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[Interrobang]

Probably the most memorable and unique gaming experience of my life. I have memories of this game as if they were real happenings in my life. Areas like the Dunes, Khazam, Norg; achievements like raising a colored chocobo or the limit break fights; recruiting a Thief for their Treasure Hunter ability to get a drop, events like these made the game a life.

I recently just started playing FF14. Played my trial month and made it 15-days into a sub before deactivating. It's just not the same. It's so impersonal. You don't need anyone for anything.

The dual job mechanic of FF11 was so insanely awesome. It really let the community solve the min/max equation on their own. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember there being too many balance patches or changes with the game. The weapons, armor, abilities, items - the world itself - everything just worked.

FF11 was really something else. I'll never forget my time there. I imagine this is how people who played SWG or EVE feel when they talk about those games, but I truly feel like there isn't a game quite like FF11.

 

[Atolm]

Probably the most memorable and unique gaming experience of my life. I have memories of this game as if they were real happenings in my life. Areas like the Dunes, Khazam, Norg; achievements like raising a colored chocobo or the limit break fights; recruiting a Thief for their Treasure Hunter ability to get a drop, events like these made the game a life.

I recently just started playing FF14. Played my trial month and made it 15-days into a sub before deactivating. It's just not the same. It's so impersonal. You don't need anyone for anything.

The dual job mechanic of FF11 was so insanely awesome. It really let the community solve the min/max equation on their own. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember there being too many balance patches or changes with the game. The weapons, armor, abilities, items - the world itself - everything just worked.

FF11 was really something else. I'll never forget my time there. I imagine this is how people who played SWG or EVE feel when they talk about those games, but I truly feel like there isn't a game quite like FF11.

The thing with XI was that the game was unbalanced by design, and no one gave a shit. It was assumed by the community. It's not like in XIV, where if some DPS is slightly below another you'll have a huge outcry.

In XI entire classes were useless for endgame content but that was fine because some were specifically tuned for some events. MNK? You were a beast in Salvage but lost to SAM everywhere else. SMN? Key in fights where not feeding TP was mandatory, useless at everything else.

RNG and SAM as physical DPS were very far above every other physical DPS and no one cared.

Events like Dynamis and Einherjar were a faceroll with enough parties full of BLM/RDM and COR or BRD for Refresh. It was basically the only viable choice.

Did you level jobs like PUP, BLU, DRK or BST? Well, bad luck. Around 2010 or so they completely rebalanced some jobs though.

 

[jb1234]

I can hear it now-- the distinctive piano melody that plays after you sign in to PlayOnline.

Is there a legitimate way to get the soundtrack for this game? And does it include the PlayOnline music? =P

There's a lot of soundtracks for XI but here's the one that specifically includes the PlayOnline music: http://vgmdb.net/album/28520

 

[DarkKyo]

Some of the greatest gaming moments of my life happened in this game, with my friends(mostly during high school). So many good memories. It was such a hardcore game back then. It didn't hold your hand and that made everything both incredibly daunting and extremely rewarding.

It's a bit easier now but it's still incredibly charming and cool. Can't wait to see more of your adventures!

 

[Ferr986]

Probably the most memorable and unique gaming experience of my life. I have memories of this game as if they were real happenings in my life. Areas like the Dunes, Khazam, Norg; achievements like raising a colored chocobo or the limit break fights; recruiting a Thief for their Treasure Hunter ability to get a drop, events like these made the game a life.

I recently just started playing FF14. Played my trial month and made it 15-days into a sub before deactivating. It's just not the same. It's so impersonal. You don't need anyone for anything.

The dual job mechanic of FF11 was so insanely awesome. It really let the community solve the min/max equation on their own. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember there being too many balance patches or changes with the game. The weapons, armor, abilities, items - the world itself - everything just worked.

FF11 was really something else. I'll never forget my time there. I imagine this is how people who played SWG or EVE feel when they talk about those games, but I truly feel like there isn't a game quite like FF11.

There were a lot, actually. And even still they never got a good balance between jobs. DRG was meme-worthy for almost all of the game lifespan, and PLD took years to be useful against a class that wasn't even suposed to be a tank for anything other than HNMs.

 

[Paskil]

I started again on Asura last week with my OG NA PC release account. My jobs were still at 90 from when I last played in 2011. I now have DRK and BLM at 99. I just took DNC from 22 to 49. Now leveling THF from 53 to 99 for farming.

