WoW vs Final Fantasy XI

[Alzar]

Just out of curiousity, since I haven't played FF XI, of those who have played both, how do WoW and FF XI compare? One of my friends is hooked on FFXI and tells me how great it is, but I'm not exactly going to play 2 MMORPGS at the same time...

[Caciss]

WoW.

[Nixon]

I haven't played WoW, simply because I don't want to start up another expensive "habit." I think your preference would depend on how you want to play.

FFXI is almost always going to be a team effort, unless you play as a BST and solo everything, all the time. But the game forces anyone else to find a solid party of 5-6 for any exping. This is what eventually turned me off on the game. I got to the point where I couldn't just get online and have fun, it was like a job and a hell of a lot of effort just to find a team, get organized, and hopefully not get slaughtered wandering around some horrible dungeon. It was a lot of fun when it worked, but it just takes so much effort from everyone that it can easily turn into a big hassle.

From what I've heard from my old FFXI buddies (who now play WoW), soloing is easier and the quests/missions aren't as much of an undertaking. I would actually be playing it right now if I hadn't sworn off the MMORPGs until the next PSO.

There are a lot of people who played FFXI that switched, and hopefully they can shed more light on this subject and get you some better answers.

[Jeroak Nelave]

I would still be playing FFXI if i could just solo effectively. But unfortunately, you cannot solo without taking a week of almost nonstop play to gain half a level. And if it did not take 2 or 3 hours, or more to find a decent group. WoW is just so much more enjoyable and easygoing experience than FFXI. But I loved FFXI, and it had forsaken me. I guarantee you, that if it was easier to gain levels in FFXI, or there were more quests, or quests that gave you exp, or atleast didnt take a million years to get a group, or...well, you know

[Caciss]

Yeah, if the game wasn't a chore.

WoW is all around more fun.

[Draygone]

Yup, after level 10 (and for some, before it), you pretty much had to start getting large groups together. 'Cause not only are later monsters dang tough to fight alone, but you don't get much XP that way. And XP comes by EXTREMELY SLOW. It's like a special event anytime it does happen once you get to the higher levels. Also, quests are a bit of a pain. Especially quests that require obtaining items from monsters. 'Cause those monsters rarely give those items you want to get, while WoW gives you those quest items at least most of the time. It's because of that that people tend to run off to the nearby Auction House and buy the item they're supposed to find instead. Also, you pretty much have to use your characters a certain way in order to be accepted by other party members. At one point, I had a party that didn't like me too much because I was a White Mage with a Warrior subclass. Also, you have to pay an extra $1 a month for every extra character you create. About the only advantage FFXI has is how you can change your class, whereas WoW you're pretty much stuck with the class you started with. But even that isn't a problem, since creating a new character in WoW is both easy and free. It can also be a bit difficult finding a place to camp in FFXI, at least in certain places. You also find a few people who are a little less than nice to you. You know, people who are constantly taking monsters that you were hoping to fight, or bringing those monsters to you, when you're nowhere near strong enough to fight the monster. Dunno if that's a problem in WoW. I'll admit I wanted to like FFXI, and stick with it until the end of time. But WoW just seemed so much better.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

Mooooonster pooooost.

Draygone had many good points. The exp gain was horrible. You'd have to spend hours looking for a party, then hours levelling. Those parties wouldn't even invite you if you didn't have the "proper" subjob. 200 exp per monster with 13000 exp left till level? Couple that with the fact that most places are already overcamped with exp parties who are all fighting the same monsters mean that you have to wait for more to spawn, then fight over them with the other parties. So that averages to about five monsters an hour, = 1000 exp, = brutal. It's impossible to solo after level 10 - 12 unless you're a beastmaster, which means that one has to party with random morons all the time.

What also really bugged me is that FFXI's economy was so inflated that people had to worry about their gil situation almost as if it were real money. Gil farmers made all the rare items hideously overpriced, and the result was having to scrimp and save and farm for hours on end trying to make enough money to buy one piece of armor only to have it rise in price by 10,000 gil a day. Trade skills were so hard to level, and you could fail in your synthesis and lose valuable items in the process. Very expensive.

