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Thinking of coming back, need some knowledgeable FFXIers to give me some info...
Echoic
Member Posts: 2
I love a lot of the things about FFXI, I love the design and the graphics and character progression system. It seems like a very fun game just to be in.
The thing that has kept me from playing the game more is that I look at where my character will be in months from now and all I could look forward to was killing more monsters. There was no pvp. Why keep going if whatever you do means really nothing?
I know an expansion came out that adds some amount of competitiveness now. I haven't played it.
What I'm asking is: what is the endgame of FFXI like? What can I look forward to when I get high level? What keeps you playing the game? I love the game system, I would LOVE if there was something to look forward to since I left. You can assume this is WITH the expansions.
I'm looking to come back and make a ninja (I love ninjas. You can not pursuade me out of being a ninja because ninjas kick crazy amounts of ass) and I want to know what level of competition I can play him as (not neccessarily fighting eachother, because as I understand you can't do that, but any player vs player interaction at all).
If someone with a good grasp of the game can answer these questions I'd be grateful.
Thanks!
EDIT: one more thing: is the game economy set up now to accomidate a new player? Since the economy is auction based (i think), will it work starting new? How hard is it to get to a reasonable playing level/power?
Comments
The endgame of FFXI is raiding, of a sort. It mostly involves someone in your linkshell telling you the window is up for some HNM, then you guys all go there and spam your provoke macro and hope you're able to claim it in the three hours it has a chance to spawn in.
Or you go to sky when you kill lessar things to get items to pop bigger things to an even bigger thing. It's actually not that bad, except that gil sellers have gotten around to infecting it, so they kinda cock block people from advancing in it at times, unless you want to buy the pop items from them.
Or you could do sea, which is somewhat like sky, except with worse items and lower chances of getting them.
I'm not sure about the new Expansion, as I quit before that came out, so who knows, might be something there.
As for Pvp, they have Brenner and Balista. Brenner is pretty fun, and kept me in the game for an extra month before I quit. It's a game where each team starts with two flames and 4 torches, and tries to steal the other sides flames. You try to steal their flames while protecting yours. Whoever keeps the most flames the longest wins. Simplified version, but that's it in a nut shell.
Balista is where you try and dig up an item, and try to make a goal with it. Except that you can only score after a Gate Breach, which happens when someone on the other team dies. If the other team has the ball, you try and kill the guy with it. I didn't like it so much.
It's easier to gear up a new character nowadays, as the price for random crap newbies can get has gone up faster than newbie and mid level gears. The problem you will have though, is getting the Triple A items, like O-Kotes and what not, because they've gone all crazy like. You don't really need those to get good exp, but some people can be prissy about it at times.
As to continue with nothing to look forward too, pretty much everything is like that. It's all got in end to it, so what matters is how much fun you had on the way up. I mean, you don't have much to look foward to at the end of life, yet you keep on living. Just try and have a good time.
And good choice of job with ninja, probably the most powerful job in the game. It's the best tank for exp and a decent number of HNM and BCNM, and they're one of the top three Merit DD on level 75. Can be a bit pricy though, as most of their gear costs alot due their popularity, and their spells cost money to cast. (Well, power to cast, but it costs money.)
1. Get Rank 10 in your Nation (or all Nations) (can be done with a good group of level 60+) [1 Week per nation].
2. Kill all the Gods and the Boss God (Kirin) in {sky} (Alliance level 70+) [Can be done on a weekend, to get sky you need a group of level 60+ can be done in 1-2 days].
3. Kill all the Jailers and Absolute Virtue in {sea} (Alliance Level 70+) [2-3 Weeks, to get access to sea you need to beat CoP expansion level 30-75, takes about 1 Month with a static group].
4. Beat all Limbus and then beat the Final Limbus (Good group of level 70+) [~4 Weeks, CoP required].
5. Kill all the Wyrms and Bahamut (Group level 75) [Can be done at a Weekend, CoP required].
6. Do Dynamis and win all the city dynamis then Beaucedine and Xarcabard and finally kill the Dynamis Lord. (2-3 Alliances level 60+) [~2 Months]
5. Beat all Assault Missions and advance to the Superior Private Rank. (Level 60-75, One Assault per day) [~1 Month, ToAU Expansion]
If you want to do all those 'endgame' activities and get all the good drops for whatever job you are playing you will need 1-2 years or more. Endgame is compromised of so many things, you won't be able to do them all. They are all very different and have their own challanges.
Ninja is a solid Tank and is wanted for alot of things in the 'endgame'. Sometimes a Paladin is prefered though. Ninjas don't do amazing damage, their strength is to avoid getting hit completely.
Economy is very good. It is very easy to get some money if you are willing to research and work a bit for it. The average income at the lower levels is 100k/h if you farm ingredients. If you take a bit of time and level a craft like Alchemy you can even craft some of the drops and make them worth more (Beeswax/Poison Potion). You just need to be smart and do the research (what i like most about the economy is that you can make great money if you watch the market and react accordingly).
To get a Character to level 30 will probably take about 1-2 weeks if you level exclusively. To be realistic, you will need to level WAR to 30 before you can get Ninja. Then do some Quests for Ninja scrolls to save money. I would say that with some breaks farming and leveling Alchemy (choose Bastok as your starting Nation) you could get both WAR and NIN to level 30 in about 2 Month and have solid gear, money and a nice basis to build upon.
Remember, FFXI is the slowest of all MMORPG out there. Everything requires alot of research, dedication and time.
Thanks both of you for the informative responses, but after trying to resub and play, the POS everyone knows as PlayOnline effectively prevented me from doing so.
I don't know why it's so hard to give square monthly money. Aparrently if I can't remember 10-20 digits of randomly generated, incoherent garbage (POL ID/PW) along with my acct/pw, I'm basically screwed. I called and was told there is nothing he can do to help me. Aparrently a "forgot ID/password?" option that is standard on most online games today is beyond PlayOnline's ability.
I'm still considering playing but it looks like I will have to buy a new copy if I want to do so now. It's a shame you have to go through so much to give a company money.