Final Fantasy 11?

Talint · February 2008

Could someone explain this game to me in MUCH Detail -- I'm VERY interested in it right now, and think I'm going to buy it, I understand that it's hard to level and is for hardcore gamers, and also that you will need to be in partys 90% of your gaming experience, but... i'd really love it if someone could explain it in much greater detail

For Example, is there Auction Houses, Major Citys? Is there pvp and raids? Boss's and Tiers? Just stuff of that nature, thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully post about this.

Talint · February 2008

Also, i'm very confused as to which is the newest expansion! I'm soooo lost...

If you could help me i'll PRAISE YOU!

Zikiel · February 2008

Originally posted by Talint

Could someone explain this game to me in MUCH Detail -- I'm VERY interested in it right now, and think I'm going to buy it, I understand that it's hard to level and is for hardcore gamers, and also that you will need to be in partys 90% of your gaming experience, but... i'd really love it if someone could explain it in much greater detail
For Example, is there Auction Houses, Major Citys? Is there pvp and raids? Boss's and Tiers? Just stuff of that nature, thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully post about this.

Auction House- Yes

Major Cities- Yes

Pvp- Kinda.. it's not pvp-centric, not a big focus

I don't know what you mean by raids..

Bosses- Notorious Monsters

What do you mean by tiers?

Newest Expansion is Wings of the Goddess. You can get the game and first 3 expansions for like 10$.

Talint · February 2008

Tiers as in like Armor Sets... like if you ever played Wow -- It was like Tier 1-3 was the first game, tier 4-6 is the expansion --- I guess you can say it's special armor thats in a set and has bonus's for each couple peices like 2/5 has a set bonus and 4/5 has a set bonus... I dont know i'm not really good at explaining..

And I mean raids by saying like --- Theres dungouns you enter and at the end and along the way theres boss's to kill that drop good armor, etc.

Also, can I buy and download them from online? or do I have to go to the store or wait for them to get delivered to my house, also, can I just install the final expansion and not worrying about installing all the other expansions, or do I need to install them in order?

D_Machine · February 2008

FFXI is an OK game. There are some great mathematical concepts behind the battle designs that require a great deal of skills. The battles are not really that creative, but nevertheless they were still fun, and required skills. Battles in the game are a bit slower than most other games, some boss fights could take up to hours, especially if you are lacking experience in the fight, or simply just lacking in numbers. For the most part, their class/job system is pretty balanced and is a beautiful art if you combine the right jobs together and work well as a team.

Equipment in the game was lacking for a few years; the best armor in the game was released several years ago and continues to be the best armor with no new upgrades, which was annoying. They are getting better now, although the armor from a few years back is still considered one of best if not the best, they have added new armor that are comparable depending on situation. Basically there's a sideways movement with equipment rather than a latter movement.

There lacks an adventurous feeling, feeling of exploring dungeons, finding dangerous and unique places. The way towns, NPC's, and areas were built in the game makes it lack a sense of mystery I suppose.

The whole leveling system is grinding. But not just grinding... I would consider it hardcore grinding. Not only do you just find people to fill up a group/party and go out there and grind, you have to find a balance set of people; otherwise you will more than likely disband the group an hour later with less EXP than you started, due to their death penalty system. You are able to level up every class/job in the game with one toon (you cannot use all the jobs at once, you must go to town to swap between jobs, so it's still balanced).

Most of the end game content is Notorious Monsters that spawn in the public world, available to everyone. So this creates HUGE competition. They have started to add private encounters recently, however the best equipment for the most part still come from public NM's, so most of the guilds/linkshells are at each other’s throats. Some servers have learned to be civilized, others are packed full of drama. Now this may sound fun, just having random bosses pop throughout the world and your linkshell rushing there to kill, but that’s hardly the case. It's more of a camping for hours thing (snore...), dozens of people piled up in the same area, creating huge lag fests, waiting for the damn thing to pop, then the very second it pops, it's instantly claimed by one of the linkshells; very competitive, tedious, and cutthroat.

You literally can't do jack shit in that game unless you got a group. The endgame battles are very fun, but that’s IF you get to participate in them at all, due to the competition. I tend to enjoy hardcore and complex MMO's rather than the dumb downed ones, but this was more of a hardcore/hugeTimeShink, hard to get anywhere kind of game. Not to mention it lacks the adventurous feeling (mainly because you can't even walk out solo to go adventuring without a damn group...)

Most of the communities now consist of long time players, who have played the game for a long time now. I would imagine picking up the game now and starting fresh would prove to be EXTREMELY difficult. Their grind system literally starts up at level 8-10+ in the game, and more than likely you will find no one to group with in that level range now a days. You will sit around with your “Looking for group” icon for half the day, and you can’t really go out there and solo anything either, because almost anything that give EXP will kick you ass.

Azure77 · February 2008

Armor Sets -

Race Specific Sets - Recolored lvl 1 armor gives you stats that your race is weak.

Class Sets - Gives you weapon and armor that makes you look like the final fantasy classes. Like black mage set makes you look like the classic black mage. Stats on these are pretty crappy , but some like the Warrior boots you ll use forever.

Lvl 75 - There are special sets that are near immpossible to get , they involve instanced mission , that give points , you buy the gear from the mission guy in Treasure. its a formible grind. There are other sets too , like this Einherjar instance is randomly hard , over hard or cake.

1 to 40 , the armor hasnt changed since release. There isnt much new gear , its pretty bland. Getting into the 30s you have little leeway on armor choices. But this community is anal , you need the right armor , the right job choices , like warrior /ninja or you wont get a party.

Dragoon , Dark Knight , and Puppet Master are mostly frozen out if you want to group. Beastmaster is solo expert.

Currently the addition of the Dancer has made Red Mage , White Mage , and scholar much harder to be accepted into party, Party favorites like Bard and Cosior have been getting frozen out lately in the early game by veterns.

If you do join it can be the best and worst of times. You need a static (a group who always lvls together) otherwise the game is pretty lame. I played during wing release , Wing was in an alpha state , I rerolled a Galka warrior to tank for linkshell mates who just started.