I admit I had a great time playing the game while I was on it. The world is pretty, the characters are pretty, it had great music, and sometimes it could be fun. However, I mostly enjoyed it because my friends were all there - the social aspect is the only thing that saves the game's fun value. Once you get to the higher levels, it gets really crappy and loses that value. I'd probably go back if it wasn't for the money situation/levelling system, but eh. Otherwise, nothing could force me to play that again! It just isn't worth the time and effort. You spend five hours to get one level, and for what? To brag to your real life friends that you're a level 45 red mage? Whoop dee doo. I'm glad I quit.

WoW kicks the crap out of FFXI. You get experience just for doing quests and you can solo at any level. Parties are only needed for instance dungeons, and instance dungeons are made so that when a party goes into them, it is like their own private dungeons. NO sharing mobs with other parties! Sexy. You get to keep your mount once you have it, unlike the whole expensive rent-a-chocobo deal in FFXI.

I will admit that the graphics and character designs aren't as pretty as FFXI by a long shot, but the fun factor is definitely there. Not only can all characters dance, but they dance as long as you want them to. There are all sorts of emotes and voice emotes that make the game really interesting and a good laugh. It has some pretty cool environments. There are a vast number of enemies and not the same kind of enemy everywhere with a different name. There are many, many different types of armor, and you can also buy clothes to wear just for fun and to look stylish. Trade skills are less expensive and easier to level - synthesiss NEVER fails and items are NEVER lost. Weapon skills level quickly. It's easier to make money, and auction house prices are reasonable. The classes are all super fun to play. There's even a nifty little in-game mail system that allows you to send letters to friends. You can even get little pets that follow you around. Mine is a mechanical squirrel named Gizmo! *points to avatar*

It's not perfect - there are realm latency issues at times, but all of the good things in the game outweigh that, I think. I encourage people to at least give it a try. I was dead set against it until a friend coerced me into trying it out, and it was great.

What I like best about WoW is the fact that you can accomplish something in a short time. With FFXI, it took hours to do anything. On a chocobo, it took about 15 minutes to travel from one city to another, for example, or an hour to do a simple quest just from all the running around you had to do. It was hard to go afk because you couldn't leave your party hanging, and if you said "brb" mostly they'd freak out. It was really hard to put the game down, and those of you who've played will know this. WoW is addictive, but it's really easy to say "I've got to go now!" and sign off.

I do agree with Glueme, though. It is a matter of preference, and if you're hooked on FFXI it takes a long time to realize that the game is unfair and sucky. It took me eight months to figure that out. :p

[Thief of Dreams]

WoW is everything that i wanted FFXI to be.

i can log in and solo to my hearts content. im lvl 36 now, and the only time i have ever partied with other people was so that i could takle an instance dungeon. and for anyone that doesnt know what an instance dungeon is: its a whole dungeon filled with mobs and bosses that is made up just for you your party. no contending with other groups at all.

oh, and has it been mentioned that the only penalty for dying is a 10 min resurrection sickness? and that is only if you dont wait for a raise. if a priest, druid, or pali raise you, no sickness at all.

and if your looking for things like advanced jobs like in FFXI, Blizzard has announced that they are going to be incorporating Hero classes.

needless to say, FFXI is in its 3rd year and to me has become quite the job. i did love the game, but with all the REQUIRED grinding, rediculous party limitations(cant party with people 3 levels difference without a HUGE xp hit(which WoW give an xp BONUS instead!)) and an incredible messed up economy i just couldnt stand to waste my time in it anymore. especially with more important things in my life.

now with WoW, i can seriously log in for an hour, kill some monsters 3 levels higher than me SOLO, maybe find a cool rare dagger, and earn some cash without any problem at all. EVER!!!

oh, and there isnt a single load screen in WoW unless you are entering or exiting a dungeon. the world is seemlessly put together.



EDIT: damn you fushi lol i wanted to be the long post

[Thief of Dreams]

Moral of the story is in FFXI you do have to play your role and not jerk around
with odd combinations or you make it harder for everyone else in the party, so
you might as well do it and not complain or you won't get anywhere.


this right here is the mindset of FFXI that makes it a horrible game. having to play YOUR game by other peoples standards is a joke. sure i got frustrated when i would party with people like this, but that is only because the game design of FFXI would MAKE it frustrating.

and before anything gets said like "you were probably one of them" im sure you can ask anyone here to find out that i always had THE best equips i could have for my level, and many levels afterwards.


and for all those people that like to play their class a little differently, i invite you to come play WoW.

[Caciss]

That's where falls the hardest after the crappy leveling and econonmy.

