If I start playing...

scott21493 · November 2008

Is there enough people to find groups at low levels? Is it worth starting now?

Suplyndmnd · November 2008

Originally posted by scott21493

Is there enough people to find groups at low levels? Is it worth starting now?

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/213004

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/210180/page/2

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/208802

This was from the first few pages. Should probably read through the posts. I know it's not as fast as just getting a straight up answer but could stop it from being repeated if people searched the posts already exsisting.

kakari · November 2008

I restarted two days ago.

I am currently level 15 red-mage now, and I had to solo most of time. I did find a few English players who refused to form a party. Japanese players, however, were willing to party. Communication wasn't great though.

In short, there are barely anyone in low-level area. You are pretty much on your own.

Good luck.

Suplyndmnd · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

I restarted two days ago.
I am currently level 15 red-mage now, and I had to solo most of time. I did find a few English players who refused to form a party. Japanese players, however, were willing to party. Communication wasn't great though.
In short, there are barely anyone in low-level area. You are pretty much on your own.
Good luck.

Did you flag up while you were solo'ing? Did you attempt to make an exp party? I never am alone in a low area leveling a job for long without seeing even someone.

wrongfeifong · November 2008

If he can find japanese people up, that mean he doesn't play on prime time with US players.

kakari · November 2008

My play time is generally from 10pm to 2am if my mood allows after coming back from work. I live in Toronto, Canada, so my time zone is similar to New York.

And, yes, I did flag myself for auto-group. I was also constantly monitoring to see if anyone was willing to form a group.

During past two days, I received one invitation from a Japanese player and have found three Japanese players of my level-range who were looking for parties.

I have also come across two players who were unlikely Japanese (This is a mere guess by their replies. Their replies weren't canned messages.) They were hunting in the same area as me, so I attempted to form a party. They basically told me to "bug off".

VirgoThree · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

My play time is generally from 10pm to 2am if my mood allows after coming back from work. I live in Toronto, Canada, so my time zone is similar to New York.
And, yes, I did flag myself for auto-group. I was also constantly monitoring to see if anyone was willing to form a group.
During past two days, I received one invitation from a Japanese player and have found three Japanese players of my level-range who were looking for parties.
I have also come across two players who were unlikely Japanese (This is a mere guess by their replies. Their replies weren't canned messages.) They were hunting in the same area as me, so I attempted to form a party. They basically told me to "bug off".

i have the opposite experience. My whitemage has to decline several party invitations sometimes. I'm only in the teens-low 20 still so I don't know how it is higher level. But once i hit 10 invites were flying when i put my flag up. My first time turning on my flag at level 10 I literally had about three different groups asking me to join them 5 seconds later.

kakari · November 2008

Which server do you play?

I should move to your server because, as far as I can see, it is not looking good on Odin.

Satimasu · November 2008

Odin is THE biggest server. It's so big they are having free server transfers away from Odin because there are so many people. With all the people I've seen on forums that want to start playing ask what the most populated server is (Odin of course), it's a surprise you wouldn't have many people to group with at low levels. Apparently, people seem to think more people in a server is the only qualifying factor for joining it which means jack.

Servers like mine, Kujata, which people have left to go to servers like Odin. Funny though, I didn't have a problem getting parties when I leveled two jobs to 37 over two weeks.

Suplyndmnd · November 2008

Originally posted by Satimasu

Odin is THE biggest server. It's so big they are having free server transfers away from Odin because there are so many people. With all the people I've seen on forums that want to start playing ask what the most populated server is (Odin of course), it's a surprise you wouldn't have many people to group with at low levels. Apparently, people seem to think more people in a server is the only qualifying factor for joining it which means jack.

Servers like mine, Kujata, which people have left to go to servers like Odin. Funny though, I didn't have a problem getting parties when I leveled two jobs to 37 over two weeks.

QFT. This is exactly what i've preached on these boards. Going to the most populated server can be bad when looking for groups too. Because there are probably 25 other White Mages in your range. And dont select "Auto Group" you want to flag up looking for party. And noone parties in the starter area. Only in Valkrum Dunes area. I would reccomend leveling to 15, then making your way towards the Dunes. (Use prisim powders and sneak oils if you dont have invisible and sneak yet). Also, find a linkshell.

