I liked it then, enjoyed the larger exp gaps in levels, and the forced grouping.
The game was also much younger and full of people so finding a party was never too bad.
As it aged, time gaps in finding parties (unless you were a brd ) could easily be an hour or more. So when I saw the level sync coming, i was nervous like many others, but I think it was great, and it didn't ruin the leveling experience, imo, but it made getting a party much more efficient.
I left 11 about a year ago today, but seeing this... I'm going to have to resub. The new job combinations that will come with a lvl 99 cap ( not to mention new summons) is worth playing!
I wouldn't worry about him. He just have left over anger for the level sync as some FFXI veterans do, except probably not nearly as angry. Truthfully level sync did made it easier, but of course some veteran think it also kind of dumbed down the game a bit. Everyone reacted differently, don't worry about it especially since you stopped before level sync came to being anyways. FFXI is kind of annoying in a way that it really doesn't get too fun till that level 65 barrier when you feel like you start to have full command of your abilities. Thus, some masochistic tendency is required to even level up before level sync was applied. LOL Of course we end up with more high levels who are still lost about what to do in party due to the level sync system. Doubled edged sword that system can be.
I appreciate you attempting to speak on my behalf, yet I'm going to have to ask you let me speak for myself, thanks. I can safely say I do not "have left over anger for the level sync". Maybe some veterans feel that it has dumb the game down, but I disagree almost wholeheartedly. It allows the game to be much more accessible, and a feature such as this was requested unanimously by the entire community prior to its addition.
Originally posted by Miles-Prower What exactly is this "Level sync" system? Is it like EQII's level system where a player can "Level down" so they can group with new players while still advancing their character? Say for instance, I have a level 70 Paladin. Could I "Level down", join a group of 30's and level my job to 75 that way? If so, I can see how this is a big problem for veterans, but also a good thing for new players.
Yes the Level Sync system, as mentioned by another poster, is pretty much along the same lines. Not only does it allow higher level players to cap their level to party with lower level players but it also syncs the stats on their gear down to an appropriate amount to accommodate the level difference (in a very balanced manner, I might add) as to refrain by having people buy all sorts of low gear.
The downfalls of this honestly aren't as drastic as one may think. If a newer player only stays in the same area/camps to level up by just syncing with people with levels for that area, their combat skills won't increase past the cap for that level. Not only this, but generally as a rule of a thumb, as you increase in level, the amount/rate of experience you get in exp pts increases as you level. People normally won't get 20k/hour in Valkurm Dunes pts (levels 10~20ish) as they do in merit pts at 75. So, this inherently encourages people use the newer camps that become available as they level, thus encouraging them to try their new abilities that they have gained from leveling in synced pts until that time, which by extension teaches them to become better at their respective jobs.
Also, another one of the benefits of the Level Sync feature apart from giving lower level players more options to choose from when inviting people, is that it allows people who are in "grey levels", where there isn't as many people or camps to choose from, to be invited or make lower level parties. This system really helps those people who always hated waiting for pt invites to pop up; there essentially is no waiting now because of all the options available.
What exactly is this "Level sync" system? Is it like EQII's level system where a player can "Level down" so they can group with new players while still advancing their character? Say for instance, I have a level 70 Paladin. Could I "Level down", join a group of 30's and level my job to 75 that way? If so, I can see how this is a big problem for veterans, but also a good thing for new players.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Yes, it is exactly as it sounds. The party leader "syncs" the groups "level" of the target player. The only problem it causes is the lack of skilling up in said sync parties as your skills are now capped to the level of the party if your current skill exceeds the sync level. Easily remedied though through besieges and standard skill up parties.
Hm. This sounds interesting. A Level sync feature would be a very good addition to the game. Also, I really miss Skill up parties. I loved those, lol.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!
To be fair I don't know what people keep saying about not getting a party ... just don't level a job like DRG, PUP or DRK and you'll be fine, I'm leveling COR atm, and I get invites without even being LFG all the time.
Hate to break it to you, but DRG is a much more in-demand job these days, considering the seeming inability of parties to xp or meripo on anything but colibris, which are weak to the piercing damage that DRG shines at.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scientists have now conclusively proven that gravity does not exist. The earth just sucks.
I can't imagine having to grind out 24 more levels, especially with how mind shattering hard it is to get a group. I guess server mergers will help, but you still have all those Japanese players that are unwilling to part with NA players due to language barriers. Getting to level 75/37 was hard enough, now you have to get to 99/49.
Jeez,, you guys must be masochists or something. The highest I ever got was a level 61 Paladin and I played for a year and a half! Of course, I played back in 2003/late-2004...
How can you guys seriously be excited about 24 more levels?
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
This whole "people who enjoy leveling in FFXI must be masochists" theme is based on a shaky presumption..
... that all players approach the game the same way, which is "getting to level cap/end game quickly"
Some are like that and do "power" through the game... Though they'd do that in any MMO they played.
Others, like myself and others I've known throughout my years playing, simply log in and play to enjoy ourselves. We're not focused on end-game. We're not focused on level cap, or how quickly we can get there. We don't view end-game as "where the real game begins" because - at least in FFXI - that is simply not so. Thanks to SE expanding the game laterally all these years (only now adding more content on to the "end" of it with the cap increase), there's tons to do at pretty much any level range, across a wide variety of jobs.