The dancer is so over powered.. We had to wait 8 hours to find someone to team with us. Most of the people left on Bahamut where veterns , who would go "You got a PL? You gonna buy one?"

The japanese use to be terrible to Americans , they and the gilbuyer groups are the nicest people we ran into. The veternsabout 99% of the groups out , had powerlevels , and our white mage never learn to play his job , so come lvl 40 and no pl , he got bunch of people killed.

I left the game about a month later , because I had gone paladin , and dancer was tanking , even the ninjas were sitting with me .. which is kinda funny but sad.

loreofchaos · February 2008

Originally posted by Azure77

Armor Sets -
   Race Specific Sets - Recolored lvl 1 armor gives you stats that your race is weak.
   Class Sets - Gives you weapon and armor that makes you look like the final fantasy classes. Like black mage set makes you look like the classic black mage. Stats on these are pretty crappy , but some like the Warrior boots you ll use forever.
   Lvl 75 - There are special sets that are near immpossible to get , they involve instanced mission , that give points , you buy the gear from the mission guy in Treasure. its a formible grind. There are other sets too , like this Einherjar instance is randomly hard , over hard or cake.
      1 to 40 , the armor hasnt changed since release. There isnt much new gear , its pretty bland. Getting into the 30s you have little leeway on armor choices. But this community is anal , you need the right armor , the right job choices , like warrior /ninja or you wont get a party.
    Dragoon , Dark Knight , and Puppet Master are mostly frozen out if you want to group. Beastmaster is solo expert.
     Currently the addition of the Dancer has made Red Mage , White Mage , and scholar much harder to be accepted into party, Party favorites like Bard and Cosior have been getting frozen out lately in the early game by veterns.
           If you do join it can be the best and worst of times. You need a static (a group who always lvls together) otherwise the game is pretty lame. I played during wing release , Wing was in an alpha state , I rerolled a Galka warrior to tank for linkshell mates who just started.
          The dancer is so over powered.. We had to wait 8 hours to find someone to team with us. Most of the people left on Bahamut where veterns , who would go "You got a PL? You gonna buy one?"
         The japanese use to be terrible to Americans , they and the gilbuyer groups are the nicest people we ran into. The veternsabout 99% of the groups out , had powerlevels , and our white mage never learn to play his job , so come lvl 40 and no pl , he got bunch of people killed.
           I left the game about a month later , because I had gone paladin , and dancer was tanking , even the ninjas were sitting with me .. which is kinda funny but sad.

Personally I played on the Shiva server. Didn't like it much. However, I played on the

Phoenix server, it was a total change. The Linkshell were helpful. People wouldn't watch you get chased down, but would stand in the way. It was a complete change. I still played with Sandy kingdom.

Didn't care much for Bastok or Windurst. I felt a bit of what you experianced when I was on Shiva.

To be honest, a lot of people in my server will help you out. In gil, and in missions and levels and quests. They'd travel half way across the continent to come help you, who just started. They have patients

with 360 typers. Which is wonderful and should be commended. Patients is a rare thing in

people these days.

WSIMike · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

Equipment in the game was lacking for a few years; the best armor in the game was released several years ago and continues to be the best armor with no new upgrades, which was annoying. They are getting better now, although the armor from a few years back is still considered one of best if not the best, they have added new armor that are comparable depending on situation. Basically there's a sideways movement with equipment rather than a latter movement.
Since when is gear re-usability a bad thing? Personally, I think it's cool that, unlike other MMOs, FFXI's devs don't play the endless carrot-on-a-stick routine of releasing "newer and better" gear that renders the old "best gear" obsolete. Gear continues to be useful so you're not constantly having to get the newest shiniest gear that makes the previous top gear look silly.
You are right, some gear is very situational, depending on what build you're going for, depending on what kind of food you're using, depending on your role in a party, etc.
That said, what FFXI provides in gear are *options*. You don't have any one piece that is absolutely so amazing that there is no good alternative. You don't *need* the best gear available to do well in the game.
They also provide more ways of getting the gear now. Whether through questing, Notorious Monster drops, Dynamis, BCNMs, Assault, Salvage, craft-only, etc.. There's numerous ways to get gear.
There lacks an adventurous feeling, feeling of exploring dungeons, finding dangerous and unique places. The way towns, NPC's, and areas were built in the game makes it lack a sense of mystery I suppose.
No sense of mystery? I don't think you've done very much exploring if you haven't found anything in the game that's worth finding. Vana'diel is *covered* in things like that.
The game provides *plenty* to see and explore if you're willing to do it. I do it quite often. No it's not safe all the time, and you have to know mob aggro and keep your eyes open at all times. But that's why you learn to be careful while you're at it.
The whole leveling system is grinding. But not just grinding... I would consider it hardcore grinding. Not only do you just find people to fill up a group/party and go out there and grind, you have to find a balance set of people; otherwise you will more than likely disband the group an hour later with less EXP than you started, due to their death penalty system. You are able to level up every class/job in the game with one toon (you cannot use all the jobs at once, you must go to town to swap between jobs, so it's still balanced).
There's a fairly "standard" setup for a party, however, with the new jobs they've been introducing, it's provided more options to fill those roles, so you don't need one specific party setup to do well. As in any game, fighting mobs in FFXI requires skill on the part of the players. If you're in a party with a couple poor players who screw up, yes, it can and will result in death. Just like in any other MMO.
As for grinding for xp - again, no different than any other MMO - or level-based RPG for that matter. The difference with FFXI is that it's a means to an end, not an end in itself. If all you get out of FFXI is that it's a "grind fest", then that's all you were doing. You don't *have* to level all the time.
Most of the end game content is Notorious Monsters that spawn in the public world, available to everyone. So this creates HUGE competition. They have started to add private encounters recently, however the best equipment for the most part still come from public NM's, so most of the guilds/linkshells are at each other’s throats.
You forgot to mention Dynamis, Sea, Sky, Limbus, Assault, Salvage and other activities available at end-game - and before - that don't involve camping or hunting NMs.
The rare drops that people used to compete for have been altered to reduce that. The world NMs now drop a version of that item that's rare/ex (bind on pickup, basically). The normal tradable/sellable version is now a possible reward for a BCNM. BCNMs cannot be monopolized or competed for, so everyone has a chance at them now. They've done that for Leaping Boots, Peacock Charm, Emperor Hairpin, and a few others I believe.
Some servers have learned to be civilized, others are packed full of drama. Now this may sound fun, just having random bosses pop throughout the world and your linkshell rushing there to kill, but that’s hardly the case. It's more of a camping for hours thing (snore...), dozens of people piled up in the same area, creating huge lag fests, waiting for the damn thing to pop, then the very second it pops, it's instantly claimed by one of the linkshells; very competitive, tedious, and cutthroat.
Joining a LS that hunts/camps HNMs is optional. If you don't want to get involved with camping those HNMs, you don't have to. There's pleny of other things you can do with your time.
You literally can't do jack shit in that game unless you got a group.
Wrong. You can do many quests by yourself, up to and including some of those for advanced jobs. You can do campaign battles by yourself, there are more options for soloing xp now than there were. There's *tons* to do in that game that doesn't require a party.
However, that said, FFXI is primarily based around group dynamics. Always has been. So yes, of course alot of the content is going to be group-based. If someone finds that's not to their taste.. their best option is to not play.
Not to mention it lacks the adventurous feeling (mainly because you can't even walk out solo to go adventuring without a damn group...)
Again, that's your take on it. To me and others it has a very "adventurous" feel to it. Based on your post, it seems you look at the game as a grind and a constant struggle to "get things done". Not everyone sees it that way - I, for one, don't. I see it as a cool place to hang out and do whatever I feel like doing. Sometimes that includes hopping on a chocobo and exploring - now that you can raise your own chocobos, that makes it that much easier to do. You get out what you put in.
Most of the communities now consist of long time players, who have played the game for a long time now. I would imagine picking up the game now and starting fresh would prove to be EXTREMELY difficult.
Again - wrong. Three friends of mine have started recently. They're all - every one of them - doing just fine. I don't know why people have this impression, but it's simply not true.
Their grind system literally starts up at level 8-10+ in the game, and more than likely you will find no one to group with in that level range now a days. You will sit around with your “Looking for group” icon for half the day, and you can’t really go out there and solo anything either, because almost anything that give EXP will kick you ass.
Again... wrong.
Can it be hard to find groups at times? Sure. That's the case at all levels - even for the more "in-demand" jobs.
That said, people are finding groups all the time from level 8-10 and up. One example... A friend of mine started the game brand-new not long ago.. He solo'd BLM up to 18. He unlocked his subjob, and, in parties, leveled WHM/BLM up to WHM30, unlocked Summoner and continued on with that. He had no trouble. Another friend started recently and chose MNK as his first job. Again, he's having no problem finding parties.