VirgoThree · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

Which server do you play?
I should move to your server because, as far as I can see, it is not looking good on Odin.

I'm on odin but I haven't experienced the same problems as you have. However, I get all these invites when I'm flagged in places like Valkurn Dunes for the teens and Qufim Island for the 20's. Maybe your flagging yourself in dead areas?

kakari · November 2008

My country is Windurst, so I am in nearby places which are mostly dead.

I googled the place you mentioned. It is so far away from where I am. I can neither take an airship nor ride. I suppose I could try run to there, boy it's going to take a good hour to get there.

VirgoThree · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

My country is Windurst, so I am in nearby places which are mostly dead.
I googled the place you mentioned. It is so far away from where I am. I can neither take an airship nor ride. I suppose I could try run to there, boy it's going to take a good hour to get there.

I'm in windurst as well and it does take a little longer for us to get out there. I highly recommend joining a Linkshell because they can be tons of help, and strive to make some good friends in game. My characters name is Feyis and you can send me a tell in game anytime, but I don't play too frequently due to RL at the moment. I'm still a newb myself but I can try to help you to the best of my abilities.

WSIMike · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

My country is Windurst, so I am in nearby places which are mostly dead.
I googled the place you mentioned. It is so far away from where I am. I can neither take an airship nor ride. I suppose I could try run to there, boy it's going to take a good hour to get there.

Once upon a time, people from Windurst would level around Tahrongi Canyon / Buburimu Peninsula / Maze of Shakhrami when they were 10+.

I know I leveled up 2 or 3 jobs through there before I ever stepped foot in the Dunes; it was this mysterious "far away" place to me.

I think because both Sandy and Bastok go to the Dunes while only Windurst goes to Buburimu, it sorta became considered the bettter place to find parties, and so it just sorta became "where you're supposed to go" from 10 or so up to 20.

So... yeah, that long run and ferry ride to Valkurm really isn't the way it was for Windurstians... That's just how it steadily progressed.

scott21493 · November 2008

Reading posts by the FFXI community has pretty much sold me on this. My desktop is currently broken, so I'll be getting it for the 360. Is there anything people have against the 360 version?

I've been sick of games like WoW and all of the many clones with no community, no story, and seemingly no point. You can only do so much before you need to grind. I was just wondering how much grinding there is. What sort of things do you grind for? Is leveling an endless grind?

I read on one post that quests and such don't give you exp? Does leveling take quite a bit of time? Is there plenty of content from 1-75 rather than games like WoW where everything is basically once you hit the max level?

Hyanmen · November 2008

With 360 version you'll miss on some of the more useful plugins that you can get with Windower. Not that you couldn't play without them, SE just isn't fan of giving players info about anything .

FFXI has grind, it's pretty old school MMO. Leveling up is the main grind. I don't think there's much else. You can "grind" for gil, but I've found that newbs can get enough gil by just questing, there's quite a bit of money quests in general. There's also a method to get quite a bit of gil weekly with like 5min/day of effort. I can tell you what it is in private, I don't want everyone to know about it . I don't know if exping is an "endless" grind, but yeah there's quite a bit of it from 1 to 75! I think it's more social from what you're used to though, a new experience so it might feel quite refreshing. It's nothing like Rangarok Online's grind though, I think.

Quests don't give exp, they give different things, most often not good stuff (many do give excellent rewards, but there's so many nowadays) but the storylines are great and they're there to give more depth to the game itself.

Leveling itself doesn't take loong, around 1h/lvl up to 50's, LFP will give you most trouble. SE tries to fix this, and we're getting some kind of system in the next update that sounds like WoW's questing. It'll give you something to do while LFP, or don't have enough time to party. Group play is the main way to get experience though, and this system won't change that fact, so don't expect it to be like WoW's .

There's content for 1-75, but because most people have a job at 75 the content is focused there. If you can find friends to do stuff with, theres' lots of things to do to 75. And at 75 it can be too much, you have to prioritize or you'll get overwhelmed!

kakari · November 2008

I reached Konschtat Highlands last night before going bed. It took me an hour and half to get there.

And what I saw?

25 people looking for party. I was amazed. Though there were (only) five people around my level, still good enough. My only problem now is maps.