You're stuck on a stupid linear leveling path, or else no one will play with you. That's bull crap. I like to be able to customize, how I want, and raise my character, how I want, and still be able to have fun.

SO GO WITH WOW

[Draygone]

The reason people didn't like you is because you were being a n00b by doing that and
making everyone have to work harder because you're too lazy to level a proper sub.

Most of the better players have no love for new players who think they can do whatever they want.I should probably mention then that I had already been playing FFXI for half a year or so by then. Second, I had a warrior subjob because for one I needed to survive anytime I soloed, and I wanted to be able to level up my staff skill. Which you can't do, because the only acceptable job for staff weilding are the white and black mages, and if you are them people want you to sit back and use magic instead of throwing in a few hits of your own. Third, I shouldn't HAVE to follow a specific set of rules. They give the ability to choose your own job and subjob so that you can have the character a way you'd like. But the way some people are in this game, you're pretty much forced to be what everyone else wants you to be. Sure the White Mage's primary purpose is to heal your party, but that shouldn't have to be the only thing you can do. I know this has been said, but it's such a big deal it has to be mentioned again.

[SirTMagus]

So FFXI sucks, huh.

[Armored]

Well, if you're playing with gloomy teh l33t, yeah :D

[Denmo]

I just hit level 41 as a WHM tarutaru in the game. It wasn't until just now that the game got interesting. Up until now I've had to do nothing but constant partying and leveling, and that took me several days of gameplay (which translates to several months depending on your lifestyle.)

I want WoW, but I can't put down FFXI just yet.

[Nixon]

Hopefully Jehuty gave you my WHM armor. It was cool looking. Mavin gave it to me before he left. :D

[Denmo]

I totally forgot to thank you for that!! :)

[Nixon]

Don't thank me, thank THE KNIFE.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v89/Nixon/som.jpg

[Dreamknight]

My buddy just got his appendix removed yesterday :p

[SirTMagus]

You want inanimate?! I'LL SHOW YOU INANIMATE.

[Funk]

He's on a roll, ladies and gentlemen. With ham and mayo.

[Suichi]

FFXI - Hours upon hours of trying to get into a party to EXP. Hard to hang out with friends and actually DO something with them. Unless you and they really like fishing. SquareEnix did little to nothing to stop people who cheatede with 'Bots'. My friend whom loved this game and looked forward to nothing more than to become a high level Dragoon was shunned because of Eliteist scum **** tards!! that saw his class as being low, even going so far as to personally insult him when he'd try and look for a job. The economy was abismal. You had to be what others wanted you to be. I loved being a Red Mage/Ninja but I got a lot of flak for doing this instead of RDM/WHM. Well screw them, I liked being an attacking, I scoffed at any RDM that sat back an acted like they were just a Mage. They've lost their RED! I love dual wielding and doing this made it so I could also be apart of Skillchains. One group I got into at lvl 30 was skeptical on inviting me, but once I helped them set up a massive Skillchain both flawlessly taking part in it with a Weapon skill, then Magic bursting twice for the entire thing, ya, that put them at ease. I think we went on for like 4 hours. I got to lvl 33, we were all very good at what we did. We had a Pld and me for healing, did just fine. That was probably the most fun I ever had EXP parting... but one great time isn't equal to so many hours of "working". I quit, and while it was fun, I've moved on to better things.... World of Warcraft!!! Not only are you not stuck with a dismal amount of character creation options, but you also get to customize your characters skills and abilities as they level to fit you personally. Just because me and Mavie are both Rogues doesn't mean we're then same when it comes to fighting. He could be a backstab/Stealth orientated Rogue with a dagger in his main hand while I could be a combat Rogue who exploits sinister strike with a power hitting weapon in my main hand. I've solo'd to lvl 33, and don't plan to ever party for EXP. I pt for quests, hanging out with friends, and helping people. I also like being Cannon Fodder in my Guild. ph34r t3h f0dd3r!!