You make *way* too many generalizations that completely ignore a huge portion of what FFXI actually offers.

D_Machine · February 2008

Quoting : WSIMike

Says the lolDRG. I have my opinions about the game, if you have yours, post them but don't tell me mine are wrong. Base on my experiences, mostly endgame; these were my general view points. I've moved on to other games and have seen (IMO) better ways of doing things. I still love many of the designs in FFXI, but most need to be changed.

Most of the end game content is Notorious Monsters that spawn in the public world, available to everyone. So this creates HUGE competition. They have started to add private encounters recently, however the best equipment for the most part still come from public NM's, so most of the guilds/linkshells are at each other’s throats.
You forgot to mention Dynamis, Sea, Sky, Limbus, Assault, Salvage and other activities available at end-game - and before - that don't involve camping or hunting NMs.

Are you a total and complete moron? Or do you did you just read my post and write WRONG on all of them?

Equipment in the game was lacking for a few years; the best armor in the game was released several years ago and continues to be the best armor with no new upgrades, which was annoying. They are getting better now, although the armor from a few years back is still considered one of best if not the best, they have added new armor that are comparable depending on situation. Basically there's a sideways movement with equipment rather than a latter movement.
Since when is gear re-usability a bad thing? Personally, I think it's cool that, unlike other MMOs, FFXI's devs don't play the endless carrot-on-a-stick routine of releasing "newer and better" gear that renders the old "best gear" obsolete. Gear continues to be useful so you're not constantly having to get the newest shiniest gear that makes the previous top gear look silly.
Where in my statement did I say that re-usable gear was a bad thing? I personally love the way FFXI did the equipment with the sideways movement rather than latter. I stated that for years King sets were the ONLY set that was the best, however now you actually have a choice to choose from many.

There lacks an adventurous feeling, feeling of exploring dungeons, finding dangerous and unique places. The way towns, NPC's, and areas were built in the game makes it lack a sense of mystery I suppose.
No sense of mystery? I don't think you've done very much exploring if you haven't found anything in the game that's worth finding. Vana'diel is *covered* in things like that.
Snooreeeee... most of what I see brings no sense of excitement, but that may just be me. Maybe you're just easily amused? I can't pinpoint exactly what draws or pushes away THAT feeling, but from what I gathered, games with zones (FFXI) often push away the feeling of adventure oppose to games that are just seemless.

The whole leveling system is grinding. But not just grinding... I would consider it hardcore grinding. Not only do you just find people to fill up a group/party and go out there and grind, you have to find a balance set of people; otherwise you will more than likely disband the group an hour later with less EXP than you started, due to their death penalty system. You are able to level up every class/job in the game with one toon (you cannot use all the jobs at once, you must go to town to swap between jobs, so it's still balanced).
There's a fairly "standard" setup for a party, however, with the new jobs they've been introducing, it's provided more options to fill those roles, so you don't need one specific party setup to do well. As in any game, fighting mobs in FFXI requires skill on the part of the players. If you're in a party with a couple poor players who screw up, yes, it can and will result in death. Just like in any other MMO.
As for grinding for xp - again, no different than any other MMO - or level-based RPG for that matter. The difference with FFXI is that it's a means to an end, not an end in itself. If all you get out of FFXI is that it's a "grind fest", then that's all you were doing. You don't *have* to level all the time.
Games are starting to do this thing called QUESTS for EXP now, and they also allow you to grind for exp (yay for options). As for group setups, literally when setting up any EXP group, for the most part you need a RDM or BRD for buffs/dispel. A tank, a healer, and DPS. Balance yes... a bit much just for a relaxing grind? Yes... You should be required to set up a balanced group to do hard task, but to simply grind, this much effort? Then again I forget, you probably solo'ed your lolDRG to 75.