I have FFXI installed on both PC and Xbox360. After trying out both, I prefer Xbox360. I'd prefer PC for chatting though. Typing on Xbox360 messenger was a major letdown.

VirgoThree · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

I reached Konschtat Highlands last night before going bed. It took me an hour and half to get there.
And what I saw?
25 people looking for party. I was amazed. Though there were (only) five people around my level, still good enough. My only problem now is maps.
I have FFXI installed on both PC and Xbox360. After trying out both, I prefer Xbox360. I'd prefer PC for chatting though. Typing on Xbox360 messenger was a major letdown.

You should be able to buy some maps in Selbina but I forgot exactly where the merchent is. Just ask around and I'm sure someone will help.

Also just plug a USB keyboard into your 360 and you can type just as easily as PC.

kakari · November 2008

My Xbox is too far away for a wired keyboard. That's why I have the messenger in the first place.

wrongfeifong · November 2008

Originally posted by kakari

My play time is generally from 10pm to 2am if my mood allows after coming back from work. I live in Toronto, Canada, so my time zone is similar to New York.
And, yes, I did flag myself for auto-group. I was also constantly monitoring to see if anyone was willing to form a group.
During past two days, I received one invitation from a Japanese player and have found three Japanese players of my level-range who were looking for parties.
I have also come across two players who were unlikely Japanese (This is a mere guess by their replies. Their replies weren't canned messages.) They were hunting in the same area as me, so I attempted to form a party. They basically told me to "bug off".

Hey i am from toronto, too. I am on Asura.

I can see where your problem lies.

You have 2 issue here.

1. You don't have a subjob i bet. It cause people to avoid lowlevel players

2. You are auto-group ...just flag normally and stay without reach of dune. Don't flag if you are in the city or middle of nowhere. No one love waiting on you.

So do the following!

3. why LFG... start a group! ask people around and start one. If you don't know which is the best... ask "which class you guys want next?" Some vet will tell you straight up. A lot vet just lazy and don't want to ask people so do their job for them!

4. If you have a friend play with them instead. If you willing to restart, i will be on asura starting dec 1 again.

I can help you get around for abit, but asura isn't a populate server like odin. Money problem is your own problem! i will not spare any! (as it is tight for me since my ammo cost an arm and a leg)

5. Get a linkshell, ask for one. It is easy as spelling 1,2,3.

scott21493 · December 2008

Picked up the game today at gamestop since I had a $25 credit. About to try it out. Anyone have any recommendations on which server I should play on? Anyone want to offer some help? I'm going to take the dude with the Frank Grimes avatar and not go to the most populated server.

Satimasu · December 2008

If you happen to choose Kujata, I can help you out. Bigger is not always better when it comes to a server population.

scott21493 · December 2008

This has been the most frustrating thing getting this started on my 360. Its not really much to do with the game itself but with my 360 only having 5gb free and having to delete things to free up the space. Listening to this cheery song for the past hour while its installing is starting to get a little annoying also.

Suplyndmnd · December 2008

Originally posted by scott21493

This has been the most frustrating thing getting this started on my 360. Its not really much to do with the game itself but with my 360 only having 5gb free and having to delete things to free up the space. Listening to this cheery song for the past hour while its installing is starting to get a little annoying also.

OMG Someone knows Frank Grimes. LOL. I would reccomend Pandy or Bismarck. Bismarck is my server for the past 3 years and i love it. It seems to have the right amount of people on it and no matter what time I play, i seldom have issues finding someone to party with. Also, if you come, i can try to assist you in any way possible. I've played on Pandamonium as well (still do) but my character is only like level 7. However, WSIMike playsthere and i'm sure he'd be willing to help you out also and give advice. The population on Pandy is a bit more than Bismarck I think just from what he's said but IMO still in that "sweet spot" range. Also, yes, this game is far from a breeze to get going but I dont regret it at all. I think it's a great way to test if you have the patience to play the game because there are some aspects of it, that will make you feel frustrated. It's when you feel frustrated that you will find out if the game is for you or not. If you like a challenge you will like this game. If you get frustrated easy, you wont. Stick with it man. I beat a mission last week that i've been trying to get for quite some time and i still am high from it lol.

scott21493 · December 2008

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by scott21493

This has been the most frustrating thing getting this started on my 360. Its not really much to do with the game itself but with my 360 only having 5gb free and having to delete things to free up the space. Listening to this cheery song for the past hour while its installing is starting to get a little annoying also.

