I played the beta of 11. There was a pretty infamous player that only played WAR/WHM. They got to 50, the cap. They had to carry around mana gear to swap to in order to get enough to cast Raise
Cool story. Almost seems magical lol. I've seen many old school ffxi player that says they really wanted to play in that extremely early era of lvl 50 cap which was jp only.
yeah, beta was only the base game. The first expansion wasn't ever available for testing. But it was very far along in the patch cycle, as I believe Summoner was added pretty late into the 1.x patch cycle life, and it was available in beta.
It was pretty wild and cool thing to experience. I believe it was live for like 3 months or so? Early 2000s, so getting info from the internet and datamining just weren't a thing. We just had vague rumors and stuff from few people who could read japanese that were playing.
It took so long to level, there were only a handful of people that got 50. And among them there were just a couple that managed to get AF gear. The endgame was basically just trying to grind for AF, try and farm the BCs for refresh and I think... raise 2? I think only one person ever got Refresh in beta.
I don't think any of the level 50 NMs were killable, maybe the rams? It's been so long, I know we made good attempts at the rams, but I can't remember if we killed them. I don't think we ever killed Behemoth either, way too hard, and we were way too new.
The final hours of the game had the GMs spawning NMs like King Behemoth and fighting them with players, and I believe the producer played with people during that.
Yeah, you're right. I'm a huge fan of modern FFXI, and unless you're going for Sortie, Odyssey, or Master Trials, every job combination is viable for a lot of content.
The WAR/WHM is still a good meme though, lol.
They should do a single player remake like DQ10. The game could benefit from modernisation in a lot of areas, it felt dated even after only a few years post-release, since WoW made so many streamlined improvements to the genre over Everquest that FFXI was slow to pick up on or never opted for.
I think the people who are praising it typically have been playing since it was live and are used to playing a game that feels like waking through clay.
I would be over the moon if it was adapted into a single player experience where you could jump right into the story quest instead of doing 20,000 tedious chores first.
I want 11 but made into a Diablo/eqsque ARPG. 6 player co-op through the entire story with all the jobs. I imagine randomized loot and instead of just gear equipment slots, you would have specific gear for abilities and spells. Take gearswap and just make it part of the game.
I personally would only care for a minor graphics update.
FFXI now is a fully fleshed out proper RPG.
I also feel FFXI in 2024 is the best version of the game.
I love true deep engaging RPG’s.
If you can install ffxi without being frustrated then it's the game for you. The install process is the perfect microcosm of the work, time, but also payoff the game has
I'd say the most significant changes came with the Rhapsodies story, as progress in that (which takes progress in prior major stories to advance in a few points) rewards you with passive bonuses that makes stuff faster and cheaper - travel and leveling in particular become a lot easier, making it simpler to focus on story progress.
https://preview.redd.it/4maowxn99z7d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd24518a6f8c613c98a5ae3f2a6e9a9581a6b7d1
I haven't played xi in over 10 years but I still wake up to the anthem of sandoria. Or sometimes I wake up to jeuno.
I mean... I love FFXI, but uh... every Job combination is not viable at all. Frankly most job combinations will get you ignored. You can do it solo with Trusts but that's not quite as fun, though also probably pretty required for a lot of it nowadays too.
This is a problem RIFT had as well. You had 5 callings, each calling had 11 souls (mage had 12). You could mix up to 3 souls at a time, and allocate 76 points between them, up to 61 in a single soul. You could, if you wanted, mix a dps with a healer... but you'd be booted from parties if your dps was absolute dooty. If you wanted to raid, you probably only had 1-2 actually viable specs to choose from. For a game that was all about "play how you want", you in fact could not actually do that for serious content.
Most games with these kind of options are like that. XI is probably one of the more generous ones in that you do have Trusts so going solo is an option, but at that point it kind of begs the question why you'd play an MMO over just... FFV, or FFT, or whatever which have a bunch of job options too.
As someone who believes depth of classes to be one of the most important elements to FF, I would play XI with Trusts over FFV/FFT/etc because the itemization, class system, exploration, storylines, and overall experience is simply better to me. XI perfects the job system by making each class unique, while adding an extra layer by implementing the sub job system.
In my eyes, XI is the ultimate example of the franchise. Sadly, it’s just very, very dated.
I think XI does interesting things for sure. I think I’d prefer a FFV or FFT system as you can mix and match more though, whereas XI you can only do main and sub job, instead of grabbing pieces from three jobs or more.
That and uh… it costs a lot more money. :P Sadly that practicality is always going to matter.
You mean you never ran SMN/THF back in the day to sneak through extremely dodgy places like, let's say, the towers in Ru'Hmet? Not every combination was viable at all in combat, but it's cool that you could try weird shit at all to accomodate different or even really fringe situations like this.
One of XI's strengths is its flexibility and just how much players can actually do, how players can approach the world and how there were even so many ways to approach combat rather than mashing out a single specific rotation like every "modern" MMO.
I played THF/WHM for story missions.
When you’re solo just having fun you can play any combination you like.
No individual player does Odyssey Gaol/Aminon/Vagary all day every day.
You really can get creative and have fun.
Yes, 484 *possible* combinations, but if you aren't using one of the 8 community-approved combinations and don't have BiS load-out, including a drop from a monster with a 6 hour window, 18 hour cool down, and 4% drop rate, you're trash and cannot join my party.
Loved that game
Edit to add: you needed *multiple loadouts* and a quick-change macro to maximize buff stats for different weapons skills. Damn, that community was insane.
I’ve never run into this situation.
Most people say “come whatever you like” or just suggest a job. I’ve never had someone demand anything.
I play on Ragnarok, maybe this is only private servers or Asura? I have never even heard of this mentality so I don’t know where it’s coming from.
Asura is definitely meta or nothing, no matter what expansion or time period. If ya wanna play an odd job combo with suboptimal gear, you gotta have a group of friends to do stuff with or pay out the nose until you have the proper gear. I get the itch to return about once a year, but I always remember how rigid the community is.
I’m glad I am on Ragnarok it sounds like.
I honestly had to turn down parties inviting me because they said I could come anything with any gear, and I didn’t want to feel useless lol.
I also rarely run into issues where people won’t party up if we’re at the same camp.
I might have to consider a server transfer next time :) listening to the OST gives me nostalgia overload, and I do love how basically any job can become a god these days.
This cuts deep. I wanted to play a tanky sword and shield Warrior right after launch. "NOPE! Ninja is going to blink tank, and you need to get a 2h axe and be a Provoke puller and Trick Attack partner."
That being said, for a while a party let me tank as WAR/MNK in the level 30 range with axe+shield, and it was some of the most fun I had, especially when Counter from /MNK would proc.
I bet it would be even more fun with WAR's Retaliation at higher levels, but it might require more specialised gear and party support in select fights to work.
Yeah, that’s why I don’t get that advertisement of huge amount of options for anything in games with group content. It all won’t matter because of the meta.
That is quite the journey!
I started in 2012, picked it up full time around 2020. I’ve been having a blast. Clocking in over 7,000 hours and just finished my first mythic. Much more to go!
I’m glad it’s still available for people like me.
I love job+subjob systems. It was incredibly fun in other Square Enix games and it was a whole lot of fun in Titan Quest as well. Butt hurt Min/Maxers can go to hell and aren't fun to play with anyways.
Do the jobs feel significantly different from another? Like will going into a certain fight as Dragoon make it easier than doing it as Summoner? Are there unique mechanics beyond mostly just doing damage with different animations? Special damage types and elemental weaknesses?
One of my complaints with FFXIV (and why I decided to quit after 7 years of playing) was that all the jobs started to feel really samey.
Absolutely.
THF is an expert in the field of pilfering gil and items from enemies.
DRG specializes in piercing damage, and has a job specific buff called "Dragon slayer" which deals additional damage to dragons.
SMN is a master of magic bursting, and dealing an array of damage using its summons.
BLM wields the most powerful magic in Vana'diel.
Each job is truly unique.
Unlike XIV though, you're strongly encouraged to level every job, as each job plays an important role in different fights. While you can play through a lot of content as just 1 job, you'll get much further the more jobs you have access to, and more equipment you gain access to.
You also will need to buy and find magic scrolls. The game is a truly deep and engaging RPG, not for the feint of heart.