Saddly, I accidently deleted all of my really cool screen shots that I'd taken on my way to lvl 33... :cry

So this is the only one that survived, the reason being that I'd already uploaded it to Photobucket.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v303/Twilightblade66613/Tabard.bmp
I was looking into the Guild Tabard creation thingy and snapped this. I love my Bandana... It's both comfortable and is +97 to sexiness. Though, I do get a bit tired trying to keep the Groupies at bay. ;)

Okay, summing it all up... WoW is almost uncomparaible to FFXI in the fact that they are just to many levels of greatness apart. FFXI was a Massive beautifully set up world, one that I'll never forget and even miss. However, SquareEnix messed up with it... bad. WoW is masterfully done, user friendly through and through. I mean, you can even ask the freaken guards in a town for directions to shops!!! I remember looking all over Bastok for an hour or two ta find the place that sold leather gear (Second floor of the little trench market place in the mining district, you know, the one with the alchemy guild there? It's the crop of buildings closest to that water sewage thing that was near the Wall that was under the Archway). Point is though, there were no NPCs to ask for directions and for the first time, it's a pain to find unless that's the first place you look... or maybe I'm just unlucky. ><

I saved the best for last... I don't think anyones mentioned either. YOu can make Fires!!! I just wish I had the screenshot of me camping out in the royal garden. Come on people! I carry my flint and timber where ever I go. Fire! Fire!! :hyper

P.S. I love my pet Squirel and Cat very much in WoW. Thanks agian for Squirely Mavie, and for telling me where the cat lady is Kiesa.

[Draygone]

Also it should be mentioned how WoW kinda rewards you for not playing for a while by temporarily doubling XP you get from monsters. In FFXI, if you're friend gains several levels past you, odds are you won't be able to party with that friend again.

[Crimson Knight]

I like FFXI more, because the PvP matches are awesome.:) And I don't see all the problems everyone's having. Maybe I just know what to do, and have some awesome friends.

[Denmo]

But PvP requires hours upon hours of preperation and getting people together!

And you can only do it in the Conflict stuff. Bah to that.

[Draygone]

That's ture. Finally reaching the next level after such a large amount of fighting definately seemed like an accomplishment to me. Too bad that's the #1 reason you fought monsters for so much of the time, was to gain levels or get some items to sell. WoW, you gain levels as you do quests.

[AlexMagusaka]

FFXI is pretty great when you have the time to actually go at the whole "slow but sure PT-search-and-level" thing. When you're on a shared PS2 that sees more use from its other owner and often isn't available except late in the evening, well...not much point in paying $15 a month for a day worth of play.

I have no opinion on WoW yet because IT DOES NOT WORK. >:((((

Lemme 'splain somthin' to you: My onboard video is an S3 Savage that came with the machine. If you checked worldofwarcraft.com's supported video card list, you'd notice S3 is under "Unsupported". Wonderful.

So I bought a shiny, slightly-used but discounted ATI 9200.

That's where the problems start. My computer doesn't have an AGP port. Just two extra PCI slots.

So now I have four options:

A) Try to make it work with an "Unsupported" 3dfx Voodoo3000 PCI card.
B) Try to buy a supported PCI video card (not likely these are made anymore)
C) Buy a new motherboard and go through the hours of hassle through rescrewing/reattaching/reinstalling.
D) Buy a new PC and put WoW on that (HAHAHAHAHA no)

GOD ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS PLAY WoW AND NOW IT WILL NOT WORK AND I AM ANGRY IN AN ALL-CAPS MANNER.

...

So, uh, yeah.

[Dragoon]

Wow, there's some crabby people here. Understandable though, I am going throught the same crap you guys are. I'm currently a lvl 50 Dragoon (waits for applaus and praises... gets none) and since about level 40 I had to make my own parties if I wanted to start on my own time. Basically, I had little time to sit around and wait for a party to invite me because of school and work. So, I would get on and spam tells to people until I got a party then we'd level and replacements would come when people left. I would spend about 4-6 hours in game to earn roughly 5-8k exp, depending on the abilities of the party. I got level 40 about a month ago and yes, it does get annoying sometimes when people just up and leave your party which leaves you stranded searching for a new member. Especially when the WHM or PLD is the one who leaves. You can get by without a BLM or RDM but if your WHM or PLD leaves your group is severly hindered in EXPing if not completely.

I have not played WoW save for about 45 minutes on a friend's computer but I have to say FFXI isn't as bad as some say it is. If you know how to form a party and are patient with more than 8 hours of play time a week you shouldn't be too unhappy with the progress of the game. Although, I just turned level 50, I haven't seen the parties that require you to gain 10,000 EXP points to level up. I assume it'll be rough and take days rather than hours to level up one level. After I get my DRG AF armor set I plan on actually "playing" the game and testing out various jobs. Should be a lot of fun.