Their grind system literally starts up at level 8-10+ in the game, and more than likely you will find no one to group with in that level range now a days. You will sit around with your “Looking for group” icon for half the day, and you can’t really go out there and solo anything either, because almost anything that give EXP will kick you ass.
Again... wrong.
You solo till 1-12~, then you go to the fun DUNES to grind!! woot. Again I forget, you are DRG... lol, try solo'ing an Even Match mob, it still takes a good amount of effort, and gives you what, 50 EXP?

Seriously though, I hate to keep throwing the DRG card in your face buddy, but do you have any other jobs leveled up or is that you're only? Because if it is your only job at 75, you need to understand that maybe 5-10% of the community may see things from your perspective. Otherwise, we just have different perspectives on things, and although I did not spend the time to write a book on every angle of FFXI, my opinions were base off my experiences and are not WRONGGG. peace

k11keeper · February 2008

Well im not sure if the posts above this helped you at all but I'm going to try and answer your question the best I can and not get involved with others opinions of the game.

There is an auction house, each starting nation has there own auction house and each of those auction houses is connected to an out lying village. The main auction house where you will find most of the gear for later levels is in Jeuno and Aht Urghan the two major cities where most of the people are.

Well there is PvP in this game and it comes in two forms. There is a game called ballista which can be fun at times and a game called brenner which can be fun at times. I won't go into much detail about how they are played it should be easy for you to find the rules. There was a time when I played in every ballista I could and when brenner was released it was the same but these don't really provide any advantage in the game and are more as a side game that not many people are involved with these days.

Yes there are raids but in FFXI they are not usually referred to as raids. You have Dynamis which is huge and can have up to 52 people involved. Limbus which can have up to 18 I believe. Einherjar, salvage, assault, and campaign ops are other types of raids you can get into more detail about all of these if you go to http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and click on the links they will give you a description of what each of them are in great detail and what the rewards are.

There are also gods and HNMs you can fight with large groups. Gods are faught by gaining pop items from certain mobs in Sky then using those items to pop the God. These drop some good gear and can be really fun battles and its not hard these days to find linkshells that do this. The HNMs on the other hand are mobs that pop threwout the world these are the monsters where you need to know what time frame they will pop and can endup sitting and waiting for them to pop, but you can get very rewarding items and great battles from these monsters and there are a ton of them out there. I don't particularly participate with HNMs because the competition to claim these monsters can be insane and with the new expansions I don't think the time and effort is worth the reward.

For me though ffxi is all about the missions there are currently many storylines and mission tracts. You have the 3 nations storylines from bastok, sandy, and windurst you will need to complete most of the missions for your starting nations to get some things, like airship pass, and access to zilart missions. Zilart was the first expansion for ffxi and has a great storyline with some fun mission you will need to complete most of these missions to acquire access to sky. Chains of Promathia is a series of lvl capped missions and some uncapped missions completing missions with grant you access to new areas and sea. Treasures of aht urghan has a long list of missions which i am still working on so you will need to look some info up on it at the link i posted above so far the storyline seems like its interesting and will become very good. The new expansion Wings of the Goddess only has a few missions with a few side quests involved which seems like its going to be awesome but they need to release more content at this time.

I don't know much about WoW but i don't think the gear has tiers but there are many pieces of armor and weapons available from all of the things ive talked about that serve there purpose in certain situations. The cool thing is there is generally no item that is the best all the time depending on what you are doing so there is always the need to do all of these activites and let me tell you its not something that can be done easily getting all the Relic, AF+1, Salvage, adjuration, god, and assault sets of armor is almost impossible I have not completed any of these sets and most people havent. So there is a great sense of accomplishment with just getting one of these pieces. Its kind of a rare experience to see people with full sets of these as well its not like everyone is running around with them and if you dont have them you are a noob or something.

There are also BCNMs and KSNMs which are somewhat instanced battles that have caps at lvl 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and uncapped. These can be a great source of income as some of the better gear is obtained threw them and can be sold on the auction house or as a way to acquire the gear you want by completing them yourself. All of these thing ive mentioned are discussed in great detail on ffxiclopedia this is just a little overview I hope will help you understand that there are tons of things to participate in while playing this game. On top of that I'm sure Square Enix will release even more content and maybe some new armor sets with there new expansion Wings of the Goddess.

Well I think Ive rambled on enough I hope this helps you out a bit but if you are thinking about playing ffxi Id suggest getting it and giving it a try but keep in mind this game just gets better and better the more you get into don't get discouraged or concentrate solely on lvling or you will miss all the things this game has to offer and it might leave a bad taste in your mouth like it has for others. Good luck and I hope to see you in Vana Diel

WSIMike · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

Quoting : WSIMike

Says the lolDRG.

Then again I forget, you probably solo'ed your lolDRG to 75.

You solo till 1-12~, then you go to the fun DUNES to grind!! woot. Again I forget, you are DRG...

Seriously though, I hate to keep throwing the DRG card in your face buddy, but do you have any other jobs leveled up or is that you're only?

As the rest of your post is either subjective, innaccurate, inflammatory or irrelevant, I'll respond only to the lolDRG comments:

A: They indicate your quickness to resort to pot-shots and insults. Not the most dignified route to go, but boy did you jump in with both feet.

B: It's a typical bandwagon mentality. Play a job if it's "cool", bash on it if it isn't. I don't care if a job is popular or not. I play it because I enjoy it. I played and enjoyed Monk before it was popular too. Yours and others' opinions of a given job do not factor. I think and decide for myself.

C: Way to live in the past. DRG is not considered "lol" anymore, and hasn't been for some time now. Some changes were made that have brought them more up to "level" as a DD and, in fact, many people will tell you they like DRG and many are leveling it now.