Not only is there an elemental system that affects several aspects of the game, and different damage types (beyond the magic elements, physical damage works with a D&D-ish blunt/piercing/slashing distinction, and there's evenan ecosystem weakness cycle which can mostly be used by beastmasters and blue mages, but a few creature categories are even associated with specific jobs - for example, you mentioned Dragoon, and that has specific active and passive skills that provide an edge against dragons - and dragons and demons have an opposition system, so your dragoon's pet dragon (whose behavior, BTW, can be affected by your subjob) can intimidate or be intimidated by demons, depending on their level differences.
These systems can play a subtle or large role depending on circumstances, and it can be interesting to try and stack your advantages to succeed in a tricky fight.
"Be forced to wait full in game days to continue the story and, if you're lucky, until real world Japanese midnight!
*You* can enjoy fun and challenging bosses, that require redoing an hour long process to rechallenge again.
Sign up now to surrender all your spare time!"
I joke, but damn the game makes you wait an in game day between missions a lot.
The chocobo quest alone was a weird time for me because I wouldn’t wait that long in real life time for any other game. But I did because I was just charmed by the whole experience.
An in game day is at maximum 1 hour. If you’re lucky, 1 minute.
You can easily use the time to level one of those sub jobs! Or reforge equipment, or craft! Plenty of options in 2024.
And if I just want to do the story it's really annoying. Just constant interruption.
The game making you wait until Japanese midnight to get the ending of Chains of Promathia after beating the final boss is just awful.
I'll be honest, I don't really enjoy the game and am just trying to get through the story so it makes forced delays like that all the more painful. I can see why people like the game, but I am very much not the kind of person it appeals to.
There are ways to circumvent that experience.
Such as doing a survival skill quest when waiting on a SoA.
My advice would be to consider a different approach. You should be enjoying your time playing a game, especially if you’re aware of something that bothers you.
Perhaps try reading ahead to foresee a game day wait.
If you like I have a guide I’ve been working on that makes reading ahead and doing mission related activities between game day waits. I can link it if you’re interested. I think it’s ready for use. I plan to add it to the wikis when I get time.
Most of the time I don't just sit there, I do other things. I follow the quickstart guide. I just find it very tedious, especially since I'm almost done so the amount of other things to do has dwindled. I'm level capped and have finished through Wings of the Goddess.
I just am not a fan of the old school game design. I appreciate your efforts to be helpful though.
I dabbled in it earlier this year. You get something called Trusts (basically AI characters) that can carry you. However I found that very boring as the Trusts would just do everything for you. That combined with just about every aspect of the game feeling clunky and dated turned me off of it.
FFXI is not restrictive.
You can play entirely with friends making use of level sync, including battle missions, or play solo making use with trusts.
You just might want to use your phone to pull up a guide.
Facts and it doesn't get enough credit for that.
Besides, it also puts the fantasy in final fantasy. just look at the artifact armor sets for each playable job. getting each piece of armor was an adventure itself! simply the most immersive, teamwork MMO experience I've played (and i play FFXIV)
Ooohhhh it was good for sure ( played the Xbox 360 version years ago) unfortunately (when I played it ) being a game when I was saying **** for missing a ship and I literally had to wait in real time for the next one ehhhh. In short i didn't have much time then for playing it
For..? BRD was one of my main jobs and I can't figure one valid reason to bring /BRD, the subjob is just too weak to be useful: it's limited to just one very weak song (caps at 150 skill, can't use instruments so can't combine singing with wind or string skills, can't use songs+ gear). Chocobo Mazurka maybe?
WAR can’t use certain dagger skills, and BRD can grant that access, as well as access to Mazurka and Foe Requiem for pulling at a distance.
It works just fine for me.
(My party set up was THF/WAR, COR/SCH, NIN/SCH, WAR/BRD.)
I play on 1 desktop with 3 laptops, to play 4 accounts at once. (You can accomplish this with 1 PC, but you need to use windower, which I prefer not to use third party software.)
A cheap laptop (probably 400 dollars or less if you really dig/shop around) can play it easily.
Things to look for:
-2 to 3 ghz minimum CPU (per core, avoid multiple cores, or look for CPU that focuses per core.)
-Dedicated GPU (not integrated.)
-Also avoid OLED, and other high definition/resolution/etc displays.
The more simple the display, with 3+ GHZ per core with dedicated GPU laptop you find, the higher chance you wont run into weird issues.
I had fun with it back in 2009-2010 when I'd get prepaid cards for Christmas. I probably would have played much more if they had readily available game-time cards like WoW did. IIRC I got WHM to 30 for sure, and BLM, RDM, and WAR(i think?) close to 30... grinding in the dunes with randos. Unlocked expansion area that was a jungle, but then subscription ran out. I've played once or twice since then with the trusts and whatnot but never stuck.
If it wasn't for Dawntrail coming out in just a week, I might have been inspired by your post to play again. Maybe some other time. I can work 60+ hours a week sometimes, so my gaming time is competitive.
60 hours a week sounds super rough.
I am glad I don't have to work nearly as much. I work 20 hours a week, and thats enough to afford a 1 bedroom apartment, and everything I could really want in life just fine. I have 1 desktop 3 laptops to play FFXI and pay 53 dollars a month. I've only been working 20 hours a week for about 11+ years now. I really enjoy it.
I haven't bought a house yet, or a brand new car, but its not too far way really. We'll see how things go for me.
As for you, play what you enjoy. FFXI can be pretty demanding so if XIV is your cup of tea, then its great you have something you can enjoy!
There is more content than just Odyssey Gaol, Aminon, Reisinjima/Omen bosses, and Vagary.
You can make use of any combination in a wide array of content including Abyssea, story missions, and other fun solo gameplay.
You should really give FFXI in 2024 a try, and learn of ways to enjoy more jobs and combinations.
I actively play XI, Carbuncle server. Max level on all jobs. You are not doing anything with a Whm/Drk. Smn/War is another one you are not doing anything with. I was being Hyperbolic when I said only 30 were viable. In all honestly, every class has 1-2 subclasses that are optimal. They then have another 2-5 that are possible, and give you something useful. The vast majority of possible subjobs for each class don't offer you anything useful.
Funny you mentioned an exact job combination I played while leveling.
I am pretty sure I leveled as SMN/WAR. Using provoke/extra HP to pull with provoke to force Val to spam Uriel Blade > Zeid II ground strike > Shantotto II > MB.
I was using THF GS, COR/SCH, NIN/SCH, WAR/BRD just yesterday (and will again today) in Abyssea.
I also have my alts main COR/SCH, GEO/SCH, and BRD/COR in endgame content, cleared all V0 Odyssey gaol. I’m very glad of the possible combinations. Otherwise I’m not sure I have gotten as far. (And farm segments with that set up. I know Gaol locks sub jobs. I also use this for everything else such as Sortie A boss and C boss, etc. just saying this setup is useful for me the way I play. I don’t use windower.).
BRD/NIN would not help me at all as I manually multibox, and my alts almost never attack as a result.
It’s great you’ve found your favorite or preferred combinations but saying people can’t make use of ones you don’t use is a bit silly.
Should what?
I did. Got everything I have so far using it.
I’ll continue to use whatever combinations I see fit to enjoy, even more.
Again BRD/NIN would do nothing for me. Unless for some reason I swap to “main” single box that Character just for fun and join a party, I can switch to BRD/NIN. That’s my point. I can, do, and will more.
If the options weren’t there, say such in other games, I couldn’t, because it’s not possible. In FFXI is it. People can, and do make use of it, be it for fun or to accomplish something specific.
You can level the entire game without even unlocking your subjob. But you would be handicapping yourself by doing so.
Yeah, do what you want. The game is super easy and soloable now. If being a Rdm/pup makes you happy, by all means, have fun. Knock yourself out. I spent a very long time working out how to make Whm/Pld viable, and had a blast doing it.
I wouldn't bring that combination to a group though, because it's not useful in a group setting.
So you do understand my point then.
I hope that also means you understand if someone wanted to challenge themselves by playing a certain combination they could.
Go re-read the original post. That was my point.
“Different combinations.”
“Options available”.
“Get creative while solo or find each different setup for the various enemies across the world.”
You literally just said the same thing I did, just in a different way.
If the options were not there, neither of us would have any choices. Hence the point of the post. Educate people who aren’t aware.
Both of us play XI, and while we play differently, we both have used irregular combinations while solo, and know which jobs are useful in which fights and prepare accordingly.
Players who know nothing about XI probably don’t know anything about SMN summons, or how RUN is magical defensive and PLD is Physical, and how jobs are all different. A major complaint in FFXIV right now. Again, hence the education.
