FFXI - 2 million users as of April '09

[Denmo]

Re: The FFXI Topic

You can get a Hauby, Errant, and a lot of other stuff for cheap now. They've been cracking down on RMT and it's brought a lot of cash out of the system.

Other than that it's basically the same...

[Misty]

Re: The FFXI Topic

I do hear some good things about the recent expansion. You guys might want to try the new jobs

[d2king10]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Ive always had an itch to play this, however i have heard that the grind is horrible and whats worse is, you are pretty much required a party to play, and you will spend hours trying to find one. So is this all still true?

[Denmo]

Re: The FFXI Topic

They've added things to help the grind from what it was, like items to increase exp gain, better areas, an NPC partner you can fight with past level 30, and some other things.

But all in all, you'll still be waiting at least an hour for a party. Don't expect to get much done unless you have 3 hours to devote to the game.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: The FFXI Topic

I think FFXI would be my third place choice for an MMO to get into. First is CoH/V for the superhero theme, second WoW for it's popularity and ease to get into, and FFXI for the FF setting. Fouth would be Guild Wars but mainly because of no monthly fee. But right now I don't have the equipment to play any of them so it's a moot point.

[d2king10]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Well 3 hours a day to devote to a game isnt that bad, im just wondering if its my type of mmo. Is the battle system like that of WoWs, if so then you can count me out. However, i heard that it is a bit different, so how is it?

[Denmo]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Battles are much like FFXII only not automatic. You pick a target, hit attack, move in range and your character auto-attacks. While you're attacking you have abilities at your disposal (that you learn/buy eventually).

After level 10, mobs become too hard to face alone and still get decent EXP from. So everyone goes for partying together to fight Incredibly Tough mobs. Since monsters opperate on 'hate', they'll attack whoever is doing the most damage or most significant action against them. Parties operate around Hate, and generally try to keep hate on one person instead of others who can't defend very well. Depending on your job, after level 10 your role in each battle changes.

Melee jobs try to build up TP %, which adds up the more you hit the mob or are hit. When it gets to 100% or more, you can do a Weapon Skill. There are certain Weapon Skill chains, where if you do one, and then someone else does one, it causes an effect (Think Quickenings in FFXII).

Mages don't attack in a party. They just sit to the side and cast. The role of the mage is to provide as much support as possible without draining your MP or getting hate.

So you can see, grinding in FFXI pretty much revolves around party mechanics, which is why only certain party combinations work well, which is why many people end up waiting around seeking, especially if their job isn't that important (White mages and tanking Melee jobs usually get a party fast).

[H2SO4]

Re: The FFXI Topic

an NPC partner you can fight with past level 30, and some other things.

You can call your NPC partner from level 1 and up.

Well 3 hours a day to devote to a game isnt that bad, im just wondering if its my type of mmo. Is the battle system like that of WoWs, if so then you can count me out. However, i heard that it is a bit different, so how is it?

I've never played WoW before, but I'll try to shortly explain FFXI's battle system. Basically you walk up to a mob (monster), and engage it, your character pulls out his weapon andd begins whacking away at different speeds depending on the weapon. Some weapons are faster and have less delay that others, like daggers, some are heavier, like Great Swords.

Spells/Songs/Ninjutsu/Summons/etc. are all executed by selecting the said spell/song/whatever and then selecting the mob/player you want to use it on. Different spells/songs/etc. have different cooldowns and casting times. If you use a particular spell/song/etc. often you can macro it, which means you "program" (it's incredibly simple to do), a key on your key board to execute the spell when you press it. Magic uses MP, but Ninjutsu/Songs/etc. cost nothing.

Weapon skills are executed using TP, or tactical points. You gain TP from attacking mobs. When it gets to 100% or higher, you may use a weapon skill. WS's generally do more damage than regular attacks (duh), and sometimes are special qualities like stun, two-fold attack, or elemental damage. One of the biggest parts of a party is skillchaining. SCing involves several people (or one person in a Blue Mage's case), to use certain WS's in a certain order to perform a big attack for large, usually elemental damage.

Mages can also join in by casting offensive magic of the same element right after the SC comences, causing a Mana burst, or a lot of magic damage.

And so there it is, the battle system of FFXI in short. Your welcome.

EDIT: dang, denethor beat me too it =P

[Denmo]

Re: The FFXI Topic

You can call your NPC at any level, but you can't get the item to call it until you do quests which require you to have a job at level 30.

Also, about jobs and race:

You pick a race, you're set for that race forever. You can't change it unless you make a new one.

You pick a job, you can level it and then go level another job. But when you switch jobs, your stats are reduced to that job's level.

Some races are better at certain jobs than other, and it's pretty obvious which are which.

At about level 18, you can do a quest that gets you a subjob. A subjob is a job you leveled that boosts your stats and allows you to use those abilities. However, a subjob will always be at most half the level of your main job.

So if your main job is level 20, your subjob max's out at 10. But that's only if you leveled that job to 10.

A lot of people choose to level their subjobs first to 36 (half of 75), and then do the main job they want. This way they never have to go back to their subs to level them some more.

WHM/WAR or WAR/WHM will not work unless you enjoy being a soft pillow for the mob to stab at.

WHM/BLM or BLM/WHM works, and works well.

There are guides that tell you what job is good for what. Some are good just as subs, others are good only as mains.

[d2king10]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Im pretty interested in trying it, can i download and free trial it somewhere, or do i have to buy it to try it?

[Denmo]

Re: The FFXI Topic

They have a trial download... but you need a buddy code from the box of the Vana'Diel Collection... which I don't have.

If you have XBox360 I think they have a trial CD or download.

There's a downloadable Benchmark program for Windows from the site:

www.playonline.com/ff11us/

But that's all I can get you. If you have a friend who recently bought the game, ask him/her to look in their box for a buddy code, then go here:

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/dow...ial/index.html

The game itself, with all the current expansions, is $30 right now.

[Pinoy0004]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Hey Den, how's the Inner Circle these days? Anyone still there?

[Denmo]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Kuro, BtB, Romi, Jonquill, and Bubba are all still active.

[d2king10]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Ya i dont know anyone that plays FF11...aww shucks. Maybe after i buy my Wacom ill look into it. thanks for all the info

[H2SO4]

Re: The FFXI Topic

Sure thing, if you ever actually decide to buy the game, I or anyone else here can hook you up with a world pass, which basically let's you play on the same server as the person who gives you the WP code. If you get a gold world pass you get some other free items when you join as well, although they are more just freebies then anything you'll use for a long time.

EDIT: Breaking news! SE is now allowing new players to choose which server they get put on when they make a new character, this means no more world pass system. Unlike before where you would be placed on a new server randomly, you can choose now.

More info can be found here.