Differences between FFXI and WoW, no flames please.

ifandbut

I am a avid FFXI player. I have played FFXI sence near USA release, it was my frist MMO. Recently I have been thinking about trying a new MMO. I have a few friends that play it but they never played FFXI so I have no point of refference. I was hopeing I could get some idea on the differences between the two.

1. Story: Is there a story in WoW? How is it reviealed to the player?

2. Classes: Could someone give me a comparision between the jobs in FFXI and the classes in WoW?

3. Gear swaping: The one thing I thought was cool in FFXI was being able to change gear on the fly to enhance spells and melee abilities, does this exist in WoW?

4. Leveling: What is the main mode of getting XP. Is it Solo? Party? Quest?

Thanks for the answers, and please no flames on if FFXI is better then WoW.
Ifandbut

willrose

well im no expert cause i never played FFXI but for xp you do solo, quest, and partys each gets you xp usally i find it easier to grind xp solo but some like partys. quest usally are good unless you dont mind toi grind. i really dont know if about story thing. classes in wow are cool there are 9 and i think like 1-15 professions not to sure. they are pretty cool i like that about wow. i hope this helps you as i said im no expert.

Ludovico

1. Story: I dont remember much but i dont think there was a story to WoW, but there is alot of lore around.

2. Classes: The classes are better and worse in this game then jobs in ff. In ff the warrior rarely got any new moves and at 45 they stoped comming, and in WoW the warrior gets skills just as much as every other class, which is quite often. But the freshness of the spells is better in ff, rather just upgrading the same spell and it looking the same like in WoW. Class are able to choose one of three talent trees, or divide them up too, so there is an element of customation that sub jobs dont provide.

3. Gear swaping: i think i remember you having to be out of combat in order to switch gear for WoW.

4. Leveling: there is no main method for leveling, its your choice. You can either solo, quests provide a nice income of exp not like ff, or grouping for instances which can be more exiting then just stand in one spot pulling mobs to camp. And any class can do any of the three.

Volkmar

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Originally posted by ifandbut
I am a avid FFXI player. I have played FFXI sence near USA release, it was my frist MMO. Recently I have been thinking about trying a new MMO. I have a few friends that play it but they never played FFXI so I have no point of refference. I was hopeing I could get some idea on the differences between the two.

1. Story: Is there a story in WoW? How is it reviealed to the player?

2. Classes: Could someone give me a comparision between the jobs in FFXI and the classes in WoW?

3. Gear swaping: The one thing I thought was cool in FFXI was being able to change gear on the fly to enhance spells and melee abilities, does this exist in WoW?

4. Leveling: What is the main mode of getting XP. Is it Solo? Party? Quest?

Thanks for the answers, and please no flames on if FFXI is better then WoW.
Ifandbut

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1. There isn't a cut scenes enhanced story in WoW like there is in FFXI, but many quests are part of chains that tell you different stories and pieces of lore. There is one about the kidnapping of the Human King for example, one about the origins of Colonel Kurzsomething in Stranglethorn vale, there is another about dwarfs discovering some strange fossil and so on.

So, there isn't one main story, but there are many many many side ones.

2. that's pretty hard considering FFXI has so many and some of them are pretty unique (like summoner or ninja), plus i do not know (or remember) all of them :P but here is a fast round down of WoW classes, you can take your own comparisons.

Warrior: smash, destroy and look cool in epic armor. Warrior is a warrior, it has 3 different stances that can differentiate his tactics from savage 2 handed weapon DPS dealer to 1 weapon+shield tanker. Definitly more involved than vanilla mmorpg warriors, plenty of specials and tactics defined by the three stances and a unique rage system

Rogue: your sneaky guy, can stealth, can deal massive damage and can avoid most attacks. can also flee like a hare and vanish from thing sight. can cripple people with poisons and do tricks. DPS melee supreme

Priest: One would say: "hey a priest! that is a white mage for sure!" not really. the priest is the main healer of WoW, yes, but specced correctly he will melt faces. literally. can be pretty bad ass in combat if he goes shadow mode, so never underestimate a priest. they also tend to die often and repeatedly in pvp as they are like arrows/swords magnets.

Mage: Ok, WoW mage is a black mage. about. offensive magics and more offensive magics in three different flavors, cold, fire and force. Can also sheep people, freeze them, can teleport himself and others, can make food and water etc etc.

Druid: the most versatile class in WoW. unite the strengths of a warrior, a rogue, a healer and limitedly of a mage. all in a single package. they are also pretty good at what they do if specced properly (there is infinite debate on who heal better, for example, a priest or a druid). It is a good beginner class because it gives you a taste of many different gameplays

Paladin: Now, if the warrior is badass smasher, the paladin is an holy bubbleboy. They are defense specialist with no peers, meaning killing one is hard. they can heal, they can make themselves invulnerable, they have auras and seals that can enchance different stuffs for different people.

Shaman: If the paladin is a defense specialist, the shaman is an offensive specialist. between being a caster with decent elemental spells and able to use 2 handed weapons, it is damage time!. Add to that ability to heal others and the various totems, with all different stuff they can do and you have a well rounded class focused on dealing damage, mostly burst damage.

Warlock: Maybe one of the most original class of WoW. you might compare it to a summoner, but not really. It is a Damage over Time specialist with many tricks in his sleeves. for once, you can have a demon pet that follows you (insulting you at times), this pet can be choosen (and swapped when needed) between 4 different ones. the fire wielding imp, the tank specialist void walker, the Rogue-like Crowd controller Succubus and the anti-casters felhound. Warlock also get couple end of the world summons, the Infernal and the Doomguard. the catch? they can be only controlled for limited time, after that is passed, they will happily try to crush their "master". Also the doom guard summoning require sacrifice of a party member

Hunter: another pet class, this one is a ranged specialist in constant damage (while the mage is specialist in burst damage). the only class that can decently use ranged weapons, the hunter and his bow/gun are like brothers. He also get possibility to go and tame one of many different animal families around the world, each with their small differences and special attacks. you can grow your pet to your level and teach him specials and then use him to help you in combat. they also get traps and some minor melee abilities. a well rounded class overall.

3. To a point. certain gear is good for something, like healing, and other is good for damage dealing or the like. So it is possible to have gear for various occasions, especially for druids, but swapping it in middle of a fight? that is a bit harder but i suppose possible. there is a 1 second cooldown for swapping weapons (dunno about armor), so that can influence your decision.

4. Quest XP is hand down the best way to do it. If you do the quests alone or in group it doesn't matter much, but it is quests' time! Some quests are easier to do in a group, while others are harder, so it kinda depends. GEAR, on the other hand, tends to be very group oriented, especially at end game but even before that. the best gear tends to be in instances (and in quests linked to instances) and there you can go only with groups. That said, unitil level 60, you do not HAVE to go instances, you can get pretty decent gear outside, but if you wanna the best.... in you go.

that's all, hope it helps