I ran a solo Western Temenos solo last night which was pretty satisfying. Just upgraded my first pair of reforged AF (Ignominy Gauntlets). Now I need money and to figure out what next. I have always wanted a relic or mythic and now Liberator seems like the best option.

I did everything in Rhapsody's up until you need to be a certain point into Aldouin to progress further.

It's crazy what can be done in this game now solo at 99. Especially once you toss some 117 or 119 gear on and have some good trusts. Obviously can't solo everything, but man, the game feels new.

Also, the Rhapsody buffs are ridiculous. With a Kupo ring active, I was getting 4-6,000 exp per kill. We're talking quick battles with instant parties because of NPC trusts.

 

[FinalAres]

It's definitely more of a solo experience as you get through to endgame, but you could do worse than trying to join the Reddit Linkshell. That way there will always be people to speak to. That's On asura, did you say what world you were on?

When I came back for a replay earlier this year, I found it totally Un overwhelming. Whereas when I'd originally played I was pretty much constantly scared of dying and asked for help. The trusts make it so you can traverse any of the original zones without worrying about being killed, and the levelling is quick. I found it much more relaxing, and more empowering to be free to explore. There's a lot to see and do, but if you concentrate on the story that should help streamline things.

Anyway glad you're having some level of fun!

 

[Amneisac]

I know this is never going to happen, but I have always thought it would be amazing if they converted FFXI to an offline RPG and re-released it. They have an amazing world with some of the best music of any game ever created. They would have to make some changes, probably do something like FFXII's combat system and add in a more definite story and quests, but it would allow more people to experience the wonder of Vana'diel and give it its rightful place as one of the best Final Fantasy games.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

FFXI is a game I treasure, because I know it's the only one that I loved that I can never re-experience. All I'll ever have are memories.

There really aren't many pieces of art that you can't go back to and visit. It's a unique feeling.

I will always have some of my saved images in my collection of my adventures, and videos I recorded when I moved to PC. Too bad I didn't save them all. My PS2 HDD was full of them, but having to email them one or 3 at a time to myself was annoying. I look forward to whatever version of FFXI they put out next, even if it's a darn mobile game.

Best MMORPG I ever played, and I'm still searching for games that have a pet class as good as beastmaster, or classes like evasion thief, red mage (solo boss, with challenging things to fight, not ffxiv's easy world with no threat, also things worth killing that drop good stuff sometimes), dancer, and so on. I loved the classes in that game, and not many games can compare. FFXIV just feel like you're playing a tedious game of predictable circular simon says with the abilities classes have.

I know this is never going to happen, but I have always thought it would be amazing if they converted FFXI to an offline RPG and re-released it. They have an amazing world with some of the best music of any game ever created. They would have to make some changes, probably do something like FFXII's combat system and add in a more definite story and quests, but it would allow more people to experience the wonder of Vana'diel and give it its rightful place as one of the best Final Fantasy games.

This is what I want, I would pay the price they'd ask, and I'd feel like it would be worth it.

 

[encephalon]

It's definitely more of a solo experience as you get through to endgame, but you could do worse than trying to join the Reddit Linkshell. That way there will always be people to speak to. That's On asura, did you say what world you were on?

When I came back for a replay earlier this year, I found it totally Un overwhelming. Whereas when I'd originally played I was pretty much constantly scared of dying and asked for help. The trusts make it so you can traverse any of the original zones without worrying about being killed, and the levelling is quick. I found it much more relaxing, and more empowering to be free to explore. There's a lot to see and do, but if you concentrate on the story that should help streamline things.

Anyway glad you're having some level of fun!

I'm on Odin because a few Japanese websites recommended it.

 

[RiouV]

I didn't realize the gear was that important.

Man gear used to be everything in this game. We had specific gear sets we switch into for different weapon skills, mages have different gear sets for buffs, debuffs, heals, nukes, even down to each elemental nuke. Not to mention ability specific gear like Meditate for Samurai. Having mining specific gear is nothing lol.

 

[encephalon]

Man gear used to be everything in this game. We had specific gear sets we switch into for different weapon skills, mages have different gear sets for buffs, debuffs, heals, nukes, even down to each elemental nuke. Not to mention ability specific gear like Meditate for Samurai. Having mining specific gear is nothing lol.

Wait, what? Did people change mid battle as a strategy?