I started playing FFXI on October 28th 2003, the day it released on PC in the US. I didn't get my first 75 'til a little over a year ago. No I'm not kidding. I also started over from scratch... and I've loved (almost) every minute of it. Has it had its frustrations? Sure, though they were mostly thanks to dealing with the inevitable idiots you'll come across, not the game itself.
I've said this all along about just about any MMO and I still hold to it: If a game feels like a "horrible grind" to someone, then perhaps they should stop playing it like one. There's something telling, to me, that people who race and burn through MMOs to get to end-game, only to get bored and burn-out on it in a matter of months, while those who take their time, don't obsess over end-game and enjoy all the game has to offer tend to stick around for years.
As for the level cap increase? Eh... not sure it's necessary just yet... and I have my concerns about how they're going to balance all that existing content to keep it from becoming completely obsolete once people hit the new level cap - hopefully they'll still have level caps in place for key areas like they do now. But... ultimately, since SE pretty much never does "the obvious thing in the obvious way" in my experience, I'm going to wait and see how they implement it.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Comments
I started playing 11 at NA launch.
I liked it then, enjoyed the larger exp gaps in levels, and the forced grouping.
The game was also much younger and full of people so finding a party was never too bad.
As it aged, time gaps in finding parties (unless you were a brd
) could easily be an hour or more. So when I saw the level sync coming, i was nervous like many others, but I think it was great, and it didn't ruin the leveling experience, imo, but it made getting a party much more efficient.
I left 11 about a year ago today, but seeing this... I'm going to have to resub. The new job combinations that will come with a lvl 99 cap ( not to mention new summons) is worth playing!
I appreciate you attempting to speak on my behalf, yet I'm going to have to ask you let me speak for myself, thanks. I can safely say I do not "have left over anger for the level sync". Maybe some veterans feel that it has dumb the game down, but I disagree almost wholeheartedly. It allows the game to be much more accessible, and a feature such as this was requested unanimously by the entire community prior to its addition.
Yes the Level Sync system, as mentioned by another poster, is pretty much along the same lines. Not only does it allow higher level players to cap their level to party with lower level players but it also syncs the stats on their gear down to an appropriate amount to accommodate the level difference (in a very balanced manner, I might add) as to refrain by having people buy all sorts of low gear.
The downfalls of this honestly aren't as drastic as one may think. If a newer player only stays in the same area/camps to level up by just syncing with people with levels for that area, their combat skills won't increase past the cap for that level. Not only this, but generally as a rule of a thumb, as you increase in level, the amount/rate of experience you get in exp pts increases as you level. People normally won't get 20k/hour in Valkurm Dunes pts (levels 10~20ish) as they do in merit pts at 75. So, this inherently encourages people use the newer camps that become available as they level, thus encouraging them to try their new abilities that they have gained from leveling in synced pts until that time, which by extension teaches them to become better at their respective jobs.
Also, another one of the benefits of the Level Sync feature apart from giving lower level players more options to choose from when inviting people, is that it allows people who are in "grey levels", where there isn't as many people or camps to choose from, to be invited or make lower level parties. This system really helps those people who always hated waiting for pt invites to pop up; there essentially is no waiting now because of all the options available.
Yes, it is exactly as it sounds. The party leader "syncs" the groups "level" of the target player. The only problem it causes is the lack of skilling up in said sync parties as your skills are now capped to the level of the party if your current skill exceeds the sync level. Easily remedied though through besieges and standard skill up parties.
Hm. This sounds interesting. A Level sync feature would be a very good addition to the game. Also, I really miss Skill up parties. I loved those, lol.
~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!
Come Join us at www.globalequestria.com - Meet other fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!
Hate to break it to you, but DRG is a much more in-demand job these days, considering the seeming inability of parties to xp or meripo on anything but colibris, which are weak to the piercing damage that DRG shines at.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scientists have now conclusively proven that gravity does not exist.
The earth just sucks.
This whole "people who enjoy leveling in FFXI must be masochists" theme is based on a shaky presumption..
... that all players approach the game the same way, which is "getting to level cap/end game quickly"
Some are like that and do "power" through the game... Though they'd do that in any MMO they played.
Others, like myself and others I've known throughout my years playing, simply log in and play to enjoy ourselves. We're not focused on end-game. We're not focused on level cap, or how quickly we can get there. We don't view end-game as "where the real game begins" because - at least in FFXI - that is simply not so. Thanks to SE expanding the game laterally all these years (only now adding more content on to the "end" of it with the cap increase), there's tons to do at pretty much any level range, across a wide variety of jobs.
I started playing FFXI on October 28th 2003, the day it released on PC in the US. I didn't get my first 75 'til a little over a year ago. No I'm not kidding. I also started over from scratch... and I've loved (almost) every minute of it. Has it had its frustrations? Sure, though they were mostly thanks to dealing with the inevitable idiots you'll come across, not the game itself.
I've said this all along about just about any MMO and I still hold to it: If a game feels like a "horrible grind" to someone, then perhaps they should stop playing it like one. There's something telling, to me, that people who race and burn through MMOs to get to end-game, only to get bored and burn-out on it in a matter of months, while those who take their time, don't obsess over end-game and enjoy all the game has to offer tend to stick around for years.
As for the level cap increase? Eh... not sure it's necessary just yet... and I have my concerns about how they're going to balance all that existing content to keep it from becoming completely obsolete once people hit the new level cap - hopefully they'll still have level caps in place for key areas like they do now. But... ultimately, since SE pretty much never does "the obvious thing in the obvious way" in my experience, I'm going to wait and see how they implement it.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops