FFXI: worth replaying after 5 years?

[Tweak155]

This helped a ton, thanks! I think I'll be waiting for a small sale before I purchase. My biggest worry was leveling was going to take up the bulk of my time if I played for only 3-6 months. I'm not going to play FFXI forever and I want to experience SOME of the level 99 endgame without spending the bulk of my time worrying about how useless I am/will be unless I level a ton of sub jobs or crafting. I also understand (just a little) what you mean by the differences between this and wow in terms of raiding. I don't think I want to raid, but if I do it will be very very seldom for lore and with a Linkshell holding my hand

I don't know if the game has changed that much (I haven't played in a few years), but you can actually build a reputation on the server for being good at your job.

It's easy if you always play at the same times as you will naturally land with others that play frequently at the same times as well.

I honestly never benefited from my LS. It was all about who you knew on the server and they frequently came from multiple LS'es. The really good LS'es were japanese, the rest were drama.

 

[Arkadrel]

My biggest worry was leveling was going to take up the bulk of my time if I played for only 3-6 months. I'm not going to play FFXI forever and I want to experience SOME of the level 99 endgame without spending the bulk of my time worrying about how useless I am/will be unless I level a ton of sub jobs or crafting.

FFXI isnt a 3month only playtime game = done.

I think you instead should play the game until its not fun anymore,
be that 3 months or 7years.

You can play it for 7years and still have goals to attain, and thats is the beauty of the game. There are people with relic weapons, that take most people "year's (real time not game time)" to farm for, to get with drops and help from linkshells ect. (each server might have like 5-10 people like this, and they ll have renown and respect server wide)

You ll run into people like that, and your jaw will drop when you see them in action. You ll never have that in 3months.

I think you should stay away from crafting, or leveling to man subjobs.
You ll endup spending 6months just trying to get rich, and haveing all the subjobs leveled for your "main" class.

Instead, I think you should just enjoy the game, and level 1 class + 1 sub, and work on the story lines.

 

[zokudu]

FFXI isnt a 3month only playtime game = done.

I think you instead should play the game until its not fun anymore,
be that 3 months or 7years.

You can play it for 7years and still have goals to attain, and thats is the beauty of the game. There are people with relic weapons, that take most people "year's (real time not game time)" to farm for, to get with drops and help from linkshells ect. (each server might have like 5-10 people like this, and they ll have renown and respect server wide)

You ll run into people like that, and your jaw will drop when you see them in action. You ll never have that in 3months.

I think you should stay away from crafting, or leveling to man subjobs.
You ll endup spending 6months just trying to get rich, and haveing all the subjobs leveled for your "main" class.

Instead, I think you should just enjoy the game, and level 1 class + 1 sub, and work on the story lines.

Relics take a fraction of that time now. Maybe to get a Level 99 Relic +2 but to get it as a reasonable 85 its maybe a month or 2 if you're dedicated. You essentially pick, relic empyrian, or mythic and start working on it. They all take similar times anymore.

 

[Mandres]

Wow, I can't believe how much they've cut the leveling time. I played for a year and a half back in the early 2000's and I never made it max level. Honestly, I didn't really care. I loved every minute. First MMO and all that ...

 

[Xellos2099]

Well, I got to say XI got some of the best story mmo have to offer. Hell, even COP storyline is mroe than a match than most square rpg nowsday

 

[zokudu]

Wow, I can't believe how much they've cut the leveling time. I played for a year and a half back in the early 2000's and I never made it max level. Honestly, I didn't really care. I loved every minute. First MMO and all that ...

Its a bit of a necessary evil though. Unlike most other mmos there isn't really any solo leveling content, and there is a cap on how many times you can level. Additional characters cost money. The leveling population just naturally tanked after what? 9 years? Most people have leveled all their jobs. I'm in the same boat as you I didn't cap a job back in 04 because it took forever but I've capped a couple when I restarted.