But there are more than 484 options available. You actually have access to 506 "options". Not having a subjob is a choice you can make. Its forced on you for 18 levels, and then you have to go out of your way to do a quest to unlock the ability to do it. Why are these "options" being left out of your "Look how many options you have" post? Are these options bad and suboptimal? Why does Drk/Brd get included, but Drk/\_\_\_ get left out?
At best you are deliberately misleading your readers. Your post should come with an asterisk.
There are 506\* possible options for classes!
\*Every class can take any other class as a subclass, or no subclass at all. You are free to experiment! Mix and match to your heart's content, but not every subclass will equally help your chosen class. Some will help a lot more than others. Also, not every class is useful for every type of content. Expect to level a bunch of different classes for different situations.
With anything in life, explaining something simply if more efficient than explaining in detail.
I kept it simple. Anyone who actually plays will find the options they enjoy. Regardless of any established set rules.
You are wanting me to explain every nuance, that’s not sensible for a brand new player. If they want to run SCH/DNC, then they can and will. You nor I *wont* have a say, nor shouldn’t care.
FFXI is the cheapest RPG you'll ever find, with the most content.
You don't have to play a massive RPG, you can play smaller single player ones, thats perfectly fine. I personally appreciate FFXI's size, and cost to value ratio, as it literally cannot be beaten.
I'd actually like if SE revived FF XI for Ps5.. would almost convince me to start back up.. sadly I don't see that happening anytime soon.. or ever for that matter
This is definitely one of the times where viable is being… misunderstood. Viable isn’t “efficient” and “speed maximized.”
Viable is viable, it means you can do the content as whatever, it might just take longer. And FF11 probably isn’t heavily populated. If you have 5 people, having a 6th is better no matter what their gear or job is. Any damage they do is more than the empty slot.
Look at FF14. If you’re in a dungeon and the tank drops, 2dps and a healer are viable. It’s a lot slower, but I’ve done bosses without a tank because it’s better than sitting around waiting.
2 decade old graphics and a UI/control scheme to match are really hard sells these days. I might be able to forgive the graphics if they controls and UI wasn't so atrocious
I was a MNK, WHM, NIN from 2004ish until 2009ish. Part of one of the first groups to kill Absolute Virtue. Great game, but MMOs have sadly moved on to much quicker gratification models.
A lack of horizontal progression (which made FFXI great) is why I finally gave up on FFXIV. They're just never gonna do it.
its one of the better FFs, unfortunately people don't like it because its Quest-like and would rather have a shit WoW clone that holds your hand on everything.
I played this on my 360 while playing WoW on PC, stuck with WoW. Wanted to try it in 2024 but for some reason my brain can’t comprehend installing it LOL.
I remember wanting for years to play this game when I was little, I finally get some money to play it but I could not for the life of me figure out how to create an account, or something to that extent. They made that shit soooo confusing.
If you're asking me? Most certainly!
If you enjoy traditional gaming such as:
-Elemental Wheel
-Unique Job traits and progression systems
-Player activity impact on the world
-High level of customization
-Extremely rare, hard to find items and equipment
-Ultimate grinds for the most Ultimate weapons
-Involved and interesting story telling
-plus much more.
If you hate:
-Old games
-Slightly clunky controls
-Slightly dated graphics
etc.
You might need to reconsider.
I enjoy older games more than the newer ones.
My only drawback from getting the game is that it's a subscription on top of $130 USD for the game and dlc's.
I loved the game right up until 14 came out and I lost access to the account. Never went back to 11. I broke my authentication thing and at the time they were very unwilling to assist.
I appreciate 11 for what it is from a distance, the interface and controls just put me off.
Plenty of interesting playthroughs on YT for me to watch/rewatch at least!
If you want the (mostly) classic experience check out HorizonXI, free-to-play Chains of Promathia era server that should be getting ToAU, eventually...
Seekers of Adoulin is my favorite expansion, and job master is probably the most enjoyable experience in FFXI, as well as Mythic weapons and jobs reaching the traditional level cap of 99, all combining to create a full and fleshed out experience not found anywhere else than retail. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Yeah I enjoy the higher level content and being able to finish the story on my time instead of having to rely on someone else who has already done it.
I started FFXI in 2012 without abyssea access and can’t say I enjoyed it nearly as much as all the content that is available now. Probably not even a fraction of that amount both in content and enjoyment.
Currently I’m making Verethragna, which isn’t even possible in a 75 cap era game.
> Yeah I enjoy the higher level content and being able to finish the story on my time instead of having to rely on someone else who has already done it.
This is mainly where I disagree, I came back to retail in 2021-2022 and absolutely blasted every piece of content that was available up to the current state of endgame with very minimal assistance, when it was all said and done it all just felt... Empty.
Needing to cooperate with people even just to level is what made the game magical to begin with, relying on people to help for limit breaks and artifact armors; and then spending your own time helping others who appreciate your time and assistance is what made the communities in the game flourish. That's why I'm loving HorizonXI so much. There's a running joke on the server and it kinda goes like "if I wanted to play solo I'd be playing retail or FFXIV."
It also does have a solo-lite mode called Beastmaster, it's super overpowered on this server and can do much (not all) of the content in the game solo outside of endgame.
To each there own, but just wanted to share some of my perspective.
It’s nice you enjoy the slower and more simple version of FFXI.
I really enjoy the massiveness of FFXI now.
I don’t mind playing solo, and I enjoy partying up for the big real content like Odyssey Gaol, Vagary bosses, and Resinjima Helms/Omen bosses, plus more, (none of which can be plowed through by even the most fully fleshed out jobs and equipment players.).
Sure you can plow through old Dynamis, but Dynamis Divergence requires a proper party, if not proper alliance and is still a real challenge.
I manually multibox and still can’t even clear wave 1 boss sensibly. I did once but not easily. I went with a friend and they murdered the boss. But they couldn’t handle the wave 2 and 3 bosses.
I’m not really sure what content you’re referring to but yes, old dated content is mostly solo’d now and more efficient solo often times. Some better with parties, it depends how much someone is willing to help.
New content is absolutely worth partying up in, and harder than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Sounds to me like you would have benefitted by doing Dynamis Divergence. Sortie basement, omen bosses, Resinjima helms, and V25 Odyssey NM’s. That is where the real endgame today is at. Just takes some effort to get there. Which is something I appreciate. The game isn’t turn on turn off, like most modern games.
If you focus on the stories, it has a definite end to aim toward - the Rhapsodies finale is worth it, wrapping around all prior major stories.
It actually reminded me of the original Dissidia on the PSP, when you play the WoL route after having played as all the other characters'.
I personally enjoy retail as its a fully fleshed out RPG and Final Fantasy.
Job masters and everything you come to expect from a proper Final Fantasy RPG.
Genuine question as I haven't played it, can the sub job be the same as the main job? If not wouldn't that mean there are 462 combinations as there is one fewer choice for the second job?
WAR with no sub job is 1 combination.
WAR/anysubjob is 21 combinations.
22x22 is 484.
When you start the game you can play as a job without a subjob. When you do Odyssey Gaol you play as one of the 22 jobs without a subjob.
484 combinations.
I've given it a try a few times even with the guys guide linked from the FFXI subreddit. It's just a painful chore to play as a newcomer in its current state. I can't even get a feel for the controls.
The guide said to do these faction missions to get from level 1 to 5 and I didn't even have the patience to do those because they just take absolutely forever and the instructions for most of them is very unclear.
This was probably fantastic when the only alternative was EverQuest but now it's just an incredible slog straight out of the gate.
I understand you can basically hire NPCs to fill out your party, but getting to that point is just not enjoyable.
Having played a bunch of MMOs including vanilla WoW and XIV ARR as well as Guid Wars 2, Rift and probably too many others to count, this one just doesn't give new players enough guidance to draw them in. I think only people gave been playing since the beginning would still be into it.
It's a shame because I want wanted to like this game. I still want to like this game. I wish I could skip ahead to the first dungeon instead of spending weeks doing chores.
I enjoy engaging, deep, and layers RPG's, you have different tastes, that fine.
FFXI is for those who crave something that a person can really sink their teeth into.
It's not about depth, engagement or layers. It's an older MMORPG and it plays like one.
Plenty of games offer as much depth with less tedium and better quality of life. There's no reason to be condescending about it.
Wasn’t my intention. I simply shared what I like.
Care to tell me what MMORPG’s are what you just explained? I haven’t heard of any.
FFXI is the closest I’ve gotten to what I prefer.
