this is less of a discussion thread and more of something similar to a wishlist/airing of views of sorts, but I think it would serve a purpose of giving a somewhat retrospective view on FFXI in a way.

FFXI is a 7 year old MMO which is clearly winding down to give way to its younger brother FFXIV to step up some time next year. It has seen 4 full expansion packs and as of now 2 add-on scenarios being added to it. Indeed, as a game, Final Fantasy XI is worlds apart from the game that we originally picked up (for older players) some 5 or so years ago.

At this point, it would seem foolish for us as players of the game to expect huge new additions or expansions to give the old MMO a second (or technically, something closer to 6th) wind to renew interest in it.
However, I think that we still do have expectations and hopes for this game in the near future.

After all, it has been said by the developers that the game still has about 1 years worth of planned content to go. Anything beyond that is still likely, but has yet to be decided.

So, my question really is (as summarized in the thread topic)..


What do you still hope or expect to see in Final Fantasy XI?

Think in terms of it as an RPG, an MMORPG, a story, or as a Final Fantasy. What things, big or small do you still hope to see in it?

I suppose this is also a good place to mention and acknowledge the things that have made its way into the game that you appreciate, or felt did not belong.


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For me, I think the one thing that still keeps me hanging on (apart from my friends, but I'm referring to the part of the game itself) is really the story. With the rest of WotG to go and Shantotto's add on, the thing I hope to see most is the story developments.

Honestly, I think nothing captures me in this game more than the story, but because of this I have come to demand the most from it. Thankfully, and I think anyone who has done the WotG nation quests/missions will agree, it has not failed to deliver on the story thus fur in WotG. But I still hope to see a bloody good finale somehow. One complete with epic final BC and music to accompany it.

Another thing I'd like to see, and this is kinda small, trivial really, is the addition of an official "Victory Fanfare" track. As a classic FF fanboy, there are somethings that are traditional 'must-haves' in Final Fantasy. ACP sprang a surprise on a lot of us when it included FFXI's version of the Opening Theme, which is now usually known as 'Theme of Final Fantasy' itself.
What I'd love to see is the Victory fanfare in its full glory, as an actual track rather than a sound effect.. used in a prominent cutscene somehow. It was cool to hear it as you level up, but its somewhat different by itself. And if you've gone past leveling and only merit, you rarely hear it anymore. And its somewhat lacking in that sense, because you kinda always hear it in a Final Fantasy. It's one of the things that make FF what it is.

Considering the game was already in its 6th year or so when they introduced Level Sync, it was something that was totally unexpected, but very welcome. It changed the game more than any expansion ever could. It did seem kind of late, but better late than never, I suppose.

Well, these were some of the thoughts I had, that I felt were worth airing. If the timing is somewhat coincidental with the release of new FFXIV info, its because the retrospective thoughts on FFXI happened to hit me when I started learning more about XIV, and also because its natural to try to make comparisons and contrasts.

What are your thoughts?

[Olo401]

inb4 gay marriage

[Hoshiku]

I'd like to see more of Tenzen. CoP kind of hinted to a far away place that was in turmoil (i think it was the far east?) and it would be really cool if we could explore that story line.

[Cutriss]

Too much to expect, I know, but if they were working on XIV when they released TOAU, then I feel rather irritated that they would leave such hooks open for a story that they really didn't have much intention of elaborating upon. I really feel like the game deserves at least two more *real* expansions. Limbus and Salvage and such are pretty awesome, but I think more than anything we want new zones and new mobs. We want the stories told. New combat systems are fun and all but they don't need to exert that kind of effort.

It makes me sad that EverQuest, which has less than half the subscriber base of FFXI, has seen more than twice the number of expansions (assuming you could count ACP/MKD/ASA). EQ is still in *active* development, and SE has given little indication that they have any serious content plans for XI after ASA is released. Saying "we have a year's worth of content planned" is utter bullshit considering the timeframes they often believe are required for completing other content. You can do ACP in a matter of a couple of hours. You could likely do all of TOAU in a day if it weren't for BS "wait until the next day" requirements.

Many of us are so pessimistic about "a year's worth of content" that we honestly believe it's little more than a year's worth of recycled holiday events.

WOTG may have a good story (I haven't worked on it much), but it's taking them two years to release it. They're dragging their heels.

I really don't expect them to release anything new story-related once WOTG is concluded and ASA has been released. The writing is on the wall - They're done with it.

[Drace]

Some random thoughts on this:

New zones - even if its just a few new areas for enjoyable merit spots, with some decent NM/HNM additions, I sorely miss not having new areas of Vana'diel to explore and spend time in (and no I do not consider rehashing zones for WoTG to really be new territory).

Real expansions, even if not as much content as some of the past ones, as opposed to these add on scenarios. I know some people enjoy repeating the quests for a chance at the augmented items, but as a whole, these add ons are 2 day fetch quests that are quickly forgotten and offer little repeat value for most of the playerbase.

Expand basic merit categories - long overdue in my opinion. Not necessarily increasing the individual caps on them, but expanding the pool so we can merit more weapons, stats, magic etc. I'm really not sure why SE still has it set up so that we can only maximize 2 jobs when people have had 10+ 75's for years - it's not going to overpower any 1 job, it just allows people to enjoy lesser used jobs that they might not spend much time on now because they feel limited compared to fully merited jobs.

