So quite a bit has happened since I last made a post.
Anyways, at this point I am fully invested in FFXI and well into the Rise of the Zilart. I'm enjoying the game quite a bit. As it turns out, Chains of Promathia appears to have been carefully written so that it can be enjoyed in this order and I think it's working out for me. As of now I'm focusing on finishing Zilart before I move back to Promathia, which I'm guessing will involve increasing my level cap even further. There's a lot to love in FFXI, but I've put in an ungodly amount of time into it even with all the shortcuts now available. I can't imagine the way the game originally had to be played, especially when it's full of very vague hints as to where to go. I can only imagine my song pilgrimage being crowd sourced as people scoured maps to find the headstones. And I still think some of the design decisions are really questionable. Like sticking a necessary ??? spot right under a true sight level 80 enemy that doesn't really have the freedom to move away from it for a leveling quest. Or the ??? spots in general. If I hadn't been following a guide, would I just be endlessly scouring maps for ??? spots with no visible clues for many quests and missions? It's really the story that's kept me going through the game. I've hit some hiccups as a solo player - Temple of Uggalepih required help from a linkshell member after I died due to a bomb and it became apparent that the torches would probably time out before I managed to get them all lit anyways. But I want to try to complete at least Promathia.
This might be my last post in this thread, as interest appears to have died down a bit. But I hope a people enjoyed reading about my journey.