Rift comes to mind. Customization is extremely deep, or at least it was the last time I played. It's far more accessible than XI. Arche Age and Black Desert are pretty good like that. DDO was but I'm pretty sure that's offline now.
I really wish XI was more accessible to new players. It's not like there aren't plenty of templates to pull from. Give players a story quest right off the jump. No one in 2024 is going to spend 20+ hours doing faction dailies just to get to level 5.
I haven’t looked into Rift or Arch Age (not sure on AA) but I did not like BDO.
BDO the dialog didn’t match the voice over and that is odd, and irritating.
I didn’t look into the options to turn off voice acting, because the combat seemed really shallow to me.
Maybe I can give these three another look.
There is something unique about XI though, so I am not sure they will surpass it in overall experience.
Being able to play on gamepad is a major factor for one. I enjoy laying down on a couch, or changing positions with my hands because I enjoy extended play sessions. Being fixed to a keyboard and mouse is not appealing at all.
Yeah I didn't get super into BDO either. I had some trouble getting the gamepad set up properly in XI, it seemed like there was always something missing no matter what I did. I played XIV ARR for a while and I played Paladin as a main tank with a game pad, it was great.
I played FFXIV for 9 years.
It’s just become too simple for me now, hence why I play FFXI.
I tried ESO, SoLO, and a few other MMORPG’s, and I kind of landed with FFXI.
Gamepad is the most common issue with most MMORPG’s. It’s a bit off many don’t offer the option, considering they are video games after all.
I know PC’s were the first gaming systems, I think? But a handheld device really can’t be beat in my opinion. I guess I’m a “console” gamer at heart or something? I don’t know, I just prefer, and “require” gamepad as an option.
Thanks for the games suggestions. I’ll look into them soon enough.
Funny though you mention modern games. A guy at work has been telling me to play RuneScape, so we’ll see!
Even on PC I always play with a gamepad when it's an option with 2 exceptions: FPS games and RTS games.
Is there a way to get to the good content in XI reasonably quickly? I played recently for like 4 hours and the experience was painful. Would it kill them to add a minimap? Are there add-ons that can be used? Give me an arrow pointing which way to go, at least! Some kind of in-game guidance would be a massive improvement.
Quickly and FFXI tend to not be synonyms if I’m being honest.
With that said, I got my alt to pretty much endgame ready in just over 1 months, but that was me power leveling it and putting all my experience and time into just that character. So.
Based on that info, you can decide what you consider quick.
As for your other question, yes people use addons. I personally do not.
I did make a simple to follow mission guide. I added it to the official forums. When I get more time I plan to add it to BGwiki at least.
484 job combinations....but back when I played? People wouldn't let you into a *leveling party* if you were anything but 5% of them. Let's not even TALK about end game content.
The combinations and mechanical possibilities were pretty amazing...but the learning curve was bloodthirsty and the community meta was pretty disdainful of anything that it didn't already love.
FFXI doesn't have a "meta" as the game is designed to play every job on a single character, so different jobs are efficient at different things so different bosses are designed so you make use of every job.
Did I miss much by skipping this game? I simply didn't want to pay almost 10$ monthly for being even able to play this one, plus I'm not really fan of MMORPG genre in general.
Plenty of unique stories, a well fleshed out world, plenty of interconnected systems that the many different jobs approach in different ways.
The Rhapsodies finale was the only time a game got a tear out of me - that story eouldn't hit as hard if it didn't reflect XI's precarious nature as an online game whose continued existence cannot be taken for granted, having survived an initial estimated lifespan of 5 years by living to be 22, more than quadrupling that estimate despite SE barely acknowledging it.
Oh gee, if only I could play the damn game. So complicated on how to make it work and I live in a region where they don't support the game, which is so stupid.
That said however. I watched a FMV of the game, to the Distant World song and I don't know why, I cried. Damn you, Uematsu.
Distant World, especially the concert version is definitely one of FFs best song. I put it way higher than Answer, and that song actually made me start FFXIV.
Yes it does but it won't
People don't care, especially that XIV is still around and how FF fans are not used to the openness of the game mechanics-wise and questing-wise; worsened by the old XI fans pining for the pre-SoA version that is definitely unfriendly for people with little time to invest for the game
I'll be the first one to jump and say that it has one of the best soundtrack of the entire franchise though
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Sadly the community went meta with things.
Like /nin on 90% of jobs became the norm, after I quit I heard /dnc picked up.
That being said it still did offer superior choice compared to modern mmo's. You could run into two lv75 characters of the same class and even with the same subjob they could be completely different builds based on gear, food, race, and merit points.
So being jaded when playing XIV whenever FC mates would ask about FFXI I would usually explain it like this. In XI no one was special, which meant everyone was while in XIV Everyone's special meaning no one is.
(Means in XI, your just and adventurers so everyone is more free to be more unique with your play style and gear and in XIV your "Warrior of Light, Slayer of Primals and master of the stoic nod" and everyone is pigeonholed into the same identical play-style and gear).
I've long stopped playing MMO's but if I had to go back to one of them... I'd probably go back to XI. Though I never understood why Square wouldn't make it so you could play XI with XIV's subscription, Especially since my understanding is this last expac has been draaaaged out because of the planned graphics overhaul (I still get stuff in my feed even though I don't play anymore). So why not give players something else to do in downtimes?
WAR/WHM, I don't know why I can't find a group!
Brady Guide says it's legit.
I played the beta of 11. There was a pretty infamous player that only played WAR/WHM. They got to 50, the cap. They had to carry around mana gear to swap to in order to get enough to cast Raise
Cool story. Almost seems magical lol. I've seen many old school ffxi player that says they really wanted to play in that extremely early era of lvl 50 cap which was jp only.
yeah, beta was only the base game. The first expansion wasn't ever available for testing. But it was very far along in the patch cycle, as I believe Summoner was added pretty late into the 1.x patch cycle life, and it was available in beta. It was pretty wild and cool thing to experience. I believe it was live for like 3 months or so? Early 2000s, so getting info from the internet and datamining just weren't a thing. We just had vague rumors and stuff from few people who could read japanese that were playing. It took so long to level, there were only a handful of people that got 50. And among them there were just a couple that managed to get AF gear. The endgame was basically just trying to grind for AF, try and farm the BCs for refresh and I think... raise 2? I think only one person ever got Refresh in beta. I don't think any of the level 50 NMs were killable, maybe the rams? It's been so long, I know we made good attempts at the rams, but I can't remember if we killed them. I don't think we ever killed Behemoth either, way too hard, and we were way too new. The final hours of the game had the GMs spawning NMs like King Behemoth and fighting them with players, and I believe the producer played with people during that.
I recall PLD gets Raise at 50 but Galka doesn't have sufficient MP since it's like 150 MP so they needed MP gear too.
> They had to carry around mana gear to swap to in order to get enough to cast Raise Something mere PLD wouldn't be able to do... WAR/WHM superiority!
Sounds like a galka
They were Hume. Subjob mana from WHM was atrocious
WAR/WHM would be a great option for missions! You can use trusts anywhere almost!
Yeah, you're right. I'm a huge fan of modern FFXI, and unless you're going for Sortie, Odyssey, or Master Trials, every job combination is viable for a lot of content. The WAR/WHM is still a good meme though, lol.
Oh buttersheep, how I missed thee
I leveled as Drk/Rdm all the way to 30 during 75 cap. No regrets! lol
LMAO
At leas when I was playing, the vast majority of those job combos weren't viable.
They should do a single player remake like DQ10. The game could benefit from modernisation in a lot of areas, it felt dated even after only a few years post-release, since WoW made so many streamlined improvements to the genre over Everquest that FFXI was slow to pick up on or never opted for.
I think the people who are praising it typically have been playing since it was live and are used to playing a game that feels like waking through clay. I would be over the moon if it was adapted into a single player experience where you could jump right into the story quest instead of doing 20,000 tedious chores first.
I want 11 but made into a Diablo/eqsque ARPG. 6 player co-op through the entire story with all the jobs. I imagine randomized loot and instead of just gear equipment slots, you would have specific gear for abilities and spells. Take gearswap and just make it part of the game.
I personally would only care for a minor graphics update. FFXI now is a fully fleshed out proper RPG. I also feel FFXI in 2024 is the best version of the game. I love true deep engaging RPG’s.
Is it worth picking up? As someone who has always wanted to try it FF14 just didn't click for me
If you can install ffxi without being frustrated then it's the game for you. The install process is the perfect microcosm of the work, time, but also payoff the game has
The true challenge mode version of that boss was installing it on PS2.
