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An awesome YT FFXI channel...
Pratt2112
Member UncommonPosts: 1,636
Hey all.. Just wanted to pop in here and share a great YT channel I've found related to FFXI (well, partially; he does other stuff).
The channel/user's name is FahrosTTTT, and he's doing a series on FFXI, having recently returned to the game himself.
What's great about it, is that he goes into depth and detail about the game, explains things, how things work, gives tips and advice to new players, while demonstrating it, etc. He's also started out on a new job (Red Mage) and is going through that from level 1, while also going up through the ranks as a Sandorian (he was with Bastok but switched over). So you're getting just about as close to a "newbie" experience as you can get, short of him actually being one. He also discusses Campaign Battle, and has a couple videos on that, etc.
It's a great series that is, in my opinion, well worth watching.
What I particularly find commendable about it is the complete lack of cynicism in his videos that has grown and pervaded the FFXI community over the last few years. It started sometime before, but seemed to really grow with Abyssea. The excitement, joy and enthusiasm he has for the game is something that you used to see from a large part of the player community, but seems to have had greatly diminished as the game became little more than "PL to 30 in Gusgen... PL to 99 in Abyssea... then do end-game stuff ad nauseum". He shows that there is more to the game to take in and enjoy. That it doesn't have to be all about PL'ing and that you can still have a hell of a lot of fun in XI - if you give yourself the chance and really dig in.
I can empathize - to a degree - with the cynicism or what-not that comes from people who've been with the game for a while, have "been there and done that" and really have very little "new" to look forward to. What bothers me, though, is to see that same cynicism being impressed on new, or even returning players. I experienced my share of it upon returning, but have made a conscious decision to ignore it and just do what I enjoy doing. People think I'm nuts or am wasting my time, but whatever. I'm playing for my own enjoyment, not theirs.
It would just be nice to see the veterans of the game take a step away from their own cynicism, forget what the game is to them "right now", and remember what it's like to be a new player working their way up through the game for the first time; all the goals you had in front of you. It would be great, and far more constructive and helpful, to give players sound advice on doing those things in a way that would be beneficial to them - not that would be "easiest" by just power-leveling through it. Hell, maybe even go back and give them a hand with some of it. It's something I certainly intend to do when/where I can.
FFXI is an immensely deep game, even to this day, and especially for a new player who has so much ahead of them to do. It seems kind of irresponsible and unfair to try and encourage people who've never experienced any of it to dismiss the original campaigns, the expansion campaigns and various "side activities" as "unimportant", as many long-time players tend to do now.
Fahros is, in my opinion, doing a great job in illustrating what XI really can be about and, in fact, was about for many years. He approaches it more from the perspective of an Adventurer who takes in and enjoys everything about the game - not just focusing on "getting to level cap" and "making it all about End Game" as so many others do.
So anyway... Great channel and I highly recommend it to anyone returning to the game, new to the game, or even just interested in seeing someone who's truly still passionate and enthusiastic about this gem of a MMORPG (one of the few that still lives up to the 'RPG' part).
Here's a link to his "introduction" vid where he discusses going back...
Comments
Interesting little video series. Kind of reminds of the crap I had to do a year ago when I returned and had lost my old character.
Like you said before it's nice to see someone with the lack of synicism for a change. He seems to enjoy the game for what it is and that's nice.
Indeed. His positivity and enthusiasm are actually infectious lol.
His overall attitude toward the game really echoes my own in various ways. He isn't focused on or obsessed with reaching end-game as fast as possible, as so many others are. Because of this, he can enjoy the game for what it is, enjoy what it offers and just take it all in as he's going.
It's amazing how your approach and attitude toward the game can make all the difference in the world with how much you enjoy it while you're playing, and how you remember it when you've stopped.
I'm back in FFXI, doing my own thing and am having a ball again. I didn't think that would ever be possible when I left sometime after Abyssea's release. The game seemed too far gone for me, as I know it does for others as well.
Fortunately, enough has changed and SE's added enough new options that I can now hop in and, even while not playing it as I used to, I can still experience it closer to the way I enjoyed it before, rather than resigning myself to the "race to level cap" that so many treat it as now.
It aggravates the hell out of me when I see people claiming that the old game is "obsolete" and "it's all about end game now", encouraging new players to ignore and bypass it. It's only "obsolete" if all you care about is end-game (which is usually the case for those who make such statements). The earlier content is just as much "there", relevant and available as it's ever been. In fact, a lot of it is much more accessible now than it's ever been. The storylines are just as epic. The fights are just as fun. The movies/cut-scenes are just as awesome. None of that has changed.
Since I'm back, I've had people I know trying to get me to hop on the "power-level to 99" bandwagon, insisting it's "the best way to level now". I respectfully disagree with their view, and decline their offers. That approach to the game holds no fascination or interest for me. It's kinda funny, because I'll have people excitedly telling me all these things I could be doing in terms of racing through the game, and my reaction to all that is just "meh".
Others prefer to make the game all about what happens at level cap, and that's cool. That's what works for them. I'm happy that at least now, I can choose to approach it in my own way, and still find it playable and enjoyable.