Fwiw I just resubbed for a few months. Drama in the wow guild. Taking up warrior and eventually ninja I think. Maybe thief. I can highly suggest dancer as an easy first 99. Great soloing class relatively cheap if you skip the af quests and subs on anything. Been using mine to do endgame type stuff while leveling and prepping jobs I really want. Like getting utsusemi and such. I'm on asura if anyone wants to join me.

 

[Tweak155]

Its a bit of a necessary evil though. Unlike most other mmos there isn't really any solo leveling content, and there is a cap on how many times you can level. Additional characters cost money. The leveling population just naturally tanked after what? 9 years? Most people have leveled all their jobs. I'm in the same boat as you I didn't cap a job back in 04 because it took forever but I've capped a couple when I restarted.

Fwiw I just resubbed for a few months. Drama in the wow guild. Taking up warrior and eventually ninja I think. Maybe thief. I can highly suggest dancer as an easy first 99. Great soloing class relatively cheap if you skip the af quests and subs on anything. Been using mine to do endgame type stuff while leveling and prepping jobs I really want. Like getting utsusemi and such. I'm on asura if anyone wants to join me.

Oh snap, I'm on Asura too! Even more tempting...

 

[zokudu]

Woops I was wrong I'm on Fenrir my fault.

 

[Rinaun]

So tempted...... All I need is to get one other friend into this game and I'm set. The lack of sales is annoying, though. I contacted gamersgate and they said FFXI won't be on sale again for quite some time

 

[zokudu]

I picked up Abyssea expansions during a steam sale of FFXI. It was $7 for everything prior to Seekers. There likely wont be a sale soon though because Seekers just released and it's bundled with the full game everywhere. Only place to buy it separate is boxed or off SEs site but it's still the same price so why not get the full package off steam? (At least in my situation)

I mean I don't think the steam deal is a horrible deal. It's the full game +4 expansions and 6 mini addons for $40. If you bought it as you played it's something like $240. So it's not as bad as it could be but I agree, should have some way of paying less to test before dumping the cash.

Could check older boxed sets.

http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-...&keywords=ffxi

Would need to drop the $39 on Seeker Ultimate eventually but that would get you started and leveled to ~70 or so. Also comes with 30 days free for new accounts.

 

[Tweak155]

Latest expansion I have is CoP. I'd prob need a few expansions

 

[zokudu]

Latest expansion I have is CoP. I'd prob need a few expansions

The ultimate seekers pack takes you up to current. Might be able to get an ultimate abyssea boxed cheap. What I linked above is the 4 major expansions with none of the abyssea addon content.

Abyssea is mostly used for leveling 75-99 as well as current "starter" endgame content. You can get to at least 75 without them maybe 75-99. You can get exp in the sewers under sandoria till 99 but I don't know if you can do limit breaks past 75 without them.

 

[Tweak155]

The ultimate seekers pack takes you up to current. Might be able to get an ultimate abyssea boxed cheap. What I linked above is the 4 major expansions with none of the abyssea addon content.

Abyssea is mostly used for leveling 75-99 as well as current "starter" endgame content. You can get to at least 75 without them maybe 75-99. You can get exp in the sewers under sandoria till 99 but I don't know if you can do limit breaks past 75 without them.

My main is already 75 and the highest after the main is like 53?

However if I play my wife will want to play and she has nothing.

 

[darkewaffle]

It'll be on sale on Steam over the summer sale, almost guaranteed. Though that's still waiting two months to save what... $20-30? I'm not sure if the collection on steam has been updated to include Adoulin either or not.

 

[zokudu]

It'll be on sale on Steam over the summer sale, almost guaranteed. Though that's still waiting two months to save what... $20-30? I'm not sure if the collection on steam has been updated to include Adoulin either or not.

It is and has been covered in this thread already, that's also why it likely will not drop to $7 or whatever bargain bin price like it has in the past.

 

[Paul98]

Looks like the gear/weapons from the new update makes nearly all other pieces obsolete. So starting now and getting to end game you should be able to gear up rather quickly with the top gear.