 

[RiouV]

Wait, what? Did people change mid battle as a strategy?

Yes, we setup macros that switch our gear, perform an action, then switch it back. The only gear you cannot switch mid battle is your weapon because you would lose all your TP but that isn't a problem for mages.

 

[FinalAres]

Wait, what? Did people change mid battle as a strategy?

Yeah that's been a core endgame strategy for as long as I played since 2008.

I really liked it, because it meant there was always some piece of gear that you could chase to improve some aspect of your job, and often that was from sidequests that most didn't touch, as well as endgame content.

For me I was a pretty good Solo Dragoon. So I focused a lot on wyvern hp gear, because that improves your wyvern breath capabilities, as well as loads of other stat boosts for different situations. A lot of the gear I used was from obscure content most people didn't do any more. Super rewarding.

 

[Clear]

Wait, what? Did people change mid battle as a strategy?

Changing gear to optimize abilities is a core mechanic of the game, it makes a huge difference. Most serious players these days use an add-on called gearswap, which uses a a lua-based scripting system to dynamically select the optimal gear-set for any given situation.

Although its not strictly necessary to use gs (you can do everything with the native macro system), the automation aspect is very convenient and helpful - particularly if you are using a controller.

 

[Alex]

I adored a lot about XI, I was there since the original US PS2 beta but I prefer to keep it in memory as deep down I know I'd start hating it if I played it again. I think about the time where I mentally checked myself out was when people had scores of macros for switching individual pieces of gear per attack. Nope.

 

[Kyoufu]

No MMO compares to prime XI, a game that forced you to remain on good relations with the community in order to get the best gear. Post WoTG to the first abyssea was real ass shit

Shitty people joined shitty linkshells and got their gear that way. Every server had at least one LS with scumbags, heh.

Anywho, I really miss this game. Still my favourite game of all time and no MMO I've played since has managed to capture the same feelings. All I'm left with today is sadness and emptiness.

 

[Nauren]

That subligar brings back so much nostalgia

 

[Yohane]

I love FFXIV but FFXI was something else entirely.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I tried playing XI earlier this year, and found it one of the most frustrating experiences I've had in video games. I can imagine how doing it with a bunch of friends would elevate the game, but trying to tackle it by myself was incredibly aggravating. I know some people complain about how modern games make it too easy for you to figure out what you need to do by providing quest markers and waypoints and all, but I don't think I have the time and energy to invest hundreds of hours in XI just to figure out what I should be doing.

For example, one early quest told me that I needed to go rescue some kidnapped children who were likely taken to a particular area, but I wasn't told where that area was and it wasn't indicated on any of the maps I had. So I wandered around nondescript forests for a long time before finally giving up and searching for help on the Internet. Then I found out that the area could only be gotten to from an exit in one area whose map didn't even indicate that there was any kind of exit there. What exactly did the game expect me to do? Wander the edges of the whole forest until I happened to stumble upon the unmarked exit? I guess I'm the type of causal who XI fans hate, but I'd rather play XIV where I'm given some direction on what to do. XI's quest design, at least in the bit I played, seems constructed primarily to waste my time.

 

[tobactrac]

I had such a blast with this game back when it was super popular. I'm so glad it was my first foray into MMOs too - almost everyone I met while playing was willing to help me out. And I remember when I moved onto SWG and WoW after all the grindy bits of FFXI tired me out how much of a culture shock it was to not just encounter nice people everywhere, all the time.

 

[mhayes86]

Great write-up! I'm not sure how much has changed, but I only have memories of frustration from FFXI. I played it back in 2004, and every session was waiting an hour to build a group, camp in an area, kite mob, rinse repeat. Or kite mob, party wipe, disband, rinse repeat.

I stopped playing once WoW released (quit WoW before BC was released).

 

[Cloud7]

Is there a guide out there for soloing the entire game? I'm thinking about going back and playing again if I can blow through it all.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

It's how I feel about Tibia. Awesome game, great community, really challenging and lots of good memories. I guess our first MMO is always a special thing that we hold dearly.

XIV is not an MMO. It's more like you playing your own adventure in a shared world.

I have learned to love the game (lots of cool stuff to do) but it's not social. At all.

 

[UltimaKilo]

I played FF14 and maxed out my character hoping to find what I had found with my Thief all those years ago... I certainly did not find it.

FFXIV was simply too easy and the lack of an open-world ruined it for me.