OMG Someone knows Frank Grimes. LOL. I would reccomend Pandy or Bismarck. Bismarck is my server for the past 3 years and i love it. It seems to have the right amount of people on it and no matter what time I play, i seldom have issues finding someone to party with. Also, if you come, i can try to assist you in any way possible. I've played on Pandamonium as well (still do) but my character is only like level 7. However, WSIMike playsthere and i'm sure he'd be willing to help you out also and give advice. The population on Pandy is a bit more than Bismarck I think just from what he's said but IMO still in that "sweet spot" range. Also, yes, this game is far from a breeze to get going but I dont regret it at all. I think it's a great way to test if you have the patience to play the game because there are some aspects of it, that will make you feel frustrated. It's when you feel frustrated that you will find out if the game is for you or not. If you like a challenge you will like this game. If you get frustrated easy, you wont. Stick with it man. I beat a mission last week that i've been trying to get for quite some time and i still am high from it lol.

While it's been updating I watched the Frank Grimes episode of the simpsons. That is probably the best episode of that show...

Anyway, I'll try a server and see how it goes. The missions and the story aspect seem really fun. The grouping thing seems like it'd be great after playing something like WoW where all the leveling is done by yourself. I'll give everyone an update on how I like it if anyone happens to be interested.

WSIMike · December 2008

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by scott21493

This has been the most frustrating thing getting this started on my 360. Its not really much to do with the game itself but with my 360 only having 5gb free and having to delete things to free up the space. Listening to this cheery song for the past hour while its installing is starting to get a little annoying also.

OMG Someone knows Frank Grimes. LOL. I would reccomend Pandy or Bismarck. Bismarck is my server for the past 3 years and i love it. It seems to have the right amount of people on it and no matter what time I play, i seldom have issues finding someone to party with. Also, if you come, i can try to assist you in any way possible. I've played on Pandamonium as well (still do) but my character is only like level 7. However, WSIMike playsthere and i'm sure he'd be willing to help you out also and give advice. The population on Pandy is a bit more than Bismarck I think just from what he's said but IMO still in that "sweet spot" range. Also, yes, this game is far from a breeze to get going but I dont regret it at all. I think it's a great way to test if you have the patience to play the game because there are some aspects of it, that will make you feel frustrated. It's when you feel frustrated that you will find out if the game is for you or not. If you like a challenge you will like this game. If you get frustrated easy, you wont. Stick with it man. I beat a mission last week that i've been trying to get for quite some time and i still am high from it lol.

/wave

Heyo!

Shanree here :-p Well.. WSIMike here.. Shanree in FFXI.. Umm... See.. I'm one name on here... but... another... on..

Yeah...

;>.>

Okay anyway...

I second Suply's comments... Though I haven't made a character on Bismark yet I'm sure their pop and Pandy's aren't too different. There's a healthy population on Pandemonium; plenty of players of all level ranges and, now with level sync... "level range" is sort of a meaningless term, since a level 75 can sync down to any level, unless it's under level 10. Levels 1-10 are really the "newbie training" levels and are intended to be played solo.

As Suply said, there will be times when FFXI can be frustrating, but as he says... stick it out. It's those really tough accomplishments that can make you want to pull your hair out that seem to be the most satisfying when you finally do.

Speaking of rough accomplishments.. I recently finally got to wipe for the first time on Divine Might lol. 18 of us dropped in barely 2 minutes XD.

If you want to know what Divine Might is... Click Here for info on it . It's basically a notoriously difficult mission-related fight to complete.

Also finally unlocked Dancer tonight - have just had the last step to complete and finally got around to it. Pretty cool storyline to that. Though the dancing Galka still gives me the willies.

But yeah.. one thing about FFXI... You will likely never run out of things to do or new goals to set. So long as you keep your options open and don't get stuck on the leveling treadmill, it'll always provide you with some new challenge.

In many MMOs I've played, I have a hard time finding something to do to keep me entertained / challenged. In FFXI I'm usually going through a mental list, trying to figure out what to do first. That reason, among many, is why no other MMO can keep me interested and why I always come back to FFXI.

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