The REALLY cool thing is that when I mentioned I really loved the DRG job a bunch of level 60+ characters, including a level 75 DRK told me they'd help me with everything I needed. A few DRGs even volunteered to protect me during the coffer quests, which is really cool. I expect that the AF3 (Drachen Armet) quest is gonna be a toughy. BTW, mentioning it in a party got a tell by a level 75 character :D. Currently I have the Exoray Mold for the level 50 cap quest for those who are interested.

In my opinion for those who want to know what places you'll hate mose here are my top places, in order of utter hatedness and one bonus uber hatedness for your enjoyment.

o Valkurm Dunes
oo Crawlers Nest
ooooooooooooooooooooo Quicksand Caves


UBER HATRED! ---> Yuhttor Jungle (I spel guod)

Why you ask? I HATE GOBS! Poor Eisenzahn! x.x

If you're ever a dragoon you'll come to hate Area of Effect spells and attacks specifically due to the damage it inflicts on your wyvern.

I dunno if it's the DRG job class specifically that makes me love this game or the many many dragons I have yet to kill but I just can't put this game down. Basically if you can't get hooked to this game it will become boring post 25 when leveling becomes longer.

[Cosmic Jeff]

Generally sales don't reflect the quality of a game, but in the case of World of Warcraft it does. It's much, much better than Everquest II, Final Fantasy XI, and Lineage II.

[Alzar]

B) Try to buy a supported PCI video card (not likely these are made anymore)


Right here Alex:

http://www.pny-europe.com/uk/verto_fx_5200_pci.asp

[AlexMagusaka]

Whew, back from Texas.

Thanks for that, Alzar, but just that day I found a PCI nVidia GeForce MX4000 PCI.

And the game works! But Doomhamer was down so I'll either start it momentarily or tomorrow, depending on whether I collapse on my desk or not.

So, uh, yeah.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

What's your name gonna be on Doomhammer? :D

[AlexMagusaka]

Same as on FFXI. Kagasanga.

I'm already level 6 and it is pretty fun. Money's still tight but not as much as when I was playing FFXI. And cooldown between monster fights is almost non-existent on the overworld. I really dig that.

So, uh, yeah.

[Marc M.]

The only reason I got FFXI in the first place was to play with you crazy people.
The only time I had fun with it was when I actually WASNT playing it: When me and the Doc just messed around and killed orcs and made stupid jokes, or we killed a dragon with half the party naked.
It was the stupid stuff that was fun. The game itself is boring as hell. No customization, no freedom, no way to level up in a fun manner. Not to mention the worst thing about the game; LEVEL DOWN. The stupidest thing ever invented that doesnt even make sense but makes you ******ing angry as all hell.

I will probably get WoW eventually. Why? Because you crazy people are there!

[Dragoon]

I feel so bad for Jehuty, I think I'll come to his place eventually. As soon as I get all my AF gear. Shouldn't be hard, the way it is set up you get your glove quest activated then you can hunt for the coffers for the leg and body parts. Then complete the glove quest and start on the AF3 quest for the helmet. If I can find parties to help me it shouldn't be too hard. Just gotta make friends with someone who has a high level LS that can help me for very little gil.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

Same as on FFXI. Kagasanga.

Cool. I'll add you to my friends list when I get home today. :)

Marcy, if you liked the stupid stuff in FFXI, you're going to LOVE WoW - considering that it's pretty much composed of stupid stuff. It doesn't take itself seriously at all. ^_^ The bodies of mobs don't disappear right after you kill them, so you can dance naked on your foe's corpse if you want to.

The guild usually goes on wacky adventures a lot, and when we're not questing, we're at the bar getting smashed. :D

I've just learned how to sew the entire wedding outfit set, so I'm probably going to make tuxes for everybody soon. :lol

Anyway, can't wait to see you there. We'll have a great time!

[Thief of Dreams]

thats awesome fushi!

[Alzar]

http://www.inven.co.kr/bbs/data/wow_freeboard/1102255171/wow.gif

:lol :lol

[Jeroak Nelave]

LOL, thats good.

But the only reason the game is like that is because the population in game is so high, that they havent been able to recover yet. It really wouldnt surprise me if WoW ends up having more than 1 million concurrent subscribers.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

Heehee! That's loot lag, alright. :D

[Draygone]

It has 1.5 million subscribers, with 500,000 players on at the same time.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/17/news_6120659.html