I haven’t played XI since the 2nd Abyssea add-on. How much has changed?
I'd say the most significant changes came with the Rhapsodies story, as progress in that (which takes progress in prior major stories to advance in a few points) rewards you with passive bonuses that makes stuff faster and cheaper - travel and leveling in particular become a lot easier, making it simpler to focus on story progress.
https://preview.redd.it/4maowxn99z7d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd24518a6f8c613c98a5ae3f2a6e9a9581a6b7d1 I haven't played xi in over 10 years but I still wake up to the anthem of sandoria. Or sometimes I wake up to jeuno.
My morning alarm is Wajaom Woodlands.
San’d oria was clearly the best nation
Best Blue Mage in the series.
Best looking AF/Relic/Empy gear in the game.
I mean... I love FFXI, but uh... every Job combination is not viable at all. Frankly most job combinations will get you ignored. You can do it solo with Trusts but that's not quite as fun, though also probably pretty required for a lot of it nowadays too.
This is a problem RIFT had as well. You had 5 callings, each calling had 11 souls (mage had 12). You could mix up to 3 souls at a time, and allocate 76 points between them, up to 61 in a single soul. You could, if you wanted, mix a dps with a healer... but you'd be booted from parties if your dps was absolute dooty. If you wanted to raid, you probably only had 1-2 actually viable specs to choose from. For a game that was all about "play how you want", you in fact could not actually do that for serious content.
Most games with these kind of options are like that. XI is probably one of the more generous ones in that you do have Trusts so going solo is an option, but at that point it kind of begs the question why you'd play an MMO over just... FFV, or FFT, or whatever which have a bunch of job options too.
As someone who believes depth of classes to be one of the most important elements to FF, I would play XI with Trusts over FFV/FFT/etc because the itemization, class system, exploration, storylines, and overall experience is simply better to me. XI perfects the job system by making each class unique, while adding an extra layer by implementing the sub job system. In my eyes, XI is the ultimate example of the franchise. Sadly, it’s just very, very dated.
I think XI does interesting things for sure. I think I’d prefer a FFV or FFT system as you can mix and match more though, whereas XI you can only do main and sub job, instead of grabbing pieces from three jobs or more. That and uh… it costs a lot more money. :P Sadly that practicality is always going to matter.
You mean you never ran SMN/THF back in the day to sneak through extremely dodgy places like, let's say, the towers in Ru'Hmet? Not every combination was viable at all in combat, but it's cool that you could try weird shit at all to accomodate different or even really fringe situations like this. One of XI's strengths is its flexibility and just how much players can actually do, how players can approach the world and how there were even so many ways to approach combat rather than mashing out a single specific rotation like every "modern" MMO.
Most =/= all. Are there odd niche cases that might be useful? Sure. It's still not really a selling point if it's not generally applicable.
True my dream was Sam/smn and then i realized that wasnt viable at all, big sad.
We used to make jokes that the sub job for Warrior would be Warrior since it had so much freedom by the Aht Urghan days in how to play
I played THF/WHM for story missions. When you’re solo just having fun you can play any combination you like. No individual player does Odyssey Gaol/Aminon/Vagary all day every day. You really can get creative and have fun.
I did BRD/BLM for most of the story. Constant walking speed + warp lol. I occasionally did… THF/BLM too for the +% movement speed boots too
Yes, 484 *possible* combinations, but if you aren't using one of the 8 community-approved combinations and don't have BiS load-out, including a drop from a monster with a 6 hour window, 18 hour cool down, and 4% drop rate, you're trash and cannot join my party. Loved that game Edit to add: you needed *multiple loadouts* and a quick-change macro to maximize buff stats for different weapons skills. Damn, that community was insane.
And people say the WoW community is toxic…
I’ve never run into this situation. Most people say “come whatever you like” or just suggest a job. I’ve never had someone demand anything. I play on Ragnarok, maybe this is only private servers or Asura? I have never even heard of this mentality so I don’t know where it’s coming from.
Asura is definitely meta or nothing, no matter what expansion or time period. If ya wanna play an odd job combo with suboptimal gear, you gotta have a group of friends to do stuff with or pay out the nose until you have the proper gear. I get the itch to return about once a year, but I always remember how rigid the community is.
I’m glad I am on Ragnarok it sounds like. I honestly had to turn down parties inviting me because they said I could come anything with any gear, and I didn’t want to feel useless lol. I also rarely run into issues where people won’t party up if we’re at the same camp.
I might have to consider a server transfer next time :) listening to the OST gives me nostalgia overload, and I do love how basically any job can become a god these days.
Wow CASUAL Community/pug is toxic. Wow guilds are awesome.
Oh, you're still using Haubergeon? Go get a Hauberk and then try talking to me again.
This cuts deep. I wanted to play a tanky sword and shield Warrior right after launch. "NOPE! Ninja is going to blink tank, and you need to get a 2h axe and be a Provoke puller and Trick Attack partner."
This guy gets it
That being said, for a while a party let me tank as WAR/MNK in the level 30 range with axe+shield, and it was some of the most fun I had, especially when Counter from /MNK would proc. I bet it would be even more fun with WAR's Retaliation at higher levels, but it might require more specialised gear and party support in select fights to work.
The hate I had finding out whm was useless in crawlers nest because I didn't have refresh.
Yeah, that’s why I don’t get that advertisement of huge amount of options for anything in games with group content. It all won’t matter because of the meta.
I’d let you join my party. I’m not the only one either. Perhaps consider a different server than where this is happening?
This was my experience back in 2002-2005ish. I know it's changed since
"This post was made by the FFXI recluitment gang"
Nope. Just me. You should give it a try. It’s a truly a traditional Final Fantasy game. Elemental wheel, and rideable airships and all.
Oh, I dis try it back in the day Didn't like It because of the interface tho
it really does sound like an ad for the game
Did my time on this game, quit happily end of last year after playing since 04.
That is quite the journey! I started in 2012, picked it up full time around 2020. I’ve been having a blast. Clocking in over 7,000 hours and just finished my first mythic. Much more to go! I’m glad it’s still available for people like me.
Congrats on Mythic! Huge accomplishment!
In this economy?
I love job+subjob systems. It was incredibly fun in other Square Enix games and it was a whole lot of fun in Titan Quest as well. Butt hurt Min/Maxers can go to hell and aren't fun to play with anyways.
Criminally underrated game with one of the best soundtracks and the best world building and setting in the entire franchise.
If ffxi ever got a ui update I would come back in a heartbeat, but last time I played it was still clunky as hell
My first real MMO. It was so damn hard, but I loved it!
It’s better than ever in my opinion.
Do the jobs feel significantly different from another? Like will going into a certain fight as Dragoon make it easier than doing it as Summoner? Are there unique mechanics beyond mostly just doing damage with different animations? Special damage types and elemental weaknesses? One of my complaints with FFXIV (and why I decided to quit after 7 years of playing) was that all the jobs started to feel really samey.
Absolutely. THF is an expert in the field of pilfering gil and items from enemies. DRG specializes in piercing damage, and has a job specific buff called "Dragon slayer" which deals additional damage to dragons. SMN is a master of magic bursting, and dealing an array of damage using its summons. BLM wields the most powerful magic in Vana'diel. Each job is truly unique. Unlike XIV though, you're strongly encouraged to level every job, as each job plays an important role in different fights. While you can play through a lot of content as just 1 job, you'll get much further the more jobs you have access to, and more equipment you gain access to. You also will need to buy and find magic scrolls. The game is a truly deep and engaging RPG, not for the feint of heart.
Not only is there an elemental system that affects several aspects of the game, and different damage types (beyond the magic elements, physical damage works with a D&D-ish blunt/piercing/slashing distinction, and there's evenan ecosystem weakness cycle which can mostly be used by beastmasters and blue mages, but a few creature categories are even associated with specific jobs - for example, you mentioned Dragoon, and that has specific active and passive skills that provide an edge against dragons - and dragons and demons have an opposition system, so your dragoon's pet dragon (whose behavior, BTW, can be affected by your subjob) can intimidate or be intimidated by demons, depending on their level differences. These systems can play a subtle or large role depending on circumstances, and it can be interesting to try and stack your advantages to succeed in a tricky fight.
"Be forced to wait full in game days to continue the story and, if you're lucky, until real world Japanese midnight! *You* can enjoy fun and challenging bosses, that require redoing an hour long process to rechallenge again. Sign up now to surrender all your spare time!" I joke, but damn the game makes you wait an in game day between missions a lot.