I hope FFXI Mobile will be everything we all remember. Who knows, maybe we'll get a Switch release?

 

[ffvorax]

Played at the time the beta on PC, and then bought the vanilla version when it came out.
I played it in the early days and I enjoyed it, even when it was incredibly hard to master.
I never got too much far in the game, I got the Dark Knight class and took many base jobs at lv40 and then i quit because I didn't have enough time to play such an intense mmorpg.

But it's probably the best videogame experience I ever had. And I find in you words some of the things I loved, the fact that people helped even if they didn't know who you are, and the feeling of exploring a world. I remember walking in incredibly dangerous zone just to reach new continents, and the joy when I did it!

 

[Cikay]

Is it possible to solo the game now ? And how long would it take to complete the story / stories ?

I'm not really into MMO's but I don't like not having played and finished a numbered entry of Final Fantasy.

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

I tried playing XI a few times between 2003 and 2008. I finally really got into it with the release of Abyssea. Did the 3 Nation storylines, and most of RotZ, before my vanilla Empyrean armor couldn't carry me anymore. Then I came back again after SoA was out, grabbed my 117 Record of Eminence gear, and did all the missions in the game and hundreds of quests. The game felt pretty unplayable before Abyssea honestly. SoA QoL improvements were way better still. You had to be a real masochist with no other hobbies to get anywhere back then.

I tried playing XI earlier this year, and found it one of the most frustrating experiences I've had in video games. I can imagine how doing it with a bunch of friends would elevate the game, but trying to tackle it by myself was incredibly aggravating. I know some people complain about how modern games make it too easy for you to figure out what you need to do by providing quest markers and waypoints and all, but I don't think I have the time and energy to invest hundreds of hours in XI just to figure out what I should be doing.

For example, one early quest told me that I needed to go rescue some kidnapped children who were likely taken to a particular area, but I wasn't told where that area was and it wasn't indicated on any of the maps I had. So I wandered around nondescript forests for a long time before finally giving up and searching for help on the Internet. Then I found out that the area could only be gotten to from an exit in one area whose map didn't even indicate that there was any kind of exit there. What exactly did the game expect me to do? Wander the edges of the whole forest until I happened to stumble upon the unmarked exit? I guess I'm the type of causal who XI fans hate, but I'd rather play XIV where I'm given some direction on what to do. XI's quest design, at least in the bit I played, seems constructed primarily to waste my time.

Yeah. A guide is a must for pretty much every quest in the whole game. I always had ffxiclopedia tabs open for all the missions and quests I was working on. Doing everything without help It's unlikely the average person could figure out all the quests themselves before the heat death of the universe.

 

[Grinchy]

All I remember about FFXI at this point is soloing my Warp 2 quest as a little Taru black mage. It was such a huge thing to go do at the time. And then I could stand in Jeuno and charge people 5K just for me to click a button on my controller.

 

[Nosgotham]

pre abyssea ffxi was the most amazing gaming experience. i have the fondest memories of ffxi. no other mmo has ever scratched that itch for me

 

[elyetis]

I tried playing XI earlier this year, and found it one of the most frustrating experiences I've had in video games. I can imagine how doing it with a bunch of friends would elevate the game, but trying to tackle it by myself was incredibly aggravating. I know some people complain about how modern games make it too easy for you to figure out what you need to do by providing quest markers and waypoints and all, but I don't think I have the time and energy to invest hundreds of hours in XI just to figure out what I should be doing.

For example, one early quest told me that I needed to go rescue some kidnapped children who were likely taken to a particular area, but I wasn't told where that area was and it wasn't indicated on any of the maps I had. So I wandered around nondescript forests for a long time before finally giving up and searching for help on the Internet. Then I found out that the area could only be gotten to from an exit in one area whose map didn't even indicate that there was any kind of exit there. What exactly did the game expect me to do? Wander the edges of the whole forest until I happened to stumble upon the unmarked exit? I guess I'm the type of causal who XI fans hate, but I'd rather play XIV where I'm given some direction on what to do. XI's quest design, at least in the bit I played, seems constructed primarily to waste my time.

FFXI did many things right, just like it did many things wrong.
I would choose to play a middle ground between what FFXIV is and what FFXI was, more than either of them.

 

[fury]

Is it possible to solo the game now ? And how long would it take to complete the story / stories ?

I'm not really into MMO's but I don't like not having played and finished a numbered entry of Final Fantasy.