I haven't solo'd DRG since level 13. I get party invites - as DRG - many times when I'm not even seeking. So, yeah... keep your ignorant assumptions to yourself, okay?

That said... you bash me for saying you're "wrong" about something, but then rhetorically question if I'm a moron. Yeah, you really took the high ground on that one. Good call, hypocrite.

D_Machine · February 2008

Originally posted by WSIMike

Originally posted by D_Machine

Quoting : WSIMike

Says the lolDRG.

Then again I forget, you probably solo'ed your lolDRG to 75.

You solo till 1-12~, then you go to the fun DUNES to grind!! woot. Again I forget, you are DRG...

Seriously though, I hate to keep throwing the DRG card in your face buddy, but do you have any other jobs leveled up or is that you're only?

As the rest of your post is either subjective, innaccurate, inflammatory or irrelevant, I'll respond only to the lolDRG comments:

A: They indicate your quickness to resort to pot-shots and insults. Not the most dignified route to go, but boy did you jump in with both feet.

B: It's a typical bandwagon mentality. Play a job if it's "cool", bash on it if it isn't. I don't care if a job is popular or not. I play it because I enjoy it. I played and enjoyed Monk before it was popular too. Yours and others' opinions of a given job do not factor. I think and decide for myself.

C: Way to live in the past. DRG is not considered "lol" anymore, and hasn't been for some time now. Some changes were made that have brought them more up to "level" as a DD and, in fact, many people will tell you they like DRG and many are leveling it now.

I haven't solo'd DRG since level 13. I get party invites - as DRG - many times when I'm not even seeking. So, yeah... keep your ignorant assumptions to yourself, okay?

That said... you bash me for saying you're "wrong" about something, but then rhetorically question if I'm a moron. Yeah, you really took the high ground on that one. Good call, hypocrite.

Tell you what, you explain yourself on this one, and I'll go ahead and apologize. Because to me, it seems like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed with your head up your ass and decided to start shit with everything I had to say:

I said:

Most of the end game content is Notorious Monsters that spawn in the public world, available to everyone. So this creates HUGE competition. They have started to add private encounters recently, however the best equipment for the most part still come from public NM's, so most of the guilds/linkshells are at each other’s throats.

Mike said:

You forgot to mention Dynamis, Sea, Sky, Limbus, Assault, Salvage and other activities available at end-game - and before - that don't involve camping or hunting NMs.

Lol as for the DRG thing, you're attitude is exactly what you expect from a typical DRG, personality fits perfectly. The root for the underdog type, defend your DRG class with pride and joy for life! You replace a DRG in a raid/group set up with any other class and it will be better, period. And the reason I choose to throw the DRG shit in your face was not to jump on any stupid bandwagon. Your viewpoints of the game (If DRG was the only job you got to 75) will more than likely not be relatable to 90% of the community. A DRG's prospective is kind like a stand up comic telling a joke about someone the audience has never heard of or something that no one can relate to.

This doesn’t necessarily make your view points incorrect, but you lack the viewpoints of perhaps the hardcore gamers. Much like I lack the viewpoints of some casual gamers, or cast aside P.O.S.DRG4life like you... anyways

The OP wanted to know more bout the game... but in case you do decide to enter end-game HNM "raiding" linkshell, this is the kind of drama you'll run into quite frequently OP. Because jackasses like Mike like to open cans off whoopass on themselves.

sniperg · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

The OP wanted to know more bout the game... but in case you do decide to enter end-game HNM "raiding" linkshell, this is the kind of drama you'll run into quite frequently OP. Because jackasses like Mike like to open cans off whoopass on themselves.

Yes, I am sure D_Machine, Mike is the "bad" guy here. By the way D_Machine how good is your time machine? Since the "LolDRG" thing is so 2005.

"Cans of whoopass"? Seriously man fix your time machine seems you are stuck some years back. Don't make yourself more retarded than needed.

If you want to insult someone be creative, don't use insults you copy pasted from other sites, by people that at least have a grasp of things around them.

sniperg · February 2008

Originally posted by Talint

Could someone explain this game to me in MUCH Detail -- I'm VERY interested in it right now, and think I'm going to buy it, I understand that it's hard to level and is for hardcore gamers, and also that you will need to be in partys 90% of your gaming experience, but... i'd really love it if someone could explain it in much greater detail
For Example, is there Auction Houses, Major Citys? Is there pvp and raids? Boss's and Tiers? Just stuff of that nature, thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully post about this.

Ok here is the thing. It's not hard to level between levels 1-60. from 60-75 it still isn't hard but usually you get one level per two sessions instead of 1 depending on the party. Mobs at that level range are too squishy so in general even an average party can level relatively fast.

As for the party aspect. Yes for most of things you will need at least one another, BUT there are many activities that can be done solo if you are up to it. I know many players that solo their jobs from 1-75 with no problem and actually doing much better. Heck there is on site of a guy that soloed from the start of the game till now with different jobs, which i can link it to you after i am done with work here. If you come from WoW yes it will seem a bit strange at first but you get used to it fast.

Yes there are Auction Houses and major cities and all that. FF has instances, which like WoW, you take a party and fight the bosses there for some loot.

Raids there are lots of them, although they are not "obligatory" per se. A big chunk of the game focuses on groups of up to 6 and the raids are as hardcore as any WoW ones.

Item wise although there are some tiered sets which are classified as raid items the only similarity with WoW is that you have to specialise with them. So you will have to focus on one aspect of your character item wise and carry multiple equipment parts if you want to be more versatile.

Hope I covered it a bit for you.

Azure77 · February 2008

I last played 2007 Dec , I saw some warriors with handgrips , but didnt know where to get them. Still at end, I saw little change. I saw drg, dark knights , and red mage sitting in Juno , with looking for a party button.

A boss fight I saw a ninja/dark knight tanking, the armor hasnt changed though. The best attack gear , the best defense gear and same axes from early 2002 /2003 maybe earlier i dont remember. Yhe Jugernaught was still the off hand axe.