More low to medium member events that have gear worth working for. Einjerjar, Salvage are the best examples of this, while NI, Assaults and even still Dynamis are great examples of events that can be pre-planned, run on a regular basis, and offer some solid rewards for time invested.

I also wouldn't mind armor equivalents of relic weapons. Even if its just 1 piece of armor per job, something that an individual can progress toward that will be a significant improvement in that slot above any other piece in the game. Ideally this would include options such as are available on augmented gear so you could decide yourself how to best slot it. Something along the lines of a maats cap that includes 7% haste, 7 acc, 7att. i.e. obviously overpowered compared to any other option in the game for that slot, with an epic quest line similar to mythics. It should be something that takes months to finish and is more about the time/dedication for the final reward than it is about just buying the currency for a relic weapon. People were extremely anxious to work toward mythic weapons when they were first released, only to realize after testing done on the first few completed weapons that the reward did not match the effort. Give us an epic quest with some epic rewards.

[Yvonne]

Seeing how SE's been treating the community lately, it seems like the company is pushing the idea of paying for additional quests on top of our monthly payments. This is unfortunate, but it is an aging MMO and that most of their DEVs are now putting all their resources on FFXIV. Maybe it's a good thing so they can show something to the shareholders that, "Hey, this game is almost a decade old, but we're still making money. We shouldn't pull the plug when it's still bringing in money."

A thing that does come in mind is a new GUI across every platform. The current one really makes the game look outdated and I'd like to see maybe even a sneak preview at what XIV's UI through XI.

Finally, that ship access in Norg needs to open up. Could SE be saving that for another possible eastern expansion? Either way, I hope it's soon rather than the last life cycle in the game.

[Neosutra]

I expect to see:

Pld, Sam, and Brd nerfed.
Crafting break %s to be raised by 20% to "help balance the market".
Drop rates reduced by 50%, to keep players on the same tired missions/questions/NMs.
New side grade armors with the same graphics as previous pieces introduced through exhaustive farming or 1% drop rate NMs that pop every 36-72 hours.
And movement speed of all players to be reduced by 25% to increase playtime via increased travel time to any event.

[DAKPluto]

an avatar, lewl

[Spira]

an avatar, lewl

I feel ashamed that I actually forgot to mention this.

but overall so far, I do feel a little surprised that there are still people optimistic or hoping for a few more full on expansions.

I'd given up hope for them somewhere along the way after ACP released..

Also, I think various concepts of sociodynamics would be an issue with new areas and stuff. I'd love to see it, but sometimes I wonder if the game needs that much more of it. The world is either too big as it is that lots of places dont see people going there, or unbalanced as it is that everyone just happens to go to the same areas now..
its a little sad that nothing is truly new anymore. I think that is a pity, but that was the one thing that I was most pleasantly surprised with in ToAU...

Until we ever get a new expansion (if ever) in XI, I doubt we'd ever see anything like that again

[test123]

PVP

[Ququroon]

SAM Nerfed.

But seeing as that'll never happen, so I'd really like to see Phoenix played on more. I know that Tenzen shows it a little, but I think it'd be neat to have. I mean, would SMN being able to Raise be that broken?

[Rikus]

I hope to not get banned for something retarded...

[Shenrien]

HNM spawn timers reduced.
access to Tavnazia Ruins
Less Filler.

[hypnotizd]

I really expect to see one more full expansion before XIV. WoTG is just about done, they just need to implement Zvhal [S] and Walk of Echos end game area which I think will be done within the next major update or two (4-8 months? max). They'll need something else to keep the playerbase interested between the end of WoTG and the release of XIV. And ACP MKE and ASA style quests won't cut it.

[Amastacia]

2 full expansions... one covering the Far East, one covering the Mithra homeland, would be bitching.

[Siniroth]

Either Far East, or that Orc nation they mentioned?

Edit: oh, right, mithra, I guess would be cool

[Hanyoko]

A Crab NM larger then a Galka
A HNM that is the size of or smaller then a taru
More activities that turn effort into points, and then into rewards of your choosing rather then lolrandom.
A NPC that when you trade them an item, they tell you more about it (ie hidden/latent/etc stats/effects); works on food as well as equipment.
An upgrade to the user interface that would show currently hidden stats, as well as many of the things current windower plugins are easily capable of doing.
An improved chat system that would block RMT tells via custom/official filters
Food item : Bacon Log
And the biggest hope on the list : Customer service that would merit positive word of mouth discussion.

[Khalil]

A Crab NM larger then a Galka
A HNM that is the size of or smaller then a taru
More activities that turn effort into points, and then into rewards of your choosing rather then lolrandom.
A NPC that when you trade them an item, they tell you more about it (ie hidden/latent/etc stats/effects); works on food as well as equipment.
An upgrade to the user interface that would show currently hidden stats, as well as many of the things current windower plugins are easily capable of doing.
An improved chat system that would block RMT tells via custom/official filters
Food item : Bacon Log
And the biggest hope on the list : Customer service that would merit positive word of mouth discussion.

All this, if asked, will be replied with "lolps2limitations", "we'll take that back to us in Japan" or "we can't do that this present".

[Spungy]

I hope to see some pants come out of ASA that are even or better than Homam Cosciales. I don't want to join ANOTHER Limbus group.

I don't hold out any hope that the ASA add-on will be any different than the other two though.

[Izzy]

Izzy's Club skill has raised by 0.1 points.