I'm curious about this as well. Played the game briefly after Chains of Promathia, but didn't really have time to put into it. I liked what I've played of FFXIV but there is a certain charm to XI for me.

 

[Rad Shadow]

I remember doing dynamis runs and then the game crashing mid boss fight.

My mom would be trying to use the house phone and interrupt my dial up connection.

Happened a couple of times.

Ah, memories...

 

[Paskil]

From what I've seen, if you can get to 99, get some base 119 gear and some good trusts, you can now solo most of the game including pretty much every story mission. There's still end game content and there are some steep commitments and time needed to get good equips at 99, but you can get serviceable stuff. The fact that you can now teleport between home points and unlocked survival guides makes traversal easy as hell. I soloed an entire limbus run as 99DRK/49SAM with no issues (and the final battle has all the mobs on you at once). People were soloing sky gods at at the level 90 cap and the difference between 90 and a 99 with some level 119 gear and good trusts is absolutely ridiculous.

They removed level caps from pretty much all the old content. Even zones that we're previously level capped.

 

[Rad Shadow]

There were a lot, actually. And even still they never got a good balance between jobs. DRG was meme-worthy for almost all of the game lifespan, and PLD took years to be useful against a class that wasn't even suposed to be a tank for anything other than HNMs.

Hated how people looked down on Drg in this game.

Like, fuck off. You won't dictate how I have my fun. I don't care what the numbers say.

Some people were supreme elitist assholes.

Good times.

 

[rezn0r]

I miss this game so much, great summary OP. Spot on about the art direction, in my decade of playing my favorite was always exploring new zones when they were added, along with the music. I have a lot of fun with XIV but it is missing something that XI had. It came out at a perfect time for me. Have a great time!

 

[Interrobang]

There were a lot, actually. And even still they never got a good balance between jobs. DRG was meme-worthy for almost all of the game lifespan, and PLD took years to be useful against a class that wasn't even suposed to be a tank for anything other than HNMs.

Oh, wow, how could I forget - I was actually a DRG! Loved being the underdog and out DPSing the diehard DDs. Having multiple subjobs was awesome for different occasions. Even some non-conventional ones, like DRG/BLU, were fun to mess around with.

 

[Ralemont]

Hated how people looked down on Drg in this game.

Like, fuck off. You won't dictate how I have my fun. I don't care what the numbers say.

Some people were supreme elitist assholes.

Good times.

People were definitely elitist assholes, but you also have to blame the game's design for this. The difference between getting a level with a good party and a bad one could literally be hours. And the EXP/mob system, for very long, dictated EXPing against difficult enemies that necessitated optimal gear and job combinations to make the grind bearable. Eventually, through faster respawn rates and changes to the chaining system, it became more in vogue to chain T-VT mobs and so you didn't need that as much. Of course, due to said elitism, people still demanded the meta jobs, but at least you could have more fun with a group of friends.

I was a DRG too ftr!

 

[Halfmunch]

The music in FFXI is still so good! Hmmm you make want to check out what's changed.

 

[PikkonX]

Loved this game and its music. I beta tested this on PS2, which meant that Sony had to send us the full 40GB hard drive kit. Towards the end of the beta, they notified us that once we returned the beta hardware, we'd get the retail game and hard drive for free. My friends were jealous as hell.

Compared to XIV, I miss the days of being forced to party and communicate with others. On XIV you can get by with never saying a thing.

 

[Velocity:Design:Comfort]

As someone who has never played this and can't with the platforms I have, can someone explain to me what was so compelling about the gameplay loop? I get it's from a long long time ago but screenshots don't really help.

 

[Z3M0G]

If I had a half-functional PC I wouldn't mind trying the Faith system to solo the story content... I think I was about level 50 when I last played so many years back. I miss it sometimes, but boy did you need to be single and have a LOT of free time to do anything in this game back in the early days...

 

[PandaPandaPanda]

I remember doing dynamis runs and then the game crashing mid boss fight.

My mom would be trying to use the house phone and interrupt my dial up connection.

Happened a couple of times.

Ah, memories...