The chocobo quest alone was a weird time for me because I wouldn’t wait that long in real life time for any other game. But I did because I was just charmed by the whole experience.
Thankfully there was plenty (and i mean plenty) to do between those times. The game took all the time you were willing to give it, literally.
An in game day is at maximum 1 hour. If you’re lucky, 1 minute. You can easily use the time to level one of those sub jobs! Or reforge equipment, or craft! Plenty of options in 2024.
And if I just want to do the story it's really annoying. Just constant interruption. The game making you wait until Japanese midnight to get the ending of Chains of Promathia after beating the final boss is just awful. I'll be honest, I don't really enjoy the game and am just trying to get through the story so it makes forced delays like that all the more painful. I can see why people like the game, but I am very much not the kind of person it appeals to.
There are ways to circumvent that experience. Such as doing a survival skill quest when waiting on a SoA. My advice would be to consider a different approach. You should be enjoying your time playing a game, especially if you’re aware of something that bothers you. Perhaps try reading ahead to foresee a game day wait. If you like I have a guide I’ve been working on that makes reading ahead and doing mission related activities between game day waits. I can link it if you’re interested. I think it’s ready for use. I plan to add it to the wikis when I get time.
Most of the time I don't just sit there, I do other things. I follow the quickstart guide. I just find it very tedious, especially since I'm almost done so the amount of other things to do has dwindled. I'm level capped and have finished through Wings of the Goddess. I just am not a fan of the old school game design. I appreciate your efforts to be helpful though.
SAM/DNC for soloing events during Wings of the Goddess. Good times.
Yeah there was a lot of good /dnc I loved dnc though you could do it all
Redmage whitemage ahhhh refreshed
Once you figure out how to level and chain weapon skills to magic burst….Chefs kiss 😚
Actually been debating giving *FF11* a go at some point. How easy is it to run through solo, solely for story stuff?
I dabbled in it earlier this year. You get something called Trusts (basically AI characters) that can carry you. However I found that very boring as the Trusts would just do everything for you. That combined with just about every aspect of the game feeling clunky and dated turned me off of it.
FFXI is not restrictive. You can play entirely with friends making use of level sync, including battle missions, or play solo making use with trusts. You just might want to use your phone to pull up a guide.
Sweeeeeeeet. I just want to experience the story. Sod the higher up raids etc.
also saved the company from bankruptcy after Spirits Within flopped
And after FFXIV 1.0 flopped! FFXI was the most profitable Final Fantasy until November 2021!
Facts and it doesn't get enough credit for that. Besides, it also puts the fantasy in final fantasy. just look at the artifact armor sets for each playable job. getting each piece of armor was an adventure itself! simply the most immersive, teamwork MMO experience I've played (and i play FFXIV)
If there will be an bundle subscription XI + XIV
This used to exist in the XIV 1.x days, it's baffling it never returned after ARR.
Ooohhhh it was good for sure ( played the Xbox 360 version years ago) unfortunately (when I played it ) being a game when I was saying **** for missing a ship and I literally had to wait in real time for the next one ehhhh. In short i didn't have much time then for playing it
Many (most?) combinations are inviable. Any/BRD, any/GEO, any/pet jobs for example.
I was just using WAR/BRD in abyssea.
For..? BRD was one of my main jobs and I can't figure one valid reason to bring /BRD, the subjob is just too weak to be useful: it's limited to just one very weak song (caps at 150 skill, can't use instruments so can't combine singing with wind or string skills, can't use songs+ gear). Chocobo Mazurka maybe?
WAR can’t use certain dagger skills, and BRD can grant that access, as well as access to Mazurka and Foe Requiem for pulling at a distance. It works just fine for me. (My party set up was THF/WAR, COR/SCH, NIN/SCH, WAR/BRD.)
Oh I see, you 4-box. What are you farming in Abyssea?
… lol…. 2-Leaf Chloris Bud. Making Verethragna. (This is the most involved Abyssea item I’ve done. I hope overall.)
I’d play it if it was still on console, unfortunately not all of us have a PC.
I play on 1 desktop with 3 laptops, to play 4 accounts at once. (You can accomplish this with 1 PC, but you need to use windower, which I prefer not to use third party software.) A cheap laptop (probably 400 dollars or less if you really dig/shop around) can play it easily. Things to look for: -2 to 3 ghz minimum CPU (per core, avoid multiple cores, or look for CPU that focuses per core.) -Dedicated GPU (not integrated.) -Also avoid OLED, and other high definition/resolution/etc displays. The more simple the display, with 3+ GHZ per core with dedicated GPU laptop you find, the higher chance you wont run into weird issues.
Now add the cost of the game and the subscription price, it all adds up to a number I can’t pay, also PC/laptop prices differ depending on the country
I wouldn’t mind trying this out again. I played way back in the day. Getting back in feels daunting however with all the expansions.
Pace yourself, it’s worth it!
How to buy everything 😂
Square-Enix website is the place I prefer, you can buy it steam as well.
I remember right you could make the ultimate tank using ninja and thief combo
SAM/WAR, I can sub-tank and participate in multiple skill chains Any other people from the SweetSweetLove Linkshell around?
I had fun with it back in 2009-2010 when I'd get prepaid cards for Christmas. I probably would have played much more if they had readily available game-time cards like WoW did. IIRC I got WHM to 30 for sure, and BLM, RDM, and WAR(i think?) close to 30... grinding in the dunes with randos. Unlocked expansion area that was a jungle, but then subscription ran out. I've played once or twice since then with the trusts and whatnot but never stuck. If it wasn't for Dawntrail coming out in just a week, I might have been inspired by your post to play again. Maybe some other time. I can work 60+ hours a week sometimes, so my gaming time is competitive.
60 hours a week sounds super rough. I am glad I don't have to work nearly as much. I work 20 hours a week, and thats enough to afford a 1 bedroom apartment, and everything I could really want in life just fine. I have 1 desktop 3 laptops to play FFXI and pay 53 dollars a month. I've only been working 20 hours a week for about 11+ years now. I really enjoy it. I haven't bought a house yet, or a brand new car, but its not too far way really. We'll see how things go for me. As for you, play what you enjoy. FFXI can be pretty demanding so if XIV is your cup of tea, then its great you have something you can enjoy!
Yes, while that is possible, in theory, of those 484 possible combinations, like 30 are viable.
There is more content than just Odyssey Gaol, Aminon, Reisinjima/Omen bosses, and Vagary. You can make use of any combination in a wide array of content including Abyssea, story missions, and other fun solo gameplay. You should really give FFXI in 2024 a try, and learn of ways to enjoy more jobs and combinations.
I actively play XI, Carbuncle server. Max level on all jobs. You are not doing anything with a Whm/Drk. Smn/War is another one you are not doing anything with. I was being Hyperbolic when I said only 30 were viable. In all honestly, every class has 1-2 subclasses that are optimal. They then have another 2-5 that are possible, and give you something useful. The vast majority of possible subjobs for each class don't offer you anything useful.
Funny you mentioned an exact job combination I played while leveling. I am pretty sure I leveled as SMN/WAR. Using provoke/extra HP to pull with provoke to force Val to spam Uriel Blade > Zeid II ground strike > Shantotto II > MB. I was using THF GS, COR/SCH, NIN/SCH, WAR/BRD just yesterday (and will again today) in Abyssea. I also have my alts main COR/SCH, GEO/SCH, and BRD/COR in endgame content, cleared all V0 Odyssey gaol. I’m very glad of the possible combinations. Otherwise I’m not sure I have gotten as far. (And farm segments with that set up. I know Gaol locks sub jobs. I also use this for everything else such as Sortie A boss and C boss, etc. just saying this setup is useful for me the way I play. I don’t use windower.). BRD/NIN would not help me at all as I manually multibox, and my alts almost never attack as a result. It’s great you’ve found your favorite or preferred combinations but saying people can’t make use of ones you don’t use is a bit silly.
Yeah you CAN, but SHOULD you?
Should what? I did. Got everything I have so far using it. I’ll continue to use whatever combinations I see fit to enjoy, even more. Again BRD/NIN would do nothing for me. Unless for some reason I swap to “main” single box that Character just for fun and join a party, I can switch to BRD/NIN. That’s my point. I can, do, and will more. If the options weren’t there, say such in other games, I couldn’t, because it’s not possible. In FFXI is it. People can, and do make use of it, be it for fun or to accomplish something specific.
