I'm not sure if there is a difference in fees between the PC and PS2 versions. I'm thinking about getting the PS2 version and want to know what I will have to pay for, to play online. From what I gather what I will be paying for: PlayOnline service, content ID, and each additional content ID thereafter?
correct and it all adds up to 12.95 a month unless you have more than one character created and then its an additional dollar per character. that doesnt mean you cant start a character,delete it, then start over. just that if you have two characters existing at the same time then youll be charged extra for them.
The PlayOnline service itself is free. It doesn't matter if you have active Content IDs or not, you'll still be able to log into PlayOnline and use the chatrooms, messaging, email, etc at no cost.
In addition, every game on the service carries a seperate fee (though, they're all lumped into one monthly bill). Tetra Master, for example, is 1$ a month per Content ID. Front Mission Online & Ambrosia Odyssey are confirmed to be using the PlayOnline service as well, but their fees (if any) haven't been announced yet.
Man, having to pay for each additional character is REALLY STUPID!!!! I'm sticking with PSO, where I can make up to 4 characters WITH OUT PAYING FOR THEM!!!!
Man, having to pay for each additional character is REALLY STUPID!!!! I'm sticking with PSO, where I can make up to 4 characters WITH OUT PAYING FOR THEM!!!!
A single character in Final Fantasy XI is worth 15 in Phantasy Star Online, ...though I don't think PSO actually has that many classes.
The point is, unlike most MMORPGs, or even PSO, a single character in Final Fantasy XI can do everything. And the best part? Most of the options you're given can be switched between at anytime. Get tired of being a Melee class a couple hours in? Visit your Mog House, and bam, a couple seconds later you're a Mage. After reaching 18 with that class, you can sub another (for instance, Black Mage main, White Mage sub), and you'll be two classes at once: eventually you can have a Black Mage with a back-up list of White Magic like Cure, Protect, Raise, etc. Experiment with this and you can make some killer combos, and get some really great stat boosts, spell selections, etc... You can make a combo suited best for solo combat, or one made more for parties, or both -- it's totally up to you.
In addition, your character can partake in every quest, every mission, master every tradeskill, etc. I think you get the point.
If you're worried about playtime, don't be. Hundreds of hours put into this one character (even if it's over the course of months, a year, whatever) won't even be able to scratch the surface of it's maximum potential; but spending countless hours maxing out your character isn't the purpose of the depth here, it's to experiment and find a style suited best to your tastes (IMO, at least). As well, you won't be visiting the same locations day in, day out... but when you do return to a zone you've been to before, you'll typically be doing so to level-up a new class -- and in that case, the experience will be so different, you probably won't mind the deja-vu-esque locales.
Basically, this game is just so fundamentally different from things like PSO, that it's just unfair to hold this character thing against it. What you consider a flaw, I consider a blessing, as it keeps people buying mules to a minimum (at most, they have 1-2). It also doesn't hinder the game any, as one character is more than enough for any one person to handle -- trust me.
Ok scott, sorry I guess I kinda flew off the handle. Now that I understand what you're saying I may look into this. I didn't know you could do all that, I just thought you got one character and class and that was it. Anywhoo, what version would you recommend, PC, or PS2? Also, is FFXI ok on dialup?
If you're most interested in the Job/Class System, this is how it works:
Upon creating your character you get to choose from 6 Jobs, including: Warrior, Monk, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, and White Mage. Each job will gain levels on it's own (there's no character levels), have it's own list of abilities, traits, stats, etc. You can also visit your Mog House (your home) and switch between these jobs at anytime, as I stated earlier.
After reaching Level 18 with any single job, you can complete a quest to "sub" a new job. From that point on, you can equip 2 jobs at once; the main will gain levels as normal, and the sub will be there for stat boosts and to expand your ability list. A couple example combos include White Mage subbing Black Mage (or vice versa) for MP, Mind, Intelligence boosts, plus to gain both types of magic spells; Warrior subbing Monk, for Defense, Strength, HP boosts, plus abilities like Counter (-Attack)... Basically, a Mage class typically subs another Mage class, Melee another Melee, and so on. You can experiment with whatever combo(s) you like, but typically, these combo types work best in parties.
Lastly, after reaching Level 30 with any job, you can go on various quests for 9 Advanced Jobs, which are (may be slight spoilers, so just in case):
Ninja, Samurai, Dragoon, Ranger, Bard, Paladin, Dark Knight, Beastmaster, and Summoner
. And again, as with other jobs, you can switch between these at anytime (pending you've acquired them), and sub them however you like.
There's a bit more to it, but a lot of this is spread out across a rather large timespan within the game, so I don't want to bombard you with everything all at once.
Synbios459 said:
Anywhoo, what version would you recommend, PC, or PS2?
It can be quite laggy in some situations (even on DSL), but for the most part it works well enough. I'm on a 28.8k connection and it's not that bad most of the time, with the most annoying problem being text-input lag, where I'll be typing and a letter will repeat ("I'll be bacccck in a minute.") -- that's just so irritating.
Outside of that, the only other problem would be patches, which I've heard can take upwards of a couple hours on dial-up (I've used a friends' DSL for them). Typically there's only 1 or 2 patches a month, relatively small ones (bug fixes, balance issues, etc), and one big one (content patch) every 2 months. Not sure how much of a problem that will be for you...
Think that covers everything, and I hope all that helps.
Costs: (not including the PS2)
----------------------------------------
FFXI - $99.99 (89.99 at many locations BB, Target)
NA - $39.99 (You must have this - $29.99 at many locations)
USB Keyboard - ~$19.99 (You dont' have to have this, but communicating w/o is painful)
30 days subscription - FREE (or already priced in, if you like)
Costs: (not including the PS2)
----------------------------------------
FFXI - $99.99 (89.99 at many locations BB, Target)
NA - $39.99 (You must have this - $29.99 at many locations)
USB Keyboard - ~$19.99 (You dont' have to have this, but communicating w/o is painful)
30 days subscription - FREE (or already priced in, if you like)