I remember that happened to me once in Dynamis Windurst and it was around the death house area or whatever it was called. I logged back in dead and I think I ended up home pointing because it wasn't easy to clear the path where I died.

good shit

 

[Ridill]

This game was my first mmo. I started playing it on NA release, which was either 02 or 03. I remember how daunting everything in this game was. It literally took me 2 days to even figure out how to leave my home town of San Doria and venture into ronfaure. Everything about this game was hard as heck, grindy as a mofo, and punishing like nothing I had ever experienced (I mean you would lose exp for dying!) But the people I met along the way were amazing. The community was insane. Everybody knew each other on the server. It’s not like ff 14 where I don’t ever see the same people twice...EVER. I remember camping a certain NM for two years straight, almost nightly just to get my Ridill. Man the thrill of the camps, the many nights of disappointments for losing claims to Japanese linkshells, the joy of helping other people gear up...

It’s just an experience I feel I will never have ever again, and I feel line others won’t ever experience. Games nowadays are made super casual. It is what sells. I know that I now would not have the time to camp for hours on end for specific time frames to claim stuff so these casual games are perfect for me...but man at the peak of the games life, this game was like no other.

Subjob quest, getting to valkurn, then Jeuno, chocobo quest, airships pass, khazam keys, artifact armor, level breaks (maat on dragoon was not an easy task back in the day), and getting access to sky. Those were just SOME of the milestones I remember with the rotz expansion. Not to mention the rest.

I still find myself playing the ff11 ost on YouTube because it was so amazing, and brought back so many memories.

Also, my post is totally fragmented and all over the place because I’m on my phone, so I apologize for that!

I hope you enjoy your stay in vanadiel

 

[zeorhymer]

After retiring from EQ, I bounced around from a couple of MMOs, but none of them captured me. Then I landed on FFXI beta and just fell in love with it. What captured me was the environment and how everything melded together.

The combat was quite slower pace compared to EQ, but it was more methodical and nuanced with elemental weaknesses, magic bursts and renkei. Crafting was also leaps and bound anything out there. I didn't get into crafting until about a year or so after launch.

Ah the fond memories and good times. (as well as all the toxic players and lolbst comments)

 

[Ridill]

Hated how people looked down on Drg in this game.

Like, fuck off. You won't dictate how I have my fun. I don't care what the numbers say.

Some people were supreme elitist assholes.

Good times.

To be fair DRG had a hard knock life because of Lunaire. It is something that was really hard to balance, hence DRGs don't have battle pets in 14. I leveled DRG first but even I noticed the difference. I did DRG then RDM because I could never participate in stuff, and finally finished with WAR...and ya...WAR was a beast in every thing, i remember the endless collibri chains.

 

[muteki]

Still can't believe I played this online on my PS2. I didn't for very long...maybe just one or two months after the free trial, and it ultimately never appealed to me (and mmo to this day still don't) but still, that they could do that then on a home console seems neat looking back.

 

[Glix]

FFXI is a game I treasure, because I know it's the only one that I loved that I can never re-experience. All I'll ever have are memories.

There really aren't many pieces of art that you can't go back to and visit. It's a unique feeling.

My first MMO and I feel the same way.

Game was SAVAGE tho. Having some idiots aggro some monsters on your group and getting wiped and losing exp and having the part break up after you spent 25 minutes looking for a healer.

Yet I say "good times" and I mean it somehow.

 

[ApharmdX]

I will always have some of my saved images in my collection of my adventures, and videos I recorded when I moved to PC. Too bad I didn't save them all. My PS2 HDD was full of them, but having to email them one or 3 at a time to myself was annoying. I look forward to whatever version of FFXI they put out next, even if it's a darn mobile game.

Best MMORPG I ever played, and I'm still searching for games that have a pet class as good as beastmaster, or classes like evasion thief, red mage (solo boss, with challenging things to fight, not ffxiv's easy world with no threat, also things worth killing that drop good stuff sometimes), dancer, and so on. I loved the classes in that game, and not many games can compare. FFXIV just feel like you're playing a tedious game of predictable circular simon says with the abilities classes have.

You know, no other MMO has had the quality of pet job gameplay that Final Fantasy XI had. I find myself missing that most of all. Pet jobs in FFXIV are poorly-done. Scholar's fairy is just a dumb curebot, and summoner's pets are like XI's dragoon wyvern, just support for an active dps.

I miss the pet job variety and focus of beastmaster, summoner, and puppetmaster.

 

[GameCenterXDS]

What do you mean people won't help you in ff14?? I found so many friendly people in the hub city just doing emotes and talking. I was just handed 100,000 gil for no reason and some high level player even ran around with me doing early quests. Definitly nice people on ff14 as well.