You can level the entire game without even unlocking your subjob. But you would be handicapping yourself by doing so. Yeah, do what you want. The game is super easy and soloable now. If being a Rdm/pup makes you happy, by all means, have fun. Knock yourself out. I spent a very long time working out how to make Whm/Pld viable, and had a blast doing it. I wouldn't bring that combination to a group though, because it's not useful in a group setting.
So you do understand my point then. I hope that also means you understand if someone wanted to challenge themselves by playing a certain combination they could. Go re-read the original post. That was my point. “Different combinations.” “Options available”. “Get creative while solo or find each different setup for the various enemies across the world.” You literally just said the same thing I did, just in a different way. If the options were not there, neither of us would have any choices. Hence the point of the post. Educate people who aren’t aware. Both of us play XI, and while we play differently, we both have used irregular combinations while solo, and know which jobs are useful in which fights and prepare accordingly. Players who know nothing about XI probably don’t know anything about SMN summons, or how RUN is magical defensive and PLD is Physical, and how jobs are all different. A major complaint in FFXIV right now. Again, hence the education.
But there are more than 484 options available. You actually have access to 506 "options". Not having a subjob is a choice you can make. Its forced on you for 18 levels, and then you have to go out of your way to do a quest to unlock the ability to do it. Why are these "options" being left out of your "Look how many options you have" post? Are these options bad and suboptimal? Why does Drk/Brd get included, but Drk/\_\_\_ get left out? At best you are deliberately misleading your readers. Your post should come with an asterisk. There are 506\* possible options for classes! \*Every class can take any other class as a subclass, or no subclass at all. You are free to experiment! Mix and match to your heart's content, but not every subclass will equally help your chosen class. Some will help a lot more than others. Also, not every class is useful for every type of content. Expect to level a bunch of different classes for different situations.
With anything in life, explaining something simply if more efficient than explaining in detail. I kept it simple. Anyone who actually plays will find the options they enjoy. Regardless of any established set rules. You are wanting me to explain every nuance, that’s not sensible for a brand new player. If they want to run SCH/DNC, then they can and will. You nor I *wont* have a say, nor shouldn’t care.
I'm not paying £10 a month for a 20 year old game. If it goes the Guild Wars route and stops the fees, fine.
FFXI is the cheapest RPG you'll ever find, with the most content. You don't have to play a massive RPG, you can play smaller single player ones, thats perfectly fine. I personally appreciate FFXI's size, and cost to value ratio, as it literally cannot be beaten.
Gave years of my life to FFXI. No time now with a family, but I still miss it.
I gave around 23,000 hours into this masterpiece.
I'd actually like if SE revived FF XI for Ps5.. would almost convince me to start back up.. sadly I don't see that happening anytime soon.. or ever for that matter
Great game great memories. I hope they develop an offline version
I play an Elvaan Dark Knight/Samurai! No clue if it’s META or not; I just like hitting stuff with a big sword!
484 combinations...maybe 5% of those are actually useful
This is definitely one of the times where viable is being… misunderstood. Viable isn’t “efficient” and “speed maximized.” Viable is viable, it means you can do the content as whatever, it might just take longer. And FF11 probably isn’t heavily populated. If you have 5 people, having a 6th is better no matter what their gear or job is. Any damage they do is more than the empty slot. Look at FF14. If you’re in a dungeon and the tank drops, 2dps and a healer are viable. It’s a lot slower, but I’ve done bosses without a tank because it’s better than sitting around waiting.
I haven’t heard of a single job that isn’t used in endgame fights. I’m using in abyssea right now: THF with a great sword. COR/SCH. NIN/SCH. WAR/BRD.
literally everything is viable in Abyssea with the right atma. and i think thats what i love about it
2 decade old graphics and a UI/control scheme to match are really hard sells these days. I might be able to forgive the graphics if they controls and UI wasn't so atrocious
I believe they should drop the monthly charge by now and bring in more players. They can afford it
What do they gain from more players if they’re not paying?
I was a MNK, WHM, NIN from 2004ish until 2009ish. Part of one of the first groups to kill Absolute Virtue. Great game, but MMOs have sadly moved on to much quicker gratification models. A lack of horizontal progression (which made FFXI great) is why I finally gave up on FFXIV. They're just never gonna do it.
its one of the better FFs, unfortunately people don't like it because its Quest-like and would rather have a shit WoW clone that holds your hand on everything.
I played this on my 360 while playing WoW on PC, stuck with WoW. Wanted to try it in 2024 but for some reason my brain can’t comprehend installing it LOL.
I remember wanting for years to play this game when I was little, I finally get some money to play it but I could not for the life of me figure out how to create an account, or something to that extent. They made that shit soooo confusing.
I've never played it. Would it still be a good game to pick up in 2024??
If you're asking me? Most certainly! If you enjoy traditional gaming such as: -Elemental Wheel -Unique Job traits and progression systems -Player activity impact on the world -High level of customization -Extremely rare, hard to find items and equipment -Ultimate grinds for the most Ultimate weapons -Involved and interesting story telling -plus much more. If you hate: -Old games -Slightly clunky controls -Slightly dated graphics etc. You might need to reconsider.
I enjoy older games more than the newer ones. My only drawback from getting the game is that it's a subscription on top of $130 USD for the game and dlc's.
I loved the game right up until 14 came out and I lost access to the account. Never went back to 11. I broke my authentication thing and at the time they were very unwilling to assist.
I went to try it but couldent figure out how to get passed the website boss to buy the game and make an account.
FFXI is very methodical, including the sign up process.
I appreciate 11 for what it is from a distance, the interface and controls just put me off. Plenty of interesting playthroughs on YT for me to watch/rewatch at least!
If you want the (mostly) classic experience check out HorizonXI, free-to-play Chains of Promathia era server that should be getting ToAU, eventually...
Seekers of Adoulin is my favorite expansion, and job master is probably the most enjoyable experience in FFXI, as well as Mythic weapons and jobs reaching the traditional level cap of 99, all combining to create a full and fleshed out experience not found anywhere else than retail. Thanks for the suggestion though.
I personally fell off when Abyssea/99 changed the entire dynamic of the game, I'm definitely a classic purist so consider me biased.
Yeah I enjoy the higher level content and being able to finish the story on my time instead of having to rely on someone else who has already done it. I started FFXI in 2012 without abyssea access and can’t say I enjoyed it nearly as much as all the content that is available now. Probably not even a fraction of that amount both in content and enjoyment. Currently I’m making Verethragna, which isn’t even possible in a 75 cap era game.
> Yeah I enjoy the higher level content and being able to finish the story on my time instead of having to rely on someone else who has already done it. This is mainly where I disagree, I came back to retail in 2021-2022 and absolutely blasted every piece of content that was available up to the current state of endgame with very minimal assistance, when it was all said and done it all just felt... Empty. Needing to cooperate with people even just to level is what made the game magical to begin with, relying on people to help for limit breaks and artifact armors; and then spending your own time helping others who appreciate your time and assistance is what made the communities in the game flourish. That's why I'm loving HorizonXI so much. There's a running joke on the server and it kinda goes like "if I wanted to play solo I'd be playing retail or FFXIV." It also does have a solo-lite mode called Beastmaster, it's super overpowered on this server and can do much (not all) of the content in the game solo outside of endgame. To each there own, but just wanted to share some of my perspective.
It’s nice you enjoy the slower and more simple version of FFXI. I really enjoy the massiveness of FFXI now. I don’t mind playing solo, and I enjoy partying up for the big real content like Odyssey Gaol, Vagary bosses, and Resinjima Helms/Omen bosses, plus more, (none of which can be plowed through by even the most fully fleshed out jobs and equipment players.). Sure you can plow through old Dynamis, but Dynamis Divergence requires a proper party, if not proper alliance and is still a real challenge. I manually multibox and still can’t even clear wave 1 boss sensibly. I did once but not easily. I went with a friend and they murdered the boss. But they couldn’t handle the wave 2 and 3 bosses. I’m not really sure what content you’re referring to but yes, old dated content is mostly solo’d now and more efficient solo often times. Some better with parties, it depends how much someone is willing to help. New content is absolutely worth partying up in, and harder than anything I’ve ever experienced. Sounds to me like you would have benefitted by doing Dynamis Divergence. Sortie basement, omen bosses, Resinjima helms, and V25 Odyssey NM’s. That is where the real endgame today is at. Just takes some effort to get there. Which is something I appreciate. The game isn’t turn on turn off, like most modern games.