Dancer in my opine where majorly over powered. Dunes was empty but for a few veteran making characters (the recycle effect) , alot more people soloing in Ghelsa area (spelling). The gilsellers where out in force leveling half naked characters with power levels.

I didnt see anything new added , Wings map crashed me a few times , mobs werent spawning , bunch other problems.

I dont see how this guy a recycle vet , could come back to FFXI relvl through 75 again. Didnt even have enough gil to get scale armor O.o

DemonTaoist · February 2008

holy crap the op already has plenty of feedback but here's by 2 c:

You're not gonna like FFXI coming from WoW.

FFXI was designed back when devs thought they had to make everything take as long as it possibly could to keep people playing MMOs. EVERYthing is inconvenient and tedious.

There will be nothing familiar to a wow player. Quest givers aren't marked, they don't tell you what to kill, they usually don't reward you with anything significant for finishing their quest. Exp rewards from quests was a mind-blowing concept to me when I first got away from FFXI and experienced it in another MMO.

Mobs don't drop money. Quests don't give money. You have to make money out of nothing. With that money, you're gonna have to buy all of your gear until 75. And that gear is VERY expensive.

PvP is not even worth mentioning. Nobody plays FFXI just to PvP. And if you do plan on picking up the game, you're not going to be able to even participate in any kind of PvP for a long while.

I could go on and on, but plenty of others already have.

FFXI was/is a great game for what it is. But the fact is, it's outdated. It's THE great old school IMO, and I guess it's worth trying out if you absolutely must experience what the old school MMOs were like (though EQ would probably be a lot more accessible to a WoW player), but I just can't see someone who was introduced to MMOs via WoW ever being able to cope with a game like FFXI.

EDIT: I know he asked, but why even mention things like Limbus. A player starting now will probably never see sky much less sea. And they sure aren't gonna understand why 100 people stand in Dragon's Aery for up to 5 hours a night for a small chance to fight a mob that has an even smaller chance of dropping something that you can turn into armor for which you have an even smaller chance of winning the lot for.

WSIMike · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

Lol as for the DRG thing, you're attitude is exactly what you expect from a typical DRG, personality fits perfectly. The root for the underdog type, defend your DRG class with pride and joy for life! You replace a DRG in a raid/group set up with any other class and it will be better, period. And the reason I choose to throw the DRG shit in your face was not to jump on any stupid bandwagon. Your viewpoints of the game (If DRG was the only job you got to 75) will more than likely not be relatable to 90% of the community. A DRG's prospective is kind like a stand up comic telling a joke about someone the audience has never heard of or something that no one can relate to.
This doesn’t necessarily make your view points incorrect, but you lack the viewpoints of perhaps the hardcore gamers. Much like I lack the viewpoints of some casual gamers, or cast aside P.O.S.DRG4life like you... anyways

-yawn-

Blah blah. Rhetoric rhetoric. Old news.

Throw "all the shit in my face" you want. All your comments are based on stigmas and stereotypes that *no longer exist*.

If you played FFXI then you should know as well as anyone else that *things change* in FFXI. BRD used to be considered a throw-away job - 'til things changed and people realized their potential. Now they're irreplaceable to some. Same with Monk. Now the same with DRG.

I'll be sure to share your little "underdog" and "10%" comments with some of my friends in game leveling DRG. They've got at least 3 jobs at 75 and do regular Dynamis/Sea/Sky, etc runs. I'm sure they'll find your theories highly amusing. Thanks for the fodder.

See... here's a couple reasons why you are so wrong and out-of-touch:

SE added items, called "Grips", exclusively for two-handed weapons. They provide different bonuses and go in the "Sub" armor slot. For example, the Mythril grip adds +1 to STR, VIT and ACC. The +1 version adds +2 to those stats.

They also adjusted the way certain stats are distributed/calculated for two-handed weapons.

For example, from FFXIclopedia:

"... when using a Two-Handed Weapon, for every 4 points of DEX, your accuracy value is raised by 3 (as of the November '07 Update)."

So now, even with their high attack delay, two-handed weapon users can increase their accuracy and hit more frequently and for potentially more damage per hit... which means more DoT.

So, two-handed weapons have been considerably improved, thus, making two-handed specialized jobs more effective. Yes, that includes Dragoon with their polearm.

As a result, people have changed their thinking about Dragoons and realize they're quite capable DDs.. in parties or solo. The result is more party invites for DRGs and more people leveling the job. It surprised me for a bit when I'd be sitting in WG or Jeuno goofing around and would get random /tells asking if I wanted a party. Disbelieve it all you want, but it's happening.

Here's a link to an episode of LBR where they discuss it... Click Here

That is current *fact*. I'm not "rooting for the underdog". So, theorize and mock all you want. Your theories and jibes are no longer relevant. So, by all means, continue "throwing shit"... and I'll just continue to laugh at it.

D_Machine · February 2008

That’s about the time I left the game was when the Grips were introduce, so I guess you and your sniperg butt buddy won the battle on the DRG argument, my bad. But my opinions on the DRG were solely my own, from when I played the game, they were trash. Although even now with the Grips, I still can’t imagine a 3x WAR, or 3x MNK DPS with 3x support classes being out damaged by 3x DRG in a merit party. But then again, who knows, times has changed. Going back to the initial arguments before I hurt your DRG pride feelings and you decided to discuss nothing else other than the protection of your precious.

I would probably agree with everything DemondTaoist had to write in post #16. That’s the FFXI I know.