Freaking H2H weapons with +101 and +146 dmg, and other weapons with similar insane damage.

 

[Xellos2099]

Did they come up with anything beyond lvl 3 skillchain?

 

[darkewaffle]

Looks like the gear/weapons from the new update makes nearly all other pieces obsolete. So starting now and getting to end game you should be able to gear up rather quickly with the top gear.

Freaking H2H weapons with +101 and +146 dmg, and other weapons with similar insane damage.

I'm curious to see how this pans out. I'm sort of expecting it to eventually become the 'welfare' gear level and everything past it will progress using it as a base level comparison.

I think a lot of the upset players don't really recognize that with player levels (presumably) no longer increasing [ever] that growth in player power will have to be re-balanced to gear. And without significant revisions to either current stat 'caps'/'calculations' or the addition of new ones, really the only way to give that to players is with much higher numbers on the 'old' stats. Eg: haste was and is a crucial stat for melee, but at 75 it was far scarcer on gear and the cap was much higher. At 99, almost anyone can haste cap pretty easily so itemization really no longer has that 'pool' to 'draw' on. As such, we're seeing big fat attack and accuracy increases.

I do sympathize with the people who did attain REM weapons since they're being upstaged by relatively easy to obtain new 'base' weapons (the 30k plasm ones I'm pretty sure?), but I think they'll catch up in time. It's just a matter of having their trials updated or some fancy Adoulin augments implemented.

 

[Arkadrel]

If I was comeing back, Id make a Rune Fencer.

Spells:
Phalanx,stoneskin,refresh,flash,Regen IV, IceSpikes,...
=badass

Jobtraits:
Auto Regen III, Inquartata (counter on parry?) + Tactical Parry III (tp on parries).
=badass

Sounds like a fun blood tank.

Or just go back to Paladin/redmage
With convert&refresh&haste now from subjob.... ^^

 

[redrider4life4]

Do you still have to pay monthly for it? I had one account (main Bard, but most jobs at 75, all subs at 37), I was in a hardcore guild on Cerberus. I shared my account while I went on vacation since I was one of the highest geared players in my LS so they could use it while I was away since Bards were hard to come by. I come back and one of the people had stolen my Kirin Osode and sold it, I ended up quitting because the guild refused to punish the person or give me the next Osode. Devs also would not roll back my account, they said they didn't cover account theft.

These were people I played with for 2+ years every day so I figured they would be safe to trust, I've learned from that, never will share again.

 

[darkewaffle]

Monthly fee still active. And you can get another osode for about 200k now if you'd like one

Most level 75 gear is pretty outmoded though, with a few exceptions made for those that enhance job abilities/give +skills.

 

[zokudu]

Got my thief to 30 moving on to CN tonight. Tbh I don't know why I'm leveling thief. I already have dancer but I logged in the highlands at level 10 on it so I ran to gusgen and leveled it last night.

 

[darkewaffle]

Myriad Mystery Boxes kupower on Siren this week. I will have my Liminus Earring! Got from almost 58 to about 62.5 last night as DNC soloing in Gustav. DNC is so cool once you get the higher level flourishes and other job abilities.

 

[Paul98]

I wouldn't be surprised if they added magian trials in the near future to upgrade the lvl 99 gear to the power that the new gear is showing.

 

[darkewaffle]

I wouldn't be surprised if they added magian trials in the near future to upgrade the lvl 99 gear to the power that the new gear is showing.

I think the REM weapons will have some sort of trial/augment path to be brought in line with the new grade of weapons. Though I was reading FFXIAH and someone made the point that maybe they won't simply because they're just not that much of achievement anymore. If you have the gil, obtaining one is not particularly difficult and there's a lot of gil out there. Evidently fishbots in beaucadine can generate quite a lot of it lately and prior to the chocobo blinkers nerf you could turn a lot of cruor into a ton of gil with ease.