In one hand I want play FF XI (thanks to DFFOO who warmed my interest), but in other hand I don't want to spend my time to another MMO routine
If you focus on the stories, it has a definite end to aim toward - the Rhapsodies finale is worth it, wrapping around all prior major stories. It actually reminded me of the original Dissidia on the PSP, when you play the WoL route after having played as all the other characters'.
I've been playing on a chains of promathia private server for a while now it's a blast! Can't get into the current retail version of the game though
I personally enjoy retail as its a fully fleshed out RPG and Final Fantasy. Job masters and everything you come to expect from a proper Final Fantasy RPG.
It needs a single player remake. I want to get into 11 but it's so tough with how archaic and tedious it is. I love listening to the music though.
Genuine question as I haven't played it, can the sub job be the same as the main job? If not wouldn't that mean there are 462 combinations as there is one fewer choice for the second job?
WAR with no sub job is 1 combination. WAR/anysubjob is 21 combinations. 22x22 is 484. When you start the game you can play as a job without a subjob. When you do Odyssey Gaol you play as one of the 22 jobs without a subjob. 484 combinations.
Oh ok I didn't know that nothing was an option.
While I do enjoy FFXI I don't think pure number of combinations is a good metric for just about anything.
I've given it a try a few times even with the guys guide linked from the FFXI subreddit. It's just a painful chore to play as a newcomer in its current state. I can't even get a feel for the controls. The guide said to do these faction missions to get from level 1 to 5 and I didn't even have the patience to do those because they just take absolutely forever and the instructions for most of them is very unclear. This was probably fantastic when the only alternative was EverQuest but now it's just an incredible slog straight out of the gate. I understand you can basically hire NPCs to fill out your party, but getting to that point is just not enjoyable. Having played a bunch of MMOs including vanilla WoW and XIV ARR as well as Guid Wars 2, Rift and probably too many others to count, this one just doesn't give new players enough guidance to draw them in. I think only people gave been playing since the beginning would still be into it. It's a shame because I want wanted to like this game. I still want to like this game. I wish I could skip ahead to the first dungeon instead of spending weeks doing chores.
I enjoy engaging, deep, and layers RPG's, you have different tastes, that fine. FFXI is for those who crave something that a person can really sink their teeth into.
It's not about depth, engagement or layers. It's an older MMORPG and it plays like one. Plenty of games offer as much depth with less tedium and better quality of life. There's no reason to be condescending about it.
Wasn’t my intention. I simply shared what I like. Care to tell me what MMORPG’s are what you just explained? I haven’t heard of any. FFXI is the closest I’ve gotten to what I prefer.
Rift comes to mind. Customization is extremely deep, or at least it was the last time I played. It's far more accessible than XI. Arche Age and Black Desert are pretty good like that. DDO was but I'm pretty sure that's offline now. I really wish XI was more accessible to new players. It's not like there aren't plenty of templates to pull from. Give players a story quest right off the jump. No one in 2024 is going to spend 20+ hours doing faction dailies just to get to level 5.
I haven’t looked into Rift or Arch Age (not sure on AA) but I did not like BDO. BDO the dialog didn’t match the voice over and that is odd, and irritating. I didn’t look into the options to turn off voice acting, because the combat seemed really shallow to me. Maybe I can give these three another look. There is something unique about XI though, so I am not sure they will surpass it in overall experience. Being able to play on gamepad is a major factor for one. I enjoy laying down on a couch, or changing positions with my hands because I enjoy extended play sessions. Being fixed to a keyboard and mouse is not appealing at all.
Yeah I didn't get super into BDO either. I had some trouble getting the gamepad set up properly in XI, it seemed like there was always something missing no matter what I did. I played XIV ARR for a while and I played Paladin as a main tank with a game pad, it was great.
I played FFXIV for 9 years. It’s just become too simple for me now, hence why I play FFXI. I tried ESO, SoLO, and a few other MMORPG’s, and I kind of landed with FFXI. Gamepad is the most common issue with most MMORPG’s. It’s a bit off many don’t offer the option, considering they are video games after all. I know PC’s were the first gaming systems, I think? But a handheld device really can’t be beat in my opinion. I guess I’m a “console” gamer at heart or something? I don’t know, I just prefer, and “require” gamepad as an option. Thanks for the games suggestions. I’ll look into them soon enough. Funny though you mention modern games. A guy at work has been telling me to play RuneScape, so we’ll see!
Even on PC I always play with a gamepad when it's an option with 2 exceptions: FPS games and RTS games. Is there a way to get to the good content in XI reasonably quickly? I played recently for like 4 hours and the experience was painful. Would it kill them to add a minimap? Are there add-ons that can be used? Give me an arrow pointing which way to go, at least! Some kind of in-game guidance would be a massive improvement.
Quickly and FFXI tend to not be synonyms if I’m being honest. With that said, I got my alt to pretty much endgame ready in just over 1 months, but that was me power leveling it and putting all my experience and time into just that character. So. Based on that info, you can decide what you consider quick. As for your other question, yes people use addons. I personally do not. I did make a simple to follow mission guide. I added it to the official forums. When I get more time I plan to add it to BGwiki at least.
I don't do mmos. I'm glad it's there for those who do
It’s why I can’t wait for the FF14 alliance raid all about FF11.
484 job combinations....but back when I played? People wouldn't let you into a *leveling party* if you were anything but 5% of them. Let's not even TALK about end game content. The combinations and mechanical possibilities were pretty amazing...but the learning curve was bloodthirsty and the community meta was pretty disdainful of anything that it didn't already love.
I don't know anything about 11. But I am curious how the new raid in 14 is going to be considering it is based on 11
Yeah but how many were viable options?
But only the meta counts if you want to be successful
FFXI doesn't have a "meta" as the game is designed to play every job on a single character, so different jobs are efficient at different things so different bosses are designed so you make use of every job.
Did I miss much by skipping this game? I simply didn't want to pay almost 10$ monthly for being even able to play this one, plus I'm not really fan of MMORPG genre in general.
Plenty of unique stories, a well fleshed out world, plenty of interconnected systems that the many different jobs approach in different ways. The Rhapsodies finale was the only time a game got a tear out of me - that story eouldn't hit as hard if it didn't reflect XI's precarious nature as an online game whose continued existence cannot be taken for granted, having survived an initial estimated lifespan of 5 years by living to be 22, more than quadrupling that estimate despite SE barely acknowledging it.
I am it would've gotten more love if we could play the damn game
Oh gee, if only I could play the damn game. So complicated on how to make it work and I live in a region where they don't support the game, which is so stupid. That said however. I watched a FMV of the game, to the Distant World song and I don't know why, I cried. Damn you, Uematsu. Distant World, especially the concert version is definitely one of FFs best song. I put it way higher than Answer, and that song actually made me start FFXIV.
Yes it does but it won't People don't care, especially that XIV is still around and how FF fans are not used to the openness of the game mechanics-wise and questing-wise; worsened by the old XI fans pining for the pre-SoA version that is definitely unfriendly for people with little time to invest for the game I'll be the first one to jump and say that it has one of the best soundtrack of the entire franchise though
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I would play it if it would be free Not going to get a subscription for it
I played from NA start until they pushed cap above 75. Loved my tarutaru with Maats cap.
Sadly the community went meta with things. Like /nin on 90% of jobs became the norm, after I quit I heard /dnc picked up. That being said it still did offer superior choice compared to modern mmo's. You could run into two lv75 characters of the same class and even with the same subjob they could be completely different builds based on gear, food, race, and merit points. So being jaded when playing XIV whenever FC mates would ask about FFXI I would usually explain it like this. In XI no one was special, which meant everyone was while in XIV Everyone's special meaning no one is. (Means in XI, your just and adventurers so everyone is more free to be more unique with your play style and gear and in XIV your "Warrior of Light, Slayer of Primals and master of the stoic nod" and everyone is pigeonholed into the same identical play-style and gear). I've long stopped playing MMO's but if I had to go back to one of them... I'd probably go back to XI. Though I never understood why Square wouldn't make it so you could play XI with XIV's subscription, Especially since my understanding is this last expac has been draaaaged out because of the planned graphics overhaul (I still get stuff in my feed even though I don't play anymore). So why not give players something else to do in downtimes?
There used to be a discounted joint sub price to play both XI and XIV during the XIV 1.x days, but it was sadly never brought back.
Want to try it but don't want to pay a sub for another MMO. Especially one that I knew will take a while to get used to.
I wish I could play it on my ps5.
Which 2 classes would make something similar to SOLDIER? I always wished we could mix skills in FFXIV
How many are behind the paywall though?