WSIMike · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

Going back to the initial arguments before I hurt your DRG pride feelings and you decided to discuss nothing else other than the protection of your precious.
Can't even admit you were mistaken without slipping in a personal jab. How unfortunate.
That said, no pride hurt here. You were bashing the job based on long out-dated info/stigmas and decided to start taking low-blows at it, and me in the process. You were way off-base, and I called you on it. Plain and simple.
That said, I know people who are doing end-game content as DRG. So whether "Job A" or "Job B" might outdamage DRG or not in a given situation is moot. They're effective enough to assist in end-game/raid content regardless.
That said, #16 is pretty accurate, I agree, from that poster's point-of-view.
I find people either love FFXI or hate it. It's not for everyone, and I'll be the first to tell someone that. Personally, I love it and find WoW to be incredibly boring after a while.
To each their own.

sniperg · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

That’s about the time I left the game was when the Grips were introduce, so I guess you and your sniperg butt buddy won the battle on the DRG argument, my bad. But my opinions on the DRG were solely my own, from when I played the game, they were trash. Although even now with the Grips, I still can’t imagine a 3x WAR, or 3x MNK DPS with 3x support classes being out damaged by 3x DRG in a merit party. But then again, who knows, times has changed. Going back to the initial arguments before I hurt your DRG pride feelings and you decided to discuss nothing else other than the protection of your precious.
I would probably agree with everything DemondTaoist had to write in post #16. That’s the FFXI I know.

Well your imagination is somewhat lacking anyway, but hey being predictable is not that uncommon. But hey I am sure you whole 6 posts makes you valid. As I said fix your time machine before writing about the "FF you know" since this way you may actually come out as something other than someone with less that full mental capacity.(aka retarded)

Shoo now and troll alakazzam or something.

D_Machine · February 2008

Lol, you make it seem as if I came into this thread bashing DRG’s and you stepped up to defend it and prove me wrong (which you did prove DRG’s are more effectly now). My intentions of using the lolDRG bash wasn’t just simply a cheap shoot against you either (Like ignorant moron’s that make statements such as “You’re stupid and I know so because you play a female toon and you’re really a guy” or “I have more posts on you on this forum, so therefore I’m smarter and your opinion means crap”). I was trying to convey a message that suggested that the DRG/BST of the community play a different style and experience the game in a different perspective than the majority (Being if DRG and/or BST were your only 2 leveled jobs without other alts). Little did I know DRG’s have upgraded since a year ago. Point is I saw your perspective of the game and did not disagree with it, but I don’t see my perspective of the game being incorrect either. I’ve played other EXP grind to level games, and they are no where as tedious and hard as FFXI. If you don’t agree with my statement that it’s not only a game that requires EXP grinding, but it’s a rather hardcore grind, please name off a few games that are much harder to grind and gain levels in.

I played FFXI for several years and don’t get me wrong, I loved the game, but at the same time just about hate it as much as I loved it. There are better ways to make a game hard and fun than the way FFXI has done it. There is a thread in these forums with a guy asking if 2 hours of game play per night is enough to get anything done. Honestly… IMO the answer is no, you might get a few lucky nights, but I would put my money on it that the majority of the nights that he logs on, he will accomplish close to nothing.

As for the DRG, improvements or not (I have no actual facts of this), I still find it hard to believe that DRG’s have scaled up as much as you say they may. I believe they are able to get EXP groups now, I believe they may be fitted into a raid group now… but I still find it hard to believe a Linkshell announcing, “We are now open for recruitment and currently seeking active DRG’s!”. Or even EXP groups shouting “Looking for DRG!?”. Or maybe “What job you want me to come as Linkshell leader” “Leader: Drg plz”. But like I said, I have no facts of this and things may have changed THAT much. Regardless, it doesn’t matter, my intensions to even bring up the DRG in the first place was to state why your view points conflict with mine, and my argument was that you were playing a job that was cast aside by society so therefore your view points were not as relatable by many. I no longer have that argument against you, but I did state my other arguments in regards to your on my original post.

WSIMike · February 2008

Originally posted by D_Machine

I was trying to convey a message that suggested that the DRG/BST of the community play a different style and experience the game in a different perspective than the majority (Being if DRG and/or BST were your only 2 leveled jobs without other alts).
Well to start, addressing me as "P.O.S.DRG4life like you", on top of multiple uses of "lolDRG", isn't what I would call discussing a difference in style. There was a lot of venom in your posts; don't try to backpedal out of it now by claiming you were merely trying to make a point.
But you also make the assumption that DRG is the only job I do or have played, which in a game where leveling multiple jobs is the norm was incredibly short-sighted of you. Yes, I am currently playing DRG and am greatly enjoying it, but I have also leveled Samurai, Thief, Monk, Warrior, Ninja and recently started on Blue Mage (never been one for mage jobs, really, but BLU is alot of fun).
You also make it sound like I've been playing in a vaccuum and have no idea what the "rest of the jobs are like". Playing in groups and regularly interacting with those other jobs you get an understanding of how they play. Talking to other more experienced players also gives you an insight to those jobs and how they're played. Dealing with the various changes in perception or misperception also gives you that insight. FFXI is an incredibly social game and you can't help but learn things about jobs - even ones that you might not have even tried yet. Is it hands-on understanding? No, but it's enough to understand what they bring to the table in a given situation.
My overall belief is that there are no "throw-away jobs" in FFXI. Some just aren't as readily apparent as others and take more time to figure out their actual use. People also grow accustom to specific setups or fighting specific types of mobs which make certain job combos more effective than others. If a given job doesn't "fit" in that setup, it's disregarded as "not useful"... which is partially true. Not useful in *that* particular setup, on those specific mobs, perhaps. But certainly useful in many others.
I played FFXI for several years and don’t get me wrong, I loved the game, but at the same time just about hate it as much as I loved it. There are better ways to make a game hard and fun than the way FFXI has done it. There is a thread in these forums with a guy asking if 2 hours of game play per night is enough to get anything done. Honestly… IMO the answer is no, you might get a few lucky nights, but I would put my money on it that the majority of the nights that he logs on, he will accomplish close to nothing.
Based on whose expectations? Yours or his? A RL friend of mine started back when the game came out in the US (on PC) and can't play more than 2 or 3 hours (sometimes more on the weekends), a few nights a week as he's married with a child and holds a full-time job. However, he sets his expectations based on that and has capped two 75 jobs (NIN and PLD), has completed FFXI, Zilart, CoP and most of ToAU, and does regular Dynamis runs. To you that might not seem like "enough accomplished", but to him it's plenty and he loves the game. Again, based on his expectations - not anyone else's.
Maybe for the poster, he wants to log on and do a couple hours of crafting? Maybe knock out a few quests? Maybe do a couple outpost runs to some areas that have come under his nation's control for that week? Maybe work on crafting? Maybe he has a static party he does xp'ing/assault runs with? Many Assault runs are time limited to 30 minutes or so and you can do 3 of those per real-life day. The points you rack up doing those can buy you some *very* nice gear. Check out the Pahluwan set on FFXIclopedia. I'm personally trying for that set.
With WoTG they have added Campaign Battles which are short large-scale skirmishes set in various "theaters" of the Crystal War. The brilliance of them is that you can log in, get into a few, rack up some some xp, and logout. Some people can rack up several thousand points of xp in a couple hours doing those - and you don't lose xp if you die - so long as you don't forget to have the "signet" for each battle applied so you're officially recognized as partaking in them.
You can do Campaign Operations which are short-term quests that, yes, do reward XP. Not tons of it... I'm not talking 1000xp for delivering a message. It's still nothing close to being WoW-easy. But, they're a good alternative to grinding xp, or something to do while you're seeking a party if campaign battles aren't your thing... The majority of them are intended for a single person to do.
They've been promoting smaller parties by actually rewarding increased xp for smaller groups.
Again, your views are based on how the game was when you last played. Alot has changed and/or been added since then. And that doesn't make you "stupid" or anything - but it does place you a bit out of the loop.
As for the DRG, improvements or not (I have no actual facts of this), I still find it hard to believe that DRG’s have scaled up as much as you say they may. I believe they are able to get EXP groups now, I believe they may be fitted into a raid group now… but I still find it hard to believe a Linkshell announcing, “We are now open for recruitment and currently seeking active DRG’s!”. Or even EXP groups shouting “Looking for DRG!?”. Or maybe “What job you want me to come as Linkshell leader” “Leader: Drg plz”. But like I said, I have no facts of this and things may have changed THAT much. Regardless, it doesn’t matter, my intensions to even bring up the DRG in the first place was to state why your view points conflict with mine, and my argument was that you were playing a job that was cast aside by society so therefore your view points were not as relatable by many. I no longer have that argument against you, but I did state my other arguments in regards to your on my original post.
I've been in parties with 2 DRGs... specifically picked out because the mobs we were fighting were weak to piercing weapons. Beyond that, as DRGs are capable front-line DDs now, it's common for someone to be seeking a DD, see one and shoot an invite. Are they ace superstars of the battle-field? No... but they can close some good Skill Chains, they can do some good DoT, they can do some very good spike damage without stealing hate from the tank by closing it off with Super Jump.
60+ DRG/SAM is a vicious damage dealer with their ability to Hasso > Penta Thrust (+Wyvern Breath) > Meditate > Penta Thrust (+Wyern Breath) > Jump > High Jump.. then shed all that hate and pin the mob back on the Tank with Super Jump as a closer... by then they're already well on their way toward having another 100% TP to play with. With High Jump, Super Jump and Meditate all sharing a 3 minute cool-down, and Hasso having a 1 minute cool-down and 5 minute duration... that combo is well possible at least once every fight in a typical party setup. And that's just one example. That's a hell of a lot of damage in a short period of time.
DRG/WAR is a great setup... I'll put up Berserk when it's available. Since my build is based alot around STR/ATK (though I do use the Life Belt. +10 ACC for ~20k gil? Yes please) , I use Sole Sushi which adds more ACC, STR and DEX. I do some really nice DoT when that's going.
Not as common, but I've seen DRG/THF do some nice spike damage too with SATA + WS, while helping to plant hate firmly on the main tank, if someone else doing "first voke" after the pull.

In short, they might not be top A-List jobs, but they are very much respectable and yes, even attractive DD's now that do have situations where they are preferable over other DD jobs. DRGs against flying or dragon-kin type mobs are like Monks with skeletons - they destroy them.
So yes, DRG have come into their own as very capable DD's. They shine more in some situations than in others of course... but what job doesn't?

solorfox · February 2008

i wish i knew what i was doing im lv 5 almost lv 6 and can't find out were to buy armor

ParkCarsHere · February 2008

Well, I came into this thread pretty late but after catching up on it I only have one thing to say - D_Machine, maybe you should try to learn the facts before making baseless arguments that make you look like a fool. MMORPGs change, and it was arrogant of you to automatically assume that what may have been true a few years ago would still be true today. And, on top of that, attacking Mike simply because he proved you wrong (using, *gasp*, facts, logic, and reasoning)? That's just childish.

Originally posted by solorfox

i wish i knew what i was doing im lv 5 almost lv 6 and can't find out were to buy armor

Anyways, Solor, what server are you on? Are you one of the ones who joined Pandemonium? If so shoot me a /tell and I can show you some places. If not, what city did you start in? If we know what city me, or someone else, can tell you where to go.

Here's a website to check out in case you don't want to wait for a response: http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Good luck!

WSIMike · February 2008

Originally posted by solorfox

i wish i knew what i was doing im lv 5 almost lv 6 and can't find out were to buy armor

Be happy to help you with that...

What server are you on? If you're on Pandemonium I can help you personally. If not, I can still help ya .

In each nation you'll have armor and weapon shops as well as an Auction House. At the newbie levels, as you're in, I'd advise staying away from the Auction House as the prices tend to be a bit higher than at the shops. Even if not by much, gil is gil.

Also, if you bring up your map screen (type /map and press enter) you'll be able to move it around and see labels for different buildings.

What nation did you start in?

In Windurst, the Weapon/Armor shops are in Port Windurst. They appear on the map as a group of 3 oval buildings on a pier. The weapons and armor shop are the last two. The first one has spell scrolls.

In San d'Oria, they're in the NW corner of N. San d'Oria if I remember right.

In Bastok, they're in the SW of Bastok Markets, on the long walkway heading out to S. Gustaberg.

Hope that helps... If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Sherweezy · February 2008

I have a question about the expansion packs.

I'm assuming I will need to buy and install ALL of them to have all the content, correct? Or, will buying the most recent one include everything?

Next, if I only have the first expansion and another player has the most recent, can we still interact? Or, are people with different expansion packs segregated?

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